A few days of snow flurries at the end of February, but maybe that's it for the winter here in the Pacific Northwest. Tomorrow is my day in Court, and I'll be glad to put that behind me. I spent 5 hours in the Emergency Dept. of the University hospital last Saturday because of pain in my right ear, loss of balance, vomiting and elevated BP. My family doctor thinks it's virus infection of the middle ear, but meantime I'm to go through a lot of tests. Oh, and I turned 82.
Woke up to about 2 inches of wet snow but it was mostly gone by noon. Hb and I went for a long walk today - 3 in 4 days.
Grandson having a T & A tomorrow, plus they will take out his ear tubes that never came out by themselves, and cauterize the small capillary in his nose that keeps bleeding after he ran into the wall. I will have granddaughter tomorrow night and her other grandparents will take her for the weekend so brother can have peace and quiet. If mom works on Saturday I will watch the little guy and next week until he feels up to day care I will watch him.
It's March? Ok, cool. I'm not so big on February. After a stunning tectonic shift in our AD status quo, it is probable that we'll settle into something boring again for Spring. The weather is nice. This is my month to wrestle with care options. Ask me in the Fall. I'll probably be saying the same thing!
Yes good luck and a very Happy Birthday on this cool and dreary West Virginia morning. Hoping that March is better(or at least no worse) for all of us in this AD club.
mary75 best of luck with closing this section of your life friend. time to begin that new phase with a lighter heart. and happy 82nd birthday friend!
charlotte, hope your grandson does fine and you enjoy his company. emily, you have been wrestling alot lately with placement thoughts, at least you are facing the decisionmaking options. fall sounds good to me, i also am a procrastinator:)
March is really coming in in KY with a blast of severe storms and tornados. We're under a warning util 9 p.m. Millie has her thundershirt on; emergency kit all packed; food in the crockpot; DH isn't upset at all, more concerned with what's cooking the crockpot! Be safe everyone.
We are under the warning until 6 this evening. DD is getting out of school early. She should be home anytime now. Sun is out and it is 76 outside. Storms to the west of us right now. DH has the weather channel on now. I hope all stay safe. I hate days like this. The wind is really kicking up out there right now.
Tornado warnings lifted here! Saw a funnel cloud set down about 2 miles - was looking out our front door. DH slept through it all but Millie and I were keeping watch! LOL Hope everyone is safe.
Thanks, Don. After 2 1/2 hours, it was decided that the case has to go on to a higher court and that I don't have to appear again. I'm disgusted with the lies I heard, but I'm thankful that the judge was very, very good. He cut right through the nonsense and was fair in every way. I have the clear impression that it will all work out. Now to put it all behind me. Such a lot of medical tests and examinations coming up in the next couple of weeks that I won't have time to do anything else.
Julia, my sister lives in Australia, she thought she was going to melt during that heatwave! That is way too hot for my comfort zone. bluck!
Glad the storms have passed and you are alright Vickie, Blue and Bak! I was watching the news, heartbreaking. I know many people like storms, I am NOT one of them. I NEED a thundershirt! lol
Best of luck with your medical testing ((Mary)) and I hope you will be feeling better quickly.
Grandson is doing fine. I guess they don't 'cut' them out anymore, use something to liquidity them then suck it up. I was there this afternoon and all he wanted to do was eat, eat, eat. Tonight he had a half hour tantrum cause he wanted pizza and the nurse told him 'no'. I guess he was screaming at the nurse. I know when I had mine out at 18 I was unable to eat solids for two weeks or more. Only my son had his out and that was at 18 (not a good age to have them out). My DIL was told he couldn't have solids, even mac'n cheese for two weeks. Now try to fill a growing, active 3 year old up on liquids and soft foods! I will be watching him the next week cause he can't go back to daycare for a week, so wish me luck!
You are most welcome ((Mary)) Please do let us know what you find out. You remain in my thoughts and prayers ♥
Julia, she lives in Adelaide. She grew up here in New Hampshire, then moved to Washington State. 102+ temps about did her in! Would me too for that matter!!
Charlotte, I am glad the little guy came through his surgery well. Wishing you a ton of luck watching his this week! Is hard enough for adults, but more difficult to try to tell a 3 year old why he can't eat his favorite solid foods!
I had a great day yesterday. I traded DH and DD with my older DD for my grandsons 8 and 13. The other group went bowling and such and me and the GS went out to eat at a sit down restaurant. It was awesome. Then we went shopping and we talked and talked and talked. By the end of the day I could not put my finger on what I was feeling. Then it hit me, I had a normal day!!!!! And it felt good. What a blessing I was given.
Two rabbits in the backyard this morning at 6. They have been out all year because we are still waiting for winter. The jetstream is above us still so we haven't even had the artic winds and all year it's been more like November with a light dusting of snow here and there.
I read this morning a study done on outdoor hockey rinks where the conjecture is that they may be gone by mid century because of global warming. If it doesn't hurry up, this will become known in Canada as the year without winter.
I entered my first day of the third month yesterday of being on my own and it's been an interesting time. The agony of placing them is terrible. Check. The relief most visible in sleep that fighting hour by hour is over. Check. The crying and wailing from all the emotions walled off that now comes. Check. The passing of a few months where the first layers of acceptance form - tranforming from staring out the window to going out the door. Check. And the realization that alone has a lot of silence in it despite the cats. Check.
Human beings are fabulous at draining every drop of poignancy out of their suffering. If we understood art or music or physics the way we understand intuitively our way around our own suffering the world would be full of geniuses.
What humans suck at large is happiness. And you don't need Alzheimer's in your life to suck at finding your way through happiness the way we embrace every nuance of our miseries.
You don't learn until you live it. I have met the enemy and they are me. Does this experience qualify as sufficient misery? Yes. Does the existence of sufficient misery kill or invalidate happiness? I'll let you know. I don't expect to bound out of the house in ecstasy anytime soon. I do expect to recognize the beauty of the rabbits and glory of being here today and I expect to continue taking steps understanding that few things in life are just handed to me. I have to earn them for them to have value.
God bless the rabbits. Creatures have a way of making life look more sensible. You are born, look for food and shelter, watch out for your enemies, sometimes get killed, and through it all, still leap and cavort and cuddle.
I cannot believe it has been that long already Wolf.
those 'check's' also make a lot of sense. been there on a regular basis over these years. we have to endure the yin/yang, pain and misery to recognize happiness and joy and keep our checks in balance. i hope it gets easier for you wolf.
Anyway...having decided to get on waiting lists for the 2 ALFs nearby (assuming we like the second...we liked the first,) I called Place A to say so. (That we'd like to start the wait-list process.) Whereby, I was informed that, in fact, there is an opening in a semi-shared room right now! Wait...um...wait a minute...um was my basic response. I won't even have visited Place B until Thursday.
So...ok. She suggested maybe we could get together next week, AFTER I've seen Place B, and start being on the wait-list. I do not know whether that available spot will still be available.
Thing is, it's a little easy to say, "yes...we are getting worse. Time to get on a wait-list," when you're expecting not to have to actually DECIDE for maybe 2 months or more. When something is suddenly available, I am wigged out. A little. No, a lot.
I need to relax, do my second visit, and then think about doing a respite/trial. One day at a time. No freaking out necessary.
Everyone advised I put Lynn on a list ASAP because it could take well over a year to get a spot. I waited entirely too long to place Lynn, my health was failing, so I did, reluctantly, put him on the list to my first choice only. I was expecting a year, but it was only two weeks after putting in the application that I got ’the call’… I wigged out A LOT. It shouldn't have been a huge shock, after all, I did place him on list for this very reason, nevertheless, shocked I was.
Deep breaths Emily……. You can always pass up this spot and hope another one comes up when you are more prepared. I feel for you, this is such a trying, heartbreaking time in this ‘journey’. *sigh*
I feel like those of you who are struggling or struggled w/place or not to place; wait list or not wait list. Only, my indecision is County Hospice program or Care Center's hospice program. Advantages vs disadvantages. Both are for palliative care; leaning toward Care Center's program because he's familiar with the people who care for him and likes them.
I have heard (grapevine) that because of the economy, facilities that normally have a wait list don't at this point. Families are just keeping people at home longer, due to the cost.
THIS COMING SUN IS THE START OF DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME..WOOT WOOT! DON'T FORGET TO TURN THE CLOCKS FORWARD BEFORE YOU HIT THE HAY ON SAT! WOOT WOOT WOOT...
I just turned my clock back - it hasn't even had time to get 'acclimated'!!
babysit -there is a definite reason young people have kids! I am exhausted after 11 hour days and it is only day 2. He finally perked up yesterday afternoon. Was perking this morning, took a 4 hours nap and was sluggish when he got up but we played cars. Finally about 5 he perked up, wanted to wrestle! Doctors nurse said he could eat whatever he wanted as long as it was not crunchie or rough. Mom brought home pizza which he was so excited about. The little bugger refused to eat soft foods so was not eating. He managed 2 pieces of pizza (with the crust cut off) before his throat started hurting too much. Will see what tomorrow brings.
In January they started the project of putting a sidewalk in front of my sister's house. When they started I made a point to ask them how long it would take as we will be pulling out the end of March. They told us 3 weeks and they would be done. Last Tuesday they started grading the driveway at the top about half way down. They put a little gravel on it but turned into a mud hole. Even my little car was sinking 2 inches and I always feared I would not make it through. The part they left was not even level - they had a gully which filled with water. I called yesterday asking the county when it would be finished and complained about the road. He came out today and ordered bigger gravel. It is still soft but better. I need to call again to see when they will be done because we can not make it down with the motorhome - it will definitely sink in the mud. Since the mud is on the corner we have to go around, we will sink. He told me he would check but the contractor has until May to finish. I told him that won't work cause I have a job to be at April 1st. He didn't seem to care. If the manager of the job had not told me it would be 3 weeks, I would not be so upset. I made it clear we needed to get out and if they were not going to be done by the end of March we will move out. He assured me they would be. Ugh
I'm back from 5 days with our daughter in Florida. Due to the snow-storm in Maine on Thursday, I left a day early. Fortunately, the woman taking care of my wife was able to add the extra day. I had a great time in Florida - wild-life refuges, boating, and LOTS of eating. I got to spend some time with my college roommate, whom I hadn't seen for several years. Also, had lunch with Phranque!!!! My wife did fine while I was gone.
Marsh- I cannot believe you referred to me as a wild-life refugee....but as long as you had a good time, its all good. Actually, I had phish..specifically blackened grouper, and phrench phries and it was tasty. And I verified for myself that Marsh is a true hero, and a very competent caregiver as well as a wonderful doctor. I was proud to be able to say that I now know Marsh personally. I have finally found a great doctor who understands Alzheimer's. Emily- I offered you lunch at the Rainforest, but you would not let Goofy and Pluto watch Jeff while we ate......I did follow you around all day but you never noticed me....I was the one wearing the Lumiere costume for a while...I am usually dressed Like Gaston.....and I did see you at Cafe du Monde in NOLA....I was the guy who was throwing you all the beads each time you bared your....oops Sorry.,..I did say that what happens in NOLA stays in Nola....