Just need to talk to my friends (200)

Good morning everyone.

Mint and HB, sorry for the overwhelm. I understand as I was a caregiver for my mom too. My circumstances weren't exactly the same, but nonetheless I do get it when you say you are overwhelmed. I'm praying for both of you and for your mothers.

It was very, very windy yesterday - up to 45 mph. Not so much today. The rain comes today and we expect more in the coming days. It's badly needed. I hope to get my tulips planted before the rain comes. I do some other plants coming too. It would be great if they would arrive before the rain starts.

Thinking of all of you. Hugs and prayers, Beth

Hi we have had our first rain (1/10 of an inch) since the beginning of September it's not much but it will help with the drought we've been having.

Good morning. I had another good night with only one coughing spell. BBL

Iris

Yes. I am overwhelmed and exhausted. It's been a Calgon take me away week.

The discharge team really screwed me over. They avoided me as the didn't want to deal with disagreement over the rehab denial. I wonder if mom undermined me either intentionally or because she's an unreliable reported. Case in point, she told the discharge person she had everything she needed at home. That's not strictly true. She didn't have a POC, she has O2 at home but the tank with a regulator was almost empty and she had 3 appointments so far. The hospital stuff claimed they didn't know how to change a tank over and told me I needed the company to come do it for us which was utter BS.

I had to deal with her bi-pap which was having issues. I had to order more back up O2. I had to bring her in for an asap appointment with pulmo to get a script for the POC. Staff there showed me how to swap tanks. Plus the walker she borrowed from me isn't a rollator which she needs.

HB

up…getting returns to Amazon ready and looking for bath mats (non-slip/machine washable), white. Not as easy as you think.

Watering the fescue sod.

Waiting for more health update here…..

Judith, this is a great bath mat. I've bought 3 of them. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08TQP96H7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

Lorita, I am terrified but breaking my ankle was the straw that that broke the Camel's back but it i s Like what I said this a Hard decision but it is the Correct decision. It is becoming difficult for my wife to take of me I am constantly falling and she can not pick me up and we have to call 911 .

thanks Beth…

Iris glad you are feeling better.

Beth thanks for prayers.

Found out mom has multiple fractures on top of foot. Podiatrist said no trauma such as a fall caused these they occured from just walking . They said she has osteoporosis. Treatment is time and wearing a boot when she walks. She is refusing to cooperate with any therapy. I am working with a lady from CarePatrol. Hope to tell you about CarePatrol later when things settle.

Good morning Friends

Good morning all.

Beth— Only the Mucinex "cold and flu" line has acetaminophen in it. Most of their products are single or two ingredient which is why many physicians recommend them. Mom's pulmo has her on the one that is extended-release guanfacine only.

Mint— I hope you're getting some answers and a plan to help your mom.

Carl— Send the rest of us some of the rain.

A little whine with your Cornflakes.

Monday and Tuesday were trying. I took on the project of re-organizing mom's kitchen. Not sure if I mentioned it a couple pages back, it's a large space with much storage but illogically organized. Nothing make sense in there and it's complicated by mom being a mere 4'11'. My ADHD niece unpacked it when we moved them in while I directed furniture placement and did closets.

I purged the out-of-code foods (dementia red flag) and anything that should be part of a "heart healthy" diet she's supposed to be on because of worsening CHF. I could have completed this in a day and a half but chaos ensued.

At 7am, I get a text from DH that the house is cold. I told him I'd turned off the system as it wasn't needed and that he could just turn it on. At 7:10am, he replies the thermostat "went dark". I replied "Replace the battery for the display— the little card tucked behind has directions". At 7:15am he texts "it's still not working". I reply "You're going to need a service call". Immediately I get "Who do I call? What's their name?" I admit to some varsity-level eye-rolling at this given that they are the same as the plumbers who were in the house in snappy polos doing the bathroom project most of September it seemed. I reply by forwarding the contact information from my phone. Ten minutes later he calls. He says the girl never heard of us— he gave both the landline and my cell but nothing. I call them and also got Brittany who admits our information popped up when she re-tried it and that she was about to call me. We got a service call scheduled for 11am— turns out we need a new rotor not a thermostat. That'll be done today. All things considered, we were fortunate, it's only dropped into the upper 30s once this week and has been freakishly warm during the day so it's not uncomfortable at all. This could have been so much worse.

Around 11am I got a text asking me about laundry. He was planning to do towels and the dark clothing. I asked him to not touch mine. (He's ruined things in the past) he wanted to know about my preferred settings, he wanted to confirm that the liquid detergent goes in the cup in the agitator (No, that's fabric softener) and if the Affresh (machine cleaner) goes in the washer or the dryer.

Mom's nurse came and was pleased with her progress. She suggested that it was safe for me to return home and give mom the opportunity to do more for herself. I was thrilled to hear that but stayed overnight to finish the kitchen project and drive her to see the PCP on Tuesday. I slipped out to buy a comfy pair of sneaks as mom's slab floors were killing my knees and feet. LOL, she even gave me a Nordstrom gift cared to apply to it. I wanted some cool-girl Hokas but they didn't have any I liked, so I went for the world's ugliest Sketchers. I made some spaghetti and clams and planned to wrap up my project in the am. We (RN said a single glass was fine) had a glass of wine and watched The Crown again.

Tuesday, I woke early and assembled the new rollator walker which is pretty spiffy. I charge up the POC for the trip to see the PCP. It turns out the new walker didn't fit in the tiny economy-class Spark I'd rented, and I had to call DH to drive us. He sent DS instead; DS is actually more useful as he built the new shower chair and brought our gear home. We got to the office when I discovered I'd forgotten the POC. In my defense, mom failed to ask for it getting into the car. DS drove back to get it for me and made it before we were taken back where her O2 was 91% on 2l. The appointment was the usual perfunctory visit with him asking about the pulmo consult (done) and cardiology (scheduled but in contact about meds). Oh, and I left my bag in the exam room after being so careful to make sure mom had all her things. Fortunately, the office called me before we'd made it out of the parking lot. ADHD must be contagious.

I was about half done repopulating the cabinets and on schedule to head home when my phone rang. It was DS. His phone, which has always been unreliable, died. He was just about in tears in the Staples lot when he called. I tried to get him to ask his father to help, but DS is used to me as his go-to problem solver and he said "please help me", so I had him come get me and we went to Best Buy. The process of unlocking the almost dead phone and a new one with a different carrier took forever. Meanwhile, DH woke up to an empty house and was wondering what was going on. So many frantic texts and calls in the store where I could barely hear over blasting speakers.

We did get DS sorted out, but it cost me getting home Tuesday as planned. I did manage to make it home Wednesday and mom claims to have done well overnight. I stopped by for a couple hours yesterday while DS was at class. I managed to do the seasonal clothing migration in 2 1/2 hours rather than the 10 days it takes mom. She likes to consider the merit of each piece and hang by color which she can do once it's all hung. I don't have time for that nonsense. I will make her tags for her navy/black/dark browns as she can no longer distinguish between them because of the AMD.

The real reason for the project, aside from the pending chilly weather, is that sometime over the summer she hid some of her nice jewelry because she hired a cleaner. She had a HHA swipe some jewelry when dad was sick so she's vigilant. The problem was she couldn't remember where she put them (dementia red flag). She confessed this to my niece in August, but she didn't tell me until she was sick. DH and I made bets about where I'd find them. He said top bin of 3. I said middle bin. They were at the bottom of the bottom one. She cried when they turned up. I wish I'd done this project ahead of the kitchen as she claimed she wasn't worried about it. But we need a better option.

If you made it this far, here's a cookie-🍪

HB

Good afternoon all. Goodness, so many of you have so much going on.

First I do want to thank everyone for the suggestions about my wasp bite. I ended up going to my PCP for it. It was so swollen and hot, I was just concerned. Upon further examination he was able to see that I had 4 stings in one very tiny area and another on the back side on my wrist. No wonder it felt like it did. He put a circle around it and said if the swelling goes past that, go to the ER. He put some type of cream on it and said to take 2 Benadryl every 5 hrs. around the clock until the swelling / redness / itching was gone. I said I couldn't do that and remotely function, I'd do one during the day and two at night. Taking that much Benadryl really makes me loopy and slow. It was like I was living in a fog. The swelling is 50% down, the redness is 75% less as is the itching. His advice was if ever I come in contact with a wasp again, Benadryl is the first thing I need to do, followed by ice. I don't intend to need that advice, but its good to know.

I've not taken anything today because I have to get us out to vote. I wasn't about to drive feeling like I did. We're going to vote and do a grocery pickup - that's about all I want to handle, because frankly I'm wanting to take a Benadryl now.

More later. Let's be safe everyone.

eagle