Daily Diary

Hello all, Busy day in the Cath Lab, ended up doing only diagnostic caths, no interventions needed. Of course, we referred three of the six pts for CABG. It was nice to get lunch at a decent time, too, rather than 2 or 3 in the afternoon. I am in the Stress Lab tomorrow, then we get the weekend, hurrah! This weekend we may do some music in the morning at the Big Church, for Sabbath School (the usual), but have no afternoon plans. Sunday I am scheduled to get taxes done, I am gathering receipts and W-2's for that. Yes it was cold and wet here too, and the mountains looked beautiful this afternoon when the clouds parted! I read they even closed the I-15 going East through Baker, all the way to the Nevada state line -- due to snowfall!! Then they re-opened it with police escort, to keep the speeds down. Yes, I also heard about the snow in Los Angeles area, as did herring. Brrrrr! I think we were a tad warmer than 32, herring! Stay warm and safe! Dh and I watched two Poirot episodes tonight. Yes, we are re-watching them. They are so well done! Have a good evening!

Forgot to mention the TREMENDOUS storm we had a 1 AM last night. I'd been asleep maybe 20 minutes or so, and suddenly two dogs jumping all over me on the bed felt like a dozen dogs. The snapping, clapping, rolling, banging thunder was right overhead, so it was accompanied by brilliant white flashings of lightening. Had to dope the dog (ie give Ozzie CALM DOWN drops for critters) Pippy won't let me give it to her. She kept diving under the covers and then popping back out so she could keep track of what was going on outside our window. Oz wouldn't stop shaking and barking, so I scooted him under the far corner of the bed in his "Cave". He was quiet after that; I guess the herbal drops kicked in. Then we had round #2 of the storm ... eventually it quieted down and Pippy curled up to sleep. Me? Not so much sleep; I got about 4 & 1/2 hours. I feel SOOOOO irritable today. When I tried to nap this afternoon, that's when Oz stood down in the den and barked repeatedly. I gave up and fed them supper and made myself a cup of coffee. Now I am up in my room on my laptop, and plan on staying away from the den (read: Nannie) until after supper. Both dogs are sound asleep on the foot of the bed. Huh. Sometimes life ain't fair, is it?!

Good Afternoon - Just a quick but warm hello to you all. Worked last night. Working tonight. Doing the usual "sleep, eat, work" thing. Also, making plans to spend over-nights with Dad. Talked to him a little while ago. He seems in good spirits. It is obvious that he struggles more to get the words out, though, since these presumed TIAs. Visiting Nurses will be seeing him Saturday, finally. Hopefully PT & OT will follow. It's a slow process to get the supportive care in order, it seems. Don't know why Dad's wife hasn't called Hospice, yet. At least other supportive services are coming into place. Hope all are doing well. Gotta catch some more ZZZZZs. Those ZZZZZs have been hard to catch, though. (Ugh!) Peace. . . Ted

G'mornin' n' afta-noon ... Got up at 6:40 AM so I could get the doggers over to their new groomer's for their "express" appointment at 8 AM, ie: both in early, out in two (or so) hours. Ozzie's haircut was not the best, but he was gnarled up pretty wicked. And after all, it was a first appt, so it'll get better next time. Pippy looks okay, but not as much was buzzed off of her. At least she is CLEAN! Nannie's had stumble-brain a few times this week, like word-salad or alphabet-mouth. These are the first quite noticeable occurrences, to me. Her short-term attention span or memory-bank of things recently said or happening to her has become shorter still. There's a 20-30-second erase time, and then the same question comes out of her mouth. She is also harder to understand, because, after all, SHE doesn't mumble! It is OUR ears, doncha know. I tried once to explain to her that she talks in a very southern twang, words not E-N-U-N-C-I-A-T-E-D, and all tangled up in the back of her mouth and throat. If she would use her diaphragm to expel air past her vocal chords like the body is designed to do, she'd be easy to hear. She is quite capable of doing so. When she talks on the phone, from her chair in the den, *I* can hear every word clearly from up on the third level, in my room, even without my hearing aid in! Not much going on here.

Good Thursday to you! Not sure what I'll do today. I plan to walk to the farmer's market tomorrow. Joe: Enjoy the exercise! Lil Nel: I hope the "customer service" day is tolerable with easy driving.

Hi all, Really busy today. Will try to stop by later. have a great day!

Morning Odd, woke up early, fell back to sleep and had a nightmare that my car had been vandalized. I haven't had a nightmare in many years. Work was OK yesterday, think I'm adjusting to the changes. Have to be in the office over lunch for a 2 hour meeting, so less than usual will get done today. Emailed that recruiter but haven't heard back yet, would like to talk and see if it's an opportunity I'd be interested in No choir practice last night and no dinner with J, so I did the grocery shopping and a little packing in preparation for the weekend Not much to do today but exercise. Weather is holding steady which is good

Another overcast day of intermittent rain, but colder today (37 degrees). Hubby just came in from having a smoke, and said he saw lightening a few minutes ago. And early this AM there were big, fat, bloppy snowflakes. But those didn't last long. Tawk aboucha weyedd weatha. That snippet of New Englandese made me think of an expression that, down here in the South is: "Dumb as a bucket of rocks." Up in N.E. it 'goes', "Numb as a bucket of hake." Any of you up there ever heard that said? There was a guy up in Essex, Mass., (Dana Story) who wrote about New England anecdotes and stories; said something to the effect that there was a guy who was so scrimey and stingy, he'd skin a fart ! Can't exactly remember what could be done with a skinned fart, though. Make a jacket? Serve 'em mixed in to a pot of Boston Baked Beans? I've got to look that up to get it straight. Around noon, hubby drove the van to the library so I could turn in 2 books and get two more. Then he drove the grocery cart when we went to the store to load up on the usual groceries. Loaded the van, unloaded the van ... ("No pushing, no pulling, no lifting" , et al.) I am trying to be more careful about what I shouldn't be doing. No sciatic pain today, but had pain in the upper-outer quadrants ... possibly from readjusting and maintaining an "ideal" standing posture for 2-3 minutes at a time, at intervals throughout the day yesterday. ---maybe?--- I dunno. It's something new every day, seems like. Well, it's not killer, just annoying .... kinda like my MiL! So funny, the dogs are now well-habituated to the routine here, and at 10:30 PM, I'll say, "Let's go outside and pee; it's time to go to bed and go to sleep!" When we come back inside, I'll say, "Okay! Upstairs!" I can let go of their leashes and up the stairs they go. Once they are in our room, I take off the leashes and they each go to their spots. No arguing from 'the kids' about wanting to stay up longer. If I don't happen to notice the time, Ozzie stands up, stretches, and looks at me; and looks and looks and looks. He frequently stands or sits, just looking at me for long periods of time. It drives me nuts sometimes! I never thought I'd get stressed enough to almost 'yell' at a dog, "For cryin' out loud, STOP LOOKING AT ME!" MiL maintains he looks at me so much because he loves me so much. I know he looks at me, trying mental telepathy so I will get up and do something for him: Food, Outside, Snack-time, Scratch me. You know, all the reasons why dogs think people exist. For those of us with 'elders' issues, I'm saying prayers for the needs of us ALL! And along with that, everyone should sleep well, stay warm, stay dry, have "Q" shifts, and wonderful days off without folks calling to say, "Will you work extra this week?" Remember to answer the phone, not with "Hello?" but instead, a nice firm "No." ...or if you're feeling polite, you could say, "No, thank you." Just as long as the word "NO" is stressed as The Primary Answer. I used to answer the phone "No" when I knew it was my office calling, and then I would add, quite cheerfully, "But thanks for thinking of me!"

Yep. Responded to an email from another recruiter today. Hopefully I'll be able to talk with her sometime this week and see if it's a position I'd be interested in applying for

I had no idea this woman is a retired RN. Interesting, Ted.

Lil Nel - I don't know. She is a retired RN. She knows HOW to manage one. Hopefully the home health aides would know how to manage one, though.

Can dad's wife manage a Hoyer lift?

Wow. Talk about a hard sell, herring. I had to read your post twice, to fully understand. You would think the would honor your request of: Don't call me, I'll call you. Hmm.

Yes, Fran, KY is getting inundated with rain from that storm. Areas are flooding. I got Biggie and Talli in before the second round of hard rain. Talli's field looks as though there is a lovely pond in the middle of it. Nope. It is just flooded. I think Talli is herd bound. He doesn't really want to leave the pasture, if his friends are still hanging out. Biggie will always leave the herd if he knows food awaits him. Went for a massage. I am so relaxed, I could fall asleep standing up. Wow. I needed that massage! Oh, I have a better understanding now, Ted. Did I know you have a sister? I hope you are feeling better about things. Time for dinner, ad I never ate lunch.

Oh Ted, I'm praying that this time is as easy as possible for you and your family. Lil Nel: I prayed that maybe Kentucky can have more dry days than rain for a while. Sisters and I have a meeting at step-Mom's assisted living home Monday morning. The head caregiver suggested home health Monday when she was sick. I told her we would have to find out as much as possible so she called the home health agency. Then as I was trying to get her to the doctor, hoping she wouldn't have a seizure their marketing woman called me. I told her I will think about it after she is finished at the doctor. She called eight more times when I didn't answer. When she called the ninth time in a day I answered. I told her I had JUST gotten step-Mom in her own chair after a long struggle to get her out of the car. She would finally get one foot on the ground and back into the car. Three times she , with prodding turned and put both feet on the ground, and then back in the car and buckled her seat belt. I asked her to PLEASE stand up and put both hands on her walker so we can go on the house. She said, "I'm too tired. I told her, "It is cold out here (52 F). I can lift you on to the seat and push you into the house. She said, "**** no", stood up and walked in the house, refused to go to bed, and fell asleep in her comfortable chair. After I told that sales/marketing woman that she apologized. Then asked me to text her a copy of step-Mom's Medicare and supplement cards. I said, "No". Yesterday she called again and I said, "Don't call me, I will call you." She called anyway. After talking with sisters we called her and offered Monday to meet. She said, I apologize for calling so much, but I just want to help. I asked if a caregiver can meet with us because I will not agree to any commitment I don't like and it must be in writing. She is sending a nurse. We will find out.

Lil Nel - This situation is a little bit more complicated than what I wrote. My sister is the one who wished my father went to the hospital when the TIAs took place. Although we ALL are on the same page in realizing my father's declining health, and in wanting the palliative level of support (Hospice) as my father declines, my sister was not happy when Dad's wife didn't contact the EMTs to take him to the hospital. In my sister's mind, the hospital might have offered case-management support so that when he was discharged home, proper equipment would be waiting for him (like a hoyer lift to help get him in and out of bed). Hopefully, Dad can get back into Hospice and that Hospice can order these type of special equipment for him. For clarification, Dad's current wife is his third wife. It is my observation that she is very kind to my father as she tends to her husband's needs. I do wish that she made different decisions in the past. I wish that she kept the 24/7 care that we planned for him. Gratefully, she seems to be beefing up the level of support that Dad requires as his health continues to decline. The person that I refer to as my "step-mother" is actually Dad's second wife. We've remained close after their divorce. For good for for bad, I do not feel comfortable calling Dad's third wife my "step-mother". I do the best to support the decisions that she makes, but I'm not necessarily close to her. Besides, she's actually closer to my age than she is to Dad's age! L O L!

Ted, I am confused. You wrote that it was agreed, if something happened to your dad, he wasn't to go to hospital. So, didn't his wife do what was agreed too? I agree with Joe, you have been more than dutiful, Ted. You have gone above and beyond. Didn't you just spend a weekend looking for a car for step-mom? It is another rainy, miserable day in the Blue Grass. We are under a flood watch, once again. It poured down rain, during the overnight and this morning. It will pour down rain all day. We don't need another drop of rain. We are saturated. The price of a bale of hay has increased from $5 to $9 because of the rain. There is a shortage of hay because it has been raining since October. No one can cut their hay. We are under a flood watch nearly weekly. My plan is to bring in Biggie and Talli early. Very early. Better they are warm and dry and eating hay, than standing in a cold, muddy, barren field. Can you tell that I am OVER this weather??????? Safe travels.

Good Morning - Tweety - Hope work is kind to you. . . By the way, Tweety, today is Wednesday, February 20th, 2019, not "January 29th"! L O L! I sent a request to the administrating team to, hopefully, edit in the correct date. L O L! Recently woke up. . . Drinking First Coffee. . . Got a phone call from my father's wife late last night. Apparently, he's been having some TIAs which has left him weaker (right side more than left) with increased difficulty speaking. Apparently, this all took place during the week-end. Apparently, she did not take him to the hospital when all of this happened, interestingly enough. Needless to say, we had a LONG phone conversation. Dad is a "DNR". That does not mean, "Do Not Treat". But up until about a half year ago, Dad was also under Hospice care for his progressive dementia. In the past, it had been discussed that should anything happen to him at his home, he would not go to the hospital. Dad "graduated" from Hospice because he was too well. And, for the past 6+ months since "graduating" from Hospice, Dad's health has remained relatively the same, except for his slowly-failing mind and body. Despite being "qualified" for increased level of care, Dad's wife will not put him into a nursing home. So, she's been the main care-taker for him for a while. A couple of years ago (I believe that I shared this when this took place), Dad's wife had a mental breakdown. Literally, she was hospitalized for suicidal ideation. My sister and I stayed with Dad at his apartment during most of that time help tend to his needs. There was a hired home-care aide, as well, that helped take care of Dad. Back then, Dad's mental and physical state was weak. Dad and his wife does have some monies saved. He also has a retirement pension that modestly supplements his Social Security income. Armed with this financial information, my sister and I organized 24/7 care for Dad so that he could get the care the he deserves, and so that (at least in our minds) his wife need NOT be the main care-taker. Financially, the 24/7 care could be afforded for several years. It did mean, though, that their savings would be diminished over that time. The 24/7 care was in place when his wife returned from the hospital. Within a week of her being home, she discontinued that 24/7 care. But, she did keep intact a few 8-hour days per week of home health assistance (which was a whole lot better than what existed before my father's wife was hospitalized). By the way, this was not the first or second time that Dad's wife was hospitalized. (But it was the first time she required care and support for apparent suicidal ideation.) Each time she was hospitalized, my sister, sometimes my wife, and I would stay with Dad and help tend to his needs. Now. . . I haven't been the greatest son in the world. During the past several months, I've visited Dad about 3 times. He and his wife live a little more than an hour's drive away. It's not a huge distance to travel. I've just been involved with my own life. And, being the type of personality that I am, I've been "avoiding" witnessing my father slowly decay. It is painful to see him age so insidiously. He often does not remember who I am when I visit him; he often calls me by his brothers' name(s). THIS bothers me. I own that. I've allowed my very strong feelings of pain and self-pity to pull-back from visiting him. THIS, obviously must change. So. . . I will be scheduling time to be with Dad during my nights off from work. I will be part of his care - again - so that Dad's needs are met, so that he remains safe, and so that he remains relatively comfortable. This, I shared to Dad's wife during last night's phone conversation. Dad's wife has recently increased the level of support that he - and she - needs. There are over-night home health aides that she recently hired for at least three nights. She also has other help, too. We - his wife and I - both hope that Dad is re-eligible for Hospice Care. This, we discussed last night, too. Up until these past couple of days, Dad's appetite has been, well, very strong. He loves to eat, and does it well! But Dad's appetite seems to be waning. This is new for him. Although it's probably too early to tell, it would seem that Dad's time on this Earth is (slowly) coming to an end. As painful as it would be to have a world without Dad, I do wish that he would simply and peacefully "go in his sleep". (I can write paragraphs and paragraphs about this one wish! It is UNFAIR how Dad is experiencing such an insidious aging process!!) Hopefully, Hospice will see fit to officially re-enter Dad into their care-management. At the very least, this will provide both Dad and his wife much-needed support. We are both hopeful. I can go on and on. I know that I am not alone in experiencing a beloved parent deteriorate in body and mind. Anyway. . . Life does go on. It does suck sometimes.

Good morning! I didn't not have to work yesterday so that was a good thing, but a bad thing because I wanted the money. Today I start my "bad week" working 2 off one and working the weekend. I had a nice day off. I was going to yoga and realized I forgot my wallet and needed to pay for a set of classes and came home and realized I would be late. Being late to yoga class is rude, especially if you don't have any money. So I went to the gym instead and got a nice workout in. I cleaned the floors and cooked some pasta for meals tonight and tomorrow. Wasn't an exciting day. Hope everyone has a good day!

Oh my am I ready for bed. Y A W N Hubby had an appt in Medford so we were gone all day. Did some grocery shopping at Fred Meyers (kinda pricey!). My mind is blank . . . I know there was something I was going to share but it is simply gone. Hope Tweety didn't have to work . . . hope we ALL get a good night's sleep.

Following today. Lots of interrupting phone calls today.

Good Gray Cold Afternoon to you all! Glad not to be up in the mountains, as THEY are getting or going to get a "Significant Ice-Event" and they ain't talkin' about Championship Ice Skating. S'posta be gray and cold through Friday. Dogs get groomed Thursday AM, so Ozzie will once again have to be wearing his turquoise sweater. Pip just likes to be buried under a blanket with the tip of her nose showing. Hubby and Nannie went to get their hair done; I told Nannie, like a good little dgt-in-law should, that her hair looks very nice. Nannie started squawking that "She cut it too short; there's no curl left in it. She was supposed to give me a perm. She's going away for two weeks, so I don't get my perm until then." (hubby adds, 'no, nannie, it's 4 weeks until you get your perm...') To which Nannie responds, "SQUAWK!GRIPE!GRUMBLE!SQUAWK!" I often would LIKE to say, "If you don't like it, or she doesn't do what you think she should do, SAY SOMETHING TO HER BEFORE SHE STARTS!" Yegods and little catfishes! But, y'know, if she spoke up ahead of time, what would she have to complain about? She said, about the 4 wk wait for a perm, "Well, that's just one more thing I'll have to worry about." [ok, nannie, let's make a LIST of ALL your worries!] This is the woman who, after she takes her evening wash, fixes and sprays her hair. She'll be going to bed within 2-3 hours, so what's the point? We don't give a flying-anything what her hair looks like between 7 PM and 10 PM. Hubby says she is trying to seduce the Sand Man. I'm doing okay, no major pain. But I am constantly catching myself ... either I shouldn't have done some move just after I've already done it, or I am about to do something, but realize it is on my NO-NO list. I have to keep reminding myself, "Just because you CAN, doesn't mean you SHOULD!" It's not that I am non-compliant, but I guess I am ...I am full of habitual movements, leaning, lurching, awkward bending, stretching to reach too far, sitting down but turning around from the waist to the left or right to see something, picking up the (12 lb) dogs at times... I am discouraged with myself because I am causing some aching and soreness with my unconscious and abrupt leaping up and all those other motions I make, lacking finesse. I am trying to behave. I've decided that the only 'exercise' I can do is to stand up straight and adjust my feet-knees-hips-shoulders-head-chin...like I learned way-long-time-ago in a yoga class. Do you know, it is actually kind of tiring? When I think I've got it all lined up, I realize I have to readjust and readjust my adjusting! By the time two minutes has past, I'm shaky! [Oh pitiful posture, seek thine ideal! And again! No. Wait...again!'] I will have terrifically strong thighs because I have to do deep knee bends to get things out of the clothes dryer or change the pup-pee-pads or pick up one of the 3,000 things I DROP every single day! So, Tweety, at work, take a bandaid, upon which you have written the word "NO!", and stick it across your lips. At home, when you pick up your ringing phone, ( I have done this myself, many times, truly and for real!) answer it by saying, "NO!" Joe, that insurance co. work might be the very thing for you. Whether it is or not, you have some time before you have to say yes to any job offer. Like others have said here, it is good to be cautious. *Sidebar re: the word CAUTION. An uncle, when a teen, wrecked more than his share of cars. His step-dad said to him, "You need to be more cautious!" To which my uncle replied, "Who could be more cautioner than I?" Ted, It makes me smile to think of your core being containing all that MUSIC-MUSIC-MUSIC! (Did that sound like Ethel Merman just then?) I'm sorry that sometimes it requires a pick-axe and mining tools to get the compositions out! I'm sure, though, that Amy's head shots came out GREAT. She is, I think, beautiful and photogenic. How'd she end up with you? Does she have really bad vision? Oops! Sorry! Baaaaad joke! I didn't mean it, HONEST! Your link to Boogie Nights made me want to break out my Bee-Gees CD and ... well, can't dance right now, so I left it in its case. Phooey. BCg, Glad to hear your dgt is doing better. Had something similar to that once. It woke me up at 3 AM when I took a deep breath, it HURT like I was being stabbed mid-back; I thought my kidney was on it's way to being severely deceased. They did a nuclear x-ray of my lungs, would not let me move at all until they had a diagnosis, they were thinking I might have a blood-clot. I didn't. It was kind of interesting to see my nuclear-green- sparkled lungs moving with each breath. They said, "Pleurisy" and sent me home with the prednisone. Hey to everyone who follows!

Tbh I'm not sure, the problem is that only now I'm finding out about this and there is a lot of documentation already done that the reviewer could also look at....

Lil Nel - Yes! EVERYONE can enjoy the link! L O L! Tweety was sharing his "disco fever" yesterday on Facebook. That's the reason why I dedicated that song for him.

Good morning, all. Really hope you don't get called in, Tweety. An 18 to one ratio for techs? That is ridiculous. Our ratio can get up to 14 to one. There was no way, I would have left the tech alone to deal with river of poop, even though it put me behind, and two patients had to wait a long time for either one of us to toilet them. Staffing, staffing, staffing. It is partly sunny here today. I will take any glimpse of sunshine I can get. Joe, I don't understand. I thought your supervisor helped you to correct the things the picky auditor didn't like. Was it not good enough? I say, shoot for the moon with job applications. If you are offered a position, you don't have to accept it, and you will gain a sense of what is available. Hope step-mom is improving, herring. Hope your daughter is feeling better, BC. Maybe you should hire someone to do marketing, Dianah? You guys are very, very, good, so you should concentrate on making music. Ted, do you mind if I enjoy the link you meant for Tweety? Hope all have a good day.