Movin on....slowly....

Good January morning! It was up and at 'em early as Tink needed a ride to work.....why, you may ask?

Well......

It seems the Big lefty hit a massive pothole last night, shredding his tire and bending the rim on his car. He has to go to class this morning and has a job interview at 4p. Needless to say, he needs a car. On the other hand, our Tink has to be at work 5 minutes away at a local school and could be driven. She gave her brother her car and he quickly took it. So, after Tink works, I have the pleasure of driving his car with the bent rim and temporary tire to the auto shop. They know us quite well. I asked them for loyalty points since we are there once a month. They laughed and thought I was joking...I wasn't.....


We just celebrated BP Grandpop's 92 birthday. What an amazing guy. He is more vibrant than he has been in years. I think assisted living has been good for him as he has lots to do, people to interact with, regular meals, and gets his meds on time. He is thriving.


The day before his birthday, I stopped by to chat with him to ask him what he wanted to do. Dr G was going to have a family dinner for him but I asked if he wanted to go to breakfast or lunch. He turned me down. Then he asked if he could bring some of his assisted living friends to dinner. Sure, I think....then he thought for a moment and said that it would not be fair to only asked a few friends when he wanted to ask more and did not want to hurt any feelings. I asked him if he wanted a party at the Club (assisted living) and he replied "Yes!"

Off to get a big Costco cake, balloons, and make arrangements with the director of the Club. She set up the party for their already planned happy hour. Yes, this is my type of place.....one that gives you your meds and offers you an occasional drink. Yep, I can see why Pop loves it.



Anyway, on his special day, Scoob and I stopped by to bring the birthday boy to his happy hour/birthday party. I met more of his posse and was delighted. They call Pop the Mayor because he stops and chats with everyone, fist pumps them, and always has a kind word. Everyone stops me to tell me how much they love him. I can see why. He's terrific.

Before he blew out the candles, I said "make a wish...." He paused and thought...then said to me "I wish for another year. I think I can do some good here....." Yes, this is my 92 year old father who recently lost the love of his life wishing for one more year on this earth. I know God listens, so I might as well order the Costco cake this week for next year.

I am sorry that I have not written but I just had surgery....why?

Fade to black....

This goes back to last February.....I had a big birthday last year...really big...uber big...how big? Well, let me share this one with you. When I was 29, I thought this age was old.....

Back to February. Muscles threw an amazing party with the girls. Most of them were tennis buddies....it was wonderful and humbling. I remember blowing out the candles but not my wish.

Moving ahead to last month, Ice sent a video of me blowing out the candles...my wish was "I want to go to nationals...." Nationals are the tennis nationals in Orlando. For as many years as I have been playing tennis, none of my teams made it to nationals. I really wanted to go and get the tee shirt that said "nationals" on it. Honestly, that's it....

Anyway, we made it to the national tournament in Orlando. The week before, three of my tennis buddies who are on the team were playing with me at a local high school. Things were going pretty well although I lost the first set. Then my partner and I adjusted and were playing better. One of my opponents sent a ball in the air behind me and I went to it, the next shot was cross court. Following the ball? No? I'll get to the point.

As I twisted from backwards running to lateral, I went back and landed on my left wrist. Immediately I knew it was broken. Did I stop playing tennis? uh, no.....

So, I continued until we won the next set, then the girls had to leave. I went to the urgent center, had an xray and was told it was sprained. The doc put a splint on it.

Knowing it was not broken, I was still headed to Orlando the following week. Yep, a sprain was not stopping me from playing in the tournament and getting my tee shirt. No way...no how....

I took Motrin before playing and did fair...not great. Team came in 12th...in the country...not bad....wish it was higher, but all is well. we were there and I got my tee shirt.

Moving through the rest of 2018, I cleaned out the folks' house, moved them, carried large packages, worked out, and so on. The wrist never felt better but people said "sprains take longer to heal..." Ok, I get it.

Finally, I was done. I asked Dr G to check it out and he ordered a MRI. Naturally, I waited until late December and got the news in early January. It's a scaphoid fracture. See Dr. Hand and Wrist .....

Crud....double crud...triple crud....

Dr Hand and Wrist looked at the MRI, my wrist, and planned surgery for the next day. He inserted a little pin and performed a bone graft procedure. I was officially out of commission after surgery and on opioids. 

The first week post op, I did everything I was told to do. My arm was in the air with ice on it. I did not drive while on the drugs nor could I type. Yep, I was disabled and could only use my right hand to type. Problem...I am teaching online courses and supposed to be writing articles as the editor of a magazine. Crud!

As my fingers swelled to the size of large sausages, I needed to see Dr G who unwrapped the badnage, splinted my thumb with an index card and fastened the bandage with duct tape. It looked like MacGyver had his way with my arm.

Fast forward 10 days post op and I have a splint on rather than a cast. I can take it off to shower, but I cannot bend the wrist, lift, nor play tennis. He also told me 'not to fall....' OK, I can't promise that one. How does one prevent falling? I am sure multiple geriatric docs would love the secret so they can share it with their patients. Should I get a cane? Walker? Wheelchair? I cannot promise anyone that I will not fall, 'cause a person never plans it. I will definitely stop roller skating and climbing trees.

Sheesh! I also stopped my nightly glass and wine and don't miss it. With that I have lost 7 pounds.


Was it the booze or the fact that I now go to the gym every day to ward off adding weight? Not sure. I can't lift weights but I can still go to aerobics classes, hit the treadmill and exercise bike. I also do 100 squats a day as my goal is to fit into my pants....yep, the pants do not fit. I can go into the whys at a later date.

OK, I gotta run (ooppps...actually walk as my left wrist is starting to tire and I have to get some work done).

peace!!

Movin on....Piece by piece

Greetings from the south. Yes, we are still working on the renovation project. And, no, it is not going well. I actually should explain this.....



Fade to black....

To give you a bit of history, three years ago, we planned on breaking through a wall and extending the kitchen since I feel it is the heart and soul of the home. Check.


The the architect came in. His father has drawn up the plans for the house when it was built years ago. He was nice. He was friendly. He was sneaky too (in a good and bad way).


"Hey BP mom, would you like a bigger sitting area for the family to eat?"
Answer: Sure.


"Hey BP mom, looks like you would like to create a quiet room, so let's add a fireplace and close this room off."
Answer: Wonderful.

"Hey BP mom....want to add a loft with a spiral staircase for added guests?"
Answer: why not?

"Hey BP mom, let's move the master bedroom, add a balcony and french doors? Another bathroom?
Answer: yep.

"Another bedroom with a bathroom?"
Answer: absolutely.....


Then it happened...a water pipe burst and destroyed the first floor throwing all plans up in the air. Now we had to gut the first floor and begin from scratch. Everything on the first floor was destroyed. It was sad because there was so much history. yet, it was an opportunity to build in a way that would be conducive to gatherings and the modern lifestyle. So we slowly began the process with permits, plans, edits, lots of trips south with no where to stay, mold removal and remediation, bids for the builders, and so on and so on.....A few hurricanes hit, work stoppages, permit issues, tile problems (this will be an entire post).....


Now we are in year three. What has been done? Well, it is still unlivable despite a permit of occupancy. There is no room that can be used including the kitchen. The floors are not done. The painting had been started and not completed. The roof has a hole in it as does the master bedroom. The garage has visible mold and the builder is over budget by .....I won't give a figure per se, but if I was looking under the sofa for extra change to pay him, I would have to break into every house in the US for their sofa change and then take out a loan or five.


What if I go to the penny slots? I could try to win the difference at the casino...come on, my luck has got to change....or not...

In fact, I got no so great news yesterday to add to my mold issue. 

It seems I broke my wrist in October. yes, I got an Xray and it read 'no break.' No, it did not fully heal, so I spoke to Dr G about a month ago who ordered a MRI. Well, Thanksgiving and Christmas came and went. I was working and taking care of Pop. Had to sell the childhood house (sniff), so I ignored the pain...yes, I continued to work out but could not do planks or weights since it still hurt.

I finally acquiesced and got the MRI last week. Yep, non displaced scaphoid fracture. Yikes!
 OK, headed to hand and wrist doc on Monday when I return. This makes life even more interesting as I agreed to play tennis biweekly on a team that begins in March. Oh yeah, and Biggest Loser begins on Monday! I already told my weight loss partner about my woes and tried to release her from her commitment to be my buddy. But she is a loyal trooper and wants to stick it out with me. Oh boy, more pressure.


And so, I continue to thank the good Lord for His blessings and will handle one thing at a time. In the meantime, writing about this seems to be helpful....sorry to bore you.

OK, off to confront the builder about the expenses. As I would say to BP Grandmom, "This is another reason why I drink."



Peace

Bullpen mom....Movin' on....sadly

Greetings and Happy New Year! I have a resolution to start writing again since this blog has been derailed. What stopped me from writing each day? Well.....

Fade to black.....

First, I do not like giving excuses for behavior. In fact, I own my behavior or lack of behavior. This means that I had no desire to write, post, share anything that I once did with joy. Am I depressed? Uh...no....uh....yes....uh...not really....

Here's what happened.....BP Grandmom was sick...really sick... really really sick and I wanted to be there to help her in any way that I could. So I became a mini caregiver and drove her to appointments, sat with her, took her to chemo, shopping, and penny slots. Yes, she loved her penny slots and was a good gambler. Me? Not lucky...now or ever....

Back to BP Grandmom....she started to get worse and was in pain. As she was undergoing treatment, Big Sis was also diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Huh? Yeah! How about it. This threw a major wrench in the smooth system I created. In fact, things got so bad that Big Sis and BP Grandmom were on the same floor in the hospital at the same time....just feet apart from each other...Oh, it gets better....BP Grandpop was admitted to another hospital about 40 minutes from the ladies at the same time. Having fun?

Not yet....

So, the goal was to make sure mom and Big Sis had the right treatment while Pop was getting the correct care. Fun yet?

Nope....

Then Big Sis got sick after her surgery....real sick....It was bad. Mom was to be released from the hospital and so was Pop on the same day. But mom did not want to go home. She needed additional nursing care and told Scoob, Tink and me that she desired to go to an assisted living facility when she was better and we were to sell the house.

There was just one big problem with this plan...he is about 5'5" tall, Italian, and oh-so stubborn. So we were tasked to make sure there was an assisted living facility that would take them, convince pop it was needed, and sell the house. Simple?

I'll continue....

So, Pop and Grandmom were to be released but not go home. Instead I politely requested that the social workers in both hospitals find a skilled nursing facility where they could be in the same room or at least next to each other. Pop's hospital was more than happy to comply...Grandmom's social worker turned into a petulant child when I changed plans. Fun?

I convinced the social worker to move forward with our request while smiling brightly. After all, you  attract more bees with honey, right? After a few failed attempts, Dr G made it happen with a call to a colleague. He should pick up the phone more often, ya know.....

Then it was time to move them to skilled nursing. They were in rooms next to each other and ate meals and watched television together. Pop began to flourish, but mom did not. She was becoming somnolent and did not want to eat. We tried everything from her favorite ice cream and soda to meals that were simple yet tasty. Nope. She did not want to or could not eat. The nurses did their best, then she was put on something to stimulate her appetite. Nope....

It was the fourth of July and family usually gathered at Dr G's for a barbecue. Mom could not go. Pop could. I sat with mom most of the afternoon realizing it was her last July 4th. Sadness overtook me and I sat there, held her hand, and cried. I was under the impression that no one saw my tears. I willed them to be invisible, but my heart was broken and I held on as long as I could.

During their rehab stint, I found a nice assisted living facility and showed it to pop. He was cool with it as long as mom needed it, then his plan was that they were going home.

As the day for transfer approached, I got a call from the doctor asking me if it was OK to place mom in hospice. I knew it was coming and said yes. First I consulted Dr G and sadly he agreed with the decision.

Hospice set up a bed and mom's new room for comfort. The sibs and I moved furniture and photos, and clothes from home to create a homey place for them. It came time for the move and mom could not physically move. We somehow got her to the apartment when the hospice nurse arrived. Her pain was so great, they immediately transferred her to inpatient hospice for pain management.

She passed away surrounded by family the next morning. Before she passed, she was able to see Big Sis one last time and that Pop was safely placed in assisted living. Her earthly work was done. It was time for her to work her magic in heaven as she watches over us now.

That's it for now...I'll be back....I promise.