Quarantine and chill and kindness chatty clubhouse: Jump in and join the conversation! All is welcome!

[lynxstch]

Good morning DIS family! Not quite as muggy this morning, but still going to be muggy. I finally got at least 5 hours of sound sleep. He had called me around 8, telling me that the ultrasound found a very tiny clot in a tiny artery, but they said it was 'insignificant' and the heparin would take care of it. They don't think that caused the swelling in his arm,,that he probably just aggravated it by overusing the arm trying to pull himself into a comfy position. He managed to take a nap before and after dinner, and sounded much better about having been out of bed and moving that long. Little steps, but it's progress!

I was outside at 5 am, feeding the cats, taking the trash down. Saw a car pull up across the street, just thought it was the paper carrier, and paid no attention. I had the car running up at the top of the driveway in our parking place by the house (headlights on auto cause it was dark out), as the car hadn't been started or moved in over a week. I had the front porch light on, but there are no streetlights so I use my flashlight to walk to the end of the drive for paper and trash. Then I noticed it was a police car (we live in the county so we have none out there), and just them it moved and pulled up in front of our driveway. He said are you okay maam,,I said yes..just taking the trash out. Apparently he lives down the street and when he saw the flashlight he got a little suspicious. I said well I wouldn't be taking someone else's trash down to the street at 4 or 5 am and he laughed and went on his way. But at least he noticed and stopped!

Have a nice morning everyone..will be back this afternoon to check in!

 

[easyas123]

I am surprised that there is not something like a professional nursing personel pool that they have in my area which is sort of like the Kelly Temp agency but for nurses, cna's, ect. I got on it when they were expanding into the personal care attendants but they soon dropped it. The way the program work.ed is any company could call them so you did have to indicate how far you were willing to travel as they covered 14 counties.
You could say you were only willing to work in certain counties or in all of them depending on what worked for you as well as what type of shifts you were willing to work weekdays, week nights, holidays ect. They had a number of nurses and cna's that due to needing to work when their spouse could watch their children would indicate nights or weekends.

My SIL does something similar - It was important for her to be a stay a home mom, but the reality was they also wanted to buy a house and you know...be able to afford it! Plus she worked hard for her nursing degree. So after she had my niece she stayed on with the hospital system she previous worked full time for, but as a 'floating nurse' so-to-speak. So now she can sign up for overnight shifts on nights where my BIL isn't working the next day, so she can get some sleep. She does 1-3 shifts per week, depending on what is going on. She also can pick up overnights of holidays which are lucrative as well. In addition to that she has signed up with a concierge nursing company in our area and every once in a while, now that school is back in, she will be able to pick up a 3-6 hours shift which pretty much consists of going to private homes and dealing with people who have tubes or other thing that need nurse attention, but can be done in the comfort of the home. It isn't perfect, but it's been a great way for them to make things work. She is usually on the psych ward, sometimes cardiac ward.

Good morning DIS family!

Good morning! Hope today continues to bring further improvements in your husbands situation and you guys get word on the rehab facility.

Whew, it was soup like out there this morning. I have yoga class this evening, so I took out a bear steak for husband to cook up for his dinner. I suspect there will be a bowl of cereal in my future tonight! Made turkey burgers last night, but my stomach wasn't quite right so I didn't eat one, I'll have it for a late lunch later when I go home to let the pups out. Hoping we get some rain today, we are in the cone of possibility, but as often as not it will skirt around us.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Good Morning Quacker family I meant to say yesterday that the Rocky and Bullwinkle talk reminded me that years ago during a trip to either WA or OR, my Dad and I played mini golf at a Bullwinkles Family Fun Center. Last year when watching Sale of the Century (from the 80's), there was a contestant named Rocky who won every single prize, I believe (he was on the show forever) that brought with him each show a toy Rocky. That was a bit odd but I hope having it made him happy

Yesterday was the first day in a long time that felt like last year in terms of my truly feeling it had to be later in the week than only Tuesday! I think this womanly time of change just has me feeling a bit fuzzy headed at times Wishing all of you a happy day!

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Slipping thread!

Prayers all of you are having a good day and that Lynn, things are continuing to improve for your DH!

 

[Breezy_Carol]

Good afternoon. Spent the morning paying bills and trying to download the Washington Metro app and order a day pass. We are going to DC on Friday. Meeting both kids and their spouses and the grandkids. Having lunch at Potbelly then have passes for the Museum of Natural History at 1. Probably walk to the White House as Tessa has interest in seeing where her Uncle works. The kids are planning the day, which I love, so not sure what else we will see. We are taking the Metro in from New Carrollton. Should be a fun day.

Finished a puzzle last night and itching to start another.

Waiting for an update from Lynn and hoping it's a good one.

 

[easyas123]

Good afternoon. Spent the morning paying bills and trying to download the Washington Metro app and order a day pass. We are going to DC on Friday. Meeting both kids and their spouses and the grandkids. Having lunch at Potbelly then have passes for the Museum of Natural History at 1. Probably walk to the White House as Tessa has interest in seeing where her Uncle works. The kids are planning the day, which I love, so not sure what else we will see. We are taking the Metro in from New Carrollton. Should be a fun day.

Finished a puzzle last night and itching to start another.

Waiting for an update from Lynn and hoping it's a good one.

Have fun! It's been to long since I was in a museum. Glad they are opened/opening again.

Hope Lynn has a good update, too.

Got a weather report on my phone earlier, rain coming - but it's still sunny out. Come on rain!!!

 

[PollyannaMom]

Got a weather report on my phone earlier, rain coming - but it's still sunny out. Come on rain!!!

I would happily send you some of ours if I could!

 

[easyas123]

I would happily send you some of ours if I could!

I'll take it! It means I don't have to spend a hour in the tractor seat later this evening!

 

[AuntieMe3]

Good afternoon...I was supposed to take one of my boys to the vet for a med check this afternoon but I don't feel like it today so I called and rescheduled for next week. Its too hot and yucky outside right now and I'm feeling lazy.

My sister and niece are coming this weekend to celebrate my dad's birthday and my niece is going to stay with me a couple days so I need to clean up the house a little for company. It's not bad, just like I said, I'm feeling lazy...lol

I'm supposed to make some chicken in the oven from Hello Fresh for dinner tonight but doesn't sound good to me so I might skip it and do something easier. Maybe I'll have DD eat stroganoff leftovers and I'll make myself some tacos...lol Again...my overall theme today is lazy...

 

[lynxstch]

Well,,today was not like yesterday, issues with nurses yet again. And a new hospitalist who I immediately did not like when the first thing out of his mouth was..'well he's just about medically ready to be discharged'..to which he got an earful. I said maybe medically, but thanks to your PT dept and 'some' nursing staff, he's not ready physically. Maybe if they had gotten him out of bed before day 4, and every day after like they were supposed to..he would be. So he says 'hospitals are not for physical therapy' . I said I realize that..but is some of your staff who slowed his recovery, and the sixth floor IS for physical therapy which is why we are trying to get him there. He said well I am not saying we will discharge him tomorrow. I said I know darn well you aren't, because I will fight you on that one.

They think the swelling in his arm, and the 'not significant blood clot' are from an iv, which is common and will go away. But they have a bright pink..do not use this arm for anything bracelet on that arm,, no bp cuff, no bloodwork,, nothing is to be on or in that arm..and some idiot took blood from it this morning...DUH? They put warm compresses on it after I told them to go get them.

Again , taking forever to answer the call light, he waited an hour for someone to come and help get him out of the recliner and back to bed, his legs were getting numb from sitting in it since 10 am. This was at 1, and it was almost 2 before the nurse came in and got him settled. And at last 3 people went and told her he needed her after we pressed the call button like 5x.

PT was in before I even got there this morning. They had him up and down out of the chair quite a few times, taking a few steps, and doing some leg exercises. They wanted him to walk around the room, but his leg is still a little too swollen and tender to do that. Maybe tomorrow. Toni came in, and she figures out how to put the foot rest up on the recliner,,which 3 other people had no clue how to do? She talked to us a bit, said she's been in contact with his cardiologist about his meds and his BP..his BP is always a little low, always has been, and she said she's still working on trying to get him to meet the criteria. Her PT dept was supposed to call her right after they were with him,,but at almost 2:30 she hadn't heard from them and they had been in before 10. She agrees that he is trying to help himself more now,,and she said it has to be baby steps at first, not all at once.

But when my sister in law picked me up, I was almost in tears at having to go through all this again. An hour for the nurse to come get him up and in the bed? I know they were busy, but there were plenty of nurses, cna's, and students on that floor today. I also made her change the gauze on his leg. It wasn't changed since Monday,,and had slid down to his ankle. Someone tried last nite to just add another piece and some tape, but it wasn't sticking. So since the Dr took it off to look at the wound, I asked if the nurse could change it right away, so she did. Its like one good day with staff, one bad day, and I am so over it. Someone else came up this morning and asked if we had considered what was going to happen after discharge. I said it's either upstairs or home. No nursing home rehab. She asked if we had everything we needed at home and I said yes, and she did say that in home care and nursing could be scheduled to check on him and his wound. Its like they are trying to rush him out the door..and I am trying to hold the door shut.


Stopped at Walmart on the way home..needed milk and cat food and a few other things,,but now once again , I don't want to eat anything and I have a headache. He was exhausted and looked it when I left. His daughter is up there now while he has dinner..and then he needs to get some sleep.

And this is how bad I was when I got home. I thought I lost my cell phone. It wasn't in my pocket, or pocket book..I thought it was either in sister in laws car or walmart,,so I spent 20 min looking for it, only to find out I had set it down on the stove when I came in..I was in a panic! lol! My head is really spinning tonite!


So its not a great update, sorry, and please keep the good thoughts and prayers coming..we both need them and appreciate them soooo much!

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Lynn and then some.

Brighter note, your trip sounds like so much fun, Carol. Have a great time. I love that Tessa wants to see where her uncle works.

I hope you get some rain help, Easyas🌧

AuntieMe3, thinking about decorations or in some other way party planning is for sure more fun than cleaning. I hope looking forward to seeing your family while celebrating will make that task easier

It has been so loud around here today. Dad is trying to rest, too Thank God, he is and is doing well, too. Practically right up against our building is the one next door. One of those apartments has a balcony very visible from ours. This morning I saw a worker for that building scale the balcony (it's low enough) where he began making the most hideous racket! Dad came home from the laundry mat and saw two workers blocking part of our walkway including the path from the garage to our door (which they've done before). Now there's racket coming from right there and in the garage next store. TMJ trigger for me (loud constant racket). I hope all is quieter on the home front for all of you

 

[Snowysmom]

Lynn, I am sorry it is such a roller coaster ride for you and your DH. I truly hope he can get stronger and more able to get around so that he can get onto the PT floor. I will keep you in my prayers.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Hooray! All is quiet. Prayers it remains so!

 

[easyas123]

So its not a great update, sorry, and please keep the good thoughts and prayers coming..we both need them and appreciate them soooo much!

Of course. And I hope you can get a few hours of sleep tonight, don't forget to take care of yourself, so you can take care of business!

I hope you get some rain help, Easyas🌧

Thanks! no luck, but maybe next time!

We were walking around the garden this evening and I thought I'd snap a few photos for you guys....these are some of our rouge pumpkin plants that grew on their own in the field next to the garden. Not where we planted them last year, but things have a way of being distributed between birds and other little & big animals. It's mid-July and they are turning color already. Meanwhile the farmer next door, his field of sunflowers have bloomed but mine got in late so nothing there yet!

 

[Kirby]

Lynn, continued prayers.......

Well, we got home yesterday from our visit with Lil Joe. It was a good trip, DD's ex did not cause any problems. Lil Joe wanted to come home with us but had to be satisfied with knowing that DD would be back in two weeks for another visit. She got her ex to confirm that the pick up/drop off would be at the same place. She's going by herself next time and has already got her flight booked and car rented.

The drive was a little over 16 hours with stopping to eat and getting out to stretch our legs. Lou Lou did real well with it all. Columbia, SC was nice but it wasn't a place where I would want to spend my vacation unless I was there seeing family. We left on Wednesday morning about 8:30 am after DH got the guys going and drove to Shreveport, LA where we had a late breakfast at Cracker Barrel. We snacked during the afternoon and spent the night at a Holiday Express Inn and Suites in Tuscaloosa, AL. We had a nice room, the place was fairly new and I loved having a walk in shower instead of a tub/shower. Dinner that evening was Wendys.

We ate breakfast at the hotel Thursday, no masks required and we served ourselves. Breakfast was good, on par or better than Hampton Inn which is usually pretty decent. There was a Buc-ees just past Birmingham, AL so of course we had to stop and compare with what we have at home. There are two Buc-ees within 20 minutes of our house but we hardly ever go to them, just when we are traveling. This Buc-ees is what I call a small one since there were only two entrances/exits. We have a couple here in Texas that have three entrances/exits and are ginormous. A pit stop was in order and restrooms were clean as a whistle which they are known for. DH, DD and Lou Lou all got something, I deferred.

Ate lunch on the east side of Atlanta, now that city is a busy place. Fortunately for us the traffic was all going the other direction and sitting dead in it's tracks. We ate at McDonalds just east of Atlanta. They weren't very friendly there, signs were posted that if you took more than 30 minutes to eat you would be considered loitering. We arrived at our hotel, Staybridge Inn and Suites, in Columbia, SC right about 5:00 pm. It was a nice place and another walk in shower! We got all moved in and headed to scope out what we could eat. DD thought it would be fun to eat at Chicago Pizza. I got an individual veggie pizza which was real good and took some back for later.

Friday we got up and headed downstairs for breakfast. It was good and there was a lot to pick from but they wanted us to wear masks and gloves around the food. We complied but a lot of people didn't. After breakfast we rented a car for DH. He planned to drive up near Asheboro, NC to visit his sister on Saturday and spend the night. After taking the rental car back to the hotel we drove to where DD was to pick up Lil Joe later that evening to see where it was and check it out. Then we went to lunch downtown at Cantina 76. We sort of let DD pick the restaurants since it was her weekend and we were tagging along. It was okay, not sure I would go back but DD loved it and that's what counted. We went back to the hotel to rest until DD picked up Lil Joe. He was so happy to see all of us. Dinner was at McDonalds, had to bring it back to the hotel, it was drive through only. We sat downstairs in the dining room and let the kids play awhile before we cleaned up after ourselves.

Saturday, DH left early for his drive to see his sister. We had another good breakfast and then went to the zoo. Columbia has a good little zoo. Lots of shade and fans to keep the air moving. Their gardens, I guess arboretum but they didn't call it that, was attached and included in the ticket price but we didn't make it to see them due to the heat and humidity. We decide to pick up Chick-fil-A and Google Maps had us driving around the University of South Carolina. Now that is a beautiful campus! After we picked up Chick-fil-A for lunch, we took it back to our room to rest and cool off. Lou Lou and I took a nap while DD and Lil Joe watched part of a Harry Potter marathon. That evening we went to a minor league baseball game and watched fireworks afterwards. We didn't eat much at the ball park so ate leftovers and other stuff we had in the room.

Sunday we had another good breakfast and went to a local park to play. They had some of the neatest things for the kids to play on. Lil Joe and Lou Lou made some friends that they played with until we left. Then we went downtown to The Mast General Store. That place is awesome! I was able to pick up some stocking stuffers and inexpensive gifts for later in the year. The kids got to pick out some toys and candy. I got some candy for DH that's hard to find. We had McDonalds once again for lunch. DH got back around 3:00 pm to visit with Lil Joe before DD had to take him back to his dad. It's always a somber moment when he has to leave. After she got back, DD wanted to eat at the Crafty Crab. It was not good at all, everything was fried but the crab legs. DH and I split some catfish and shrimp. I was up till 2:30 am not feeling well from all the grease.

Monday morning we all had a good breakfast and headed out the door. We thought that we would drive another way home, going up through Tennessee and driving across to Arkansas and home from there. But my sister had been in South Carolina the week before us and they took that route home. They found the bridge over the Mississippi closed due to construction and had to go another route which took them hours longer to get home. So we just headed back the way we came praying that the traffic around Atlanta was good. And it was! Yay! We ate lunch at at Cracker Barrel in Bremen, GA. I've always thought that you could depend on Cracker Barrel being a good restroom stop but this one was awful. The urine smell in the women's restroom was so strong it would take your breathe away. DH said that it wasn't much better in the men's.

We drove to Vicksburg, MS for the night at a Holiday Inn Express. It was an older hotel, clean enough but you had to order breakfast the night before in order to eat there in the morning. So we decided we would just eat on the road somewhere the next morning. There was a McAlisters nearby so we went there for dinner. We arrived at 7:30 pm and there was a sign on the door stating that they were only taking to go orders and would close at 8:00 pm instead of 10:00. The food was okay and we found a table outside at the hotel to eat at.

After a night of tossing and turning for me, we headed on our last leg of our trip. We stopped at an IHOP for breakfast in Monroe, LA. We considered stopping at the Duck Dynesty warehouse but decided we just wanted to get home. DD drove most of the morning until we got back to Texas. Then DH took over. It felt so good once we crossed the state line. Like I was finally home even though we still had three hours to go. Lunch was at Whataburger in Canton, TX. There is a flea market there called First Monday because it's on the weekend of the first Monday of every month. It is gigantic, you can't see it all in one weekend.

So today I've been trying to play catch up to all the things that needed to be done over the last week. About 5:00 pm today a wave of exhaustion hit me but I powered through it and cooked dinner. I'm okay now, got my second wind. Tomorrow will be the same, always takes me a couple of days to recoup after I've been gone.

This whole last week was not a vacation for any of us, we were there to focus on Lil Joe. If I could only get DH to go away for a week sometime with just me..............

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Those are cute baby pumpkins, Easyas. Maybe the rain will come tomorrow.

Kirby, I'm sure it was so hard leaving Joe I am so thankful you had such a nice visit and more so that he'll be home in a couple more weeks. Huge prayers none of you have to go through this again!

Wishing all of you a good evening and sweet dreams.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Need to go back and read all the recent posts, but if anyone is still on tonight, please send good thoughts or prayers for DS - we are in the ER with stomach issues. Thanks

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Still on and MANY prayers, PollyannaMom for your DS and you, too, Mom!

 

[AuntieMe3]

Need to go back and read all the recent posts, but if anyone is still on tonight, please send good thoughts or prayers for DS - we are in the ER with stomach issues. Thanks

Lots of good thoughts and prayers for your son.

 

[dazedx3]

PollyannaMom...keep us posted, many prayers

Lynn...... I can hear the frustration and exhaustion you are feeling. Please take care of yourself! I'm so sorry you are going through all this. I felt the same way with my sister's care, but luckily my DH had very good care after his surgery. I feel the same as you do about nursing home rehabs, my sister had therapy for 15 minutes a day and the rest of the day they left her in bed.
I hope and pray you get some relief soon and you DH improves quickly.