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

[Snowysmom]

Dazed Those are great ideas too. The toilet seat with handles works well. I had that when I had my knees done. Really helpful.

Mona I hope things work out with getting therapy to your home as well as some adaptive ideas with the bathroom to help. I know in my old area the senior centers or the city depts for aging (yes some still call themselves that) kept a supply of donated mobility items to give to people who need them. Maybe your area does the same.

Good morning. Last night we had storms roll through with lots of thunder and rain. Temps were in the 80s yesterday and going into the 70s today. Rainy weather is in the forecast for the week. Luke's soccer game was fun. I love watching the kids play soccer. Soon I am heading to Ethan's soccer game in the wet grass. Luke's game was in the wet grass that was freshly mowed. I ended up with green sneakers after that. I hope to get in some walks outside today while the rain holds off until late afternoon. hopefully.

Have a good Sunday.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Good early morning dear friends. I hope all of you slept well. I was sure blessed to enjoy almost 6 hours of sleep. I caught one more hour after using the restroom. An hour later, at just before 4:30am, a CNA came in to change my roommate, M. Sigh. It's starting again. In the last half an hour, the same CNA who changed Monica has come back into my room to get hot water from my bathroom sink. I just reminded her about the (staff and visitor) bathroom two doors down from me. She said she was sorry (for waking me up) but that "this room has the best hot water." This happens daily and always right around now. Later in the day, CNA's do come in sporadically for water but at least it's not 5am! I will be thrilled to be home!

Thank you dear Dazed and dear Snowysmom for your loving support and suggestions. A raised seat with handles and checking with a senior center are great ideas. A commode was suggested by someone here. That is not an option for us. We need to get me safely to the toilet. Good idea though and thanks.

Dad and I will figure out later what calls we will be making tomorrow. I will also check with R sometime in the later morning or afternoon to get an update if he doesn't come to me with one first. I want a clear and concrete going home plan in place asap. I also want to find out the discharge procedure and fill out anything that I can ahead of time so it's done. One step at a time. I will update on here as I know more

I look forward to watching online worship later and, of course, seeing my dad. I will go around the halls in my wheelchair and do my bed exercises, too.

Have a great day friends. Always all my thanks and love.

 

[lynxstch]

Good morning. Cloudy, calling for thunder and rain. We had some storms last night with a lot of rain.

Luckily I had done the lawn well before noontime after an unexpected slow start. Went out to start the riding mower so I could back it out and get the other one out to do the other side of the house. There are 2 huge maple trees with roots, and I can't do most of it with the rider. Turned the key on the rider, nothing, no click, no start nothing. I checked the battery, fully charged. I made sure the blade was off and the brake on, nothing.

The guy next door (not the good neighbor, but he used to work on mowers) was outside. I asked him if he could take a quick look and see if he could find the issue. He looked for 20 min, mumbling to himself (I actually think he was high), stopping to go home and drink 2 cups of coffee. Then came back and said he had no clue. Told me to call the place I bought the mower at. Yeah, no thanks, $80 to pick it up, however much to find and fix the problem, another $80 to bring it back, and they are backed up 5-6 weeks right now.
He did push the rider to one side so I could get the other mower out, I put that one in the other shed when I was done mowing that side.
I called Dave, who happened to be in town, he was here in minutes, and in less than a minute found out that the bar for the mower blade safety switch wasn't touching the switch for some reason. Pair of pliers, bent the bar down and voila, working mower again, thankfully!

I finished mowing and came in, didn't feel great so I laid down, and fell asleep. Summer texted me at 3:30 that they were on the way (prom pics). I waited and waited, at 6 she texts that they'll be here in a minute, but they were on a time crunch so couldn't stay long. Summer blamed it on the other girl taking too long to get ready, and having to drive the boyfriends grandmother and all of them to their aunts house so she could see them. She's never on time for anything, so it was no surprise but at least text me and tell me where the heck you are before 2 1/2 hours have gone by. There was another couple with Gracie and her boyfriend who also couldn't go to the prom. Took some pics, they might have been here a whole 10 min. Still had to go to Mary's, and they had dinner reservations for 7. That will be the last formal dance for Gracie, since she's doing online school and won't be having any more proms.

They left, I ate, and watched the Kentucky Derby.

No plans for the day, too wet to plant anything, and I don't feel like it anyhow, lol

Have a good day everyone.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

This place just gets worse and more unbelievable! A few days ago my bathroom sink was clogged and leaking. One of the nice handymen here fixed it thanks to persistance from A, a great male CNA, whose sister is my friend E that also works here. The "fix," to the sink whatever it was sure did not last too long.

I went into the bathroom around 6am this morning to discover the floor was all wet! The socks I had on got all wet, too. The CNA who came in twice didn't get that much water so there must be a leak. I went to the nurse at station 2 (my section) which is very close to my room. I told her what happened and asked for dry socks. She did page housekeeping (even though they may not have been here yet) and a CNA.

As far as socks, at first the desk nurse said that they (socks) were only available in the closed laundry room. Then she amnended her statement to say a CNA needed to get the socks. In other words, SHE wasn't going to go get me dry socks. I did let her know that a few days ago (when the hallway floor was wet unexpectedly) one of my therapists (Jessica) got me socks without a problem. This nurse didn't seem to care. She raised her voice and told me that she had already paged when I came back to her empty handed after my first dry sock attempt. She said, "I already paged. Only housekeeping (as far as the socks)." So I said to her, "So I'm supposed to wait for at least an hour for dry socks?

I saw a laundry cart at the end of this hallway and a man take something from it. Thanks to this man and a former regular CNA of mine, R, I got dry socks. I got a sheet from the cart for the bathroom floor. Yes, it was up to me to do that.

Just an fyi that naturally the visitor and staff bathrooms here (in this nursing home) are too small to accomodate a wheelchair! Dad confirmed that sadly this is true.

A, who is my CNA right now very quickly and kindly dried the floor. He taped a, "sink is leaking," note I had written to the faucet as a reminder to himself and anyone else not to use it. He wasn't sure whether anyone from maintenance would be here today or not. Dad keeps me supplied with antibacterial hand wipes so washing my hands is not an issue.

I will be ordering gripper socks on Amazon today. I would appreciate any no skid shoe suggestions that any of dear you may have. Thank you as always, my friends. Extra hug to each of you.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Good evening slipping thread save! I hope each of you had a relaxing Sunday. Dad and I sure enjoyed talking about my coming home during our time together earlier. What a blessing!

Dad will be calling Sonia, our management contact tomorrow morning. He will ask her about widening our bathroom door and having our hard and not completely level laminate floors replaced with carpet. I Googled and in our city, landlords of buildings are required to update flooring every seven years. It says this clearly on the City's website. Dad got our current flooring in 2014. I think I have previously shared what an ordeal that was. We sure pray this time will be different!

I did order gripper socks on Amazon that look identical to the pair I have, I hope they are. I did post a non skid sneaker recommendation thread. I have two brand new pairs of regular sneakers at home along with one very worn (need to be tossed pair). I haven't worn regular shoes in months. My feet thank God are no longer real swollen, they are just very stiff. Would I want a shoe a half size bigger than normal and to allow room for the bigger, gripper socks? I would appreciated any suggestions from dear all of you. I will ask Susan for sure tomorrow and hopefully Jessica, too for their thoughts. As I posted, ideally the shoes can be ordered on Amazon for an easier return if needed. Plus, I would want them within the next couple of days.

I did text Vivian, the pt dad and I had been privately paying to come to our apartment. I haven't heard back from her yet.

Tomorrow first thing I will go find Susan who comes in early. Later I will go talk with R from social services. God willing by the time dad comes to visit me for lunch we will both have positive updates to share. I will update here as we learn more.

Hugs and sweet dreams to all.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Nice day yesterday. MIL came over and we went to a ladies luncheon at the Lodge - there was a little presentation and then we made hanging planters:

 

[Snowysmom]

Mona I would ask your PT about the shoe size. She may have some good advice. I would think social services could set up a PT to come to your home for a time and maybe it would be covered by your insurance as it is part of you overall rehab. I hope your Dad has luck in getting some things done at the apt to help.

Lynn I hope Gracie and her friend had a nice evening.

Pea, Dazed, Taz Thinking of you.

Good rainy morning. It is raining again and will be off and on for the next few days. today it will mostly be raining. The temps will be a bit cooler today, in the 50s. I plan to go do some birthday shopping for Ellie. I have gifts for the boys who have birthdays this month. Now to work on Ellie. She is at a hard age to buy for but I am looking at some jewelry making kits and games.

Have a good day.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Good Morning!

There’s a 75% chance of rain here today, and we can certainly use it!
We have not had our car since Thursday morning, it’s being serviced and I certainly hope the part comes in and we can get it today!
We did get a monarch butterfly milkweed plant from the Nature center native plant sale, because Nancy was here and got one for each of us.

@flyingdumbo127, best wish as you make plans for your homecoming!

In the house, I have been able to get around without my walker, and it feels good! It is still difficult to carry things.

I hope you all have a wonderful day. Keeping you and your families all in my prayers.

Bobbi

 

[lynxstch]

Good morning. They called for rain yesterday and all we got was sun and 70. I planted the rest of the flowers, and then did the tomato's so finally all the weeding, mulching, and planting is done. I again am thankful that I decided against a garden anymore. Too much work for one person, and I'm happy with just tomato plants. I can buy any other produce at the farmers market or get it from my neighbor.

Summer has 2 less people in the house. Lily and her boyfriend rented the house they were looking at. They're painting and cleaning now, have to buy a stove, fridge, washer and dryer.
Summer has to get herself a new tub and shower surround. Its been leaking for years from a crack, but now the crack has gone all the way through and the water is leaking down into Gracie's room and ruining the carpet. It's always something in that house.

I did laundry on Saturday, washed the floors and cleaned the bathrooms yesterday, plus the planting, so today is a day of no more chores.

Have a good day

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Good morning everyone. I'm excited and so deeply thankful to God. It is by His grace I have come this far. I am so blessed in general and, of course, to be looking toward celebrating being home later this week.

Dear Pollyanna, what a pretty flower. Your afternoon sounds like it was lovely, prayers that indeed it was. How is your dad doing?

Thank you, dear Snowysmom. I will go find Susan shortly. Happy May birthdays to your precious grandkids. You are a gift to them always.

Thank you, dear Bobbi. Go you walking on your own! I will sure be thrilled come the day I no longer need a walker or wheelchair, of course. Car prayers and always you prayers!

Dear Lynn, I liked your post for today being a no chores day. Please keep it that way! Prayers for Summer and family and of course for you.

God willing I shall return later with some positive news. Have a wonderful Monday dear friends.

 

[easyas123]

Hi all, just stopping by for a quick hi. Hope all those who are recovering from ailments continue to mend well. Pea, thinking of you and wishing you strength.
Not a whole heck of a lot going on here. Same old stuff...attended baby shower for 1st grandbaby Saturday. She'll be here in early July. Speaking of early July, expecting my folks & their neighbors to stop by 1-5 of July on their way to a stay in Maine, so that should be fun. Finished up with the main travel part of our Scotland trip, as in booked flights, rented a car, VRBO for the first week and hotel for the second. Made one reservation and now need to get serious about a rough itinerary. "dragging" my folks along with us . No travel planned between now & late Sept. as we just don't have the time between new baby coming, work & farm chores. But for once we have no major projects in the works so hopefully we can enjoy the pool & boat more this summer & fall. Starting to get serious about thinking of selling the farm in the next few years. Wish we could pick it up and move the entire property to where we are going to move - but no such luck!!
Rain has derailed some of our mowing schedule, so I'm sure I've got that to do this week. Splitting my time between two of our three office this week, and at the third office next week. Lunch with the kids on next Saturday, and my annual Mothers day to myself of breakfast out & a long, leisurely schlep thru a few nurseries to pick up some flowers for the pots on the porch.
Not doing a huge garden this year. Just a small raised one w/ tomatoes & peppers. Will pick up all the other stuff at local farmers markets...part of our effort to do less and enjoy more this summer.
Planted a small field of wildflowers, as well as sunflowers. Like to be able to sit on the porch and enjoy them. They'll be building a house on the other side of one part of our farm this summer. Don't anticipate it will be that bad since we have a nice tree screen between us & them, and the majority of the work will be going on when we aren't here. I'm sure other neighbors will still pitch a fit over dumb stuff, as if everyone else didn't have to endure the noise & mess when THEY build their house!
Made a nice lamb stew for dinner last night. I think those leftovers will be dinner tonight. Maybe grilled chicken tomorrow assuming I get it out of the freezer!

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Wildflowers are beautiful dear Easyas. Congratulations again Grandma on your soon to be granddaughter. You are already a blessing to her! Safe and fun trip prayers, my friend.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Good evening slipping thread save! I do have some updates to share

R from social services did come by before lunch very soon after dad arrived which was perfect timing. He had come to tell me that he was having trouble finding a narrow wheelchair. So, I'm still here.

Dad did leave Sonia, our management contact a voicemail message explaining the urgency of the situation and that we would greatly appreciate Miguel or one of the other maintenance men to our building, come to see whether our bathroom doorway can be safely widened. We just told R we would let him know what Sonia says.

I Googled and here in CA bathroom doorways are required to be at least 36 total inches with a 32 inch opening. Our bathroom is 21 inches! Our building was built in 1960 and hasn't been kept up much at all. Susan said and she's right, it's surprising an inspector hasn't yet written this up but perhaps like here at this horrible facility, the issue has been documented but is ignored. Dad had an inspector out YEARS ago for a reason I don't remember. I don't think one as returned since.

Dad also included in his message to Sonia, our desire to have our current laminate floors replaced with carpet. Dad will be emailing Sonia later tonight because he has yet to hear back from her. Plus, this way we will have their conversation in writing. We have learned the hard way the importance of that with this owner. We sure hope to hear back from Sonia tomorrow.

I am still waiting to hear back from Vivian.

Dad said the gripper socks I ordered on Amazon came and look very similar to the two identical pairs I was given in the hospital. He will bring one of each tomorrow. I did order a pair of pink (my favorite color) shoes on Amazon this morning that are supposed to come tomorrow. They're descibed as lightweight and no skid. What I think will also be ideal is that the closure is a strap and the shoe opening is wide. With thicker gripper socks they should work. I haven't worn regular shoes in months! Susan reminded me that any shoe will weigh down my feet more than just socks so it's extra important to find a light shoe. Update on the socks and shoes to come.

I hope each of dear you has had a good day. Sweet dreams with love to all always. Extra prayers to Dazed, Pea, and Taz, too.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Thank you for thinking about me. Keep the prayers coming, please. Having my next chemo today. It’s been rough.

@easyas123 I might’ve missed it, where are you planning to move to? Maine? You have a busy life!

Mona sounds like you are getting a plan in place. I know you’re going to be mad at me but I’d be remiss if I didn’t say it.

My feet thank God are no longer real swollen

You are going to have to watch the canned broth at home in order to prevent feet swelling from returning. You’d be amazed at how fast salt can do harm. I had it happen a few weeks ago, I don’t think I mentioned it here. But I had pretty bad GI upset after my first chemo and I was working to battle it. Long story, but I was trying to find things that agreed with me. I ran across a bag of microwave popcorn that DS used to love. And I made it for myself. I ate half the bag one day, and the other half the next. And I enjoyed every minute of it.

So I notice in the mirror my rosacea on my face was unusually super red. Uh oh, I bet my BP was up since what rosacea is is blood vessels close to the skin surface. And sure enough, my BP was like 178/100 which is way out of whack for me. And my rosacea let me know about it. But since one of the chemo agents can cause fluid retention, and they warned me about it, I was torn about trying to deal with the hypertension myself vs calling my oncologists office and heading to the ER. DS’s girlfriend was even on duty there and was ready for me.

Meanwhile everyone was yelling at me to sit down and relax when we had just had our entire downstairs floors refinished and we had a whole day of work ahead of us putting the house back together. Seeing it such a mess was stressing me out unbelievably! So I spent all day both trying to relax and trying to help out and trying to get my BP down. But thankfully the next morning it was back to normal.

Lesson learned, even for me whose job it is to educate people on sodium. (Yes my nurse friends had a chuckle at that one.) Excess sodium can do bad things to our bodies. And this was just two days worth for me. I’ve also been eating a lot of soup and notice a tightness sometimes in my hands and feet from the sodium. So please, please be careful with that, Mona. If you feel that tightness coming on it’s a sign you need to cut back on sodium.

I’ve mentioned it here before and I buy these myself because I love soup. The Frontier Soups sold on Amazon are amazingly low sodium. Adding broth does add some but if you use low sodium broth and only have the soup on occasion as part of a healthy diet plan they work out just fine. I’m not sure if there’s a very low sodium broth at all (just looked it up and Campbell’s does offer a couple) but looking into something like that might be helpful if you have to have just broth.

I hope everyone has a good Tuesday.

 

[Snowysmom]

Mona I hope your Dad hears back from the landlord soon. If you could even get the floors done that would be a big help. The bathroom doorway may be a bigger project that the landlord may just not want to do. I believe that the nursing home should be able to help with finding a narrow wheelchair. I know when I needed a walker after knee surgery they gave me several choices from small to big. I would think it would be same with most equipment. Pea is right about the sodium. I find unsalted chicken broth and chicken stock in the store. Usually it comes in a quart sized carton, progresso or college inn or I am sure there are other brands. It is frequently on sale and not too pricey. I use it to make my soups. Like Pea, when I have too much sodium I feel it in my hands, feet, and face and BP goes up. Reading labels is a good thing to do. I hope everything works out well for your homecoming.

Pea Thinking of you and saying prayers for you. I hope this time it is better for you after the chemo. I watch sodium in foods all the time. My BP is very sensitive to salt and some over the counter meds.

EasyAs Good to hear from you. Envious of your trip to Scotland. It is on my bucket list. Congrats on the new granddaughter coming soon. So much fun!

Good morning. Another rainy dreary day here. It is 50 now with temps heading into the mid 60s. I hope to get to the gym today to do the treadmill. Work has been challenging lately with new things to do and other special projects. I like to just do my daily work which keeps me busy. But now with being understaffed it is busier. My plan is to do what I can in the 7 hours a day I work and not stress. Tomorrow is another day. It is not my problem that they let themselves be understaffed. I am looking forward to reducing my hours later in the year.

Have a good day.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Dear Pollyanna, what a pretty flower. Your afternoon sounds like it was lovely, prayers that indeed it was. How is your dad doing?

Up and down - thanks for asking. Some days are better mentally now, but his strength for walking does not seem to be returning as much as they'd like.

My brother and uncle have a meeting next week with the rehab people to adjust course. I'm grateful that at least it's a much nicer facility than you've described, but I'm still a little sad.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Thank you for thinking about me. Keep the prayers coming, please. Having my next chemo today. It’s been rough.

We're all pulling for you! I hope today's session goes well

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Good early morning friends. Big hug and prayers dear Pea. We are all with you in spirit and always in care.

Big extra hug dear PollyannaMom. Your dad and uncle are blessed to have you in their lives, we all are! I certainly pray any facility your dad may be in is MUCH better than this one. There are so many kind and dedicated people who work here. Horribly ownership and management don't seem to support all of their employees or promote an environment that is truly healthy and with kind patient care and a healing environment.

Dad recently read that the person who owns this place has a good dozen nursing homes throughout our state. All of which have exceptionally high nurse turnover and not the best of reviews. So wrong and sad. It also is a reminder to me that we are blessed by God to be able to serve and make a kind difference anywhere.

Big hug always for you dear Snowysmom in general and health and peace.

I agree about salt. My feet are doing a ton better. The more I can closer to normal walk with an even gait and balance of weight along with doing my exercises the quicker the stiffness will work itself out. I never put salt on or in anything other than a speck in a scrambled egg. The chicken broth, I may not even enjoy anymore, it's been so long. I used to have half a can a day or so. I haven't missed it just being at home!

God willing, I shall have a going home update later. Dad did email Sonia last night. She is normally good about replying. Any work is up to the owner. We shall see.

Take kind care and have a happy Tuesday dear friends.

 

[lynxstch]

Good morning. Sunny now, but if it's like yesterday we would get a downpour, then the sun would come out, then more rain, then sun. It dumped down rain most of the night. Calling for a chance of showers today, high temp will be 66. I can see the grass growing, but until it dries out, it's going to stay that way.

Summer found out her check engine light is on because the catalytic converter is bad. I don't know how she's going to have that fixed.

Mona, since your bldg is already non complaint, I don't see the landlord being willing to widen that doorway 15". They would most likely be dealing with a load bearing wall. I still think a transport chair is your best option as far as size.

@Pea-n-Me Adding my prayers to those of others

Have a good day everyone

 

[Breezy_Carol]

HI.

"I will be ordering gripper socks on Amazon today. I would appreciate any no skid shoe suggestions that any of dear you may have. Thank you as always, my friends. Extra hug to each of you."

I haven't read all the comments but did see this one. I did home health PT for 20 years. Not being able to see you makes it difficult to make suggestions, but.... Not sure why you want carpet instead of laminate. Wheelchairs and walkers are easier on laminate. And many of my patients complained of their feet "sticking" to carpet. Personally, I hate gripper socks. After a few washings, they lose their grip. Also, they offer no support or protection to your feet. I prefer and suggest to people Teva type sandals. Something like this. You can adjust all the straps and can get inexpensive at Walmart/Target type stores. This is the right time of year to find them.

If you have specific questions, PM me and I will try to answer. If you can get a home PT and OT eval, which you should be able to, they can give you lots of suggestions for modifications you can make.