JANUARY 2022 Chitchat

[Virginia]

I was up and dressed at 9:30 this morning - Mika got here a little after 10. Tomorrow Nicole is coming. I think because Deanna is not coming again this week. I forgot to ask Mika what her position is. I think it was because she was so interested in looking at my medicines. I don't understand these things because they are about to move on. If they asked in the beginning I might have understood.

Got news through the patient portal that my hemoglobin is low and my red blood cell count is low. I didn't pay too much attention to the rest of the labs that were taken at my PCPs office when I went last week.

I got a Kardia Mobile yesterday. It hopefully does an EKG in 30 seconds and tells you if you have A-fib, tachycardia or bradycardia. If you want to pay a month fee it will tell you more. I am interested in the a-fib, so I am not going to pay the extra. I don't know if they are correct or not. After you buy the little thing to place your fingers on, you get the app installed on your cell phone, put in the little information they ask for and you're set to go. You just place two of your fingers from each hand on this little gadget and it (hopefully) does a 30 second EKG while you watch the seconds tick by on your cell phone. So far, it has said "Normal Sinus Rhythm" for me. Will be interesting to hear what the Cardiologist has to say about these things.

We are due for more bad weather. I think tomorrow is to be very cold, maybe rainy, but the really bad weather is due to come in Friday and Saturday. I wonder how Howie is faring.

I got in my car today and rode around in the neighborhood. The problem is my neighborhood is so small there are no open roads. After you get past my house there is 3 cul-de-sacs and that is about it. I thought I heard a knocking noise in my car which I am concerned about. I know one of the brothers (probably Eric) drove it because the seat was pushed way back and the mirrors were moved. He might have had it washed because things from the passenger seat had been put behind the visor. I went by a neighbor's house and returned some dishes. She was so shocked to see me come walking up her walkway. With bad weather rolling in again I didn't think I would be able to get out again this week.

Everyone have a good evening.

[Lazarus]

Rose, I copied what you said
“We probably all do better in our homes than outside. There are a variety of obstacles outside of our home, so we have to be very careful with every step we take. This is why I don't take walks any longer, because there are numerous places, where tree roots have raised the sidewalk, or the sprinklers on the greenbelt have overwatered onto the sidewalk making it slippery, or tree limbs have dropped. Years ago, when I walked 3 miles, I fell twice; once I sprained my ankle, the other time, I sprained my knee. And I was fit and in shape then.”

this is a perfect explanation because it is so clearly said. John has a farmers market coming up on Saturday. We are lucky here with no snow but it will be below zero with the wind chills. I told him yesterday that I was concerned. Just a flat tire and he could be in big trouble before any service gets to help him. It is so dangerous and he is living out his life doing what he loves as well as he can. That’s a good thing. I think I need to stop warning him and let him travel the road he is on unimpeded by my constant worries. I mean, he is very determined and my warnings are simplistic. He already knows. Maybe John continues to have bad times and then rallies to go on. This could go on for several more years. Or not. So I don’t think I could stop this train ride .

[Parsi]

Just make sure that he has a warm hat, gloves, and scarf. Then a blanket or two in the car. Perhaps a warm vest to put over his jacket.

[Earth Mother 2 Angels]

((((((Hugs to All)))))) ~

Virginia ~

Did Mika provide you with a copy of the forms she completed? We were given folders into which every home health care provider placed a copy of the forms they completed. If so, Mika may have signed them and next to her name may be initials, such as LCSW or LVN or RN. That is odd that your medications weren't listed when you first began home health care. Your meds are an important part of your file/case.

How low was your hemoglobin and RBC? There is a range, of course, and being slightly below the lowest range of normal is not too concerning, but it needs to be watched. Our portals had a chart, which indicated the range for every test.

Here is information about low hemoglobin:

Only registered and activated users can see links., Click Here To Register...

Scroll down on the page to get to the link for "Causes."

Here is information on low Red Blood Cells:

Only registered and activated users can see links., Click Here To Register...

You could be iron deficient or have anemia. If your physician is concerned, she should contact you for another blood draw to check your levels.

How did you feel driving around your neighborhood? I think it's wise to test drive a short distance a few times just to get back into the driving groove.

I checked the weather forecast for your area, and you are in for some cold, rainy, snowy weather. Stay safe and warm.

Linda ~

Most men, in my experience, are just a tad bit stubborn. Or, as you said, "determined." I agree that you can't stop a train.

Prayers for John's safe travels and peace of mind for you.

Love & Light,

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Rose

[Virginia]

Linda, I hate to add to your worries, but I would be the same way. I know because the house we had before I moved into this townhouse, was in a community that was very hilly and had 3 lakes, two large ones and one small. My husband was one of the few people in that community that ventured out when it snowed and then the hills got ice on them. He would insist on going to work anyway. I would pace the floor until he called that he was alright. There were no cell phones back then. I could just see him turned upside down in one of the lakes. We were younger of course because my husband has been dead for a very long time. I would hope that John will be taking a cell phone along with him and if I were you I would put a blanket in the vehicle and make sure he has plenty of gas. I saw a vehicle that had slid off the road where we lived and was turned upside down in the small lake.

Rose, Mika did not leave any information with me. She was nice, but I thought it was weird that they had not asked to see my medicines on the first visit, not almost the last, but I had the bottles all lined up on the coffee table for her.

Today Nicole came in the place of Deanna. I had really liked Deanna, but I liked Nicole even better. She watched as I did my exercises and tweaked a few things that I was doing and added a small one. She was impressed with some of what I was doing and told me she was. However, when she timed my walking speed she was not so impressed. She had me go from a sitting position using no hands (which I can easily do from the chair she chose) to across the room and back to a sitting position. She timed me with a stopwatch and it took me 17 seconds. She had a small frown on her face and said we like to see under 15 seconds. So, I asked to do it again and she again timed me and said I did it in 14 seconds. She told me that I just squeaked by. She stayed quite a while. I am doing my best to absorb all that I can. It is difficult because if someone shows you how to slightly improve an exercise and how to do it right just one time, it is too easy to go back to what you have been doing all along. If she had come sooner I could have incorporated these changes with just a few tries at remembering. I am uncertain as to their schedule to be done with me. I know that Deanna is due to come one time this coming week instead of twice and possibly once the following week and that is it.

Nicole said today that if they had brought me along as far as they could there was no need for them to keep coming. Deanna had told me the same thing. She knew that Deanna was satisfied with what I was doing in the house, but not outside. She would like to see me work on that and I am thinking how. She said obviously we could not go out today due to the weather. On some of the exercises I have done more than Deanna had asked of me by holding them longer and doing them slower. Now that I have finally gotten them somewhat figured out they are leaving. Sure wish they had pared it down to these two in the beginning and skipped the rest.

My hemoglobin is down to 10.8. I can't remember about my red blood cell count. I checked back in the records and they did a CBC just before I left the hospital before rehab and it was down then, but not quite as much. I have thought about it and I feel that it is due to me not eating well when I was so sick here at home and then not eating much at all at the hospital and not eating much at rehab also. As I have said about rehab it was wonderful therapy and I am so glad I went but the food was lousy. I probably should have stayed one more week there, but Eric was so afraid there might be an outbreak of COVID no matter how careful they were and I know that it could have happened with all the staff and people coming and going. Even though they were checking people there was no way they could check that closely. It was a large place. I miss some of the people.

[Lazarus]

Thank you Virginia. I needed that verbal sympathy .

[Lazarus]

Thank you Virginia. I needed that verbal sympathy .

[Lazarus]

Thank you Virginia. I needed that sympathy….just being able to complain helps a lot!
Wow! First time in 50 years…John came down this morning and said he decided not to go to tomorrow’s market. So we also do not have to work today preparing for it! I am so relieved.

[SuzE-Q]

I'm glad home health believes you are doing well. But, how are YOU
feeling, Virginia? Rose is so adept and experienced with home health visits, I'm glad she can offer you her expertise. How did you feel driving?

Linda, I hear you and your concerns. Covid has definitely revealed my own worrier for the welfare of others. It's very hard when others aren't taking the same level of precautions. Yours isn't a covid-related concern, but I understand the feeling of concern over the welfare of those we love. The sense of concern, and the feeling of helplessness to be able to protect them. Glad you have a reprieve from the market this weekend!

[Virginia]

Great Linda that John's rational sense took over. I expect that your urging helped him to make his decision. I thought that with temps like that it was too cold for him to be at the market anyway. I also wondered how many customers would show up in weather like that.

Suze-Q, thanks for asking how I am. I think I am doing well, but in spite of the exercising I am tired a lot of the time. Our weather is very cold. We had ice all around me this morning and snow this evening, which will melt and ice over. No matter what time I go to bed I wake up around 4 to 4:15 every morning. I had not been able to go back to sleep much this week, so this morning I stayed in bed. I finally drifted off after 8AM for awhile. I stayed in bed a long time, but I don't want to get in the habit of that. I wish I could sleep the night through. I have some things on my mind, one of which is starting in with the Cardiologist in about two weeks. Then almost immediately after I have to go back to see my PCP. For some reason I have never liked to have a lot of Doctor appointments. My PCP insisted I see her right after my appointment with him. Since they are all Duke Doctors she will have the records immediately, but that is the way it is.

Still, in spite of my complaining I know I am better off than so many. The main reason I dread the Cardiologist is because I know it will mean more medicine and I can hardly stand the thought of it. However he did see me when I was being monitored and said I had been in a-fib for 30 to 40 minutes plus it was documented that I was in a-fib in the emergency room.

Okay enough complaining for now. I wonder how you are doing Suze-Q? I also think about Sunshine a lot. Then there are Dar and Rene. I would love to just know they are alright. Dar and Rene must not have an iPad because I started posting while I was in rehab. Every rehab would have wyfi.

I know Linda has really cold weather and that would mean Ann does too. Agate, hope you are not having weather like we are in the East. I would think Rose would have good weather. We know it is cold where Paris is also.

Hope other than wishing for a little warmer weather, that everyone is enjoying their Friday night.

[agate]

Virginia, I used to battle low hemoglobin often, and your score is low but not life-threateningly low. You may have iron-deficiency anemia, and the doctor should prescribe an iron supplement and maybe some iron injections to boost the hemoglobin back to where it should be at 12.

So sorry you're having that winter wonderland thing there. Not so much fun if you're confined because of icy streets and concerned about power outages and maybe having to deal with snow removal.

It sounds as if scheduling your various helpers is a bit tricky. Are they all sent by one agency? Can you call the agency (a weekday is probably the only time you can get anyone helpful on the line) and find out if there are ways you can schedule the people who are coming to you so that your day isn't too difficult? You probably need quite a bit of rest on a typical day just now, and it must be wearing to have an unpredictable stream of people coming in even though they're there to help you. Is there a case manager overseeing the situation? That would be the person to talk to.

[Virginia]

Agate, a lot of the people are leaving now. They are through with me, so that part has slacked off. If I ever had a case manager I was not told, but it is alright Home Health is about to pull out. They will be done within two weeks or less.

I heard from Eric today. It was the first time in a long time. He still does not sound good after having COVID. He is coughing a lot and I just didn't like the way he sounded. I strongly encouraged him to go to the Doctor Monday. I think he needs a chest X-ray. He probably will not listen, but does admit that after just a couple of hours he is out of energy.

Agate, how is your DIL? Suze-Q how is your family member who had COVID?

Bet Linda's John was glad he decided not to do today's market. Also, gave Linda a slight rest. It is just snow and ice all around me. I haven't seen any vehicles venturing out in my neighborhood. We do not have people that come in and clear our streets. I wonder if I will be able to get out Monday to get my hair done.

[Lazarus]

Virginia,
I hope Eric gets better sooner rather then later! We have not left the house today. I did walk my dog up and down the street but that is it! Cold but no wind so I could do that.
metropolitan Opera is broadcast LaBoheme today…got to go listen to final act which is just starting.

[SuzE-Q]

Family member is doing much better now, thanks. Apparently the first few days were the worst, and doesn't look like there is any lingering long hauler's. I love that with the restaurant delivery services, I was able to send a frozen ice cream pizza from Dairy Queen as a "get well soon" gesture.

Like you, I've developed a really hard time staying asleep, I seem to wake up after only a few hours sleep, and then I'm up for the rest of the night but sleeping for hours during the day to catch up. I wish I could have a normal full night's sleep again. I don't mind an afternoon nap, but I don't like sleeping into the evening. I need to reset my circadian rhythm somehow, I hate waking up after just a few hours sleep.

Both Afib and low hemoglobin can cause fatigue. Try to think of the cardiologist and any meds as the route to help make you feel much better. Afib is a surprisingly quite common condition. It's like treating high cholesterol or something, a way to manage the condition and go on to have quite a normal life with a bit of help from meds. It sounds like yours must not be too bad and can correct itself if no one is talking about shocking your heart back into a normal rhythm.

I've been making caprese sandwiches as well as caprese pasta salads. There's something about the combo of tomatoes, basil and bocconcini that I just love. I'm taking the easy way out though and just keeping a jar of pesto to use in both rather than trying to buy fresh basil all the time. Yum yum.

Remind Eric to spend time on his stomach in bed instead of on his back. Hospitals are doing that too, much easier on the lungs. Hope he is receiving treatments at home, good to take the oral meds and monoclonal antibodies as early as possible. You must be worried too, Virginia. It is hard when loved ones are sick with covid. So many are experiencing such high stress levels these days.

I've been slacking off my exercises already, only putting in abour 1/2 mile/day of walking. I got myself those pneumatic leg suits that blow up with pressurized air. It seems to make my legs feel better and helps with circulation when I'm not being as active as I'd like.

Linda, sounds like you enjoyed your Saturday off!

[Virginia]

Suze-Q, 1/2 mile a day of walking is actually quite good for people with MS. The main problem I have with Afib is that it will add more meds to the ones I already take. I want less, not more. I am keeping Walgreens in business, not to mention Rebif which by the way was just over $126,000 last year. I can't imagine what this year will be.

I am still doing just my little leg exercises. You know the ones where we swing our legs to the sides, then to the back, stand on our tiptoes, do squats and sits to stands. I am trying to make sure that I do them at least every other day. I also walk sideways down my kitchen counter and back the other way sideways, then I march in place and walk backwards. I am going to have to do more or add something because I did them too quick today. I might not have held them long enough or done them slow enough. I do get in a hurry which is not good with the leg exercises. As we all know they should be done slowly and the leg swings should be held for a slow count of five.

I stayed up quite late last night. I tried Agate's "wordlie" for the first time. It took me quite a long time to figure out exactly what I was trying to do. I can't imagine how all of you are guessing 12 letter words so easy. I sure didn't get it. Today I couldn't try again because the day will not change until midnight tonight.

Suze-Q I hope you start to sleep better and me also. That is the reason I started the word game last night. I thought it might do it. I looked your salad up and it looks good. I bet you have a lot of fun with some of these recipes. You come up with some good ones. I would love to have some more fruit like my neighbor made me. It was so refreshing and good.

[agate]

Virginia, once you get the hang of Wordle you'll realize it's not so hard. There are no 12-letter words so far as I know. Each day you get 6 tries at guessing that day's 5-letter word.

My DIL is reportedly better but she didn't go back to work yesterday as planned, and I'm glad of that because she wouldn't have had the 10 days of quarantine. She's getting her booster shot on the 31st, and I hope she goes through with that. Eventually there will be a holiday visit here. As of now, I still have holiday decorations up but it may be early February. I understand you have to wait only a couple of days for the booster shot to be considered effective.

I just got some new slippers because maybe my old slippers are a fall risk. If they slip up and down on my heels, they're apt to fall off, and then I trip on them. I'm always amazed if any kind of footwear ordered online fits, but these actually do fit just fine. They have good sure-grip soles.

---------------------------
If anyone feels like saying something helpful to a new member here, in the New Member Introductions section there is a recent first-time post.

[Virginia]

Agate, I thought it was a 12 letter word because when I finally gave up and entered mine I thought a 12 letter word came up. I couldn't believe all of you were doing that and then talking like there wasn't much to it. I decided I might be the dumbest one on here. I didn't start it until after midnight and I stopped about 1:45 to see if I could sleep.

I am glad your DIL is feeling better, but like you I think she should quarantine for the full amount of time. Sometime when people are young they don't see the importance of taking precautions when they are sick.

[SuzE-Q]

Lol, no it is only a 5 letter word and you're given 6 chances to try to narrow it down to your best guess. I've lucked out a couple times now, if my first standard guess doesn't give many correct letters, I've tried unique 2nd choices based on remaining letters. Both of my last 2 times, I've correctly guessed the last 3 or 4 letters of the word on just the second try, purely by chance of the word I chose to input that turned out to be remarkably close. Based on the untried letters remaining and any known in the word but in the wrong place, or double letter guesses, I've managed to correctly guess the word in the next try, or the 4th try if I've made a wrong, but almost identical guess, so only a single letter was wrong, like motor/rotor.

It's really a game of elimination for the most part. I attribute a lot of my success to simple luck of choosing really close words on my 2nd try.

[Earth Mother 2 Angels]

((((((Hugs to All)))))) ~

Virginia ~

Although you may not know who the person is, I feel strongly that you have a Case Manager with the home health agency. In our cases, the Case Manager was our beloved RN, who took care of Jon and Jim. Of course, both of them were long term care, so we had continuity of providers. But each time they went into the hospital and returned home, a new case was opened for them. Intake from scratch. Because your home health care is short term, you may have rotating Case Managers.

Physical Therapists have always seemed to me to be eager to release patients from their care. I had to fight vigorously for Michael's and Jon's PT all of their lives. They'd be given once a week for a couple of months, and then it was over. For them, it was never a case that they'd suddenly be well. They needed constant therapy from me and professionals to train me.

I think much of this relates to how much insurance is willing to cover for PT. We know that Jeanie, for example, was denied continuing PT. That is about MONEY. Insurance figures that in a rehab/nursing facility, the staff will help patients with PT. But staff don't really know the correct way to do PT, because they aren't trained.

As you said, you tend to revert to your old way of doing your exercises, without the structure and reminder from your PTs. Just imagine how much benefit you, we, all of us, would have, if once a month a PT visited us to refresh our routines and make sure we are doing it correctly.

I agree with you that Eric needs to see his doctor and have a chest x-ray. Has Eric had a recent COVID test? He needs to determine whether he still has it or is now suffering the aftermath.

A very dear friend of mine had a cold before Christmas, got her booster, and then her daughter was exposed to COVID. My friend got COVID, and she has been miserable. Her worst symptom was a throbbing headache, requiring lots of Tylenol for days and days. She took a home COVID test a couple of days ago, and she tested negative. Now, she is incredibly fatigued. I think the fatigue lingers for awhile after its no longer contagious.

Linda ~

So happy that John decided not to venture out into the cold stormy weather. Stay safe!

SuzE-Q ~

Only 1/2 mile walking? That's not an "only" thing! That's great! I'm sure your caprese sandwiches are delicious!

agate ~

I am glad that your DIL is feeling better, but from what I understand among those who have had it, it takes a long time to get back to one's normal activities. It takes a lot of wind out of one's sails.

About the efficacy of boosters ~ I have read that the boosters can take up to 2 weeks to be effective. This article states that the efficacy of the booster may be increased by the length of time between the second shot and the booster.

Only registered and activated users can see links., Click Here To Register....

Sometimes, I feel like we are playing darts blindfolded in a dark room.

Prayers, and healing, positive energy to all ~

Love & Light,

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Rose

[agate]

Rose, thank you for the information on the wait time for the COVID-19 booster to be effective. I can't find the place where it was stated that only a few days of waiting time are needed but it's probably wrong. It was over a week ago and may have been a TV news item. I wonder though if the DIL would still have some immunity from having had COVID herself so recently, and so maybe that plus the booster shot she's going to have will make it safe to get together.

She hasn't been in touch with any doctor about her case of COVID and hasn't reported it. This must be happening to many people: They develop symptoms, test positive for COVID, stay home and put up with it, put themselves in quarantine, and then move on--and their cases are never recorded anywhere.

So there may be far more COVID-19 cases than anyone will ever know.

And I think you're absolutely right about PT and insurance. Doctors and PTs have told me as much. It goes like this: "Well, I see you're entitled to 8 weeks of PT this year, and so we'll sign you up for that."