October Chat-Chit

[Howie]

Anyone ever watch Mountain Monsters on Animal Planet? It's about the funniest show on TV. It's a bunch of real hillbillies, chasing all these monsters from hillbilly lore. They all carry guns, but I don't believe the producers let them even put bullets in their guns.

One episode, they are chasing some monster, and they hear a sound behind them, and they all whip around, and one guy's rifle is pointing right at another guy's head!

So everyone be careful, 'em mosters is ah gonna git ya!!!!

[Cherie]

My regular specialty pharmacy got my Rebif at 0% copay this morning.

I called my parents at 8:30 in the morning to tell them the good news and all hell was breaking loose there. dad had had no urine output overnight with his catheter and woke in pain, sweaty, nauseous and with explosive diarrhea. Hospice nurse arrived at 7:30 am to pull the catheter and re-catheterize him and got 250 cc frank blood... then another 1600 cc urine. Apparently when he had his shower the other day, the cath had been tugged on and injured the urethra and today was the culmination of that with lots of blood in the bladder and clots in the catheter. He is now on a pain patch with morphine to fill in the gaps till it fully hits. there were three Hospice nurses there this morning getting things in order and increasing the level of care.

At suppertime tonight I called and he answered and was chipper and felt better than he had in days. He was having coffee and a half banana...the first thing other than 2 Ritz crackers and some milk that he has had in 2 days. I worked like crazy at the office today to get 4 almost ready to close files ready for the Realtor that was closing them in the next week and setting up two closings for tomorrow. Cancelled an eye doc appt for me on Monday and we were going up after David's mid afternoon closing tomorrow. HOWEVER...David is just coming over the hump of a bad cold. So...We may wait till Sunday and go up. Mom and Dad think that will be time enough. Will check tomorrow and if there has been overnight deterioration go tomorrow afternoon.

Seems like with this new sleep med, I sleep every other night for 6-8 hours and on the opposite nights (like last night) I see every 15-20 minutes on the clock all night but dream vividly. And the med is really wreaking havoc with my GI tract. Doc does not want to make any changes right now and wants to see how some of the stressors play out.

Howie,
I went for 8 months not sleeping for longer than 5-10 minutes at a time and that was when I went on sleep meds the first time in the mid 1980s. Got off them then back on in 1999 and have been on since. I am addicted but my Dr wants to call it a "tendency towards dependence" on the meds. Having all of the normal withdrawal symptoms of cramping, sweating, headache, irritability. Will stay the course and see if this med helps me ramp down on dependency on benzodiazepines.

[Howie]

Cherie, I'm glad your dad did finally level out, and ate, even if just a little.

Your sleep pattern sounds very much like mine. For the longest time, 6 hours was about the best I could hope for, and that was in 2 parts,

But now, I'm sleeping so well. I have NO idea what changed, but I'm taking advantage while it lasts.

I hope tonight will go well for you! Good night, and sweet dreams.

[Howie]

Ooooooooh, I'm in 7th heaven. There's a new show on called Alaska Monsters. Yeeeeeeeeeeeeee Haw!!!!
GIT EM' DANG MONSTERS!!! !

[Cherie]

Have you been watching Wild West Alaska on TLC? My nephew Jason is one of the gunsmiths on that show.

[Howie]

I was getting that show and loved it. Many shows stopped at the end of Summer, but will return in November. I'll remember his name because a friends son was named Jason. My dad built guns like they do. Some were really works of art. What was funny to me, I could outshoot him any day of the week. But I loved shooting with him.

[Howie]

Shooting was good for him. I told him how to adjust the scope. We had a 75 yard range set up, and you would try to get a tight "group". Then he would adjust the scope, left right, up down. He was VERY good at that, plus he built it. The strangest was a .44 copy of a civil war pistol. LONG LIVE THE SOUTH.... oh sorry, the pistol made me say it.

It was one of those, you loaded with, the "slug", then the black powder, then the cap that sets it all off. How they used them in war, I don't know. The black powder made so much smoke, it took a while to even see what you were shooting at!

But it was one you shot at a target we set up at about 20 yards. It was fun to shoot.

[stillstANNding]

Getting back to normal after 1 month of marriage. I am working on the details in another post to share w you.

Lots going on here. And I have learned about "trickle chargers" which I should probably get for my scooter.

See you around the board.
ANN

[Gary]

Wellllll.....

Here goes. As everyone knows my MIL has been staying with us. She had a pacemaker implanted about 3 weeks ago and it change her completely she had energy!! She had me change her mail to our house. So Saturday night at my daughters Halloween party she had the best time she and my wife dressed her up as a cougar! I finally took her back home about 11:00 and she really didn't want to go.

Sunday we went back to daughters for a big breakfast. She was up and ready to leave before I had my morning coffee.

Monday morning about 1:00 am she yelled out for my wife because she was having trouble breathing. We called 911 and they ended up intubating her and called for a helicopter which they landed in our front field. That night she rallied and was able to communicate to her family how she was feeling and wanted to get the tube out!! This was the second time this month they had to do his. When they put the pacemaker in she was on a vent for 2 days afterwards.

Tuesday morning all her stats were perfect and blood gas was perfect. They removed the breathing tube and her stats fell alarmingly they were able to put the tube back in but not without a lot of trouble took 3 doc's and nurse staff to do this. As they must reduce the meds to do remove it this she panicked and her BP and pulse shot up she must have had a clot somewhere and a combination of everything caused a massive stroke. The family removed life support yesterday morning and she passed away at 1:44 yesterday afternoon.

I was so proud of my kids. My daughter sat with her holding her hand for the entire 4 hours. She would explain to the family what all the monitors mean, and why they were doing what they did. This hospital uses they same systems that she uses everyday so she sat on one side and my son sat on the other. It was nice to have 2 medical people there to explain things and talk to the nurses. I did notice when they needed to talk to family it was my wife that ran point.

Today is the day that my wife is having a rough time and her brother and I are taking care of arrangements and money stuff. He is the executor and I do all her bank and investments stuff.

I am glad that we had the last few months together and she left us a happy lady. She and I have butted head over the last 30+ years. But as my son put it "yeah she can be a pain in the &** but she is family and she is my Grammy and she needs us."

Darn it for some reason it just became hard to see the screen through the water in my eyes.

[Howie]

Gary, my heart goes out to you, your wife, and your whole family.

[Frog42]

Gary, I'm so sorry for your loss.

[Pegakafarmgirl]

Gary,, no matter how we say we are ready,, no one ever is,, I am so sorry that this happened,,

[agate]

I'm so sorry about this loss, Gary. My condolences to your wife and family. This must have been a very sad and stressful time for everyone.

[Jeanie Z]

:) Gary I am so sorry for your loss. My sympathy and prayers are with you and your family. Jeanie :)

[SalpalSally]

Gary, I am so sorry for your loss.
My prayers go out for your Family.