OT November Chit Chat

[Gary]

You can laugh but I have to shovel out an area for the animals to go and around the tree so the cats can climb it. No one will go in the snow they all line up at the edge of the patio so I can see them through the sliding glass door. They will ALL pace back and forth at the edge until I come out and shovel an area for them.

Oh and it has to remain the same until the snow melts off. If you try and move it to the other side of the yard say, well you cant believe how much trouble that caused.

[renee]

Cats. Grrrr.
My twisted little guy sees a wheelchair in the doorway as an opportunity
to dash underneath and roll in kitty spray with his homies. I have to feed him
canned food in the bathroom to safely leave without having a runaway incident.

Weeeeellll, I went into the hospital for stone surgery before Halloween.
I was hooked up to a chandeliers worth of antibiotics and lab tests showed
infection in urinary tract...oh infection likes to hide in the struvite! stones.
Doc didn't dare zap the stones and blow that much infection throughout the kidney
so he inserted a stent, did some pre surgical stuff in the OR and sent me home
for 12 days with a script.for keflex.
The keflex has been killer on my innards and there is nothing like have a tube
in your back that is stitched to skin to freak you out.

I have missed most of the last ? days.
If lab work is ok I will be readmitted on wednesday for surgery on thursday.
I want this done and want normal.
There is some fuss about getting daily dressing changes by VNA for a short time-
and some dolt thinks a nursing home stay would be less expensive?

Nope, I'll go find an lpn on my own.
I just want a shower and chocolate ice cream, right now.
Tomorrow will be soon enough.

[SuzE-Q]

There is some fuss about getting daily dressing changes by VNA for a short time-
and some dolt thinks a nursing home stay would be less expensive?

Nope, I'll go find an lpn on my own.
I just want a shower and chocolate ice cream, right now.
Tomorrow will be soon enough.

Renee,
did you see this posted by agate? It might help you.

Fingers crossed you get rid of the infection so doc can zap your stones! Keflex...yuck...heavy duty...

You, Howie and Gary...someone needs to train the 3 of you in leadership skills, your felines are running the show!

The latest issue of MS Focus magazine (Fall 2015) has an article on their Home Assistance Grant program, and when I went looking in the Useful Websites "sticky" thread I found that there is a link to it there.

But just in case others have forgotten about it, the program includes a Coming Home grant that will provide a 4-hour visit from an aide who will meet you at the hospital, provide transportation, and get you settled comfortably at home. This could be useful for anyone facing a hospital stay.

For more about this program, which also provides home care, including meal preparation, for a limited time as well as respite care and therapy visits, here is the link:

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

[renee]

Hey SuzE-

One day away from admission I am set for everything but confirmation
of daily dressing changes.
I am guaranteed every other day but daily for 7-10 days is a mind bender
for the scheduling wonks.
Aides are one entity I try to avoid.

I call my insurance liaison this a.m. to badger her.
NY state has so many layers of state and private minions that
no one knows diddley squat.

If the cat had real thumbs he might change dressings for me.
He was 14 when he realized that I wasn't a good goalie.

Now a skinny 16 year old feline, he will not run out for the night in snow.
A good blast of freezing… many second thoughts.

Bon…soir?

[Howie]

Renee, I'm hoping everything goes smoothly and you're back here soon. Oh, and my oldest is 16 too, but she's anything but skinny. I just say she is "big boned".

And SuzE-Q I need the cats to run the show, I would just make a mess of it.

[Cherie]

good to see and hear all that is going on for all of you. Have appointment in 45 minutes with Podiatrist (Diabetes nurse insisted I establish a relationship yet it still is not clear if I have diabetes!). Thursday I see my neuro for 4 mo check and in the afternoon have appointment with new PCP in my old PCP office. There will be considerable relief, I think , when that has happened.

My sister is having more seizures even though her brain tumor appeared stable on MRI two weeks ago. Youngest brother's blood sugars are too high for his meter to read every day now and he is taking 250-300 units of insulin daily (fast acting and long lasting) and is starting with protein in his urine and loss of some vision. Family is still having problems except now, instead of going to Mom, they call me.

Raining and 40 here.

[Howie]

Cherie, your siblings sound like mine. Of the three, I have MS, my sister has a seizure disorder which she takes a med that has worked very well, and my brother has Leukemia. I think we have all the odd medical problems covered.

I wish the best for you and your whole family!

[Gary]

Cherie I am (as well as you are ) alarmed with your brothers BS levels. Possibly a resistant issue? What does his Dr say? Is he a type2? And I wonder is he compliant with dietary restrictions. My daughter is the go to person in her group of friends any time someone is sick the usual response is call Missy and see what she says. I try not to ask her as she usually says "why are you asking me? You know you need to go to the Dr, ER etc."

My CPAP machine is out of warranty and I need a new one so have to make a Dr appt with the specialist and see what it will end up costing me. He is also my neuro. He is the only neuro who never make a big deal about stopping all the CRABS. My wife's is still under warranty so she will get a new one. Grrrr last thing I wanted to spend money on. I really hate the thing but if I don't wear it I snore and its a toss up whether my snoring wakes me up or it wakes my wife up. And the snoring gives me a sore throat when I wake up in the morning. Yes I snore loud enough that I wake myself up usually choking.

High temp today is 43 deg and sunny. It is raining leaves. Son cut my lawn Friday and it is completely covered with Maple leaves then the Elm trees start. I don't mind cleaning them I just use the riding mower but I wish they would drop all at once. At least we haven had snow yet the show hangs on the leaves that haven't fallen and it breaks branches.

Renee hope that all goes well. Kidney problems are nothing to mess with.

Suzie there is no doubt what so ever who runs thing around here ...and on that list I am near the bottom! Fortunately our dogs get along pretty well with the cats. Especially this time of year as it gets colder the cats start coming inside. We have a couple of them that you might not see for days as they are hunting I guess. But now they come in every night.

Howie a friend brought his Karmen over last night so we can take a look at the headlights. He hits a bump and they go out and another bump and they go back on. A switch or poltergeists. He is one of these guys who shouldn't own a screwdriver. Every time he fixes something it takes me twice as long to re-fix it!

I still have a cold but the night and day quil products seem to be helping quite a bit. I have been watching my BP and while it is up a bit (around 8 points average) I would be in bed sick without it. I don't feel bad enough to go to the Dr and besides there still isn't much he can do anyway.

And away we go, down Tobacco Road.

[SuzE-Q]

((((Sally))))

Sending you healing thoughts and hoping you're behaving yourself and becoming stronger each day!

[Gary]

Sally I hope that you will be able to read if not post, so get well, and get back here! Dr Gary's orders!

I awoke at 6:45 this morning to cats yowling and then they would jump on the bed and walk back and forth. I tried to ignore 15 lbs cats sitting on me staring into my face. Then the dogs started in. Up and down and pushing the blankets around.

Ahem someone forgot to feed last night and also the dog dish was empty to add insult to injury the water dish was down to the bottom and no one likes to drink it as there are floaters in the dish. It is very possible that I could have lost my life had I waited much more before getting up. Everyone of our pets has a, er, um well a weight problem. They are all fixed and as a result they are fat. But imagine going a whole 12 hours with an empty food dish!

Today is payday (for me) my wife bought out Walmart's grocery dept at least it looked that way judging by the amount of bags I helped carry inside the house. So we are safe for a couple of days anyway. I have a few errands to do and I should pay some bills.

I have a question....how many people here no longer have a physical phone line to their house? And just use a cell phone or even just their computer. Our land line has gone up to $45 a month and we hardly get any calls besides the donation and political ads. I have had the same name and number in the phone book for over 20 years so it seems funny to give it up but it is also a waste of money. It has gotten to the point that when it does ring everyone is startled and they reach for their cell phone anyway.


Jeanie did you finally decide on an insurance plan. If so what criteria did you use to narrow it down. Not that we have a whole lot of choices in the rural area where we live but I always wonder if the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.

[stillstANNding]

Gary, my land line was $60 and it was always telemarketers or folks doing surveys. In political season it was unbearable. I ditched it. Husband has 2 phones - his cell and a work cell. I have my iPhone and my old flip phone. So we have 4 phones on 3 networks. That should be sufficient.

There has been no downside in almost 2 years.
ANN

[Howie]

Gary, I hate electrical problems. I did install my Turbo and electronic fuel injection in Pinky. It came with it's own wiring harness. Very good instruction manual, and I got it all done.

With you friend's Ghia, you need to start with the fuse box under the dash, and work forward to the headlights. I'm sure it has to be something simple, but frustrating until you figure it out.

Here, let me take a look at...ARGH!!! MY BACK!!!! Well, maybe some other time.

[agate]

...

I have a question....how many people here no longer have a physical phone line to their house? And just use a cell phone or even just their computer. Our land line has gone up to $45 a month and we hardly get any calls besides the donation and political ads. I have had the same name and number in the phone book for over 20 years so it seems funny to give it up but it is also a waste of money. It has gotten to the point that when it does ring everyone is startled and they reach for their cell phone anyway. ...

I still have a landline phone and probably won't give it up. I find cellphones hard to use--hard to see what to do, hard to press those tiny buttons, and too many options to keep choosing from.

The main reason for keeping the landline phone for me, though, is that it's a special caption-call phone for those who have hearing loss. It captions what a caller says on a screen that is large enough to be readable. It also saves recent called numbers and any contacts I enter in the system.

It's dependent on having a DSL connection. It works as a phone but won't caption if the Internet is off.

The US government is giving these phones to anyone who qualifies.

[Jeanie Z]

:) Gary I have put off calling about the insurance. The main thing is I want to keep my primary doctor. I just do not feel like dealing with it yet.

I still have a land line and my computer uses DSL on it. It costs about $80 to 85 a month. Also my burglar alarm/EMT button is on house phone. My cell phone cost $42 a month but it is hard to use. I use my house phone on speaker and I can hear better.

I just cleaned off my computer desk. It amazes me how many post it notes and slips of paper I accumulate in a short time.

Happy Veteran's Day to all the veterans and thank you for your service. Jeanie:)

[Catdancer]

Before you all ditch your land lines, be sure that your cell is one that can pinpoint where you are in case of emergency. My land line will get services directly to my house. My cell phone will get services to the community 7 miles from my house and then it's up to them to get here. Also, cell service in my rural area is shaky. Sometimes there is a clear signal, sometimes no signal at all. I'm keeping the land line for now. I do have a cell which is handy here in the nursing home with no phones for residents, and Tom Cat and I use our cells at home, when he's outside somewhere and I have to reach him, but only a very small handful of people have our numbers.