I am finally out of Patients and Patience! Just when I thought the highway was going to smooth out! I have been meaning or wanting to sit and write a post! They are not quite as easy as writing a letter, which is how I think of the blog post… a letter to a friend.
Was a mess. So where did all my time go? There was patient care, my chores, his chores, and the patient care! There was also Christmas to fit in. Fortunately, we have a pop-up Christmas tree. Half an hour and it is standing on a table, lit and decorated and it takes about the same amount of time to put it away! We chose a low-key Christmas this year. I mean, what else do we really need?
The Patients
One of the patients was the DH, (Dear, Darn, Darling, or other descriptive words that fits the moment) Husband had a Total Knee Replacement on November 30. This was his second, so not a totally new experience for us. The first was in 2015, and much has changed in just 5 years. This time it was only 1 night in the hospital and then home! Everything went fine and he has been cleared by his doctor to resume normal activities.
The other patient is Patton. He decided to have his own medical issue too. I think I mentioned it before, he has developed Epilepsy. He is doing well and has adjusted to the medications. He was started on Phenobarbital, a fairly inexpensive drug, but very hard on the organs. Because he is only 2, we not only want him to be well but with us for a long while. We transitioned him to another anti-seizure medication. Patton had another seizure this week. The confusion he feels after a seizure makes my heart break. I can see him trying to figure out what he did to deserve the punishment, and for about 24 hours after he is so needy. Unfortunately, he is 90 pounds of energy, so cuddling him is nearly impossible.
Weather Patience
Once we were able to get out, the weather joined the game. Severe warnings for both winter and summer seasons in December and January. December gave us really warm weather that brought us tornado warnings as well as devastating tornados to Kentucky. These were particularly troublesome because the storms were coming in the dark. The tornado in Bowling Green was the closest to us and the watch area almost included our area. Since then we have had several dustings of snow, freezing rain, or sleet, and just plain cold temperatures. One of our trips home from physical therapy was quite a slippery snowy ride. The high of 76 at the beginning of December, gave us a hint of spring and the summer-time storms. And a couple of weeks ago, a winter storm that might have brought enough ice to shut things down, but turned out to be significantly less here.
Speaking of getting out. Two of the ‘Cowboys’ have left. That happened in early December. With the DH out of commission, I was the helping wrangler… These 2 cows did NOT want to leave!!! Poor Sir Loin, he has been so lonely the last few weeks. We are hoping his new friends will arrive today. And they did!!!
No patience for mechanical issues either
In January, my car started to ha some electronic issues. The whole center big screen, fancy gadget started to malfunction. When it does not come on, there is no controlling the heat, (or defrost), no radio, no GPS, and several other not quite as essential functions. So far it has not failed to come to life shortly after starting… but it is annoying and required an enormous amount of patience on my part… It has now been to the shop and a new ‘radio’ has been ordered. That is what they call that big fancy all in one screen, the radio! The part should be in next week… so a trip to Bowling Green again. I just have to be a little more patient for the part to come in.
So now you are mostly caught up… I will try to be better reporting in!!! If, you are still here… do you experience things that just take over? Tell me in a comment, what is the first thing you knock off your “to-do list” to accommodate the added demands?
More to come… Beth
