Reversal of Fortunes

I started the week out with a full day at work on Monday. It wasn’t easy getting out of bed at 4:45am, but it’s the routine I’ll have to get used to again. Then Tuesday arrived.

About 8:00am Tuesday morning Terry called me at work and said her mother had been admitted to the hospital in Green Bay, Wisconsin with a bowel obstruction. This is the same woman that celebrated her 95th birthday back in mid-April, so it was a serious situation. I made quick airline reservations and we were on our way to Green Bay at 2:30 Tuesday afternoon. We arrived at 8:30pm and went straight to the hospital to find out she had made it through the surgery on her bowel and was resting comfortably. The doctor hoped for a one hour procedure, but it ended up being a four hour surgery.

Our trip to Green Bay was definitely better then the trip Terry made back in April. We left San Antonio and flew to Chicago, had a 2 hour layover and then a 45 minute flight to Green Bay. I popped a Percocet just prior to leaving the house and I took a couple of Tylenol in Chicago. We got a bowl of soup in Chicago and that got me through until we got to Terry’s mother’s home later that night.

So now instead of being the care receiver, I’m now a care giver. We worked out a schedule where Terry, I, Karen (Terry’s niece) and her husband Dave spend about 17 hours of the day in her hospital room. There isn’t much we can do, but for some reason she expects someone to be there. She’s a feisty old coot and keeps everyone on their toes. Even the nurses caught on real quick, she’s not to be messed with. She’ll let you know in no uncertain terms if she’s unhappy with what is going on. She’s not happy about being in the hospital and wants to leave as soon as possible. She didn’t know it at first, but the doctor said she will probably have to spend about 2 weeks in some kind of assisted care before she can go back to living alone in her own home. I think she’s coming around to the idea, but isn’t happy about it. If everything goes ok, she should be released sometime early next week. Meanwhile we’ll be keeping watch over her.

But seeing as this blog is all about “me”, let me give you my update. As I said earlier, I was beginning full days back at work and I guess that was going to work out ok. I’ve pretty much been putting in full days here.

I’m still not on solid food. I’m still doing soft cereal in the morning along with a bottle of Boost for breakfast. For lunch I do another Boost and a carton of yogurt. We found some really good Greek yogurt here in Green Bay, I’ll have to look around and see if I can find it in San Antonio. For dinner we’ve been stopping and picking up some soup. I can get that down ok if the vegetables are cooked soft enough. It sometimes still raises some sores in my mouth eating the soup, but I think that may have something to do with the temperature of the soup when I eat it. I’m going to find something different tomorrow, I’m getting a little tired of soup. This afternoon Terry called me from the hospital and requested that I pick up some take out from one of our favorite restaurants, Kroll’s, they have great hamburgers. I went there ordered a couple of burgers, fries, a chocolate milk shake and some soup. As I was driving from the restaurant to the hospital the smell of the burgers and fries was driving me crazy, I almost pulled over and rubbed the burgers and fries all over me hoping to get the benefit via osmosis.

I woke up with a very sore throat Saturday morning and the Percocet didn’t do much to ease the pain. I went through a bit more Tylenol and Ibuprofen than I probably should have, but I made it through the day. I think the humidity level is really low in the hospital and here in Green Bay and I think that may have an effect on my throat. I only have 10 Percocet left and I want to use it judiciously. I definitely want enough for the trip back to San Antonio.

I guess the biggest obstacle other than having to deal with taking care of Terry’s mother is finding me food to eat that I can get down with as little pain as possible. The usual enjoyment of going home is experiencing the food of our youth and visiting with family and friends. In my condition that enjoyment is muted and I have to sit and watch everyone else enjoy themselves eating all my favorites. I’ll get over it. One day soon I’ll get to eat anything I want. It’s the price I pay now for eternal happiness later on. I’m going to heaven, I’m going to heaven, I’m going to heaven.

So, the adventure continues. I’m making progress I guess, if ever so slight. It’s frustrating that my throat isn’t improving at a more rapid rate, but I have no other option than just plodding along and seeing what life sets before me next week.

Cheers,
Miller, out