Sunday, September 29, 2019

Now What!?!?

   You never know what going to happen next, do you?  Jeff has been using CBD oil (hemp) to help curb the pain in his lower back, hips and legs for a couple of weeks and it seems to be making a difference.  It's been allowing him to sleep longer but he doesn't seem to have any energy.  He's been slowing lowering the dosage, trying to keep the pain under control.  I've been asking if he's using too much because he doesn't seem to have much energy...just sits and reads or sleeps.  It also has been slowing lowering his blood sugar.  This past week his night-time test was around 100...a low for him but definitely a good thing!  Then Friday after supper he came into the kitchen and said 'take me to the ER'.  He was having chest pains!  He had been having chest pains for about a month!!  But Friday afternoon the pains started to move up his arm and jaw!  So we went to Little Falls Hospital'
   They hooked him up to the heart monitor, did an X-ray, took some blood and started a saline drip.  The blood test came back quickly showing an abnormal enzyme present usually associated with a heart attack.  Next came a C-scan...with dye markers.  He had another bout of chest pain...again in his arm and moving to his jaw, so he got a digitalis pill.  That didn't stop the pain so they gave him another!  Blood was drawn again and the enzyme was still present so they put in a heparin drip and started talking about moving him to the cardiac unit in Cooperstown.  It took some time for them to find the cardiologist in Cooperstown to OK the move and finally, at 1am, Jeff was bundled up and sent in an ambulance.  He told me to go home...the car could not go up the hill to Richfield so I had to listen.  When they had first started talking about moving to Cooperstown I called Jeff's sister, Sherry, to let her know what was happening.  He was insisting then that I go home and not try following him  (Sherry and I agreed to go down in the morning.) so when they took him away, I headed for home.  Jeff had given me some money and told me to put gas in the car so I looked for a station that was open. It was past 1am!!  Stewart's in Little Falls is open 24 hrs so I went there and got gas without any trouble and then headed out of town.  
   The last car I passed was a police car near the western city line and then it was just empty road all the way to St Mary's Cemetery.  Weird.  I had all the doors and windows locked and my highbeams on.  I kept hoping the local deer herd was not heading to or from the river so I wouldn't run into any.  I made it home without even realizing I had covered that much ground!  A chorus of dog barks and wails greeted me when I pulled into the driveway.  Zoey sounded hysterical and Fanny sounded pissed...or she had to piss! I let them out right away and Zoey ran as far as the lead would let her and just stood there and bayed and howled!  She wanted Jeff and didn't know where he was.  After several minutes I got them both inside but we repeated this 'out and bay' routine several times.  Fanny finished a bowl of dog food and then had to go out again but since it was going on 2am I didn't let her loose but hooked her up to Zoey's lead. 
   By 2:30am they both were back inside and starting to quiet down.  Zoey kept whimpering and climbing into my lap.  Fanny kept jumping on Jeff's bed but didn't stay there long each time.  I spent some time on Facebook sending messages to family and then around 3am realized I was exhausted and very cold so I crawled into bed with both dogs curling up beside me.  I couldn't get warm and just lay there shivering until 4:30am when I realized it wasn't worth it, got up and dressed and started knitting.
   I finished this sweater I was working on and cast on for a pumpkin hat.  My bag was ready to take with me when Sherry came for me later.  This sweater is a size 2T and is done with KnitPicks acrylic yarn in Mint on circular US 4 and 7's.  The flowers are embroidered after.  Those buttons match perfectly, too!  I put that in my bag and figured we could stop at the shop before we left Cooperstown after visiting Jeff.  I managed to knit almost an entire pumpkin hat on the ride down, finishing it at the hospital, and did a 2nd hat while visiting with Jeff.  Sherry and I did stop at the shop before going home and that was a good thing...I was low on sweaters and hats!  
   While I've gotten yarn from KnitPicks before, it's been mostly sock yarn.   This yarn is worsted and came in a squishy package from my Yarn Pal, Julie O'Dea, in Warragul, Victoria,Australia! There's enough of a couple of other colors that I can make some other sweaters, too.  But today I think I'm going to try and finish my Christmas sweaters so I can leave them at the shop tomorrow after we visit Jeff.  (He told us to stay home today...the cardiologist told him...and us...nothing would happen today because it's Sunday.)
   Jeff called me a few minutes ago with a list of what I should bring with me tomorrow.  He's going to get a shower today so that takes care of the clean clothes I brought yesterday and he wants more.  He also asked for his CBD oil.  He wants to see if they'll allow him to take some.  I doubt it but....
   And now I think I'll get dressed and go down to Hanniford's.  We need bread and a few other things and I think the girls would enjoy a ride.  Later this afternoon I may go down to the laundromat and wash clothes.  I was invited to a surprise Welcome Home party for Judy Demars this afternoon but I'm not in a party mood.  I think shopping and then back home to knit may be just what I'd enjoy this afternoon.  I told Jeff I'd call him around supper time just to check up on him.   Maybe I'll even watch  football on TV.  Wonder if I should get some snack to have at half-time?
7pm,9/29/19-I went to the laundromat after I talked to Jeff around 4pm.  (He couldn't find the jeans I brought down yesterday so he wants me to bring another pair.  I bet I'll find them in the closet where I put them.) Instead of taking knitting with me I brought the bio of Harry Truman (Truman by David McCullough) that my old college friend, Tim, had sent me.  I managed to read part of the 1st chapter but my wash was finished before I was ready to stop reading!  It's a very well-written book and I'm enjoying it very much.  I'd really like to spend the evening tonight reading it but I'm going to force myself to keep working on those Christmas sweaters.  I'll keep the book as a treat to read every day...it will probably take a month at that rate to finish it but it will be worth it!!  I have another inch of pattern to finish on this snowman and hopefully I'll get him finished tonight!)

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Hoping Jeff is soon on the mend Mary. Regards, Sharyne