Thank God, Jeff finally is home. He was discharged this afternoon and his sister and I went to Cooperstown to pick him up. He told me around 11 am that he'd be discharged between noon and 1pm so Sherry did her errands before picking me up. We stopped at my friend Maggie's on the way down because Maggie had been making fabric masks and had made some for us. She also had a goodie bag with some homemade tomato sauce and meatballs so I didn't have to worry about supper tonight. We exchanged jam jars...empties from me for ones full of her delicious strawberry jam. We got to the hospital about 1:30 expecting to find Jeff ready and waiting to get dressed and leave.
Ha! I had been told by 2 different nurses to be sure to bring clean clothes for Jeff because he had nothing with him. He was a wearing hospital gown, so I packed the duffel bag with clean jeans, cotton shirt, cotton t-shirt, underwear, and wool socks. He asked for shoes and his teeth, so they were in there,too. Before we left for Cooperstown I even called and asked the floor nurse how to arrange the clothes delivery. She said to just walk up to the main door to the hospital, explain the purpose of my visit and hand the suitcase to the guard who would delivery it to the floor nurse. HA! again.
I did that and the guard called the floor nurse twice and finally it was decided that I should just put the duffel bag of clean clothes back in the car. They had found Jeff a paper scrub suit and that's what he'd be discharged in. OK. Then the wait began. I later learned from Jeff that all the nurse's aides had 'called in' and every floor/department was short-handed. (He said doctors' were drawing blood for simple tests.) Anyway, it took over an hour before Jeff was escorted to the entrance in purple paper scrubs with yellow slipper socks (!!). His orders were in a plastic bag and were about 1" thick! Why did it took so long to do the paper work to discharge him when they knew it was going to happen?
As usual after a hospital stay, Jeff was hungry so we did a detour to Hartwick Seminary and stopped at McDonald's. Then it was a quick trip to Herkimer and Walmart to pick up his new Rx's. We got chicken nuggets for the dogs at Burger King as we went thru town. Now he's taking a nap (both dogs keep visiting him to make sure he's still there).The dogs were thrilled to see him! They jumped all over him and tried to sit in his lap (Zoey made it but Fanny was satisfied just to put her head on his knee.) Now I'm going to heat up some of Maggie's spaghetti sauce and have a couple of meatballs for supper. Tomorrow Jeff has to go to the lab in Herkimer for a blood test and maybe I'll stop at Hanniford's on the way home. I'm glad this episode is over and hope it's not repeated very soon.
Monday, April 20, 2020
Friday, April 17, 2020
More Than Enough For One Day
On top of this self isolation, yesterday Jeff who's been trying to quit smoking woke up from a nap gasping for breath. He's been complaining about a heaviness in his chest...chest pain...but not heart attack pain. I thought it could be related to COPS and emphysema...both conditions he's had for several years and we wanted to talk with his doctor about. But yesterday afternoon he really was having a problem. He asked me to call an ambulance which I did but by the time it got here he was breathing normally. When the attendants took his Bp and heart rate they were just slightly higher than what they were when he last saw a doctor! (Bassett gives you a copy of your vitals after every visit. A nice touch.) They decided to transport him to Little Falls ER as a precaution and I expected a phone call to go and pick him up.
But it didn't happen. They left here around 4pm and when I had not gotten a phone call by 6:30 I called the ER. I was told they were waiting for test results but it looked like they were going to send him to Cooperstown. So I waited some more. Around 9:30 I called the ER again and was told they were now waiting for a bed in Cooperstown before sending him down. I asked what the tests showed and the person I was talking to said the nurse would call me back with details. She did...about 45 mins later. The tests showed he had developed CHF (congestive heart failure). His heart wasn't able to pump as well as it had in the past because of fluid that was building up around it. That was the chest pain he had been having. The fluid was building up in his hands and legs and causing muscle spasms, too. He was having a lot of pain in his right leg, too.
We talked a couple of time last night after he got to Cooperstown and again this morning. At noon he was still waiting to be taken for the cardio catherizartion. I went to LFH this morning and picked up his clothes...he went to Cooperstown buck naked because of the coronavirus! Then I went to the laundromat and to do some grocery shopping. The rest of the afternoon I sat here trying to stay calm. I finally called his room around 5pm but there wasn't any answer. I tried again about 6pm then I called the hospital and asked to speak to the floor nurse. I ended up talking to the ICU nurse! He had just come back from having 3 more stents inserted and was eating supper. (The procedure went fine!) He'll spend the night in the ICU but may be discharged in a day or two. His cardiologist is thinking of having Jeff wear a cardio vest to monitor his heart and act like a defibrillator when necessary. Oh, I can just imagine Jeff's reaction to that!
I sent PM's on Facebook to Jeff's brother, nephew and daughter to bring everyone up to date. Then I called his sister and my friend Maggie to tell them. I tried to call my cousin Ed but had to leave a message. I'm done. Now I want to get something to eat and feed the dogs. This has been enough for one day.
But it didn't happen. They left here around 4pm and when I had not gotten a phone call by 6:30 I called the ER. I was told they were waiting for test results but it looked like they were going to send him to Cooperstown. So I waited some more. Around 9:30 I called the ER again and was told they were now waiting for a bed in Cooperstown before sending him down. I asked what the tests showed and the person I was talking to said the nurse would call me back with details. She did...about 45 mins later. The tests showed he had developed CHF (congestive heart failure). His heart wasn't able to pump as well as it had in the past because of fluid that was building up around it. That was the chest pain he had been having. The fluid was building up in his hands and legs and causing muscle spasms, too. He was having a lot of pain in his right leg, too.
We talked a couple of time last night after he got to Cooperstown and again this morning. At noon he was still waiting to be taken for the cardio catherizartion. I went to LFH this morning and picked up his clothes...he went to Cooperstown buck naked because of the coronavirus! Then I went to the laundromat and to do some grocery shopping. The rest of the afternoon I sat here trying to stay calm. I finally called his room around 5pm but there wasn't any answer. I tried again about 6pm then I called the hospital and asked to speak to the floor nurse. I ended up talking to the ICU nurse! He had just come back from having 3 more stents inserted and was eating supper. (The procedure went fine!) He'll spend the night in the ICU but may be discharged in a day or two. His cardiologist is thinking of having Jeff wear a cardio vest to monitor his heart and act like a defibrillator when necessary. Oh, I can just imagine Jeff's reaction to that!
I sent PM's on Facebook to Jeff's brother, nephew and daughter to bring everyone up to date. Then I called his sister and my friend Maggie to tell them. I tried to call my cousin Ed but had to leave a message. I'm done. Now I want to get something to eat and feed the dogs. This has been enough for one day.
Wednesday, April 8, 2020
Doubleday Parking Lot 4/7/2020
Saturday, April 4, 2020
'Shelter in Place' Goes On!
The 'Shelter in Place' order is still in force but it depends where you are how well it is being followed. Some people don't believe the situation is as bad as it is being portrayed and don't follow it. Others are going to the other extreme and you'll see people walking about wearing masks and gloves. A little common sense and caution is probably what's needed. We're lucky we don't live in a crowded development or apartment house. The number of people we usually mingle with on a daily basis is actually less than 1/day. I'm thankful for our country home and that we're retired. We're limiting our trips to town to 1 or 2 per week...groceries and Rx's. Most of our medical appointment have been postponed and I even had one appointment with a doctor conducted over the phone! I talk with Jeff's sister, Sherry, my cousin, Ed, and Maggie, my long-time friend on a rotating basis thru the week (usually 1/day). Throw in a random call from one of Jeff's nephews and his brother and that's about the total of our contact with the outside world. Jeff and I both use the internet to stay in touch with others but it's not like talking to someone on the phone...or face to face!. We just decided not to push our luck and try to host a family dinner on Easter even tho it would only be 3 or 4 people. It will be lonely but I think I may have a family dinner when it's over and include Jeff's nephews and brother.
In the meantime I have been reading and knitting...as usual. I've finished most my library books...I can hardly wait until I can get another Charles Finch mystery book to read(!)...and have started to read Truman by David McCullough again. The copy of the book that was given to me by another longtime friend is in regular-size font and I found it very difficult to read it for long periods of time. I picked it up one night last week and found that I had left Harry Truman when he was a county judge. I started reading it again and now I've got him thru his vice presidency and just sworn-in as President. I can't read it for very long but I'm reading it every night!
I've got the 2nd Boar Hunt Capelet about finished...just got to bindoff the collar and wash and block it. I must have paid more attention to the directions this time because it came out a little bigger. I like it even more!! I was going to do a pair of fingerless mitts called The Love
Triangle Arm Warmers (Claire, Jamie and Frank) with the same yarn but I forgot to look for that yarn today. Instead I got yarn to do a toddler hoodie that I got as a special order this week. It will make a nice change to my routine and should go quickly. Then it will be back to the 18th century and my Highland knits!
There is no time frame for when the shop will reopen in Cooperstown this year. Judy is 'sheltering in place' on Grand Cayman Island where their winter house is because the airport there is closed until April 14th. If it reopens then...and she can get a flight to the US...she will probably face a 2 week self-quarantine when she gets home. That would make it the end of April before any work would be started on the shop. And with the Hall of Fame and the other museums closed until June 1st at the earliest, who know when things will get back to normal. It's hard to run a tourist town without tourists
I checked around the house today for signs of spring flowers. The lilacs have started to bud and the day lilies are about 4-5" tall. The peonies have broken thru the leaves on the ground but the trillium hasn't. And there is a bunch of daffodils forming flower buds outside the window by my PC. I'd say we were just about right on schedule with the Spring flowers!
In the meantime I have been reading and knitting...as usual. I've finished most my library books...I can hardly wait until I can get another Charles Finch mystery book to read(!)...and have started to read Truman by David McCullough again. The copy of the book that was given to me by another longtime friend is in regular-size font and I found it very difficult to read it for long periods of time. I picked it up one night last week and found that I had left Harry Truman when he was a county judge. I started reading it again and now I've got him thru his vice presidency and just sworn-in as President. I can't read it for very long but I'm reading it every night!
I've got the 2nd Boar Hunt Capelet about finished...just got to bindoff the collar and wash and block it. I must have paid more attention to the directions this time because it came out a little bigger. I like it even more!! I was going to do a pair of fingerless mitts called The Love
Triangle Arm Warmers (Claire, Jamie and Frank) with the same yarn but I forgot to look for that yarn today. Instead I got yarn to do a toddler hoodie that I got as a special order this week. It will make a nice change to my routine and should go quickly. Then it will be back to the 18th century and my Highland knits!
There is no time frame for when the shop will reopen in Cooperstown this year. Judy is 'sheltering in place' on Grand Cayman Island where their winter house is because the airport there is closed until April 14th. If it reopens then...and she can get a flight to the US...she will probably face a 2 week self-quarantine when she gets home. That would make it the end of April before any work would be started on the shop. And with the Hall of Fame and the other museums closed until June 1st at the earliest, who know when things will get back to normal. It's hard to run a tourist town without tourists
I checked around the house today for signs of spring flowers. The lilacs have started to bud and the day lilies are about 4-5" tall. The peonies have broken thru the leaves on the ground but the trillium hasn't. And there is a bunch of daffodils forming flower buds outside the window by my PC. I'd say we were just about right on schedule with the Spring flowers!
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