Conversation

Making our way into the doctors office for his protime test a woman was kind enough to hold the door open for us, something we usually don't let people do because we are a little slow in the walking department and don't want to put people out. The woman looked familiar to me and apparently to Dad. As we entered the building and I got one of the wheelchairs ready for Dad he said to me, referencing the woman, "She is...she's...um..."
"Something?" I chimed in.
Well he busted out laughing. "Yes something," he replied to me and we both laughed all the way down the hallway.
This is my Friday afternoon story. Have an amazing weekend everyone.

One Ends, Another Begins

Bangor Maine made the national news this week. At least that's what I heard. We wouldn't know because most of the week we were out of power from a freak snowstorm that torn down trees, some still full of leaves. Thank goodness we didn't have the pellet stove we ordered installed yet, because that runs off the electricity. No, we still had the trusty wood stove and still had some leftover wood in the garage from last year. Another thank goodness goes to me that I didn't burn all the remaining wood this summer and fall in the firepit outside (my original intention). So while we had no power, we were still able to flush toilets, run the facets and be toasty warm in the TV room.
I took Monday off to make sure the wood stove was maintained as Mom is forgetful and I don't want Dad trying to balance himself while trying to load wood in. That's all I need is for him to fall on a hot stove and burn himself or bang his head on the bricks around the stove. I stopped by therapy on Monday to tell them Dad wasn't going to be there that day for PT and to drop off a referral for Mom who is about to start physical therapy for her knees and weight loss. She has no cartilidge in her knees but is too heavy for knee replacement surgery, so she's in a bit of a catch 22. The pain is so great she doesn't want to walk, but if she doesn't walk she won't lose the weight to have the operation and will eventually be bed ridden. Word to the wise and from experience with my mother, weight issues are never easy. They become even more problematic as you age. Not only is it a strain on the heart and blood flow, but eventually it's going to take a toll on something like your knees. I'm not giving up on hope for my Mom though and so hopefully PT will be able to help her.
I wasn't sure how it was going to work with both parents in PT during the week though. That's when I found out this was going to be Dad's last week for PT. As I've known and his therapist told me, Dad does really well for a few months and then he plateaus. He loses interest, he's tired, whatever the reason. So they discussed him taking the Holidays off and starting back up in January. While Medicare doesn't really have a continuation maintanance program for therapies (I forget how the therapist put it), she feels where he comes in and does great for a few months, then plateaus, takes a break, goes back and the cycle repeats, Medicare should keep paying for therapy. So far this has worked, knock on wood. In the meantime; however, Mom gets to slide into the coveted 1pm slot Dad occupied for her own therapy. Now Dad gets a break and Mom begins. Everything always works out in the end!
Oh and we got the power back on day four. It's going to be a wild winter I think.    

The More You Know

It's true what they say about being on blood thinners. It's all about the number and sometimes that doesn't even matter. Any little cut can be virtually impossible to stop. That being said, after a tooth extraction Friday afternoon and an ER visit Saturday morning, I'm happy to report the oozing has finally stopped where Dad had his tooth removed. While it was never gushing, it was a steady enough bright red in a couple of spots to adhere to the followup instructions and go to the ER, albeit we waited until the morning to go. A shot of lidocane (the most benign method), more gauze and we were sent home with the repeated instructions, if it doesn't stop bleeding come back to the ER. I'm going to say by about 7 pm and a day and a half of Dad not eating or drinking, it finally looked good, as far as no new red.
Another reminder blood thinners are nothing to mess with. Even though Dad was within the acceptable limits to have this tooth extraction done, something that should have clotted and begun healing quickly still took much longer than anticipated. As my friend Sarah says, "It ain't easy raising parents."