mdlbear | Done Since 2021-04-25

Colleen is still in rehab. Prestige has gone considerably downhill since the last time she was there; very short-staffed especially on weekends (with a response time occasionally measured in hours), and the kitchen seems to be totally unable to give her something she can eat (low fiber, mainly, which precludes beans, corn, and many vegetables; and low acid, which precludes most things containing tomatoes and fresh fruit). She's lost a lot of weight. With luck she'll be coming home this week. With luck that will be before Snohomish County drops back to Phase 2 and I stop being able to visit.

With luck she'll be home in time to celebrate Mother's Day with N and her kids. With luck I'll be able to take care of her. This week has been stressful despite my having very little to do.

Taxes are going more slowly than I'd like, and so is $writing-project. It's easy to blame the stress of Colleen being in rehab (and hospital before that), but that isn't really the problem, and I know it.

Now that we're all fully vaccinated our housekeeper, L', was finally able to come in and clean inside the house -- huge improvement, although a few things have migrated to odd places. It's amazing how much crud accumulates on the floor in the course of a year.

Notes & links:

0425Su
* up 7:30; ;
% back (left; QL probably) pain -> naproxen, heat
: N -coming- home from NY (G)
* install zoom on Sherman for Tuesday (but will probably work better on phone)
* delivered the set of colored brush-pens to Colleen -- she seems pleased
/ 3:50 cleanup. liquid. "spinal cord injury" is useful as an explanation
-> knocked over her table when she raised the bed without looking; I wasn't where I
could see it. -> % stress.
-> my missing clipboard was underneath hers in the nightstand drawer!
! huge relief. Also, why did I not look there yesterday?
% but (4:10) still recovering from stress -> breathing
% lots of trouble modulating my voice. speaking in my "talking to Colleen" voice is
likely to be considered shouting by anyone else, esp. when I'm excited/alarmed
-> she's on the phone with E now.
% 8:40ish sleepy
: 9:40 everyone else seems to have gone to bed. Or at least to their bedrooms.
Do I really need that much less sleep? Why am I not making better use of my time?

0426Mo
& awake 4am; S=5ish?; tried to get back to sleep for half an hour; failed
* up 8:30ish; ; after hhaving gotten back to bed around ?5:30
% back, shoulder pain -> naproxen, heat for the back. shoulder just needed movement
* and the yukata belt turned up under the corner of the bed nearest the door (in m's
room) easily visible from the door -- with enough light. invisible at night
/ arrived in the room ~11:30; V was there. 3 cleanups this morning
She isn't getting prompt attention. or wasn't over the weekend, anyway.
diarrhea still ongoing; a little nausea; very discouraged
/ 12:40 dietician -- agreed that she's not getting a proper diet.
... but she's feeling full right now and not eating even the things she _can_ eat.
/ multiple cleanups -- liquid
/ 3:35 PT -> diarrhea again. 4:12 imodium; doesn't remember whether she got any this am
at least she got to stand up a couple of times.
* 4:40ish call UW about Crohn's specialist 206-598-4377
-> IBD center closed; will call (me) tomorrow am. They have C's most recent info
@ Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center | UW Division of Gastroenterology
/ tearful calll from Colleen about food.
-> I told her to take pictures next time, because she can't remember what she ordered.
So Wednesday is the first day we'll be able to compare what she orders with what
she gets.
% 10:45 naproxen (prophylactic)

0427Tu
& awake 4am; bathroom; gave up on getting back to sleep 4:45ish
. concrete/blacktop area for Colleen to transfer out of the car on
strip: ~30'x6' = 180ft^2; parking area ~40x50 ../PJ/2021/04/27--driveway-project.md
Avila Landscaping Contact Anthony at: (360) 632-7799 avilalandscaping01@gmail.com
-> left message; sent email
-> responded to email. -> reply sent 8pm
quicksilver construction (360) 321-1969 Sky@TeamQSC.com
-> left message, sent email
-> 2pm tomorrow
P. J. Lang Const. 360-675-6336
-> contact form
Island Asphalt asphalt@whidbey.com
-> sent email (360) 341-4255
-> _someone_ called back 10:29 does not do concrete; will send recs by email tonight
Marti's Construction (360) 678-3630
Wayne Varn 209-770-2229 IslandMan
Country Road Gravel Driveway Maintenance 360.421.0670 countryroadnw@gmail.com
* 11am (2pm EDT) zoom meeting: Al, Greg: re. trust administration
* bring Desitin for Colleen
/ 2:12 PT. 2x stand, walk around room, (2 the first time, 1 second), 2x sit
getting out of bed by herself with leg lifter. More than she did this morning, too.
-> recommended Triple Paste as an alternative. ZnO, but 12.8% and a different base
/ cleanup - liquid, looks like
/ moving out of the isolation room she's in now, to another wing.
~ C got a call from Swedish saying they want to schedule an endoscopy -- looks like
we'll need to call back and do that. Call from 425-708-8642 -> left message
-> Colleen Upper endoscopy Swedish First Hill, 0706tu 3pm 1:30pm checkin
~ expect call from UW -> 3pm call again - fax 206-744-6095 206-744-3419-1
-> not scheduling until June
/ P.C.Cable WhidbeyHomeHealth discontinued 6-1. Eden and Signature Home Health exist
callback 360-914-5634 -> will contact Prestige to refer to either Eden or Signature
* coming back from Prestige: berries 4 pints raspberries blackberries; blueberries and
strawberries secondary frozen mixed veggies key dup. Fred Meyer on 99
% trying to feel as though I did a lot and _actually succeeded at all of it_,
but failing. Today was a long week.
: note: start xmonad with `bash -l -c "/usr/bin/xmonad --replace"` -- the -l ensures
that it and everything under it run in your login environment

0428We
* up 7:30ish; ; naproxen
: some hope that I had fixed Sable by simply removing and replacing screws -- maybe
nothing rattles, anyway. Growf.
: the medical alert company that services Colleen's pendent (that we haven't used for
years) called to say the card expired. Told them to cancel; they want the h/w back
* laundry, re-load drugs, naproxen
* 2pm quicksilver construction John & jesse
-> 15*6' will run ~3500. frame next Thursday, pour Friday. 3 days for walking.
Which will make things difficult if she comes home in that time frame. Put down a
sheet of plywood?
* pick up C's shoes
* head back so as to get down to Rest Stop in time for dinner 6ish
: my pens have gone missing -- presumably at home, since they're not at RS
: the earbud case that I carry small cables in disappeared from the usual pocket in the
backpack, but turned up in the adjacent section (after three or four looks) -- on the
bottom under my purse. I really ought to re-arrange my everyday ?carry luggage
* dishes. Got a little timely help from G for the things I didn't know.
% back pain -> heat, naproxen(10:05)

0429Th
* up 6:45ish; ;
% back pain -> naproxen, heat
* buy double eyeglass case
~ $A cancel the medium-sized nitrile gloves - apparently done but don't remember when
@ Eden Health to take over home health services from hospital
Eden Health has agreed to admit the hospital’s current patients and hire the
hospital’s employees who work in Home Health Care.
The services should remain the same for patients and Medicare will continue to cover
costs within the reimbursement structure,...
The operational transfer only applies to the home health care services [...] Hospice
care and palliative care will remain within the hospital’s scope of practice.
* 11am work on car transfers -> once from/to walker, once from/to wheelchair. Went well.
brought scooter in for later or tomorrow. Aiming for next Tu/We. need followup
: WiFi in Colleen's new room sucks. Upgrading/rebooting didn't help. Can connect when
necessary using phone hotspot, but... It's on and off; may depend on traffic.
: sable shut itself off once, so the problem isn't completely fixed, but it's better.
: call from Dr. Graves' office - the polyp they found was an adenoma, which is not cancer but is
something they need to keep an eye on. Follow-up in 1 year with 2-day prep.
: E and company have found a house -- 7BR Victorian in Tacoma. Trying to pre-qualify;
might be tricky but this is E we're talking about so she'll probably pull it off.
% headache, probably from eyestrain.

0430Fr
* up 7:30ish; ;
% naproxen, heat
: m and c coming back Tuesday, so can stay set up in the lair until then, then move my
base of operations to Whidbey.
: Jesse called - scheduled concrete for 5/19-20
* pick up hairbands and desitin for C; snacks for me.
/ slightly nauseated since this morning. Worrisome. 12:30ish vomited (clear mucous)
/ very weepy; not in good shape; accuses me of nagging and shouting.
Now driving around on her scooter with the PT. OT? Tina
* pulled up taxes; entered Exxon
1. Definitely need 1099 for Tri-Continental. Maybe others.
2. can't get info from last year's -- list of 1099s just isn't there in the PDFs, and
not on the website where I uploaded it. Owe money apparently, but last thing I
remember was a refund so not clear what's up.
3. need to raise withholding on Schwab.
: (Tina) It's possible that Snohomish Co will go back to Phase 2 as of Monday; not clear
what will happen to visiting at that point. no visitors, or with luck the week after
: Sable's panel has relocated away from the edge and position can't be changed :P
had to re-create it, with limited success.
% left elbow hurting.
@ boost: Internet broadband subsidies in US begin 12 May 2021 -> S qualifies!
The Emergency Broadband Benefit Program
% exercises beforee bed

0501Sa May Day / Beltane
& awake 4:30ish; back to bed 6ish, no sleep
% back (R) naproxen, heat
@ Don Norman: I Wrote the Book on User-Friendly Design. What I See Today Horrifies Me
" Once upon a time, a cane was stylish: Today it is seen as a medical device. Why
can’t we have walkers and canes for everyday use, to help us in everyday life, to
carry our packages, provide a way to sit when we are tired, or viewing some event,
and yes, to maintain our balance? Make them items of pride, stylish enough that
everyone will want one. "
/ weight down to 191, from 207 when she came in. diarrhea (10x last night, she claims)
/ not eating well. They're not bringing things she finds acceptable; I suspect it's
partly poor communication on her part but can't prove it.
: The WiFi seems to be better at the desk. Connected right away, seems stable
(for half an our or so, anyway)
* plan on going up to the North End for the night - leave 3:30
% home. Came close to twisting my ankle walking back from the car (the second time)
* the missing G-2 and Vanishing Point pens turned up, predictably, on my nightstand
Technically on the rolling plastic mini-dresser; "nightstand" is imprecise there
: Colleen is already a patient of Dr. Harper at UW - found an appointment reminder
dated 2020-04-27. Don't know what happened with that.
-> log says "records transferred to Everett" -- huh?
% meloxicam 10:30

Done Since 2021-04-25

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