The smoke is worse, and the air quality is sinking. So we are in moderate headed to unhealthy air. I have a headache and a cough, but the beer seems to help. So I will go with that.
The morning started with me sleeping into 7:30ish. The pain in my head and legs and breathing issues all got me going. I was staggering but moving. I put my out-of-office notice on and then closed the work laptop for the day. I read my emails and text and took my time. No reason to hurry this morning as Susie’s appointment was at 12:40.
I was relieved to read a text that morning that Susie had recovered. This is from a text from Michelle; Michelle manages the homes. I also learned that Susan ate dinner last night and was back to her usual self in the early evening of Tuesday. Susie managed to sleep normally Tuesday night. I was worried that we were headed to a stroke or other medical issue–it was likely the bad air too. Susie was okay now.
I loaded up some paperwork for the doc and got in Air Volvo. The sky was white with smoke and mist. Mount Hood was gone, as was the Coastal Mountains. I could barely see more than a few ridges into the smoke. Everything smelled like a campfire.
Apparently, Beaverton Police and Traffic Court have been reading my blog as they have moved the photo radar van and the motorcycle cop to Scholls Ferry Road now–the road I use to avoid them. I do not care for playing hide-and-seek with cops and don’t like them checking folks speed out of rush hours where a slight speeding is likely from moving traffic and hills. But, I was traveling through Beaverton mostly today–tricked ’em.
I reached Susie’s place, hummingbird house, at 11 without events. I was too early, so we called Susie’s mother, Leta, and talked to her for a while. Leta, too, was relieved to see Susie back to herself. We finished, and Jennifer helped and got Susie popped into her wheelchair. Jennifer got Susie a weight: of 80+. This is a loss of 16 pounds since Susie came to hummingbird house and is a bit concerning. Susie did come to hummingbird house just out of hospice care, so we are still recovering. We will chat with the doc about this.
I brought Susie’s fav brown hat. She was very pleased to see it again and put it right on.
I lifted Susie with a little bit of Jennifer’s help to get Susie into the car. We crossed Old-Town Beaverton and traveled to the Legency office in the Cedar Mills Mall. We met the doc for the first time, as our previous doc had retired. Doc C had prepared for the meeting and read some of Susie’s chart, and I was pleased he was following what we needed. I will supply Ensure for Susie to help with the weight loss. In addition, Susie will get prescribed some Occupational Therapy for her writing and hand use. We discussed other medical details not to be included here. But I am happy we have a plan.
We needed a blood draw for the first time in a year, and Susie agreed to it. The gal who did the poke did excellent, and, while a slow bleed, the tiny vein worked–excellent.
After all the medical stuff, establishing a new doc, and getting labs, we headed to ice cream. We descended the elevator and rolled over to Straw and Salt Ice Cream. Susie had a scoop of coconut cream ice cream (soft) that was sort of bubble gum flavored; Susie loved it. I had my usual coffee with pecan ice cream in a waffle cone.
I returned Susie to the hummingbird house after being out for almost four hours. The 3-4PM traffic was thick. While we were stuck in traffic, we called folks, and they were happy to chat with Susie and me while we sat in Air Volvo going 10-15mph. I had loaded Susie and unloaded her and the wheelchair–a lot of exercise for me! I did one more unload at hummingbird house. Susie was tired, and I was not enjoying the poor air, so Jennifer took over and took Susie for a nap. I left with a kiss and a wave.
I tried my luck with Beaverton Old Town again and was back home in a reasonable time. I reheated my Spanish rice dinner I made a few days ago–I made a lot. I ate it while laughing at more episodes of Lucifer on NetFlix.
I decided to head to Beaverton to relax at Central Taps and have a few beers. Unfortunately, the air index is terrible, but I am trying to just get through it.
Thanks for reading. Keep breathing–it ain’t optional.
Alohawild (Michael Wild's) Website 