Author: alohawild

I awoke to my alarm having slept through the evening, falling asleep after reading a few pages. I then managed to get going and make coffee and start the blog. Glenda, Susie’s Aunt who came from North Carolina to help, was already up. So I spent the early morning writing. my breakfast was a chocolate croissant that Glenda defrosted and baked and coffee.

Glenda continued to clean the frig and organize the kitchen. She also got out the loppers and removed a few dead bushes. I, meanwhile, finished the blog, published it on WordPress, and then took a shower and dressed.

Aside: According to the stats from WordPress, about 50 people read the blog everyday. Thank you all!

I was tired this Friday, and the dizziness was back. I had overdone it on Thursday and was fatigued. So Glenda and I decided to make it a slower day and visit Susie and then just hang out at the house.

We took Air Volvo to the Forest Grove Rehab and Care Center at 3900 Pacific Highway, Room 44a. While crossing the city of Cornelius to reach the facility, I braked for one stoplight with a bit of abruptness, and a pick-up truck madly swung around Air Volvo at the intersection, ran the light, and sped off without losing too much speed (we were also in a school zone!). I am sure I will not miss the passive-aggressive commuters when we move Susie to Beaverton-Tigard in a few weeks.

After mastering the new unmanned entrance machine, we found Susie in her room. She and her roommate, Terry, were awake. Susie was delighted to see Gleda and me. We brightened the room with a set of tulips from the Tulip Festival that we picked up yesterday.

We called Leta, Susie’s mother, and Susie and she chatted for a while on my iPhone using FaceTime. Glenda stayed and was included in the chat. While that was going on, I checked in with the admin. Susie is approved for rehab, yeah! It will start on Monday. I may still be paying for the room: I would have to check with accounts payable later.

After Susie started to yawn, we left the usual signal that Susie needed a nap. Glenda slept in the car on the way back. Once home, I rested and slept until 5:30.

I made a simple dinner of angel hair pasta with sauce from a jar, Paul Newman’s, with browned ground beef. Glenda made a salad to go with it. Glenda then did the dishes.

I did watch about 1/3 of the news on PBS, The News Hour. However, I turned it off when the discussion changed to politics. Politics in France or the USA are not that interesting to me.

After organizing the board games to be on shelves or at least not on the floor, I tried again to repair my old Apple computer. No, go. It is dead. The cool Other World Computing (OWC) 2TB $350+ drive will not work as it needs a boot from a higher version of the OS to be used. This creates an impossible problem as you need to upgrade to get there, but you can’t upgrade as you have to install the OS first on the drive as it requires a higher OS to work. So I would need to create an OS boot on a USB stick with a higher version of the OS and hope it would boot and then use it to bring the new drive to life. Or buy a used Apple SSD from eBay and see if that will work. All to get back my fav Apple which is no longer supported by Apple. Sorry to say that I will recycle my old fav Apple instead.

Next, I spent hours finding an external drive holder for the SSD I pulled out of the old Apple, but SSD has moved to P12 format. I was hoping to use the SSD for an external drive, but there is no new external drives holder for the older format SSD available at OWC. Thus the SSD is useless too. Apparently, Apple used a non-standard hardware interface, and OWC also did the same. Ugly.

I chatted with Glenda for a while and then went off to bed. I got up for a bit and started the new Doctor Who season with the episode on the Sea Devils. I only watch part of it. The acting and writing were a bit off–more on that when I see the whole thing.

I went back to bed and fell asleep before midnight.

 

 

 

My day started at 6:30 with my iPhone waking me from a dream I don’t remember. I was up and making coffee in a few minutes. I read my emails and started on the blog, which often takes 90 minutes to write. I wrote until about mid-morning. Glenda, Susie’s Aunt, cleaned and organized all morning while I wrote and got ready. The kitchen is cleaner, Glenda also cleared the floors, and we collected another set of books to take to Goodwill.

We headed off before lunch and gave away two boxes full of books when we had Air Volvo make a stop at Goodwill. These are primarily hardcovers and other books Jan’s Paperback would not usually take.

We reached the Forest Grove Rehab and Care Canter, Room 44A, located at 3900 Pacific Highway, with only witnessing a few interesting extra-legal lane changes from our fellow drivers. After passing the screening, we found Susie was sitting up in the wheelchair at the tables near the nurses’ station. She was not happy as she was alone and had been ignored for the morning, but she was delighted to see us.

I left Glenda to talk to Susie while I spoke to the admin folks at the facility. They were sending in the required evaluations for Susie to United Health Care (UHC), so they could do rehab for her. They had completed the paperwork and hoped to get a decision from UHC on Friday. From what I was told by the customer care folks at UHC, we can have one new case of rehab per calendar year, according to UHC. So since our last case was in November, and we went on private pay before the year changed, we can do the same rehab again.

Aside (rant): For those who think your employer should purchase your insurance because they will get a better deal and give you better coverage, please have only one medical emergency per year. That is all you are allowed by most employer-purchased health care plans. Also, ranting, the idea that corporations will operate in the employees’ best interest is inconsistent with the fact that according to all reading I have done, a corporation only owes allegiance to the stockholders.

I returned and called Susie’s mother, Leta, on the iPhone, and they chatted for a while on Facetime. We then found a medical person wanting to evaluate Susie, so we decided it best to leave at that time and not be a distraction. I have found it best for me to be out of the room when they do these evaluations, as Susie then looks to me to answer for her. I also find it nearly impossible to keep my face and body language neutral when she passes or fails a test. I just need to leave.

We headed for the long drive to Woodburn to see the Tulip Festival at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm. They were open this year, and the tulips were still good. The tulips start to fade here in Oregon after April. We stopped at Carl’s Jr., had burgers for lunch, and ate them in the car. I then started the two-hour drive, with traffic, to Woodburn.

It is Thursday and the worst day for traffic–all companies with return-to-work office hours have folks there on Thursday, and nobody takes off Thursday. Thus we spent time in stop and go on 217 after crossing back over Beaverton.

We finally broke away from the traffic when we connected to US 5, the main road from Mexico to Canada on the West Coast (much like 95 on the East Coast). In the USA, odd-numbered roads run sort of North to South and even numbers East to West. We then drove, again in some stop-and-go traffic in the city of Woodburn after leaving US 5. We finally found rural Oregon, and when the Cascade Mountains were in clear view, we reached the tulip fields. We were 35 minutes passed our ticketed time, but that was not an issue. You must have a ticket before you reach the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm, and there are even a few signs with scan codes to buy them before you reach the farm. There is no means to get a ticket at the festival.

We walked the fields and enjoyed the country air and the bright colors. For the festival, and according to the vendors, today would be a great day. There were no winds and no snow or hail. It was raining, and we did hide under one of the tents when the rains hit hard. We took the tractor ride out to the center of the fields instead of walking. It was too far for me still. It was a cloudy day with intermediate rain and Oregon mist, but no winds and side-ways rain.

We purchased a glass of the local white sweet wine; surprisingly, the tulip farm has its own label of wine! Next, we got two sets of flowers, one to take home and another for Susie. I had to replace my catalog of bulbs to purchase; my first was lost when I used the chemical toilet–impossible to recover. Oops.

We returned with less traffic until we hit, again, 217, with stop and go. We got off early and drove across Beaverton to practice what the new commute would be like with Susie must in Tigard off of Hall street. The drive was fine and familiar without the traffic jam.

We reached home and then made dinner. We had one more kit from Blue Apron, and it was aging, so we needed to cook it. So Glenda and I made Sheet Pan Pimento Cheese Chicken, skipping the peppers for Glenda. It was not bad.

Glenda and I rested and chatted, finally heading to bed at about 10:30. I read for a bit but fell asleep for the first time in months before midnight and slept until my alarm.

 

 

Starting with the essential items, Susie was re-evaluated now; I have to cover that cost for this. Susie will now get more services. I have asked the Forest Grove Rehab and Care Center and my insurance, United Health Care, to work together and see if they can get Susie back into the intense rehab program. This program is available at the Forest Grove facility–our original reason for being there. Also, we have selected an adult foster care home for Susie in Tigard, about 9 miles away, that seemed perfect to Glenda, Susie’s Aunt, who is here to help us, and me. Assuming that Susie will pass their intake, we expect she will be moving there sometime in early May. This is about 1/3 cheaper than the nursing home and maybe a comfortable setting for her. And, while not closer, it is on the other side of Beaverton where I often travel and thus seems closer. UHC may cover outpatient services for Susie at the new house. So it was a good day!

Going backward in time, I went to bed after watching the next episode of Moon Knight, which I enjoyed. It was a lost tomb-style adventure with even undead mummies who embalm anyone they catch in the tomb, perfect. A bit scary and then strange; I liked it.

I made scones from a box mix from King Arthur Flour; Glenda wanted a baked good and preferred a scone to cake. It was like old times; I cut the butter into the dry mix using a pastry cutter. Before, I was too weak, and my hands would bruise. No issue, and the scones, Orange Cranberry, were loverly!

After waiting two years, I received the new Kickstarter version of Nemo’s War. I punched the game and put it away. It is a solo game, and I hope to find some time to try it out in the next few days.

Dinner happened before this; I made it from the Blue Apron kit we got. We had ordered 2-person sizing, so Corwin just got a taste (he had already eaten anyway). I made Hoisin Pork and Spicy Rice for dinner. We made it less spice, and it was good.

I forgot to pick up my prescriptions. I am still good for a day.

Before I took a short break, we drove out to Goodwill with all the books and bags of clothing. There is less stuff in the house now. I also moved some underplayed or less well-received games to the garage shelves.

We left for Forest Grove before this, Glenda having cleaned some more of the kitchen and organized a few more things in the morning. We managed the Covid-19 screening at 3900 Pacific Highway and soon were in Susie’s room 44A. Susie was in bed, and Terry, Susie’s roommate, said that Susie did great on the evaluations and would be coming off of pureed foods, excellent! Susie was clearly more tired from all the activity, and we made it a short visit.

Before this, we continued to munch the leftovers for lunch. Then, Glenda cleaned up the house, and I wrote the blog and got ready. I again started at 6:30AM. Sleep was still broken the night before, but I was not exhausted. I was only dizzy a few times all day, better!

On the garden side of things, our apple tree is blooming. This is the one that fell and is now a trunk resting on the ground, with the branches now being sort of the new trunk.

The climbing roses, Wedgwood by David Austin, we planted this year are starting off well.

One of my roses, Cardinal Richelieu, is still stressed. However, the rest of the roses look happy and ready to flower in the next few weeks.

The morning started with me waking to my alarm at 6:30. I am trying to return to my old habits of starting early. After chatting with Glenda, who was up earlier, I began to write the blog.

Next, after publishing the blog, I contacted the Sedgewick Company that my employer, a local shoe company, hires to manage family and medical leaves and other similar requests. I never spoke to a human but used my phone keypad to delay my return to work to 2May2022 instead of the too soon 25April2022. I am still suffering from fatigue and dizziness, likely caused by the anemia that is a side-effect of the chemotherapy. I am slowly feeling better and taking iron pills to restore my blood count to normal. I emailed my boss, Brad, informing him of my plans and asked him if he had any concerns. Later, I get a reply from Brad that he has no concerns. Looks like my return is set.

I get cleaned up and dressed for the day. Glenda and I have a list of recommended adult foster care places, five of them, plus one nursing home. We start calling. Maryville, we learn about the exact monthly cost of Forest Grove, about $12,000 a month, and it is complete. They will contact us when they have an opening.

We talked to the next one, and they offered us a tour Tuesday morning, but the address is nine miles away, so we will have to cross to the other side of Beaverton and then into Tigard near the Washington Square. We accept and get into the car as it is our first chance to see one of these homes.

The place is excellent and comfortable and obviously originally built for the purpose. Glenda and I both like it. Glenda is taking notes and collecting information. We learn what a level 3 home is, and we believe that we need that level of care for Susie. We also learn that this level of care means that the resident could return to a level 3 home even after getting more ill and less able to care for themselves.

We get more callbacks, and we manage to talk to two more homes and schedule another visit for today, about five miles away. Later, we plan another visit after 5PM on Wednesday for a level 2 home; the home not being level 3 concerns us, but the house was recommended, so we will continue with the visit.

I also finally got a call from Forest Grove Rehab and Care Center. They have connected, after a week, with my insurance, United Health Care, and have begun the process to have Susie get more services. I am pleased that we should know if Forest Grove can do more rehab services by Friday. Of course, this would have been better timed last week, and now we could have to delay moving Susie until after the rehab, but I am hopeful we can make all this work. The facility has a gym and an intense program, so I think that Susie would get a great benefit from their rehab program.

I found the other half of my sandwich from yesterday, and Glenda and I have leftovers for lunch. Then, we head to Forest Grove at 3900 Pacific Highway, room 44A. We got there without incident, but we did have a Tesla drive across all five lanes of traffic; I had to brake to prevent contact.

Next, Glenda and I stopped first at the Pink Spoon in Forest Grove–they serve self-serve frozen yogurt and other products. I had gelato and then got two to-go cups for Susie and her roommate Terry. We then drove through the parking lots to a road that was the back entrance to the home.

Forest Grove Rehab and Care Center has updated its access process. They now have an unmanned screen to put in your information and to be screened for Covid-19. I put in all my information by taping in my name, who I was visiting, and then answered the screening questions. It takes your temperature while you are tapping in the answers. I managed to get everything right and passed. Glenda, Susie’s aunt, missed a question, and the staff had to let her pass.

We found Susie eating her lunch of pureed food. Glenda and I hung out with Susie, supplying the dessert for Susie and Terry for lunch. Susie ate about 2/3 of her meal which was good for her. After the tray was taken away, Susie was able to speak to us. Surprisingly, her voice improved, and she was more conversational today.

Susie struggles with selecting words, and often she cannot enunciate clearly, but today I actually heard her pre-stroke voice clearing saying some words. We also noticed that Susie’s left hand is working better. Her right hand is still showing limited movement. Susie is right-handed–Susie is improving.

We call Susie’s sister, Barb, and her mother, Leta, on the iPhone. Susie is happy to chat with them both. Susie is getting tired, and we soon leave as they take her back to her room.

Glenda and I stopped by the Volvo Cave, loaded up the books to donate, and headed out to the next visit. We found the house in Beaverton about five miles from home. It is a house that has been repurposed as an adult care home. The owner runs the facility, has room for five, and is a class 3 home, good. It is a huge house, the hallways are wide, and the available room has its own bath (a repurposed walk-in closet). They also have a shower room. The owner is ready to have Susie come and wants to evaluate Susie now.

The house is lovely, and the feelings homey and warm. But almost too homey, and the owner’s daughter has the run of the place. The contrast between the more professional feeling of the first house and the homey feel of this house is jarring. We thank the owner who quotes a price above the previous home, but that will adjust based on her assessment of Susie’s needs. We turned her down to access Susie until we have thought this out more.

Next, we stopped by Jane’s Books and donated my spare books. They don’t take the hardbacks and some of the older mysteries. I donate the credit for books to the local school. We then took the unwanted books to Goodwill.

Air Volvo deliveries us back to the Volvo Cave, and we have an hour before dinner. Mariah wants to meet for dinner, and I select the Golden Valley Brewery for an early-ish meal.

Mariah has a new car, a Dodge Challenger, with the appropriate load gas engine. Unlike most Tesla and hybrid driving locals, Mariah went for something more muscular. It explodes with sounds that would make any gearhead smile when it starts.

Dinner was, for me, the usual steak salad. Red meat for anemia. Glenda tried the burger, and Mariah ordered the meatloaf. I had a heavy dark beer which can be described as fuzzy thinking in a bottle as that is what it did for me. Glenda had chocolate flour-less torte while Mariah and I had the salted caramel cookie with ice cream.

Soon, we left after I had coffee and cleared my head. Mariah rumbled off to her apartment in Forest Grove in her orange and black Air Challenger, and we nearly silently slipped out in Air Volvo to home in Reedville (Aloha).

Glenda and I went to bed early, and I read and was back up a few times. I finally slept before 1.

 

 

The morning started with me startled as I had woken at 6 and then stayed in bed until the alarm woke me again. I was staggering as I was up but very tired. I would suffer all day with exhaustion.

Glenda, Susan’s Aunt who is here to help me, was up and going at 6AM, she being a morning person. I then spent 90 minutes writing the two-day blog. I had been too busy on Easter with making pancakes and then seeing Susie to write the blog on Sunday. I then dressed and helped around the house. Glenda cleaned the frig and then folded laundry, and she also organized the living room and did some wash.

After having a lunch of cold items leftover from before and a ham and cheese sandwich for me, we headed to Susie. I drove Air Volvo without events to the Forest Grove Rehab and Care Center at 3900 Highway, Room 44A. Glenda and I passed the screening and soon found Susie at the table by the nursing station; having finished lunch, I left them to chat with the admin for the facility.

I talked to Dan, the head of the facility, and he was unhappy to learn that my request to get Susie more services was stalled and that I had not been informed of any progress or lack of progress by the facility. He then texted the person working from home, asked them to prioritize my request, and gave them my phone number. Sadly, and this does happen, I received no further update on Monday as possible my phone number was wrong, or there is progress, and they will fill me in Tuesday.

Aside: A week has gone by since my request, and I am a bit frustrated as I will have to pay for more coverage there, but with Covid-19 and the difficulty of getting medical people and the burn-out that is happening, I will not push too hard. I just want what is suitable for Susie and for the facility.

I found Susie and Glenda now in 44A as Susie was lying down now. She and Glenda were chatting and catching up. I got out my iPhone and contacted Susie’s mother, Leta, by FaceTime. Susie and Leta had a chat while I briefed Glenda on the lack of progress at Forest Grove.

Susie was yawning and ready for a nap, so we left her tucked in.

We arrived at the Volvo Cave, and I started to see stars when I stood up, so I rested while Glenda continued to clean and help. Then, after an hour, I got back up and called Bristol Hospice, our former hospice service provider, and the head of social service there, Sarah, sent us an email of possible adult foster care places that she could recommend. We are also considering nursing homes, with Maryville placed at the top of the list.

Glenda continued to organize and clean with some help from Corwin when he got off work. I rested a bit more.

Glenda and I headed out to the German place in Beaverton for dinner. I had a beer, and Glenda tried a glass of white while from Chateau Ste. Michelle in Washinton state. She thought it good, a sauvignon blanc. We shared a fondue with bread and sausage. Glenda had salad, and I tried soup and salad (lentil soup). We both had apple strudel for dessert, which is lovely there.

Glenda was tired, and I was fatigued all day, so that was the close of our day. I read and then went to bed. Glenda was in bed soon.

The azaleas are flowering now. I got all of them with the house back in 1996, making them more than twenty-five years old (I heard they were dug up from the previous mother’s home, transplanted here, and thus could be very old). A few have failed, but most are still going.