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The important stuff: Susan’s mother, sister, and I take turns sitting with Susie. She has improved but still has issues swallowing, and words do not come to Susie with ease. Susie’s lung issue has not improved, and a procedure was delayed until Tuesday to evaluate and help with the problem. This upset Susie that the procedure was put off. Let’s hope for Tuesday!

I started yesterday as usual at 6:30ish, finally getting going about 7ish, lazing in bed for a few minutes. Monday was is a dark and grey day with a mix of rain, Oregon Mist, and then more rain.

I managed coffee and toast with peanut butter so I could take my meds. My prescriptions are running out, so I and I called more in. I was surprised that I also had to get gas in Air Volvo as the trips back and force to Portland are more driving than I have done since the pandemic started!

I drove in light late-morning traffic on a Monday. I arrived at the parking garage and parked on the roof as it was stuffed full of cars. Then, I took over the sky bridge and got my orange bracelet. Susie was happy to see me. She reached for me and told me how glad she was to see me, and I held her hand for a bit.

Breakfast was not that interesting to Susie. The new nurse, named Barb, helped Susie eat. I will help Susie eat, but I am worried about her aspirating, so I have stepped back a bit from feeding her. Susie ate some of it.

I ordered lunch for Susie and a tray for me. For $10, you can get a tray for yourself. Roast turkey and a salad again; it was good last time. I try to not explore a hospital menu and stay with something good.

The doctors, new ones, came by and checked Susie’s lung sounds again. Then, they explained the procedure they wanted. Susie was not happy about it but agreed.

Susie is tired of painful blood draws, and procedures that will likely hurt are not something she wants to do. So I cannot blame her for wanting to just sleep and be left alone.

Leta and Barb came about 1ish. Susie and I had both finished our lunch. Barb, the nurse, helped Susie and got her to eat more. Pureed food is hard to enjoy. I dined with Susie in the room. Then, Leta replaced me, and I left to drive Barb around Portland.

Barb went to the US Outdoors store, Keen’s showcase store, and Powell’s Books main store in the Pearl District. We walked quite a distance which is good as we could use some exercise.

Barb then replaced Leta and I took Leta home with me. We had to get a medical item delivered to the house. The one Leta had taken with her was not working; Barb ordered a replacement delivered by Amazon to the Volvo Cave. We rested and hung out at the house while Leta read the instructions.

Barb left Susie about 6:30ish. Susie had slept the afternoon and was not happy to be awakened for a pill and then for a dinner tray. Susie did eat some of her pureed food.

We had dinner at the local Mexican place, Mazatlan Grill – Aloha, and had a light meal.

Susie and Leta headed out, Leta now using Susie’s cane with the four feet (Susie never used it), and I headed to Safeway. I bought some food for a small (tiny) thanksgiving turkey and very easy sides.

At Safeway, I saw my Iraqi friend at check out. He works hard as a checker at Safeway to make a living in the USA and has missed me. I tell him about Susie and our challenges and he wishes me a good holiday. I donate $10 to someone else’s thanksgiving. It was good to see him.

I am exhausted when I get home and fall asleep after watching the last Doctor Who episode. Doctor Who episode has the dread Weeping Angles and it is scary. Sleep is broken and I have to put on the light. The books falling to the floor did not help me find my calm, but I manage, after a few waking moments, to sleep and even turn off the light.

 

 

 

 

Starting with the headlines, Susie is talking better, and she is more awake. Leta and Barb, mother and her sister, arrived on Sunday and could replace me as the support person. No visitors are allowed, but we have been declared support persons for Susie, and one of us can stay with her. Leta stayed about 90 minutes with Susie, and Barb got a few minutes too (Susie was tired-out and sleepy, so Bard’s stay was short).

It is the coldest this fall, with us freezing yesterday. So the morning started with me waking at 6:30 and really getting to the writing after 7ish. I usually read emails and some news before I start. This is a 9/11 habit–I check there are no more attacks each morning.

I had breakfast. I have to have food to go with my meds. Corwin had not slept, and so he was still up, and there was coffee made already. I heard him go to bed later. I had tiramisu cake for breakfast; why not? This is leftover birthday cake, yum.

I cleaned up the board games a bit at the house. Trying to clear them off the stacks on the floor. It looks better.

Off to Portland in Air Volvo with me arriving there at just after 10ish. After the entrance rituals, I reach Susie. Susie is sitting in a chair finishing her breakfast when I appear. She is relieved to see me.

I call Susie’s family, aunts/uncles, and they get to chat with her over the iPhone.

The docs come by and are visibly relieved (too) that Susie is better and talking. They are worried about her lungs and listen and talk about them a lot. A CT scan is ordered, and Susie is quickly moved back to bed and shuffled off to imaging.

I call in using my phone for a Zoom meeting while Susie is out. It is our group that meets every Sunday to catch up and talk about the sermon. They are glad I could call in, no video as video and images are banned in Legacy, plus the bandwidth is low in the room. I tell them that Susie is better, and we are optimistic about her recovery now. But then Susie returns, and I drop off. The church folks are cheered by the good news.

I get the results of tests sometimes before the doc sees them. The CT scan does show lung issues, but more severe problems are not found. Thus it is a relief.

Susie’s labs are also showing a long-term issue in her blood that may have always been there. The doc explained it to me and that it would be something to work on later. I was happy to hear that the docs think there is a “later.”

Barb and Leta get to the hospital, and I meet them outside. They are a bit scrambled by the flying, connections, and then enjoying Portland’s approach to traffic: Going Slow. It can be unnerving.

We walk around the hospital. It takes up a whole block in Portland, and we finally reach the Red Onion Thai place. It is the weekend, and as often happens, lunch-sized options are unavailable, so we order just two, and Leta and I share one. Much of the food will later be in the frig in Barb’s and Leta’s hotel room.

I get the car and pick up Barb and Leta. Leta fell in the morning down the steps at Barb’s house and is bruised and stiff. Another block walk is not in the cards. I now being from the Portland greater area, I just park the car in the street with the blinkers, get out, and help Leta in. Barb’s midwest sensibilities are a bit upset by my PNW approach. There are no horns, and polite carefully passing is done around Air Volvo. In a state where almost no drugs are illegal, nobody minds a bit of street blocking to help someone. Possible nobody noticed.

Barb takes command of Air Volvo, and I walk Leta into the hospital. She is accepted as a support person for Susie, and I am her escort (wink-wink, nod-nod). I drop Leta with Susie and then head back.

Barb and I take the rent-a-car to Beaverton and get them checked into their room. The Comfort Inn rooms look pretty nice, actually, and the bath even comes with a shower chair!

The sign at the Comfort Inn is for those who want to understand the current staffing issues:

We stopped by Fred Myer’s to buy some supplies.

Back to Portland. Barb’s nav takes them through the back ways as 26 is backed up.

Barb switches out Leta, I escort her in, and Susie has all three of us in her room for just a moment. This puts a smile on her face. She is falling asleep now, for it has been a busy day for her. Barb gets to stay with her for just a few minutes as Susie just drifts off to sleep.

We head out. The plan for Monday is to travel in for my usual 10ish time, and then they will come later to relieve me.

I pick up Corwin, and then Mariah calls, and we all meet at the Road House. I have a beer and a messy sandwich, a Portland Dip. The sandwich comes with turkey, but these were mostly bread. We have a friendly chat and dinner.

I manage to lay down to read when we are home and fall asleep instead. I wake a few times and just surrender and sleep.

Let’s get to the critical information first. Susie is much improved and is talking, speech is slurred and halting, and the docs are more optimistic that Susie will recover. So much of the stroke prevention items are lifted. We are now talking about getting her stable and safe.

The morning rushed by as I tried to do a hundred things all before I had to leave. Some are not done. The house still looks like a bookstore and gaming store exploded next to a clothing store. I also have a cough now and a headache that shocks me when I cough.

A pile of board games that are just not getting played is now sitting on recently cleared shelves in the garage. I will try to find a few minutes to put the more played games on shelves. This is my slow restoration of the house from Covid-19 bunker to a busy but happy home.

One of the problems is that I have been on a 24/7 program at the shoe company for most of 2021 (including weekends), and many things just get stacked.

I managed to get to Portland on Saturday morning without incident flying Air Volvo. The contrast to New York City on a Saturday morning was unexpected. Portland is asleep, and traffic is gone. In NYC, in contrast, it had more folks on the subway on the weekend than a weekday (folks are still working from home), and the streets were packed on the weekend in NYC.

I was given the orange bracelet that gave me access to Susie in room 361, and I carried the Smiths+Jason orchid and balloon for Susie. The nurses and folks were happy to see me, and Susie loved the Birthday gifts, and I could see she was awake and with us.

Spoke to the docs and learned that Susie was put on oxygen last night and was doing better now. The docs had lots of ultrasound done, with even the docs doing some of it themselves with the cutest little portable ultrasound machine that looked like an iPad.

The tests showed that Susie is doing better than hoped and that there are no new problems. More antibiotics and rest. Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy have started again. Actual signs that the risk for new strokes had diminished in the eyes of the docs.

Zophia and Dondrea stopped by with more balloons and tiramisu cake for Susie. I met them outside the hospital as no visitors were allowed. It was so lovely to see them, and Susie loved the handmade card colored by Zophia.

Susie got a few bites in after the nursing staff sang Susie happy birthday.

Today, Susie was able to mainly feed herself. It has to be small bites of pureed food. I just watched and helped when needed. I had my same turkey (no cranberry sauce this time!) for $10 from the hospital. I did finish my lunch in the waiting area as there were many tests to run and therapies to experience.

Susie was allowed to sit in a chair for a few hours.

I also had various bills and money things to handle on Saturday (and Sunday); I still found things I missed while in NYC. I also sold some stock for the house repairs/upgrades and to cover expenses in NYC. All take some focus.

My headache did not improve with coffee and water, the usual cures. So I left a bit early; Susie slept the whole afternoon away once they stopped testing, sampling, and therapy-ing her.

I had taken little extra papers for parking and put them in the car. This time I needed to present the barcode to not pay for parking. Luckily the nurse had suggested that.

Once home-ish without events in Air Volvo, I stopped by the Olive Garden and used their app to order angel hair pasta, sausage, and salad. I just then waited for it to be made and delivered, sitting in the to-go parking space.

When I got home, Corwin was cleaning the house, and I did get in his way a few times. I ate and then took my headache with me to the bedroom and read and slept. I managed to dream a bit, but reading horror and waking dreams is an unfortunate mix. I should have read Narnia and not Stross!

I had some of my own health issues that are returning with the stress. So I am trying to be careful with taking my meds and trying to eat and sleep. It ain’t easy! I did sleep.

 

I started Friday around 6ish, skipping the status Zoom meetings as I had to write the blog, and there were some medical items to read and understand. I did log on to work and read the emails, and planned my day. I put in Friday as a vacation day but did start my workday as usual.

I had a 1-on-1 with my boss Brad and did a Zoom with him. He told me to handle Susie first and for me to put in for family leave. He also asked if I could read some vendor patches if I needed a break. Vendor patches are like crossword puzzles for computers, and he knows I like doing them.

Jeff, who I hired to clean the sidewalk and decks with a powerwasher, was late, so I sent him a message we would have to meet up later. Jeff would clean the cement of moss, clean the deck of slippery stuff, and even cut the deck he built to let the tree that grows through it have more room. Jeff will powerwash and treat the roof for moss and clear the gutter for me on Monday. The Monday after that, he will start rebuilding the bathroom off of the master bedroom. This all started before Susie’s ER and hospitalization and I want to keep it going.

My drive and parking of Air Volvo were uneventful to Portland. I used the number 2 parking garage and the skywalk to the hospital. I was stopped by a gal who then called the nurse station, and I was officially approved as a support person and given the hard-to-get orange wrist band that gave me unlimited access to Susie. There are no visitors allowed, but a disabled person can have one support person.

Susie was in her room, 361, and had just been approved for pureed food and thick liquids. The stroke has impacted her ability to safely swallow, and her speech is difficult.

I read all the test results and knew the MRI results, but the docs showed and explained that Susie had another stroke and needed to keep her calm and lying flat to prevent another one. Susie, keeping up her record, has some unique challenges for the docs, and they will need to carefully review her chart, her past battles with cancer and figure out a safe treatment plan.

According to the docs, Susie can have another stroke anytime. So I contacted Susie’s mother and sister. They have changed their flights to Sunday. After a bit of wink-wink, I did have Susie’s mother and sister, Leta and Barb, officially added as support people and as my back-ups.

I helped Susie with her lunch which she ate just a bit. It was her first meal of blender-ed food.  I also am allowed to buy a lunch for $10, so I sat with Susie for lunch and had roast turkey with mashed for lunch.

Susie rested while I read labs and read stuff on the Internet to fill the time.

I did play, not too loud, Moulon Rouge soundtrack from the newish broadway play. We saw it in New York City for our first night in NYC. Susie finally fell asleep to the music. It is hard to sleep as there are so many hospital sounds of carts and other equipment banging. The soundtrack covered that, and Susie was asleep.

As usual, just as Susie looked very comfortable, the nurse showed with meds. Susie cannot swallow pills anymore, and so the tablets are crushed and put in apple sauce. They also check Susie that she is not showing any signs of a new stroke.

I chatted with the RN, and I headed out for dinner at the Red Onion again. They would help feed Susie. I have been given lessons that the bed must be flat except for food or water. For eating, Susie needs the bed raised (30%) and to keep her chin down and a pillow behind her to help her sit more straight. After that, she is to be put back to flatbed.

Susie can talk more in the later afternoon, and I could understand her better. When I returned from dinner, and she was tired, she was hard to understand.

I left after 7PM and returned home without issue via Air Volvo. David Smith dropped off flowers and a ballon for Susie. I will bring it in on Saturday, Susie’s 59th birthday. I chatted with David for a bit like a distraction, and he was polite and stood in the cold chatting. I managed to read and finally sleep before midnight.

I received a kind gift from the Most Rev and Lord of Sealand (and offical Time Lord) Steve Wolff. He sent me a non-stick pan to make more scrambled eggs for Susie. Excellent! It made me laugh!

I skipped over the hard emotions of the moment and some medical details. Forgive me for leaving a few moments out.

This story will better work going from the end to the start.

I got to sleep about 10ish. Susie was being carefully monitored in Good Samaritan Hospital room 361 (phone number is 503 413-881, but Susie can’t reach the phone). I had taken my meds and rewatched the last episode of Doctor Who (I never saw the ending) while having some mint chocolate chip ice cream with tea. I would have terrible dreams all night and awaken every hour or so thinking Susie was missing or needed help.

Before, I drove home from Portland in the usual pouring rain this winter and the surprised flooded street here and there. The new brakes and tires on Air Volvo made it a safe and effortless drive. No problem, except that McDonald’s shake machine was again broken when I stopped by. My navigation thinks that McDonald’s is part of the drive home from Portland and now directs me to turn into their entrance!

To drive home, I had to find Air Volvo and finding the car was complex. I had left later than I wanted as I had to meet the night nurses, so I was out much after 7:15ish. The sky bridges to get to the buildings that adjoined the parking garages led to locked doors. After all. I had to walk in the rain and found the car after three sky bridges, two locked exits, and two elevator rides.

I was worried that the car was in a nearly empty car garage. When I saw it first, I noticed that the window was gone, and at first, I thought I had been broken into. But, no, I had lowered the back window unknowingly when I got the parking ticket from the machine and left the window open all night and day. The car was not that wet inside (the winds must have blown the other direction). Everything was left alone in the car. I had a roll of paper towels and quickly wiped away some wet from the leather. The SUV is a Volvo, and it is used to wet.

Before this, I was ready to say goodbye to Susie last night when more nurses and meds descended on her. I just left as it was late, and she was in good hands. I was tired and needed to get home.

Susie was moved from the ER in the evening to stay at least overnight at Good Sam. She had endured MRI, CT scans, endless blood draws, and two IVs (the second one working). Doc said they would monitor her closely.

This morning, we were walked from Physical Therapy to the ER by our new PT person. Susie’s right side was weaker than the stroke-damaged left side. Susie’s condition was deteriorating, and she was not able to walk, and her ability to speak was impacted. She is both slurring and can’t find the words to say. The PT person did not want to proceed until Susie was checked out in ER and likely imaged.

The ER took Susie before many of the other folks and quickly had her on telemetry and began the usual endless tests. Susie was not happy to have blood draws, but the techs did well. The IV for the CT scan did fail, but the Doc Neurologist said there was no need to repeat the CT scan and got a whole more set of blood draws and an MRI done.

Oddly, I am getting the message when the test results are done on my phone and have read them before the Docs. I read and did not understand the MRI results as it does not cover new versus existing strokes. I will wait for the Doc Neurologist to cover this.

Returning to the early morning, we had a tough start as Susie again could not walk, and she was mainly like carrying a bag of 120 pounds of cooked noodles. I managed to get her safe and cleaned up, and dressed in the travel wheelchair. I grabbed a spare table box in the garage so Susie could have coffee and water by her. I got her toast with peanut butter with milk (this is her last meal today as she cannot eat or drink now).

Susie did manage after that to stand up and step out of the house using the walker outside until I carried the wheelchair over our heads and landed it behind her so she could sit down. Lucky it weighs less than 20 pounds, and the foot things are detachable.

Susie could get into the car with some help, and I carried her out of the car and put her in the walker in Portland as the curb makes it a leap.

I started at 6ish, and Susie wanted up at 7:00ish but waited for me to get dressed. My sleep was broken as the lights were on at 10%, and the radio was on to help Susie sleep. The light control and the radio are all Alexa controlled. Voice control makes this so much better.

I managed to do a few work items before having to get Susie going.