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I was too tired last night to write the blog. This often means the blog is more of a list than observations as I find the distance of even one night of sleep has the day fading from memory. First, however, I will try to retell the story.

A working morning started with me waking suddenly and putting on my shoes while wearing my robe in the wet and rain. Yup, it is Friday, and the trash is not out. So I managed the puddles and added the trash bags in the kitchen to the trash bin while the trash truck was turning around to do our side of the street. Just made it.

I start the coffee, read emails, work and home, and try to get my day going.

Then I see it everywhere. Corwin has tracked in some oily muddy grime all over the carpet and floors. I got him up, 6:45ish and was very direct with him about not caring for the house. He got on his hands and knees and cleaned up the mess. Scrubbing the carpet and the floors. Whatever he stepped in also nearly ruined his brand new shoes.

My anger was not that he tracked stuff in but that he ignored it or did not see it. The house needs to be respected, and you need to see these things. I also asked him to stop throwing his stuff anywhere. In fact, I told him to have respect for the house. Corwin said he would try to do better.

Susie was sort of awake, and I got her some Tylenol and a bit later her pills.

I had a few more meetings, and with the chaos, this was no video Zoom meetings for me. I was not dressed or cleaned up. I managed the first meetings and then went to get dressed.

I went to get Susie up, and she was unable to speak or use words. I asked her to explain a skating jump, a good test for her, and she could not get the words out. I had her sitting up on the edge of the bed, and she could not speak clearly or tell me the month of the year or count to ten. I called Leta, and after some discussion, we were headed to 911 for help. I gave the phone to Susie and had Leta Facetime with Susie, and Leta thought it was not a stroke but a medication issue.

After some soul searching, and since we were in the ER the day before, I decided that hours in the ER would not improve our day and got Susie walking and moving.

I got a call from the doc office, and we had an even earlier appointment with the backup doctor. I learned later that the doc was up last night reading all of our records and getting ready for our appointment. He was prepared for us when we got there. Susie is a special case.

Food, water, and getting dressed transformed Susie, but speech is still halting, even for Susie.

I am also logged on to the shoe company while this is going on and following along with my job. A practice data conversion is running for the next two weeks, stopping for the holiday week and then resuming in December. I have no critical path work, but I am the architect for much of the process, so I am always on call: Always Available. AA (Always Available) is a type of product at Nike that is always in stock, and thus the joke is that certain IT people are also AA products.

We manage the transfer from the house using the rolling walker with the chair to the wheelchair outside and to Air Volvo. The rain, which always happens here, is slowing traffic (!), and folks are braking for greenlights to prepare for them changing. Nevertheless, I manage to be on time for Susie’s appointment, and we manage the Air Volvo to wheelchair transfer without incident.

The doc stops a med and orders a good pain killer that is low risk but better than Tylenol. He also will order this coming Monday help for us with PT and other services. This includes ordering a hospital bed for Susie. He agrees with me that the one med is likely causing the confusion we are seeing. Doc also thinks pain is muscular and can be managed in the typical ways. He read our charts last night, and we also grant access, I thought we had already, access to Mount Sinia West records. All of this is done online.

Aside: Obama care included a massive cost for medical providers to create all medical data in digital form and be able to share it. This was fought hard by providers as too expensive and not worth the investment. I am so happy that this change went through as I read the information, and I have one portal to see all the records from four different providers.

Reassured and was happy that the doc, even the backup, had read all the charts and was ordering stuff to help us make it a better day.

I got Susie back and got her the rest of her Happy Meal. I had ordered lunch delivered, even McDonald’s, just before we had to leave. I had finished mine, but Susie had 1/2 a lunch left.

I then popped out to Beaverton Pharmacy to get a fix to the walker. Some kind of skid plate for carpet. I got help from the same man who sold me the commode. I bought both sets, one did not fit, so it was wise to buy both, and returned home.

Susie was asleep in bed having, without any help, got out of her chair, walker’d over to the bed, and got in. Yes, she was feeling better.

I ordered dinner delivered, burgers from Red Robin, and a seasoned chicken breast for me with salad and let Susie sleep. Then, I had my dinner and re-watched the newest Doctor Who episode. After that, Mariah stopped in to pick up her laundry.

Aside: The new season for Doctor Who has gone a different direction. The star and the showrunner are leaving after this season, and it appears they want to try something different as their exit. This new season seems to be just one story, with each viewing being a literal episode in the story. This is really old-school Doctor Who and is the tradition abandoned when the show was relaunched. Instead of using an episodic account, the showrunner would hide some unexplained items and events in many episodes that would resolve at the end of the season: A reward for watching the whole season. Also, this new series includes historical figures and events retold with a Doctor spin to them that seem more styled like the classic show of the 1980s and earlier. I like the return to an older formula and the mysteries not being solved in 50 minutes. Often, the previous one-hour shows seemed rushed, and the attempt to hide an underlying theme that would resolve in the last season appeared clumsy to me. I look forward, again, to new episodes to continue the story; a slow build is good.

I went to bed early. Susie slept the whole night. I woke a lot, but mainly to check on her.

 

This day was hard as Susie was too weak to get out of bed or use a walker. I contacted the medical folks, finally, and they have an appointment for Susie on Friday afternoon. She is in terrible pain in her shoulder, likely from pushing the walker.

The day starts with me sleeping until about 4ish and then rolling over and getting going 6ish and making coffee. Once I have coffee, I write the blog while managing anything happening early at the shoe company. The big project missed its deadlines and is in the middle of a reset to new dates, and much of the pressure to run 7/24 is gone now; we are not going live in two weeks.

This lack of pressure and the fact I am still ramping up after having been on sabbatical means that the issues with Susie can be my focus.

I managed my first meetings, and then it was time to get Susie dressed. Susie could not get out of bed. I had to help her do that and carefully guard her as she moved on her feet. This is a change as Susie was able to get up and move without fear of falling.

We managed together to do the morning things and get Susie to her chair.

Susie was in terrible pain. So I popped out and got all those pads for muscle issues and a heating pad for her. I got her more painkillers (keeping to the safe use of Tylenol). This sort of helped.

I messaged the doctor, calls are useless as our doctor is out on vacation, and they called back; Susie is a special case, and we have a backup doctor appointment. I am hoping for some pain management as this appears to be more related to muscle and skeletal. It should have obvious answers.

Lunch and dinner I had delivered. I could not find the time or energy to make dinner or make some sandwiches. Pizza tonight included white pizza with chicken and bacon. Excellent.

I am out of my emergency inhalent. I called the RiteAid, and they told me their computers had been down for two days and could not fill my prescription. I did not have time to get back to another RiteAid with working systems to fill my medicine. It is not as scary as it sounds; the inhalent is not critical, but it was strange to hear that a RiteAid cannot get running in a day.

I switched Susie to the rolling seat walker, and she was going too fast in that one–kind of funny to see her zooming on the carpet. I could also see it was not as painful. I used it to move Susie to the bathroom all day. It is much more stable than the regular walker and more manageable for both of us. I think that helped.

We got to bed safely about 10:30ish, and Susie took her meds and went right to sleep. I am worried that the meds are also impacting her. Often these sleep meds have a hang-over for her. I will chat with the doc about them.

In the middle of this, I received an email that our pastor had resigned. Our church has been in conflict with the district and the pastor for some time. We were still surprised as all the reports were done, and a list of actions was being created. I wrote back a note expressing my grief.

I also managed to attend Theology Pub in which we agreed not to discuss the pastor’s resignation or other related issues. However, we did pray for the church and our now-former pastor. We talked in the Zoom meeting about Collin Powell’s funeral in which his son said there are two ways to describe people the Resume and the Eulogy. Collin Powell, his son said, did many great things, but he was also a great person, and he taught others to be good people (this is the eulogy list). Like was said at the funeral, we discussed how the resume contains the great things you did or things you hope to accomplish. Your eulogy is the list of human acts that people say made you a good person to know. We talked a lot about the tension between lists of accomplishments and things like helping the neighbors with their trash. The meeting being full of Methodists, we also slipped into a discussion on cooking and how we should all meet for a potluck. Methodist = Food.

In the morning, I put Ben Guild’s picture on Facebook to remember 11Nov1918. My grandfather’s brother fought in the Great War. After the war, my family (the other side) was also over-there to entertain the troops (YMCA did this before the USO). I have their photos from the first celebration of the end of the War in France, 1919 or 1920. The snaps are more than 100 years old now. I will try to find time to scan them and organize them some weekend.

Sorry if the blog writing is a bit chaotic. It was a chaotic day.

Sorry I did not get any pictures.

It is raining, even for Oregon, a lot. The water is everywhere and getting a bit deep in places.

It is good to be home, but home is not a ward in a hospital, and I could have used the nurses, aids, and docs on Thursday. So I will just keep going.

Stay safe and dry out there.

Here is my father’s favorite song he used to sing on a hard day: Good Times.

The morning started with me waking at 3:45 and finally getting going at 5:45. I then did the process to take the day off from the shoe company. Even with my sabbatical using 100 hours of my vacation, I still had just short of 200 hours remaining for paid-time-off.

I then had a blood test and managed to get there and back in just about an hour. I do not eat on blood test days. I was told that my current blood test did not need fasting. But, I still am never sure as often the doc has additional tests. I stopped by McDonald’s for breakfast.

I got home and finished eating. Susie was in a bit of distress. The pain was back, and she was too weak to roll over or even get out of bed. I was at a loss as to what to do. Susie finally managed to stand and get to her walker with me, taking some weight here and there. I caught her from falling.

We managed to get the bathroom, and we both had a workout getting Susie ready for the day. Details do not belong here.

I got Susie to the living room, and she sat in her chair. I brought her food and water, and she was better soon. It seemed that she was dehydrated and just needed food. That need was covered quickly by me.

I popped out to get her a fav, Happy Meal. This brightened her spirits, and she was much stronger. Making it to the bathroom without me once!

Not just a Happy Meal, but a commode was brought. I stopped by Beaverton Pharmacy, a local non-chain pharmacy, and they had what we needed. Susie checked it after I installed it. I made it lower, and it worked.

The arms and higher heights made all the difference. I suspect Thursday will be a more leisurely day.

Aside: I recommend Beaverton Pharmacy to anyone local that needs equipment.

Now that Susie was better, her pain was gone, and the toilet now adjusted, I again popped out and bought the new board game Unfathomable. This is what we call a re-skin of game. The Battlestar Galactica board game, in this case, was reworked into Unfathomable. I need a short break and the local gaming store, Rainy Day Games, while it can be expensive, is a good place for me to find my calm.

Focusing on the new game, I read about while on the plane home is a traitor game like the previous out-of-print Battlestar version (available only by buying a valuable and therefore expensive used copy). In this game, everyone plays passengers or crew members of the SS Atlantica, which is being attacked by the forces of the Cthulhu Mythos (instead of Cylons). The players must work together to get the ship to Boston while resisting the insanity and powers of the evil gods and minions. This would be hard as the game mechanic throws enemies and events at the players that damage and hurt. But, some of the players are secretly trying to sink the ship as they are not human or insane cultists. Can you guess who is not really helping? Why did the captain pick a slower passage? Saving fuel or trying, is he not human? The gameplay is full of paranoia and is a hoot to play.

I read the rules tonight and punched my copy. I can see that It is a reworking of the original game with some streamlining to make the game shorter. I can’t wait to play it.

I also hooked up with someone to look at the water damage in the master bathroom. I will have him fix it or maybe remodel it as we will have to replace some of the floorings.

I also called 1-800-got-junk and plan to empty out the garage next week and some other junk. I was going to help a neighbor out too, but I could not reach her today. I will try again. The junk folks will call me on Monday to schedule the de-junking. Exciting. I put this off until after the pandemic–this will have to be close enough, I guess.

I spoke to Bard, Susie’s sister, and she will cook Thanksgiving here. I suggest that we consider spatchcock turkey. I admit I just like to say the word, but it actually works. Bard and their mother, Leta, are coming in a few weeks.

I forgot to add I made dinner for Susie and I for the first time since before we left for New York City on 5October2021. Schwann’s Chicken Cordon Blue with corn niblets (also Schwann’s). It was kind of nice to watch the news together on PBS and eat dinner.

It was a tough start, but the day got better. Maybe Thursday will be easier.

Lastly, I should say I am human and want the SS Atlantica to get to Boston, no really.

This story is best done backward.

I finally slept at 9ish. It was an exhausting day, and I could barely think straight by then. Susie was safe in bed with some Tylenol for the pain.

Dinner was from Dasher. I ordered from BJ’s Brewhouse. I got a full rack of ribs for Susie to share with someone. I ordered noodles and chips with Hatch chili cheese sauce. You can only get fresh Hatch chilis in the fall, and I have learned to love them as they add just a slight burn.

Mariah stopped by to use the cloth washer. She watched a bit of Doctor Who, the new season, and finished off the ribs.

Before this, we drove home from the ER from Saint Vincent Hospital in the rain. The Emergency Room (ER) is called Emergency Department (ED) at St.V, but this has other possible meanings to men. I did smirk a few times when there was ED on some signs and equipment. When you are facing a crisis, often you find strange things funny.

Our drive was 4ish, and the rain filled all the tracks on the roads cut by studded snow tires in the winter and spring. The usual Pacific North West rain for us even coming down with the sun out. The light seems to brighten in the rain and feels so happy, especially to someone who lives in the PNW. We love rain.

We left ER after Susie had passed the last blood test, and the scans showed no issues. We had spent the day in ER. We and all the folks in the ER were happy to get Susie home.

Earlier in the morning, Susie was having chest pain and started to have trouble breathing. We called the EMT, and soon the house was full of young, strong men (allowing for many jokes later once the threat was resolved). Quickly, an EKG ran right in the living room showed no problem, but it was agreed to send Susie to St. Vincent ER. Because of the state of Oregon’s pandemic issues, they had to check if St. Vincent ER was still open, it was.

I had to wait a bit once I got there until they had Susie checked into a room in ER. Then, a National Guard soldier and a nurse checked me for Covid (just a temperature check). Oregon has the Guard activated to help run the stressed medical system.

The initial tests showed no immediate issues. An IV was put in for contrasts for various scans.

They brought the cutest little X-ray machine to Susie’s room for a chest X-ray. Self-propelled and unfolds a bit like a transformer. The film is digital too! The tech told me it goes really fast too. So many bad ideas went through my head when I heard that.

Before this visit to the hospital, I was up and working at Nike and wrote the blog between reading emails and getting ready. As I used to do, I was all dressed and clean and shiny for the first Zoom meeting at the shoe company. I had to break out of a meeting to call the EMTs.

I was up at 5:45ish, still enjoying the jetlag. I woke at 3:45 too.

Yesterday was a bit crazy, but I will include the interesting parts here in the blog.

I was up about 6:30ish, having woken at 3, 4, 5 from jetlag. I am still on the East Coast time.

I started by getting my Nike laptop and trying to sign in. Nope. My strange passwords (the new requirements at Nike prevent the use of dictionary words, number strings, or anything you could possibly remember now) did not come back to me. I called the helpdesk. There is a way to reset your password online, but I figured I should get a human after a month of being away. A friendly human got online, and after a few missteps, we managed to get my laptop to connect to Nike’s network to allow me to use a temporary password. I then carefully wrote out a new password on a piece of scratch paper and put it in wrong (and matching wrong too).

So I was online at Nike long enough to clear out some backlog messages before I had to use the password again; four minutes or so of non-use requires a new logon, and I discovered it was not working.

Back to the helpdesk, but it is Monday morning, and the backlog on the helpdesk is forever. I try the online tool and do manage to reset my password. This time I carefully wrote down the suggested weird password after failing to create a password on my own for ten minutes that fit all the rules. No more problems.

Back to work. I managed to attend a few Zoom calls and handle one year-end item for retirement that I had missed. The last day was Monday, so I was lucky and made more annual elections on investments for retirement.

I wrote yesterday’s blog in the down moments and mainly before 8ish.

Susie was going about 9, and I had to help her get dressed as the master bathroom toilet was shut off because of water leaks. The main bathroom has no handles and is larger, and she has trouble dressing there. I helped her dress and kept her safe. Later, she used the master bathroom to get dressed without issue.

Susie cannot button buttons anymore. Her left hand cannot do it; we will see if there is any help from in-home therapy next week.

I order Mexican for lunch via GrubHub. It was good, and I was famished.

My current health issue is getting worse, and I am tired in the afternoon. I take a short break and nap for about 45 minutes. This helps.

I slip out before the all-project 5PM meeting today. I pop over to Safeway and get laundry stuff and various candies for Susie. I am out of clothing as much of my clothing was mailed to home and will arrive on Wednesday.

The meeting announces date changes for the project and that we have the week of Thanksgiving off. I think I do need a break after my last vacation!

Susie and I meet Mariah at Golden Valley Brewery for dinner. This is Susie’s first outing since her stroke on 9Oct2021. We had a nice dinner.

I am a bit mixed up on my emotions as I write this. I miss NYC and the flash and energy of the city that never sleeps. I am so happy to be home with the strange damp feel of the PNW. I can see that Susie has still a long path to recovery, and I will have to work with her to get better. I find myself looking to see Kat or Tasha or the nurses and staff I spent a month with. It is a strange feeling. The past, the present, and the future are all mixed up in my head.

I will get more sleep and try to deal with my health issues and be grateful for unexpected experiences.