Last night, while once again, insomnia set in, so I had a lot of time to think about what to write today. Do I write about how I came to be in a nursing home in the first place? Detailing the various maladies that began in 1998? Or do I talk about how shitty the food is here (complete with graphic pictures)? Eventually I will probably write about both. Both stories will be long, but I have nothing but time. But today has been a roller coaster in itself.
The day began this morning when Mary Joe, the wound care nurse from Northwest Hospital came by for her weekly visit. I have wounds that get bandaged and rebandaged each day by the resident wound care nurse, but Mary Joe is an expert with many years of experience. She is the only one truly experienced with my disease, calciphylaxis. Mary Joe looked at my latest wound and was very worried. I couldn't see it from my position but it had been oozing puss for a couple days. She kept squeezing the wound to get the puss out, and I kept biting down on my bedding, stifling my screams. She said it looked bad enough that I might have to go to the hospital. This freaked me out. I had just got out of the hospital six weeks ago to find all my stuff in boxes, and me in a new room. I just got used to my new room and roommate and didn't want to go through this all over again. But Mary Joe was able to squeeze the absess right out of my wound and patch it up. Hopefully that will be the end of it and I will start healing. As long as I don't get a fever I will probably be OK.
After I was all bandaged and dressed I went to occupational therapy, where I played the Nintendo Wii for a half hour (I shot a 3 under par in golf, a personal best). I lifted weights for another half hour. Then I had a little bit of physical therapy before I had braces put on my legs. I wear these every day for a couple hours, with the hope that they will stretch out my calve muscles and achilles tendons so I can comfortably walk again. I haven't been able to walk since early August of last year. If I can ever walk comfortably agaiin, I will not take it for granted.
At lunch I went online and tried to start writing, but there were too many distractions. (I am halving trouble concentrating right now because a feeble-minded woman has just been abandoned next to me by her care giver and she just mumbles incoherently. Is she talking to me or Judge Judy?)
I checked out the Slog to see what people were talking about. Same old shit. Nothing I felt like contributing to the dialogue. Maybe later. I checked out the news. An alleged gang banger who is accused of shooting a couple people at the Southcenter Mall was caught. Gunmen in India stormed two five star hotels and killed 78 people and injured at least 200 others. They were looking for Americans to kill. Not much else in the news, like that wasn't enough.
I was pleasanty surprised to find that my disability check was deposited in my account four days early. I wrote a check for most of the balance of what I owe the nursing home and ordered Christmas presents from Amazon for myself and a friend, then went to QFC to buy someting to eat for today, and something special for tomorrow (Thanksgiving).
At QFC, while trying to reach for a chicken pot pie in the back of the freezer, I accidently leaned on my wheelchair controller, and slammed my left calf into the corner of the glass door. Now I have a hug hemotoma on the left leg, and four painful wounds on the right.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Friends will be celebrating with loved ones. I will be here. I will try to choke down the shitty "Turkey Dinner" that, based on last year, is worse than a generic TV Dinner version of the traditional holiday meal. But thanks to my early disability check and QFC, I will have a dinner of Prime Rib, garlic mashed potatoes and green beans. And I will follow it with a glass of egg nog with a shot of Southern Comfort ( a pint of which I smuggled into the home today).
More tomorrow.
The day began this morning when Mary Joe, the wound care nurse from Northwest Hospital came by for her weekly visit. I have wounds that get bandaged and rebandaged each day by the resident wound care nurse, but Mary Joe is an expert with many years of experience. She is the only one truly experienced with my disease, calciphylaxis. Mary Joe looked at my latest wound and was very worried. I couldn't see it from my position but it had been oozing puss for a couple days. She kept squeezing the wound to get the puss out, and I kept biting down on my bedding, stifling my screams. She said it looked bad enough that I might have to go to the hospital. This freaked me out. I had just got out of the hospital six weeks ago to find all my stuff in boxes, and me in a new room. I just got used to my new room and roommate and didn't want to go through this all over again. But Mary Joe was able to squeeze the absess right out of my wound and patch it up. Hopefully that will be the end of it and I will start healing. As long as I don't get a fever I will probably be OK.
After I was all bandaged and dressed I went to occupational therapy, where I played the Nintendo Wii for a half hour (I shot a 3 under par in golf, a personal best). I lifted weights for another half hour. Then I had a little bit of physical therapy before I had braces put on my legs. I wear these every day for a couple hours, with the hope that they will stretch out my calve muscles and achilles tendons so I can comfortably walk again. I haven't been able to walk since early August of last year. If I can ever walk comfortably agaiin, I will not take it for granted.
At lunch I went online and tried to start writing, but there were too many distractions. (I am halving trouble concentrating right now because a feeble-minded woman has just been abandoned next to me by her care giver and she just mumbles incoherently. Is she talking to me or Judge Judy?)
I checked out the Slog to see what people were talking about. Same old shit. Nothing I felt like contributing to the dialogue. Maybe later. I checked out the news. An alleged gang banger who is accused of shooting a couple people at the Southcenter Mall was caught. Gunmen in India stormed two five star hotels and killed 78 people and injured at least 200 others. They were looking for Americans to kill. Not much else in the news, like that wasn't enough.
I was pleasanty surprised to find that my disability check was deposited in my account four days early. I wrote a check for most of the balance of what I owe the nursing home and ordered Christmas presents from Amazon for myself and a friend, then went to QFC to buy someting to eat for today, and something special for tomorrow (Thanksgiving).
At QFC, while trying to reach for a chicken pot pie in the back of the freezer, I accidently leaned on my wheelchair controller, and slammed my left calf into the corner of the glass door. Now I have a hug hemotoma on the left leg, and four painful wounds on the right.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Friends will be celebrating with loved ones. I will be here. I will try to choke down the shitty "Turkey Dinner" that, based on last year, is worse than a generic TV Dinner version of the traditional holiday meal. But thanks to my early disability check and QFC, I will have a dinner of Prime Rib, garlic mashed potatoes and green beans. And I will follow it with a glass of egg nog with a shot of Southern Comfort ( a pint of which I smuggled into the home today).
More tomorrow.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment