Toms Diary

Today’s Business: 2010-08-31

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

Today’s Activities

Shower. DONE.
Cat duty. DONE.

Log

08:10 AM: I’m up.

08:15 AM: In email, [Emmy] says that she’s arranged her train trip here for tomorrow. Now, I’ll do my part, and arrange a ride to pick her up when she arrives, and bring her here.

09:55 AM: Watched the 2010-07-29 and 2010-07-30 episodes of NBC’s Nightly News news show on the DVR.

10:00 AM: I arranged pick-up for [Emmy] tomorrow when she arrives.

10:30 AM: I set up my new paper shredder and shredded a large pile of confidential documents.

11:15 AM: Just finished an Internet shopping trip, where I purchased new batteries for Mom’s and my Motorola cell phones.

12:15 PM: Added a comment to the Tom’s Views –> Mosque At Ground Zero piece.

01:40 PM: Watched the 2010-08-02 and 2010-08-03 episodes of NBC’s Nightly News news show on the DVR.

02:50 PM: Posted the Shopping Trip: 2010-08-28 piece.

03:15 PM: Called Mom’s lawyers to get a copy of her living will.

04:15 PM: Nap time.

05:00 PM: I’m back up again, blogging, and reading syndicated columns on the mosque at ground zero.

06:30 PM: Watched the 2010-08-30 and 2010-08-31 episodes of Dr. Phil on the DVR.

07:45 PM: Running the furnace air cleaner cartridges through the dishwasher, in preps for the winter months.

08:25 PM: Watched President Obama’s speech on America’s withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq. Nice.

09:03 PM: Talked with [Emmy]. She’s packing for her trip to here, and we watched the president’s speech via the phone. Getting my CNN in sync with hers was a little challenging. But, by pausing the DVR and then restarting it in short spurts, I got them close enough to eliminate most of the echo.

09:55 PM: Watched today’s episode of The Young and the Restless on the DVR.

10:35 PM: Made raspberry-flavored cream cheese Jello just now for [Emmy] when she gets here. She likes that flavor so much… as I do too.

11:45 PM: Watched the 2010-08-04 and 2010-08-05 episodes of NBC’s Nightly News news show on the DVR.

11:50 PM: Bed time. More tomorrow.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

Credit card / balance transfer offer (2). Not at this time, thanks.

Summary

Mom had physical therapy again today and says that her legs feel even stronger that yesterday. She stood up today, with help, but still a good achievement. Though she still experiences some loss of sensation in her lower extremedies, she sounds encouraged by the headway she’s making.

Pending Objectives

Order podiatrist for regular checkups on Mom’s feet.
Secure a private room for Mom.
Track Mom’s extreme weakness and loss of feeling in legs. IN PROGRESS. Preliminary indications are that she has significant nerve damage in her legs that may or may not heal. But I must get a more complete assessment from her doctors today.
Monitor Mom’s overall pain status. We’re looking to get her pain stopped. IN PROGRESS. Her pain has been steadily decreasing over the past week, and they’re supposed to have restarted her neurontin. I’ll check that today.
Track the dissipation of Mom’s pelvic hematoma. IN PROGRESS. This “blood lump” is shrinking, doctors say.
Locate Mom’s living will. IN PROGRESS. I called her attorneys today to get a copy.

Completed Objectives

Log

02:00 PM: Mom called me a little while ago with the following news:

She was able to stand, and to exercise her legs on, what sounds like a horizontally-oriented stair-stepping machine.
She’s sleeping much better in her new room.
Over all, her demeanor appears as it was yesterday; she’s in a pretty good mood but still troubled about whether she’ll get better or not.

Tom Hesley

Today’s Activities

Shower. DONE.
Cat duty. DONE.

Log

08:20 AM: I’m up.

09:50 AM: Packed Saturday’s beef steak purchases into freezer bags, labeled, and put in freezer.

10:15 AM: Heard from [Emmy]. She informed me that I left a bag full of mail at her place in my haste to catch a ride home im Mom’s ambulance this past Friday. Grrrrrrr. See, this is why I hate rushing around; because I make more errors and forget things when in a big hurry. But sometimes, last-minute changes are inevitable. So I’ll accommodate them when I must, but avoid them when I can.

[Emmy] also reported that her air conditioner doesn’t seem to produce much cold air today. Well, as you know, I was visiting out there the past couple weeks, and the AC unit appeared to be working correctly. It’s unlikely (though admittedly not impossible) that the appliance developed a problem in the past couple days. But I think it more likely that [Emmy] set the thermostadt too high (or low, depending on your perspective). She couldn’t say whether the compressor was running or not. At that, I told her that I thought that everyone, as part of a public education, should attend some sort of trade school for a year or two, to learn details about appliance operations, what appliances sound like when working properly, and how to diagnose common failures. She insists that she knows this. But I don’t know if I believe her.

10:35 AM: Watched the 2010-07-19 and 2010-07-20 episodes of NBC’s Nightly News news show.

01:35 PM: Watched the 2010-07-21 through 2010-07-24 episodes of NBC’s Nightly News news show.

01:45 PM: Scheduled van trip to [Emmy's] wrist appointment this week.

02:45 PM: FAXed the power-of-attorney papers to Mom’s nursing facility, per their request.

03:20 PM: Watched today’s episode of The Young and the Restless on the DVR.

05:00 PM: Leaving for nursing facility to visit Mom. Back later.

07:40 PM: I’m back home again.

08:45 PM: Watched the 2010-07-25 episode of NBC’s Meet The Press news show.

09:55 PM: Talked to [Emmy], and well, I guess I must eat some crow. It turns out that the compressor in her air conditioner is indeed defective and must be replaced. She was operating the controls correctly and had the building social working come down to look at it. He confirmed that it wasn’t generating as much cold air as is usual for these in-wall units, and then later, the building’s maintenance fellow agreed. So they’ll replace her unit sometime next month. In the meantime, she’ll have to cope with some extra heat in her apartment. But fortunately, half of her place is underground. So that should help keep her cool; even with the limping air conditioner.

12:15 AM: Watched the 2010-07-25 through 2010-07-28 episodes of NBC’s Nightly News news show.

12:20 AM: I’m headed to bed now. So good night, and I’ll be back out here again tomorrow.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

Cable TV + Internet + phone bill.
Mom’s pension pay stub.
USPS mail delivery study invitation.
Check from my investment firm. I’m moving a little money around.
Allstate auto insurance offer. Not at this time, thanks.
Hearing test invitation. Not at this time, thanks.
Analog Science Fiction magazine; the 2010-09 issue.
WPSBC Alumni Association memorial notice for Joseph Sofranko, who passed away recently.

Summary

Mom had physical therapy today and says that her legs feel stronger. Friends have called and visited lately. She’s still not eating as much as doctors would like. But she’s feeling less stressed in her new room.

Pending Objectives

Order podiatrist for regular checkups on Mom’s feet.
Secure a private room for Mom.
Track Mom’s extreme weakness and loss of feeling in legs. IN PROGRESS. Preliminary indications are that she has significant nerve damage in her legs that may or may not heal. But I must get a more complete assessment from her doctors today.
Monitor Mom’s overall pain status. We’re looking to get her pain stopped. IN PROGRESS. Her pain has been steadily decreasing over the past week, and they’re supposed to have restarted her neurontin. I’ll check that today.
Track the dissipation of Mom’s pelvic hematoma. IN PROGRESS. This “blood lump” is shrinking, doctors say.

Completed Objectives

Log

03:00 PM: I FAXed the power-of-attorney papers requested by the facility caring for Mom.

05:00 PM: Sister Mary Ann is driving up to see Mom, and I am tagging along. Details follow:

05:30 PM: We arrived. Mom’s supper had also been delivered some minutes before we got there. So she had already finished eating; though she really didn’t eat very much.
She has slightly more movement in lower legs and the pain in her thighs has all but gone — except for when she moves them a lot. They tried standing her up today. But she says she has limited sensation in her legs, and so, could not feel herself standing. She could not stand for very long. She’ll have another physical therapy session tomorrow.
Sister Mary Ann brought pictures of our family and hung some up on Mom’s calendar board at the foot of her bed.
She’s not to wear “footies” in bed. These mark her skin and could potentially cause other problems.
Her stomach feels nauseous tonight. The nurse offered meds to counter this. However, she declined them; wishing not to take so many meds, she said.
Prior to next visit, we must locate her blue-framed reading glasses.
07:05 PM: She’s dozing. So we’re leaving now.

Tom Hesley

Today’s Activities

Shower. DONE.
Cat duty. DONE.

Log

08:30 AM: I’m up.

10:40 AM: Recorded audio journal episode AJE-2010-08-29-09-58.

11:00 AM: Read and filed numerous email messages that I received over the past couple weeks.

12:00 PM: Talked with [Emmy]. Her cold is better. But she expects it to be gone in just a few days, and she didn’t want to hear that the average length of a common cold is 21 days. But then again, her immune system seems quite powerful; she’s avoided many colds that I contracted myself. So she may get over the symptoms quickly. I hope so.

01:45 PM: Cooked an eye steak for lunch, seasoned with garlic salt. Simple yet delicious, for sure.

02:00 PM: Watched today’s episode of CBS’s Face The Nation news show, and skimmed the 2010-08-15 and 2010-08-22 episodes of CBS’s 60 Minutes news show.

03:15 PM: Watched the 2010-07-18 and 2010-07-25 episodes of CBS’s Face The Nation news show.

05:10 PM: Watched the 2010-08-01, 2010-08-15, and 2010-08-22 episodes of CBS’s Face The Nation news show. Nap time now.

06:45 PM: I’m back up again, and continued to go through the email I received over the past couple weeks while away. I’ve processed most of it now and should be caught up tomorrow. Most of it was advertisement and spam.

07:10 PM: Skipped tonight’s rerun episode of CBS’s 60 Minutes news show.

08:10 PM: Watched the 2010-07-17 and 2010-07-18 episodes of NBC’s Nightly News news show.

10:45 PM: After iPodding, Facebooking, and talking with [Emmy], I think I’ll call it a day and hit the sack. Good night, and I’ll write more tomorrow. Take care.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

No mail or shipments delivered on Sundays.

Summary

They relocated Mom to a different room so she could sleep better. Contact me directly for details. She likes the room, and her legs feel a bit stronger today. Tomorrow starts a complete new week in her new location, and new people will be examining her. Hopefully, they’ll find more good news this week as the good folks in Pittsburgh found last week.

Pending Objectives

Order podiatrist for regular checkups on Mom’s feet.
Secure a private room for Mom.
Track Mom’s extreme weakness and loss of feeling in legs. IN PROGRESS. Preliminary indications are that she has significant nerve damage in her legs that may or may not heal. But I must get a more complete assessment from her doctors today.
Monitor Mom’s overall pain status. We’re looking to get her pain stopped. IN PROGRESS. Her pain has been steadily decreasing over the past week, and they’re supposed to have restarted her neurontin. I’ll check that today.
Track the dissipation of Mom’s pelvic hematoma. IN PROGRESS. This “blood lump” is shrinking, doctors say.

Completed Objectives

Log

11:05 AM: The nursing facility called to say that Mom asked to be moved to a different room last night – her roommate’s near-constant loud coughing was keeping her awake. They completed this relocation this morning.

06:00 PM: I heard from Mom. She likes her new room and feels somewhat better. However, no celebrating yet for her, until she hears Physical Therapy’s evaluation tomorrow.

Tom Hesley

August 2010
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