Category: Medical

Medical

Oh My – Part 2

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We were having a pleasant evening last night. Just finished watching the latest NCIS when Lou goes, “Oops.”

He might have said something besides oops, but the point of the story is – his front tooth fell out! Just part of it, but it is one tooth in a 7-tooth bridge. I said it was kind of cute, which he did not appreciate.

Fortunately, there is a dentist just down the road who accepts emergency patients, so he was able to be seen today. Interesting story – the dentist went to dental school at Loma Linda University, which is near where we lived in California. Her husband graduated from UC Riverside – where Lou was a chemistry professor, and UCR was also my alma mater. What a small world!

If you are keeping track, we have now visited one emergency room, one urgent care, and now one emergency dentist. In less than a month! Not counting the dermatologist and vet clinic, as those visits were pre-planned.

I did manage to successfully apply for my Arizona Driver’s License today, and I stopped at GoodWill on the way back to make a donation. Mostly older DVDs, some stuffed animals, and some jeans. I will be making several more visits to donate stuff as we try to fit into the new house. The frequency of donations is not influenced by the fact that the best donut shop in town is right next door.

Stay Safe!

What are the Chances?

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As mentioned in our last post, we returned to Maine and enjoyed some snow. We have slowly been trying to prep for the movers coming next week. I started to feel a bit off, had some stomach issues than seemed to be developing a cold and congestion.

I was taking it easy and decided to read some science fiction (this might have been my second time though this one, but it was so bad I can’t recall for sure).

I was chatting about our fitness comp with Catherine, and said not to expect much from me, since I was pretty sure I had come down with Ebola. This was on Wednesday.

Skip to Friday morning. Lou said I was either calling the doctor or he was dropping me off at the hospital. “Geez. It’s just a cold or the flu, not much they can do at the doctor’s office.”

Occasionally being smarter than the average bear, I called the doctor’s office. First question- Have you done a Covid test? Me – no, I don’t have a fever and don’t feel all that bad. Them – take a Covid test and call us back.

Okie Dokie – 20 minutes later, on the phone with the doctor’s office: “Um, yeah, about that Covid test. It’s positive…”

After three years of being safe, it finally caught up with us. Wait, make that just me – Lou seems to be fine. I probably caught it on our return flight from Phoenix, which was six days before my first symptom. Lou did feel bad for a couple of days after we got home, but he shook it off and was better about the time I started getting sick. Curious if he had a really mild case. (Lou, of course, disputes this theory.)

The Nurse Practitioner called me and walked through all the details and recommended Paxlovid. Lou picked up the prescription and I started it yesterday. My chest congestion seemed to improve by evening and I slept better last night. I was able to do a little work today, but now taking it easy. I seem to have a very mild case, which really just feels like a bad cold. Not complaining, and am glad I got the vaccine and all the boosters.

Not the best timing to be sick, but grateful it hasn’t been worse. Teresa has been a great help in getting us ready for the packers and movers. They come on Monday, planning to take 5 days to pack up the house. Teresa and the pups, and I, are off on our cross country trek on Sunday. Lou will go to Bangor and catch an early morning flight to Phoenix.

Lou arriving in Phoenix takes the pressure off of Thelma and Louise to beat the moving van to Arizona. He will supposedly already have a car, since the Tahoe was picked up earlier this week for transport, and will hopefully be waiting for him in the garage.

That is all the news we have today. We just had a nice visit with Donna and Marci, who braved the Covid cooties to wish us safe travels.

Stay Safe! I mean it this time!

Mr. Independent

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The improvement this week has been amazing. Even Lou’s in-home therapists are impressed. He spent all day yesterday downstairs, moving freely between the blue room and the green room. This morning, he actually got out of bed all by himself, I didn’t even have to hold the walker to stabilize it. He then proceeded to do all his morning chores, including taking a shower and dressing himself!!!

We came downstairs before 7am – my only jobs were carrying his computer and getting his coffee. Here is a photo from last night when we went upstairs at 8pm. The guard patrol made sure he got up to the top, then turned to confirm I was following right behind:


Moving beyond patient news, here is a patriotic view of the front, showing one of the flower arrangements chosen by the Sisters:

The roses have been blooming like crazy. They are not so much the perfect specimens, but they add color. The very first hydrangea bloom is also showing.


Thanks to all for the wishes for a speedy recovery – the good vibes seem to be helping!

Improving by Leaps & Bounds

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Conquering steps and stairs, in and out of the car, putting on his own socks and shoes. There is no end to the progress being made here in Midcoast Maine. Here are some pics from today’s adventure.

Easier to get out than in
Lou looks so much like his Dad in this pic
Downstairs this morning – happy to have coffee sitting up!
Back downstairs this evening to enjoy a snack and dinner

This was Lou’s two week post-surgery appointment in Bangor. It went amazingly well. We got there at 10:30 am, Lou was taken right to x-ray. Then he went in the exam room and the doctor came right in. Everything looks good and he was cautioned not to try to do too much, too soon. A look at the x-rays:

Left one is the right knee – the recent replacement
Side view – shows the knee cap

Let’s skip back to Monday. Don’t think we made the Care Team work continuously every day, they managed to get some relaxation and fine dining in on their last full day. The Sisters started with an early lunch at Young’s Lobster Pound. They love Oysters! They followed up with a shopping trip at Hannaford where they picked up their lobsters – I imagine they will be sharing Christmas Cards with the oyster and lobster folks.

Sadly, the Traveling Sisters Care Team had to be awake early, when the car service arrived at 3:45am. I happened to be up, so came down and got a pic of them with Ross. Ross has driven them numerous times. They had a few delay scares on the way home, but did manage to catch each flight and they are now safely home in California. We are so grateful, and appreciative of Catherine and Beth using their vacation time to help get us through Lou’s recovery time.

Mainely Improving …

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Didn’t realize a couple of days have slipped by without an update. The routine has been mostly the same, the Traveling Sisters Care Team continues to feed us, and they handle a lot of Lou’s needs as well. My main job is providing motivation, and it is working. It turns out he really wanted to dress himself, since he was never sure what he was going to end up with after I finished helping him.

The best news of all – Lou sat up on the bed and got his leg on the floor all by himself. The only assistance we provided was holding the walker steady while he stood up (without assistance). He can than do his morning chores without help. He even dressed himself today. And he took another shower, feeling much stronger as he scrubbed. The physical therapist comes tomorrow and will work with Lou on stairs.

The girls made carnitas for dinner one night, including Catherine’s especial crispy shredded pork. Beth made a super tasty guacamole. Some photos from this special evening:

Natasha got a little excited. She says Cocker Spaniels love carnitas!

Friday was a typical day, another lobster celebration for the Care Team:

On Saturday, the TSCT went into Belfast to visit the Farmer’s market and the special Belfast Art Festival that was running this weekend. Catherine shared some pics, including some nice artwork she purchased.

Sunday (today) was a busy day for all. This is the day Lou made his big strides, doing lots of stuff on his own. I had a golf tournament, and the Care Team was in charge for the morning. They did an excellent job!

We will be back tomorrow with more updates!

Day 6 Update

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Apologies for not posting this update yesterday. The day was a whirlwind, and I fell asleep with a dog in my lap when I sat down to write a post:

The Traveling Sisters Care Team has been a Godsend. They have taken over snacks and meals, and are providing general entertainment. Some of the meal selections from the past couple of days:

Lou hasn’t wanted much to eat and he requested pasta for dinner. He didn’t request hamburger stroganoff; that was a belated birthday gift to me. The peas, however, are Lou’s favorite.

There is a story with that last photo. We are all so focused on taking care of Lou’s every need, we forgot to feed him lunch yesterday!!! I was actually on lunch duty, since the TSCT was doing grocery shopping and more. I was rushing trying to assist Lou and get to my afternoon physical therapy appointment. I got home at 3:30 and realized he hadn’t eaten anything. So I whipped up a gourmet charcuterie board, except it had no charcuterie and came in a paper bowl. (To be fair, he doesn’t always want lunch …but he might have been feeling abandoned for a few hours.)

After serving lunch, I left the TSCT in charge and booked it back to town. I had to go into the walk-in clinic for a lab test and a prescription. This is the first time we have used the urgent care/ walk-in clinic, and it was convenient and a good option for the future. The Sisters made a delicious dinner, hamburger stroganoff, as a belated birthday dinner for me – yum!

I am saving this very special gift for when the TSCT leaves and I am on my own. This most thoughtful and helpful gift came from Louie in Florida. He thought this might be helpful to both me and Lou ❤️

This does bring up another point – I am plotting how we can keep the TSCT in residence for a few more weeks. I have not ruled out kidnapping.



Here are a few more photos from the day – click for larger pics:

The last photo is the family enjoying dinner together. Lou is sitting up. I stuck my foot up so you would know I was there.

I skipped right past Father’s Day … the girls had cards and gifts for Dad, and it was nice they could be here to celebrate the day. Stitch and Natasha did not want to be left out:

And yes! The missing luggage did arrive on Monday, so crisis averted. It is now Tuesday morning in real time (as opposed to blog update time). Lou has been up once and is now resting before breakfast. He is supposed to get visits today from both an Occupational Therapist and a Physical Therapist. I have a golf tournament so will be gone for the afternoon, but I am quite sure the TSCT will manage everything just perfectly.

I leave you with this pretty view from this morning: