See, time just flies and flies and flies and all of a sudden it's nearly a month since my last post.

Not to say that I've had nuttin to say. Cause, well, I always do.

Just taking the time to sit down and rehash the ongoing struggle to keep ahead of moms health issues is pretty draining and so it gets put off and put off and yep, a month is almost gone.
 

Moms arm has completely healed, stitches out and it healed nicely. Disaster averted. Must be the clean living. Hard to argue with that when you have Marge at 91, Mom at 90, and Herb at 89! Little brother Paul at 75!  OMG. Speaks volumes when you realize that they all smoked heavily but all quit 25 to 30 years ago. Speaks volumes when you realize that they all smoked heavily but all quit 25 to 30 years ago.

That being said I do have two physical therapists coming over to work with her. Josh comes on Mondays and Fridays and spends an hour each time going through the same basic set of exercises that she was doing while at the Coventry. Emphasis on fall prevention and balance/mobility.
Enrico comes once a week and works on walking with her and basic fall prevention/safety protocols.

We have been having regular visits from Olive the cat from next door. Great cat. LOVES moms place. The neighbors leave their door open for Olive to roam and moms door is open often so Olive invites herself in.

So we had a nice small family gathering at Marge's house for Easter, just 8 of us. That was pretty much the right amount of folks excepting missing Brian who was home recovering/recuperating from some on the job physical stress. 

Quinn and I had taken mom for a test drive up and down the stairs at her apartment on Saturday and while successful, it was an ordeal.
Basically we told mom, either you make it up the stairs at Marge's OR you stay home and we bring you a plate of food and some dessert. Motivated, she made the journey. Enjoyed herself a bunch.

Quinn and Scott set a mean table of ham and asparagus with crack infused scalloped/cheesey potatoes. OMG GOOD!!  We had hot cross buns from Schuberts Bakery (Cause, duh! It's Easter!)

And a cute lil Easter Egg/Carrot Cake from Sweet Things with ice cream for dessert.

More pics later.

CHECK THIS OUT!

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Dxy4n0UT82o?rel=0

And this

 The BARKLEYS   

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And this

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And this

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Get you some of THAT!


Okay Okay, this hound is TRIPPIN!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5Re6dFREOc

Therapy    Infotainment    Some stuff for y'all to check out.

Yep!  Pics of the bridge lights that last night they were turned on. 

And just for posterity.....Silly Hall

I know I know I KNOW!  It's already March 15th and it's been a couple weeks since I last updated.

 

Let's just say close to half a dozen doctor appointments, many many visits from visiting nurses checking up on moms arm, a visit from the nutritionist have all combined to keep me (and Gipetto and Wednesday) hopping.
 


The good news is that moms arm is well on the way to a complete heal. The infection from a week and a half ago has responded well to the antibiotics and twice a day bandage changes. Out of the woods!

The ongoing struggle to keep her diet consistent and productive has taken multiple calls and visits every day!  Arrrggghhhhh!!
 


We also had a scare with her neighbor Jan who had fallen in her apartment and laid on the floor for two days before the manager discovered and called nineeleveneleven and got her to the hospital. A weeks stay and a bout of the flu but she is back home and on the mend as well.

 

Jill (Jan's niece AKA Angel of Mercy)  finally had to go back to her family (pesky family!  Wanting moms home cooking all to themselves!)
 

BIG THANKS TO JILLIANNE !!!   COME BACK SOON

 




Jill was replaced, supplanted, exchanged for Joyce (Jill 2.0) Jan's sister from Florida. She's been here for nearly two weeks and has been a big help to Jan.

For you non local readers of this blog, the Bay area has been blessed by some unseasonable/crazy nice weather for the past week or more. Think 70's and bees buzzing after all of the ploinating everythings that has most people crying with allergies/hay fever.



I'm told it beats the heck out of yards and yards of snow though.

And if you think YOU know how to have fun, well guess again folks.

I took mom to her doctor to get her stitches out Thursday and lo and behold, her wound was infected.

DAGNABBIT!               

The combination of thin skin, bad nutrition, low water intake has left her immune system in not a great place to fight the infection. Despite regular bandage changes by me, Scott and Quinn, friend Jillianne, we're fighting against stubborness on a global scale. Think pushing a boulder uphill in a blizzard.



Have her on Keflex now with a side of zinc oxide directly on the wound and twice a day dressing changes. Hopefully the antibiotics will turn the tide. 


We had an extended visit from Olive the cat from across the hall today. Scott and Quinn and I were all over there with Scott fixing breakfast and Quinn helping mom take a shower and wash her hair. Jill had come over and changed moms bandage this morning. Team Mom is doing what it can and more.

The doctor tried to impress on mom the importance of staying hydrated and nourished to help her body fight off the infection.   

Any help/encouragement/visits to her would be greatly appreciated!

 

Well to say that time just flies when you're having fun just doesn't really cover it.
 


Over the past two weeks we've had a battle with not enough water intake, coupled with not enough food (yoyo diet) followed by both ends of the gastrointestinal distress teeter totter.

 

I did manage to steal moms shoes and take them out to my guy in West Portal and he did me a solid quick one day repair. SCORE!

TipTop vacumn AND shoe repair.  HUH?  Yep, left side shoe stuff, right side vacumn cleaner bags, belts, etc.



Moms weight is stable but not increasing (at <700 cal a day, no wonder)

Saturday she had a big whoopsie on the transfer from wheelchair to ejector chair. Quinn was there helping her, I was downstairs doing the laundry. Next thing I get a text and Quinn tells me to haul ass upstairs. Mom (you know, ol' fall UP a tree mom) slid between chairs and little sharp cornered wood table and left a whole hunk of skin from her arm on it.  OUCHIE.



Quick triage and refold of the skin, antiseptic, bandage and then a quick 6 and 1/2 hour trip to the ER in the Fambulance Junior for TEN STITCHES!!!
 

That was a ton of fun shoehorning mom into the car. OMG moment!

And in 6 and 1/2 hours you have the opportunity to meet a fascinating array of crackheads, heroin addicts, dumbasses and assorted other "challenged" folks.

            


Like I always say.... CELEBRATE DIVERSITY!

So moms arm is doing pretty okay, no infection, saw her doctor today and we'll go back next week to get the stiches out.

On a closely related front, her neighbor down the hall Jan, had a fall last week and although okayish now, spent the better part of 2 days on the floor in her apartment.
 


Fortunately Douwa and Victor were able to break in (many many locks) and called nine eleven eleven and she was taken to Kaiser. Got cold, caught a cold, went to hospital, got warm, YAY!
A week later, some tamiflu, rest, and she's on the mend.

Her niece Jillianne is down from Oregon and cleaning decluttering and getting the place ship shape for Jans return. Yes an Alert Pendant is on the way.

So yeah, been an exciting couple of weeks. 

Paid a visit to mom today and took her some Frittata from Mollie Stones.  Believe it or don't ....she had never had Frittata!

We discussed her fear of falling "Out of the wheelchair"  Really!  Can't make this stuff up.

So we did some tests with her sitting in the wheelchair to show her how stable wheelchairs are designed.

Admittedly, many times I think she could fall UP a tree. That being said however, if wheelchairs were really dangerous, methinks they wouldn't be insisting on taking you out of the hospital IN one.

Just sayin!

So test one, I pulled her up to facing the new ejector chair (so she have a soft landing if she could find a way to fall OUT. I told her to hold on and I picked up the back of the chair a good 6 inches. She still couldn't fall out.

Test two, I leaned the wheelchair over about 45 degrees and she still didn't fall out.

She had mentioned that she "felt" like she would fall out transitioning from the hall carpet to the hardwood floor in her bedroom. (all of a half inch drop!)

So to disprove this theory I had her hold on to the wheelchair and I pushed her down the hallway at about 30 mph and then into her bedroom.  She screeched a bit, but no pain no gain!  Then I took it up to about 35 mph for the second run and included the jog past the dresser and, well, she still didn't fall out.
 


So we are pretty much in agreement that the chances of her falling OUT of the wheelchair are next to nil.

Hopefully with some patience, practice, better diet, and excercise we'll have her doing this soon.

Well at least that's the plan.