BACK TO BEING PUBLIC

OK folks, I tried.  But being a private blog just did not work for most of my readers.  So I am back to being public and we will just see how this works out.

Sorry I haven't written in a few days, but things have been really busy.  On Thursday I had my root canal finished.  Finally!  And it seems to be OK this time.  It's a little sensitive, but no infection so far.  Yes!

After I got off from the dentist I called work, told them I would not be in again, and after having lunch headed for the hospital.  I got there about 2:00 p.m.  Joe was napping.  He said he had gotten about 2 hours sleep.  The guy in the room with him had the TV on full blast all night and was going in and out of the bathroom at 4 a.m. and talking to him.  Besides that the neurologist and physical therapist had examined him and put him through a lot of tests and he had x-rays on his shoulder and a second CT scan on his brain.

Around 3 p.m. the two doctors from the day before came in.  They said that he would have to stay another day, but his epilepsy medicine was not in the hospital.  He hadn't had any the day before and asked if I could go home and get it and bring it back because the hospital couldn't get any for a few days.  It's 12 miles each way and I didn't want to get caught in rush hour, so I headed home (heavy traffic), grabbed the medicine, a button down shirt for him because he couldn't put on his t-shirt, and a book we are reading.  Then headed back for "rush hour in Philly", not a thing anyone in their right mind would want to do.  I got back around 5:30 p.m., gave the medicine to the nurse, and got him his dose.  Then dinner came and I helped to feed him.  He wanted to get washed up and brush his teeth, so he asked the nurse if he could get up with my help and she said yes, so I helped him into the bathroom, had him sit down on the seat in the shower area, and got him washed up.

We were just finishing when the orthopedic doctor came in.  He examined Joe and said it was OK with him to send Joe home that night or he could go in the morning.  Of course Joe said he wanted to go home.  So by the time all the paper work was done it was 8:30 p.m. when we left.

I love driving through the city at night.  It is so beautiful. Pictures just don't do it justice. And even though the roads were still crowded, at least it wasn't rush hour.

Benjamin Franklin Bridge over the Delaware River

We got home and I got something to eat and then got Joe settled into bed.  I went to bed too because I had to work on Friday.

I hated to leave Joe alone on Friday, but came home for lunch at 1:00 p.m. and made sure he was OK.  I had left the phone, TV remote, newspaper, books, snacks and water within easy reach of him.  He was in a lot of pain from his fractured shoulder and bruises, but he's such a good sport about things.  I had to go back to work, made sure everything on my desk was cleaned up, and came back home at 5:00 p.m.  He was OK, but I just didn't feel good about leaving him alone even though he had slept all day.

We are having a home inspection coming up and the house is a mess.  I have spent hours cleaning up and still have so much more to go.  This was all on my to do list but I expected to have three months to do it, not three days.  The bedroom is almost done and so is the living room.  I still have a lot to do, but I see things getting done and that is a good thing.

Joe had me take pictures of his bruises so he could see how badly he was banged up.  It's bad.  And every day new bruises show up.  His shoulder and back are the worst, of course, but his legs, knees, back and neck and other arm are also badly bruised.

He has to wear a sling to immobilize his arm for the next six to eight weeks.  And since he is right handed this is hard for him.  Of course, he automatically tries to reach for things with it or hold things.  It's hard.

Tomorrow is our 7th wedding anniversary.  We both went to church this morning.  I had our friend Bud take a picture of us standing at the front of the church where we took our marriage vows seven years ago.  Very cool.

September 16, 2006

September 15, 2013

Poor Joe.  Every anniversary he gets sick.  He was even sick on our wedding day.  Sometime I'll tell you about all of that.

As we left church I saw that the dogwood tree had started to turn colors.

 

Yes, fall is right around the corner.

And now I am going to get off of here, make dinner and do some more cleaning.  This is one way to make me get the house under control.

Thanks for reading and I'll try to check in tomorrow.

Saturday -- Mostly cloudy

High:  68 degrees at 2:45 p.m.

Low:  53 degrees at 11:45 p.m.

Sunrise:  6:40 a.m.

Sunset:  7:10 p.m.

Sunday -- Partly cloudy

High:  74 degrees at 3:25 p.m.

Low:  61 degrees predicted

Sunrise:  6:41 a.m.

Sunset:  7:09 p.m.

Yes, fall weather is here.  No more 80 degree days.  It's chilly and I put on the fire in the stove last night! 

THIS WASN'T WHAT I PLANNED

Not at all.  I planned to go to work and get my desk cleared off.  Then when I got home I was going to watch the movie "World Trade Center" in memory of that fateful day 12 years ago.  (If you want to read my story of being caught in that day, it's here.)

Remember I told you that Joe didn't want me to go to the hospital with him?  Well, he changed his mind and wanted me to go.  I called work and took the day off.  Carole picked us up and took us.  It took a long time to get into the Emergency Room.  Once there Carole left, telling me to call her when I wanted to go home and she would pick me up.

After waiting two or three hours to get looked at (Joe slept through most of it), he was finally taken to get a CT scan of his brain and x-rays of his knees and shoulder (the places he was having the most pain).

 

He doesn't know I took this picture.

After two hours he finally came back.  I was getting really worried about him.  It should have been 45 minutes tops.  And after all of that they still hadn't taken the x-rays of his shoulder because of a mix-up.  So back he went for another hour and a half.

He had a great nurse named Rose who really fought for him to get the tests he needed, not get the tests he didn't need that they ordered anyway, and was up in arms about not getting the shoulder x-rayed at the same time as his knees.  She was wonderful.  God bless the nurses.  They have a hard job.

Finally around 5 p.m. two doctors came in to see Joe.  We had been there since 10 a.m.  These doctors were great.  They were pleasant, but very informative and very interested in everything we had to tell them.  They told us that Joe would be staying for a few days for observation and tests.  This is not what I wanted to hear, but at the same time I want him to be OK.  So I told Joe that I was going home, get something to eat, get his things and come back.

I went outside, called Carole and waited 45 minutes for her to show up because it was rush hour.  At that point I was sorry I hadn't just driven myself.  I could have been home by then.  When I got home I grabbed some snack stuff so I could have something to eat, a bottle of water, and Joe's clothes and toiletries, his glasses and his Bible, and headed back.  I got there around 7:30 p.m. and he was still in the Emergency Room.  He was so happy to see me.  I asked if he had eaten, and he said no.  So I went to the nurse (a different one since Rose had left) and told her he was diabetic, hadn't eaten all day and needed something to eat.  They had forgotten to feed him.  So she got him a sandwich, some juice, a plum and a couple of sugar-free cookies.  I have to give her credit, though, because she also got him a fish dinner to take up to the room with him.

So Joe was taken up to his room around 8:00 p.m.  I got him a table to eat his dinner (there was nothing in the room), helped feed him because he was having a hard time of it, got him to the bathroom, and had just gotten him back into bed when one of the doctors (Dr. Oren) came in.  He talked to us about a half hour.  He told us they are going to check his blood sugar, his blood pressure, and go over his entire medication list to see if there is something that he is taking too much of, too little of, or if there are some drugs acting against each other.  No one has ever done this.  Each doctor does his own thing, so this is really useful.  I am happy about this.  So this whole thing may be a blessing in disguise.  God always has His way and this may be a way to make Joe better.

There is probably a hairline fracture in his scapula from the fall and that is why his shoulder hurts so much.  But there is really nothing to do about that except let it heal.

So that's the news.  Hopefully tomorrow will be better.  Although maybe not since my day will begin with me going to have my root canal finished.  It's always something!

Partly cloudy
High:  93 degrees at 3:05 p.m.
Low:  74 degrees (predicted tonight)
Sunrise:  6:37 a.m.
Sunset:  7:15 p.m.

LIFE GOES ON

Thank you to those of my sweet friends who have taken the time to sign up for my private blog.  I am hoping my other friends will see their emails soon and sign up also.   But enough of that.  I am writing a quick post before going to work but will post another 9/11 post later today.

Yesterday was very busy at work.  Boss still isn't talking to me nor I to him except for very brief comments about work.  That's fine with me.  From now on it's only business.  He wants to be everyone's best friend and know everyone's business.  Never again.  I have learned my lesson.

Buildings came and put wooden boards up where the broken windows are in the front door.  Everyone kept coming in and asking what had happened.  It is so dark in the building now.  I hope the glass is replaced soon!

Joe refused to go to the Emergency Room yesterday, but is going today.  He is in a lot of pain and bruised from head to toe.  Literally.  Lumps on his head, no skin on his ankles and toes, and skinned arms, knees, back, and bruises on his arms, legs, shoulders.  He even has a gouge across his neck that looks like someone took a knife to him where he hit himself on the nightstand falling out of bed.  I hope no one thinks I did that to him!  He won't let me go to the hospital with him, but our friend Carole is taking him.  He keeps saying he doesn't want me to miss work because we need the money.  I can't get him to understand that I have personal days and will still get paid.  He is adamant so I am not going to upset him further.  I will let you know how he makes out.

I came home at dinner time yesterday.  I had made him a sandwich, gave him water, pretzels, the local newspaper....  Everything I could think of to make his day better.  He is afraid to come downstairs now and I don't want him to if I am not in the house.

So that's life at this house.  I have to get Joe ready to go to the hospital and then get ready myself to go to work.  It's never dull here, folks.  Until later....

Tuesday -- morning partly cloudy, afternoon sunny
High:  88 degrees at 3:45 p.m.
Low:  69 degrees at 12:45 a.m.
Sunrise:  6:37 a.m.
Sunset:  7:17 p.m.
(It was DARK driving home last night at 8:00 p.m.!)