Floating Flowers
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Whiny Wednesday
Hotel front desk clerk: “The bells, the bells, I can’t stand the bells. I wish the phone would stop ringing.” It must be the heat or maybe the humidity, but everyone is whiny today. They would not last in the Lou. Today, it’s not going to even reach the nineties.
We got to the hospital early, but not before Harry caused a ruckus. He had pulled out his IV and would not let the nurses put it back. He wants to go home, and all those wires only prevents that. I was asked to find his suspenders, as if he could walk out of there.
His doctor came by and basically acquiesced over Harry’s IV rebellion. The blood thinner that it was being used to inject was causing his hemoglobin to crash and he had to stop using it. So, no more need for the IV. Except now the risk of stroke is back on the table. I must say that this doctor’s bedside manner leads something to be desired. He was pleasant enough, but when Harry asked him when he was getting out of the hospital, he said, “Maybe later today, [blah, blah, blah], maybe tomorrow, [blah, blah, blah].” You get the idea.
Class! Today’s word is otolaryngology. In addition to all of Harry’s other health issues, his hearing aid stopped working. Anne tried to change its battery, but that didn’t work. Jane finally concluded that it needed to be cleaned. Like a mission from God, I took it on myself to find help. There is a lot of religion in this place. Down in the lobby, I was told to take a walk down Woodward, the main drag corridor that led to Ears, Nose and Throat. There I found helpful people who fixed his hearing aid.
Cheesehead
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Why Can’t We Have Nice Things?
In a previous game, U.S. soccer star Folarin Balogun earned a red card, disqualifying him from last night’s match against Belgium. Trump intervened and Balogun was reinstated. This triggered worldwide outrage, not the least from Belgium. Last night, Belgium came out gunning and handily beat America 4-1. All of his meddling was for naught. This scenario is a perfect illustration of the Trump effect, everything that he touches dies. Like our country is doing.
This morning, I dropped Anne off at the hospital and went off to do laundry. When I returned Jane and all of the doctors had come and gone. Harry was a lot more lucid today than yesterday. He recognized us without prompting for one. I’m glad that yesterday was just a bad day, after an even worse weekend. But these events serve to illustrate the fragility of his health. The process to move him to a rehab center moved a step forward. Jane picked three from the list and none of them were any of the ones accused of senior abuse or neglect. Sorry David, no 60 Minutes exposé nursing homes for your grandfather. Save those for your parents. No idea yet on the availability of beds at any of these places. I suspect though that the exposé ones have greater availability. Meanwhile, the care at St. Joe/Trinity is great.
Sneezeweed
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100-Year-Old Man Disappears
Mister Bill is seen here holding this season’s tick collection. They are floating in 190 proof Everclear. He pulled all of these arachnids off of his body. Bill uses a new tick repellent that has picaridin in it and swears by it. He might have been pulling my leg, but he claimed that at the end of the summer he plans on drinking this concoction, “Why let good booze go to waste.”
Today, we are on a mission of mercy. Jane took her 98-year-old father to the hospital on the 4th. Harry had really low BP, 103/38. It being a holiday the ER was slammed and since Harry was not actively dying, or at least not quickly enough, he was a low priority. Harry was not a patient patient. A long day ended with Harry finally being admitted. Either that day or the next, after a battery of tests the doctors determined that he had internal bleeding, in his upper digestive system. He was scoped and got a transfusion and some meds. Having treated him, now they want to evict him. Gotta flip that bed. But they don’t want to send him home. He needs to build his strength up first. They are talking rehab.
Anne gave Harry a book to read, The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson. The story is basically that of a Swedish Forest Gump. In addition to the novel there is also a movie, but like in the American Forest Gump, the movie leaves much of the book’s story out. In this story the old man escapes from a nursing home. Harry definitely does not want to be in the hospital. Making this story a bit seditious. They have Harry on the eighth floor. Climbing out the window is not an option.