Was it only a little over 12 hours ago that I was sitting here writing, rushing time because I was ready to start this day? Maybe I should have been relaxing instead of blogging because it was a very busy, very tiring day. I was dressed and ready to head into Hot Springs between 7 and 8 this morning. Mike got me up at five and there was no place open to fill his pain prescription until 8 at the earliest. You have to know by 8 a.m. I was at the Kroger store in Hot Springs handing my prescription to the druggist behind the window. Before I left, I fed Mike and woke Sonny and fed him too and put the cat outside and remembered that it is Friday and put on a red shirt. At the Kroger pharmacy the lady behind the window explained what medication I had picked up and told me that it was very strong and she told me what side effects to watch for and what not to take with it at the same time.
Whatever pain medication the doctor gave to Mike, it was fast working. When I got home and gave him one of the pills, he seemed to feel better right away and even napped some. I did help him to raise his leg and put pillows under it to hold it in a raised position. And I did fill the ice pack and put that on his ankle to ease the swelling. It was about then that we started getting news reports about the earthquakes in Japan and word that they expected several tsunamis to follow. How awful! If you think your luck is bad or that you are feeling bad...there is always someone else who has life worse than you do!
A home health nurse from Hot Springs called at ten to say she would come by in half an hour to evaluate his condition. She had apparently been in Bismarck and when she realized that another patient was nearby, drove on over to do a visit here. She was really nice. I am not sure that she will ever come back since she was only here to do an evaluation and let us know that Mike would most likely be getting physical therapy only and no health care here at home. She did check his vital signs though, and the pulse in his foot and she let us know that all is well and that the swelling, although it hurts Mike, is a normal part of his healing. She watched him do his breathing routine and listened to his heartbeat and talked some about his blood pressure and told us what to watch out for. She recommended that he continue the same routine as the hospital for a little while including his using his breathing tool and his getting out of the bed in the morning and afternoon to maintain his lung function and his muscle tone and said to continue eating routine light meals 3 times a day until he started feeling better. She checked out his medications and answered our questions. She wasn't here long, but it was very nice of her to visit and very reassuring...
More busyness fixing Mike a light lunch. Actually it was Sonny who fixed lunch. I'd fixed mashed potatoes and he added chicken nuggets and white gravy to round out a meal. After a little kitchen cleaning I fitted in a little Mike time and helped him get out of bed and walk a little bit with his walker. I have a lot of laundry to catch up with and quite a bit of cleaning up and putting away. When we got in last night I simply brought everything inside and found a place to dump it, ran in to remake the bed while Mike was sitting in his office chair, and it is all the things I meant to get done are waiting for me still. But you know how it is...we had to watch American Idol!
This afternoon at 3:30 a physical therapist named Ashley came. He, too, was here just to do an evaluation. He let us know that there would be a therapist (named Mark) who would be coming by probably on Tuesday. Ashley checked out what Mike had learned in the hospital from the therapists there and went over some exercises for him to do a couple of times a day. The therapist watched Mike do his exercises, added a new one to the ones he was already doing and watched Mike while he got out of the bed and while he took a few steps with his walker and a few steps with his crutches and made a few recommendations to help him do better. His was not a long visit either, but it made us both feel good to know that we are doing the right things and gave us a lot of hope that the nurse and the therapist had seen cases like ours before and both seemed to think we are doing the right things.
This evening before Mike's supper I ran into Bismarck to pick up a couple things that Mike said he needed and back at home Sonny and I fixed his a little supper. Now it's quiet after supper and I sat down to write a little on this blog thinking it would help to relax me. I still have some cleaning up to get done and some phone calls I should answer, but I might just put all the rest of it off until tomorrow and go lie down with Mike and maybe even get some sleep. I do hope that tomorrow does not begin as early as today.
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