I wanted to see my doc today before heading to Pella to talk to her about my left shoulder/arm/hand that had been bothering me since late March/early April. This was because I had to start carrying Butler (my 14-16 year old, 57 pound greyhound) down the stairs 3-4 times a day since he wasn't able to navigate going down the stairs any longer. He's still more than willing to go up the stairs as long as I have my hand on his behind as a "safety net" in case he stumbles on the way up. Well, I pulled or pinched something within days of starting to carry Butler downstairs but didn't want to see my doc with my individual health insurance plan because if I would find a job and go on the company health insurance - whatever was going on with my arm would be a pre-existing condition. So I have toughed it out and some days it has really hurt.
My doc was Mike's doc who diagnosed Mike's kidney cancer and when my doctor quit seeing patients and became the on-call doctor for his practice I switched over to Dr. J. Dr. J is a riot - along with being a female body builder - and has been on my case to workout. So while we were talking about what was going on with my arm, she didn't come right out and say I was a wimp but she did say I wasn't that strong. I looked at her to inform her that I had been carrying 57 pounds of dog down my stairs at least four times a day - and she just looked at me. I'm sure she was thinking that she lifts more than that with one arm in a normal workout :) Anyway....a week from Monday I get a shot in my arm to see if that won't help. And she advised to pick Butler up from him standing on the bed and not from the floor so I'm not picking him up from a dead weight since I'm not overly strong.........................
I got to Pella around 11:30 and Mom was no longer on oxygen - and Dad said she had slept pretty well last night. After Dad fed her lunch he left to run several errands and I stayed with Mom - she spends the majority of her time sleeping. While Dad was gone one of the ladies from our church in Pella stopped by and Mom woke up to say "hi" to her. Then Mom and Dad's pastor stopped by and as he was having prayer with Mom and me, Dad returned from running errands.
Like I mentioned in my email yesterday, the Comfort House is a beautiful facility! And....they don't have room numbers but room names. Mom's room name is Faith and I thought that was so appropriate. It's my faith along with family and friends that helped me through the rough times after losing Mike a year ago in April and it's Dad's and my faith that will help us through this time with Mom.
The Hospice chaplain stopped by to ask Mom some questions and she was able to answer a few before falling back to sleep. The chaplain is the brother of one of my Pella High classmates :)
Mom and Dad's doctor stopped by around 4:00 and we wanted to visit with him to go over all the medicines he was going to keep Mom on - and what he was going to take her off. Outside of one medicine that has to be slowly reduced, Mom is off all her meds except for pain medication and if she gets anxious or agitated they can give her something. What all three of us want (Dad, their doctor and me) is Mom to be comfortable and not in pain. We don't know how long Mom will be with us but their doctor thought days/weeks - but it all depends on God's timing.
Tomorrow is Mom's 87th birthday and Dad has balloons he wants to tie to her bed :)
If you'd like to send her a card the address for Comfort House is:
505 Union
Pella, IA 50219
My hibiscus plants that Dad and I planted in April have not been blooming the best but today I was pleasantly surprised to see the pink and red hibiscus blooming - check out the photos below!
