Wednesday, June 1
We got up for the day earlier than yesterday. I fixed breakfast for us then made sure Emily and Linda went to the bathroom before I left to go to Alameda. I stopped at the Shell station to fill up as it was just below half a tank. The price of gas today was $6.59/gallon. Then I went to Trader Joe’s and Safeway.
At home, I put up the new Pride flag on the corner of the house.
Thursday, June 2
We all had breakfast before Linda’s phone appointment with Dr. Gupta. They discussed her new medications, the most expensive of which is ELIQUIS® (apixaban). Dr. Gupta wants more bloodwork, but Linda told her she was unable to leave the house, so Dr. Gupta said she would initiate a request for Home Health services so someone could draw her blood and submit it directly to LabCorp and send the results to Dr. Gupta, who wants to follow up in 3-4 weeks.
She wanted to use the new walker to walk to the bathroom and back, so I followed her to make sure the 50-ft. tubing didn’t get tangled. She was too exhausted to do that more than once, so we used the bedpan. She had me put a pad in the bed (like the ones they used in the hospital), since we had 3 or 4 that we brought home from Stanford. She also ordered a pack of 25, which should last 25 days.
Friday, June 3
She had a Zoom appointment with Dr. Rosenthal at 10:30 a.m. and she was more impressed with him today than she ever has been before. He agreed to order the medications and wants a follow up in 3-4 weeks and a Zoom appointment is okay. He even told her that he will make a house call if he feels he needs to see her in person and she still can’t get out of the house.
She did not eat breakfast (one fried egg with melted cheese) but drank 3 or 4 oz. of her 6 oz. coffee. Later, she had 8 oz. of crushed ice.
She had me bring the bedside commode back to her bedside, though she only felt like using it once before she was exhausted, so we went back to the bedpan. She ordered a padded seat for the bedside commode.
I got a call from Michelle Lee, following up from Linda’s recovery from hip replacement surgery at Stanford. We talked for a long time, but Michelle had access to all of Linda’s records from Eden Medical Center so I just filled in the actual happenings.
Linda wanted me to go across the street to Cindy to ask her to see the lift on her back porch (the one that Esther and Ziggy had). She wasn’t home. Then I did a quick Google search and found out that lifts cost $2500-$7000 and are NOT covered by Medicare.
She requested rice for supper but only 1/4 cup, but she didn’t eat more than half of it. So I gave the rest to Emily.
Saturday, June 4
The first thing I saw when I woke up this morning was that Emily had thrown up on my sheet and comforter, probably before I came to bed last night but it was dark so I didn’t see it then.
Linda asked for scrambled eggs, so I scrambled 2 eggs and added cheese, taco sauce on the side, and she ate half of it. She’s still asking for Ensure, so I decided to drive to Walgreens, but after she wakes up. I got a bottle of Simply Orange orange juice and a 6-pack of Ensure Original chocolate. I have ended up getting Ensure for Linda as she drank that in the hospital and seemed to like it. She wanted cranberry juice but discovered that with her new blood thinner medication, she can’t have grapefruit or cranberry juice, but she can have orange juice and apple juice, so she drinks 4 oz. of that. I’ve also learned to make crushed ice (like for snow cones) in my blender and she can have 6-8 oz. of that a day. Seems like every day there is something different. For supper, she asked for refried beans topped with rice and cheese, and she ate about half of what she requested.
Sunday, June 5
Linda ordered (and received today) a padded seat for her bedside commode. She seems to like it.
I filled out our mail-in ballots (identical) and Linda signed her envelope.
For breakfast, she asked for (and ate) one scrambled egg, no cheese, with taco sauce. She drank one 8-oz. bottle of chocolate Ensure and 6 oz. of crushed ice. Then she ate a mandarin gel in the afternoon. At suppertime, I convinced her to eat two pieces of cheese and 4 oz. of orange juice.
She sits up on the side of her bed several times a day and does gentle exercises for her neck and shoulders, arms and torso. She feels like it’s making her stronger, ever so slightly.
I’m thankful that she sleeps well (still taking trazodone), even if only a few hours at a time.
Monday, June 6
When I woke up this morning, Linda had already been up to the commode chair 3 times. But it made her oxygen go down into the 70s, so she had me turn up the concentrator to 4.
She got a delivery of a jar of hollandaise sauce from France to put on her one scrambled egg. She also had a bottle of Ensure and 4 oz. of kefir. She had a mandarin gel mid-afternoon and 6 oz. crushed ice. For supper, she had 4 oz. apple juice, 1/3 cup egg salad, and 4 oz. of kefir before bedtime.
I put our mail-in ballots in the mailbox last night, and got email from the Alameda County Registrar of Voters that my ballot had been received.
Tuesday, June 7
I set my alarm for 7:30 a.m., got up at 8:30. Linda had already been up to the commode chair twice. Still have the oxygen concentrator set on 4.
I made breakfast for all of us then drove to Alameda for Walgreens Senior Day and then shopping at Safeway.
A nurse practitioner from Stanford Home Health paid a visit to Linda at 2:15 p.m.
Wednesday, June 8
Today was a really strange day. Linda spent a lot of hours looking at the doctors’ notes on her Eden Medical Center records of the days she was in the hospital. Then she went to the Kinship website and made corrections on Jerry McKay’s story, “Journey.”
One time she said she called me for 20 minutes and I didn’t respond so she sent a private message that just said “HELP!” Then she “butt dialed” a call to me with FB Messenger.
She told me something that she just remembered from the day she was discharged, while I was at home waiting for Apria to deliver the oxygen. She said that someone named Abraham came in to her room and prayed with and for her. He didn’t ask if it was okay as “Bill” (Spiritual Guidance) had done.
Thursday, June 9
Linda said she was tired today, didn’t sleep well. I wondered if she had spent too much time yesterday poring over her medical records. Otherwise, it was a pretty average day.
Karen Lee texted once, asking how Linda and I are doing.
It was a hot day, low 80s. I opened the front door for a while. Emily came out with me, she heard voices and noises next door and stayed alert. Once she even barked.
Emily is SO happy to have both of us home and that she doesn’t have to spend all day alone at home. She spends most of her time in the bed with Linda and they eat breakfast and supper together, but Emily spends some time with me in the living room. She needs more exercise than I can take time to give her other than just taking her outside in our yard.
Friday, June 10
The weather is getting insufferably hot! Got up to 90 degrees today.
Saturday, June 11
Not much cooler today. All 3 of us are having a hard time getting comfortable. At least I had the good sense to wear a tank top today.
Sunday, June 12
It was much cooler today, but it did not rain as predicted. Linda is still perusing her medical records, plus researching what foods she is and is not allowed to eat with having COPD and congestive heart failure. She wants grapes and bananas. She’s not supposed to have caffeine, dairy, or carbonated drinks.
I spent some time proofing Suburban Married Lady and deciding whether to start the self-publishing process for Book III or get back to drafting chapters for Book IV. So I procrastinated by doing laundry.
Monday, June 13
Today two people asked me, “How is Linda doing?” To both, I answered, “Linda feels like she’s improving. A lot of it is just getting adjusted to a ‘new normal’.”
Linda spent a lot of time yesterday researching what she can and can’t eat with a diagnosis of COPD and congestive heart failure. No grapefruit or cranberry juice because of being on a blood thinner. No cruciferous veggies or leafy greens. No cabbage or sauerkraut. Also, she’s not supposed to have dairy or caffeine or carbonated drinks, but she may modify that. One source told her to follow a low-carb diet to minimize (or eliminate) chronic inflammation. There is no limit on eggs, tomatoes, grapes, and berries. She can also have bananas and avocados, but both are messy and difficult to cut into small portions.
Tuesday, June 14
I went to the Alameda Farmers’ Market and Trader Joe’s and Safeway.
I helped Linda get into the bathtub for a chair shower, plus she shampooed Emily, too. She used a combination of crutches and her small walker.
Wednesday, June 15
Linda has been experimenting with different cannulas and differing ways of wearing them.
Thursday, June 16
I think Emily is sick today. She was going crazy, barking and jumping around, but then she wouldn’t eat any of her breakfast, even after Linda put cheese on it. Finally, I got her up to pee on her pad, which she did, and then she drank some water from behind my desk. At supper, she reluctantly “tasted” her warmed-up food then ate it all at her own pace.
Friday, June 17
I told Linda about Jimmy Moore.
At least, Emily is eating today.
Linda is so discouraged about being too weak to use crutches, not enough strength in her arms. She had me get out her 1-lb. weights so she could exercise her arms.
Saturday, June 18
Christine Moore posted that Peaches, the cat that she and Jimmy adopted, passed away today.
Sunday, June 19
Linda and I had a video chat with Steve and Sharon.
Monday, June 20
Very hot today. 99 degrees F.
Tuesday, June 21
First day of summer, still very hot. 90 degrees F.
Went to Alameda, just to Safeway.
Linda was on the phone with OptumRx trying to find out why her refill for ELIQUIS® was not filled yet.
Wednesday, June 22
Nine degrees cooler today. 81 degrees F. Linda is keeping Emily’s cooling pad filled with water. I broke down and plugged in the tower fan and put it by my desk in the living room.
Thursday, June 23
Linda used the walker to get to the bathroom and took a shower. She also was able to stand on the bathroom scale and discovered she has lost 20 lb. since before being hospitalized.
Sunday, June 26
Lisa, Aaron, and Alex stopped by today. The “excuse” was to bring a chunk of the tri-tip that Aaron barbecued yesterday. Linda surprised everyone by getting dressed and using her walker to come out to the living room (where she had asked me to take her black office chair from the family room). I helped her by making sure the 50-ft. tubing did not get tangled. Emily laid in her bear bean bag for a while but then hopped into a nearby laundry basket that had her soft red blanket in it.
