Sunday October 14 2007

Snake River, Tetons

Did sleep better off and on and watched TV in between. It was foggy this morning and a beautiful view out the window with the sunrise hitting the peaks of the Tetons above the fog. Stayed layed down until about 8 although up and down to the bathroom in the night. Last night I finally began unplugging the IV myself from the wall and not calling the nurse. It was quite a feeling of liberation. Ordered cream of wheat for breakfast, my third meal, about 8:30 after washing up. Things have changed since I was last in the hospital and you can order any time you want from a nearly regular menu. It's called "room service". I liked that. The nurses were in and out, they cleaned the room and made the bed, to take blood pressure etc. I am having no real pain or discomfort to speak of, but did wake up headachy and achy so asked for Tylenol or something. Norissa gave me something in the IV and I felt better soon.

Dr. Poore came into talk again and said my liver enzymes were elevated more again. About 5.5 this time. So I still couldn't have any real food and I was looking forward to that but I'll have broth again. I'm going down the hall to look at the elk in the spotting scope and take a walk. Richard brought me a second gown to use for a robe. There was a computer there so I looked at my email and deleted all the stuff I didn't want. Was able to write to the waow board, Jackie and Betty and will try Bev, Deb and Gloria.

There had been some really rough boys almost beating each other up especially picking on the youngest, four of five of them down at the computer. They were a Mexican family and their grandfather was in the hospital, their parents finally came and took the kids and left.

Then went back to the room after a couple of hours, took a shower and washed my hair. Richard brought shampoo, clean towels and a hair dryer, but I had to ask for them. Then ordered lunch, all liquids and some jello. I got hooked back up to the IV and watched a movie. Later I walked down another hall and found a second computer in a solarium with a different view. While walking I could see there were a lot of empty beds.

About 3:30 Virginia came in. She said Beverly had called her to ask her to come and check on me. We all love Virginia and Calvin. She is a relative of my first husband and my daughters. They grew up in Afton and Jackson.

Then later talked to Betty, Judi Gloria and Jackie. So had good afternoon of visiting with them which helped pass the time. Jackie's husband had recently had a pacemaker put in and then had to be medivaced to Spokane, and she's recovering from a broken leg so she's been having her share of lots of things going wrong right now too. I called Joe after he would have had his dinner , but didn't have much more news for him yet. I feel bad for him with all of this such a surprise and going so fast. Surely he's plenty worried and stressed not knowing what will happen.

Thursday June 7 2007

Today we woke up to wind, between 4 and 6 inches of heavy wet snow and still coming down. It wasn't warm enough for it to stick for long, so no telling how much had fallen. Both the TV dish and my computer internet dish needed to be swept off before they would have any reception. Something must have zapped the receiver while we were gone so I had to unplug it which resets it. Until I figured that out, I downloaded my photo card and picked out a few pictures for the blog. When I downloaded my email I had 160 to go through. Arg! By this afternoon the snow has mostly melted off but the hills still have a good dusting. I bet a lot fell in the mountains. This is the best moisture we've had this spring and will be so good for the country. We need this. It's stayed overcast all day and started raining again this afternoon. It sure cleaned the car off.

Joe had a haircut appointment before noon, but decided it would be best not to drive into town through the storm so had me cancel it and got him another one in about a week. He's worked a little in the garage getting things put away and the snow machines moved. I hope I go out there and find a really neat place. When he came in he's taken his blood pressure with his new b.p. cuff about a dozen times so far. The Dr. said to take and record it a couple of times a day and call him with the results in a week. This will show him how to keep adjusting the medication to keep Joe's heart from being so irregular and hopefully help his dizziness. We're supposed to go back and see him again in six months.

Both of us and both of the dogs are having a pretty easy day. Tomorrow Joe has a followup visit with the eye doctor for his cataract surgery, so he will have to drive in for that one. And he will take all the stuff he cleaned out of the garage to the dump that he wants to get rid of.

Wednesday June 6, 2007

Idaho Falls

Sights Along the River Walk at The Falls of the Snake River

Photos from Tuesday Afternoon

I was disappointed that despite sleeping better lately, I didn't sleep well at the hotel and we had a very long day ahead of us until we got home. And as usual Joe was up at the crack of dawn wanting to go eat. Neither one of us had any interest in going to the hotel restaurant, even for coffee. Walked the dogs in the rain along the canal. After our showers, we drove across Broadway just by the bridge to Smitty's for breakfast, another good meal with great doggie leftovers.

We weren't far from a new Walmart so there was time to go there and check to see if they had the bedding flowers I wanted for my pots. Happily they had lots and I got those and some potting soil. I splurged on a pot of perennials - were they verbena? I'll check. They had the most exuberant old farmer guy as a greeter/cart person there - we got a kick out of him. He was drying off all the handles on the carts for everyone and had me drive to the door and loaded all the plants for me.

After the flowers were loaded into the back of the SUV we went back and checked out of the hotel, where I asked the clerk to let me talk to the manager. We had a "firm discussion", and they gave me the room for half price. I just cannot imagine them asking the price they did, which they admitted was the same rate for all the rooms old or new. And they also didn't have breakfast with it, which most places do any more. Their apologies meant nothing. I told them it was not a nice thing to do to anyone. We will never stay there again.

We decided just to go find the doctor's office. To get more familiar with the town, I wanted to try to go there on Sunnyside which was the closest main street to that area, but found it was blocked off for repairs and had turn around to go back to 17th St.

The Idaho Heart Institute is about a block from the hospital where I was a month ago, and was easy to find. We were just in time for me to walk the dogs in a large vacant lot behind the building (getting feet and pant legs soaked), then for Joe to fill out his paperwork, and be called in for his echo cardiogram. I went in too to take notes, which there wasn't much to take, but got to watch the test being done. It took about 40 minutes. Of course Jacob the technician wouldn't tell Joe a thing about how it turned out. It was one of the same tests I had when I went to the hospital last month.

There was plenty of time to go down to Garcia's a few blocks away, so we had a nice Mexican lunch. Then back to his appointment with heart specialist Dr. Blank at 1 p.m. The nurses got his "vitals". Then we had a long wait in the exam room before the doctor finally came in. Don't you wish they wouldn't do that! However the doctor spent most of an hour talking with Joe, and we had a very good discussion with him about Joe's heart and medication. I did get notes about that, in fact more info than I could get recorded I'm sure. Now I need to write that up on the computer. He told us to get an automatic blood pressure cuff and how to use it.

While we were so near the hospital I went in there to ask for copies of all the tests I had while I was there. Not sure how they do that, but it didn't even take five minutes to give me all my records, and they were free too. I went to accounting to see how much I owed them, and the balance is zero, so Medicare and my insurance have paid everything. That must be the only good thing about getting old. Still raining and windy we went to find a blood pressure cuff. The first pharmacy the doctor recommended that was close by had just sold their last one. So next place was Albertson's pharmacy where they did have one. They also had Joe's favorite cake doughnuts and milk for the journey home. We stopped for gas and filled up, leaving town about 4 p.m.

The temperature went up and down between about 46 at Idaho Falls and 36 by the time we got home. At about Palisades I told Joe it looked like smoke in one place in the forest and not mist on the hills, and yes, there was a quite large fire in one of the gorges. Not sure if someone's house was on fire, or they were deliberately burning something big. Don't think it would have been a forest fire with all that rain.

It rained steady until we got to Alpine Junction and the Hoback River. There it had rained earlier, and it seemed like we had driven out of the storm. But pretty soon started to sprinkle again and then was snowing before we got to The Rim, and had a good blizzard as we came over the top for a while. Cora and Pinedale were dry, and it was dry the rest of the way home. But we no sooner pulled into the yard and got our little bit of stuff unloaded than a regular blizzard began. We got the horse and cats fed It was about 8 p.m. so we made good time coming home. I crashed on the couch and Joe had cereal for dinner. We were all glad to be back snug in the house. I am so glad I didn't have to drive home yesterday in this kind of snow storm.

(See Tuesday just added below.)