PRAYERS NEEDED...PLEASE!

My husband and I just returned home from Sam's Town Casino.  We had gone to the Stephen's Press Reception for the Las Vegas Writer's Conference, to listen to my blogging friend, Linda Lou, author of Bastard Husband, A Love Story.... She spoke about the writer's life, mixed in with her wonderful humor... We also saw my other blogging friend, Lisa Gioia-Acres.  We sat at a table with  Judy McFadden, author of Life With Mc Duff.

Mom had sent me two emails... one about her visit with Dad today, and one about my oldest brother (he is the next sibling after me, as I am the eldest), who lives in Ohio.  He was admitted to the hospital today with chest pains.  Apparently, he is not having a heart attack, but he may have a clogged artery.  Would everyone please pray for him and for the doctors treating him.  Thank you so much...

Mom walked into Dad's room this morning, just as he was waking up.  He immediately became animated, telling Mom about Rock Marciano, Joe Lewis, and other fighters, he had apparently dreamed about.  Mom told her how much he enjoys boxing.  (When I was little, living with my parents with our cousins in my grand parents huge Craftsman style home in Pasadena, my grandma and I used to tuck ourselves in the library and watch boxing together.  Here was this shy, quiet, prim and proper lady, punching and swinging air punches as we rooted for whoever we wanted to win....)

Dad flirted with Mom, telling her how thrilled he was she was there.  She brought some pictures of my grand sons, (the eight year old and the six year old) which my oldest daughter had sent her.  She let him take his pick and then she put them in frames by his bed on the wall.  He was DELIGHTED!

Mom had noticed my second oldest brother had signed in as a visitor with Dad, so Mom asked how their visit had been. Dad smiled a huge, bright smile and told her what a huge, wonderful hug he had given Dad.  He told her it meant the world to him...

He told her my oldest brother (the one in Ohio) had come to see him too...  (She wrote this email before finding out my brother went into the hospital.  She jokingly asked if he had flown out to visit without telling us... It makes me wonder if my brother was in pain and thinking of Dad and Dad caught his thought process while sleeping?....)

Mom shared with Dad she had been to a funeral with her friend at Riverside Veteran's Cemetery... Dad interrupted her and told her he wanted to be cremated if it was OK with her.  Mom told him it was fine, and she wanted to be cremated too.  She told him she might go first, so she would make sure to write it down as last wishes in their Family Trust.

Mom explained there was a section there for ashes if he wanted to be buried there.  Dad either did not hear her or was still contemplating.  He never answered her...

He told her he talks to the Lord allowing him to be absolutely pain free. Taking a deep breath and with full voice, he told her, "I feel GREAT!"  Mom of course, told him how happy it made her to hear that..

"I have no worries anymore and I never have to worry when I am lying in my own bed, " he smiled.  (Thank God the night sedative is helping him sleep without the kidnapping nightmares anymore!)

More conversation from Dad....

"I like to do the 'shimmy shake' and sing for the gals.  I am very popular with them..."

"The girls know me and put people I want to talk to on the TV so I can talk to them personally.  I own the TV company, you know..."

"I can yell like a Banshee and asked if she wanted to hear...."  (Mom thanked him, but told her to please not yell right now...)

"There is a bag of poppy seeds in the cupboard above his bed.  They give me some at night to help me sleep..."

Dad told her of someone, he refers to as the "hummer", who has a lovely voice.  Apparently, Dad told this person he could sing for the opera and make lots of money...

"I love to play the game TEN with dice."  (Mom asked us all in the email if any of us knew this game.  No doubt Dad is talking about throwing the dice and trying to make a total of TEN with the dice...or maybe he is remembering when we used to play Bunco or Yahtzee...)

"Holl Doll keeps my nails trimmed." (my sister)

"I scratch my legs, but not too hard...they told me to do it to help my blood circulation..."

"I spent the day in the truck with my friend and he is going to introduce me to a special woman named, Jill..."  (who knows what he meant here...maybe a dream?)

The charge nurse came in to tell Mom, the wound care nurse will be treating Dad's pinkie toe wound as usual, but they had a visiting wound care physician come look at Dad's wound to collaborate on her treatment.  She will let us know when he has some results.

Mom wheeled Dad to the lunchroom, talking with several staff members on her way.  Doctor-Doctor appeared, gave Mom a big hug, and walked with them to dining room.  Mom said Dad sits like a baby bird with his mouth open so Mom will feed him.  He enjoys it.  He nods his head when he has finished chewing and is ready for her to shovel another bite into his mouth...

He enjoyed a delicious lunch of Mexican casserole (which looked and smelled divine) with meat, cheese, black beans, tortillas etc in it, some tasty looking Spanish rice with a big green salad.  Dad loved every bite. When Mom showed him the butterscotch pudding for dessert, he smacked his lips with gusto!  He polished it off and drained a glass of milk and two cups of "the best coffee in the world" (per Dad)...

Another great visit.  Mom wheeled him back to his room and allowed the care takers to get him changed and ready for his afternoon nap.  She kissed him good-bye and he thanked her with a kiss for coming to visit.

*** Update on Dad's Diabetes:  The doctor has decided to wait until May to do another HBA1C.  Until then, there will be no further finger pricks or changes to his diet.  I will be attending Dad's Care Conference in person, while visiting in May.  We also have the option of waiving a diabetic diet if Dad appears to be unhappy with it. ****

Thank you so much everyone for your support and concern for Dad.  A special thank you to the nurses and diabetics who shared valuable information with me so I would not panic.... 

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you all....you are  all the very best!

Updates On Dad, Celebrating and Company...

I called this morning to talk with Dad...again, but he was in Rehab doing his exercises.  I spoke with the nurse and she told me Dad's doctor does not want to diagnose Dad as diabetic.  He plans on doing another Hemoglobin A1C in May.  He does not want them to monitor his blood with the finger pricks, nor does he want them to change his diet...

I have been trying to contact the Director of Nursing, but she has been "unavailable"...so I have left messages.  She and I had discussed I would be in town in May (for Mother's Day and my sister's birthday) so I would like to attend Dad's next Care Conference IN PERSON instead of over the phone.  So we have scheduled it for May 9th at 9:30am.  I will email Dad's doctor and let him know, so hopefully, we can co-ordinate appropriately...

The nurse suggested I call back just before 1pm when they put him down for a nap...so I will try again later on...

Yesterday, my hubby and I celebrated the day we met eleven years ago.  I had placed a singles ad and he  answered my ad.  After talking several times, we met in person at an Italian restaurant after work.  We sat and talked for three hours on April 12, 2000.  By August we wanted to be exclusive and the following April, at the same restaurant, we celebrated our engagement.  We married, October 14, 2001.

We went to Carrabas Italian restaurant last night and enjoyed a romantic dinner...Since we had some "free play" at one of the local casinos, we went to play our $7 each.  I put in $20, my limit to play, in addition to the $7 free play, and cashed out an hour later with $50.  I could not believe I was ready to go home at 9:30pm, but my honey was very understanding...

We had planned to take Izzy with us for a road trip to Tucson, Arizona to visit friends...but with all the projects and chaos lately, knowing we have company every weekend until mid May when my husband's cousin and his wife may come for a visit...we decided to stay home and pace ourselves...

My youngest daughter Jodee, baby Jacob and her boyfriend Jeff are coming Easter weekend, then my sister and girlfriend arrive the next weekend for our annual Scrappin' and Creative weekend...then the first week in May, I go to California for a week.  I come home on the 10th and his cousin should arrive somewhere around the 13th or 15th... then we have his 6 year old grand daughter's birthday on the 21st and 13 year old grand son's birthday the end of May...

WT?...Is He, Or Isn't He?

After all the back and forth with Dad's doctor telling me Dad is NOT DIABETIC....I get a call from the Director of Nursing yesterday (just I had laid down for a nice nap).... She told me Dad had a HBA1C (which is a 90 day look back on his blood sugar) on February 1, 2011.  He tested 7.2, which is considered diabetic.  He had two fasting blood tests, one February 3rd and one March 1st.  February was 119 and March was 127. 

Being a nurse, she cannot diagnose, so told me she would contact Dad's doctor and discuss these tests with him... She told me she had extensive experience with Diabetes, so she felt confident, Dad was a diabetic and his diet would have to be changed accordingly.  California has strict regulations for diabetic diets in nursing homes.

I warned her to be prepared, because if anyone messes with Dad's food, he will NOT be a happy camper!  I told her how fond he is of his ice cream, shakes and fruit plates.  I think if they give him fake sugar ice cream, he might taste the difference.  Regardless, as usual, we must go with it and see what happens...

So now I wait to hear back from her about what the doctor said...My head feels like a ping pong ball in a world tournament, with all this indecision...Hoping to find out...is Dad diabetic or not....

Searching For Gold...

Mom went to visit Dad yesterday.  He was asleep in bed when she arrived.  She gently woke him from his slumber.  He seemed pretty groggy.  Dad told her he had been searching for gold, that is why he was so tired.... but he was happy to wake up in his own bed...

Mom asked him how he slept last night, and he replied, "GREAT!", then promptly closed his eyes and began to snore...

Mom busied herself talking to the nurses at the nurses station while she let Dad sleep more before lunch.  She asked why they make new charts each time Dad returns from a hospital stay.  She was told it is a government regulation if the stay is over 3 days.  Every nursing home does it.  (May I ask the nurses out there to please respond to verify this statement?)

Mom also noticed, the note asking staff to call me first, was still hung above his bed...

One of the Aides went into Dad's room and got him ready for lunch, wheeling him into the dining room. It was still a bit early for lunch, so she sat with Dad and talked...

Mom asked if Dad enjoyed his visit with my sister and second to the youngest brother.  Dad looked back at her with a blank stare.  Mom reminded him about playing Dominoes and my sister clipping his fingernails.  Dad told her he remembered.  He told her my sister wanted to put something fancy on his nails and he told her to do that for the women, rather than for him.  (My sister had buffed his nails...)

Mom asked if he was watching any of the basketball.  Dad confirmed he was.  He told her he goes early because the players play better when they know he is there...

He kept closing his eyes... Mom would ask a question and Dad would ignore her or mumble and answer.  Clearly, he was still very tired.

Doctor-Doctor stopped in to see Mom.  She asked Dad to sing for them.  Dad began to sing Ava Maria in a higher range than he normally does, and his voice cracked.  They all began to chuckle, Dad loudest of all.

The Activities Director came in to say hello to Mom.  Mom complimented her on how wonderful the decorations were for St. Patrick's Day, and now for Easter.  The Director thanked Mom profusely.  She complimented Mom on how nice it is to always hear the positive comments from her.  After she left, Dad gave Mom a smile and told her how much he admired her remembering every one's names.  He told her everyone liked her because she always calls them by name.

Lunch arrived and Mom said she was so jealous... They served Dad, barbecued pork bun sandwich, fresh peas, corn, green Jello with pears, cake with sprinkled icing, mile, a can of Ensure and two cups of coffee, with cream and sugar, just the way Dad likes it.

Mom could tell Dad was getting those heavy, sleepy, lids, so she wheeled him back to his room, so his Caregiver could get him comfortable in bed.  She kissed him good-bye and left grateful for another good visit...

What I Have Been Up To....With Some Cute Grand Son Stuff Too...

Yesterday, I posted the update on Dad... today, I want to share what has been keeping me from visiting all of my wonderful blogging friends and regular posting...

I had started on my annual SPRING CLEANING some months ago, but it was temporarily postponed with my husband's sudden retirement in late October.  Since then, we have been on a non-stop mission to get our financial ducks in a row, and adjust to being home during the day, together...

Amidst all of this chaos, we also have an ongoing, annual challenge of securing some privacy in our back patio, which borders the side street and sidewalk.  For the past five years, after each winter, due to frost or heavy winds, we have lost all three of the plants we have had to plant each year.  Part of the problem, was the over pour of cement on the footing wall of our six foot wrought iron fence.  The roots get root bound from not being able to spread out due to the cement.

I have this dream, of enjoying our spa, and lying around enjoying the sunshine, or just sitting and reading.  We may even want to dine outside, without every passer by stopping to comment or visit because they see us outside.  I like our neighbors and all, but heck, a little privacy would be nice, on occasion...

Since summer will soon be here, I had to finish my garage cleaning before it gets too hot.  Also, if we are to do any planting, spring time is the optimum time to do so...

First, I suggested to my husband we get a privacy/wind barrier made from Alumawood for the south end of our patio. This solution would prevent us from planting for our privacy, because the Alumawood would give us 80% more privacy and block the gap in our fence. In doing so, we would have to walk around the pillar of our back patio, to get to our side gate or the hose.  Since I do all the gardening and watering, it would only be an inconvenience for me.  We have a meandering sidewalk on that side of the house leading to our back patio, also connecting to our front patio.  I figured we could just do stepping stones from the sidewalk around the pillar, leading to the patio.  I thought it was a good work around solution...

My husband was not enthused.  He wanted a door.  So when one of the construction guys came to give us the estimate for the Alumawood privacy slats, my husband wanted a separate estimate for his idea of what we should do...  Of course, his was more expensive, so that idea was scrapped.

I got another guy to give me an estimate and his price was half as expensive as the first guy's.  We were all excited and told him to proceed.  He calls us back and tells us he is unable to get the 3" slats in beige as we had requested.  He announced it would have to be a dark brown color and only 1.5" slats for the lower price, otherwise, for the beige color and size slats we wanted, it would be twice as much.  So that plan was tossed...

I came up with an idea to transplant the two remaining Xylosma bushes, to another part of the backyard, and plant White Bank Roses in three pots, instead of planting them in the ground.  These roses will take over the fence, IF they survive the heavy winds so prevalent in the foothills where we live...and give us the privacy we are striving for.

Here is the before and after pictures:

This is how it looked one year ago after the three Xylosma bushes were planted.  See that big open space? That is the privacy we are hoping to gain... See where the sidewalk joins the back patio? This is where the Alumawood would be, from the pillar to the side of our house, blocking access to the patio from the sidewalk.  After removing the bushes, we would have room to put down stepping stones to walk around the pillar to get to the back patio.

This is the two bushes remaining one year later...the third one died.  See how wispy the bushes are? Way smaller than they were a year prior.

These are 24" pots... each with three 5 gallon White Bank Roses. This particular type is a climbing, miniature rose with a soft, sweet scent and tiny thorns. I am doing extra watering each day since it is so windy this past week, to prevent them from getting dried out. I have prayed and blessed them, so hopefully, they will survive....It will be so beautiful and private if my plan works...and weather permits...

The area to the right of the pillar would be where the Alumawood slats would have been, blocking people from seeing into our house, but still leaving the area to the left of the pillar open, which would need to be dealt with by planting the climbing roses....

I have neighbors who have the same roses covering the length of their fence. The roses grow thick and are green all year around.

Won't it look nice on our fence?  It will definitely give us the privacy we want.

The nice gardener man suggested we use large redwood bark chips to keep the plants moist and help with better drainage.  The bark would also help keep the plants warm in cold weather and cool in hot weather.  I had my reservations as I was concerned Izzy would be attracted to the bark.  We compromised and did not put the bark around the base of the plant, instead, we buried it in layers under the planting soil....

Last night I discovered Izzy had dug up several bark chips from two of the pots... So now, I must either get chicken wire to put around the pots to protect them...or implement the "LEAVE IT" command is short order!

I let her know I did not like what she did and she got a major time out.  After an hour, I opened her crate and she showed me she felt so badly, she stayed in her crate all night long... Today, I have been watching her like a hawk.  If I hear her go out the doggy door, I am right behind her.  When she shows an interest in the pot, I firmly say, "LEAVE IT!"....and she leaves the area immediately.  I still think chicken wire might give me more peace of mind...but she needs to learn to leave it alone.... ANY SUGGESTIONS???

The gardener relocated the remaining Xylosma bushes to two separate locations in the back patio..

hopefully, they will acclimate and be happy where they were planted...The winds have been fierce the past couple of days...He told me to give it an extra watering by hand and to spray it with Miracle Grow a week apart.  (Try spraying anything during strong winds!)  He filled our fertilizer unit with liquid fertilizer to give everything a jump start... Really nice guy with reasonable prices. I think I have found myself a new Gardener.

I am still in pursuit of lowering our monthly utility bills.  We reached a solution with our DISH network, to return one our DVRs which is capable of programing with two separate televisions.  We have three TV sets.  The one we are returning is the old one, which was replaced with a new HD DVR.  They gave us a free sports channel and some free pay channels to stay with them and not go with DIRECT TV.  They were to send us the replacement (one-TV DVR) and we would call when we received it, they would schedule a tech to hook up the new one and box up the two-TV DVR receiver and return it to DISH.

We received the replacement one TV DVR, called, the tech came out, only to discover they had sent the wrong receiver. It was not a DVR.  So we had to send it back and wait for DISH to receive it and then they would send out the correct one-TV DVR receiver.  Hopefully we get it soon so we won't be charged the higher price.

Our Internet/land line provider offers a price lock to new customers for five years for both Internet and land line.  It would save us over $30 a month, but because we are current customers, we don't qualify for the deal.  I find that ludicrous!  They should also reward and take care of their current customers, so they keep their customers!  I have been calling talking to various managers, trying to convince them to give us this deal...wish me luck...

All this phone calling, besides giving me cauliflower ear lobes, takes up a big chunk of my day and is extremely frustrating!

On a happier, cuter note, allow me to share some recent photos of my grand son Jacob...

Jacob's first trip to the beach with Mommy and Daddy...I just LOVE that smile on his little face!

In case you can't read the writing on his shirt, it says, "What happens at Grandma's, stays at Grandma's"  They are preparing to come visit us Easter weekend...I can't wait!!!

Since sprouting his two bottom teeth, he may be preparing for the top ones...he loves to chew on the hard side of his Binky...

He is a travelin' little man running errands with his Mom and Dad...so he grabs some "shut eye" whenever possible...  By the way, check that  big 'ol "bear paw" of his in the lower left hand corner!

Cute story about my six year old grand son...the other morning, while folding laundry in her bedroom, he comes in and announces to his Mom, "We have a problem!".  She asked what it is and he tells her he wrote her a note about it, but she was not allowed to read it until he left the room.  She thought to herself, he must be mad at her or with his brother as she took the note from him.  "Don't look 'til I leave Mom", he warned her... As she opened the note, it read, "We are out of hot dogs."

As she told me, we both laughed because turkey hot dogs are a main staple of his preferred foods.  She called to him, announcing she had read the note.  She informed me they did have hot dogs.... "No we don't Mom, I checked".  She asked if he looked under the cheese...when he did, there were the hot dogs.  With a huge smile, "Thanks Mom!  Our problem is solved!"  What a character he is!

Today I spoke with my 8 year old grand son.  He was creating "bad guys" with his Lego blocks.  He invented a really bad guy, he called, Project DB (for death bomber).  He described how his head was a gun and and his arm was " very extensional" .  For Christmas, we gave each of the boys a $25 gift card, so together they could purchase LEGO STAR WARS for Wii, so they both could play the game.  It just came out last month, so they were able to go buy it the day it went on sale.  My daughter says they have been playing it every single day...after homework of course....

I asked the 8 year old, "Now you realize it is OK to want to be the "bad guy" for pretend, but not in real life, right?" 

"Yes Grandma, I know all about that... Mom and Dad already told me."

Just checkin'...

Why Being Hyper-Vigilant Can Be A Good Thing...

After sending a second email and a phone call each day, I finally heard from Dad's primary physician.  I was surprised to discover, he does not have a chart on Dad at his office.  He uses the one the nursing home provides.  He too is frustrated by their policy to start a new chart if the patient stays longer than 3 days in a hospital.  I still intend to get hold of the Administrator and find out why they have this policy...I have left him a phone message and an email.

Dad's doctor determined Dad had been given some medication (which one was not mentioned) at the hospital this past January.  Apparently, this medication made his blood sugar go up.  He was given insulin at least twice to lower it.  The hospital labeled Dad a diabetic and that history was forwarded with him to the nursing home with his current orders for care.  So based on the hospital's orders, Dad's primary physician ordered Dad's blood sugar to be routinely checked. 

As of today, those orders have been canceled and it was clarified Dad is not a diabetic.

I am in a whirlwind of activity these days, keeping me from my blogging friends and writing... All creative pursuits have come to a temporary halt.  It has taken much longer than I originally anticipated... 

Tomorrow I hope to post some cute pics of baby Jacob and some of the projects around the house, which have been taking up so much of my time...

It's late, I gotta' hit the sack....

I Am At A Total Loss For Words...

My second to the youngest brother and my sister went to visit Dad yesterday.  They found him in his room, asleep in his wheel chair.  Apparently, the nurses had placed him in his room for privacy because they were going to check his blood sugar.  My sister reported it was 157.

I went to sleep early last night and did not read her email until today.  When I first read the email, I thought it read, "checked his blood pressure".  Reading it again today, I realized what it said and became concerned.  Why would they be checking Dad's blood sugar?  He is not a diabetic....

I called the nursing home and spoke with the charge nurse.  She confirmed it was me, then she verified Dad was listed as a diabetic on his chart!  How did this happen and neither Mom nor I knew about this?  Mom was as shocked as I was. Nothing was said about this in February, at his last Care Conference. Mom told me the last time Dad was in hospital, in January, one of the doctors in the ER had asked her if Dad was diabetic, and she told him NO.

This is a prime example why I don't like the "new chart" each time he comes back from the hospital.  I sent an email to Dad's primary care physician.  If I don't hear from him by tomorrow, I will call his office.  When I spoke with the nurse, she said the doctor  wanted him monitored regularly before and after meals and had him on sliding scale..."0-200 no insulin, 201-250 insulin".  I am blown away to know he has been given a couple shots of insulin!

I mean, I AM THE ONE THEY ARE SUPPOSE TO CALL WITH ANY CHANGES!!!  And....(get this), my sister said the note (to call me first) was back above his bed! Remember just a couple days ago, the nurse told me they had to take it down???

Anyway....back to their visit...

After his blood test, they put his red cap on his head to protect him from the sun and wheeled Dad out to the patio for some dominoes.  Dad did remarkably well, having no problems matching the dots.  In fact, he won most of the games.  My sister trimmed his nails in between games...

I had been having trouble reaching Dad.  There is some new nurse who, for all intent and purposes, lies to me...always with an excuse as to why I can't talk with Dad.  She told me Dad was eating, when in fact he was being bathed.  (As you can tell, I am not too happy with the nursing home right now...).  My sister knew I had been trying to reach Dad, so she called me so I could talk with Dad.  It was a brief conversation, but I could hear how happy he was being with my brother and sister.  I could tell he was anxious to visit with them...

Dad talking with me on my sister's cell...

Dad did tell me he wanted me to come visit or he would come see me...He also told my sister and brother he did not want them to leave when lunch was served... It is always tough, when he doesn't want us to leave...

Dad and my sister Holly

They wheeled him back into the lunch room and set him with a table full of ladies.  Dad told them he would play "footsies" with them under the table... They had a good chuckle and kissed him good bye.

Basically, they had a good visit.  Dad told them how happy he was and what good care they give him...

I am at a total loss for words.  I just cannot believe this shocking news of Dad being diabetic and me not knowing! I will get to the bottom of this.  I want a date when this diabetic diagnosis was placed on his chart.  I want some answers, and I WILL GET THEM!!