Two to Four Weeks

If you know me well, you know that DI has been a staple for our family since its inception.  It kind of lost its charm this year when the pain in my hip started to get bad.  Who needs a pair of pants bad enough to stand and sort through hundreds of pairs and maybe find one or two?  Not with my pain!  Needless to say, anything I've purchase since January has been in the "stretchy legging" variety.

Today we went to DI, not for any particular reason, just because that's what we do when we're close to one!  I asked Mat if he'd go in and see if they had a wheelchair for customers to use.  They don't.  So I hobbled into the store slowly, we went straight to the Yard area, where things like wheelchairs would be found.  And there was one there! For $25.  I sat in it the rest of the time, through the registers, and out to the car.  I know it's a bit premature to be purchasing things like wheelchairs, but it saved my bacon today!  We'll have it if we need it.

I had radiation 3 weeks ago.  The radiologist said 2 to 4 weeks for pain relief in my hip.  I'm getting a tad impatient as I don't feel any real change in there.  Walking makes me cranky, the first 5 or 6 steps are killers!  Pray with me, friends, that some relief will come quickly!

California Dreamin'

We were supposed to fly to California tomorrow. I got super cheap tickets on JetBlue.  But Mat had this look on his face when I told him how much it would cost to stay there for 6 days? And rent a car for 6 days?  I canceled the flights.  I have flight credit now on Delta (for the Caribbean cruise that didn't happen in August) and JetBlue.  How is my head supposed to remember these details?

I'm bummed about not getting to Cali this week, but Mat and I are going camping closer to home.  When we were coming home from Bryce Canyon this summer, we drove highway 17 and saw some beautiful areas over that pass.  So that is where we are going, with the trailer in tow.  Heated mattresses and weighted blankets will be sufficient to get us through!  We've camped in colder temps than they are this week.  There are lava fields up there all over, and we're not too far Coral Sand Dunes State Park.  That will be cool to see!

I have a specific date in December I'm getting on ReserveCalifornia.org, to reserve our perfect campsite near Laguna Beach for next summer.  As soon as school gets out, we'll travel south to beachier environments.

 I'm kind of tired of feeling grumpy. I got radiation about 10 days ago, and I know that I'm not yet in that "2-4 weeks" for feeling less/no pain after radiation. But I am so impatient!  A couple weeks ago, I was getting up off the floor and twisted funny and heard/felt a pop. I've thought all along that I just pulled a muscle or something dumb. But I've had 2 massages since, and I'm still in a lot of pain.  It occurred to me this morning that I very well could have broken a rib, instead of pulled a muscle.  I considered going for an x-ray today but didn't make it.  I'll probably do that tomorrow, just to rule it out or confirm it.

Today I went to the grocery store, and because I was already in so much pain, I got one of the electric carts and motored around the store.  Even that hurts though, and I was anxious to get out of there. In backing up to change my course, the corner of the cart bumped one of those aisle end cardboard displays. It toppled face down to the floor and the product went everywhere.  I looked in both directions hoping to see someone that could help me.  Oddly, there was no one on that back isle of Dicks, so I hobbled off my cart and tried (failed) to pick it up the display and start replacing product.  Luckily, a Mom with 2 small boys saw me and came to help.  I drove off feeling grateful and foolish at the same time.

We have Mats Dad Don living with us full time.  I never got to be a caretaker for my parents, so this is new to me!  I'm here with him everyday, and I do my best to meet his needs.  He wants me to check in with him constantly, when I do he gasps and kind of raises up like I'm a grizzly or something scary. Then he sighs and thanks me for coming to check on him.  He moved in a week ago yesterday, though it feels longer than that!  We got him signed up for hospice, so we've been learning all week which staff takes care of what. He has a shower aide that comes 3 times a week, and a nurse that will come once a week to check his vitals. Respite care is available to us through Medicare and I fully intend to take advantage of that!  They brought us all kinds of medical equipment and supplies, delivered the prescriptions he needed, and we met the social worker and the chaplain.

My "go to" fixer of
everything hard

Wednesday (or yesterday??) I was having a meltdown because I hurt so bad. Every movement causes pain in my hip and my ribs.  We have a sweet sister in the ward who moved in a few months ago.  Turns out she is a former Evergreen JH student who had Mat for choir!  When she found out about radiation, she said she would bring dinner over that night. When she left, she said "You let me know when you need something! I mean it!" So yesterday, I was hurting so much.  I picked up my phone and almost texted the RS president, but then I heard Sarah say in my head, "I mean it!" She happily accepted the dinner assignment, then asked if I'd had lunch. I said, "Does ice cream count?" So she also stopped at Kneaders and got me soup and bread for lunch, so both me and Don had lunch.  She told me that when she was in high school, her Mom was really sick.  She was so impressed with the people who came in to help her that she vowed to do the same when she had the opportunity.  

One of the challenges we're facing with a new house mate is our two dogs.  Our friend (where we met Bentley) said her family would take Bentley until we figured out a few things.  Problem is, her dog Gracie (Bentley's Mom), is IN HEAT right now!  So it's been a bit of a disaster for them.  We knew we couldn't have 2 dogs with Grandpa here, and decided the little dog would do better with him.  So we have Pyper, who is remarkably CALM without Bentley here.  She still barks occasionally, but is sweet and calm most of the time.  What I don't understand at all is why she's still peeing on our carpet!?  Never the hard floors, just the new carpet.  Because I've been so distracted with full time caregiving, I don't pay attention to her cues.  I'm just tired!  I know it's a human problem, not a puppy problem.  I sent an email to the dog trainer we've gone to, she gave me some ideas and I've been researching on youtube. YIKES! 

So now, we look to re-home Bentley.  😭  It's not the way it was supposed to go!  But Don has worked out in his head that he doesn't ever want to leave our house, at least not until they drive him away in a hearse. So if anyone is interested in a nearly perfect Golden Doodle, please let me know!  We love him, we'll MISS him!  But Grandpa can't handle him.