Sunday Weigh in March 3, 2024

[Barb135]

Good morning - yep, still morning!!  How's everyone doing today?  I'm kind of on the run this morning, so my post is going to be pretty short.  

It's been a busy week - as noted last week, we're in the middle of remodeling our kitchen and dining rooms.  We have nearly everything moved out of both rooms, except the appliances that we have to use daily.  All the old flooring has been pulled out, except for the utility area, which will wait till last so we only have to move the washer and dryer once.  We've picked out new flooring and it's arrived at the place of business, so we're just waiting for an install date.  We're keeping a few of the old cabinets and I've repainted all of those, except one, which I'll be working on today.  Once it's dry, we'll be able to hang it, late this afternoon.  

I mentioned last week that I'd done a Pulmonary Function Test... I got the results of that this week.   As a former smoker (quit 17 yrs ago), they say I have mild COPD and I'm supposed be getting medication for it, but apparently, there's something going on with the insurance company and the script still hasn't been filled, so I'm still stuck with the shortness of breath.   I'll call the pharmacy tomorrow and see what's up.  

I haven't weighed this morning (but I have been out for my walk)... Thursday, when I stepped on the scale, I was down 3 pounds from last week... I was up a couple of pounds last week, so I think there's a lot of fluctuation with fluid retention going on.  I'd say I could actually, be down a pound or so, which would be in line with what I've been doing recently.   I'll weigh again tomorrow and see where I am - that will give me a better idea.  

So - that's my story and I'm off now, to work on my cabinet painting.  I hope y'all had a good week and I look forward to hearing about it.  

~~Wishing everyone a wonderful, successful week~~  

[AnnieBrooke]

Well, our week was unexpected. My stepdad, who had been having difficulty with labored breathing and had been to the ER for it several times (but was told they couldn't do more than give him beta blockers) called the people at his assisted-living place one night to get help shifting position in bed, and after a couple more calls to reposition him again, they found him unresponsive. My sister was called, and the paramedics, but his pulse was very weak and slow, and finally faded and stopped. This is a guy who, 4 weeks ago, was still driving, grocery shopping, and tutoring at the community college. He had an enlarged heart and leaky valves, but we had thought the medication he had been prescribed (only a couple of weeks earlier) would have a positive effect. His heart obviously had other ideas. It wasn't something that seemed out of the realm of possibility, but my mom and my dad, and my husband's mom, had all lasted months or even years when their health got bad, so it was still kind of a stunner.

With that this week and a lot of stuff to do to take care of things, I've been eating without paying attention. (Tonight I had a turkey sandwich and a big glass of lemonade, and it felt like my most organized meal since he died.) I've gone up about a half pound -- just haven't been watching. I think things will settle down now, though. We managed to clear out his apartment and decide about the memorial service and all of that.

On the brighter side, I cut my son's hair tonight and it looks rather cute; ready for spring.

Have a good week.

Annie

[Barb135]

Oh Annie - I'm so sorry, we've been so busy with our kitchen remodel, I haven't even been on here this week, so this is the first chance I've had to read your post.  I'm shocked.  You'd mentioned before that your stepdad had been taken to the hospital a few times and they said they couldn't do anything.  I remember your sister being frustrated because the rest of your siblings weren't helping her much.   So, apparently, "something" was telling him that he needed care, but no one was seeing it.  My heart goes out you and all your family.  It hasn't been that long since you lost your mom, now your stepdad.  

It's easy to "munch" away without thinking at a time like this - things to do, people to see - you just eat when you can and what there.   A turkey sandwich and glass of lemonade isn't a very organized meal, but I know what you mean.   It's good that you've been able to clear out the apartment and decide on a memorial service.  

Seriously???  Do you always cut your son's hair?  I'm happy to know it looks "cute", but isn't he getting too old to be cute... at his age, it should look "handsome"!!  LOL

[AnnieBrooke]

Well, he got care; it's not like they blew him off at the hospital. They ran the same tests every time he would arrive, and told him the same things. There just weren't any further options. His heart was enlarged, and the valves were not shutting properly so blood was going the wrong way out of them when his heart would beat. He was under the cardiologist's care, and they had him on medications and oxygen. Probably if he had been a vigorous younger man, a cardiologist would have recommended a heart transplant, or at least new valves. But he was fragile and 88 and the bones in his back were so bad that he was bent over and his posture impeded his heart beating (such as it was beating, that is). The likelihood was that he would not have survived an operation; I'm also sure he wouldn't have agreed to it. (He was nervous enough when he recently had cataract surgery, and doing that is pretty run of the mill.) But even if he had wanted surgery, I doubt his doctor would have allowed it, because, again, of the risk. The idea was that the beta blockers would relax his blood vessels and that would help. But even supplemental oxygen didn't do as much as he expected, and he kept turning off the machine because he didn't like the noise it made. So, in short, it's not so much a pathos-filled story of him wanting help and not getting it, it's really that what medical help was available didn't do much for him. Sometimes a person just gets to the end of what doctors can offer, and he apparently did, though it wasn't obvious to us what a short amount of time he had left.

Anyway, it did surprise and shock all of us, we were kind of counting on the beta blockers to do more, and our recent experience with parents has been that all of them lived a while even when not in great health.

Oh, and yes, I do cut my son's hair. When it's short, it's kind of like Daniel Craig wore when he was being James Bond, and when it's longer, he looks like a member of a K-Pop group. I don't particularly like that look, it's too much like Moe of the Three Stooges for me, but he gets the thumbs-up at high school for it. Anyway, we hit a bit of a middle ground, slightly longer than James Bond but much shorter than a Korean boy-band member. I like it, but can't be the one who judges because I am not entirely au courant on high-school styles. My son said he likes it too, though.

[Barb135]

I guess I worded it incorrectly... I didn't mean it to sound as though he was going to the hospital and they were just sending him home with nothing... As you say, I think all of us get to a point at which there simply isn't anything left to be done.  

I'm sure it was a shock to everyone thinking the medication might help more.  Even at that, losing someone is a shock, even when they've been ill and you know death is imminent.

My son would never have let me cut his hair when he in high school... well, he'd never let me cut his hair now and he's 52... but then he doesn't have much anymore.   I'm glad you're able to come up with a style that both you and your son like... :-)