Saturday Evening Humor Via Scott

 

Rough Afternoon and Evening

 First and foremost, Scott is relatively okay.

He started feeling very strange late this afternoon. I checked his BP and it was very high. He started getting nauseated.  He seemed somewhat out of it. So, I started worrying big time and called 911, Paramedics came, assed, and they thought he was okay and could stay here. Having gone through what we did before with the seizure a year ago, I pushed hard and they took him to a local hospital. A different one from last summer. 

CT has been run as has blood work. His body chemistry is way off, but we caught things in time and prevented a seizure. He has been admitted for the night so they can start working him slowly back to where he should be body chemistry wise. They are also running kidney function tests to make sure everything is okay that way.

I am home, exhausted, and very stressed. Also very glad that things are not way worse. 

Scott Is Home

Got him home yesterday afternoon. He is doing okay as far as we can tell. Dad is seriously worn out from his own issues as well as worry and all that.

For now, do not look for any changes here. I don't expect to be doing much online the next couple of days as I see how things are for both of us.

Scott Wednesday Evening

Scott is finally fully aware of what is going on and doing a bit better. We had another major scare yesterday, but the muscle enzyme numbers finally started dropping. Thankfully, they got control of it before there was another seizure, a stroke, or organ damage to his liver, kidneys, and other things. It could have been really bad.

But, they got it stopped and his numbers this afternoon had dropped by more than half. Everything else they are watching regarding his liver, his kidney function, etc all test really well. They just have to get him down lower on the muscle enzymes deal so they can release him to go home.

We still do  not what caused any of this. He is looking at being on anti seizure drugs for quite awhile, possibly anti blood clotting drugs to prevent a stroke, probable medication changes to his normal pill regimen, and a lot of doctor visits to do testing and followups. 

The folks treating him know that if I had my way I would be camped there day and night. I can't do that. They know I am upset about everything going on and have assured me that it now appears we are through the worst of things and it should be much better going forward. 

I truly hope so. But, the cynical paranoid in me, honed by 58 years of being slapped down, is not believing them yet. 

Monday Evening

The latest news is that Scott has had a bit of a setback. He has developed some sort of deal where muscles start dissolving and release stuff into the blood stream that will significantly damage kidneys and a lot of other stuff. They think they have control of it and are working to turn things around.

While he is desperate to come home, the situation is serious so he is definitely going to be in a couple of more days and most likely longer than that. As you can see, he is now able to work his phone and do stuff and he has his iPad so that helps a little bit from the morale standpoint.

For now, despite the strain on the hospital from the pandemic, they are trying to let visitors see non COVID 19 patients from 3-5 each day. This means that, for now, I can get in there and see him each day. That helps a lot as his deal is very complicated and he is upset and overwhelmed.

And, yes, he is not masked for three reasons. Per their protocols as he is in his own room, he does not need to be masked. They also do not want him masked as they need to see his lips and the area right around them as some changes in change or color could happen there before the blood work showed it. A face shield would let air leak around it anyway so they do not do that. They also need to see him speak as, until today, he was slurring his words.

Does it all make sense? No. Since early March before the official lock down, we did everything we possible could to avoid exposure. Now, since Thursday, we both have had emergency situations which have resulted in our having to be in the worst possible environment for exposure: a hospital. I am worried about it, but we had no choice.

Sunday Evening

Sorry this update is so late, but I took another fall when I came in from the hospital and that kind of set everything back. I do not know if this is one of those falling spells I do or something else. I am very tired of it. I a, a bit banged up right now.

Scott is doing a bit better. He has been moved out of ICU and up to the fourth floor where there is telemetry monitoring. They are continuing to watch his heart and blood pressure as well as his kidney function. They continue to be giving him shots to prevent blood clots as well as seizures. They think they can start dialing that back a little IF his current lab work trends continue. He does seem to be more aware  of  his surroundings. So, I think he is on the right track at this point.

I very much appreciate all  the thoughts, prayers, and expressions of support and he does too. I  am sorry I have not been able to reply to everyone here  or elsewhere, but, right now, I am pretty worn out, in pain, and sick, and trying to cope with everything. I used to be able to handle a lot of simultaneous stuff when Sandi was still here with us. Since then, I have not been able to do so.

I have brought this up to a couple of  the nurses that were working on me Friday evening as well as a couple of ones that were treating Scott. I was told that it is not at all uncommon and is probably a direct result of grief over Sandi. More than one stressed to me that massive grief does not have an end point that I have to find a  way of  dealing with it and  need to get some help once I start feeling better and up to it. They also think that even though my normal nature is  to self isolate, being forced by the pandemic to do so as well is not helping either one of  us. The fact that I am high risk and stressed by news reports is also not helpful.

Anyway, that is what I know to this point. I am hoping we keep power on tonight and I get a better night of sleep. When I rolled out to the hospital, I saw numerous power crews scattered across the area as I made the fifteen minute drive over to the hospital. Many of those crews were still working at their same spots when I came back. Tonight I continue to see flashing lights from crews as they drive by the house. I think we were very lucky to get power back as quick as we did.

Sunday Morning

It has an unpleasant night. Around 3:45 AM we lost power. The whole area was dark as the wond blew very hard. I figured out, thanks to my iPad that a collapsing storm line was throwing massive winds and that was what had taken down us as well as many other folks across the area. I did the reporting thing and we finally came on about 6:40. So, I guess the fridge should be okay.

In the course of the darkness, I fell twice. So, the normal back and leg pain I have is way worse this morning and my neck is sore as heck. Once was on the hallway of the house. The other was when I was out in the yard around 4:30 when I was worried that the line from the ally to the house might have gone down. I can report that 6 year old carpeting is slightly softer to land on than wed covered dry ground. 

The antibiotics continue t work me over, but, I think they are doing what they need to be doing. At least I hope so. I am spending almost all my time in bed watching tv. I am a mess and just physically can not do much right now. Going down to  the hospital yesterday just wiped me out.

As to Scott.....I do not know anything from this morning as ICU is way too busy to update me. When I was in the ER with him Thursday night and again for me Saturday night, there was a constant stream of calls of Code Blue (cardiac arrest) and various room numbers in ICU. It happens every few minutes. Nearly all of the calls are COVID-19 patients they try desperately to bring back. It was not quite as bad yesterday when I was allowed in to see him, but pretty close to it. 

I last talked to him around 10 last night and they were letting him have a little snack of juice and jello. He was a little more alert, but not by much. He pretty much does not remember anything from around midnight Thursday to sometime yesterday morning. He is in tremendous pain from having the seizure which the Fire Department paramedics estimate lasted at least 18 minutes. That is count from my call to 911 when I found him to when, after they had been here several minutes, they could get him to respond as he was still in seizure when they arrived. He calls it being worked over with a baseball bat.

At this point, we still do not know why it happened. We do know that almost everything was way out of whack body chemistry wise. The MRI ruled out anything abnormal like my big fear--cancer--and some otehr stuff. They have a kidney specialists involved now as there is concern there is something wrong there. More tests are planned, but I do not know when. 

While he is more alert, as of yesterday, they were seeing things  that gave them concern that he could have a second seizure or even a stroke. I won't bore with all of it, but basically there are still body chemistry issues that are arising as they try to make things normal and  his heart rate and BP are doing funky things. So, more worry there.

Just want to thank everyone for their thoughts, prayers, and support. I have not bee up to trying and write everyone personally back, but know it is very much appreciated. Scott appreciates it too. 

Blog Hiatus

Scott had a seizure  around 1:30 AM this morning and is currently in a local hospital ICU. Tests are being run and I know very little so far. I was sent home around 7:30 this morning over concerns about me.  I can not be with him due to Covid though  I was allowed in the ER as he was very combative and they needed me to help.

More as I know it.


12:44 AM Update..... I do not know much more other than, as of around three, he was pretty much the same. They were keeping him heavily sedated as he fights them and they continue to push fluids into him. The MRI supposedly came  back clean which means he did not stroke or something like that and does NOT have my biggest fear, cancer.

I do not know much as it is chaos there. Just spent the evening in the same ER for me. I have IBS and have had it for decades, It comes and  goes and stress is bad for it. So much of today was spent in the bathroom. I tried to eat a little but around 6 tonight and shortly afterwards things started escalating in very strange ways. I knew something was wrong and after last night, I had a fear that I could have a seizure and die here all alone. So, I called and the paramedics came and got me. Fluids were put in me, tests were run, and long story short, I have a huge infection going on in my colon. Fairly serious one and one that has been working away for awhile now and I just thought it was grief and stress flaring the IBS. So, antibiotics in an IV drip and three prescriptions to get filled tomorrow.

I am home, showered, both my bp meds are in me, and in my own bed. Hopefully, tomorrow will go a little better.

I just spent the evening in ER for me. I have IBS and things started escalating in a weird way so I called and got taken to the same hospital. After tests, it seems I have a major infection going on in my Colon on top of everything and have probably been dealing with a month now. Fluids, antibiotics, and my own bed for the night.



Update 1:30 PM Saturday... I have my meds and am taking them. First round at home of that has been a bit rough. I have talked to the hospital and Scott is the same as he has been. The body chemistry is closer to normal and he is consciousness, but he is very out of it. How much of that is the meds and how much is something else we do not know. They are monitoring his heart and there have been serious heart rate issues which may be a result of all  he has been through or some new problem. 

They will let me in to see him today between 3 and 5 as he is not Covid. So, I am going to try and pull myself together and go over. 

Thank you everyone for your comments and support. It means more than you know. 

Views From The Yard

Here in North Texas, when the weather is warm enough to sit outside, you better take advantage of it before you blink and it is 37 and trying to sleet. Today was one of those days as we climbed from 37 around 7 am to 70 by 2 this afternoon. Scott and I spent the afternoon out in the backyard reading. The holidays are very hard and getting outside for a little while helps both of us somewhat as we try to deal with the way things are these days.


While Scott was reading a fantasy book that looks to be about three times the size of one of my print reads, I read and finished PURGATORY BAY by Bryan Gruley. It comes out the middle of next month and is an incredible read. Review coming soon.

Visions From The Yard

The grief has been really bad in recents days and the chronic pain has been way worse than normal. Sitting inside today and tryting to work on anything was just not going to happen. Took a mental health day and spent much of it outside in the back yard reading. Some pictures and whatnot from the day below.

At the home outdoor office 

The young male reader enjoys the day in his outside home environment under sunny skies and with light winds....

Books read...reviews written...and coming your way soon. 

The Spelled it Wrong

Spring 2019 Grade Watch: Official Results

The grades are finalized, in the system, and official. Scott finishes with an A in each class.

This means that he will take two more classes this fall and is on track to have a December 2019 graduation with a Masters in Criminology from The University of Texas at Dallas.

Doctor Stuff

Scott had a doctor check of his BP this morning and the news was much better. The new medication seems to be doing its job. He is having a little trouble with some of the side effects, but the belief is that those will get better as he adjusts to the new medication. We go back in two months for another check of the BP.

We also lucked out weather wise. Though it was and is raining hard as I write this post, we did not have the anticipated severe weather in the form of large hail and high winds. Very glad for that as well as the ongoing and frequent rains. When you are a native, you know that when the rains stop--and they will--the summer heat will build on and be wicked for months on end.

Spring 2019 at UTD is DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Spring semester for Scott completed early yesterday evening. First, a little background.

Scott has been taking two classes with the one on Wednesday evenings as a graduate school criminology course. The one on Tuesday has been a graduate Public Administration class as he needed an elective outside his major. The Wednesday night course had its last meeting last week and he completed his take home essay final and submitted that Saturday afternoon.

That left the Tuesday night class which has a meeting last night which was to be be the final on campus meeting. Then, he was supposed to have a take home final of an essay of some type that would run about a dozen pages with a citation page. During class last night, the professor informed the students that he very rarely graded a final higher than a 95. If the student wanted to do so, said student could take whatever grade he or she had made on the mid term and have that counted as his or her final as well. If one did that, one did not have to write the final.

Scott had a 95 on the mid term. Clearly, there is no point in trying to beat that. So, he is gladly taking that grade for the final and calling it quits for the semester.

Not only did I not have to keep driving back and forth to UTD as classes are done, but he is done with everything. We now await final grading of a couple of papers in each class. At this point, he is on track for an A in both classes. We await final word.

His final summer vacation as a college student has begun.

Scott's Doc Visit Today

Finally back home and Scott's BP was where it should be. One hopes that the new med is working.  The test results were also in and they indicate everything with him is fine. The doc took extra time to go over things and stress that Scott does not face the same cardiac issues I do and have lived with for nearly 40 years. The kid is doing good.

I am worn out from the travel and the stress. Back later...at some point.

EYE DOC VISIT

We are home and the dilation has worn off enough that I can see a little bit to post this. Working email or poking around online is going to have to wait until things are way better.

Scott is absolutely fine with only a very slight change needed on his prescription.

It has been seven years since I was in for a check and it seems that everything is fine. Yes, my eyes have changed significantly and I need new glasses. In fact, I will now need two different pairs. One for driving as seeing distance has become an increasing issue. So much so I have quit driving on any freeway as I just can’t see far enough down the road to feel safe at highway speeds. I will also have a second pair for reading and on the computer. They will be set up to be bifocals and should help.

More importantly, despite my terror, there is no sign of any macular degeneration at all. No glaucoma, no cataracts, no anything. In my left eye there has always been a large vein wrapped around the optic nerve from front to back. It is something that has to be watched as it could rupture and cause a massive stroke. It has not changed at all.

The Doctor spent considerable time evaluating both of my worries today as well as comparing the retinal photographs from 2012 and today. There is no change at all.

I can’t tell you how relieved I am about that.

So, good news all around. Next up on this, we should have our new glasses in about two weeks.

I am hoping to be able to see well enough today to be online and working on my email, but there is a more than decent chance I won’t be able to. I want to thank one and all for their good thoughts and prayers on my behalf as I was nervous wreck.

UTD Today

If you are on Facebook and follow either Scott or myself, you already saw this picture. If you have not, this was from this afternoon while we were out on the Patio for a bit. Some of the giant wall murla is visible on the left side of the picture. 

The UTD Walk

Each week after Scott comes from his class to Green Hall (where I sit when I can’t sit outside at the Patio) we come out the backside of the building and make this walk headed to the Student Union. While the library is off to the left of the plaza, the Student Union is over to the right. That is where all the food places are as well as the steps up the side of the Student Union building for those far more mobile than I am. Next to those steps to the right (you can’t see them in this picture) are numerous risers where students congregate to eat, talk, scream at somebody they know hundreds of feet away, and get blasted by music when the speakers are set up.

Each evening on campus we make this walk in the semi dark with plenty of company on foot, bikes, and skateboards. In three weeks when Daylight Savings Time starts up again, this walk should be in the light though it will not be anywhere near as bright as in this picture posted by UTD on twitter last night.

While sitting in Green Hall is nice as they have eight sort of recliners there, I much prefer sitting outside at the Patio outside the Pub when the weather is better. Especially now that the smoking ban on campus is actually being enforced. The open area has overhead lights for after dark and a number of large metal tables with plenty of chairs. Getting outside  has always been a much needed part of my self-care since I was a child and though I can’t go walk/hike or visit a state park these days, sitting outside at UTD does help. It also gets me away from loud groups of congregated young adults that clearly are having way more fun at their age than I ever did at any time in my life.

My preferred table is in the right corner just off the edge where I can put my back to a large planter area and contemplate whatever I am reading as well as the interesting smorgasbord of humanity as it flows by. In fact, if you look closely in the far right you can see some of our stuff from a couple of years ago when we were out there and Scott took this picture. 

The View From The Backyard

The front that was supposed to be through our area of NE Dallas by mid morning, was way behind which allowed us to be outside reading until late afternoon. I played with the cellphone camera a little bit as you can see below.

Not sure you can see it, but we have green grass now and the trees are budding out.

Today With The Tipples

Sandi loved Valentine's Day and it is a deal I always hated as I thought of it as a made up BS holiday. My hatred of it and her love of it became a thing each year as she tried to talk me into doing whatever she wanted to do. It was a sort of running joke, but I now realize that it probably upset her more than she ever let on.

I would give anything to be able to go back and fix that as, like many other deals she was into and I was not, this day has been hard. Far harder than last year and I can only conclude that here in year two the shock of her being gone has worn off quite a bit. It did not help that for some reason Cher's song about turning back time, another song she and I both liked though she liked way more, has been stuck in my head since I woke up with it this morning. 

Here in our part of Ne Dallas it was super warm today as we headed up towards 80 with winds out of the Southwest. Not only is that a warming wind here year around, it also signals something is headed this way. One knows this time of year to get outside while one can, as the break from cloudy skies and lower temps will be a short one.

Scott and I spent much of the afternoon outside with both of us reading. An enjoyable and quiet afternoon led into my decision to cook steaks and potatoes out on the grill this afternoon. Because it was so nice we ended up eating dinner outside.  

With a cold front on the way that is supposed to hit sometime tomorrow last I heard, I doubt we will be doing much more of this sort of thing anytime soon. It was nice while it lasted. Doing so got me outside and out of the prison of my own mind for a bit and that was/is a good thing.