Rat thoughts

5 more hours at work, and then I have to go to the hospital to check up on Grandmother.

I'm nearly falling asleep at my desk.

My grandmother went in for a colonoscopy today. The doctor said he didn't have to go in very far to find the problem: an counter-infection caused by antibiotics (antibiotics kill everything in the intestines, good and bad, so without the good bacteria, the bad bacteria can grow unchecked). So she's being put on more antibiotics.

Is it just me, or does this seem like it could turn into a really nasty spiral?

In any case, she's going to be in the hospital at least a couple more days.



People with dentures look REALLY goofy without them.

Got a call about my grandmother.

Let's see, abdominal cramps, tenderness in the lower right quadrant, abdominal distention, nausea, and an elevated WBC count.

Diagnosis: Pneumonia.

WTF?

Distended abdomen.
Abdominal cramps.
Nausea.
Probing lower right quadrant of abdomen produces sharp pain.
Elevated White Blood Cell count.

Dr. Packrat says appendicitis.


Waiting for a call about the CT scan results.

Apparently among the items my relatives looted last year was my old IBM keyboard. You know, one of those virtually indestructible solid steel behemoths capable of crushing a man's skull.

It's not the cost of it that's got me annoyed, it was fairly cheap, but dammit those things are hard to find!

I don't know how much longer I can keep taking my grandmother to the doctor. She refuses to do any exercise at all, and spends all her time in bed, so her muscles have atrophied so badly that now she's barely able to transfer out of her wheelchair into my car. It took nearly 10 minutes to get her out of the car and into her wheelchair.

I went digging through one of my grandparent's old trunks today. Lots of interesting stuff. Lots of baby clothes, old photos, birthday and mother's/father's day cards, report cards, and the like.

Some of the more interesting items:

An old, beatup Zippo lighter and several packets of Prince Albert cigarette papers. I knew my grandmother used to smoke, but I didn't know she rolled her own.

A bar of soap with the label:

SOAP
U.S. ARMY - Type I
TWO OUNCES
This soap can be used in soft, hard, or
sea water at any reasonable tempera-
ture for toilet use, shaving, laundering
of clothes and cleaning of mess kits and
similar equipment

ARMOUR AND COMPANY
GENERAL OFFICES, CHICAGO
MADE IN U.S.A.

(I wonder how a Marine would feel about using Army soap....)

A book titled Freezing Foods at Home, by Shirley Rolfs, Home Economist (B.S., Iowa State College) with a copyright date of 1949 "Dedicated to the homemaker who wants the best in foods and nutrition for her family, this book was written to guide her in reaping a harvest of satisfaction and enjoyment from the home freezer." Funny how we take refrigerator/freezers for granted nowdays. You have left overs, you toss 'em in the fridge. You go to the supermarket, buy a frozen TV dinner, and toss it in the freezer.

A birthday card to my grandmother from her aunt, with a postmark of 1949 (that would be my grandmother's 23rd birthday), and a 3 cent stamp. I think the last postage increase was 3 cents.

A "Souvenir Folder of Texas" with a copyright date of 1942. Among the pictures inside are "The World's Largest Naval Air Base, Corpus Christi" and "The Gateway to Dallas, The Triple Underpass".

There was also a few bits of old currency, a 100 and a 10 Yen notes (I recognize them from the Chrysanthemum emblem, the symbol of the Japanese Emperor), a bill that appears to be a 100 Reichsmark military scrip, issued in 1944, and what I'm guessing is a 5 Won note from Korea.

I also found a streetcar token from the Savannah Electric & Power Co. I did some research, and the streetcar service was discontinued in 1945, so the token must be at least that old.

A 50-cal shell. Damn, but those things are big. Makes the rounds from my .30-06 seem puny in comparison.

A black lacquer box with a drawer that slides out to reveal a pair of chopsticks. The chopsticks appear to have never been used. The box itself has a carving of a man in traditional Japanese attire climbing a mountain trail in front of a waterfall. This set was probably a gift from my grandfather's brother and his Japanese wife.

My grandmother is a very difficult woman to deal with. She's narcissistic, almost bordering on solipsistic, a consummate hypochondriac, surprisingly racist, and rampantly paranoid. Her inability to walk on her own is her own fault, for 10 years she has steadfastly refused to partake of even the most basic exercise, spending most of her day in bed, until her muscles have atrophied to nothing. Ever since she was placed in the "assisted living facility", she had complained non-stop about how terrible the place is. (I've been there. It's practically heaven. Friendly staff, spotlessly clean, spacious rooms, luxurious furnishings, meticulous groundskeeping, and the food is restaurant quality. All the other patients love the place.) She's constantly accusing people of stealing from her, even though everything that's ever been "stolen" has eventually turned up right where she left it. (According to my aunt, my grandmother been like this for as long as she can remember)

Taking her anywhere is physically and mentally demanding. Today I got a full 8 hour dose.

She had TWO doctors appointments today, 4 hours apart. I was hoping to take her someplace for lunch, so I skipped breakfast, but when I got to the facility, she was already eating (bacon, scrambled eggs, hash browns, toast, and fruit), and she wanted to go shopping. So between doctor's visits I pushed her wheelchair around the shopping maul. She didn't have any money, so I ended up paying for everything.

Her second appointment ran very long; the doctor was an hour late, and he ended up performing a minor proceedure that took another hour. By the time we got out, it was pouring rain. The only umbrella I carry in my car is a tiny little thing barely big enough for one person. I held it over her while she tried to transfer from the wheelchair to the car, while I got soaked to the skin.

I got her back to her appartment, and tried to hook up the new phone she bought, but it required AAA batteries, so it was back out into the rain to go buy batteries.

I finally got home at about 4:15 this afternoon. The only thing I've had to eat all day was a scone I snagged from the parlor in my grandmother's facility, and some candy samples I got at Sees.

It was 6 months ago today that my grandfather passed away.

He'd raised me like I was his son, and I thought of him like a father.

2 years ago he was diagnosed with Interstital Pulmonary Fibrosis, a disease in which scar tissue forms inside the lung, making breathing difficult and painful.  There is no cure.  Steroids and gamma interferon help, but they have very nasty side effects (and interferon costs about $500 per dose)

At first, he didn't let the disease bother him, he'd continue to try to do all the things he'd done before.   But it wasn't long before even simple, everyday tasks became difficult work.  Eventually he required my assistance for everything.  His inability to fend for himself probably bothered him more than the pain and difficulty breathing.

Six months ago to the day, I was wheeling him from the bathroom back into his bedroom.  When I tried to help him into bed, I noticed he'd become unresponsive.  I physically lifted him into bed, and noticed his breathing had slowed.  I knew his wishes; if I called the paramedics, they would be legally required to do everything possible to save him; he didn't want that.  I ran and got my grandmother, and we sat there next to him, holding his hands as he passed away.

I think his was the best possible death, quiet, peaceful, in his own bed, in his own home, with his loved ones at his side.  He was no longer in pain, he no longer had to feel he was a burden to others.

God, I still miss him so much.

( Pictures )

My grandmother received a letter from the Department of Veteran Affairs today.

Dear Mrs. XXXXXXX:

On July 29, 2004, we wrote and asked you to send us:




Because we have not received them, we must deny your claim.


I'm tempted to stick a copy of this letter in an envelope along with a blank piece of paper and send it back to them. "Here is the information your requested."