luvteaching

Good morning everyone, Checking in. It's been a busy week. DH is making progress - slow but progress. I'm still nagging the staff about finding a place closer to home but so far no luck. DH did scare us on Tuesday - he lost consciousness as they were putting him back in bed after eating breakfast in his wheelchair. I got a call to tell me and was told he was fine but I had a very quick shower (just long enough to get the hair wet to avoid bedhead) and headed down. I got there and he was fine, chatting away, etc. Then I could relax. It was a long hour drive though! Sunday I took a day off from going south to DH and went north to see my Mom (along with a friend). Mom is 96.5 and a going concern. She lives in an independent living facility and you have to work to get on her social calendar. I hope I have inherited her longevity genes! It was a good day but another long one with driving 2 hours up and 2 hours back. I'm thinking of taking tomorrow off and staying home! We're supposed to have quite the rain event and the Friday traffic is not fun. I'm prepping DH for it. Have a good day! Karen

None of them are tender ports. Icy Strait now has two docks and Sitka you dock out of town and are taken in by shuttle. They have the system down and it's' easy! Karen

Good morning, We had a gorgeous day yesterday with temps in the mid-70s and lots of sunshine and today promises to be the same. It's the last weekend of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival and we locals stay a long ways away from the fields! I stopped in at our local Hallmark in downtown Mt. Vernon yesterday, left there at 10;30 and the main drag was full of cars that early and the offramps were backed up. My favorite independent book store is Parnassus Books in Ketchikan. It's just off the end of Creek Street and has great local books, note cards, etc. It's a "must do" stop every time we're there! DH wasn't doing great on Thursday with a temp of 101 and very sleepy. However, when I got there yesterday he was bright eyed and chatty, eating well, etc. He's been moved to thin liquids which is good. He was also helped into the wheelchair, went down to the gym and stood up in the parallel bars, with assistance, 4 times. It's a start - and a good one. Then we went outside and walked a bit and enjoyed the sunshine. His facility is 50 miles south of us and the drive down is usually right at 50 minutes - 1 hour. The drive home is usually right around an hour as I leave at the start of rush hour. Anyway, last night it took 2 1/2 hours to get home! It took almost 1 1/2 hours to just get out of Everett! I was tired and not a happy camper when I got in the driveway. I needed wine!! Have a great day everyone! I'm taking a day off from Everett tomorrow but going in the opposite direction. A friend and I are heading to Canada to see my mom (she's 96.5 and a going concern), do a bit of shopping, go out for lunch, then head to a friend's house for a visit before driving back down. Karen

Good morning! @dfish Happy Birthday! Quick update on DH. He's truly the Energizer Bunny. Monday the physical therapist wanted DH to try standing. DH looked at him and stood up - 5 times! Most were with assistance but they were self-motivated so that was good. Yesterday DH transferred, with a lot of help, to the wheelchair, and for the first time in over a month we went for a walk in the halls and sat outside in the sunshine. Yay! Progress in small steps but it's progress. Today is starting out gloomy and wet but sun is forecast. By Friday we're supposed to be in the mid-70s. Yikes! Have a great day! Karen

Good morning everyone, I've been reading here morning and evening but not posting as I'm tired at the end of the day! The drive each way is starting to wear on me. It's 100 miles round trip and about 2 hours depending on traffic. I took a day off on Thursday for my mental health and that was a good decision. I'll do one day off mid-week this week as well. DH continues to be the Love of my Life and my Energizer Bunny. The doctor came in on Wednesday, having not seen him since the previous Friday, and wanted to know who this guy was! Dh is sitting up on the edge of the bed (needing minimal assistance) and then sitting by himself so getting stronger. No transfer to wheelchair yet but we're getting closer. His appetite is good, he's talking a lot and carrying on conversations, and is asking to go home. The doctor has directed the social worker to look for facilities closer to home which would be wonderful but so far nobody has room - darn it! Today is raining and not my favorite weather to drive in. DH's sister is driving up from Edmonds for a visit so we'll look forward to seeing her. I hope @Cruising-along had a great time visiting the tulip fields and having lunch at the favorite Italian restaurant. The area traffic for downtown was bad as there was a street fair and, when I was coming home around 4:00 PM, the traffic south was heavy and slow. Off to get ready to head out - another day of driving! Karen

Good morning, We have sun shining and blue sky at the moment so a nice start to the day. DH is settled in the new rehab facility. The drive down was just about an hour and the drive back about an hour and 15 minutes due to traffic and I left just after 4:00. Today I'm hoping to be out by 3:30. I'll leave here by 9:30 at the latest. The people I've met so far have been very nice and very caring. He's in a room with one other gentleman who is quite gregarious so that's good. We were able to do DH's 65th High School Reunion on Zoom yesterday using my phone and he enjoyed that. His lunch was good and he did OT and PT evaluations before I left. That tuckered him out. Currently (next few days) he'll get therapy almost daily. Then, when we have to go to private pay, it goes to 3-4 days a week which I'm going to ask questions about as that doesn't seem right. There's always something! Take care and have a lovely Friday everyone! Karen

Good morning everyone, It's been a busy and somewhat emotional few days here. I've read the Daily but just didn't get to posting. DH is continuing to heal and is doing very well for having had sepsis and being in shock. He's now ready to be discharged but I had to make the tough decision that I couldn't have him home yet as he can't help with transfers, etc. I knew it meant skilled nursing/rehab and that's fine but everything in our local area, including the one we've spent time in since October, are full and declined to take him. So now he's being taken to one this morning that is in Everett which is about 50 miles away and about an hours drive or so for me. I'm not a happy camper as it separates him from friends and family as well and adds the stress of a lot of driving on me but not much we can do. He has 4-5 medicare days left and then it's private pay. This one is a bit cheaper than the others but still about $13,000 for a month so a hit to the bank account but we can do it. I'm hopeful that he can be back to his baseline in a month but we shall see. Today is his 65th high school reunion on Zoom so I'm taking my laptop down to the facility in hopes that we can log in there. Thanks for being here! Karen

Good morning everyone! Happy Easter to all who celebrate. @ger_77 Happy Anniversary! I can't seem to remember if our anniversary has fallen on Easter Sunday before. Do you? I know we got married on Easter weekend but I just am not recalling that it's fallen on this day as well. Thank you to everyone for all the good wishes. It's a fairly quiet morning and wind and rain are in the forecast. I'm going to make some chocolate chip cookies for the nurses and staff at the hospital and take them today. DH has requested a chocolate shake and I'll get my "free" birthday treat at Starbucks. The day will be spent at the hospital. I have a good friend who will make my birthday cake - German Sweet Chocolate - and another friend had flowers delivered yesterday. After the last two weeks just getting to spend the day with DH is the highpoint on my list. If the local Boomers Drive-In is open today I'm going to treat myself to a Chicken Swiss Bacon burger with mushrooms tonight. It's soooo good and a definite indulgence! Have a good day everyone and thank you so much for all your kind wishes! Karen

Good morning everyone and Good Friday wishes to all who celebrate, DH started to add a few grey hairs to my head on Wednesday. I got there at noon and he was tired but the nurse said he was alert and talking in the morning. Anyway, as the day went on he was harder and harder to rouse and then his heart rate started slowing. I'm getting a bit panicky, the doctor is paged, an EKG is ordered, and then the doctor comes in to say he thinks he's solved the problem. It's a medication issue and DH just needs to sleep it off. They assured me he'd be fine, I could go home, etc. Yesterday I get to the hospital, head to his room, and he's not there! You can guess where my brain starts going but I calmly go to the nurses' station and ask to find out he's been moved (demoted) to the Medical Care Unit but nobody had called me. I get to his new room and he's sitting up and chatting away with me. He eats his lunch (Pureed and thickened for beverages) by himself, sits up for PT for 5 minutes pretty much unassisted, and is asking questions. I think he's back! Next step is hopefully a move back to our local hospital in what is termed a "Swing bed" where he'll do PT, OT, Speech, and have his medication monitored. Our local hospital means no freeway driving for me and is about 10 miles closer as well as in the same county so a win-win situation. Happy Easter weekend to everyone! Karen

Hi, DH wears a nice shirt, tie and sweater vest for "gala" nights and fits right in. The attire runs the gamut so as long as DH is happy it's fine. Karen

Good morning from a cloudy Pacific Northwest, The last few days have been busy and I haven't had much time to even be at the computer. DH is making some good progress. Sunday afternoon the nurse and CNA got him cleaned up, in a sling, and transferred to a reclining chair to watch the Mariners game. I went to take his picture, told him to "smile" and he gave a big grin which the nurse just loved. He stayed in the chair for 2 hours and then, when asked, pointed to the bed and back he went. Yesterday I got there about 1:00, after water aerobics, and he was sitting up in bed, no feeding tube, and pureed food in front of him! He'd pulled the tube out in the morning, speech had evaluated him and decided he could do pureed and I got there just as lunch was being served so I got to feed him. He kept wanting to feed himself and ate about 3/4 of the main meal and all of the pears. Today is a heart test. His last one showed his heart wasn't squeezing quite enough but that could be totally do to the sepsis so today is to find out if that's still the case or the problem has resolved itself. Depending on that test he may be able to transfer to our smaller local hospital for the next couple of weeks to have the IV administered, etc. We don't have Medicare days at the moment to fund skilled nursing so this will help. Have a wonderful day everyone! Karen

Good morning, It's a grey overcast day here in the Pacific Northwest but no snow so that's good. I attended a baby shower last night after being at the hospital for the day. I got there for part of it and most of it was the gift opening. The new-to-be parents got lots of books and I added to the stash! I got sent home with a chicken salad sandwich on a croissant so that was dinner - nice and easy. DH has a new device in his room. It's called a tele sitter and watches him to be sure he doesn't try and get out of bed or take out the feeding tube. If his hands go near his nose a voice is heard "... put your hands down" and he does! It is monitored 24/7 and will alert the nurse if he falls or anything major happens. Technology! Yesterday PT came in and got him sitting up so another small step. Today or tomorrow they are hoping to put him in the sling and transfer him to the reclining chair. Bloodwork is continuing to move in the right direction. Next is to get him talking. Not a fan of peanut butter and jelly, do like cod, and love children's books! This morning, before heading out to the hospital, I want to get the Easter cards done for Canada relatives, even though they'll be late, and then work on the US ones. Have a good Sunday! Karen

rabbit, Rabbit, White Rabbit, Good morning everyone, It's a cloudy day here but no rain at the moment. April is a busy month. Easter Sunday is our 46th wedding anniversary (same as @ger_77) and my 70th birthday. Why do I know we'll be celebrating in a hospital room? DH continues to slowly improve. Yesterday they got the feeding tube in and the MRI taken care of. The MRI showed nothing new and didn't show what the infectious disease doctor was looking for so that's good news. We still don't know why he keeps getting these UTI's and the different bacteria though. Yesterday he was alert, waving at people, clenched my hand, gave me the ok sign, and was vocalizing a lot but not many actual words. He was also quite restless in the bed and trying to get his legs over the edge so I'm going to ask about PT today. He's not ready for much at all but he could be ready to sit on the edge of the bed with assistance. Any little thing is good! I have a baby shower to stop by to this evening and the hospital today so I'll get busy this morning. Karen

Good morning, It's an overcast day with wind and rain in the forecast in my neck of the woods. DH had a fairly good day yesterday. He was more alert and tracking when people came in and out. He was waving as they left, clenched my hand, and gave me the "ok" sign. He tried to talk but only got the "f" sound out of his first name but it's progress. Last night his glucose spiked so I'll find out about that today. No MRI or feeding tube yet but he does have a PIK line in now for the antibiotic and for nutrition. I'm off to do the banking and a few errands then heading to the hospital. Karen

Good morning from another lovely sunny day in the Pacific Northwest, I will gladly salute doctors today - our family one is a gem and the team taking care of DH are wonderful. Our doctor retired last fall (at age 75) but came back doing only video visits twice a week. He says being around the younger staff keeps him young and it gives his wife a break! DH is slowly improving. I had a call this morning to give permission to put in a Pic line for nutrition as they couldn't put in the feeding tube or do the MRI yesterday due to a persistent cough and overloaded on fluids. Once they gave him Lasix he peed out over a liter of fluid and the cough calmed down! Today his nurse says he's more alert and looking better. They also did an echocardiogram yesterday and it came back clear. Off to see him in about 30 minutes or so. Have a good day everyone. I am in control - at least of juggling all the balls in the air to keep this guy going! Karen

Good morning from a sunny Pacific Northwest! DH got out of the ICU yesterday and moved up a floor to the Intermediate Care Unit. He has a nice room with a view including being able to see Bellingham Bay which sparkled in the sun yesterday. His eyes were open most of the day and he was tracking but no talking or other responses. I okayed a feeding tube (temporary at this point) and an MRI to check his prostate. He was seen by the infectious disease doctor who is a British lady, very well though of by the staff, and I was quite impressed with her. He will be on an antibiotic for three weeks via IV, the bacteria is a nasty one called pseudomonas and is in his lungs, blood and urine. If he rallies some more and doesn't need this unit he may be moved back to our local hospital which is about 10 minutes closer and an easier drive for me and closer to family. We'll see what happens. Thanks for the prayers and caring thoughts! Karen

Good morning, It's 32F at the moment with the sun out and a high of 60F predicted. I can handle that! Good news on the DH front. Yesterday he had his eyes open and he grasped my hand and squeezed it! His central line is out as is the Foley catheter. He's off of a lot of the medications. The bacteria has been isolated and he'll be back on an antibiotic for 10-14 days. We got words out of him!!! Mind you it was "owie, owie, owie" as they were putting in an IV but they were words. The doctor has changed from "doom and gloom" to a more optimistic outlook. DH may be moved out of the ICU today to a step-down unit. That will be for a couple of days and then to a regular bed. At that point he may be able to transfer back to our local hospital (which is smaller and not equipped for the bigger emergencies as he experienced) which is closer to us which would be nice. He may also be able to do the acute rehab program at the hospital. We'll just have to wait and see. We have some cruises booked and final payment is due on the first one - Westerdam, Alaska, July 1st. I'm considering canceling partly due to his health and I'm not thrilled with a few things such as the cabin (it's cramped as we've had it before.). Decision time in the next couple of days. Off to get cleaned up, have a neighbor for tea and then head to the hospital. Thanks for all the good thoughts and prayers! They are working! Karen

Good evening, DH update: Not a lot of news but he's still with us so that's good. I got there today and the heating blanket was gone as he's maintaining his body temperature. Also no meds needed to keep his blood pressure where it should be. The Foley catheter was removed this afternoon as well. He doesn't have MRSA, the flu, Covid, RSV or Legions. The test results that were high are starting to trend down and the ones that were low are starting to trend up. The doctor today said that they'll move him out of the ICU when he starts coughing a bit more productively, says I am being realistic and is very cautiously saying that there is some optimism. It's going to be a long haul regardless. I slept last night and spent today in his room doing my needlework, playing my iPad games, checking Cruise Critic, and texting a few people to keep them in the loop. The next few days are going to be critical as we see if he rallies from this infection (which we don't know what it is yet) and the pneumonia. Thank you so much to all of you! I loved the Charlie Brown meme from @aliaschief today. It was perfect! Now I'm going to indulge in a glass of wine, maybe a small dish of ice cream, and call it a night. If I don't get any calls during the night I'll go to the pool tomorrow and do water aerobics before heading to the hospital. They are in opposite directions but that's fine. Karen

Good morning everyone, Thank you so much to everyone for all the thoughts and prayers heading our way. I feel the love and support and thank you so much! The good news is that I didn't get any calls from the hospital last night. I get email updates on all tests and there are still problems on blood work, renal, etc. but the numbers seem to be trending in the right direction - slowly. I got some sleep last night (the wine may have helped) and did some reading. Now having got the morning started I'm ready to head out to Bellingham to be with the DH. I'll update later tonight (PST) when I get back - hopefully with some encouraging news. Karen

Good evening everyone, I'll update more tomorrow when I'm awake but DH is now in the ICU at the Bellingham hospital. It's bigger than our local one. He having problems maintaining his core temp and his blood pressure. The latter has settled down with the use of meds so that's a plus. He's slightly better but he's a pretty sick guy. I got home about 30 minutes ago after a very tiring day. So, in true dailyite fashion, I'm having a glass of wine as I write this (Riesling but not the one today), have updated family, and I'm heading to bed! I'm exhausted. Fingers, toes crossed that he makes it through this. Karen

Good morning everyone, I also woke up to a skiff of snow and we had snow/sleet/hail/rain yesterday as well. Isn't this supposed to be Spring? I've been reading every day but just not having time to post. Doing the caregiving for DH is becoming more of a challenge. He did great coming home last week. Then Friday he had a "down" day which I expected as he was so busy the day before. The visiting nurse came to do wound care for his heel and felt he was showing stroke symptoms so we called 911. I knew he was just tired and that was the consensus of the medics as well. The weekend was fine with one slip off the wheelchair. Our local guys came, got him back up and had a nice visit with him commenting that they hadn't heard DH talk so much and be so engaging. Thursday I ended up with them here both morning and evening for falls. Morning they got him in the wheelchair and all was fine. Evening they got him in the wheelchair, I got his evening meds in him, and they helped get him into bed for me as well as the assistant fire chief cleaned out a downspout because he saw the gutters were overflowing. "Clean the gutters" is on DS's "to-do" list for me. The doctor says DH is fighting the UTI bacteria so we're doing an antibiotic and then a maintenance one and now the nurse and I think he's dehydrated. Anyway, the ER may be in the cards today. I just want this guy healthy and able to cruise again as that's something he totally loves - as do I. Thanks for listening/reading! Karen

Checking in! Karen

Checking in from a sunny beautiful day in the Pacific Northwest!

Usually the tram is an "on your own" experience and the bus to the glacier would be at a designated time. On our Eurodam cruise in July the glacier is just after our arrival and the tram is listed as "on-your-own." You can also go multiple times if you want to. I've ridden up and explored in daylight then gone back up closer to closing for the night lights. Karen

Good morning!, The sun is out and it's a pretty morning here. DH is progressing. He transferred yesterday and stood for over a minute. Discharge date is tomorrow at 1:00 PM. I have a local service called Care-E-Me coming to transport him home as he needs to be in the wheelchair. It will be $95.00 but I'm not paying for skilled nursing! The social worker yesterday got it arranged as well as the referral to home health but I'll follow up this morning. It will be nice to have him home. Have a wonderful Wednesday! Karen