Mom's in the Hospital

Mom has been having a rough time of it the last week. The short version of the story is that she had a fall on Tuesday. The ER docs thought she just had bruised ribs but we found out on Thursday that she has two cracked ribs. Poor thing she was in a lot of pain.

All day Wednesday she stayed in bed under my sister Diega's care. She was in a lot of pain and couldn't get up to fix herself any food. She also stopped refusing any food at all excpect for a 1" square of bread to go with her pain pill. Something was wrong.

On Thursday morning Diega called to say Mom had vomitted a lot and it was all black. She was bleeding internally. We called an ambulance and Mom was admitted to the hospital.

At present Mom is resting pretty comfortably and seems to be in less pain from her two cracked ribs. They give her the good stuff (morphine) when they have to transport her for tests. The doctors are still working on figuring out why she had a tummy bleed, but the biggest concern is that her sodium levels are low and dropping. If it goes much lower she will be at risk of a stroke. The low sodium is stopping them from giving her any tests that involve general anesthesia.

Mom is eager to get home (keeps asking for her clothes) but she's not going anywhere for a while.

I am heading back to Olympia so won't have access to a computer for a while. I will blog more when I can. Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers from everyone. It's appreciated.

Mom and Her Cutie Cukes

My mother loves cucumbers. But not the kind you get in the grocery store. The ones in the store have a wax coating on them and to her that just ruins the flavor of them. She likes cucumbers fresh out of the garden. Even though she has discontinued her vegetable garden she decided that this year she would plant two or three cucumber plants so she could enjoy fresh cucumbers.

This spring Mom purchased some cucumber seeds and planted them. The plants didn't come to much and it was clear she wasn't going to get any cucumbers from them. So she planted some more. After waiting a few more weeks it became clear that she was not going to be successful getting cucumbers to grow from seed. So she gave up in frustration.

My brother-in-law Bill saw that she really wanted fresh cucumbers so he purchased her about three cucumber starter plants and planted them behind her house. The starter plants grew up and eventually got some blossoms where cucumbers could grow.

Mom is having trouble with her bad leg right now and she can't leave the house because she can't navigate the steps out of her home. She only leaves when we take her to doctor appointments and we can give her assistance with the steps. She has had to rely on family members to help with things outside her home like watering plants.

Yesterday we were watering a few plants for Mom and she asked us to check her cucumber plants to see if any were ready to be picked. To my delight there were four cucumbers ready to be eaten and two or three more which should be ready by next week. Mom couldn't believe how big they had grown. I got her to pose for her picture with the cucumbers.

For those of you who are following my Mom's recovery she's hanging in there. She had a bit of a backslide on Sunday (reinjured the leg) but is feeling a little better today and we are hopeful her recovery will progress uninterrupted. A physical therapist will be working with her twice a week.

Lake Union from the Barge at Ivars

When the weather is nice, particularly in the summer when the sun is up late Walter and I sometimes like to visit the Ivars Seafood Bar on Lake Union. It's in the front part of the same building where Ivars Salmon House is located.

You can pick up your food from the Seafood Bar, then walk it around to the back of the restaurant where they have a permanent barge on Lake Union set up with outdoor picnic tables. We like to eat our dinner and watch the boats go by on Lake Union. If we can catch a sunset, all the better.

We tried to visit Ivars a few weeks go but the parking lot was overfull. On Wednesday night, however, we got lucky and were able to park, get our meals, and make it to the barge just as the sun had gone down.

Here are a few pictures from the evening and a video of the activity on the lake. The third photo is a totem-inspired whale in front of the Salmon House. There were some boats tied up just outside the barge, their owners came there to dine at Ivars Salmon House. It was a warm and beautiful evening. Very relaxing.

Walter - Eyesight Difficulties

A couple weeks ago I wrote about Walter's doctor cutting back on some eyedrops - specifically the antirejection medicine, Prednisolone. That hasn't worked out so well.

Shortly after stopping the drops Walter began experiencing some itchiness and irritation in his right eye. It looked more red to me than usual. After about a week he noticed a lessening of vision. He described it as cloudy the way his vision was before his corneal transplant in November 2005.

Yesterday we went back to the eye surgeon to have things checked out. After a quick test it was clear Walter's sight is indeed diminished - he can no longer make out the big E on the chart. The doctor decided the change was due to stopping the Prednisolone. He put Walter back on the medicine at a higher dosage - 4 drops a day instead of one. We're hoping that Walter's vision will make a quick turnaround and hopefully he will return to the level of sight he had a couple weeks ago.

I think Walter's a little anxious about this turn of events as he asked me yesterday "what if it doesn't come back"? We're really trying hard to stay positive on this one. Most corneal transplant patients are able to go off this medicine a year after surgery. It has been almost 2 years for Walter but the doctor says it's clearly not time yet. Maybe we try again in another year.

We also got a reminder that we cannot measure Walter's progress against other patients. His eyes are different from anyone else this doctor has seen because of the excessive scar tissue from Peter's Anomaly. I think this is one way that Walter wishes he were not quite so unique.

We're hoping and praying for a quick turnaround of Walter's sight.

Mom's Hanging in There

To give a quick update on my Mom and her leg troubles, she's hanging in there. So far the problem seems to be getting worse, not better. She is pretty discouraged because sometimes she can barely move around her home. I confirmed that the x-rays were negative for any breaks or fractures. It's a groin muscle pull.

One of my coworkers tells me that she had exactly the same injury a couple months ago and it was the most painful thing she's ever felt. She also said Mom should not be walking around on her leg. But try and get her to stay off it, that's another trick. Here is an example:

I told Mom I was going to wash her sheets for her on Monday. When I talked to her today she asked me if I could also remove the bedding for her. Well of course, that's the whole reason I wanted to do it! She should not be doing physical things on her feet like removing bedding. Why did she ask that? Well because of course she tried to do it herself and found out she couldn't. Yikes! That's the kind of thing that makes me worry she will injure herself worse before she can heal.

Yesterday we made a decision to switch Mom's physical therapy to a clinic which will send a therapist to her house. I hesitated to make that change because she really likes her current physical therapist. But she said I could do what I want and the new PT clinic will also do an in-home evaluation of how safe she is in her home and possibly give recommendations to make that option as safe as possible. That's something we can use help with. I think she will take the advice of a professional more seriously than she will me telling her to stay off her feet.

The earliest a therapist can come to her house is Sunday. I'm planning to be there so I can meet the new therapist and ask a bunch of questions that have been on my mind. Hopefully this will be the start of a turnaround.

Freeway Park with Walter

Ever since Freeway Park was opened in the 70's I have been intrigued with this idea of a park with a freeway running underneath. As I drive on the freeway under it I frequently notice the ivy running down the sides of the concrete and tell myself I will visit it someday.

It's hard to believe I have not been to Freeway Park before since it is located downtown just a few blocks from my office. I think one of the reasons I haven't been there is the same reason so many people don't even know it's there. The park is pretty secluded, tucked behind tall buildings and not open on a major thoroughfare through the city. You have to go looking for it.

The park has some cool features including manmade waterfalls and a native basalt rockery. We found some nice tables where we could eat our lunch then spent some time walking around the park. They have done a really nice job with the flower plantings including lots of brilliant impatiens, hydrangeas and other shade loving plants.

To see more pictures of the park click on Walter's photo above and use the Next and Prev links to navigate.

Also, here is a short video I put together.

Farewell, Dear Friend

If you are like me you might have in mind a few friends that you've meant to maintain contact with or someone you intend to write, call or visit. Our long-time family friend Betty was on such a list for me.

Betty's mother lived next door to us when I was a small child, and I remember hours of fun spent playing with her kids (roughly the same ages as me and my sisters). I haven't spoken with Betty in many years. I believe the last time I saw her was at the time of her mother's death maybe a dozen years ago.

Betty was always kind to me and my family. When we graduated from high school she threw us parties to celebrate. She was a warm and loving person whose greatest joy was spending time with her family and friends.

Betty and I recently got back in touch (maybe a couple years ago) through Christmas cards and a couple notes exchanged back and forth. I have long owed her a letter or other communication and had hoped to visit her sometime soon as she had expressed an interest in seeing me and my sisters. But I'm afraid the time for that has run out.

Betty passed away on Monday, July 30 at the age of 69. I was not able to attend her memorial service as it conflicted with one of my mother's appointments, but I have been in touch with her family.

So long, Betty. Your presence and your spirit on this earth will be missed.

Maybe it's time to take another look at that list of people we intend to stay in touch with. You never know when time could run out.

Russ and Jen - Congratulations!

We have some very happy news from Walter's side of the family. Congratulations to nephew Russ and his beautiful fiancée Jen who recently became engaged. They live in Houston and are planning an April wedding in Playa del Carmen on the Mexican Caribbean coast.

Russ and Jen met at the bank where they both work. I haven't yet had the pleasure of meeting Jen but I'm looking forward to it. She must be very special for Russ to choose her as his bride.

To see a few more pictures of the happy couple click on the photo and use the Next and Prev links to navigate the album.

Congratulations Russ and Jen!!

Mom's Leg

Yesterday afternoon I took Mom to her appointment with the doctor about her painful left leg. She's having a lot of trouble getting around on the leg and it seems worse in the last few days since I saw her last. Mom has been taking some pills for her pain but it doesn't seem to be helping much and she's having trouble with the side effects.

The doctor examined her and ordered x-rays to make sure it's not broken. The area that hurts is near Mom's left hip which was replaced about 10 years ago. We went to the hospital (near the clinic) and got her x-rays. The on-call doctor was supposed to call me last night if they found she had a fracture. Since they didn't call that should mean it is not broken.

The doctor said that if it wasn't broken she would agree with the physical therapist that it's a pulled muscle and physical therapy is the best thing for that. I will call the doctor's office next week to verify the x-ray results were negative. I think Mom was disappointed that the doctor didn't do something to relieve her pain - like give her new pills or maybe some kind of a shot like she got for her back. She sees the physical therapist on Monday.

In the meantime I'm a little worried about her alone in her house. She can move around but just barely. I suggested she try to stay off the leg as much as possible. It could be that the muscle just needs time to heal. She has always been active and it's hard to get her to keep still. We've made an agreement that I will call her at a couple predefined times of the day to check on her. Now that she knows when I will call she won't be napping. :)

One of the side effects of the pain medicine is that they make her sick to her stomach and she doesn't feel like eating. That's bad because Mom has been losing weight recently and she didn't really need to lose weight. I was dismayed when she got on the scales and she had lost another 5 pounds in the last 10 days since her last doctor visit. She's not at an unhealthy low weight but if this trend continues it could go get there quickly. The doctor recommended nutritional supplements. I picked her up some Ensure so she's going to try that. In the meantime she's going to switch to a previous pain medication, one that is less effective but also has 0 side effects for her.

The family is all hoping that Mom's leg problem turns around for her soon. She just wants to be able to walk without a lot of pain.

Where's Mom?

I had a bit of an adventure with my Mom this morning, and I didn't even go to Olympia!

About a week and a half ago my mother stepped wrong and hurt her leg. Her physical therapist (for her back problem) thinks it's most likely a pulled thigh muscle. It's really painful and has surpassed her back as the biggest impediment to walking.

The pain comes into play when she steps down on her left foot. Just to recap, that's pain in her back when she steps on her right foot and now worse pain in her leg when she steps on her left foot. She says the back is getting better but I'm not sure if it's just that the new pain has surpassed the old.

On Monday the physical therapist said if her new injury wasn't getting better in a couple days I should make her an appointment to see someone in her doctor's office (her regular doc is on vacation). The pain has been consistent and is not letting up so yesterday I made her an appointment for Friday afternoon.

Last night (Wednesday evening) when I talked to her on the phone she said she could barely stand to step on the left foot and the pain was really bad. I started wondering if it was getting worse. The doctor's office advised that if it did get worse I should bring her in as soon as possible. So this morning I called her just to check in and see if she is hanging in there or if I need to arrange for a quicker appointment. At least I tried to call her...

I dialed her phone number and the phone rang and rang. I let it ring 15 times but she didn't pick up. She's very hard of hearing so I thought "well maybe she's in the bathroom and can't hear the phone ringing." I waited 15 minutes and tried again. The phone rang and rang, 15 more times. Now I was starting to get worried.

Mom's walking is bad enough that she's not even going outside. She's confined to the house so where could she be? I called her next door neighbor's house. No one was home there. So I called my brother-in-law Bill who lives about 15 minutes away from Mom. He was just on his way out the door to go to the store so said he would be happy to stop over and check on Mom. He promised to call me as soon as he got there.

I tried Mom's house again with no answer. I called Walter and he tried calling with no response. I was sure that something was wrong. But I live an hour and a half away and so I just have to have patience and wait for Bill's call. Of course I was at work at the time and had a busy day of meetings and tasks that took me away from my desk.

We have a great feature of our phone system that allows you to forward your calls to another number like your cell phone. So I forwarded my work line to my cell phone and headed off to take care of some things. Over an hour went by with no word. I was pretty much freaking out. Finally, my cell phone rings. It's Walter.

Walter tells me that he has been trying to reach me on my work number but only gets voice mail! So he tried my cell phone to reach me. Oh no, the phone forwarding didn't work! I later discovered that I had forgotten to type in a "9" with the forwarded number so that's why it didn't work. Argh.

I immediately had visions of Bill trying to reach me and not being able to. Walter quickly set my mind at ease by telling me Mom was fine. Bill couldn't reach me by phone so he finally called Walter to give him the scoop.

As it turns out, Mom wasn't able to sleep last night. She said it wasn't because of pain because it only hurts when she steps on the bad leg. She just couldn't turn her mind off. (I understand Mom, it happens to me too sometimes!) Since she didn't sleep and because her pain meds make her sleepy she decided to take a little nap.

I've mentioned that Mom is very hard of hearing. In fact she is pretty much completely deaf in one ear. Well when she lay down for her nap she happened to lie on the side of the good ear and she couldn't hear the phone at all. Wow.

When I got back to my desk and checked my messages there was one from Bill saying he had gone to her house and could see that she was lying on the bed in the bedroom. But all his pounding on the window didn't cause a stir. So he went to a pay phone and called me to tell me that and since he couldn't reach me he didn't know what to do. Fortunately, he went back to Mom's and by then she was up from her nap. Whew!!

I called Mom and talked to her and she started apologizing all over the place for making everyone worry. She swore she would never lie down for a nap again. Oh my. Well of course she can take a nap when she needs one! I'll have to talk to her about that when I see her tomorrow. Maybe she can just lie on the other side. On the other hand, I really don't want her to wake from a sound sleep to the sound of a ringing phone and then try to "rush" to the phone while still groggy. That sounds like a recipe for a fall to me.

Well that's the Mom adventure for the day. Everybody laughed about it, and we're all just thankful she's safe and sound. She told me her leg is still the same and not worse, so we will stay with tomorrow's appointment.

Since I will be leaving early from work to go to Olympia tomorrow it will probably be Saturday evening before I will have time to post again. Have a good weekend everybody!

Pool Party at Sandy's

My friend Sandy (the same Sandy who walked across Spain) gave her third annual Sandy's Girlfriends Party on Saturday. The last couple years I was not able to attend Sandy's parties because of scheduling conflicts so this was my first year.. Wow, can Sandy throw a party!

First of all, Sandy has an absolutely beautiful back yard setting for such an event. Her pool is gorgeous and she has it surrounded with gorgeous container plantings she put together herself. Some of us were inspired by Sandy's green thumb and decorating abilities. You will see I got quite a few pictures of Sandy's plantings and yard as well as "the girlfriends."

What really makes a great party though is the people. These ladies are "a great bunch of gals" and we had a blast. There were just about 20 of us there. We all know each other well because we have worked together for years and we really enjoy each other's company.

The weather even cooperated 100%. It was sunny with a cool breeze, temps in the mid 70's. If it had been much warmer it would have been too hot to be sitting out in the sun by the pool.

Thanks Sandy for hosting a great party!

Here is a slideshow of my photos:



Sandy’s 3rd Annual Girlfriends Party

And here is some video from the event:

Entering a New Phase

Walter had a checkback with his eye surgeon the other day. His sight is pretty stable now. His doctor has decided to take away the antirejection eye drop medicine he is taking. The doc left him on the medication longer than he usually does because of all the different issues for Walter's eye. But he decided it was time.

Walter has to go back in 2 weeks now to make sure that there are no ill effects from stopping that medication. If all goes well Walter's eye pressure will likely go down. That's a good thing. Walter is currently taking 3 medications (eye drops) to keep his glaucoma (high eye pressure) under control. It will be nice if he can be weaned off one or two of those.

The doctor is pleased with how the corneal graft is healing. Walter still has stitches in his eye and those are fine to stay there. As the doc put it "we are entering a new phase." With luck this new phase will mean less medicine. Yay!