Mary Ann...
... i have no idea why anyone would want to weigh you at 4.30 am...

Jackie, I think they wanted to get me before I had anything to eat.  While I was puzzled, I didn't mind because it turned out that I was a pound lighter than I was yesterday.  My BP was also lower, but that was done in my room, not at the scale.  I did not need a scale for the BP and it could be done in privacy. 

I think I've taken my last pill for the day and I'll watch my pills and the nurse just put in my eyedrops.  I will miss her because it is difficult for me to put them in.

For one last time, I think I'll have an aide get my bed ready for the night.  Tomorrow night, I'll have to pull my bed apart gy myself!

Mary Ann

ANOTHER snowy day.....this every other day of snow is wearing many of us down!  I relate it to living in a snow globe!!

We have been active with helping out with our grands this week.  This afternoon I decided to stay home while Bob picked our oldest grandson up from school and drove him 30 minutes to his away basketball game.  The roads we not good, but they made it to and from safe and sound.  We have Oliver Doodle here for a wee' while his parents are out of the country.  Tomorrow Dave returns from his business trip so we are not needed with the children for the rest of the week. 

I just managed to accidentally delete the new part I added to this post.......so I just want to sa6 a couple of quick things before I turn in for the night.

JEAN, I am so sad to read that your grandson has taken a turn for the worse.  I feel bad for you son to have to travel to see him as I know travel is hard for him having MS. My continued positive thoughts and prayers for him as well as all of his family.  Hugs to you.

MARY ANN, happy to read you are headed home tomorrow🥰  I did not see a report about your home visit yesterday, but I do hope it went well. 

Pleasant dreams to all,

Jenny

Mary Ann...
... i can understand that but unless they feed you all breakfast at these very early hours i still cant understand why the so early weigh-ins...anyway as my late father often would have said...i guess " there's method in their madness..."

Good  morning !   yeah !  Mary Ann is going home today !  Jackie,  that is not unusual .  They wake you up in the middle of the night for all kinds of crazy things !  Mary ann, will you get any kind of PT at home or nurses visits for a couple weeks ?  Medicare covers that.   I feel so much better this morning.  Slept all is 6 hours straight .  Was able to wash myself and get dressed with just a little help.  Need help going to the bathroom.  Can't  do anything without someone with me.  But I feel I did great this morning.  Have had breakfast, and did some exercises with weights.  I am so proud of what I could do !  ☺Still have a LONG way to go.  But I can see a little bit of progress.  Very little pain!  Shirley,  the food is " thumbs down, for sure ".  My niece and SIl  coming today and bringing lunch!  My son keeps asking me if I am ready for a crab cake yet !  Not quite !  But keeps sounding good!  Gloria,  I can't afford ASST. LIVING either, but might come to that.  Right now my family does not want me alone, so we will see !  Big worry and decisions ahead .  I want to post this before I lose it.  THANK you for your well wishes.  Hopefully being able to "talk" here will really help get me through all this.  Be back later . JOY    NOT 6. WEEKS. 6  HOURS. (Lol)

Joy, yes, someone will come to the house to talk about in-house care for a couple of weeks.  I really want to nap when I get home because I have not slept well but I know that will not be possible.

I have had blood taken in the middle of the night or my vitals, anything they want info on.  After all, people are on duty 24 hours a day - 3 shifts. 

I am happy to hear you are getting along so well, Joy.  I know everyone tries to be so careful but I make very deliberate movements and I think Tom realizes that so he feels free to leave me for a couple of hours.  I do not want want to have him come home and find me at the bottom of the steps so I don't make dangerous moves.

I am in the midst of packing; I pack, then sit, then stand and pack and repeat the process.  Besides a suitcase, we have two totes and that should do it.  We did not bring much extra.  I have a new walker, like  the one I have been using.  The brakes are stiff but at least I'm familiar with it. 

Joy, I hope you continue to improve; it sounds as if you already are moving in the right direction.

Mary Ann

Sun is shinning today and no snow headed in until Saturday late Night......it sure is BRIGHT with all the sparkly snow out there! 

3 of my kiddos are flying all over the place today, so I am keeping an eye on the flights and asking our Dear Lord to keep his loving arms around them🙏🙏

 Oliver Doodle moved around quite a bit during the night but HE made sure he was comfy!  Smokey Cat did not come to bed and join us, I guess he is a bit bent out of shape that he is having to share me with the Doodle Dog😍😍.

MARY ANN, I hope you are HOME and getting settled in. 

You ALL enjoy the rest of your day!

Jenny

We got home about noon today and I realized I've gotten off to a bad start the first day home.  It doesn't help that my caregiver is also sick and could be more sick than I am.  I have not had anything to eat since breakfast, nor has Tom.  I just sent him to Cheers for a setting of goulash which will have everything in it I need!  Probably things also that I don't need; it just sounds good - and will be hot. 

I looked at the phone and saw a #10 and I thought it meant it was 10 degrees out!  It isn't only my mind that is out of place but I can't find anything. I keep a box of tissues beside my chair, a bottle if water nearby, a box in the bathroom - all are necessary and I can't find one of them.  Oh well, this too shall pass.  I hope.

Both of us kind of crashed when we got home and I sat in an upholstered chair and fell asleep for I don't know how long so I did sleep.  Tom just woke up and said all he does is sleep.  He will hear from his cardiologist tomorrow. 

Tom will be back soon and I'm going to  relax; I am not going to get into my previous routine if I can help it.  BBL

Mary  Ann

My still on warranty, purchased in August and gone bad in late October, desktop computer has finally returned after squabbling with HP over paying for the repair, or shipping or packing material on a still in warranty computer.

 I had a paid antivirus subscription with McAfee, and one day they told me something they couldn't delete was on my desktop, and then everything quit. I haven't been happy!

Then, my repaired desktop HP computer finally came in at 3 PM. Instead of the promised 2-day air, it ended up being six days!?! I'm letting it sit until tomorrow and then if all goes well, re-inputting everything again... 

MaryAnn, I'm so glad you're back home again. Hopefully whoever cleaned, will return the tissues, etc. I'm always glad to return home after a hospital visit but sometimes a bit let down as well.

I'm sorry to hear Tom is still sick, cases of flu have a tendency to really drag a person down. I'm just starting to feel better and less congested myself.

Mary Ann...
...good to read you have arrived home...

************************************************************************

I am not sleeping well at all, woke up after 3.am, well my usual MS bladder functioning got me out of bed, now i am up and back on the computer 4.am, this now seems to be becoming my norm..plus a medical issue i keep ignoring that needs to get checked out as it is getting worse and is causing me concern but i cant get myself to the surgery ( my very remote and so isolated location ) apart from expensive taxi.....looked up the pictures and i am sure it is venous stasis insufficiency of the ankle and lower leg that is hurting with discolouration and getting higher..this is affecting blood flow..sometimes i feel it is best to not know how ill i am just let God deal with what he has given to me, to just let nature take its course...Just reading up "Chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency ( does not allow blood flow back to the heart ) in patients with multiple sclerosis..." PP-MS is what it is..incurable.." and will only get worse with everything else it throws at you..Parasthesia - Lhermitte's sign - Erythromalalgia..our list goes on and on...so i dont need a medic to tell me how ill i am, i am living with this body, not them...
If there is one thing i have learnt over my 10 years on our S & F''s forum is no one is interested on reading or listening to" negatives.." i think the words i am thinking of is, having a self " pity party.." and on a " positive " note, that others will keep reminding you of, " there is always someone else worse off than you," and sadly, that is so so true..Taking an Idiom quote from my late father..." we must count our blessing's..." even if they seem to be appearing less and less...and while we are still here on this earth, we have a purpose, even if we dont know yet what this purpose is, and while others dear to us have been taken before us..now that is one question - answer, i will never fathom out...yes why...As i am sitting here typing i can hear a blackbird singing outside my window somewhere not too far away, and did you know that every blackbird has its own unique and distinctive calling sounds, it has also been known that blackbirds can mimic the sounds of fire engines - ambulances on call-outs, they can mimic their sirens, more so if they are in the busy city..

It is 2:45 as I start this.  I think my nap of yesterday afternoon made my night sleep be short and I woke about 2 am this morning.  I am not entirely awake, but I certainly am not sleepy.  So I got up to sit at the computer.

Life is returning to a bit of normal already and I was able to watch one TV program but another was preempted.  By that time I was ready for bed.  I will have to find out what my new-normal is.  It does include pushing a walker!  It's strange that I can lose so much strength over a month of exercise. 

Jackie, you wonder what we are here for as long as we're here and I think you are here to show us courage and educate us on the illnesses you have contracted.  I  am sorry to hear you have another illness.  I do hope you will find a way to get back to familiar territory where you can get help and, I think, would be happier, and probably better cared for.

Kendrick has returned to my side which is good for Tom.  Tom did feel sorry for him and prepared a section on his bed but Tom has a single bed and mine is wider.  I'll put his bed back in here but maybe over the weekend, Robin's son and a friend will dismantle the work station to make more room and we'll have to rearrange again. 

Mary Ann
   

Mary Ann...
... thank you, your words mean a lot to me and yes, this is all what is keeping me going, i have a game plan that i want to see come to fruition and hope and pray for the day when i can tell you when i have ticked number one off followed by ticking my number two-three and four...only then will i not care what happens to me...i will be at peace with myself...My number one is to be on the M25 motorway seeing the Heathrow Airport sign knowing i am getting further in miles away from here, ( fourth motorway with just one to go ) then getting past it, only then will i know i am heading closer to home, number two is to go pay my respects to my Richard at the local crematorium, ( his ashes are back home with his brother and his parents, ) number three is to go pay my respects to my my parents at our families local cemetery, i so want to tell all three that i am back home, back home where i belong, i should never have left...then number four, i want to go see the solicitor who dealt with my Richards will at long distance, also back home and add to my will on where i want my ashes to be scattered which is some with my three dogs and the other with or near to my Richard..then after this i dont or wont care which way it goes as i will be ready, whether my time is up or i still have a life ( maybe still a good life ) ahead of me..whatever is in Gods plan for me i will accept it...
Richards crematorium and my parents cemetery are in two separate neighbouring counties...17 miles and 25 minutes apart...I am 140 - 150 miles away from both...

Good Friday morning !   Slept good again !  Hope today is a,good day !   Mary Ann. Each day will get better !  Jackie,  does sound like you are doing better.  Have a good day !   Joy

Joy, I am taking it easy on myself but I won't be sitting around doing nothing. A woman is coming today to get me started.  Rehab had told me someone would contact me immediately so I am prepared.  I was up and down last night and I will be going bacback to bed shortly.  No need to get up early.. 

I wish Tom would feel better but he does not.  His cardiologist was to call him back the last I heard and I went to bed later than he did.  It isn't good to have two sickies in the house at the same time.

Jackie, I think you are on the right track with your priorities,  But get home first!  That will make you feel better right away.

I'll write more later.

Mary Ann

Good Friday Morning Everyone.

MaryAnn,  I am sorry that Tom is
not feeling well still.   I have
had a cold on and off now for
months... normally i miss the Winter
doldrums but this year I got caught
up in it.

I hope that you have a plan B in
case Tom doesn't get better ... you
are correct... having two people so
sick is not good especially when both
probably need assistance.. 

It is too bad that you can't get
into some assisted living arrangement
now so that you don't have to worry
about your own care .... 

I hope that you both are feeling
better soon. 

I am glad that your cat is back
with you.  I bet that he missed you.
I hope that your walker is sturdy
enough to keep you safe.

I am always concerned about you . 
Sandy

[size=4]Sandy, thanks for your thoughts.  Tom stood at the door this morning and said every day he felt better.  He would not miss Bible study if he could help it and he went this morning.  He sounds better but that is no indication he is getting better; I have only his word.  He doesn't stand still long enough for me to find out if hs doctor has called and I want him to see his doctor. 

As for the cat, he slept some with Tom while I was gone.  I was away for almost a month and I know he figured I was gone for good.  Tuesday we had a home evaluation and Robin pulled him from under my bed so we could show him to the ladies.  Kendrick is a big cat, no little kitty cat!  He looked at me as if I was a stranger and wanted to get away as soon as possible.   But by Thursday afteroon he reaized I was the one who fed him and petted him and last night, he slept some on my bed.  He's back to normal now.  He's my buddy.  I'm his protector and I don't let him outside where other animals might get him!

Mary Ann[/size]

Good morning from the Interior, where we're finally back in the teens and twenties! Tuesday, we came from minus forty to plus 21 in a matter of hours. I can always tell the weather with my dehydrated skin and arthritic bones, as it just feels lighter when it's warmer.

MaryAnn, I'm so glad you're back home, and I know Kendrick is as well. I am so sorry to hear that Tom is still not feeling well. I hope you both feel better soon!

Farrah is still following me from room to room. I did purchase her a small bag of treats. She taught me something about that as she sat and cried in front of the old cabinet where her treats were before. She remembered where her treats used to be several months ago. Now, of course, she follows me into the kitchen each time, waiting to see if I open the right cupboard.

Today, I will set up my returned desktop computer, and hopefully, all is well or will be with that. I've still got some congestion, but it is only in my ears now, with the rest mostly clear.  I won't be able to see the doctor until sometime next week.

Mary Ann - I'm so happy to come into B&T this morning, and see a couple of upbeat and positive messages from you!   Except for the fact that Tom, is still not feeling 100%, everything else is looking good.  It sounds like he's in contact with his doctors, and that he's being watched and treated for this recent flu.  I can't help wondering if he got his flu shot, this past Fall?  A couple of people I know of,  did get the flu shot, but came down with the flu anyway.  Just too many different viruses out there . . . the CDC can't keep up with them all.

You sound GOOD - just like before you went into the hospital!  It will take a while to regain the strength you had before.  Now that you're back in your "comfort zone", things will return to normal.

Believe me, Kendrick recognized you immediately when Robin pulled him out from under the bed!!  There were just so many strangers in the room with you, that all he wanted to do was go back in hiding.  They say that cats and dogs NEVER forget their human families, no matter how long it's been, and I believe it.  When Annie comes home from Tulsa, for a visit, Kendrick will recognize her too.  I'm sure he was confused and unhappy while you were gone, but cats always adapt to their surroundings and the people who feed them and talk to them.  However, they wait and hope for their real loved ones to return.

Jackie - It sounds like you have a definite plan in mind, and that things will soon fall in place for you.  You will be so much happier, now that you're see the future more clearly.  Something to look forward to, always gives us hope.

Marilyn, I hope I never lose my sense of humor, without it I am lost.  I have a dry sense of humor and I can see some thing humorous in almost any situation - even a funeral.  My grandmother Tock wrote that she had a dry sense of humor.  One year a boy up the street was supposed to read a play for class and he came to our house where Dad, Clint and I read the book aloud; it was about the Day family, a famous play and I cannot think of the name (Life with Father?). We three would laugh hilariously until tears ran down our cheeks; my mother watched us with a straight face and wondered why we were laughing so much.  My mother had her own sense of humor. 

Mary Ann

Jackie.
We here on SandF read your postings but canno give you medical advice. You are now  suffering from depression. Only people to help you are the medical doctors. I know enough about that in u.k , the help is there for you. I went though it with my own family. They can't help you if they don't see you. If no one close call emergency ambulance. Just say you have fallen and no one close. They will get you help. That is where to start.

Jackie, I agree with Jeanne P.  You need someone to listen and to advise you on overcoming your grief. I lost my husband in 2002 to cancer and will miss him every day of my life, but I have made new female friends here in Auburn and play bridge at least once a week, so that is a big help.  Most of my friends here are friends I met in church and Sunday School.  I hope you can find someone like that.  I'm praying for you and hope that you can soon recover.

Sue

I wonder what happened - I wrote a message and was in the process of finalizing it and all of a sudden there was nothing there.  Anyway, i am heading for bed soon but I wanted to come in to see if anyone else had posted. 

I think I've had a busy day and want to see if there were posts from others -- there were not.

Mary Ann

Good morning, Mary Ann and Every One looking in this morning.  It's a bright, sunshiny day here in Auburn, but pretty chilly.  I'm still not dressed for my morning walk and need to get that out of the way.  I go uphill for 3 blocks and downhill for the last 2.  I put some canned goods outside last night for the Boy Scouts who do a food drive annually.  I haven't been outside yet to see if they picked them up.

Mary Ann, I can't remember if you have been able to go home yet.  I do hope that you will be able to do so soon if you can leave the hospital. Will you have home visits from a nurse for a while?  Keep us posted.

Sue

Sue, I came home Thursday and I think I put in some details in a previous post.  Yes, I will have some in-home visits for therapy in the next two months.  I doubt I will be able to walk far, but maybe around the flagpole in front of my unit.  Mostly what I had in Rehab was leg exercises.  I took my first shower since I got home and things went well.  I used the method I had always used, using my grabbars and i was pleased they worked well.  I had showed the home evaluators my method and they approved.  I also don't have to get a new toilet because the risers are not needed because of my being short.

Now I'll see if I can get me a cup of coffee.

Mary Ann

Mary Ann - Good Morning to you. good to see that you're quickly getting back into your comfortable routine once again. Being at home, surrounded by all of your familiar things, helps with that feeling of security.  I hope that Tom, is feeling better today also, and will soon be out, and driving to his many activities. 

Joy - good to see that you're beginning to feel better.  Keep us posted on if you decide to move, or if you will be going back to your apartment?

Jean and Jenny - hope we hear from both of you today? 

Patricia - thanks for the giving us another Maxine cartoon to enjoy!

Hello to Sandy, JeanneP, and Jackie, and Sue.     

Decorah Eagles Cam; fresh eagle eggs,

https://explore.org/livecams/bald-eagles/decorah-eagles

Good Afternoon Everyone... 

Mary Ann  I am glad that your home evaluators
okeyed your shower grab bars  as those
are so important and should never
be able to come off when
you are using them. 

I know that I have a number of them
and depend on them all the time
to keep me safe. 

I have learned that once I
start to fall it is too late to
grab for the grab bars,  so I
always keep my hand on
one of them while in the tub and
getting in and out 

It is the same old story....
accidents in the bath room
or on stairs are the worst for
us as we get older. 

I  can remember falling down
stairs on my butt when I
was pregnant and I was able
to protect the baby by keeping
myself from falling to hard. 

But today,  when I go to fall
I hit hard and my arms flail
all over the place and I have
broken both trying to stop
myself from getting hurt.

Knock on wood,  I just took
a shower and made it through
safely ...  PHEW!!

Weather is getting up into the
40's now...  HOORAY!! 

Have a good weekend and
try to think positively
even if things are not going
your way. 

Be happy in spite of it all!! 

Peace to everyone !
Sandy