Yodit's Visit

Yodit came to visit me yesterday about suppertime.  It was a really nice surprise.  As is typical of her, she brought me yogurt and cookies.  That was nice, but I was just happy to see her.

She told me she'll come back to work with me around March 21.  That's later than I had hoped, but at least we have a pretty solid date to plan towards now.  Plus, other aides have worked out in her absence, so when Yodit does return, there should be a fairly large group of aides I'll be able to trust.

Aide Stuff

At least one of my aides moves my television in the living room around on the stand.  I don't know why anybody would have the need to do that.  Another aide, if I don't watch her, gives me just whatever to drink instead of asking me what I want.

February 1, the new aide schedule begins.  I'm not sure yet who the aides will be, but the plan is to keep my best aides and add new ones as needed.  I'm interested to see how it works out.

Better Night

Janeka stayed overnight last night, and it went much better.  In fact, I went to the bathroom about 1, as usual, and not again until I got up at 8.  I obviously needed some good sleep, and I feel much better today.

My bladder is getting better, too.  Now, I can go a few hours without using the bathroom.  If I hadn't had an aide all night even when I first moved in here, that would have resulted in a real mess.

Bad Night

Friday night, my overnight aide was over an hour late.  Last night, no one came at all.  It was an extremely difficult few hours.  I had to figure out how I could use the urinal, which I finally did about 3:30.  Then, I got on my couch and tried to get some sleep.

Janeka, bless her, was ticked when she got here at 7 and found me there.  She has decreed that all my aides are now to call her when they get here, so she'll know somebody is with me.  I am also getting a cell phone, so I can contact someone when I'm not at the computer, and getting that will probably be fast-tracked now.

Schedule Changes

There looks to be scheduling changes coming to my aide shifts.  Starting in February, for example, the dinner shift will be an hour longer, from 6 to 9.  That will give the aide time to cook, getting me better meals and more food.  It will also help get aides here.  Laura tells me aides make very little money on two-hour shifts, so getting people to do them can be tough.  Hopefully, a three-hour shift will be more attractive to them.

I'm fine with the changes.  They're an attempt to better meet my needs.  I'd like to have one primary aide on the dinner shift through the week, like Jordan is here every day at lunch.  We'll see.

Food

My biggest Peapod order so far is due to be delivered this evening.  Just in time, too, as I am running out of food.

I'm still trying to get the hang of ordering food.  Even though I'm the only person eating it, the stuff seems to go fairly fast.  We're trying to work out some crock pot recipes and a weekly menu so I'll have a better idea of what I need to get.  That more and better food would also keep my weight up.

Names They Call Me

Different aides call me different things.  Most call me Greg, but one calls me Mr. Anderson, and a couple call me Mr. Greg.  I take that last to be a Southern cultural thing.  One even regularly calls me Josh.  Go figure.

Of course, that's what they call me to my face.  Who knows what kinds of things they might call me among themselves.  Or, maybe they don't mention me at all.

Progress Sleeping

Last night, I went to the bathroom shortly after 1, as usual, and then not again until 7.  I call that progress.

I'm still a little uneasy about waiting so long between visits, but I've only gone once since 7, and it's nearly 2, and I'm feeling fine.  We'll see if this becomes my new normal.  I hope so.

Speed... Or Not

I'm doing pretty well handling my power chair.  My only major problem now is backing out of the elevator.  Maybe next time I'll try backing in, so I can drive straight out.

There's also the matter of speed.  The fellow who set the chair up put it on the lowest speed until I got used to it.  That's very slow. Little old ladies walk away from me.  On the other hand, maybe I should get better with elevators before I get more speed.

Lunch

Yesterday, I tried the lunch they serve here.  My aide Jordan took me down to the lunchroom on the first floor.

One of the things I looked forward to on leaving the nursing home was getting back to eating food I like and away from institutional food.  Well, the stuff I ate yesterday was instutional food.  If you're feeding hundreds of people on a limited budget, it could hardly be otherwise.  The food wasn't bad, but it wasn't good, either.  I'll probably stick with my stuff from now on.

Dad

For whatever reason, I've been thinking a lot about my dad recently.  He will have been gone ten years this summer.

I see a great play in a game, and I want to share it with Dad.  I haven't had such thoughts in years.  I listen to a politician yammering on, and I know Dad woudn't have bought the spiel any more than I do.  I wonder what he would think of my situation today.  I am sure some things would be quite different if he were still around, helping and guiding and molding.

Crock Pot Stuff

Laura brought over a crock pot Monday, the idea being that the overnight aide can cook a meal in the crock pot that I can eat the next day.  That will hopefully get me better quality food than I get eating TV dinners and canned ravioli.

I'm also going to try the lunches they serve here in the building.  The point of all this being to keep my weight up, and keep me healthy.  I guess I'll find out which of my aides can cook and which can't.

Better Day

I'm doing better today, as my bathroon issues are improved.  I also slept better last night, and the new overnight aide worked out just fine.

This morning, my practice in the power chair went well, too.  I had a little problem backing out of the elevator, but other than that, I was in complete control.

Bathroom Troubles

I didn't get much sleep last night as I had to urinate every couple hours-- that after I hadn't gone for about four and a half hours.  So, it was tough.  I'm having the same problem right now, in fact.

I'm also beginning to have trouble with the other bathroom number.  It's not a great day.

More Practice

In practicing in my power chair this morning, I had some rough points.  I had my most serious scrape with a wall yet.  I still don't know what happened.  I was out in the open, nothing near me, and somehow I drifted hard into the wall.  I also had a devil of a time getting out of the elevator.  Twice.

All three times, however, I was able to get out of the situation on my own, without help from Janeka-- except for her keeping the elevator door open.   Everybody has bad days, but I clearly still have work to do.

Living On An Edge

Yesterday afternoon was difficult.  For whatever reason, I had to pee sooner than usual-- then my aide was forty minutes late.  Those factors contributed to a bad feedback loop.  I had pain from needing to go and tight muscles down there from holding it until somebody got here.  The pain increased, and the muscles further tightened.  Even after I was on the toilet, I couldn't get relaxed enough to go because of the pain.

It took me hours to work through all that.  I'm fine at the moment, but yesterday I was so distracted by the pain that I couldn't focus on writing a post for this blog.  Sorry about that.

Bummer

I was looking forward to the national championship game last night between Notre Dame and Alabama, but it turned out to be not much of a game at all.  The Tide rolled the Irish, 42-14.

I was bummed, but I can't say I was shocked.  Notre Dame did get through the regular season undefeated, but they could just as easily have lost two or three of those games.  The mystique of Notre Dame football clearly helped the Irish get the No. 1 ranking.  Still, it's good for college football to have Notre Dame back among the national elite.  That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Alarm Goof

Yesterday, I was getting out of my typing chair to go into the living room and watch football when I accidentally hit the alarm button.  I hit the reset button as quickly as I could, but it wasn't fast enough.

Within a few minutes, two paramedics came whipping into my apartment; a stretcher was at the ready in the hallway.  Luckily, I was able to make them understand that I was fine and I'd summoned them by mistake, so I didn't make a quick trip to the hospital.

Paying Up

Congress and President Obama are still trying to get the nation's fiscal situation under control.  The next step, presumably, will be substantial spending cuts, largely through reforms in Medicare, Medicaid, and the healthcare system-- the main drivers of future federal debt.  Reforming the healthcare system has already been tackled in Obamacare, but most agree that was just a first step.

One reform that might be considered is increased pay for home healthcare aides.  If the point is to build a wellness system, as opposed to strictly a disease treating system, such aides will be the primary human connection between individuals and the system.  I know many of my aides have two and even three jobs, which complicates scheduling and tends to reduce overall effectiveness.  If they could make a reasonable living doing one job, the focus of the whole effort could improve.

Of course, that would require more spending, but, as they say, it might provide more benefits long term.

Aide Shuffle

So, Yodit is off on maternity leave, and Tammy is taking a couple weeks off later this month to get ready to go back to school, so some new aides are going to be with me at night for a while.

It's not something I look forward to.  I have to trust these people, so new ones are always a concern to me.  Janeeka is training them, however, and I'm sure Insights vets them before sending them anywhere, so I'll just have to get through this period.  Who knows, the new ones may even be good.

Using The Elevator

This morning, I used the elevator in my power chair for the first time.  It's a pretty tight fit.  I just about wrecked poor Janeeka in there, but she was light enough on her feet to avoid real damage.  I got out of the elevator pretty well, though.

I went down some of the halls on the first floor-- they seem narrower than the ones on my floor-- and I also picked up two blueberry bagels.  Going back up to my place seemed easier, though getting in my door proved a bit of a challenge.  Altogether, I am making progress.