The Elephant in The Room

From boredom to not enough time to wind my watch IF my watch was not self winding! The past few days have zoomed by; I've been spinning from all the changes.

My lungs have decided to return to a some what more normal functioning. Maybe the steroids had something to do with it? I'm at a loss as to the how but I'm very appreciative that I can take a deep breath, that I can make it through a whole day without having to collapse on the sofa to catch my breath. I've been taking advantage of this improvement and I haven't slowed down.

I didn't plan on being busy but it seems one thing has led to the next and the evening hours close in before I've finished the tasks I had set for myself.

Carrie and I decided we would take the riding lawn mower on  a trip. While Carrie stood up between my legs or sat on one knee, we drove the lawn tractor to her mom's house (a mile away) to mow that lawn.
Driving the lawn tractor around my yard at the highest speed feels as though I'm flying along at supersonic speeds. My lawn is not that large hence the feeling of speeding. Driving that lawn tractor on paved roads through this subdivision at it's highest speed felt as though I could outrun it on foot. It took 12 minutes to drive that one mile to the daugher's house and it was a noisy one mile! Carrie and I memorized each bush and gravel along the way.

 Before mowing, a major yard cleanup was in order. The old pool was dragged to the curb along with old bikes, trikes and miscellaneous wood. The stack grew and grew and the yard became bare except for the shaggy grass that was a few weeks past due on a good clipping. From mowing, to weed eating and on to using a hedge trimmer to cut down bamboo that was threatening to overtake the back part of this lot, I was exhausted by this days end.  Most of two days were spent tiding up this lawn and then it was time to get ready for Hurricane Isaac.

Water was stacked, kerosene bought, hurricane lamps  were filled, propane tank filled and all the loose items outside stored away from the coming winds.

We were ready. This hurricane had a forward movement of 6 miles an hour. Landfall was made in New Orleans and the huge radius crept westward and we waited. Sleeping for me was scattered and scarce.

I wasn't particularly apprehensive. I didn't want to miss anything so I waited..and waited ...and waited.

The days passed with wind gusts that stripped dried dead branches from the big maple tree standing on the front lawn. Leaves littered the grass, my own and all the neighbors. Light rain and more wind and the deluge we waited for never appeared. Somehow the floods predicted never materialized. We dodged the bullet this time and for that we are grateful.

Today was spend cleaning the debris fallen  from the trees that covered the grass. The lawn tractor chewed the leaves and the cypress fronds to fine layer which sun dried later was picked up by the wind and redistributed around the neighborhood. Larger limbs were stacked by the road for the landfill pickup.

Did I mention I've been busy? The daughter had her vehicle and Ted's truck parked here in lieu of all the high waters expected which usually floods her lawn.  Her Jeep had overheated and we anticipated taking it to the shop today. We changed those plans and decided to see if we could fix it ourselves. Nothing ever goes to plan when working on a vehicle and today was no different. It's fixed. New radiator hose and a new thermostat, a radiator flush and the Jeep was back on the road; we were greasy and stained, sweaty and tired!

This has been my schedule for the past three days. I'm ready for some down time. Some boredom.

...and during all this, not one episode of being short of breath.

I'm grateful I can be this busy and get so much done. It's been almost 4 months of being way too lazy.

OH, I have forgotten about the elephant!  I'll mention it right now.

The sleep study showed I had moderate sleep apnea and my doctor is adamant about me having a CPap machine. I've found a machine that a friend has generously allowed me to purchase as she could never tolerate using it. While waiting on that machine to be mailed to me, another friend loaned me one and I have been giving it a try.

The Cpap machine I have borrowed does not have a full mask but a small nose mask which works well for me because I am not a "mouth breather". From the nose piece, a hose runs to the machine to deliver the air that keeps the airway open.  I clamp the thing on each evening and Carrie watches fascinated by this new attachment. She has been staying with me and sleeping in my bed while the husband has been out of town on a job.

The second night as I was drifting off to sleep, she nudges me and puts her hand over her nose while using the other hand and arm to pantomime an elephant trunk. Half asleep, I wondered what she was doing. She grinned and whispered, "Nana, don't forget your elephant." I nodded and smiled, rolled away from her and clamped the nose piece with the long hose leading to the machine to my face.

I don't usually make it the entire night with this thing clamped to my face. I'm hoping a burgular doesn't break into this house and go into cardiac arrest. It's such an attractive look ya know.

Many changes lately; much to get adapted to. I'm working on it.

Pull that Tab

Such an innocent action that lead to more then 15 hrs of labor.

After dinner last night and after the dishes were loaded into the dishwasher, as is my usual routine, I opened the door beneath the sink to remove the garbage container. I like to pull the garbage bag, tie it up and take it outside each night. I have an aversion to odors. This aversion only got worse after I gave up cigarettes.

As I pulled out the garbage can, the electric cord to the dishwasher came out of the receptacle on the back wall of this cupboard. Drats! Now since I can't squat down on my haunches very well since my knee replacement, I plopped down on my butt on the rug and leaned in to grasp the cord to plug it back in.

An explosion of sparks and a snap, crackle, pop and I was scooting back away for the fireworks. The receptacle must have had some loose wires.

For the past 15 hrs the husband has been the one beneath the sink. Turning off the power and replacing that receptacle last night, he grabbed the cords to the dishwasher and the garbage disposal and plugged them back in again only to find the garbage disposal would not "turn off". It ran continously. I was in charge of the wall switch that controls the power to the disposal. I kept telling the husband.."it won't turn off". Of course he had to move me away and test it himself. That's when the next 15 hrs was spent trying to figure out the whys of problem.

This morning I got up and headed for Home Depot. After searching the internet last night, I read that you ahve to pull the tab on the new receptacle. I looked and looked for a tab. Giving up, I decided to ask the electrical folks at HD.

Two young men there and neither of them knew anything about a tab. My next stop was Steine's where this nice older gentlemen explained the tab thing. He said I should have 4 wires and a ground wire to this receptacle. The tabs are on either side of the receptacle and they need to be pried off so the "plug in's work independtly of each other. A white wire runs from this recepatcle up to the switch on the wall that releases the power to the disposal. If this tab is not pulled, the receptacles are getting contant power and that's why the disposal ran continously!

I raced home to tell the husband the news and he took the new receptacle that the nice man at Steins' has so kindly pulled the tabs from each side of it for me and installed it on the wall.

I hit the switch and not a darn thing happened. Now the disposal wasn't getting any power at all. By process of elimination and a little shrewd thinking, we surmised that since we did not have the correct number of wires and a ground that the nice man told me about...we might only have to pull off one tab on the side of the new receptacle. We scrounge around for another unused and UN tabbed receptacle, pulled the tab off ONE side, hooked the wires up and TA FRIGGIN DA!

Yep, this Sunday was spent with our heads beneath a sink.

Don't Touch That..It Might be HOT!

The thunder skips rocks across the sky and the ripples caused slip quietly to the ground. Silence recedes as the rain becomes more intense and the drops can be seen exploding against the concrete driveway. The trees are doing their hula dance, their skirts of leaves  reaching to the left and then billowing back to the right as the gusts of wind heave and fall back.

This weather has been forecast for most of this upcoming week. The temperatures have dropped into the 70's during the night. Is this really August in Southwest Louisiana?

My little corner of the sofa where I sit is shrouded in darkness, the edges of my solitude shows the light from the window approaching. Am I ready to give up to the daylight?

This household actually has a plan for today. It won't be our usual quiet Sunday. Last night as I was removing the garbage pail from beneath the sink, I snagged the power cord that leads to teh dishwasher and unplugged it. I've done this in the past and it was just a matter of plugging it back in to the receptacle.

The sparks arched and danced and the smell of melting plastic singed my nostrils. The husband tried replacing the receptacle last night and now the garbage disposal runs constantly. The switch on the wall beside the sink no longer cuts the power to the garbage disposal. We are not electricians but we should be able to conquer this. We are determined and we also have the telephone number for the Sear's Repair Man.

I'm off to shower and dress before I drift back in my shallow sleep state!

Strapped in, Ready for Launch

I've been advised by my physican to get a sleep study done and of course, procrasinator in all things medical, I told the doctor I would handle it and promptly moved on with my life. I didn't get to move fast or very far for within two days my doctor had left my number with a sleep study agency and they were on the phone wanting to know when I wanted to schedule the study. For 1900.00 per day times two days, you get to get hooked up to wires leading to monitors while humans sit in a room and watch you sleep on the monitors installed around the room. I've heard the rooms are as nice an Holiday Inn. I'm not buyin it. Literally. Instead of the nice room with all the bells and whistles, I've chosen to have an "at home" study.  

For 395.00 for two days of monitoring, I clip a small monitor to my thorax held in place by a band that encircles my body, plug in a few wires to it, wear a pulse ox and a nasal cannula and swallow an Ambien to count the times my oxygen drops to an unacceptable level. Are we havin fun yet?

The thought of being tied to a contraption  each night that gives me a shot of oxygen when needed gives me  a trapped feeling. 

It never once occurred to me a few years ago that the reason the aged stick close to home is getting too far from their doctors can leave one in fear of one's life being lost. I'm there. 

Medications, breathin treatments and a sleep machine to to travel with takes away from the romanticism of a backpack and a few bucks for some freedom travel. I have my doctor on speed dial which is a sure sign that the golden years are here.

It's all a matter of coping skills and a little patience. Gone are those days of unadulterated health. I should have ran around more, stayed out later and worked less. 

My sister in law has asthma. She never slows down and works a full time job. Very seldom does she complain. She deals with it because she has to. Being the main bread winner in her family, she watches closely her body for the first signs of an asthma attack. She quicklly medicates herself and slows down to let her body cope with the lack of oxygen. She has learned to avoid the outdoors when pollen counts are high and when the neighbors mow their lawns. She takes all this in stride and thinks nothing of having to be this cautious. I totally admire her strength and her vigilance to stay as healthy as possible. I'm going to have to learn to read the signs I'm getting and monitor my surroundings. Did I meniiton, I have NO patience? Slowing down wasn't on my agenda and I don't know how to be ill. Ill makes me angry. 

Just recently I was being grateful that I didn't have arthiritis or back problems as so many of my friends. I listen to how painful it is for them when the weather changes and quietly I breath a few words of thanks that I have no pain. Degeneative diseases that come with aging bones can change a person's body at any time causing a painful conditon within days. For right now, I'm good. I might have to carry an inhaler and move a little slower when my lungs won't cooperate with my oxygen needs. It could be worse.