Jack, Orange Season, and Typical Great-Grand Kids Update

I cut work short last week Monday around 10am hoping I could get Jack talked into going to the med center for an anti-biotic.  They will not give out a prescription without an office visit; totally understandable in my opinion.  No luck.  However, I did get him out of the house for a nice long drive.

Today being one week later he is back to eating just about everything he has been (sans nuts, seeds, etc.).  Tomorrow we start getting him way from the canned fruits and back to the raw veggies.  He still gets tired easily.  Wednesday he goes for his B12 shot.  Tuesday is date night and he suggested Outback as he’s in the mood for a steak.

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Certainly is Orange Season.  My main north-south route to work will have the south bound side shut down starting today, April 16^th, until July 24^th.  Not sure what they are going to be doing. 

We went to Grand Rapids, specifically to Yonkers at the newest mall there to look for something for the May wedding of my oldest niece.  Found that and more.  Hit Yonkers huge annual sale.  However, on the way up to Gr Rpds we hit two up-coming orange barrel construction sites - and they too start on April 16^th!  Obviously, the 16^th is the official Dept of Transportation start day.

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I had to share this email from Jack’s daughter in Troy, MI with my side of the family.  This is a typical update on Jack’s great-grandkids.  He has a total of eight, 3 and 5 from granddaughter and grandson respectively.

“We are getting ready to go over to Troy High to watch Nicholas play baseball and Brittany play soccer.  Last night we went to Nicholas' game and they won 4-2.  Nicholas hit a grandslam homerun which was amazing.  In the doubleheader today he went 3-4 and they beat Rochester 7-4.  We are going for the second game.  Lots of fun to watch them in High School.  I imagine Nicholas' college coach is encouraged by the great start that he is having this year.  Can you believe we will have another grandchild in college!! 

 Christina graduates on May 6, hopefully with a 4.0.  She is a board member of the SE Michigan Education chapter at MSU and project lead to re-do the classrooms, library, teacher's lounge and outside at an elementary school in Lansing.  She has written grants and gone to lots of business' to get donations for the school.  She has also lined up 180 volunteers for next week-end to complete the project.  Once we have before and after pictures I will send the link so you can see her work.

Jeffrey is going to go one more year to MSU and then will have to transfer as he needs to get a doctorate in his field and they don't have that program there. 

Next year Brittany and Tommy will be seniors.  Tommy was invited to WMU for a visit with football coaches and he liked it there.  He has also gone to U. of Toledo, Wayne State, Hillsdale and Grand Valley.  I think he has a visit with Central and a few other schools in the next couple weeks.  He is going to lots of camps this summer and is hopeful that he will get a scholarship. 

Brittany keeps saying that she doesn't want to play soccer in college but Troy is ranked third in the country behind a team from North Carolina and one from Illinois, so the girls are getting heavily recruited.  We'll see. 

Mitchell is still crazy busy with soccer and in May is going to play in Portland, Oregon for a National team. 

Max is on a travel baseball team and really excited.  He has not really been participating in anything so spends time picking on his little sister - he needs to get rid of some of his energy. 

Katie just turned 10 and busy with dreams of being an actress and singer!”

Jack Under the Weather

Wednesday night Jack moaned and groaned most of the night away talking in his sleep that his tummy hurt.

Before I left for work, he said that he was feeling better.  We weren’t sure if it was something he ate or a diverticulitis flare up.  To play it safe we switched to the low fiber/low residue diet.

By Saturday he said he was feeling a lot better.  We did the normal going out for breakfast after which he had a nap and then out for lunch and wander around Bed, Bath, and Beyond for a gift.  By 2pm he said he was ready for a nap.  I went out to saw the dead Crabapple apart and do some weeding.  When I came in at 4pm, he was still sound asleep. 

Today about 10 am, out of the blue, he got the chills.  He didn’t have a temperature, so that kinda means either slight infection or anemia has gotten worse since he is late on this monthly B12 shot.  Probably combinations of both as he said he has a very slight tummy ache. 

He has slept the better part of today.  In between he has had part of a lean beef sandwich with tea about noon, a bottle of Ensure around 3pm, yogurt at 4, and some canned pears at 5:30.  I’ve found if I get him to do sort of grazing during the day he eats better than sitting down to a normal lunch and dinner. 

Tomorrow we will try to get him into the doctor.  This could be somewhat of a challenge since he thinks I can call the doctor to get an antibiotic prescription.  I’ve tried to instill that they won’t give out an antibiotic without an office visit. 

We (mainly me) have been watching the Masters.  They too have had an early spring.  All of the Azaleas are past their blooming period.  It is so odd to see nothing but shades of green instead of a plethora of whites, pinks, and red with a backdrop of shades of green.

Weather / Car / Clutter / Health

Everyone is talking about the weather and absolutely no one is complaining.  May 11^th we hit 63° with the past eight days (today being the 22nd) in the upper 70s to mid 80s with low dew point/humidity.  Daffodils are out, blooms are on the fruit trees, we brought out the patio chairs last weekend and sit out on the deck every evening after work.  Life is good.  Why am I in the house typing this?  Hold on, I’m moving outdoors.  I should be paying royalties to the dudes that came up with wireless routers.    

We picked up our new car a month ago, 2012 Honda CRV.  We used to say the ash tray is full - time to turn it in.  But they don’t put ash trays in cars anymore.  He wanted white this time.  What a difference the light color makes with regard to interior temperatures.  With the dark brown RAV4, we would have the air conditioner on if it was sunny and 67°.  We went to lunch today, it’s sunny and 80°, he didn’t turn the air on. 

We are in full de-cluttering mode.  Past two weekends we have gone through every closet.  Those evening dresses from Christmas parties and weddings years ago, suit coats from when Jack was a Controller, shoes he buys and doesn’t like after all, all getting donated.  I’m good about my daily clothes and shoes.  If they haven’t been worn in the last two years, out it goes.  However, I was surprised how many of the shirts and pants that “these would be good for working in the yard” I had accumulated and had to reduce the size of. 

Today and part of tomorrow will be the basement.  Neighbor is taking the two area rugs that have been rolled up since we moved in.   He wants to keep the snow skis.  I’m to check with Steve and family if they want the bowling balls, however I have half a notion to keep them.   Gone will be the three pictures that are still boxed up from when we had everything stored for the year we were in Europe.  Gone will be knick-knacks, spice rack, paper towel holder, baskets that I no longer recall where they came from, tacking looking fake flowers, and anything else that hasn’t been looked at in the 12 ½ years we have been in this house.   

Keeping the scales that Chick and Mary brought back from Spain.  That eventually goes to Mary.  Keeping the Monopoly game we bought in the late 70s that has never been opened.  Keeping the three boxes of books from Jack’s college days.    AND keeping the 33rpm album of the Russian Symphony.  Yep, Russian.  The cover is a photo of the whole orchestra; all of them in their brown comrade uniforms with red accents.   What a hoot.  We have a stack of old 33rpm albums from either the house in Hudsonville or maybe it was the house in Ada.  They were in a bunch of boxes of basic junk that the former owner left in the basement for us to deal with.   Oh, and we’re keeping all of Thom and Dar’s stuff.

Health wise, we are doing okay all things considered especially the getting older part.  We both avoided (so far) the flu that went around the office a couple of weeks ago.  Haven’t even caught a cold this season – knock on wood.

Jack’s energy level is down again.  He started getting the B12 shots every four weeks since February, but they aren’t kicking in like they did in the past.  He naps in the morning, and most afternoons, goes to bed around 7:30 or 8pm.  I can tell when he’s taken an afternoon nap; he will read and is able to stay up until 9pm.  Even walking around Sears for a humidifier filter wore him out a couple weeks ago.

I’m having problems with the ligaments/tendons on my right thumb.  I’ve gotten a better wrist pad, wearing my watch on my left hand, and started taking fish oil.   These have made for a noticeable difference.  There isn’t the constant aching that makes me walk around the office with my hand under my left arm pit or massaging it.  Now it will hurt if I extend the thumb outwards, or like this, where I’m typing for a longer than normal time.   

In the past couple of months the dog has shown signs of aging too in that he has to work at getting up and is very stiff walking once he does.  In this weather, he often sleeps on the tile in the kitchen.  Monday he tried to get up and his feet would slip.  He would yip at Jack until Jack finally helped him up.  I think Jack was more upset than the dog; he called me at work to tell me.  I’m just glad Jack didn’t fall on his butt.  Yet, when we go to the vet in October it will be he’s the healthiest 13 year old dog the vet has seen in a long time….

Kirk and Amy are doing good.  Both are still working six days a week.  We almost went out to visit them, but we decided to wait for when we can spend more time with them than just a Sunday.

Kathy (Indermuehle) is all settled in Norfolk, VA.  All ties to Florida are gone with the exception of friends.  The last being her cell phone number is now Norfolk.  She is definietley enjoying time with Bobbie Sue and her family.

The Big News & Stuff

First the Big News:  On New Year’s Eve son, Kirk, and the lovely Amy were officially engaged.  They have decided since this is the second marriage for the both of them, no formal wedding, they will meet up with the Justice of the Peace on one of their trips back home to Tennessee.  We’re very happy for the both of them.   Congrats.

And now the stuff from little notes I've accumulated the past few months:

Jack bought his first pair of blue jeans in 15 maybe 20 years.  Late this fall we had a cold snap and he kept saying his legs were cold.  Well, a blanket or throw wasn’t an option so I suggested blue jeans.  He bought one pair to test them out and then a second pair a couple of weeks later.  He’s as content as can be.

On the way home from work one afternoon in October, there was an ever so slight rain/sprinkle.  I noticed the windshield was a little dusty so I hit the windshield washer a couple of times.  It was then that the motorcycle that I forgot was behind me backed off and then zipped past me.  Apparently, at 45 miles an hour there was some spray that went up over the roof.  I’m usually conscious of them, but it’s October!  The forecast was for rain!

Since football is the top of importance for many people two observations:

- Very few football players wear mustaches.  Why is that?  A lot of long hair, but not the mustache.

-Raven’s played this afternoon.  I'm thinking the all black pants were a tad too feminine looking.  With no stripe down the sides they looked like a bunch of guys in ladies’ black leotards.

Our college bowl tally ended up with Jack beating me by two games again this year.  He had 23 out of the possible 35 and I had 21.  We choose the same teams in all but 10 games.

With a lot of snow and finally some sun makes the sunglasses come out.  I’m not too sure I like the white frames guys have been wearing in this area.

I love my Toyota RAV4.  However, in snowy conditions it can be annoying. 

  -It has an idiot light that flashes if the tires slip.  Like, I can’t tell from the ziiiipppp sound?

  -There is an idiot light that flashes when the anti lock brakes kick in.  Like, I can’t tell from the quick thump-thump-thump noise that they make? 

  -And then there is the worse; the beep-beep when skidding.  I turned a corner and then another 20 yards up intended to turn into a driveway so there really was no speed involved-maybe going 15mph.  Even with the front tires turned to the right the car kept heading straight ahead.  I knew without the beep I was in a little skid.  Dang beeping drew my attention to the dashboard more than to what direction the car was going.  Oi vey.

Bummed that the Packer’s forgot to show up to the game last weekend.  Rooting for the 49ners tonight.

Jack and I have avoided flues and colds that have been going around (so far).  I always end up getting one cold that puts me in bed for a couple of days asking not to be disturbed hoping death come quickly.

Christams Shopping and #2 Hand Update

Jack’s hand is really looking good.  He hasn’t put a bandage on at night since Sunday.   There is a rectangular bruise about 1 ½ to 2 “ x 1 to 1 ½ “ and within it is a big ugly scab about 1” long, ½” wide.  The rest of the hand looks normal.  He still thinks it isn’t healing quickly enough.  I’m surprised it is as good as it is.

I’m using my last day of vacation time today.  We did the breakfast thing and then it was off to do Christmas shopping for the two of us.  This year might be the last year we do this.  It used to be that we would shop on a couple of Saturdays, he’d have the car, and we would buy each other 8 to 10 presents.  But as the years go by, it’s harder and harder to come up with ideas.  We are at the point in life if we need something we go buy it and there isn’t really much of anything that we need in the first place.  Making a list and handing it to each other just looses that surprise factor. 

Back to the shopping.  In early November we said we would make a day of it, go up to Grand Rapids to the big mall, do lunch out towards Cascade to see the old neighborhood.  Won’t that be fun?  Oh, the fond memories of the days of planning and shopping for hours.  We were excited.

Now it’s reality. He tuckers out after a couple of hours.  It’s raining.  Do we really want to drive all the way up there in the rain for a couple of hours in a big mall?  Change of plans, staying on the home front.  Here’s of list of 5 things, pick 3 of them.  One item on my list was a Lands’ End cardigan.  I don’t think he made it out of Sears. 

I’m a planner.  Knew what the 3 things were that I was getting him.  Knew what store.  I even bought myself a pair of black shoes in the 40 minutes it took to get it all done.  JC Penny $10 off coupon - Couldn’t resist.

We had said we would meet in an hour and then decide if we needed more time.  Like I said, I was done in 40 minutes.  He was slowly walking towards the designated area, he looked beat.  We decided on lunch and head home.  By 2pm we both were napping.    

What has started as the new Christmas season tradition is picking winning teams for the bowl games.  Two years ago I picked more winners than he did.  Last year he picked more.  I base my choices on location not on statistics.  Have I been to that city or state?  Did I like it there?  Would I like to go visit that city or state?  Do I like the school colors?  The important things.  Wins and losses, over-rated.

Rose bowl is the biggy.  Of course I’m for Wisc, but we have family attending Michigan State, so they are 2^nd for me, 1^st for Jack.  And as long as it’s either Wisc or a Michigan team and never Ohio State, life is good at the Rose Bowl.  Too bad the Big Ten lets us down more often than not.

Western Michigan plays Purdue in The Little Caesars Bowl.  Those are the good games.  Jack graduated from Western; Jack’s grandson-in-law is a Purdue Alumnus.  Perfect, we can’t lose.

The Armed Forces Bowl that neither Armed Forces team plays in, but Brigham Young and Tulsa do.  I picked Brigham Young - I’d like to see Utah.  Tulsa - tornadoes and flat.  No thank you.

Update to Jack's Hand

It's healing.  At his followup visit, his regular doctor said to leave it get air at least 6 hours a day and no need to return unless there is a problem.  He takes the bandage off during the day so it's actually off a good 12 hours.  And putting fresh on at night. Or like this morning when we went grocery shopping and later out to lunch he left the bandage on so that his coat wouldn’t rub against it. 

As I had said, it looked like a page from a book.  The part of the skin that was near what would be the binding (towards his little finger) has healed the most.  It's the center that still looks yucky, but even that is a lot better than it was.  All the red rawness is gone.

Jack's Hand

Last Wednesday evening, the 16^th, Jack had somehow scrapped a good 2” x 3” top layer of skin off the top of his left hand.  The skin was folder over like the page of a book.  It was awful looking. There was a small amount of bleeding along one side.  Of course he said it was okay, no need to have it cleaned up and looked at.  I taped it up.

Thursday morning I said we should go out to breakfast and then stop at the intermediate care/med station.  No, not necessary.  He calls me at work that afternoon and agreed to go after work.  We get there and it’s a two hour wait.   He said no thanks, that he’d call his doctor on Friday and get a same day appointment.  Sure.

Friday, his doctor is booked, BUT Jack knows he shouldn’t wait any longer as it was starting to hurt worse and constant.  Hurray!  That is, hurray that he agreed, not hurray it hurts.  The med station is part of the facility both our doctors are in.  The doctors rotate covering days in the med station and if they have a same day cancellation, they fill it with a med station patient.  Guess who had a same day cancellation?  His doctor!

Dr Dandouis said it was getting infected and good he had not waited any longer.  He cleaned it up, gave us some non-stick sterile pads, and a prescription for an antibiotic.  His instructions were to take the bandage off every day, leave the wound exposed to air for at least an hour, and then cover with new sterile pad with Neosporin on it.  He also wanted to see him again in a week.

Last night we both thought it looked the best it had been.  Up to then Jack was getting concerned that it wasn’t healing.  It just looked so raw.  With being older and a diabetic healing can be longer than normal and problematic. 

This morning he woke up and said the hand hurt, thinking maybe he slept on it or did something to it at night.  By mid morning it was still hurting.  After lunch he took then bandage off to do his daily airing and asked me to look at it because it looked different.  Oh did it ever.  There was a 2” long, ½” wide light-greeny-yellowish colored glob along the edge of a portion of the original top layer skin the doc had placed back over where it should be.  It’s infected.  He didn’t think so.  I walked away thinking if he doesn’t change his mind in 10 minutes, I’m calling my sister.  He agreed to another trip.

Today is Thanksgiving.  I was half way through putting together the pumpkin pie.  I called to make sure they were open, turned off the oven, and we’re off.  I went in with Jack this time.  Doc said he didn’t think it was infected.  He took some gauze and started dabbing it.  He said if it was an infection it would be liquid and stick to the gauze.  This did not.  What we were seeing wasn’t puss, it was granulation of the wound, the wound healing.  I’m wrinkling my nose, oh yuck; I really don’t handle this type of stuff well at all.  I told him I can’t touch that even with gauze.  He laughed and said he could tell.  Jack chuckles and said I’m not the nurse in the family.  At least I didn’t get light headed and have to sit down.

Good and bad news.  It wasn’t infected, which was good.  But, I was wrong about his needing to go to the med station and that probably is bad.  My fear is he will be stubborn about going because I’ve been wrong.  Jack? Stubborn? BUT, he wants to keep tomorrow’s appointment and that too is good.