There was a point around 2000 when walking even around the house became difficult. Despite all the physical therapy, getting from here to there was painful. At some around 2001-2002, I decided that I really needed to start walking again. Not only would it be good for my joints but for my digestive tract, too. […]
Getting Over Grief and Restarting This Blog
You have may have notice (just a tad) that I haven’t blogged in a couple of years. The last time I blogged, my Dad was having health issues. Since that post, his problems increased. He was hospitalized several times. Then, in May of 2010 he passed away. At that point, I could careless about blogging. […]
Preparing for Hospital Stays
My Dad had another COPD breathing episode brought on my a reaction to the drug Fosamax. He ended up in emergency and spent five days in the hospital. I was fortunate in that I had the folder from his stay in January sitting on the spare room bed. We grabbed the folder and everything my […]
Getting Comfortable with Oxygen Therapy
My Dad and I live together. After his recent hospital stay, his doctor sent him home with oxygen therapy. I’m not sure for how long. We’ve got a concentrator, compressor, two small tanks, and a humongous emergency tank in case the power goes out. My Dad is hooked up to the concentrator when he […]
Health Insurance Blues
About 5 days before my birthday, I received a letter from my health insurance company. They raised my rates because, gosh, they really need to maintain my level of good quality coverage. No matter that I have not used my health insurance in several years because I can’t afford to use it. My premiums went […]
Disabled TV Host Causes Praise and Fear
We all know disabled people. Some of us are disabled ourselves. However, folks still hold many steretypes about the disabled. Weid, different, stupid, unworthy…those are just a few words that come to mind. For the most part disabled people are invisible on TV. Oh, you might catch someone in a wheel chair every now and […]
He feels fine, but I feel like crap!
I found myself in a strange predicament when my Dad returned home. I was happy to see that he felt good. In fact, he was one happy customer. You wouldn’t have even known he’d spent five days in the hospital. He felt better than he had for two months. I, on the hand, felt like […]
It was all for Naught
The Monday after my Dad came home, I hadn’t heard back from the hospital doctor. I took matters into my own hands. Since we had no clue what was going on with my Dad’s treatment, I called his GP. It didn’t help to find out he wasn’t not informed about my Dad’s hospital stay and […]
Oxygen Machine Freak Out
The day after my Dad came home, I was utterly and completely exhausted. I was emotionally drained from a week of worry and I had to deal with the ramifications of my Dad being on oxygen. I can tell you that despite the representative telling us that the equipment was perfectly safe if used properly, […]
Returning Home: Where are the Instructions?
The day before my Dad’s release, I spent time washing clothes and blankets. I got everything ready for him. When he called to say he was coming home, I prepared a bag of clothes so he could get changed. I couldn’t get a straight answer from the hospital staff on what would be expected with […]