Thursday, December 17, 2020

One of those days

Ever have one of those days that it all goes to heck?

I thought it was going to be a good day after a yucky night, Wednesday. My hands were sore and so were other parts of my body, but I chalked that up to cutting down trees with a hand saw and working mostly bent over for a good part of the afternoon. Rich had a restless night too. Must be an thing for older people right? Wait? I don't feel like an older person.

I should have quit before the day started.

As the sun peeked over the trees tops, Mica the mule was laying down in her paddock and acting as if she were colicing. I went out to feed everyone and grabbed some Banamine the Vet had left me for these situations. I used my stethoscope and listened for gut sounds. They were a bit weak. Mica also has Heaves which makes her cough and fart at the same time. She often has gas and Rich always says that she should be my mule with all that 'power'!

She was terribly uncomfortable. I dosed her with some Banamine orally and put her out next to the goat in a pen against the shed. I knew she'd be pissed to be separated from Fred and would walk the fence-line. That would save me from having to walk her up and down the driveway until she passed gas or pooped. Ahhh, such is the farm life!

Mica, self exercising


Fred, doesn't care


After Rich got up he said he felt like he was struggling for air. For a week or so now his morning 02 levels are sometimes a bit low. He has 02 on his CPAP so I switched the concentrator over to a long hose for him.
Yes he was low.
He started coughing a bit yesterday which alarmed me since he hasn't had a cold or cough since he'd gone through Throat Cancer treatment.
Things seemed to be going okay. He left the 02 hose and walked over to get water and his meds.
Bam. I always use the Oximeter to see how he is doing and when he sat back down I did our morning routine. I read mine 02 and he reads his. 

His HR had skyrocketed and his 02 fell like a rock. I gave him the cannula to put on and we watched the numbers begin to balance out. Big sigh.

By lunch time I'd done the cleaning and situated his meds for the rest of the month. I'd ordered the meds that needed replacing and crossed my fingers that the postal service and UPS would come through in a timely fashion. We have not suffered like other areas have in this respect. 
Any meds requests are not urgent until after the start of the new year.

I decided to stick close and not do any woods work. Reading seemed to be a good choice. Charlie kept my lap warm and I read.
By supper Rich had a climbing fever and a nasty cough.

"Did you give me the Covid?" Oh, you know that would be the question that he'd ask.
"Not that I know of."
"I am not going to the hospital." Oh the stubborn man.

Of course immediately I thought of my last trip to the store. How long ago was it? Who did I run into? 7 days since my last trip to town. 
Friday I hiked with a friend...we distanced. And he'd had a negative Covid test recently.
But...

"I'm not going to the hospital. I'm cold." 
His fever spiked to 101. 
I stayed up most of the night. Ever try to get a cranky child to drink water?

This morning the fever is gone and he still feels crappy. 
We shall see what today brings.

And in this day and age? Is it a cold? Could it be Covid? How on earth did he get sick with all the precautions we took?
I am the only link to the outside.

Soooo...
Yet I've never felt ill.

Let's see what today brings.

PS~Mica recovered quickly from her tummy ache and is back coughing and farting up a storm once in a while. Fred is nagging her and they are bickering this morning as the sun comes up.
Perhaps this is a good sign?

7 comments:

  1. Crap. Yes things can change in the matter of minutes. Sounds like you are doing all the right things. Watch his O2 sats, drink water and have him do nebs as often as he can...in the ER they always do double nebs right away.
    He most likely just caught a cold..you know all the right things to do. Hang in there.

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    1. Nebs we have and I asked him. Boy talk about a stubborn child! IF a doctor tells him to do it, he will. I need to purchase scrubs and a scary face shield so I can pretend to be a doctor for him.
      Yep, doing all the above. The ultimatum is if he doesn't improve, I call the Urgent Care nurse and we follow medical protocol.
      Odd he has not had a bout like this in 5 years!

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  2. Anonymous10:47 AM

    Praying that Rich recovers and all is well!

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    1. Ever fight with a petulant child who doesn't feel good? Thanks for the prayers.

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    2. Anonymous1:04 PM

      Nope, but have fought with a very sick grown man - I expect it's about the same. Big smile and hug,

      Delete
  3. Sounds like what we had back in January. Though we are not sure if it was the Covid, we are highly suspicious. It was "Ok" and then "really Bad" Mostly because of Dehydration on my par. But we both had a fever.. and that is a VERY rare thing for us. ( BOTH!) Drink lots of liquids. Stay warm... watch that temp. ( All the usual stuff. ) Fingers crossed it is not the baddie.. OR if it is.. not a bad version of the Bad Covid. Get better soon! ( Glad the Mule is feeling better at least.) https://themidnightcarver.blogspot.com/2020/01/and-then-rain-fell-coating-everything.html

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    Replies
    1. Ahhh, I read that! Wow! I left a comment too.
      I'm fighting every step of the way for him. He is refusing to get out of bed. I get it. It hurts and is miserable. But food and water are a part of the cure.
      Sigh.

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