Saturday, March 06, 2021

Do over?


I wanna do Thursday over. Can I?

The photo above was an attempt at an experiment with AF Starry Sky. Auto Focus Starry sky comes with the Olympus M1 Mark iii. Actually it sort of turned out pretty okay but I can try this on a much warmer night. I stink at this, but will try and get better.

Our hike at KVR was nice. The weather was perfect, the footing was not perfect but we knew that. The trails were a mix of slush, compacted rough ice, and mud. But we took it slow.




All in all, the adventure was very uneventful. Bill checked out some campsites and we just enjoyed the weather and bright sunlight. 

I got home and walked into the house. Rich greeted me with a few problems. He'd taken a glass of water to the table and spilled it on himself and the chair which included the little pad on it. He'd tried to clean it up as best he could.
He then decided to cut up and apple when he saw us parking the car. Instead he cut his thumb.
He has Essential Tremor which gets much worse when he is trying to eat things like soup or work on a project. Both of his parents had issues with it. Some mornings he can't get his own coffee and when he insists, I have a coffee trail on the floor and coffee down the side of cabinets.

So I walked into the door with him dripping blood everywhere and apologies. I grabbed a clean brown colored washcloth and told him to put pressure on the cut after we washed it. It was deep but clean. 
He is on blood thinners enough so that if he falls, I am to dial 911. 
As I was cleaning up blood and cutting up gauze to wrap up the thumb, the Oxygen guy came.
Apparently he called while I was out and Rich just let it go to voicemail.

Blood on the floor, blood on the table, a dog going crazy and the 02 guy coming to check the concentrator. 
I grabbed masks and let him in to deal with the concentrator [maintenance work]. It hadn't been touched or checked on since Memorial Day Weekend last year.
Pressure on the cut, blood seepage.

I shut off the heat and opened the windows. [Thinking to air out the house with a person that is NOT from our household. He was masked with a neck gaiter.]

More seepage and blood spatters on the wall from where the blood was still dripping.

The 02 guy had pulled around my Subaru and into the Dreaded Muck. Now I had a bleeding thumb and a huge van stuck in mud.
I ran out and told him to stop spinning the wheels.

Now he was frantic. But at least I'd finished cutting up Rich's apple and had something soaking up the blood.

I asked the guy if he now understood WHY I'd parked the 'Ru to keep him from going towards the house. 
Um. Yeah.

I walked to the junk pile around the back of the shed an yanked out two large pieces of expanded metal. I set them under the rear tires of the van and told the driver to ease forward and not to stop once he got going.

The metal gave him grip and stability and off he went.

I finally got the bleeding stopped and Rich took a well deserved nap. I finished airing out the house and took the opportunity to also clean the heater before I turned it back on.

I think I got all the blood too. 

Rich and I had a discussion after he got up. I asked if maybe he shouldn't be cutting things up when I wasn't around. He shrugged. 

I'm noting this day. I'll be talking with the CareGiver lady at the VA next week. I might just give them an update.

And then there is this thought. Do I dare leave him alone for an hour or two? 

We'd discussed this very thing last year with his Psych doctor. Rich is adamant about not having a Baby Sitter. He DOES not need watching over. 

And yet....



6 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:59 AM

    A very stress filled day. Hopefully you can get some ‘creek’ time to help balance the stress.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes you need a do over. We carried the O2 concentrator outside for the O2 guy to check it. Then we carted it back in again once he was done. Lots of extra work!
    You have a tough situation there gal, but yes you should tell the VA about it. A person must do stuff...like get groceries, go to their own Dr and Dentist appts, take care of outside work...mowing , snow removal and upkeep...being with a Veteran 24/7 is just not possible.
    Shit happens...maybe leave fruit already cut up ...men are just stubborn sometimes.
    Hope your Friday and today are better days;0

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh Val, I am sorry. What a scary and overwhelming series of occurrences. I lean towards honoring a persons wishes, even if. Easy for me to say when I don't live it 24/7 and am not the caregiver making tough decisions. If Rich enjoys apples regularly, perhaps an apple wedge cutter would be a safer option. They sell them just about everywhere. I love mine. Your Milkyway photo is great just the way it is!! I was out Thursday evening too. Our neighbors tell me you can see the Northern Lights from here. Still waiting. The stars were absolutely amazing!! I think you more than deserve and need your outdoor breaks, for both of your sakes. Just my two cents.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good idea on the apple wedge cutter. I'll look into it.
      Northern Lights? Only if there is a huge flair up I imagine!
      Oh I need time outside because I canNOT be stuck indoors. :)

      Delete
    2. I suggest getting a decent wedge cutter, as it does take a bit of a push on both handles at the start. I learned the hard way when I broke the handles on my first flimsy one. As far as the intensity of seeing Northern Lights for our area, it depends on who you ask. Camera's can definitely pick them up with horizon views at decent storm levels (even at the Memorial Union...) but timing is sooo tricky! It is fun to just be out under the stars.

      Delete
  4. Ugh! I hate cutting a finger with no one around. Trying to stop the bleeding AND open a band-aid is IMPOSSIBLE without painting the walls red. This is an argument for duller knives. (Which every chef in the world would disagree with me on that one) The guy going around the Subie probably thought you didn't know how to park! He just figured he would go around rather than think about the reason. Perhaps orange cones, caution tape, and a HUGE SIGN might drop the hint better. ( I say this as a former delivery driver... we are kind of dumb and impatient.) There will be another Thursday in about 5 more days. You can have your do-over then.... Hopefully without the blood or mud this time.

    ReplyDelete

Please include at least your first name if you are commenting Anonymously. Thank you.