Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?

carolehalston

In the 50's this morning but the forecast is for warming up to 80 degrees. Tomorrow should be mid 80's.

I'm playing golf at noon with the women's golf group so I hope it isn't too hot out there. It will help if there's a breeze.

Sandy, good to hear that the pain is becoming more manageable.

My WW weigh in was good yesterday afternoon. I was down 3 lbs after being up a lb. last Monday. Very encouraging.

Have a good Tuesday.

Anneb1149

Hello from HOT Atlanta- and that's from a 45year veteran of So Fl summers. I know everyone complains about the humidity in Fla, but I am feeling the dry heat of Ga literally burning my skin getting in and out of the car, the store, the restaurants and the house- and I haven't been here 24 hrs yet.

I did a group text to all my kids yesterday to let them know I arrived safely, and several hours later, there was a new message on that group text. My 9 yr old DGS, who is having so much trouble behavior-wise, fell and broke two bones in his wrist. They were, of course, at the ER for hours, then came home with instructions to see a pediatric surgeon, an hour and a half from their home. The hospital wasn't sure if it could just be reset or if it needs surgery. One bone is a clean break, the other bone shattered. I, of course, feel terrible not being there to help. That means their two year old needs to go with them and they have to contend with her, instead of having 100% focus on Kayden. I got to talk to him last night and he said he was happy it was his "bad" (left) hand, , he can still feed himself, dress himself, etc. He also said they gave him a double dose of pain meds that didn't work, but when asked , he said his arm didn't hurt any more. My daughter here is extremely close to Kayden's Mom and knew how upset I was, not being able to go help, that we contemplated both of us getting in the car and heading down. We decided to wait until they talk to the surgeon and get a better idea of what's ahead. We are the only two people she would trust with the two year old. I doubt we will go, I just got here and she has to work, but even forgetting about the kids, Jamie does not do well in hospital situations. My DH was in and out of the VA hospital frequently in the last 2-3 years of his life and she never once came to visit.

On the other hand, no pun intended, my DD here in Atlanta was complaining about her younger son, 16, basically not talking to them at all except for the occasional grunt or "leave me alone". He came home from his first day of school yesterday, and his mom starting questioning him about his day; what supplies he needed, etc. including asking if he wanted to go out to dinner after getting school supplies and where. All of his answers were grunts until she started getting ticked, so he changed his grunts into the always appreciated "I dunno". I popped in with asking him if he wanted to go for a haircut, then to Target for supplies, and have dinner in the Mexican restaurant in that shopping center, or… before I could even get to my second option, he said yes, and actually asked his mom if that was the restaurant he had liked so much once before. She was shocked that he actually got a whole sentence out of him with no grunts.

Once we got in the car, he talked all the way to the shopping center, decided he was too tired to get a haircut, got most of his school supplies fairly quickly, then chattered thru the whole dinner. His mom actually texted me asking who this pleasant talkative child was. It was fun. And he didn't talk just to me, he included his mom in it all. Can I say sweet revenge for moving him so far away from me? Not really, but….

It is noon and I have stuff to do so…

Anne

ChiSandy

Anne, sorry to hear about Kayden's wrist fractures (I can relate, though both of mine were hairline--the R distal radius only needed a drugstore brace for a couple weeks, but the L scaphoid had to be surgically fixated with a screw). Did he try to break his fall by stretching out his hand (so instinctive that even pro football players do it)? That's how these bones get broken; but "shattered?"

Wren44

DH is scaring me with his memory. Since he got home he's done things differently and argued with me about it. We have 2 compost containers. One is inside and the other is out on the deck. The inside one goes in the yard waste and the outside one in our compost. He reversed them and insists I'm wrong and he's right. I asked about putting a biodegradable bag in the inside one. He said he'd never done that but he did have some bags. He has been meticulous about those bags. He even has a rubber band at the top to hold the bag securely. Ever since we went to Oaxaca, we've eaten corn on the cob with lime juice and chili powder. Now he's melting butter "because we've always done it that way." I'm hoping this is anesthetic, low oxygen, 2 operations related. If not, he's in really bad shape and getting worse rapidly. Cross your fingers for me that this is temporary.

IllinoisLady

Crossing as hard as I can. I do hope this is a VERY temporary thing. Might he be on medication that might be causing this. I'm doubting it because you'd likely have thought of that but only mention it on the off chance. Can you check his meds for se's or call any of his Dr.'s and maybe find out. It does sound scary. So hoping bit time and sending positive vibes your way.

Wren44

I went in the kitchen and he had reversed the compost pails and added a bag to the one inside. I guess when he thought about it he realized I was right. Normally the inside pail wouldn't go outside but I didn't have time to deal with it when he was in the hospital. I just put it out on the deck to keep flies out of the kitchen. There's hope.

ChiSandy

Being in the hospital for more than a day or two, especially for a senior citizen, can be extremely disorienting, even mimicking early dementia; it can take a couple of days after getting home for things to return to normal. Also, general anesthesia or short-term hypoxia can cause temporary cognitive or memory issues. I remember visiting my mom in the hospital, where she'd been admitted to manage her COPD & CHF. She suddenly began speaking gibbberish and I panicked, hitting the call button...and then I saw that one of the wheels of her bedside table was on her oxygen cannula hose. I moved it, and she instantly began making sense again. BTW, anemia severe enough to require emergency transfusion can make one hypoxic, and consequently even drowsy.

Anneb1149

Wren- sorry you are going thru such a difficult time- I imagine that your DH is as worried about you as you are about him. He believes he is doing everything just the way you both have always done- why are you suddenly wanting to do everything differently? Hope every thing works out, but I wouldn’t wait too long to contact the Dr if it continues.

Sandy- I am not sure what happened with Kayden’s wrist. I have not yet had one conversation with my daughter- again, this is part of her issues, and I have learned to accept what I can’t change. They had rented a big plastic water slide for their daughter’s birthday party. Kayden and his friends used it much more than Victoria. Anyway, shortly before the company came to collect it, Kayden and his friend were playing on it. I think Kayden had slid down, and his friend slid right behind him, knocking into Kayden hard enough to send him flying out of the pool at the bottom.

They have not seen a surgeon yet, because the one the hospital recommended is not on their insurance ( and I personally think they didn’t want to drive so far), so they spent most of the day (they said) finding a Dr who was closer and takes Medicaid. But they are contemplating not getting any surgery. His father says pins etc. cause arthritis and he had the exact same break when he was 13, so he knows it will heal just fine without surgery. I agree that the clean break will heal with just a cast, but cannot see how the shattered one can heal without some type of intervention to at least clean out the sharp edges. But Phil knows far better than any mere surgeon.

Jamie told Nancy last night that she was too busy workingout the insurance issue all day yesterday to even send anyone a text, although Nancy and I texted her for an update several times each. Then when I looked at Facebook last night, there’s a picture of her and her two daughters in a hotel pool with her biological half sister, and Kayden told us the night it happened that his older sister didn’t go to the hospital because she was with Jamie's biological mother. If she doesn’t want me to know that her bio mom is visiting, then don’t put pictures on FB. I am not at all jealous of Dana and don’t mind her being in Jamie’s life occasionally, so I don’t understand Jamie’s need to “protect” me- from what I don’t know. Her mom’s life isn’t much more stable than it was when we adopted her.

Today, I go to the University of Ga to help my grandson settle into his new dorm. There’s a story there too, but that’s for another day

Anne

IllinoisLady

The way you get meaning into your life
is to devote yourself to loving others,
devote yourself to your community around you,
and devote yourself to creating something
that gives you purpose and meaning.
- Mitch Albom

One of the secrets of life is that
all that is really worth the doing
is what we do for others.
- Lewis Carroll

IllinoisLady

Anne, you are so pragmatic and give such good advice. Much better than my slight panic mode -- even for others. Sometimes the best answer is to wait it out even though you desperately want to do something. There is room for everyone in life generally. My ex married four other times after we divorced and I was friendly to all of the others -- because the ex and I had kids in common and no point in having adversarial relationships. Actually, I was always happy that he found someone and hoped he was as happy for me. You share, it would seem, about the same attitude for your adopted children.

I'm totally with you -- I think the shattered wrist needs a lot of care and attention and I hope it happens.

carolehalston

Anne, as Rosanna Dana said, "It's always SOMETHING!" I hope this experience will prove positive in some way for your GS.

Wren, I've heard that anesthesia isn't good for us elderly folks. I empathize with your alarm and hope your dh returns to normal with a little time.

I'm "home alone" in the resort today. It feels a little strange but I'm enjoying the leisure to do my own thing. Nothing exciting. Changing the sheets. Doing laundry. Keeping up with the cable news.

Happy Wednesday to all. Oops. I'm not home alone any more. The elderly Texan who lives in one of the two condos just drove in.

ChiSandy

Anne, depends on which wrist bones are broken. The distal end of the radius is fairly resilient, and if a hairline or non-displaced simple clean break can probably be treated with a cast alone, transitioning to bracing & sling. But "shattered?" Even the hairline fracture in my scaphoid bone required surgery (internal fixation with a screw). Scaphoids rarely unite well on their own. It is bullshit (sorry) that hardware causes arthritis: injury itself sets traumatic arthritis in motion, and frankly, the boat's sailed on that. Kayden is likely to have an arthritic wrist by his late 30s; but if the pieces of shattered bone aren't fixated now they'll never heal ('Malunion" or even "non-union")--and instead of just soreness he may have to face wrist fusion surgery down the road. Just where did your SIL do his orthopedics residency, anyway? When your SIL was 13 and broke his wrist, orthopedics weren't as advanced as they are today. (And your SIL may well end up with arthritis or worse in middle age).I know it's none of my business, but a parent is supposed to crawl across broken glass for their kids--"driving too far" to find a surgeon who takes Medicaid is not too much to ask of them.

Had Part II of my root canal today--still a bit infected, so the endo cleaned the canal out again and packed it with antibiotic filling. She'll see me in 2 weeks. So many advances in that specialty since I had my first one in '83: better imaging (panoramic & instant 3D digital), operating microscopes, new diagnostic tests (cold tolerance, and electronic nerve conduction), etc. Xylocaine wore off a bit quicker this time but still not too bad--the 2 oz. of plain fro-yo I treated myself to afterward was heavenly. Got some more CBD stuff at the health food store--a brownie, chocolate bar, and gummies with the dosage on the package (not the phony stuff off the Weed World truck). Tried to find some veg. I could make tonight just for myself (no leftovers, I'm sick of yo-yo-ing between kitchen & the basement fridge, stairs are tricky enough with two good arms and nothing to carry), but they wouldn't sell me just 4 asparagus spears. So tonight I nuked some organic mac & cheese (added nutmeg & truffle oil) and had a few of my homegrown heirloom cherry tomatoes--they're sweeter than berries). Tomorrow, if we don't go out, will be a packet of chicken tikka masala and instant rice, maybe some herbs & seaweed snacks for veg. Or perhaps just surf WF's hot food bar and eat there. I fully expect that when the tech looks at my fridge on Fri. he will give it the last rites--highly unlikely that only a coil-cleaning would do the trick. A new compressor, maybe....but $1K plus labor plus waiting on the part? Nope. (It would take a good 6-7 hrs to tell if coil-vacuuming would work). New fridge coming Sat. morning--hope I can get at least one 7 yrs. out of it, too, w/o throwing too much money at it.

I'm worried about Bob, though. Mon. night he showed me a little raised black thing on his temple the shape of and a bit smaller than a grain of raw rice (or a mouse dropping). He made an appt. yesterday with the derm. plastics guy who removes his "senile keratoses" from time to time, but they can't take him till a week from tomorrow. He is even paler than I am, and never uses sunscreen. I hope it's not melanoma. The fact that it's raised (like it's pasted on, not level), though, makes it less likely but still....

Wren44

Sandy, I can see why you're worried. That's always a fear if it's black.

I had a meeting at the shelter tonight and while I was there the Ballard Bridge got stuck in the up position. It took me an hour and 10 min to get home via a route I thought would work but wasn't sure. I knew I was on the right track when I began seeing the bus I normally would take to the shelter on the same route.

SoCalLisa

Wren, I really had a hard time after my last operation last June for my demolished ankle...I woke up and insisted I was NOT in Dartmouth Hitchcock Hospital recovery room...this went on for a while and frankly, there is not much I can remember of that time in the hospital or rehab for a couple of weeks..I know my brain was fried but it is still fuzzy...I hope he recovers soon, poco a poco...

carolehalston

Wren, life is serving you lemons lately! I'm glad you managed to get home by the different route.

Lisa, good to have you pop in.

Sandy, I'll be glad to hear that the black spot is nothing serious. Black scares me, too.

Thursday means mowing day. I will use the self-propelled mower and dh will do the majority of the mowing with the riding mower.

At 1 pm I have an appointment for a hair trim. Afterwards a trip to Walmart.

Happy Thursday to all.

IllinoisLady

Before we set our hearts too much upon anything, let us examine how happy they are who already possess it. Francois de la Rochefoucauld

ChiSandy

I looked at the mole with a lighted magnifying glass, and there's a little bit of red along the top border. Uh to the oh... Bob refuses to call the derm and tell him, saying a week from today is soon enough. (He feels he's being proactive enough, having first noticed the mole himself and made the appt. in the first place).

Meanwhile, as if things didn't suck enough, my lower back went out on me this morning (while sitting--felt the spasm, and that was that). Been a year and a half since the last episode, so I guess I was due. I grumbled about the sinus headache, tooth, very stiff wrist keeping me from exercising it, dead fridge/freezer and necessity of schlepping up & down the basement stairs to get anything (and Bob spilled 10 precious ice cubes last night--"precious" because there's no room in the freezer to make more, we have no ice trays anyway, and we don't have a styrofoam cooler big enough to hold another bag of ice). So God said, "Here--hold my beer."

IllinoisLady

Just wow, Sandy. Everyone has to get something sooner or later, bur yours just doesn't seem to want to pace properly. A little get well time in-between I know would feel great. Here's hoping that ALL of these current issues dissolve quickly and keep out of your way for a good long while when they do. Also hoping for Dh that he is right and a week won't end up an issue for him either. Sometimes ( though I'm not looking for issues and problems ) I feel like I mainly have easy things ( even if they don't always feel that way at the beginning ) and thank goodness it all as well seems well paced. Exactly what I wish for you or indeed anyone.

ChiSandy

My housekeeper found our cooler in the basement and bought a couple of 7-lb. bags of ice, so I can at least have ice water, seltzer or coffee w/o tackling the basement stairs. The CBD balm (and an ice pack) are helping immensely. Hoping a warm shower will loosen up some stiffness...and then I'll slip into a caftan.

Tomorrow morning my housekeeper needs to be at the V.A. with her DH by 7 am, for a full day of tests (his RO for prostate cancer, internist for heart & diabetes, ortho for his walking problem, ophtho for diabetic retinopathy), so I'm on my own for when the frige repair guy comes tomorrow for either a Hail Mary pass of cleaning the condenser coils or aministering Extreme Appliance Unction and calling time-of-death. She's coming Sat.--either to help with setting up the new fridge; or--in the unlikely event the tech can revive our current one and confirm it's working--cleaning it out (ridding it of the citrus air freshener masking smell) and transferring stuff back up from downstairs. Exterminator is coming tomorrow too--he always seems to arrive when I'm on my own, either when she's off or afer she's left for the weekend. He was supposed to come last week, but was sick and they couldn't find a sub.

IllinoisLady

Not a bad day here -- pretty overcast so the heat did not impinge very much at all. So, I decided to wash my car. Even if it rains ( and it will I think sometime through the week-end ) I am still glad for getting to remove the dust and dirt and get some wax on and buffed nicely. I can withstand the rain much better if I don't think I will have lots of dirt rivulets all over. It doesn't usually rain hard enough to cause the dirt to wash off and lately I've had to park under some tree cover as the squirrels have started working in our nut trees. Nuts rain down and can cause dents in the car so no parking in my usual spot for some time to come. After the squirrels are done or the nuts are all down ( whatever comes first ) I'll be able to go back to the convenience of where I park. Dh has taken the spot for now. With his truck he can get over far enough to avoid most anything falling from the trees.

It is a signal that the biggest part of the summer has passed so I am not so fond of this time of yr. We will remain pretty green as yet for some time, but I am already wondering where all the time went and hoping we slow just a bit so I can enjoy the fully dressed trees and the ability to be slightly hidden most of the time.

A few more odds and ends to do -- finish taking some fresh corn off the cobs, blanch, and then put in freezer bags and stash in our freezer for later. Have some zucchini as well to grate up and put in bags of 2 cups each for the freezer for breads or various add-ins to dishes later on. I have a fairly small upright freezer that fits very well in my walk-in pantry. I had a slightly bigger self-defrosting that I traded to my cousin. Hers had to be defrosted so she was more than willing, but mine was a fair amt. older than hers. She couldn't have cared -- and since I needed something smaller ( in my view not so hard to defrost ) it worked well for both of us. I got the freezer done a day or so ago, so time to finish up the fresh garden veggies.

MuddlingThrough

ChiSandy, I hope your DH's skin spot is minor. Also, that your fridge trouble is resolved quickly and without hurting your wallet too much. Your back is hopefully getting better. You mentioned a chicken tikka masala packet. What?? Is this something you've made and frozen? From a store? I love it and I'm interested in these packets ☺.

Wren44

We have Indian food packets at the grocery store - in the Indian section. I think our neighborhood must have a lot of people from India. They're great because they're just heat and eat. We've taken them camping for our first night when we pull in late.

ChiSandy

Yeah--our health food store up in Evanston is Indian-owned, and carries the entire line of Tasty Bite, Swad's and Sharwood's shelf-stable packets of Indian food (as do our Whole Foods and a few Jewel grocery stores). Blitheringly easy to make--tear a corner, nuke 90 sec., and pour over rice (also nukable). We also live less than 1/2 mi. south of Devon Ave., probably the Midwest's longest Indian & Pakistani restaurants, groceries, Bollywood video & music, sari and high-karat-gold (22-24) jewelry shops. Probably biggest in the country except for Houston's.

Jo6202

ChiSandy, Wow, you just can't seem to catch a break. Sorry to hear of all your health problems and then the added mental stress of worrying about your husband. My 46 year old son had melanoma this past May. They got him in right away because of his previous non-Hodgkins history. They did the excision the same day. His oncologist could not stop praising him enough for not waiting around. He did not have to have chemo or radiation because they got it so early. Hopefully if Bob's is melanoma, he has caught it early since he just noticed it. Seems like he could get a professional courtesy and get seen before or after hours so you both could stop worrying. Hang in there. You are both on my prayer list.

Jo

MuddlingThrough

Thanks for the info on the packets of chicken tikka masala. I am positive there isn't a store within a hundred miles of here with those specialty products so I guess I will have to cook it if I want it. It's one of my favorite meals! Hmmm, my sister lives in a large metro area. I should ask her to look.

carolehalston

Muddling, you can probably order the packets from Amazon. My stores stopped carrying pizza yeast. I found it on Amazon and ordered a carton with a dozen packets. Haven't made pizza once since I received it!

Already Friday. The days seem to pass fast. We're already into August. Today it's supposed to be in the 80's so we'll probably be warm this afternoon playing golf with the couples group. Afterwards we go out to dinner at the Iron Horse, a very popular tavern type restaurant with great sandwiches and burgers and fries, but also dinners without the fries. I like their brisket and will probably have that with a house salad.

Our neighbors, Mary and Lyman, are in a tizzy. They impulsively sold their Fargo home back in May with the intention of buying a house in Ocala, FL, they saw during a trip. Complications have arisen and this house has not been made available to them. So they're homeless except for the large 5th wheel camper they use as their summer home here at Pine Hollow. They spend hours on their notebooks searching for a place to go in October when this resort turns off the water before freezing begins. If money were no object, it wouldn't be a problem.

Happy Friday to everyone.

IllinoisLady

True silence is the rest of the mind; it is to the spirit
what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment.

William Penn

Puffin2014

My ear infection has cleared up but the tube is plugged so the PA took it out. My ear still hasn't popped open so I called the office this morning and have a follow up appointment with the Dr on Monday, probably will need to have a new tube put in.

Decided it isn't a good time to fly to Portland the first week in Sep, will probably take Amtrak and hope my trip insurance will cover the cost of the nonrefundable flight.

Suppose to reach the mid 90's here today, good day to stay inside in the A/C.

MuddlingThrough

carolehalston, that's a good idea. Thanks!

IllinoisLady

Really nice day here. Didn't do a lot but did ( am going to try it anyway ) make an order to Chewy.com. I hope I like it. I mainly decided to try as they deliver and I thought with some things I might find it more to my liking. Some of the things I carry home for pets from our local Walmart get heavy. We don't have a garage attached to our house - so carrying things in often is a fair jog. When your carrying a pail of 35 lbs. of litter it gets you. The prices in reality are not much different -- so no real savings much -- guess it is more trying to save myself from the rigors of several trips with heavy items.

Did something else as well -- super treat time for Dh and me. In Mt. Vernon ( 22 miles to our South ) a Starbucks opened a franchise. Been there now for several months. I've been meaning to go and since Dh needed to visit Menards, also in Mt. Vernon -- I told him I'd only take him if we could stop at Starbucks. His truck was having some work done. It really wasn't that hard to twist his arm.

Puffin -- I too hope your Ins. will cover your plane ticket. You will hopefully get to see some pretty country by using the Amtrak. Hope it all goes smoothly and I also hope you are soon having no more earing/ear issues.