News
Saturday
Saturday, Aaron and I played D&D. We had a new player join, so that was great. Then a miracle happened: IL5 let us get him a hair cut! He hasn’t let us do that in a year. I was almost disappointed to cut off all that pretty hair. But it’s not in his eyes anymore. Afterwards, I wrote a letter and took a nap.
Sunday
Sunday I went with dad to Walmart. I hate Walmart, and have an anxiety attack almost every time I go, but Sunday I got through a large shopping trip with only a few frustrated mumbles. We got a size up in clothes for IL5 and M12 and winter gear for the kids. D14 and M12 were both thrilled with their gloves, as I decided to get them both comfortable gloves instead of water-proof gloves. They’ve apparently never experienced this phenomenon before.
In the evening, dad had chest pains which didn’t go away after 3 Nitroglycerin, so we called 911, and off he went to the hospital. He was checked in overnight.
Monday
Monday all three kids had an appointment with the same doctor at 7:15am, which meant I had to get up at 6:30 to make sure D14 didn’t walk out the door to school. That was difficult when I was at the ER till 12:30.
Afterwards, I headed to the hospital and stayed there till 4pm, when they took dad to get his angiogram. The procedure was successful and they put in a stent. Dad stayed another night in the hospital.
I relaxed for the rest of the day. M12 worked on a geography project (not a school assignment), D14 watched Grey’s Anatomy, and IL5 played with LEGO. I also read to D14.
Tuesday
Tuesday had a relaxing couple of hours after work in the morning. Then I took M12 to the dentist. He passed with flying colors. (D14 had an appointment that Aaron took her to, but she had a “on watch” spot for which she got a special toothpaste.)Afterwards, I headed to the hospital to pick dad up.
The hospital stay was 3 hours. On the way there I got a call from the the hospitalist, who told me that dad did have a heart attack when he came in (as I suspected from his troponin levels), but that he would be released that day. While I was waiting, a friend of my former friend Todd contacted me to ask if I knew about Todd’s death. He said he’s been hearing Todd died for a couple weeks, but he didn’t know if his friends were messing with him. I texted Todd’s mom to give condolences, but she didn’t answer. I know I haven’t talked to him for almost a year, and that he was OD’ing several times a week by the time I stopped talking to him, but it was still really sad to hear.
On top of that, my former client’s son called to say his mom (my client), who was unfairly taken away from him, was declining fast in the home which the state threw her into. I was expecting that, since she was frail and confused, and people die pretty quickly when they are taken away from their familiar environments. But it was still sad to hear.
Then, the nurse came in and told us why dad has a black eye. Apparently his heart stopped during the angiogram and they resuscitated him. When his heart started again, he jerked and banged his head. I was pretty upset to find out the doctor had lied to me when she said the angiogram was uneventful.
Anyway, they finally let us leave the hospital with a whole bunch of discharge instructions. I quickly filled med boxes using his new instructions (it was med box day, so M12 and I also had ones to fill). Then my friend Liz came over and we watched Doctor Who. I played trains with Loki until it was time to go back to work.
Wednesday
Wednesday was a calm day. I did some chores, wrote some letters, and took dad to an appointment. He’s been discharged from peripheral artery disease PT and put on cardiac rehab. So I had to cancel a whole bunch of appointments and will have to set up a whole bunch more.
D14 went to a club and learned how to count cards in blackjack. M12 did some yardwork (removing rocks from a bed so we can put in wood chips). IL5 played Spore.
Thursday
Thursday was uneventful. After my overnight job, I ran errands with Aaron. Then I took IL5 to the dentist, wrote a few letters, and cooked dinner. D14 had D&D club, which she enjoyed. IL5 had Cub Scouts.
Friday
On Friday after my overnight job I drove 8 hours with my dad. We ate dinner at a hipster restaurant, then crashed at a hotel.
Week’s Photos
Reading to myself
- Warmth of Other Suns, by Isabel Wilkerson
- Roam, by C H Armstrong
- Study in Scarlet, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
- Life, the Universe, and Everything, by Douglas Adams
- Mr Ballen Podcast
- The Week: Conjuring Demons
- Africa Risen
Reading to IL5
- Stitch Head The Forgotten Creation, by Guy Bass
- Fly Guy’s Amazing Tricks, by Ted Arnold
D14 reading
- Good Girl, Bad Blood, by Holly Jackson
- Can You See Me, by Libby Scott and Rebecca Westcott
- Neverseen, by Shannon Messenger
Media Completed
In this classic of science fiction, our brave travelers save the universe. Just as funny as the first 2.
Hibernator's Library 