NOTE I went home a few days before this post went live. It was in my scheduler so I'm letting it publish to buy me time to settle back in.
I must be getting better judging by the fact that I'm coming up with all kinds of things to be annoyed by. Number one on my list is harsh paper products---Kleenex and toilet paper. I don't mean to gross you out but they tell me that all that oxycontin and Morphine I was on for pain control after my fall gives you diarrhea and I'm living proof of that. So if you WERE planning to send me flowers, make it a bunch of those toilet paper flowers ladies make for bridal showers games. Or don't they do those anymore? I remember being divided up into teams and given a roll of toilet paper and told to design a wedding gown for one of the bridesmaids to wear and the bride to judge. It's been so long since I've been to a wedding shower those memories have to be coming from the last century. God, I'm old! Back then kitchen towels and sink drainers or mixing bowls would have been a nice gift but now people register for showers and I presume they're not cheap gifts you're expected to bring.
Some clever party planner entrepreneur should start offering a party package for elderly people, popularize having 75th or 80th birthday parties your grandparents or for moving into an assisted living home. Gifts to register for would include all the stuff I've accumulated since going to the hospital: long-handled reachers, toilet seat risers, leg lift aid, sock aid tool, pull-ups (formerly known as adult diapers), slippers one size larger than normally worn, bedside grab bars, bed wedges, walkers, canes, reusable ice packs and lap blankets plus an assortment of the small stuff that you find on tables next to an elderly person's recliner chair. You know, a magnifying glass, scissors, toenail clippers, creams and lotions and who knows what else is under their little nests. Correction our little nests. Can you imagine the range of emotions you'd go through if somebody actually did have a elderly shower for you like that---what it would be like to have all that stuff coming into your life all at once? It could be Sad, depressing, or funny, fun, practical, and a good time if you could get your grandkids on board. "We want you to be safe, grandma." "We don't want you calling us when you can't get your socks on by yourself, grandpa."
I should stop being silly and leave you with a little antidote that happened here in the Respite Care which is really just a glorified room set inside the assisted living building with OT, PT and nursing services brought in from the outside. (And I've come to understand other CCC's do Respite Care the same way. It's not covered By Medicare and is billed at $300 a day. If you needed more extensive rehab then you would go to a regular rehab facility that is covered.).
Anyway, humor is not lacking here. The help was late putting food on the table and one woman made a remark about no food being served and another woman said, "We've already eaten, Helen, we're just sitting here waiting for dessert now." Then a couple of other ladies started talking about how good the imagimary food has been. Made me laugh and made my ribs hurt so course that made it not quite so funny anymore. They finally did admit they were joking and no one laughed harder than the woman who the prank was pulled on. Then there is the guy who gets teased about having a real life wife who visits and a dining room wife who lives there.
Closing note. I really did accumulate a lot of stuff, Much of it l don't need anymore. I can't wait to see my Amazon bill.
I'm glad you're back home! ❤️
ReplyDeleteMe too!
DeleteHow much longer in recovery section? I learned something new about sending stuff you no longer want back to Amazon in an Amazon Box via https://www.facebook.com/reel/480929877576603/?s=single_unit I'll do a bit of research but this person said opened bottles of cosmetics and shampoos, old clothes and shoes. Most everything ... with free shipping!
ReplyDeletePrint Free Shipping Label - Give Back Box https://givebackbox.com › amazon!
I get home care with nursing, OP and PT until March 1st. They expect the pain to last at long.
DeleteBoy, that doesn't sound right about Amazon! If it is, Id still rather just donate to Goodwill that is less than 4 miles from home.
I'm so glad that you've been able to go back to your own apartment, Jean. One though: if that diarrhea continues, ask your nurse or doctor if it could be a C-Diff infection. It's not uncommon for those of us "of a certain age" to come home from a hospital visit with an acquired case, picked up at the hospital because our immune systems don't work as well. I learned all this as a result of my appendectomy in August.
ReplyDeleteGreat tip! My diarrhea seems to be history now. Knock on wood but getting up to pee too often in the night has got to get addressed. Between that and the pain that wakes me up I'm getting sleep deprived.
Deletetake care, and know that you've got all that "stuff" if you or any of your other campus buddies should need it. I own a long-reacher tool (I call it a gribber grabber) , I find it very useful - especially objects fall into tight spaces...
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to reconfigure my closet and storage space when I'm feeling better. Duh, I should have thought ahead on that score. The long-reacher is very handy in bed to pull up and push off the blanket. Best of all the maganetic end makes it stay on the bed all night.
DeleteI hear you and I'm with you when it comes to getting all those items that make aging a bit more comfortable and safer. $300 is still a chunk of change, but when you think about the care you were given, then I think it seems reasonable. It could get pretty expensive if you were in that unit for months and months, tho! I loved your story about the imaginary meals. That's priceless!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you're doing well enough to be back in your home. Take good care of yourself and stay safe.
Turns out $300 a day isn't a bad price. If you do Respite Care there and you're not in the CCC family you pay $2,700 a week. Seems these CCC all take in patients from the outside if they have a temporary room available when you need it.
DeleteOh, Jean, this really is the best idea. I don't need another "cute" thing but there are plenty of things on your list I could see in my future. Hopefully not my immediate future, although sometimes I wonder about that. Tall toilets come to mind. (Have you ever been to the toilets in Target? I'm quite sure they buy them from wherever preschools and elementary schools get theirs. The "Rise Up" that "Grace and Frankie" invented would be something worth pursuing.) I digress.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you are finally back home and will have softer toilet paper and Kleenex at your disposal. I can fully relate!
I never even took the riser out of its box and it's going in my storage unit. The OT was too quick to order a lot of things for me. I don't think they are used to anyone recovering as quick as I did in Respite Care. OR I'm just a good faker when it comes too pain denial. I love my tall toilet and own tiolet paper.
DeleteI wonder if you couldn't donate those things to another place so that those less fortunate could benefit. Some people who are home caregivers would be thrilled to have that equipment for free or for a reduced cost. Facebook Marketplace? A charity like Easter Seals?
ReplyDeleteI've already donate the box of adult diapers to the OT to pass on to other clients and any medical equipment I choose not to keep I can donate to Goodwill who passes them on the veteran's organizations. Some things I'll hold onto for awhile. We have a climate control storage and I'm not getting any younger.
DeleteGlad you are back in your home again. Slowly, but surely, take your time and rest when you need to. Your humor is still there and will help you through.
ReplyDeleteHumor does help. Only once did I cry through-out this. When I got a walker dropped shipped from a medical supply company. It was not only different than the one the hospital PT said he was ordering it also came in parts for me to put together. Or pay the local company $70 to put together. The order went from the PT to my doctor to a local medical supply company who had it drop shipped. No telling where the error occurred and it was paid for by Medicare. I figured if I tried to send it back they'd charge shipping, they'd get it back and the proper credit for the charge wouldn't never take place or take two years. OT and PT both said the one that was sent will better serve me long term and I'm getting used to it now.
DeleteGosh, I'm glad you're back home. I was sure you'd be there sooner rather than later. I laughed at your suggestion of an 'elder shower.' That's actually not a bad idea when it comes time for someone to make a transition from one way of living to another. When age comes slowly and naturally, items like those accumulate over time. But, when circumstances demand a sudden change, it can be a little daunting to figure out what's needed.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is daunting. For awhile I was getting shipping boxes coming to my room like crazy.
DeleteThat was me, above. I just tried again and was allowed to use my Google account. I guess maybe I've been such a good girl the algorithm has approved me again!
DeleteLoved the 'imaginary meal' story. If young people understood how much we laugh at ourselves, they might think aging isn't all bad.
ReplyDeleteIsn't that the truth.
DeleteWhat you are experiencing is a dress rehearsal for me. I want healing for you, but quick. So far you have been ahead of schedule. I like that cobbling together the services you need is unnecessary when one lives in a CCC. I recall how time-consuming that was to do for my loved ones and for myself, so the idea that all you do is pay the bill is attractive. Am I understanding correctly? $300 a day for the next 4 weeks or however many days? Can you cancel these support services at your discretion? Getting to the poorhouse sooner rather than later is not on my bucket list!
ReplyDeleteNope. The $300 a day was for saying in the other section of the CCC on a temporary basis. The nurse, OT and PT are billed to Medicare and for broken ribs they are allowed to come for 6 weeks total between between Respite and at home. I expect OT not to last for more than this week as my there isn't much she can teach me or help me buy. The nurse will last all of February to make sure I don't develop lung issues. I'm not sure about PT. With that gym sitting across the hall I can't imagine her taking me over there.
DeleteI'm glad you're back home and I'm laughing about your imaginary food. If nothing else you gotta love the absurdity. Sorry about the TP.
ReplyDeleteA lot of what I experienced living temporarily in my future was the absurdity of it all.
DeleteIt would be nice to be home and soft toilet paper is something people 100 years ago could only dream about
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine life without it. The OT suggested I get a bidet installed but I'm learning she's real aggressive with spending other people's money.
DeleteIs there much worse in life than scratchy TP and kleenex? We're spoiled, but I absolutely hate bad TP and tissue.
ReplyDeleteGlad you're back home and I have say (at the risk of oversharing) that your reaction to those meds are the opposite of mine. I hope things are back to normal, or as my DH says, the trains are running normally again. lol.
Yes, thank god, the trains are back on schedule again.
DeleteGlad to read you are back home, Jean! Hope your healing continues just as quickly.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Me too.
DeleteGlad you're finally Sprung and Home. The Man always cherishes all his little extras he gets when Hospitalized and squirrels it away until I finally Donate it, since he never uses 99.9% of it once Home. But, we do have our little side Tables full of shit that us Seniors do have a penchant for keeping close by. *winks*
ReplyDeleteVery good news, and I for one love the idea of showers for people moving to assisted living. It might even lead to the idea of a gift registry at the businesses that sell all those adaptive aids!
ReplyDelete