Shizzle Popped

Shizzle Popped · #52

Quick update:

I'm done with physical therapy for now. My back hurts less now that I'm not trying new exercises each week to see what works, but it remains incredibly easy to upset the apple cart. One of the last new exercises we tried was a side plank that instantly felt like I got stabbed. We figure that was the mess at L4-L5 and we won't be doing those again. Ever. My daily pain levels have dropped a bit but not a lot. I do recover a little faster when things really go south. Still doing the exercises and stretches that help so we'll see what time brings. The things that cause me trouble are strange. I can haul bags of mulch around but not spread it. I can mow the lawn but trimming causes all sorts of issues. Standing on concrete for any length of time is absolute torture. I constantly get in trouble for lifting heavy things but that's almost never a major problem.

My depression is improving ever so slowly. My next appointment with my PA is in early August and if it doesn't get significantly better before then I'll have a talk with her.

I haven't been able to get Trulicity for my diabetes for the last three weeks so I'm living on two metformin and less than 20 grams of carbs per day. My blood sugar is averaging 120-ish over the course of the day which is in range but higher than I like it. I'm usually somewhere around 100 for my daily average. I'm told the shortages could last through the end of the year and is because of doctors switching people over from Ozempic due to massive shortages for that medication from widespread off-label usage for weight loss. Fun times.

Right now, my wife, youngest daughter and her youngest daughter are in my Outback somewhere in Texas on their way to our youngest daughter's, oldest daughter's high school graduation (follow that?). It was decided that since it takes me 3 or 4 days to recover from the 500 mile round trip to see my dad that the 2,000 mile round trip to Houston was out of the question. I wasn't really given a lot of say in the matter but I didn't fight it either. My wife got Covid the last time she was on an airplane and refuses to fly right now. So, I'm at home with our Schnauzer and Yorkie as well as my granddaughter's 8 month old Bernedoodle. My dogs are neither one at all happy sharing the bedroom with the puppy. It's going to be an interesting week. I'll sleep next week.

My dad has finally thrown in the towel and is moving into assisted living sometime next month. Shortly after my wife gets back from Texas we're going over to figure out what's moving with him and what isn't, stage the house and get it on the market. I'm not exactly happy about him going into assisted living because I think it'll make him a little crazy but I'm thoroughly relieved. There was some debate on whether or not he should come over here where we could keep a better eye on things but he decided he wanted to go to a place there in my hometown. The upside is that he'll know about half the place the moment he walks through the door. He's lived in that town since 1964, was the junior high principal for 12 years and then the district superintendent for about 20 years. After he retired he volunteered in a number of capacities around town. You can't go anywhere in town without running into somebody he knows. It would have been nice having him five minutes up the road at a place where I know a couple of people (one of their physical therapists is a neighbor and friend who lives right across the street) but I understand why he wants to stay there.

We're starting to think about selling this house and getting into something a little smaller and with fewer stairs. We sadly don't have a lot of years left with my dad and it was our parent's health that brought us back to the MidWaste to begin with. We've lost my mom and both of my wife's parents in the last six years so it's only my dad now. We miss the hell out of Seattle but we've never regretted the decision. We both got to spend a lot of time with our parents that we wouldn't have if we'd stayed. But now we can't go back. The house we paid $500K for 16 years ago is now worth $1.4M. What we'll get out of our current house won't buy a gut rehab in a not so great neighborhood in the Seattle area, or most of western Washington or Oregon for that matter. We have no interest in living the in eastern part of either state. There are some liberal areas within Indiana that might be an option but this state is trying so hard to become Florida that I'd rather just get out. I've been hearing us referenced as "the middle finger of the south" lately and they're not wrong. We won't go south as neither one of use could stand the heat or the politics. We've done a little looking at northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin but we're really not set on any area yet.

Anyway, I feel like I'm starting to ramble on so I'll leave it at that.

Kendra · #53

Take care.

Slim Cognito · #54

Life happens.

#55

p0rtia · #56

Excelsior

#57

We're all still on the the right side of the dirt. Let's keep it up!

June bug · #58

#59

The struggle is real, and we all know that. Especially here.

The trick is not just dealing with the discomfort. The trick is to continue aging, and then continue aging some more.

#60

Rambling man

Ramble on!

Shizzle Popped · #61

We made the St. Louis run at the last minute today after my dad had two falls in two days. We were supposed to come over on Monday but got delayed because we spent Sunday in the ER for my wife. She apparently has diverticulitis. We were trying to delay to at least tomorrow to give her a little more time to recover but started packing after the fall notification this morning. I wanted her to stay behind but she wasn't having it. Now I kind of think she wishes she had listened to me as it was a rough drive for her. I sent her to bed shortly after we got here.

My dad seems to be doing relatively okay tonight. His biggest problem is that he says he doesn't have an appetite so he just doesn't eat much of anything for a few days. Then he gets dizzy and has a fall. Or two. We come over, fix him a bunch of protein rich meals for three or four days and he gets better. We leave and he goes back to his old habits and gets worse. Rinse. Repeat. We've had discussions about the issue. It doesn't help.

We brought him an apple pie tonight. He could probably live happily on a pie diet for the rest of his life. And at 92 years old, why not?

Anyway, he's finally decided it's time to go into assisted living which probably should have happened a year ago. He's already signed a contract with a local place and we were coming over to help him start packing, get his move arranged, lock up some details on getting the house sold, etc., so forth, and so on. We also have to do some cleaning because he tore up his elbow in the fall and with the blood thinners he's on he bleeds like crazy whenever he gets a wound of any sort.

We have to go back on Sunday since I have an appointment on Monday. I don't know if we can get him moved this week or not. We're going to have to have somebody do it so that seems unlikely. My brother is coming out toward the end of the month but I'd like to get him moved before then. Lots to do and not nearly enough time to get it all done.

ETA: I'm back on Trulicity for my diabetes as of last Thursday, though only at half the dosage I was taking. My blood sugars are still running a bit high but I have more leeway with my carb intake and my blood sugar comes down much faster after meals. It's a step in the right direction. Hopefully I don't have anymore interruptions in medication.

#62

#63

You're a good man Shizzle.

Shizzle Popped · #64

We made progress today. I had to go sign some paperwork at the assisted living place. They had a unit open up closer to the main hub so my dad doesn't have to walk so far. It's also tucked into an inside corner with a larger patio space and has a storage closet on one side so we moved his room assignment (with his approval). I've got a quote from Two Men and a Truck to move the bulk of his stuff at a $200 service fee plus $200 an hour while they're here. I've watched them work and it'll take them maybe three hours to move what little is going. It looks like we can maybe move him next week. I've got a handful of pieces of IKEA furniture picked out to fill in where he needs something smaller than what he has here. Mrs. Shizzle cleaned up the mess from the latest fall even though she probably shouldn't have considering how she''s feeling. She's much better at the stain removal thing than I am though. I need to make a list of all the little things he'll need, like a shower curtain and rod, smaller toaster oven, etc.

I'm fixing ham steaks and potatoes tonight with a slice of apple pie for desert. He always tells us he doesn't have much of an appetite and then eats what's a good size dinner even for me. He just doesn't like to cook and doesn't like to eat alone. He'll be much stronger by the end of the week.

I have to take Mrs. Shizzle home on Sunday, have an appointment on Monday and need to get meds for next week. Then I'll probably come back on Tuesday by myself. After we get him moved we need to declutter and stage the house so we can get it on the market.

I need a vacation and we're just getting started.

#65

Yikes, hang in there, Shizzle. You're doing what needs to be done.

#66

Pace yourself. You're doing good.

Slim Cognito · #67

Shizzle Popped · #68

Thanks, everybody.

We're getting there. Slowly. It's a smaller house but there's 36 years of accumulated stuff in every nook and cranny. My wife and dad spent the day going through the two dressers and nightstands in his bedroom and i got through about half the kitchen. Since he doesn't cook I only really need to keep what I think I need when we come over to visit. For every box of stuff we're taking to assisted living I've got at least two boxes of kitchen gear we're getting rid of. I'm positive that a fair amount of it has never been used. The oddest thing is that there's an old clock radio mounted under one of the cabinets that hasn't been used in years. I pulled the screws out and it won't come down. There's some kind of double faced tape holding it in place I think but I can't seem to pry it loose and I'm afraid I'm going to tear out the underside of the cabinet. I'm bringing my oscillating saw next week and I'll cut the damn thing loose.

We had a guy come out today to paint the shutters and front door. The house is in incredibly good shape but the shutters were looking a little tired. The interior looks almost new but hasn't been painted in over 10 years and that's the only time it's been painted in 36 years. Yeah, my parents took care of the place. If I was buying this house I'd probably replace the kitchen floor and countertops, mostly because I don't like them. The realtor thinks the house looks dated though. The doors, trim, cabinets, etc. are all wood (or wood-like) which I guess is out of style. I suppose a flipper would come in and make the entire house three shades of gray.

Mrs. Shizzle seems to be feeling quite a bit better today. I've been a little concerned about her.

p0rtia · #69

#70

I’d buy wood.

Maybenaut · #71

If you have a steamer you can try shooting some steam around the edges of the radio to loosen the tape.

I never needed a steamer until I had to get one for one particular task, now I’m finding hundreds of uses for it.

#72

Shizzle Popped · #73

We're making serious progress now. Nearly everything that my dad is taking with him is packed and ready to go. The movers are coming on Thursday afternoon to take everything over to the assisted living center. I went home on Sunday to get meds for the week, went to an appointment yesterday and came back this morning. I picked up a couple of stackable patio chairs and a small end table after I got here today. My wife stayed here while I was gone and kept going through closets. That woman is a force of nature. She's feeling pretty much back to her old self now, btw. Our puppies slept glued to me the last two nights so I've barely slept. I'm nursing a bourbon and then I'm going to bed early.

I have lots of little stuff on the agenda for tomorrow. I need to clean his grill before we take it over. He won't ever use it but we will when we come to visit. I need to get the boxes my wife has been packing into some order so nothing gets taken over that shouldn't and what's supposed to go does. I also have nine small bankers boxes of books that need to be taken to the little local library. They're going to be thrilled. Thursday morning I'm taking the IKEA and patio furniture over so I can assemble that while we wait for the movers. We think we'll probably go home sometime on Saturday. We hope.

My brother is flying in from NYC the last week of June to help sort the rest of what's left and to get the house staged to sell. My wife is about twice as efficient at going through things as I am. My brother is about a tenth as efficient as me. OTOH, he's an architect and is exceptionally good at spatial relationships so I can really use his help with staging. If I can just keep him on track. My wife is staying at home for that one. I don't blame her.

#74

Shizzle Popped · #75

Well, my dad is officially moved into assisted living and is spending his first night there. The guys from Two Men and a Truck who did the heavy lifting were terrific and pretty quick. Total cost for the move was $760 which is a bargain in my book. We got just about everything unpacked and put away before we went out to dinner. The only major things left for tomorrow are to setup the TV, load his books on the shelves, build his (IKEA) computer desk and setup his computer. I got the (IKEA) kitchen table and chairs built this morning before the movers came. He likes to sit outside and read in nice weather and has a little patio with enough room for a couple of chairs, a small end table and space to tuck his grill in the corner when we're not using it. I think he's going to be okay with this place. He already had a couple of people he knows stop by to say hello this afternoon.

We all went out to Red Lobster (while we still can) for dinner tonight and got him back after the assisted living center was already in lockdown. They roll up the sidewalks early in assisted living. I'm lukewarm on Red Lobster but my dad has always loved the place and he and my mom used to go pretty frequently. He ate more food than I usually see him eat and it was mostly healthy so I'm not going to complain. My wife had a flare up of her diverticulitis after we got back and took a pain pill and went to bed. I think she needs to go see the gastro doc the hospital gave us a referral to when we get home. I would be in bed but my back is screaming bloody murder at me right now. I've taken a tramadol with a bourbon chaser but it hasn't helped.

And, Foggy, I think of you and your dad every time I write one of these updates. There are a lot of parallels though I'm running a couple of years behind you. I don't say much about these sort of things because I never seem to know what to say but I will say this. We retired early and moved back 6 years ago because all of our aging parents were in need of help. It cost us a lot financially. My dad and I didn't always have an easy relationship but moving back has turned out to be one of the best investments I've ever made.