Fogbow

Saturday we drove to Bridgeport, IL and back to visit Mrs. Shizzle's aunt who is stage 4 and probably doesn't have long to live. Saturday night we got a call from my 92 year old dad. He had fallen and was having trouble getting up and hadn't been feeling good all day. He thought maybe he needed to go to the hospital. Luckily, he has a neighborhood of people who look out for him and we're friends with someone two doors down. They came down to look after him while we called 911. Since I'm in doctor appointment hell at the moment my wonderful wife drove over Sunday morning to make sure he was being taken care of. We had just come home from seeing him last Wednesday because I had appointments on Thursday and Friday. She's honestly better with the medical stuff than I am anyway. He came home today and has an appointment with home health care tomorrow but somebody is going to have to be with him for a while. That's probably mostly going to be my wife since I've got two or three appointments a week in the near future. It's not an issue since my dad kind of considers her like the daughter he never had. He even signed a POA for her at the bank today so she can handle financial affairs if he's not able to. His idea. The trip to the hospital netted a new cardiologist (he hasn't liked the last two) and the discovery that he has a UTI, which explains a few things. I have a PT appointment tomorrow and a dental appointment on Thursday to set a couple of permanent crowns. One of the temporaries started to disintegrate Sunday morning while I was brushing my teeth so it can't wait. After that I'll make the St. Louis run again to spend the weekend and take my wife her medications. It's been a long week or so.

UTIs explain a lot of unpleasantries in the elderly, unfortunately.

Life is throwing you some storms. Plant your feet, face the rain, and lean into the wind.

Foggy wrote: ↑Wed Feb 28, 2024 8:48 am

Wish you peace

to you and yours

I'm going to be around but not terribly active for a while. I'm fine-ish, or at least will be, given some time. The physical therapy for my back has been...painful. I'm not sure it's helping. There are other options but I've been very inactive and I don't sit around the house well. On top of that my 92 year old dad has slipped the last couple of months and periodically has trouble with comprehension. He needed to be in assisted living months ago but is resistant and now we're starting to wonder if he needs to be in memory care. Our usual every 3 to 4 week Indy to St. Louis run has been every other week or sometimes every week. My wife has made the last 2 trips without me since I've had 2 or 3 appointments here each week.

Anyway, I've noticed recently that I've been suffering from a little depression which has never really been a factor in my life. The memes and toons that I used to find amusing I suddenly find disturbing and unsettling so I've stopped looking at them for now. I'll be around but will be taking a break from posting toons. I'm sure I'll get back to it but I need a little time to adjust.

I'm fine really, but I realized my mental health had taken a bit of a hit and I'm taking the steps I need to deal with it. And I have a wonderful support system here at home so I'm good.

Sending good wishes, Shiz . What you say resonates with me (challenging year, physically, too also back/spine), especially the mental health aspect. Always been annoyingly blithe, so twinges of depression are surprising as well as unpleasant. You'll be missed every day you're not here, so come back when you're ready.

Thanks, p0rtia, and I'm sorry about your issues too. I've had some degree of back problems for 40+ years and it got worse about 12 years ago but, even though I was always in some level of pain, it was still mostly manageable. This is different. The pain levels are higher and stay there much longer. I'm starting to wonder how much of this can be fixed.

Take care of yourself/yourselves.

We understand completely. Appreciate all the time you’ve put into the cartoons you’ve earned sometime off. We’ll see you when we see you.

Oh man, I hope your back problems get resolved, and I'm sure you have a good plan for dealing with your depression issues.

I had a great experience with a thing called Total Motion Release physical therapy, and I recommend them highly. It's a nationwide group, and their motto should be "less pain, more gain". They really avoid any exercises that are painful or otherwise not helpful.

In an hour session, we would first find an exercise that was the standard for the day. Then we would do exercises, one after the other, and after each one we'd see if it helped or hurt doing the standard exercise. If it helped, I would do it at home. If it didn't help, we never did it again. And we never did any really painful exercises.

They failed, however, in turning me back into a 20 year old man. I'd still recommend them, tho ...

I totally get it Shizzle. You take care of yourself.

to both Shizzle Popped and p0rtia. We’re here for both of you.

P0rtia- I'll take care of Richer for you!

Best wishes for you!

Tiredretiredlawyer wrote: ↑Sun Apr 07, 2024 12:20 pm
P0rtia- I'll take care of Richer for you!

Hey. Keep your mitts off my secret boyfriend!

p0rtia wrote: ↑Sun Apr 07, 2024 1:10 pm

Tiredretiredlawyer wrote: ↑Sun Apr 07, 2024 12:20 pm
P0rtia- I'll take care of Richer for you!

Hey. Keep your mitts off my secret boyfriend!

bill_g wrote: ↑Sun Apr 07, 2024 10:18 am I totally get it Shizzle. You take care of yourself.

Thanks, everybody. I'm feeling a bit better mentally already. Physically, not much has changed but I knew this wouldn't happen overnight. I'll get there. Eventually.