Updates - Friday, Nov. 17, 2017

Updates on Mom, Nov. 17, 2017:
It has been a while since I last wrote. So here's an update.

Mom fell in her house and broke her hip in late October. She underwent a surgery in which they put a pin through the ball of her hip. Now, she is in a skilled nursing facility where she is undergoing physical therapy.

She cannot put weight on her hip, and is supposed to ring a bell for an aide to help her transfer from bed to her wheelchair. Sometimes they don't show up very fast. Once mom tried to do her own transfer and the aides found her passed out in bed. Thankfully, she did not fall to the floor. 

She was transported to the hospital. The reason she passed out was because two different nurses gave her the same medication (so it was an overdose that caused her to pass out). That is not supposed to happen. 

They also did an X-ray for her back pain and found a fractured T9 vertebra. Supposedly, this fracture is old. She was also very dehydrated and was given a quart of I.V. fluids.

It was reported to us that they wanted to do a non-invasive surgery to inject a gel or cement to encase the broken vertebra. But, the next thing we heard was they were not going to do that surgery. I don't know if my mom didn't want it, or what.

There are times when mom has excruciating back pain and the aides won't give her any more pain medication. I was on the phone with her two nights ago when her pain was so bad she could barely talk to me. She said she felt like she was in hell. An aide or nurse came into her room and I could hear the conversation. Mom asked for another pain pill. She was told she couldn't have one because she had one an hour ago. Then mom asked for a hot pack and was told she couldn't have one because she had used all her hot packs for the day. They offered her a cold pack. She could barely breathe and told me breathlessly she had to go now. Then she hung up. 

Earlier in the day, she had called and left a message on my sister's home phone saying, "Oh, Jan, it hurts so bad." Her neighbor visited her that day and saw mom having one of her terrible back spasms. The neighbor was so upset, she went to get the nurses. She stayed and rubbed mom's back for a while.

Whatever happened to compassion? Medical care is ruled by insurance companies and Medicare now. That's the only reason I can fathom they would have a limit on how many hot packs she can use in a day. My sister took in some Ben-Gay heat patches, but the nurses would not let mom use those either.

Update on Mom, November 23:
Mom had a few days with no back pain (or only minor pain). She sounded so much better. She is starting to put weight on her leg and is using a walker. In physical therapy, she learned how to maneuver herself around their kitchen while they made brownies.

Update on Mom, November 25:

Once again, Mom sounded so much more chipper on the phone. Jan has been visiting her frequently. They go on all three floors of the nursing facility (Mom is in her wheelchair). 

A jigsaw puzzle is set up in one room and Jan likes to work on it. Mom roams the halls in her wheelchair and checks back in on Jan and the puzzle from time to time. 

Jan and Mom had Thanksgiving dinner in the assisted living facility dining room where they "had the works." Janyce took over a TV show, "Touched by an
Angel," and she and Mom watched it. 

Our "adopted" Vietnamese sister, Kimmie, visits Mom and takes dinner on Tuesday nights. Last week, she took in a beautiful orchid for Mom. This week, Kimmie's son Devon, and his wife Tammy, visited with Mom.

My sister, Jan, has been a rock and a God-send. She does so much for Mom: driving 45 minutes each way to see her, taking in food from time to time, bringing in supplies Mom needs, and spending time with her. When the weather is nice, Jan takes Mom outside in her wheelchair. However, Mom said it is too cold today to go outside, so they will "walk" the halls on all the floors.

I am flying to Portland on the night of Dec. 1 to be with Mom for ten days. It will be wonderful to spend time with Mom, my sister, brother, and son. 

There are some things in Oregon I need to take care of, too. It seems we can't get her Oregonian newspaper delivery stopped. My sister tried to take care of it, but they said they would put it on "vacation hold." She told them she didn't want that, but they wouldn't cancel it. So, with a "vacation hold," they still charged her checking account $36.

I called The Oregonian subscription department to complain. "We want the subscription canceled and a refund credited back to her account." They assured me they would take care of it. Two weeks later, the amount has not been credited back to her account. I may be hiring an attorney pretty soon!

Update on us, November 25, 2017 (going back in time):
I am back to working full time (four ten-hour days) in the RV park office after taking the summer off. It's fun being in the hospitality industry. Most people are happy because they're traveling and want to know what to see, where to eat, and what events are going on. I enjoy taking reservations over the phone and checking people in. I volunteer to do movie night in the Rec Hall once a month and keep the park's Facebook page up to date. 

Bob's job is going well. Their company has grown by leaps and bounds so he is  keeps track of all the budgets, job costs, employees, etc. He's the Controller. For Thanksgiving, we got two turkeys from Southwest Electrical Contracting (where he works).

On my time off, I walk, hike, go to movies, travel, attend concerts and festivals, work on jigsaw puzzles with my friend, Susan, and ride roller coasters at Six Flags Fiesta Texas. Bob goes with me when he's not working, or training for the San Antonio Rock 'n' Roll Marathon; otherwise, I go with my friend Susan. [Note: The Rock 'n' Roll Marathon is Sunday, December 3.]

On Saturday, November 4, Bob and I went to Diwali, the Festival of Lights. We had Indian cuisine from the food court for dinner and watched dance performances from each of the Indian states. There was so much color and movement of the clothes, plus a fireworks show next to the Tower of the Americas. Very beautiful!

Dancers at Diwali

Diwali's food court 

Fireworks at the Diwali Festival of Lights

After we spent a couple of hours at Diwali, we headed over to Boozehounds to listen to Arrowhead and have a couple of drinks.

Sunday morning, November 5, we were up bright and early to do the 10k Wurstfest walk in New Braunfels, Texas. The route took us through lots of neighborhoods, the old part of downtown, and past the Wurstfest grounds.

The Comal River in New Braunfels, Texas

A beautiful harbinger of autumn

Many historic homes (all types of architecture) lined our walk route.

Look at all those bird houses...
and they all had number on them!

We had a checkpoint at New Braunfels Railroad Museum.

And did I mention Wurstfest?

Gorgeous murals on the Wurstfest Halle!

We were delayed by a very long train.

Our walk included tickets for free entry into Wurstfest. We finished our walk at 10:00 a.m. and Wurstfest didn't open until 11:00 a.m. Being tired, we decided to head for home.

That's all I'll report on now because I want to put this blog to bed and publish it already!

The next few blogs will catch us up even more. We've been busy!!

Walk the Talk and Talk about the Walks - Wed., Nov. 18, 2015

Walking is so much fun and good exercise too. I'm getting a little behind (wish I could say that about my derriere) on my walk blogs. It's time to tell you where we've been and what we've been doing.

Way back on September 9, Susan M. and I were going to do one of our favorite hot weather walks, Salado Creek starting at Lady Bird Johnson Trailhead. That trail has a lot of shade. The last time we walked the trail, big signs were posted telling trail users that the trail would be closed for repairs from September 8 to September 18.

We commented at the time we needed to remember that and not hike the trail during that time. As you have guessed by now, we met at the park and found the trail closed. Luckily, there is a trail that goes north to McAllister Park that wasn't closed, so we went that direction where there is almost no shade. It was early enough in the day and there was enough of a breeze to make the walk tolerable. We were able to get in our 10k walk. The McAllister Park portion of the walk took us past a huge off-leash dog area. We got a few photos to prove we were there.

Susan M. checking the map

Park is named after Walter Williams McAllister, Sr.

Part of the path we walked

Proof we were here.

On Sunday, November 1, Bob and I met Susan M. in Waring, Texas, for the Hill Country Volkssportverein club's Halloween walk. It was a lovely day for a walk - cool, crisp and clear. The Guadalupe River was looking especially beautiful, flowing full after all the recent rains.  Our route took us along country roads, through a pasture and around the little town of Waring, Texas.

Waring General Store

Waring School House, west wing built in 1891.

Guadalupe River outside Waring, Texas

Susan M. and Bob - country road

Local ranch

Volksmarchers (walkers)

More Volksmarchers

After this walk, the three of us headed to Boerne for lunch at the Dog and Pony Pub. We ate out on the patio as the inside was freezing because their air conditioner was cranked down so low! We loved our meals. The Dog and Pony has parking for a Smart car and lots of motorcycle parking.

Looks like someone in a big car tried to park here.

On Sunday, November 8, Susan and Darren M., Bob and I did the New Braunfels Wurstfest Walk. It was a perfect fall day for walking. Our $3 walk fee provided each of us with a $10 ticket to the Wurstfest, New Braunfels' authentic Oktoberfest-like celebration. The walk took us through neighborhoods, historic downtown New Braunfels and along the Comal River which was still pretty high from the rains we had. It was a fun day.

Comal River

Cool Halloween decor at this house

Same house, more decorations

Loved this row of trees!

Morning glories glorying in the morning sunshine

This, my friends, is a gigantic magnolia tree.

New Braunfels Academy - 1858

Beautiful architecture

Our walk checkpoint and restroom stop

The following two signs are on display at the New Braunfels Railroad Museum (double-click to enlarge):

Hobo Vocabulary

Hobo Signs and Sybols

Newly renovated Comal County Courthouse

Photo in a fish-eye mirror...
Bob (left); Darren (back); me (right); Susan M. (front)

Comal River from a bridge

A lovely view of the Comal River

Our walk started and ended at the employee cafeteria for the Schlitterbahn, Texans' favorite waterpark. This is the one in New Braunfels, but there are others scattered around Texas.

After we finished the walk and had our books stamped, we took a shuttle to the Wurstfest and spent the next couple of hours eating, watching people, listening to music and shopping.

The Giant Man

Very high flow of water coming down the Comal River

Bob waving to the rest of us.

One of the traditions of Wurstfest is the wearing of outrageous hats. We didn't have any, but it was fun to look at the ones who did. We saw chickens in a nest hats, hot dog hats, and many other crazy headpieces.

Sign vendor...fun stuff!

German Christmas Market (items from Germany)

Bob needs one of these signs.

If you're interested in Wurstfest history, double click.

Thanks for hanging out with us. 

Now the blogs are caught up on walks until last weekend. More blogs to follow.

Have a great weekend.

Travel Bug out.