Last Day of September

Hey, Y'all,
Yeah, I know that you know today is the last day of September, but it just occurred to me that autumn is really here. It is going to rain here tonight (already raining in Knoxville), and once the autumn rains begin, it isn't long before cold weather. That always makes me a little melancholy, doesn't it you?

Gramps does not seem to be doing as well as I think he should, but I don't know what to do about it. So far, no physical therapist has been here to help him, and it seems to be getting more difficult for him to get up from a sitting position. He went to bed tonight at 7 p.m., very tired. He seems to be okay during the day, but gets very tired by the end of the day. If I don't see some improvement tomorrow, I will be taking him back to the doctor. I have had no experience at this sort of thing.

We were visited by the speech therapist today and he seemed to be doing very well at that time, around noon. The nurse came by this afternoon, and he seemed to be doing okay then as well. He didn't eat a lot of supper, but enough to be satisfied and then went into the living room to watch television. I came in a few minutes later and found him asleep, so I put him to bed.

BTW, the physical therapist is supposed to come tomorrow. I don't know why the delay. They should have been here already three times or more.

He keeps thinking that he will be 92 on Friday. He told that to the speech therapist today, and she had him subtract the year he was born from this year, so he could see for himself. I think he just feels like he is 92. If you remember, he made the same statement when we were in Ohio.

I have begun working on Matt's quilt again, cutting out squares to applique the design on, and will continue to work until I can finish it. Speaking of quilts, I mailed the baby quilt that I finished in February to our new great-granddaughter. I mailed it on Friday, so she should have it soon, but I think Carol is going to pick it up and wrap it for me to be given at a baby shower. When I know she has received it, I will post a picture of it.

I am watching "House" right now, as I compose this post. It is one of my favorite shows on television. It is so convoluted in its story that it is fascinating. Besides that, the character "House" is so discerning of human character and yet always is expecting the worst of those in whom he comes in contact, that it is good to see him foiled sometimes.

Well, it is time to close this down for right now. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for Gramps. Love to all of you. May you feel God's peace and love in your heart. Blabbin' Grammy is signing off for now. Bye.

Doctor's Visit Today

Hey, Y'all,

Today was the day that we visited our family doctor as a follow-up to Gramps illness, but it had also been set up before we went to Ohio, so it was actually also a regularly scheduled visit. It just happened to be that way.



We had gone on Wednesday of last week to have bloodwork done, so that report was ready as well. Most of the bloodwork was normal and what was not, was not too far off the mark, so we got a good report. Gramps blood pressure was great, mine not so great (150/80) so not too bad really. It was about what I expected, what with getting us ready and out of the house on time, etc.



I am so excited - the National Storytelling Festival at Jonesborough, TN is coming up this weekend. I have attended it for many years, and many times have done so with my good friend, Ina Ray, and plan to be going on Saturday with her. Another reason I am excited about it is that our good friends, Gene and Judy, are going to be going in my place on Friday. I have taken Judy with me as a guest, before, but her husband, Gene, has never gotten to go before. I just know they are going to have a great time!



Let me tell you a little bit about the Storytelling Festival. It began over 25 years ago, with just a few storytellers and has grown to immense proportions, where thousands of people attend every year the first full weekend in October. The committee sets up about 5 or 6 huge tents and place chairs inside them for listeners to hear stories. The event takes place rain or shine and it is absolutely wonderful! Price of tickets has gone from not very much to $125 per person (senior price) for full weekend (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) for this year. Regular price is more. Ina and I always go on Saturday, and we thoroughly enjoy hearing the wonderful storytellers who are nationally known. The town of J0nesborough is in upper East Tennessee and is set in the mountains. The drive is one of great beauty and colorful landscape. Storytelling goes on all day from 10 a.m. till midnight on Friday and Saturday, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.



Well, it is a little past 10 p.m. and getting near my bedtime. I have done laundry today, cooked supper and been to the doctor's office, along with other stuff. More tomorrow.

This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for the day. Love to all of you. Bye for now.

I've Been Tagged!

Hey, Y'all,

In case you don't know what it means to be tagged, that means that someone has done something that they were picked on to do, and then they can choose someone else to do the same thing. I was tagged by fellow blogger, Clara, from http://clarascorner.blogspot.com/


So if you would like to read hers, you have the website to do so.


Here are the questions and my answers:


1. What were you doing 10 years ago? I was going back and forth to the St. Mary's Hospital in Knoxville, where Gramps was for eleven weeks, when he had the front part of his left foot amputated due to an infection in his foot. I would leave home at about 6 a.m. and spend the day with him, and then come home around 7 p.m. and spend several hours doing work at home and get to bed around midnight or 1 a.m. then go to bed and sleep for a few hours. Part of the work was putting down tile in the dining room that we had just had built from converting our carport into the new room.

2. What is on my to-do list today? Not a lot, I have already vacuumed the house, and I have yet to wake up Gramps and get him showered and fed breakfast. I have also put on a pork tenderloin in the crockpot for a meal today (and probably a few during the week with leftovers). My kitchen and bathroom floors really look good today from the cleaning yesterday.

3. What if I were a millionaire? Wow! What a fantasy that would be! The first thing I would do would be to set aside a tenth of it designated to be given to our church over a period of time, put into a trust fund so that needs could be met when there was a great need. It would be given anonomously so that no one would know. The next thing I would do would be to set up a college fund for our great grandchildren that would be a matching fund so that they would not get money for free but would work and know the pleasure of working for what they have. I think it would be nice to have a bigscreen television for Gramps to watch and a housekeeper to deepclean the house once a month. It would be wonderful to be able to travel any time we wanted to, and not have to worry about transportation. We could go visit our children and grandchildren (great's too) any time without any worries.

4. Places I have lived? 'Possum Valley; Knoxville; New Market; Kendallville, Indiana; Warsaw, Indiana; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Navarre, Florida.

5. Bad Habits? Talking too much, Curiosity, Procrastination, Knowing (not thinking) that I am always right - "I'd Rather Be Right Than Be President" (quote from Henry Clay, who ran unsuccessfully five times for the presidency of the United States), and probably a few other bad habits or faults that others could clue you in on better than I.

6. Snacks I Like: Sandwiches of tomato, cheese and mayo. Potato chips and sour cream onion dip. (never can eat them any more because of salt content). Brownies with walnuts. Just about anything chocolate or salty. OOPS. All bad for me.

Now for the tagging: Grandson, Daniel; neice, Andrea; friend, Judy.
Websites are: http://danielbennett.blogspot.com/
http://andreakrlic.blogspot.com/
http://jdyflygrl.blogspot.com/


I look forward to reading the answers. I hope you will enjoy reading all as well.

This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for now. Hope you have a great Sunday. Love to all of you.
Bye for now.

Lazy Day Saturday

Hey, Y'all,
This morning I was up early because I had a stack of papers, bills, and other things that needed filing. I also had my bank account to reconcile for the past two times. I do really hate to get into it, but it was time because we had been gone so much over the past 7 weeks. First to Illinois, and then to Ohio.

I let Gramps sleep in this morning (the first time in four weeks that he had gotten to sleep late in the morning). Tomorrow, however, he gets up at a normal time and has a shower and gets ready for a Sunday day.

I did get him up about noon or 12:30 and he only got two meals today because he slept through the normal breakfast time. I went out and brought the Colonel home for supper. (In case you have never heard that expression, I went to KFC and brought home chicken strip meals). He spent most of the day watching two football games on TV and unfortunately saw UT lose to Auburn University. Too bad!

This afternoon, I did use a new cleaning aid and mopped the kitchen with it. It is called a Wet Swiffer. Really neat! Much easier than the mop I was using. It kept my back from being worn out so much. I have to get up in the morning and vacuum the carpet throughout the house. I can do that and maybe wake up Gramps in the process. Ha.

I talked to my sister-in-law in Phoenix this afternoon. My brother, John, is continuing to decline in health, and his heart action is down to 5 percent of what it should be. As I have stated previously, he is under hospice supervision, and is not expected to live a lot longer. Of course, they don't know how long he has left, but I know he is a Christian and ready to go whenever the Lord calls him home.

Gramps is continuing to improve daily, and we thank God for that.

Well, not much else going on today. As I said, it has been a lazy kind of day today. I have enjoyed just taking it easy and reading and playing on my computer.

No church tomorrow, but we will be ready in case anyone wants to stop in and visit with us We always like having company. I am a very social type and Gramps likes to see people as well.

This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for today. Tomorrow, I am going to answer six questions that have been proposed to me by a fellow blogger, Clara. Good night for now. Hope you have a good rest, and I will see you tomorrow. Love to you all,
Grammy who is a Blabber. Bye.

One Hundredth Posting

Hey, Y'all,

Yes, this is the one hundredth posting that I have done. Wow! I can't believe it. It may not seem like much to you, but I didn't know I had that much blabbin' to do. Ha.

I am posting a few more Springfield pictures today. One of them is of a house that is the kind of architecture that I saw a lot of while driving up and down a street called Limestone, in the city of Springfield. I was so impressed with the beautiful structures that I saw, but I couldn't find a really good place to stop along that street, so I saw a house on Plum Street, opposite the Burger King, and took a snap shot of it. Notice the turret on the front corner of the house and how the house is kind of square with three stories. I saw so very many just like the one pictured here.

I was interested enough in the city to do some research on it and discovered that the city was founded in 1799 and platted in 1801. The same year, Griffith Foos built the first tavern which became a famous stagecoach stop. In 1804, the first post office was recorded for Springfield. Simon Kenton built a gristmill and distillery where the old International Harvester plant now stands. International Harvester Company (manufacturer of farm machinery) became the leading local industry after a native, William Whitely, invented the combined self-raking reaper and mower in 1856.

A lot of famous musicians and actors hail from Springfield. IF you would like to read some more about Springfield, go to: http://www.ci.springfield.oh.us/profile/history.html

That is where I got the information that is printed here.

The other picture I posted here is of Gramps with Lauren, the speech therapist who worked with him in Springfield. She is a dear, too.

Gramps has had a visit today from the occupational therapist who will be working with him and helping him shower a couple of times this next week. I think that he thinks he doesn't need any body coming to help him shower. BTW, I got him up this morning around 7:30 a.m. so that he could have breakfast and his medications before I took our car to be serviced this morning in Morristown. He was seated in the living room watching TV when I left and when I returned nearly two hours later.

He got up by himself last night about 3 times to go to the restroom and did quite well. I told him I was proud of him. (of course, I am).

Tonight we are having baked sweet potatoes, steak, and a salad. Hope I do the steaks well. I quite often have a little trouble with them when I do them on the George Forman Grill. Sometimes they are a little seared too much. But people do say, "practice makes perfect", don't they?

Well, not much shakin' going on here today. We both took a rest this afternoon. It looks rainy and rainy weather always makes me want to curl up in a corner couch and read. Of course, it really doesn't take rain to put me in a mood to read. People who know me, know that I love to read while I am eating. I just kind of shut every thing out and concentrate on the characters and action in the book I am reading.

One other thing I did today was to mail to our new great grandchild, Alyssa Faith, the quilt that I made for her a few months ago. I will post the picture of it here after her parents, Andrew and Julia, have gotten the package.

It is about time to go into the kitchen and finish preparation of our supper. So, this is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for tonight. God bless each of you with a good night's sleep tonight. Thank you for your continued prayers on our behalf. I know that you know that Gramps is not the only one in the house affected by his illness.

More Springfield Pictures

Gramps with his Occupational Therapist, Petra Gramps and fellow patients playing games.

Hey, Y'all,

Things seem to be going well for us here at home. Tomorrow, we will have been home a week and Gramps is seeing a lot of different people in home health care. So far, we have had two nurses who have come and checked his vitals and his vitals are good (they are vital, ha). The speech therapist has been here twice this week. Tomorrow, the occupational therapist will be here in the afternoon.

The pictures above were taken when we were in Springfield.

Tomorrow, we will be seeing Jan, the occupational therapist, who was here yesterday. Today, Carol, the speech therapist was here and left some activities for us to do together that will help stimulate his mental abilities to remember.

Well, I thought the hummingbirds had hummed on away, but we saw one today flying around, but not drinking any of the sugar water in the feeders. We sat out on the porch this afternoon after Carol had left, and really enjoyed the wonderful balmy temperatures. There was a gentle breeze blowing and the sun was not too hot. It was so peaceful and beautiful. One could not ask for a more lovely place than we have here. We are so blessed.

I have to go have the car serviced in the morning, but plan to have Gramps up and fed breakfast before I go. I will not be taking him with me. He is getting around very well using the walker, and I don't worry about him walking around inside the house. He won't go out because he will think it is too cool outside. I had to go to the grocery store this morning for an hour and he was perfectly fine for that.

Hugh and Imazo and I talk just about every day, keeping in touch with one another. She tells me that she speaks with her sister, Lois, in a nursing home in Ohio just about every day. Lois seems to be doing quite well and apparently is quite content because she sees or talks to each of her daughters each day. Of course, this helps Imazo, knowing that her sister is happy and well taken care of.

I have just helped Gramps into bed and settled for the night. Hopefully, there will only be one wake-up call during the night. I had a nap this afternoon while he was watching television and then I got up and made our supper. We had a good visit with our honorary son, Mark, this evening and fed him a sandwich and salad and some fresh decaf coffee.

Well, it is 10 p.m. and I must get to bed soon. Today has been a good day. I always go to bed glad that it is there to rest in. I look for a good day each morning when I wake up, don't you? Thank you, Jesus, for good days! We are most blessed...May God's peace dwell in your heart as it does in mine. This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for the night. Love to you all. Bye!

Some Springfield Pictures

Hey, Y'all,

I thought I would post some pictures made while we were in Springfield. Also, we had two more home health care visitors today. After we got back from getting blood drawn at our family doctor's office and went on to eat breakfast at Shoney's, a very nice lady named Margaret came to check Gramps' blood pressure and lungs. He is doing very well on those fronts. He is improving using his walker, as well. We had no problems at all going to the dr's office and on to eat at Shoney's.

Later today, another nurse who is in charge of occupational therapy came and spent more than an hour checking out Gramps' abiblities, and advised using a bath stool that doesn't fit over the tub, since Gramps is able to step into the tub without much problems, since I have a grab bar that is portable installed on the shower wall that he can hold on to for balance. I have one of the in-tub bath stools that our daughter, Teresa, bought for me to use when I had by-pass surgery four years ago. I had been using it outside for flower gardening sitting and digging, clipping grass, etc.

She also advised the taking up of rugs in the bathroom. I really will miss them. They added to the beautiful decor of the bathroom. They were soft on my feet soles when I would get up at night to use the bathroom.

We also had a visit this afternoon from our pastor, Rev. J.W. Taylor, our music minister, Rev. Charles Duggan, and our good friend and honorary son-in-law, Mark, who is also our landlord. It was really wonderful to be visited by the three of them. We had a great time talking and sharing pleasantries.

I think our hummingbirds may have flown away for the autumn and winter time. Someone must have told them that summer is gone, because I haven't seen them since a few days ago.

On Wednesday evening, our church serves supper from 5 to 6:30, and we can eat and not have to prepare meals at home on that evening. Of course, it is done so that members can have fellowship and can come straight from work and stay for church without worrying about cooking.

This evening, I went to pick up our meals, since we could not attend church tonight. I also picked up a meal for our friend, 90 year old Marian. The pictures I have posted are: (1) a picture of a helicopter that I saw land at the Mercy Rehab and Emergency Hospital in Springfield landing on the helipad. It was really cool to see it landing at night. The helipad was on the side of the hospital that we were on. We were on the third floor and could see it clearly. (2) a picture of Gramps holding a balloon bouquet sent by Gene and Judy (much loved friends of ours). (3) a picture of Gramps with neice, Donna, who came to help us get back home. (4) a picture of Wilma, Lois' daughter and Imazo's neice. Wilma very kindly did my laundry for me and along with her sisters was a pleasure to meet and visit with.

More pictures tomorrow. This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for the evening. (Gramps is already in bed) Love to all of you. Bye for now.

Tuesday and the Speech Therapist

Hey, Y'all,
Well, I just put supper on to cook and thought I would take time to log on and create a new post. It will be quick. We are continuing to enjoy beautiful weather here. Gramps and I sat on the front porch for a couple of hours this morning and just enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine.

Slept with the windows open for the past few nights, and it is wonderful to have the cool air flowing over our beds. I even got up during the night and opened the living room windows and opened the front door, latched the storm door of course with the window up to let in air.

We had a visit from the speech therapist today who is going to help Gramps with memory skills. Her name is Carol, and she is a delightful young lady. She will be back on Thursday for a while.

Tonight we are having baked salmon loaf, devilled eggs, green beans, and cooked carrots. I go into the kitchen and take inventory to see what we have that I can throw together in an hour's time to have for a meal. That is what I came up with for this evening. Ooops. Just heard a timer. Be right back.

Well, not actually right back...We ate supper and I put the dishes in the dishwasher to wash (not something I do every day, just once in awhile). I usually wash them by hand and put them in the dishwasher to drain. There are only two of us, and we don't use a lot of dishes at a time.

We go in to the doctor's office tomorrow morning to have bloodwork done for our regular visit. So I have promised Gramps that we will go to Shoney's for breakfast after we get our blood drawn. It has been more than a month since we have had a Shoney's breakfast. We will have to be there at 8:15 so it will be a chore to get the man up and on our way by 8 a.m. Fortunately, we are only a few minutes away from our family doctor.

I just talked to my brother, Hugh, and he went to the doctor today to have some little warts or moles taken off his eyelid and it was a very quick thing. No problem at all.
Well, I guess that is all for today. This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for now. New adventures tomorrow maybe...Who can say? Love to all. Bye.

Back In the Groove

Hey, Y'all,
Today started off just fine, and no problems. After breakfast, Gramps and I tackled the bath. I had already put together the bath chair for the shower. If you knew how small our bathroom is, you would realize what a challenge it is to use the bath chair. Once we have the chair in place, there is not a lot of room to stand in front of the commode. When we are not using the bath chair, it will sit inside the bathtub. The bath chair is made of heavy plastic, and is quite heavy to pick up.

At first, Gramps did not want to use the bath chair, and got into the tub without it. I said, "Why don't we just put it in here and you don't have to use it, but if you need it, it will be here." About 1/4 into the shower, he decided it really was going to be useful.
I put down a couple of towels on the floor to soak up any water that would escape the shower area, because we couldn't close the shower curtain all the way. I had put the portable support bar inside the bathtub on the left of the shower, so it was handy for Gramps to hold onto.

After he had finished his shower and had gotten dressed, I had to move the shower chair, so that I could shower. Man, that chair is heavy! Then I had to move it back inside the tub completely so that we can use the commode. Whew!

We have been having visits from home health care professionals. We had another today who was evaluating Gramps' needs. Tomorrow the speech therapist will visit us.

I had to bag up the garbage today and carry it off to the local dumpster. We have no garbage pickup in our area. We live too far out in the boonies. After lunch I bagged it all up and left Gramps watching TV, where he is always happy and content.

Gramps is continuing to improve each day. He can get out of bed without any help from me, and he showered with very little help. He can get around in the house without any assistance from me. They did a really fantastic job working with him at the rehab place in Ohio. We are so grateful to them for all they did to help us. I would like to add that we are most grateful to the way that God has been with us through all the trials that have come our way and how He has provided helps for us along the way. May He be glorified in all things. We know that He is there to comfort and bring joy in the time of troubles. We can feel Him nearby and in our hearts.

Well, that is about all for today. This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for today. Love to you all. Bye for now.

Home Health Nurse

Hey, Y'all,
We had another great night's sleep. Only one wake-up call from Gramps, and I was so sound asleep when he called my name that I jumped straight up and out of bed, flipped on the light, and helped him with his need.

Later this morning, I arose and took my morning pills and answered the telephone. It was the home health care nurse calling to come to the house between 9 and 9:30 this morning. So I got Gramps up and we had breakfast after checking his blood sugar. For those of you that are interested, his blood sugar has been being just perfect in the mornings lately. Yesterday, it was 102 and today it was 92, just where it is supposed to be.

After breakfast was over, Alice the nurse came and opened up her laptop computer and she asked questions and we answered them. She is a lovely lady, very professional and knowledgeable. We had some really good conversation and enjoyed the visit very much. She was with us about 2 and a half hours. I found out that Dub is considered home-bound which means he doesn't get out and run around every place. He goes to dr's appointments and not much else. I think it means no church until he is no longer home bound. She said that he is definitely not to drive and I said, "well, he won't be driving because he hasn't driven in ten years."

We are hoping for some company this afternoon. We haven't seen Mark and Allie for three weeks, and I am sure they will probably come over and Gene and Judy will probably come to bring us our mail which they were picking up for us.

Gramps and I had a pretty good lunch, at least he liked it enough to comment on it twice. The dishes have been done, and he is watching TV right now. I enjoyed online chatting with our daughter, Teresa this morning. Hoping to do some more later today. That is one of the things I look forward to each week.

I will download pictures later that I took over the last couple of weeks and will share them in the days to come.

That is all from Blabbin' Grammy today. God's peace be unto each of you. Love to all of you.
Bye for now.

Morning After

Hey, Y'all,
We had a really good night's sleep. I was only up once taking care of Gramps. Sleeping in our own beds was wonderful! I have already washed one load of laundry, and am washing the second load. Gramps and I have had breakfast and will probably take a nap later in the day. I feel like I could take a nap right now, but it just isn't in the works.

I have been opening mail, and that will take some time, although I am sure most of it will be companies wanting us to take a new credit card (all that will be shredded), a few magazines, and that ugly word BILLS. I may just throw all of them into a basket and draw the lucky one out to be paid. (Just joking...most of them are automatically paid via the bank). Fortunately, I paid the light bill just before we left for Ohio.

The new beds are wonderful..they are just firm enough, and surprisingly, the firmness helps Gramps to get out of bed, so that is a bonus.

Wonderful news from our daughter, Teresa, and congratulations to her. Teresa has just completed work on a degree in business. We are so very proud of her! (well, we are proud of her anyway, but the degree is frosting on her cake. ) She has worked so very hard and was diligent in her pursuit of the degree. Hurrah for Teresa! We love you!

Well, got lots of things to do today, but I wanted to let all of you know that we are on even ground again. Tomorrow, people from home health care will be here to set up in-home appointments for speech and physical therapy for Gramps, and the house is still a wreck, or as a lady that my sister, Margaret, used to take care of would say, "It looks like the wreck of the Hesperus."

More later. Love to all of you. Blabbin' Grammy is signing off for now. Bye!

Home at Last

Hey, Y'all,
We are back home and almost felt like kissing the ground. Might have, if we hadn't been so tired. L.D. and Donna arrived shortly after 10 a.m. and after we got everything done (papers filled out, stuff carried down to the cars, and Gramps wheeled out) we took off for TN, with Gramps riding with L.D. and Donna riding with me.

We made several stops and arrived back home around 6:15 p.m. After we carried stuff into the house, Gene and Judy arrived with supper for Gramps and I, Donna and L.D. made up our beds for us, and then Gene and Judy left to go to the drug store for prescriptions for us and also milk for our breakfast.

Gramps headed for the television in the living room and was glad to see it again. We ate supper of beef stew, fried apples, salad, banana bread. Yum! Judy certainly knows how to cook a great meal! How wonderful to have such great friends.

Well, my eyes are about to close and I know I have a lot of work to do tomorrow. I look forward to having the house straightened and things back in their place. Love to all of you. This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for now. A better posting tomorrow.

Almost On our Way

Hi, Y'all,
Just about ready to go. I have showered, helped Gramps clean up (via washpan) and he is dressed and ready to travel.

I have made the morning trip to Burger King for a quick breakfast, have taken things to the car, have polished my nails (an important thing to do, you know), and we are just waiting for L.D. and Donna who should be here within an hour (pending possible traffic hang ups).

I decided to go ahead and do one last entry for today. I am a little apprehensive about returning home, but I know we will have a lot of help once we get there, and a lot of help getting home as well, thanks to L.D. and Donna.

The staff here has been wonderful to us and we are so grateful for them. I know without a doubt that we were "God-appointed" to be in this place.

We will be careful traveling home. Love to all of you. Thank you all for your prayers and well-wishes. Blabbin' Grammy signing off for the last time in Springfield, Ohio. Bye for now. See you back in Tennessee.

Winding Up Our Stay

Hi, Y'all,

I know that this is a really great place if you need to be here, but we will be glad to be back home tomorrow evening. The staff here has been wonderful to us and it has been a pleasant experience for us to be surrounded by so many caring people.

Another night sleeping on the love seat and not too bad this morning. Actually, getting up a few times during the night kind of helps, so that there is not a lot of stiffness in the back.

When I went out for supper last night, I decided to try the local Applebee's Restaurant, which meant I had to take a turn left onto Bechtle, instead of a right turn toward the majority of the eating places and toward Wal-mart. I had not turned that way before, although I had seen the Bob Evans and Applebee's each time I had gone toward Wal-mart. I had the Veggie Patch Pizza at Applebee's, but it had a lot more Mozzarella on it than the one in Knoxville does. It seems I am becoming a connesieur (sp?) of restaurants here, since I have been eating supper out each night. Two weeks of that can make one a little choosy, I think. I also found the Target store, but didn't visit it.

The liason here for home health care has made arrangements for Gramps to have home visits for physical therapy, speech therapy (actually training in remembering) and home health care for a short time which will all be covered by Medicare. It is really great to know they take care of all the contacting and setting up of these services.

The daytime weather here is in the low 70's, and wonderful to get out into, (which I do as much as possible). I think it gets down into the upper 40's and 50's at night. Oh, how wonderful it is going to be to get home and open our windows and let in the fresh night air!

Gramps is in physical therapy right now and when he gets through with that, he will be getting a shower. Actually, I was headed with him to the shower this morning and got headed off at the pass, and told that the therapist had to do that later, because here only staff can do the assistance in showers. It was later explained to me that while he is here, they are held responsible if anything should happen to the patient. I thought I was doing them a favor by getting him cleaned up. Oh well, live and learn, I guess.

A little later today, I will be getting all our stuff organized and carrying down the majority of it that won't be needed tomorrow.

Well, that is all for today, I guess. I may add something later. Love to all of you. Blabbin' Grammy is signing off for right now. Bye for now.

Coming Home on Friday (God Willing)

Hey, Y'all,

We did pretty well last night sleeping. I slept on a leather love seat (well, vinyl, anyway, I think) and did not open it out into a bed. Only had to be up three times to tend to Gramps' needs. I slept in a fetal position since the love seat is built for two people to sit on.


We have met some really nice people since we came up here. We have really been blessed.

This morning, I met a lady who apparently is one of the people who goes around to see how everything is going. I think she must be a nun, because she had that look about her. She must be in her seventies in age (or maybe a little bit older). I believe this used to be a Catholic hospital. I was showing her my blog and telling her about it. She seemed quite interested, but said she knew nothing about computers.

About that time, a man came to me with the new walker that Gramps will be taking home with him, and a transfer bath chair that I purchased for Gramps to be able to use in the shower at home. Only nearly a hundred simoleons for that bit of equipment. I had to take it down to the car in the parking lot. It is still in the box, but a little difficult to handle. The only help he offered me was to tell me how to pull it behind me. Sweet man couldn't be troubled to help me carry it down.

Gramps has had all but about 30 minutes of his therapy for today. Right now, he is sitting in his room watching his favorite channel - CNN news. I took this opportunity to come down the hall and blog.

My eyes are wanting to close on me, and I can't really think of anything very exciting to blog. L.D. and Donna will be driving up on tomorrow evening, and coming for us on Friday morning sometime. I asked the nurse this morning if it would matter what time L.D. and Donna arrive and she said, "No, it is not like a motel, we are not going to throw you out, just you do have to be out before midnight on Friday, because Medicare won't pay for another day (Saturday).

One of the therapists is playing a game with another patient here, by hiding colored plastic cones and having the patient to walk around and find them. I'm not sure what the object is, but she is helping the patient to find them. I am sitting in kind of a conversation area that can be used by patients and visitors. Gramps likes to come down here and sit in a rocker.

I think I may go down and take a little nap while Gramps is doing his therapy. More later, if there is anything to report. This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for now. Bye for now. Love to all of you.

Just a Few More Days - And It Won't Be Long

Hey, Y'all,
It has been a long day today, but the time is drawing nearer when we can be back in dear old East TN. We will be leaving Ohio on Friday morning...the time has not yet been determined. We have to speak to someone in charge tomorrow to see what time we have to get out of here.

We do know that when we get home, we will be getting home health care, also we will be getting speech therapy (for memory- his), also physical therapy to strengthen his arms and legs. We worked today with Petra, his occupational therapist (who is wonderfully funny and so very enjoyable to work with) to acquaint me with some of the methods of Gramps getting around from one place to another (getting up from a chair or couch- getting into the shower and how to proceed with showers - lying down on a bed and getting up from bed). When she was showing him how to lie down and get up, she lay down beside him, and was showing him how to get up, he said, "Let's run over that one again". ha.

They changed our room yesterday, because they needed the one we were in, and put us in a more private one near the end of the hall. Unfortunately, they didn't have a bed for me, so I tried sleeping on a recliners that was in the room. I did get to sleep finally and actually dreamed, but it was not a pleasant sleep. Today, they moved in a leather love seat that makes into a bed, but I think I will just sleep on it as it is. I'll let you know tomorrow how it was.

I had been hoping to do my laundry today at the local laundromat, but it was closed due to a power outage (because of the high winds up to 80 mph on Sunday afternoon and night). I called Lois' daughter, Wilma, to ask her about her mom and also if she could tell me where I could find a laundromat. She said, "why don't I come over and you can follow me home and I'll do your laundry for you." What a sweetie pie! So I did, and she did.

While I was there we had a very enjoyable time talking and I was able to meet her husband, Charlie, and had a great time talking with him also. She fixed us some cinnamon bagel with strawberry flavored philly cheese spread. Yum! We also watched a little of the Young and Restless (Charlie has been ill for some time and has gotten into that soap). Fortunately, I am cured of the addiction to soaps. Praise God!

I asked Wilma about Lois, and she told me that Lois is so much better! She is alert, not slurring words, can remember things that happened a few days earlier and has asked how my husband is doing, and remembers me. Wilma said that apparently the Levaquin that the dr's had given her mother when she was admitted to the hospital caused a lot of the problems that she had exhibited and she was really fortunate that it hadn't affected Lois' hearing, because that side effect can be irreversible.

Last night for dinner, I had a pecan-crusted chicken salad at TGIF"s. Wilma was telling me today that the one at O'Charley's is really good, too. So tonight, I tried that one. Nope, it was good, but not as good as the one at TGIF's. I went on out to Walmart again this evening after supper, and bought my sweetie pie some more sweat pants to wear. They are very comfortable on him and will be good for him to travel in when L.D. and Donna come up on Friday to take him home. He will ride with L.D. and Donna will ride with me.

Well, I need to get back down to Gramps room and get him ready for bed. More tomorrow. Love to all of you. Thanks again for your prayers in our behalf. Bye for now. Blabbin' Grammy is through Blabbin' for tonight.

Gramps in a New Room

Hey, Y'all,
Gramps was moved to a new room about lunch time today, because they needed the other bed for another patient. So far they haven't moved in a bed for me into the new room. We are now in room 3366. They have a nice recliner in the new room and I may be sleeping in it. Right now, Gramps is reclining in it.

I went out this morning to do the laundry, but the laundromat was closed because of the storm yesterday. A lot of traffic lights were also out of commission. Some intersections were being manned by Springfield policemen.

Right now, it seems we may be coming home on this Friday, but the committee meets tomorrow afternoon again and I am sure we will know soon what they have planned for us.

If they turn us loose on Thursday afternoon, we will be going to a motel for the evening and leaving with Gramps' neice and her husband on Friday morning.

Probably tomorrow I will be able to do the laundry that I meant to do today.

The speech therapist did some memory exercises with Gramps. She asked him our daughter's names and he could not remember them. She gave him simple instructions that he was to repeat. He could remember the first one, but not the second one. I didn't realize how far gone his memory is.

I did learn today from another patient's daughter that the normal stay here is for two weeks. Also, Gramps headaches seem to be diminishing, and that is good. He still can't turn his head all the way like he should be able to do. He was quite cold today after lunch and although he had on sweat pants, a short sleeved polo type shirt, and a long sleeved shirt. I told them he was cold and they brought him a heated blanket, and that seemed to help, but he sat and went to sleep after he got it.

Well, that is about all I have to tell today. More tomorrow. Blabbin' Grammy signing off for today. Bye now. Love to all of you. May you each feel God's lcve and compassion, and His peace in your heart.

I Found It!

Hi, Y'all!
Well, yes, I did. I found it! One of the nurses here drew me a map and I found my favorite place to shop here in Springfield. Have you guessed what "it" is? Yes, the great place known as Wally-World. Or to the more uninitiated, Wal-mart.

I was looking to buy some water-proof mattress pads for our new twin beds, which were delivered to our home while we were up here. Our good friend, Mark, took care of that task for us! Thank you so very much, Mark.
I also bought a small bouquet of flowers to brighten up the room a little. I also bought an inexpensive cd player that he can listen to some of his cd's that we carry in the car when we travel. Don't you know that if you have a Wal-mart to shop in, you can have pretty near all the comforts of home?

Gramps is sitting here with me near the computer. He walked down here with me, using his walker and he is in a comfortable chair and exercising his legs. I am sitting here yawning...

BTW, when I went to Walmart this morning, I saw a lot of other stores on the way. Best Buy, Lowe's, TGIF's, Bob Evans, Texas Roadhouse, Golden Corral, and others too numerous to mention (my way of saying I can't remember them all) but, that is where it all is, on the road called Bechtle Rd. Whoopee!

Gramps is feeling better and a little stronger each day. Hopefully, by the time we arrive back home, he will be able to stand up without a lot of assistance. I am still using one of the wrap around belts to help steady him as he walks.

I hear we are supposed to have some storms today. The wind was really picking up this morning while I was out. We just met a man who has had one of his legs removed just below the knee. We had a very interesting conversation with him. He is worried that people in his neighborhood will make fun of him. His name is Charles and he is a diabetic. He told us his foot had started turning black and it was moving up his leg, so he had to have the leg amputated. He seems to be doing quite well, but is worried about going home and getting around.

Well, Gramps is beginning to get tired so we will head back down the hall in a few minutes. Not long til lunch you know. This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for now...maybe more to come later. Love to all. Bye for now.

Rest of Today

Hi, Y'all,
Just a few things to add to today's posting. I had a nice lunch at Burger King (whopper jr. and fries), then a really good supper at Bob Evans. If you have never tried their Cranberry, Pecan, Chicken salad with bleu cheese and some kind of sweet dressing, with salad greens, try it sometime. It was really good and filling. I stopped at the service station on the way back and paid $3.99 a gallon for gas. Not too bad, considering what I learned was the price in East TN. nearly 5.00 a gallon.

I was checking Gramps memory this afternoon and asked him what my maiden name was, he could not tell me until I told him to think of my brother, Hugh's, last name. He couldn't tell me what my last name was before we got married, even though we knew each other for 10 years before we got married.

When I got back from supper, he asked me if I had just been to New Orleans to pick up a gift for our new great grandchild, and I said, "No, that is the last place I would go right now, other than to Houston, Texas because of the storms". Then I told him where I had been and what I had been doing.

He was sitting on the bed getting ready to go to bed when I got back from supper. So I helped him finish getting ready, showed him the call button for help and asked him what he was going to do, if he needed help during the night. He said, "call you" and I said, "correct, and If I don't wake up, use the call button for help from the nurses."

We have had some really nice calls from people at home, and really appreciate them. Our friend, David, from New Market, and our friend, Karen, from Jefferson City, and our friend, Judy, and our friend, Allie, our daughter, Carol, our daughter, Teresa, and our neice, Donna. We very much appreciate all the calls we get. Also our friend, Marian, has called us. It helps us feel not so very far away when we hear from friends and relatives (who are also friends).Thank you all so very much.

Well, I need to get back down to the man who is probably on his way to dreamland, and will probably call for my help about the time I get onboard the train to dreamland. BTW, In my dreams last night I was back in the library, shelving books getting ready for the new school year. I will never escape my work in my dreams until I dream no more. Ah, well, it is quite pleasant waking up and knowing it was just a dream. ha.

Love to all of you. Blabbin' Grammy signing off for the night. Bye for now.

Saturday on a Rainy Day

Hey, Y'all,
Yeah, it's raining here and stormed quite a bit during the night, (according to one of the nurses), but I didn't hear it. I was listening for Gramps to tell me he needed something. And of course, he did several times. He wanted the door closed to the room because he thinks it is cooler in the room with the door open. Consequently, my sleep suffered again. He won't ring the buzzer for help (or can't remember where it is). If I go to sleep during this post, it will probably go zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz like I used to do in Dr. Burt's history class at C-N in the summertime just after lunch each day. It is a wonder he passed me with a B in that class. Fortunately, I studied and was able to reasonably pass the tests. ha.

Gramps is in group therapy right now. They have an abbreviated therapy on Saturday and none on Sundays. When they told me yesterday that he was going to be in group therapy today, it made me think of the old Bob Newhart Show where he was a psychologist and had the group of people for group therapy. I remembered how they argued and fussed among themselves. It made me wonder if the group therapy here was anything like that. ha ha. I know it isn't though.

He is getting a little stronger every day but still not in top form yet. I know he will be glad to be back home, as will I. There is not a lot to write about here. I have found a shower room next door to us, and have been able to shower there about 6 a.m. in the mornings before anyone is out and about. Being an early riser has its benefits, you know.

Gramps was able to talk on my cell phone to our friend, Judy, and to my brother, Hugh, and his wife, Imazo. He has had no trouble talking to people, especially in the last few days. His speech has not been slurred, and I am not sure he has had more than mini-strokes. But, of course, that is bad enough. I will be glad when he gets his balance back. I am sure he will eventually. He is still having a headache, but it is not as bad as before. Tylenol seems to be taking care of them. He had a slight fever (99.0) this morning but the PCT (patient care technician - used to be called aide or LPN) said they don't worry about a fever until it is over a hundred.

Well, I need to check and see how group therapy is going. More from Blabbin' Grammy later. Love to you all. Bye for now.

Friday in Springfield

Hey, Y'all,
Just a few lines to let you all know that you can see pictures of our new great granddaughter. Just click on the link that begins "God put the my..." It is my son-in-law, Daryl's blogspot.
It is on the "musings" segment of his blog.

Gramps is getting a little stronger each day, but still quite confused. If he can become strong enough to do what he needs to do, then we will do just fine when we get home. He is awake about every two hours during the night, so I am also, tending to his needs. Consequently, not a lot of sleeping going on around here.

I have been eating cereal for breakfast, snack for lunch in what we loosely term a cafeteria here at the hospital rehab, and then I go out for supper and eat a good supper. His meals are ususally pretty good, but delivered from a separate facility.

He is still having headaches that are quite painful. I keep suggesting a stronger medication than the tylenol. I guess I am going to have to throw a little hissy fit maybe. I hope it won't come to that. His blood sugar keeps running a little over the top as well.

It is very quiet here on the floor today. I hear a little laughter coming from the nurses station, and the nurses and aides, and therapy personnel are wonderful. We could not ask for better people helping us.

Be sure and check out pictures of our new great granddaughter. She was born at 1:04 yesterday, she is 8 lb 4 oz, and 20 and 1/4 inches long. Her name is Alyssa Faith. (oops I already told you all this, didn't I? - forgive a proud great gmother)

That is all from Blabbin' Grammy today. Love to all of you. More tomorrow. Bye for now.

Today's Therapy and Other Stuff

Hi, Y'all,
Today I was able to observe and take part in Gramps' therapy. This morning, I observed him with the speech therapist. I knew that his handwriting had slipped somewhat, but didn't realize how much. Also, I could see firsthand how he interacted with someone else in describing things.
It was painful for me to watch. In some of the behavior he exhibits, it is almost like watching an infant learning to do new things. The speech therapist is going to make a little book for him of the things they have been writing.

In physical therapy session, I watched as he used his walker to go up a step and over some little obstructions. The obstructions were like an uneven surface that would have to be walked on. It was created by putting several beanbags scattered on the floor along with laying a couple of walking canes amongst them, then covering it all with a large rubber rug. He did very well on it. One of the other patients said that I would need to put some of the bean bags under the rug at our home so he could walk over them. ha. ha. He also practiced going up and down a group of three steps with a landing. He has been practicing transferring from a wheel chair to a regular chair, and also to the commode from a wheel chair.

In occupational therapy, we each sat in a chair (he in his wheelchair) opposite one another, and with a badminton racquet, we batted a balloon back and forth to each other, then three other patients came into the room and I was able to leave the four of them to the game. I took a picture of them playing. I can' t post it yet because I can't download my pics on this computer.

Our room has a beautiful view of the grounds at the back of the hospital, and Gramps spent some time this afternoon looking out at people walking by and of cars driving by. The weather is quite comfortable here in Ohio right now, a little cool in the mornings.

Our new great granddaughter is named Alyssa Faith and was born this afternoon at 1:06 cdst and weighed 8 lb 4 oz and is of course, (I haven't seen a picture yet, but I know for sure) is beautiful. Her grandparents (our daughter and son-in-law) are delighted to have a grandchild so close to them in proximity.

Again, thank you to all those who continue to pray for us up here in Ohio, and for Imazo's, Dorothy's, and Barbara's sister, Lois, who is in the nursing home up here in Enon. God bless each of you. This is all tonight from Blabbin' Grammy. More tomorrow. Bye for now.

Thursday Update

Hey, Y'all,
We had a pretty good night last night, all things considered. I woke up several times to check on Gramps, so not a continuous night's sleep, but had lots of dreams. For me, a night without dreams would be like a day without sunshine. I think they actually help me rest.

I was able to have my cereal for breakfast this morning, because I stopped yesterday at Kroger's and got a box of my favorite cereal, some plastic bowls and plastic spoons. This morning I went down to the cafeteria (loosely named) and bought a small carton of 2 percent milk. Finished up my breakfast with a fresh peach that I bought at Krogers a couple of days ago. Saved myself some money that way, and avoided a heavy breakfast of eggs, gravy and biscuits. I would hate to get home and have people ask "What happened to Ruby? She looks ten pounds heavier." ha.

Gramps is in therapy right now and will be doing therapy for a good while yet. I am using a computer that is at the end of the hall on this floor (3rd).

He is still bothered with headaches and neck aches. I did some computer research yesterday concerning high blood sugar and headaches. I discovered that there is a correlation between high or low blood sugar and headaches. They had been giving him orange juice along with other stuff for breakfast, and his blood sugar had been hitting high numbers. (360, 340, etc.) I told them down at the nurses station yesterday about my research and they acted like they didn't have any idea such a thing could happen. So this morning his breakfast was composed of: cheerios - the little individual package, 2 percent milk, a slice of bread toasted, with a pat of butter and an individual package of sugar free jelly, and coffee.

The nurse told me while ago that she had had them put biofreeze on his neck while ago. So I guess they are beginning to take his blood sugar count more seriously as considering his headache and neckaches.

BTW, he doesn't like the silky boxing type outer wear shorts I bought for him. He wants to wear his tight around the waist walking shorts. He told me I could wear the boxing like shorts. Ha.

Well, that is about all for today. I did talk to Lois' daughters yesterday and she is back in the nursing home in her home town of Enon, Ohio. I know they are glad to have her out of the hospital and back in her home town.

NEWS FLASH...Our new great granddaughter is to be born by C-section this afternoon. Congratulations to the proud parents.. Andrew and Julia.
\
That is all from Blabbin' Grammy for right now. Love to all of you. Bye for now. More news as it happens (or soon after)

Wednesday Activities

Hey, Y'all,
Just a little update on what has been going on. This morning, I gathered up our dirty clothes and took them with me, so that after breakfast I could take them to the Soap Box, a local laundromat.

So, after Gramps was finished eating his breakfast, I took off for outdoors. (freedom for a while). After a spartan breakfast at the cracker barrel, I stopped at the Dollar Store and picked up some detergent and proceeded to the laundromat. I was very pleased to see that it was clean, and I was priviledged to meet a very nice lady who works there and got to hear her life story of how she dealt with a mother who had Alzheimer's disease. The lady's name is Dreama (sp?) and she told me how she has 21 brothers and sisters and how she was the baby of the family and got to be the caretaker of her mother and how no one of the others helped take care of the mother. She also told how she made her peace with God on the night that her mother died and how she had been mad and antagonisitic with everyone, even God, until that night. It was a very interesting story that she related to me. I get to meet the most interesting people, and I feel very blessed to do so.

I spoke with the psychologist again this afternoon and also the case worker. I was concerned about being able to stay here and it costing something, but according to the case worker, there will be no charge for me to stay in the room with Gramps.

I had lunch in the little (definitely) cafeteria here today. This was the first day that I had ventured down there. It is strictly self-serve and some of the items are cooked there, but sort of a short order thing. Mostly there are vending machines and cold sandwiches in a dairy like case (refrigerated). I didn't see any ice cream, but I will look again. I had a fried fish sandwich You know, the rectangular kind like they used to have at Dairy Queen, and also bought a couple of packaged oatmeal raisin cookies. I ate one of the cookies after I came back to the room, and it was quite tasty. Can't go wrong with oatmeal raisin, you know.

Gramps is taking a nap, and I feel like I have one coming on, sneaking up behind me. It may just catch me after while. ha ha.

Not a lot going on right now. Gramps has had his 3 hours of therapy for the day. The case worker told us that he is progressing well, and the main thing that they have to work on is his transferring from a chair to standing, etc.

Well, that is all right now from Blabbin' Grammy. Love to all of you. Bye for now. More tomorrow.

Tuesday Update Update

Hey, Y'all,
Well, I just talked to the nurse and it seems the projected dismissal date for Gramps is September 18th, nine days from now. A little discouraging, I know, but then he may be dismissed a few days before that or a few days after that. It all depends on his improvement.

Earlier today he was telling me about some of his therapy this afternoon. He said they had him and another old man, standing with their walkers and batting a rubber ball back and forth to each other. (Picture this)...They were bouncing the ball and the women who were working with them were chasing the ball. He said the women were getting more exercise than the Old men were. I laughed out loud and was still laughing thinking about it and his nurse stopped at the door and asked if everything was okay. Anyone who has heard me laugh knows it is not a very quiet sound. I explained what we were laughing about and she just kind of chuckled a little. She is a very genteel sort of lady.

Gramps is taking tylenol for the pain in his head. They put a cold pack on his neck yesterday and it seemed to help.

I have found a laundromat called the Soap Box on the way back to the eating places that I have been frequenting. I plan to go tomorrow and do a bit of laundry so that it won't get too far ahead of me.

Well, I guess I will go get a salad for supper tonight. It does give me a chance to get out to go out for my meals.
That is about all for this evening from Blabbin' Grammy. Bye for now. Love to all of you and may you feel the peace of God's love in your heart and life.

Tuesday Update

Hey, Y'all,
Today is a brand new day. It started with thunderstorms accompanied by lightning. Gramps had a pretty good night, and mine was not too bad. He has been up for awhile and has had breakfast, therapy, and a sink bath. He did all of it by himself, mostly, with some assistance from a lovely therapist named Petra.

I went out to breakfast this morning to Hardee's for gravy and biscuits, then stopped at Kroger's for a couple of fresh peaches as dessert. I also stopped at the Dollar Store and bought a couple of pair of walking shorts for Gramps (the kind that have all the little holes in the cloth and have a lining for comfort and are made completely of shiny polyester). They make me think of the Rocky Balboa theme song, cause they look like the kind that boxers wear. He is wearing them now.

The team will be meeting today to determine a tentative date for his departure from this facility. Hopefully, it will be soon.

I have located a laundromat that I can take our clothes to tomorrow so that we wont' wind up with out any clean ones to wear home.

Update on Lois- She is still in the Springfield Regional Hospital and is still having difficulty swallowing. There has not been any indication as to when she is leaving .

Well, I will sign off for now and report after the Staff meeting today. Blabbin' Grammy leaving off for now. Love to all of you. Thank you for your continued prayers in our behalf and of Lois' behelf.

New Update on Gramps

Hey, Y'all,
It is almost 9 p.m. and I am just getting back to the blog. I had a late lunch/early supper around 4:30 this afternoon.

This afternoon, I had the opportunity to speak to the case worker for Gramps and tomorrow they all meet (drs., therapists, psychologist, case workers) and make decisions about what and how to treat patients. They also make a tentative date for release of patients. This is an acute Rehab center, which means they have intensive therapy treatments for the patients. It is rated among the top one percent in the U.S. which means it must be pretty good.

I have had many offers from people to come and help me get Gramps home, but I have accepted the offer of our neice's husband, L.D., to come and help me when he is ready to be discharged. I really appreciate all the kind offers and I love all of you for it.

The clinical psychologist was in Gramps' room interviewing him when I got back from being down the hall using the facility computer this afternoon. She spoke to me briefly and then said she needed to finish the interview without my presence, so I left.

Well, not much shaking here tonight. I expect I will go back and watch a little TV on my personal computer next to my bed. I asked the case worker if it was going to cost me anything to be staying here and she said she would get back to me on that. Hmmmmmm.

Be talkin' to you all soon. That's it tonight from Blabbin' Grammy. Will be checking on Lois tomorrow. Bye for now.

A Good Night 's Sleep

Hi, Y'all,
For the first time in my life, I slept in a bed that moved and made sounds. It is one of the air-mat tresses that inflates and deflates all night. When I first lay down on it, I thought I was getting light headed from all the activity of the last few days. I am sleeping in the room that Gramps is in here at Mercy Hospital and Rehab. I really got a good night's sleep, but when I woke up, I found out he had not been as comfortable as I. Sometime in the night he had used his little jug and spilled it. He still doesn't understand that he needs to alert someone to his needs. I switched his ring bell this morning to his right side. He has no sight in his left eye, so the bell was on the wrong side.

Right now he is eating his lunch and was enjoying sitting up in his wheel chair eating. They took him down for therapy this morning and gave him a shower, dressed him in his day clothes and brought him back to the room. He will be getting another hour and a half of therapy this afternoon. They are really good here.

The case worker came in and talked with me a while ago, discussing the program and how they will assess the case tomorrow during their meeting of all people involved with him. They evaluate as to how long he will need to be here and what he will need when he gets back to Tennessee. I don't know yet what it is going to cost me to stay here in the room with him.

I went to Bob Evans for breakfast this morning. I will probably have Wendy's or Hardee's for supper this afternoon around 3: 30 or so. I am beginning to really learn the routes around here. A necessity for sure since I don't know how long we will be here.

Three of Gramps' neices sent getwell cards via the hospital internet. They were delivered this morning, printed out on paper.

Well, I gotta get back down to the room. More later. This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for now. Love to all of you.

With Gramps

Hey, Y'all,
Just wanted to let you know that I made the trip without any problems. No lost little old lady here! I left Knoxville about 7: 15 a.m. and then stopped in Lake City for breakfast at C.B. (surely you know by now what that is?) Then I hit the road again and got to the exit by about 1:15 p.m. and have just been talking to Gramps.

The nurse told me this morning that he is having difficulty swallowing pills. He told me it was because of the jaw surgery that he just had. (He is remembering back to the jaw surgery he had nearly 30 years ago. He couldn't remember what therapy he had today or what he had to eat. But he was sure glad to see me! He knew I had taken Hugh and Imazo back to Knoxville but he thinks he is in Illinois near Daniel, I think.

L.D. and Donna (his niece) are on their way here to visit with us. They have been visiting her uncle Billy who baptized L.D. today. He lives in Indiana which is not too far from here.

Gramps has a bell attached to his shirt so he can't get out of bed without alarming the staff.

I notice to my left shoulder there are shelves with books for patients to read if they so choose. Of course, I brought my own paperbacks with me and I brought Gramps' Bible to him. He is lying in bed watching the Colts play a football game.

Well that is about all I have to report right now. More later. Love to all of you.
Blabbin' Grammy signing off for right now. Bye for now.

My Body is in TN - My Heart in Ohio

Hey, Y'all,

Well, we traveled home today (Hugh, Imazo, and I) and left Gramps in the acute Rehab place (called Mercy Hospital). I talked to his charge nurse three or four times today. He seems to be doing well. He did lose his breakfast, but we think that was maybe because he had too much in his mouth and gagged. When I talked to the nurse at 7p.m. this evening, she said he did well the rest of the day and didn't get sick any more.

She said that he did his therapy wonderfully well, and that he is watching a ball game at the time. They get dressed in street clothes every day and are up all day. They try to keep them on a regular schedule. I asked if he had asked about me, and she said that he thinks I just dropped him off there and left him. He is still confused to a degree. I will be able to see better how he is tomorrow when I get there. I really miss him. This is the first time in years that we have been away from each other at night. Where he is, my heart is.

I talked to my brother, John, today and he is home from the hospital, and has set up health visits from hospice so they can come in to help him bathe several times a week, also when he needs health assistance, they will come out instead of him having to go to the hospital. It seems he has a blood clot in his leg, his kidneys are not functioning properly, his heart is gettin weaker by the day, his COPD is much worse, and his oxygen level is very low.

Our prayers are with you, John and Darlene, and your children and grandchild.

Lois, Imazo's sister, is still in Springfield Regional Health Center (hospital) but will be going to the nursing home in Enon (her home town) on Monday. We truly enjoyed spending time with her and with her daughters. (pictures at the top)

A picture of Gramps is also at the top of this post. He looks really good, doesn't he? I snapped the picture while he was waiting to be taken into the emergency room on Wednesday morning. (I document it all, you know). I only wished that I could have gotten a picture of Hugh, Imazo and I in the king sized bed last night. Hugh said he clung to the edge of the bed all night, and one time, Imazo almost pushed him out.

When I told her I would like a picture of the three of us lined up in the bed, she said that there was no one there to take it unless I ran out side and grabbed someone to take it. I said, "I reckon not!" We just had a wonderful laugh over the whole thing.

My laundry is drying right now, and I will be repacking in a little while and then head to bed for a night's rest before I leave in the morning for Ohio.

I had news from my daughter, Teresa. It seems she has inherited the genes which our family has for developing CHF and has been diagnosed with it. Sorry, Baby. I would not wish that on anyone.

Carol, Daryl, and more of them along with Whitney's folks are with Dan and Whit in Illinois, having a great time.

Have to sign off for now. Love to all of you from Blabbin' Grammy. More tomorrow if I can find a place to get wireless for my laptop. Bye for now.

In Rehab

Hey, Y'all,
Howdy...Hugh, Imazo and I are in the Super 8 motel in Springfield for the night. Gramps is in a rehab facility for the next week, being well cared for and will receive three hours of therapy each day next week (not all at one time each day, but spread throughout the day.

The three of us are heading home in the morning and I will be returning on Sunday. I will be staying in the facility also. I will be in the room with him (in a bed of my own) if they don't need the bed for another man. If they do, they have told me I would have a private room. That way, I don't have to use a motel. Aren't they wonderful? It is a beautiful facility that was once a hospital and the grounds are lovely. I was really impressed with it all. He will be coming home on next weekend.

It was a long day today. I had great hopes of taking him with us today, but when I got there and saw how difficult it would be and thought about trying to get him into and out of the car to use the bathroom stops along the way, I just couldn't attempt it. I am hoping that a friend of mine can come up next weekend and help me get him home. ( I have yet to ask him).

We sat around waiting to talk to the man that was supposed to evaluate him and tell us if the rehab place would take him. Finally around three o-clock this afternoon, he told us that they would be transferring Gramps to the facility around 4:30 p.m.

In the meantime, Imazo and Hugh got to visit most of the day with Lois, and Kathy and Wilma got to visit as well. (her daughters). Lois was transferred to the nursing home in Enon, where she had been before when she had had a stroke. We had prayer with Lois and Wilma before we left to go around 3:15 to eat something. It had been several hours since we had eaten breakfast (at 6:30 a.m.).

Gramps told me some wild stories this morning. He thought he had been at Carol's house and that she had a bunch of boxes in her house. He said, "She has a lot of company and is really good at taking care of people." Then he said, "I went into one of the rooms and she had an empty bed. No one was in it, so I just crawled into it."'
He had mentioned the boxes yesterday and kind of continued telling me about it.
He also told me that a big African american lady had given him a bath and scrubbed him all over, that she didn't miss a spot.

When Imazo called the motel to reserve a room this afternoon (same motel we have been staying at) she gave them my name because I had made the reservations each time, so they gave her the last one they had. We got here and checked in, and when we got into the room, SURPRISE!, discovered it was only one bed - king sized of course. So, I guess we will sleep three deep. ha. I'll let you know how it was later.

Thank you again, to each of you who are praying for us as we travel, for Lois in the nursing home, and for Gramps as he is in the rehab. Hopefully, he will learn to use the walker well, be stronger by next weekend, and be able to travel next weekend.

Well, that is all for today. We will be checking on Gramps in the morning by telephone. Goodnight for now. This is Blabbin' Grammy, signing off. Bye.

In or Out? Don't Know Yet

Hi, Y'all,
Well, we are not quite sure yet whether or not Gramps will be leaving the hospital tomorrow or not. Sorry it is so late in the evening to be posting this. It is 10 p.m. here right now. We have spent most of the day at the hospital. Some good news is that Lois may be going home tomorrow...well, actually not home but to the nursing home where she spent quite a bit of time a few months ago. She will be in the care of people who took great care of her at that time.

Gramps has been quite confused over where he is. He said today that he thinks he is in the nursing home. The doctors say that he has been having mini strokes for some time and no one was aware of it. The neurologist told me this morning that his brain has shrunk a good bit because of hardening of the arteries. Also his sed rate was high and they were going to do some more blood work to check that. The way the neurologist talked, Gramps would be there for a couple of more days after today.

However, the way that the regular doctor talked (who had admitted him yesterday he could quite possibly be going home in the morning. This afternoon his blood pressure was 180/119 at about 6 p.m. It was checked again at 8 p.m. and was 160/80
It normally runs about 90/60. He could have been having another mini stroke at 6 p.m. I don't know how it will be in the morning.

We are planning to go to breakfast early tomorrow so that we can be at the hospital around 8 or 8:30. According to the doctor, they will have things ready for him to be dismissed if Gramps is ready to go home. I know if he does, it will probably be a long trying trip. Please, pray for us (I know you are doing so) that the trip will be as pleasant as it usually is.

We went to breakfast at the Cracker Barrel this morning, and then to the hospital. Hugh and Imazo went up to check on Lois, and found that she did pretty well during the night. A little later in the day, she had to go have a chemical stress test, and I think must have done pretty well, since they may be sending her away from the hospital tomorrow.

When I arrived at Gramps room, he was telling me how the workers had a party the night before and were lying in the floor wrapped in blankets and having a great time. I asked if they were drinking (turned my fingers up and tipped my thumb to my mouth) and he said, no, he didn't think so. I asked if they were throwing confetti and he said they were just having fun. Of course, he was imagining all that stuff.

We had the pleasure of having supper with three of Lois' children, one of her grandsons and his fiance. The picture will be posted when I get back to my home computer. Just can't do it with my laptop. I also took a picture today of Imazo and Lois which will also be posted in a few days.

Gramps also said that he slept on the couch in the lobby last night and didn't sleep very well. He said several other things during the day, that convinced me he doesn't know where he is. The nurse asked him tonight how he is, and he said, "I am at peace." I think that is a good word to end with tonight. This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for tonight. Love to all of you. Bye for now.