Day 264

Day 264

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Physical:

Despite the poor night before, Tuesday was not too bad a day.  After his very early bath, DH slept until just a bit before noon.  I had thought he might sleep longer; and once up, I expected he’d sleep more in his chair.  But he didn’t.  And he did sleep through last night, although by the sound of his breathing, it was not a totally restful night.

Now comes the question:  does the sleeping pill do too much?  And which way is he better off:  sleeping so much of the time, or being awake and tired and agitated, not knowing where he is.  I have been vaguely concerned abut how much time he spends sleeping (the nurse continues to tell me it’s completely normal, his body is simply slowing down).  But if staying awake more means he’s more confused and disoriented, and more unhappy about it (mostly because I can’t take him where he wants to be), is that better?

He ate about the same as usual, a sandwich for lunch (didn’t finish that); and oven fried chicken, which he did eat well.  He ate 3 (small) pieces of chicken, and some grappes.

People:

The CAN came early, and didn’t tarry as she needed to get to all of her customers before the roads got bad (which they didn’t, but no way of knowing that ahead of time).  I talked to my brother on the phone.  The nurse called, but just to make sure all was OK, as she likely won’t be here until Friday.  Surprisingly,  (or not), neither DSS nor TGF got in touch with us at all.

Emotions:

I have waited years .. maybe all my life … for a really good snowy winter.  Well, they always say be careful what you wish for.  I turned on the TV as soon as I got u .. and haven’t stopped being weepy since.  I know I’m being overly pessimistic at this point, and I’m trying not to be. 

As of this morning the forecast is for more snow (on top of around 4 to 5 inches yesterday), probably within the next hour or two.  It will snow most of the day – another couple of inches maybe.  But at some point late in the day it will turn to sleet and ice.  That would be the worst possible thing .. it will cause roads to be dangerous, and will surely cause power outages.  Theree is a very small possibility of getting only rain, which  would of course be a good thing.  It would still cause icey roads, but without the ice build up on power lines.   The part that’s really getting to me is that for the first time it was said there would be yet another storm (or piece of this one, who knows) come through late Thursday; and the highs for Friday have been lowered.  They’re still in the 40s, and with sun (finally) … IF that happens … the roads should quickly clear. 

A guy on the news just “explained” why this weather is so crazy.  It’s because (1) the north pole is melting; and (2) the jet stream is erratic.  He was a physics professor.  That makes me think of Sheldon.  That makes me not take him seriously.

Since DH had a better night (at least no waking up with his mind in another dimention), I had a more restful one.  I woke up several times, but didn’t have to get up.  The irony is that I’ve slept bettr in a less comfortable chair .. but I think that might be at least in part because the den is just not getting warm enough.  I don’t like to sleep in too much heat, but some.  Cold air creeps in around the windows (and is really bad when it’s windy) and counteracts the heat.

The sleeping pills never came, so now I have very little hope of them getting here before Friday.  I guess we’ll see how he does without them for several days.

I’m going to try to push myself to get done the things on today’s list, as well as finish things uncompleted earlier this week.  It’s hard when it’s cold (the kitchen is Cold, as is the back hall.  The den isn’t very warm).  I have to make sure to have laundry caught up,  and anything else I can do to be prepared just in case of power going out.  But I’m also going to call the electric company and make sure they’re aware of a house with a patient on oxygen and dialysis.  (technically the dialysis *could* be done manually – but we don’t have enough solution on hand to do enough exchanges; plus, the solution needs to be kept warm, and that also can’t be done without electric).   I have to do anything I can to keep busy and not get more worried about the weekend.  What will happen is beyond my control  … but if the weather cancels my weekend, it will likely be months before there’s another window of opportunity.  Maybe many many months.

The news this morning is saying Atlanta has already been hit with treacherous ice, and calling this a “major disaster”.  It makes me wonder how they can be calling for snow here most of the day before changing to the ice or rain.  But then, I’m no scientist, and couldn’t begin to understand all this stuff.   I’m just waiting for snow, hoping (shocking) for rain, and trying very hard not to let myself get discouraged.