Bill is home! Dr. Threlkeld said that he thought the germ had been hit with enough high powered antibiotics that it was gone and dead and that Bill felt well enough to leave. The cardiologist's nurse practitioner made sure that I felt comfortable bringing him home before writing the order and he was discharged a little after lunch yesterday.

He's still rather weak and did come home with a walker (that he hasn't used), and still gets winded some when he walks. I told him last night I would gladly wait on him...yesterday. But today he starts moving more again. We're going to make up a schedule for him so that he doesn't just sit and watch TV all day.

We were both pretty tired by the time we got home and got meds picked up, and there was a weather front coming through that gave me a super big headache. Some Tylenol finally knocked it back and I was able to cook supper. It didn't taste good to me, but Bill ate 2 good size helpings and then had some cookies for dessert. 

He's still sleeping, but it's early yet. I'm into my normal routine of feeding the cats and getting MY stuff done. But, if I don't go out, I may just stay in my pjs and robe all day. It's cloudy and already warm and I think we're supposed to get some more showers this afternoon. We got a little rain last night but again there was more thunder than rain.

I don't know if I will update this tomorrow for the regular update. You'll just have to check back to see. But, I'll be back next week for the regular Saturday update, and of course if something should happen in the meantime, I'll get it on here. So, until next week, we're resting up and taking it easy for a few days!

For those of you who have been reading this since the beginning, especially after the transplant, you'll perhaps remember the posts about Evil Bill and the effects of high doses of steroids. Well, Evil Bill made an appearance again yesterday and it was only me gathering up my things and walking to the door to leave that finally got through to him.

Because he is a fall risk, they keep him tethered to his chair and his bed is alarmed. He has know this from the beginning of his stay. He's know he's not supposed to walk alone or get up unattended. Yesterday, he decided to rebel and he was ugly with everyone. Nothing anyone said got past his idea that he was able to get up until I walked to the door. 

Part of it is that he is feeling much better. And another part is that the chairs are very uncomfortable. He said he's tired of sitting in that hard chair and wants to sit on the couch and I told him it's just as hard (because I had sat in the chair also). He says if he asks for help to the bathroom they stand in there and watch him (they do not).

When he finally calmed down some I put a towel across his lap and opened his tray table and got his electric razor and he finally shaved. He had to use the sideburn trimmer for all of it, but he shaved and did a pretty good job! He hadn't shaved since August 5th for my birthday.

He is doing much better and Dr. Threlkeld, the infectious disease dr. is leaving it up to the pulmonary doctors as to when he can be released. He still sounds a little crackly and he's still on the humidified oxygen at a higher rate than normal and staying winded when he walks, so he's still not "well". Of course, he will never be completely well, but he's not as well as he can be. But Dr. Threlkeld said that each day he can pump antibiotics in is another day they are killing the germ and one less day we have to do it at home. We may be coming home with them, it just depends.

I didn't see the pulmonary dr. yesterday. The weather was going to get bad and I wanted to beat it home if possible. I had to leave pretty early to beat the after school traffic (there's a high school directly across from the hospital), or I would have to stay until my normal time of waiting until most of the regular rush hour traffic was gone and then would be driving through rain. I hit rain just before town and it rained so hard I couldn't see. It had rained here at home and then it made noise for a while and rained gently for a bit but nothing hard. It's supposed to start again this morning so I'll be in it this time, I imagine.

We should find out today if Bill will get to come home by the week-end. I know he wants to. He told me last night that they did untether him and let him sit on the couch and that he used his walker that he's coming home with, but I don't know if he just said he used it to make me happy or if he really did use it. I guess I'll find out when I get there. 

So that's it. Hopefully we don't spend another day in steroid land. Of course Bill doesn't realize what he's doing. To him everything is reasonable and makes perfect sense, so we'll see. Wish me luck!

Yesterday was productive, at least for Bill. His room was empty when I got there and I found him at the end of the hallway by the windows with cardiac rehab. They had been out for an early morning stroll.

In the afternoon physical therapy came in and had him do some of the exercises he's been doing here at home with Tammy, and then occupational therapy came late and did some other exercises and went over some home safety things. She was impressed that we already had them in place.

Cardiology ordered a walker for him to go home with and said that when I say he could come home, they would then talk about discharge, but if I thought I couldn't manage his care, he would just stay put. He didn't like that very much, and I don't know how serious she was, but it works for me.

Dr. Fox, one of the pulmonolgists came in and said he was sounding much better, although there hadn't been much change in his x-rays. He did say that the biopsies that were taken during the bronchoscopy only showed inflamation, nothing bad. No cancer or anything like that. So, the plan is to just keep on doing what they're doing. He didn't give any time table for discharge.

I was getting ready to leave after Bill's dinner came and ran into Dr. Threlkeld in the hall, so he came on in instead of going where he had planned. He said he's sounding better. He didn't say if anything else had been isolated yet and we would just continue as planned. 

We've both noticed that Bill has developed a pretty pronounced tremor in his hands. I asked Dr. Threlkeld about it and he thought it was probably due to the breathing treatments and not the antibiotic. So, I need to do some research on that, too.

That's about it. Bill was thrilled to be able to walk some, but by the time OT finished he was pretty tired. He told me to go home, I was leaving about that time anyway, that he knew if was hard on me going back and forth. It wasn't bad yesterday. Traffic was light and I made it in a little over an hour and didn't speed...much!

Well, one cat is on the washing machine trying to eat my bra that's hanging up drying, the other is ready to launch from the other office chair. So, I'd better be ready to referee. They still fight some, but they also antagonize each other now. Another update will come after today's visit.

Yesterday was just another day of hanging out at the hospital with nothing happening. We saw the cardiac nurse practitioner and she said she would get cardiac rehab going along with physical therapy. We saw one of the pulmonologists and he said Bill just needed to get stronger and let the medicine keep working. Bill was not a happy camper because he is still tethered and he can't just get up and go, even though he said he has walked all over the room by himself. But, he's been tethered the entire time and has only walked with help.

It was a bad day for me. Some of the bad was taken care of and turned out that it wasn't caused by the person I thought it was. Then I choked up my supper. It was so bad that I couldn't even let a popsicle melt down my throat. Finally a peppermint soothed it enough that it quit spasming. But, this morning my pills didn't want to go down and one is stuck somewhere. I can feel it and taste it but can't find it! I'm hoping it's just the 1/2 pill I take and it is almost dissolved. Not even hot coffee helped and I tried coughing it out into my hand and that didn't work either. I'm trying to do the pre-anesthesia form for my procedure on the 13th and I keep getting a can't find this page message. So, Beth's Really Bad Day is continuing!

Hopefully the day will get better and Bill will get some therapy and things will settle down!

Bill had a good day yesterday, as days go when you're in the hospital. He was still in bed when I got there, but asked to be put in this chair right before lunch arrived. After he ate he was given a bath (finally) and I think felt much better, although it tired him out.

He took a walk down the hall for the first time. He had walked in the room the day before but got a little dizzy so they didn't try to go any further. But yesterday he ventured out. His room is not quite in the middle of the hallway and he walked from his room almost to the end of the hall and back. I was following with a wheelchair and he didn't have to use it, but he was glad to sit down when we got back to the room.

His oxygen flow has been reduced from the high flow to where he is at home, but they still have it humidified. I don't know if that will be the new norm, or if it's just for while he's still recovering. (It has taken me forever to type that word, guess it's what I get for doing it in the semi-darkness).

The cardiologist came in after I left last night. His nurse said she would be back today but didn't say if he would be or not. I'm not going to the hospital. I've got to do some things around here, like laundry and I need to go to Jonesboro to take care of something. As Joe, our neighbor said last night, only a short drive (an hour compared to 90 minutes and less traffic). Tomorrow I'm going late as I have an appointment to get the oil changed and tires rotated on my car. But, the drs. usually don't come until close to lunch time or after and I should be there by then. My appointment is at 8.

I think Bill realizes that he's not ready to come home, even though he feels better. We talked about it, that even though he feels better and is coughing less (although he was doing more coughing yesterday than Friday) that we would be right back in the same boat if he came home now. I know he misses the cats and sitting in his chair and watching the TV channels he likes. So, since cardiac rehab should start Monday he will probably enjoy that. I'm taking him a suitcase with some clean undies and some clothes to go home in. I actually figured they wouldn't discharge him if they had to do it naked! But then you never know!

I talked to him last night and he had eaten all of his dinner and was just about ready to get into bed. I told him to call me as much as he wanted today and if I needed to come down I would. But I think he'll be fine. His nurse and aide yesterday were wonderful and there are a couple of other week-end nurses that I like a lot so maybe he'll have one of those.

I'd better go and see what the cats are getting into. Until tomorrow's report, enjoy your Sunday!

I got quite the surprise this morning when I walked into Bill's room and he was sitting in his recliner! Physical Therapy had come before I got there and moved the chair to the other side of the bed closer to his IV pole. They also have a short tube for the oxygen. It makes it easier on him to be over there, but it's hard to talk to each other across the room.

He had eaten most of his breakfast and ate all of his lunch and supper! He looked so much better and he said he felt better. The one concern that I had is that he didn't use his urinal for the entire 8 hours I was there, and he was drinking constantly. Hopefully he used it after I left.

The infectious disease doctor said that one of the cultures has grown something that resembles e coli more than a rod bacteria, which was surprising to him. He has started an antibiotic and said he was considering a second one, but changed his mind. It seems like. he's pleased with his progress. He said that Bill would be in hospital at least through the week-end.

When Dr. Williams, the pulmonologist came in he said that Bill's lungs were full of junk, even though the same procedure was done a little over a month ago. He said he looked and sounded much better, but he will be there for at least another week. I told him that I didn't want to take him home if he couldn't walk across the room without being short of breath. Right now he's on high flow humidified oxygen but I think that will stop once he can keep his sats up again. They still keep fluctuating.

Physical therapy has been ordered and I asked about cardiac rehab and they agreed that it would be beneficial and our nurse ordered it right then. I also asked her why his inhalers hadn't been given to him and they weren't in the computer so they were starting them tonight. They don't have one of them (the one that's easiest for him to use) but there was another one they were ordering.

They were going to let him walk in the hall tonight, but they didn't have any tubing long enough so they were going to try to get one from respiratory therapy. They were still waiting when I came home for the evening. Hopefully they got it and he got to move a little. I may throw in one of ours tomorrow just in case.

So, things are looking up today. I'm sure we will have some more set-backs, but I don't think they will be as scary and tough as they were yesterday. I don't think I'm taking my laptop tomorrow because the internet is so spotty but I will definitely update when I get home if I don't take it.

Sorry I didn't get this updated like I said I would, but with the spotty internet at the hospital and some other issues, it didn't happen.

The procedure apparently went well, but Bill himself did not do well. The nurse had told me that they flushed much deeper into his lungs than last time so he would do a lot of coughing to get the saline out. He was not in the same "I feel good" mood as he was after the last one. The had him on an oxygen mask instead of the cannula because his sats kept dropping. He started complaining of shortness of breath so respiratory came in and did a breathing treatment and then had to put on a different mask so that he would be getting 100% oxygen. He was still very agitated and would only calm down when I was standing beside him telling him to calm himself. They got a different type cannula and put that on and that helped. The second mask they put on also had a bag attached. I don't know just what that was for.

At one point Dr. Williams who had done the procedure wanted to move him to the transplant ICU unit so that he could be monitored more closely, but there were no available beds, and none of the patients could safely be moved to the step-down unit, so he stayed where he was.

The dr. ordered a steroid shot IV and is IV site was leaking when it was flushed and they couldn't get another one started. I was texting with Mary-Rose at that time and she said to ask if it could be done as a shot, so I did and they said they would ask the dr., but he apparently wanted it done IV. So, a picc line was finally done. Of course I had to leave the room at that point because it's a sterile procedure. I told Mary I wish she was closer because, not only is she an RN, she is a picc line specialist. When I went back to the room it was over and he had gotten the shot and was much calmer. 

We kept the room dark and quiet and he finally fell asleep for a bit. His sats started staying in the mid 90s, although his oxygen flow was pretty high. But, he rested and I relaxed.

He finally ate a little dinner when they brought it. He had most of a slice of turkey breast and a couple of bites of dressing and a roll. The dressing was cornbread which of course is standard for the south, but not to his yankee taste buds. They also served collard greens which he also doesn't like. But, I'm just glad he ate what he did. He also had some orange sherbet and I gave him part of an oatmeal cookie I picked up in the cafeteria. I found out that the meal choices for dinner are just fast foods or left overs from lunch which looked horrible. You know how food gets when it's been kept under heat lamps for a long time. So, my meals weren't that great yesterday but I knew I would be too tired to fix something or pick something up when I got home.

I never did see the dr. before I left, but I just couldn't stay any longer and still be able to drive home. I got home just at dusk and got the animals fed and turned on the ballgame.

I noticed in his records that an IV antibiotic has been added to his medications, so something must have grown fast. I'll ask when I get there. I told him I would not be there early this morning, which is a good thing since it's already after 6 and I'm still on my first cup of coffee.

So, that's the latest update that I have. Hopefully the internet will work well enough at the hospital to update this once I see how he's doing this morning.

I've been needing to update this for a couple of days. But, AT&T didn't want to cooperate and then I didn't get a good signal at the hospital. Yes, that's right, the hospital. 

Dr. Burbeck wanted to see Bill Tuesday and he felt particularly bad that day. She had some xrays done and sent him straight across the street, via the underground tunnel no less, to the emergency room. Pneumonia, both lungs. But, this time the wait in ER was only about 4 hours instead of 8, maybe because it was a direct admit this time and she had called over.

There have been a few glitches this time and I'm not sure how to handle a couple of them without doing some thinking first. I'm going to throw them out here and if any of you have any suggestions, please comment and let me know.

It seems like the level of care has lessened. He is still in the same gown as Tuesday (as of Thursday morning). I know the only part of him that has been washed is his behind after a bowel movement yesterday. Other than that, his bed has not been straightened, except by me. 

I had requested in the emergency room that any pulmonary consults be done by the group that we use. The transplant program uses a different group. Well, yesterday one of their nurses came in and told us we had to switch to their group because they are the ones that cover transplant, and even though she was sure they were fine doctors in the other group, we had to switch to them for any out of hospital care. I told her he was not in the Memphis Transplant program as one of their patients and he was only in this unit because he was a transplant patient from Mayo, but she wasn't buying it. I finally agreed just to get her to leave but I was really upset. I finally decided that just because she said we had to see them, didn't mean we had to. I can understand it if he were here for transplant related reasons, but he's not. We can't be made to make appointments with them and it seems like they are trying to steal patients. Another thought I had, after I calmed down some was the old Obamacare "If you like your dr., you can keep your dr." 

The head of the pulmonary transplant team came in yesterday shortly after the nurse and I did like him. He is repeating the bronchoscopy today. He and Dr. Threlkeld have reviewed the CT scan and both have agreed that it hasn't shown much significant change from the one in June. He said they will take more samples this time and he said he would do more snipping (I think it's going to be more like a heart biopsy with taking minute pieces of tissue) to see if that gives them any idea of what is in there.

I don't think they are giving him any antibiotics that I can tell. I don't see it in his med list. I do know they are giving him some Magnesium IV because his level was a little low. Bill tells me that they do another IV, but I haven't seen it hung yet. I've had to leave at different times so he could be. Maybe some answers today.

He only has a 7 ft. length of oxygen tubing so he is pretty much tied to his bed, although it has been ordered for exercise as tolerated. When he was helped to the bathroom yesterday, instead of getting a longer length of tubing, they just took it off and he was really in distress by the time he was finished. He really wants to sit in the recliner instead of just staying in bed, but it won't reach and they don't seem inclined to let him out of bed.

His room is right across from the nurses station and it is rather noisy. He said it's especially noisy at night and they want to keep his door open so they can keep an eye on him. He asked them repeatedly last night to shut the door as he was trying to sleep. He also said that it was very noisy with people talking and laughing. I know it's normal for them to congregate at the desk, but they could at least speak softly.

So, here we are. We don't know what time he is scheduled for the procedure. But since it's after 7 we know it wasn't then. He's been NPO since midnight and he's going to get cranky without some food before long, althoughh he's barely eaten since he's been here. I left the house at 5 this morning to be here early in case he was the 7 am case so I'm now getting a little sleepy and hungry. I'm planning on hitting the cafeteria when they take him. I can get there and back before they call with the results.

I'll update this again after we have some results. So, far there is no plan for discharge. He has not seen any hospitalist this time, he's only seen specialists, cardiology, infectious disease, and pulmonary.

This has been a busy week, and one with ups and downs. It went very quickly it seems, but with being so busy probably makes it seem that way.

Bill finished his Rocephin shots Sunday, and there hasn't been much improvement. He really needs to be in the hospital and he's just refusing to go. I can't say as I blame him much. I may have said in a previous post that it will be at least 8 hours in the emergency room. They get you back to a room, and we've been there when patients are lining the hallways on gurneys, but generally it's 8 hours before moving to a room, or being discharged. I know there are a lot of logistics involved, but...

Anyway, we were both disappointed at his infectious disease appointment Wednesday. We (I) was hoping that they would give him some IV antibiotics that they have used before in hospital, even sending him home with them if necessary. Instead, they just had him give a sputum sample and gave him a prescription for Levaquin and sent us home. We had gotten there early, and got in early and were leaving the parking lot at his scheduled appointment time. We had prepared for a long day and were home by 1.

He decided on the way home that he wanted to go with me Thursday for my echo, so I called some friends and asked if they would like to go and keep him company in the waiting rooms. They said they would and when it came time to leave, Bill said he didn't feel well enough to go. So, Bambi went with me and Floyd stayed with Bill. It usually takes 1 1/2 hours to get around the city and I always allow 2 hours. This time I had to call and let them know that I was coming but that we were stuck in traffic. There had been a nasty accident on the interstate and it was in the lanes I had to be in. The alternate route would have taken us through a mega construction site and I didn't want that, so we sat for over an hour, inching along. When we finally were moving I told Bambi not to look at the speedometer! We ended up being only 20 minutes late for the echo and it took only 15 minutes. We got to the Dr. appointment 1 minute late.

The end result is...I have a heart and it is working perfectly. I have been cleared for the esophageal dilation and that paperwork was faxed to them that day. So I just have to wait for them to get a date for that. 

Since it was nearly 6 by the time we got home, we decided to get the guys and go get something to eat. We got all the way to the restaurant and Bill decided he didn't feel well enough, so we went through Zaxby's drive-thru and went home. I told him the only reason we didn't go to Memphis that night was that I was just too tired to drive back there! I thought about calling Emily, but I knew she was tired and would have to work the next day, but she said she still has 1 sick day she could have taken and she had taken a short nap before choir practice so she would have taken us.

Bill felt a little better yesterday and decided to go with me to Dyersburg to send that package back to Amazon. It took us forever to find the UPS store, the navigator had it in an empty field and it was at the other end of the highway. Turns out it is inside a bank building. I was only in there 2 minutes and I had my receipt that it had been dropped off and we were on our way home! Fixed us some lunch then off to Walmart to get some groceries.

After that, except for meals, we did absolutely nothing. We watched most of the baseball game and were in bed by 9:30. I had a headache by then so it felt good to lay down. We've finally gotten some rain, over 8 inches on Thursday morning, and another 2 inches in the night that closed the area schools because of flooding and power outages. Some of the major roads were still flooded late yesterday afternoon. That's probably the cause of my headache, and I've had a harder time breathing from the heavy air. I've been complaining about the dirty air and now I'm complaining about the heavy humid air...I need the beach and the sea breeze!

The cats are slowly coming around and tolerating each other. As long as Mousie shows Cat the proper respect by dropping to his belly, or running away when she walks by, the hissing has basically stopped, although he hissed at her yesterday. And yes, it is HE. His little boy parts are starting to show. He got his sutures out Monday and all of that looks really good. Cat got her shots and didn't feel well for a couple of days, but she's getting back to her pre-kitten routine. We've been leaving Mousie out of the kennel and he's done fine so I told Mistie she can take it away. Maybe in another week they will learn to play with each other. They have touched noses and done a little sniffing, but that's it. The kitten wants to be where Cat is and Cat is learning to play more, so maybe there's hope.

Next week should be easier. I have to take Kayden and Kiyann to the eye doctor on Thursday I think, but other than the last 2 physical therapy sessions, there is nothing on the calendar. Bill does go back to Memphis on the 29th and then the month is gone! Moving very quickly it seems.

So, that's been our week. Hopefully the Levaquin will continue to kick in and I'll hear from the gastro dr. about my procedure and we'll both be better. See y'all next week!

How quickly things change! Bill's cough has not gone away, and Thursday he started coughing up some really nasty junk. I called the infectious disease dr. and they are want to see him Wednesday. His appointment is in the morning so if he needs IV antibiotics, they can infuse him in the afternoon. One of the antibiotics they use takes 4 hours to run and another one takes 30 minutes. Either way, it's going to be a long day in Memphis.

The girls came yesterday morning and drew labs and his white count has gone back up to 15. So, started on Rocephin shots yesterday evening. Home Health is doing them and we saw Ricky for the first time since his emergency gall bladder surgery. So, we had a nice little chat. He'll be back today and tomorrow.

Bill seems to be somewhat better already. He isn't coughing as much, but any exertion sets it off and he's laboring some to breathe. I've bumped his oxygen back up to 3 and he's keeping it on all the time. I've also started giving him some Benadryl to stop his nose from staying so full and that has seemed to help. He had a slight fever yesterday when Ricky was here, but Tylenol took it down. He's staying covered up all the time, and the thermostat is set on 76, which is higher than normal, although I bumped it down some last night before we went to bed. So, there's the update for Bill.

I have my echo on Thursday afternoon, which is another trip to Memphis. But, I'll be glad to get it over with and get the clearance I need for the esophageal dilation. I've been doing pretty well, but the other day I had problems with a sandwich. I've eaten more things that would bother me before, just taking super small bites and eating very slowly. I've found that breaded meats don't seem to cause a problem, but grilled and roasted do. I guess the breading helps for some reason. Anyway, I'll be glad to get things going for that.

Our little 3 legged cat came home from the vet Monday. She's a sweet little thing, likes to nuzzle and she can scamper all over the place. Cat does not like sharing her domain so we're keeping them mostly separate. Cat hisses every time she passes the kennel or the kitten if she's out. She's only swiped at her twice. Of course she doesn't have any front claws and can't hurt her that way. I read an article on introducing a new cat and may try that. And if Cat still can't adjust, the kitten will have to go outside with the rest of her litter, which was my original plan, or we'll have to find a home for her. The vet named her Mousie so now we have Cat and Mouse! They both go back to the vet Monday, Cat for her yearly check and Mousie for suture removal, although I think she's been working on that. She's got 1 place that's been seeping.


So, that's been our week. Hopefully everything will go smoothly next week and we'll both be on the road to better health. I'll let you know!

This has been a so-so week. Amy did come and draw Bill's labs. I finally called the office Tuesday to get the results and his white count was perfectly normal at 8.1. He had therapy Tuesday and was still coughing a lot and got winded easily. I messaged the dr. with all the info I had, blood pressure good, O2 sat on room air 94, heart rate good, appetite good, no fluid retention, no fever. I knew the Connie was going to be off Thursday and Friday so, if she wanted to see him it would have to be Wednesday. She just said to double his Lasix (he's not on Lasix), and we would start Prednisone again. 

They didn't get those called in until late Wednesday so I wasn't able to pick them up until Thursday. I had to take Kiyann to get her 11-year old shots for school and she has panic attacks with shots. But, the nurse practitioner told me to give her a bear hug and told her to hang on and we got them done, boom boom in the same arm and then she said "that didn't hurt''! Bill was achy when I got him up and he wanted to cancel therapy, so I called Tammy to let her know. While we were waiting to see the dr,, our office called and said that Tammy had called to let them know he had cancelled and the nurse she spoke to called Connie and Connie said she wanted him to go to ER in Memphis to get worked up. After picking up the new meds and getting home, I told Bill what she said, and he refused. He said he didn't want to stay in the ER for 8 hours to find out he had a cold! I can't say as I blame him. But, I called Dr. Burbeck, the pulmonologist, and her nurse said that if she wanted to make any changes to what Connie had ordered with meds, or if she thought he needed to been seen in Memphis they would call back and they did not, so she must have agreed. I did give him some Tylenol Sinus meds and that has been a big help.

Now, generally I would not have gone against the medical advice, but this time I agreed with Bill, that it was just a cold, especially with the change in the weather. Others are suffering with this and Emily has bronchitis. So, I'm comfortable just keeping an eye on him. I did increase his oxygen and he is keeping it on all the time again. I got a little concerned yesterday when I checked his O2 sat and it was only 88 with oxygen. It did finally come up to the low 90s which is acceptable. He was not as winded walking. Last night he woke me about 11:30 telling me he wasn't getting any oxygen. I could feel it coming out against my hand but he kept insisting that he wasn't getting any. So I started checking all the tubing, and sure enough, there was a small split in one of the longer tubes. That's a quick change and he could tell then that it was working. I don't think he woke up again the rest of the night and is still asleep.

Our little kitten can come home Monday afternoon. She had to have the leg amputated. The dr. said that she would be able to be released back to the "wild" but she's not healed enough for that yet. We could leave her longer, until that time comes, or we can bring her in until she's completely healed. We talked it over and decided to bring her into the house. We don't know if she would be able to defend herself and escape from any prey. So we are borrowing a large dog kennel to keep her in. When she was in the house the day that she was captured, there was a lot of hissing going on between her and Cat so I don't know how Cat will do, hence the kennel. We will keep them separate, especially at night, but try to slowly get them used to each other during the day. We had not planned on having 1 cat, let alone 2, and this one may go out as soon as the stitches come out and she's completely healed. We'll just have to see. It may also do Cat some good to have a baby to take care of. She's been wandering the house meowing like crazy.

Ryan told me that Amanda had been acting strangely this week. She had a headache she couldn't get rid of, and then her brother who had been staying with them stole Ryan's truck when they told him he had to find another place to live. This man is 38 years old and wasn't working and was barely helping do anything around the house. Ryan told me that he would mow the yard, but if it got above 85, he was done. Now, this is Arkansas and the average temp right now is 92, so there wasn't a lot of mowing going on. Anyway, I got a strange message from Amanda while I was texting Ryan, and finally got her to agree to getting some mental health counselling. She was telling me that she was dizzy, blurry eyed, bp was high, fatigued, and faint. But, she hadn't eaten for more than 24 hours. I told her she had to eat and she said that she couldn't that it made her sick, but she didn't want them to put in a feeding tube. I told her she wasn't her dad (who had a feeding tube). She also said she just wanted to end all the pain and I asked her if she wanted to put Ryan and the baby through that and she said no. That's when she said she would go to a mental health facility for in-patient care and then left right then for the ER. While at the ER, they said they wanted to check her medically before calling the mental health consult in and found that the aspirin level in her body was sky high. They couldn't figure out why because she doesn't take aspirin, although she was taking Excedrin for her headache, but hadn't taken enough of it for the level to be where it was. They finally figured out that ALL of her medications had aspirin in them and she was overdosing without even knowing it! They did admit her and hopefully the level is as close to 0 as they can get it. Some of the meds she has to have, like her seizure meds. She's supposed to have the consult today, if she is totally clear headed. She now says she wants to come home, but Ryan told her if she started acting like she was, she was going straight back to the hospital. I think the service they are going to use does out-patient counselling too so that may be an option. Ryan does start a new job Tuesday, finally! It's back at the plant he was at last. I told him he HAS to stick with it and support his family, including Kayden and Kiyann, that's his main responsibility. Tori will have to grow up and be a mother to her son and Amanda will just have to get used to Ryan not being there at her beck and call to do everything. He's at the end of his rope and said that he was ready to crawl back into a bottle. He's already beaten that once and he acknowledged that he probably wouldn't climb out of it this time. It's only the thought of the kids that keeps him from doing it.

I still haven't heard anything about the endoscopy, but I have managed to eat with no problems this week, including a steak and a baked pork chop! Just little tiny bites that take an hour to eat. I'll be so glad to eat normally again!

So, we've had an exciting week. I'll take mundane and boring any day! See you next week with the next installment!