I can already tell this is not going to be a particularly good day. The cats woke me up early and I just kind of ache all over. And for the first time in months I'm trying to get hives, but after all the stress for the last 6 months, not to have any signs until now is remarkable in itself. I also had this post partially done, and poof, it was gone. So, instead of trying to recreate it, I'm just starting it over completely. Let's hope the idiots on the road later are not driving where and when I am!

Bill did not get transferred yesterday. I talked to the nurse manager on the phone since I couldn't be at the hospital yesterday morning, and she said as of morning rounds there weren't any open beds yet. I think they are also wanting his blood pressure to stabilize some. He did not get out of bed yesterday except to use the commode and to stand once with physical therapy.

When I got to the hospital, I followed the speech therapist through the door. She apparently saw something on the swallow study that was missed before. Bill apparently has "silent aspiration" which is when a liquid, whether it be saliva, water, coffee, whatever, trickles to the opening of the windpipe, but generally doesn't enter it in a big amount. We all know what it's like to "swallow wrong" and choke on something and he does do that, too, but that can be dealt with much easier. She, before repeating the study, she's going to work with him on swallowing. She's also given him some rules, such as sitting up straight while he's eating and for 30 minutes after. He's gotten so he slouches all the time. It's almost like he's reclining without raising the footrest. But, he also sits like that at the dinner table. He simply will not put his butt to the back of a chair. I don't know if this is from all the time he spent in bed after the transplant (because that's when it started) or if it hurts him to sit upright, I just don't know. So the nurses have specific instructions on getting him in the right position for meals. They are also going to put his pills in applesauce instead of using water. They did this yesterday afternoon before I left, and they he promptly scrunched down in his bed and tried to drink some coffee while almost laying flat. Of course he choked on it. I told him that was what the therapist was talking about.

Physical therapy came shortly after that and he didn't want to do anything with her, but I made him. I reminded him that he told me he wants to be able to walk more than just to the bathroom. He wants to be able to go get his own cup of coffee in the kitchen and move around the house. So, he grudgingly agreed. She also mainly wanted to check his blood pressure and oxygen while he was moving. He was on 4 1/2 liters and maintaining in the low 90s, but she bumped him up to 5. Our concentrator can be set at either of those numbers, but 5 is as high as it goes. When he was still laying, his blood pressure was 90/54. When she sat him up it went to 95/52, and when he stood with a walker it was 94/54. But, he could barely stand long enough for the pressure to register. I looked at his legs and his left shin is so thin there is barely any muscle left it seems. He said he couldn't believe how much that wore him out. Just another reminder to him that I can't take care of him like that and he has to go to rehab. He's saying now he just wants to come home, and I know he does, but he would just be a total invalid if he did.

Dr. Morris, the kidney dr. came in and said he was going to start him on something to raise and maintain his blood pressure. He's still keeping him on Lasix to avoid fluid buildup, but he said he can't keep having these low pressures. I don't remember the name of it and meant to look it up but came home with a bad headache (all from stress) and was in bed before 8.

I should have my replacement plate this afternoon. I decided to try Aspen Dental in Jonesboro since they advertise same day service on appliances, so I was there when they opened. After about a bazillion xrays and the hygenist looking around and then the dentist, came the consultation with the office manager on cost. They wanted to do about $8000 worth of work BEFORE making the plate because it would fit better then. When I inquired about just getting all of the teeth pulled and dentures, the cost jumped to nearly $10,000! So, off I went to Memphis to Affordable Dentures. I got there a little before 12 and filled out the paperwork and then went back at 1. I was finished with all of the impressions, had decided on the price range, and had a wax sample made to see how it would look in my mouth. They also used my old one to match color. I paid them $550 and will pick up my new teeth this afternoon at 2! I should have just driven to Memphis in the first place. If I had been there in the morning, I may have gotten them in the afternoon.

So, there was our day yesterday. Bill is grouchy and cranky and wants to come home and all I want is my teeth! It makes it very hard to eat, especially if it's something like a sandwich. You don't think of things like biting until you can't.

All for today, it's time to put some clothes on and hit the road. Let's see what adventures today brings!