I had a little insight into what Bill would do should something happen to me, and it wasn't a good feeling. I woke up Wednesday with an episode of Irritable Bowel Syndrome. I get them every 3-4 weeks, just something to deal with. But, we were supposed to take McKenna to the dentist to have her braces tightened. Luckily Emily was able to get her niece Kassidy to take her. But, I needed to go back to bed and as I was getting Bill's meds and glucose meter and insulin ready, I told him he needed to learn how to check his sugar and how to administer the correct dose of insulin and get his meds out (they were already sorted) and he told me that, as far as the blood sugar/insulin was concerned, he just wouldn't do it. So, I guess it's time for a talk. I already have all of his meds listed in his medicine box with the dosages and when he takes them so that if someone else had to give them they could get them sorted. But I hadn't done anything with the insulin. So I guess I need to do that, sooner than later. Luckily the episode didn't last long. Amodium, pepto, sleep and light food took care of it. Bill was on his own for breakfast, but there was cereal so he was fine.

I don't remember if I said last week that I've started Bill back on his inhalers. But, I did. He's had some problems walking and breathing. Part of that would go away if he walked more, but getting him to move is proving very hard now. And he's coughing more, but he still assures me that it's all upper airway and because of how our weather has been, I believe him. He says he has no chest pain and the cough isn't coming from down deep. My sister had read something somewhere that using an albuterol rescue inhaler before using maintenance inhalers is actually the better way to administer the drugs. The albeterol opens the airways immediately so that the other medications can get into the lungs faster and farther. So we've been doing that and that seems to be working.

The first week in August we're to get labs done for Mayo. I think they will take him off his Lasix, but the rest of the meds will probably stay the same. I would be surprised if they were changed.

We didn't get as much from the hurricane/tropical storm as feared, but the track moved farther west than predicted. Most of our rain came in the night and the winds were just the perfect rate for me. I told Bill the morning the wind was here that I wished we had an enclosed place to sit outside. It felt so good. A friend came by and told me they had been sitting on their enclosed back deck and having their coffee in the mornings and any time I wanted to come sit I was welcome, but I don't think she would want me there at 4:30!

After the storm came through the heat arrived, as it has for most of the Mississippi Valley and Midwest. Mid-week our temperature was 91, but the heat index was 110+. We've been under a heat advisory or heat warning every day this week. This morning at 5 the temp was already 77, and it is so muggy you can hardly breathe. Bill has not left the house and I've only done what was absolutely necessary out. I've made sure the outside cats have fresh water more and I've noticed they aren't eating as much, so the heat is affecting them too. They are staying under the house or under the "jungle" that separates the 2 backyards. There were a couple of them laying in the grass the other night at dusk when it was a little cooler, so they are instinctively doing what we humans are also doing.

We've got to go to Dyersburg before the end of the month to get my military ID renewed. I renewed it last year and she only did it for 1 year instead of 4 like they usually do. I just happened to look at it the other day and caught it. Otherwise it would have expired and getting it renewed then is really difficult. I know this from experience!

That's it for this week. Stay cool as most of the country is now under this heat dome. See you next time!