After my rant the other day about the VA, the week ended nicely...until today. 

I dropped my car off at the tire shop Friday morning at 7:30 and it was ready at 9:15, but I had to wait until noon to get it so that Emily would be on her lunch break. The roofer came at 10:30, right on time, and the first thing he started marking was the downspouts of the gutter. He said we had a hail storm on April 28 and everything he was marking was hail damage. He also marked several places on the roof and chimney. I didn't know we had had a storm, but I was in Memphis then and wouldn't have tried to look in the dark for any damage. Anyway, Marco is going to email the estimate along with pictures of everything so that I can forward them to the insurance company. He said that even though it is quite a ways out from the storm date, they are still doing storm damaged roofs. So, maybe the insurance company will pay for most of the damage and I won't have to be out as much money!

When I got home from getting the car, and I was probably only gone 10 minutes as the place is really close, there was this cute little door hanger. I did find out who it was from. It made me tear up a little because of the pumpkin that wasn't there, but it's still cute.

 Today my laptop updated in the middle of trying to download the video of Bill's Memorial Service and sent it into an endless loop. I was able to do a system restore, which didn't help a whole lot and now I'm reversing it. I can't get on the internet, not that the hardware isn't working, Microsoft Edge won't work. But the good thing today is that the chimney sweep called this morning and he will be here the 16th. He was supposed to come last week, but it rained on the day he was supposed to come so he's just now getting caught up again.

Now, the following is what I wanted to post the other day. It's just some of the things that I learned during our journey. Maybe they will help someone else.

A lot of people have commented that things that I've posted throughout our journey have been helpful to them, or given them something to think about. 

Things I Learned Through Trial and Error

Take dated notes. Those are invaluable because doctors do forget when they've ordered something. or wondering if something happened and when. There were many times that I would just say "hang on" and look it up, either in my notes or the blog.

Ask questions. Most states have mandated that medical decisions/conversations must be with caregivers included.

Befriend nurses and technicians. They are a wealth of information and will be happy to answer questions. They can also provide a little better care if you show interest and be friendly. This also applies to housekeepers. Your room will get a little better cleaning if you are nice. Since Bill was in contact isolation, gowns and masks, I would place all of the trash cans by the door to the room. That way the housekeepers did not have to gown up just to empty the trash. Did I have to do that, no. Was it appreciated, immensely. Also, try to move things off the floor, including holding your feet up so they floor can be cleaned. Did I do this all of the time, no, but I did it most of the time. This may just get a little extra attention paid to the cleanliness of the room.

Don't be afraid to help if necessary. Glove up if necessary and watch procedures if possible. Sometimes an extra hand is needed and there are no staff members available. But, if it is something that would cause harm to you or the patient, don't do it.

Know medications. Know the home meds as well as any new meds given in the hospital and question if normal meds are changed and why. Ask what new medications are for. There was one time an IV was going to be hung when Bill hadn't had any IV meds and when I questioned the nurse it was discovered that it wasn't for him! She had gotten the patients confused. This does happen, so be aware of what your patient is on.

Be assertive if necessary. You know the patient the best even though some staff members, especially some doctors, won't like the input. Others will welcome it. If you have followed the blog earlier, you will remember me complaining about this many times and saying "but what do I know, I'm just a wife".

Grow a thick skin. The patient may take all of their frustrations and fears out on you. This can come from meds or fear/confusion. It could also stem from dementia. It's OK to call them out on it instead of just letting them get away with it. But, don't take it personally.

I wanted to put these things on a separate page, and I thought that the main page would show it as a separate tab, but it didn't. So, I'll have to do a little more work on that. But, this will work for now. I've got a couple of others in the works that people had asked about, or commented on as being good to know.

It's a beautiful October afternoon after a chilly morning. I broke down and turned the heat on since it was only 61 in the house this morning, but I'll probably turn it off tonight. I like sleeping in a cooler room. All for today. Hope the hints help!