Monday, September 8

Get up early and need to clean the downstairs after a busy weekend.  I decide that I will still go for a bike ride since the weather is so nice.  I manage two and a half times around the boulevard, and still get everything done before my first child arrives.

Sara gets here, but has to leave to bring my dad to the emergency room. The technicians at the dialysis center are concerned that his coumadin levels are too high.  They say he could bleed to death if he gets a cut or scrape.  She brings him to the Miriam Hospital because she was not happy with the treatment he received at the Jane Brown Unit at Rhode Island Hospital.  While he was home over the weekend, she discovered that he would get out of breath easily, and he was not able to climb the three steps to get into her house.  During his stay at RI Hospital, he only went for one walk, and that was because my sister took him.  They told her that a visiting nurse would come to help and he would receive physical therapy at home, but when she called to find out when they would be coming she was told they didn't come out on Sundays, and she couldn't get anything done for him.

Since there are only a few children today, it is not a problem.  We take a walk and see some guys in a couple of bucket trucks, a big thrill for the kids.

After dinner I visit my dad.  He is still in the process of being admitted.  The nurse asks Sara and me a ton of questions, and I am amazed at how much information Sara keeps track of in her head.
By the time we leave the hospital, sometime after nine, it already seems to be a better experience for my father than Jane Brown.  Even though he is in a semi private room here, the nurses seem more attentive, and my dad seems more comfortable.

Tuesday, September 9

I wake up with a start when I hear my neighbor leaving for school.  I had hoped to be at the polls when they opened at seven, and it is now ten to seven.  I hurry to get dressed and Steven and I make it over to the polls and back well before my first child arrives.

Steven is doing some campaign work for a friend until the polls close, so Alex and I are on our own for dinner.  Alex decides to take me and Filipa our for dinner to India Restaurant.  I love Indian food.  It makes me feel so warm inside and out when I eat it.  It is so delicious, especially the samosas.

As I am getting my bike out to ride to visit my dad and then to knitting, my neighbor Polly calls down from her window to take her car.  I am running late, so I take her up on it.  Since I have just received the gift of more time, I invite Alex and Filipa along to visit my dad. He is in great spirits tonight.  He is sitting up and reading a magazine, he has set his bedside table up like a desk for himself.  He is happy to see Alex, and delighted to meet Filipa.

Alex and Filipa walk home so I can head to knitting.  It is so nice to have my dad within walking distance from my house.

I head to knitting where we talk about the election, among other things.  My stoma is noisy tonight, as it seems to be on Tuesdays.  It must be the excitement of knitting.

Wednesday, September 10

I get done working early today, and have time to change before I am to go out with my friend Nancy.  We are going to celebrate being friends for forty years as well as my birthday.  We met on the first day of Jr. High way back when. 

We stop to visit my dad, who is in a good mood again this evening.  He would like to be home, and doesn't really understand why he has ended up back in the hospital though.  His missing finger is doing okay, although he tells me he is getting phantom itchiness and that is weird.  He has had dialysis today, and they are finishing up with the tests they have been running. By tomorrow we are expecting to hear a plan about what needs to be done for him.

Nancy and I head over to McBride's in Wayland Square.  I have been in the mood for beef stew, and Steven has decided that he wants to stop eating red meat, so I figure this is my best chance.  We decide an Irish pub might be our best bet for stew, but it turns out they don't have it on the menu.  I  have a burger instead.

For dessert, we head over to Sundae's in Seekonk.  We often talk about having dessert and end up skipping it, but tonight is a special occasion, so we decide to get it right away.  It is getting dark and cooler, and if it gets too cool, I fear I will not be able to eat the ice cream.  We sit in the car with the windows up, and it all works out just fine.

Savers is down the street, and I need some black clothes for another comic project.  Black clothing is something I do not own, and probably will not wear again, so I want something very inexpensive.  We look at many options, and I settle on a swingy skirt and a black crew neck.  It all costs less than ten dollars.

Thursday, September 11

Get up late again today, as I have done most of the week. 

My first child arrives, and we say a long, sweet goodbye to his mom.  It is her birthday this week too, and to celebrate, she is going hiking by herself.  I think this a very courageous thing to do.  I don't think I have ever hiked all alone.

After all the kids are picked up, Steven and I get a Zipcar so we can go visit my dad at Orchard View Nursing Home in East Providence.  He is to have physical therapy here before he can go home.  This is what we had expected when he was at RI Hospital, but for some reason they decided to skip this step.  He doesn't really like this place, he has been here before for the same reason at a different time, but he isn't complaining about it this time.  He has a room mate who likes to parade around without his pants, and my dad doesn't appreciate this.

After visiting my dad, I decide to skip the teacher orientation at church tonight.  I am too tired.
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 I am feeling apprehensive about tomorrow.  Last time I had chemo, it made me feel so drunk for so long.  I am afraid it will be worse this time.