Still Not Making Plans
Mon., July 27, 08:34 AM
Is this what it’s like to be on hold for days? I don’t even hear any elevator music. We are still waiting to see how Husband is going to respond to treatment for this latest respiratory emergency. They kept him on the biPAP almost full time for a day or two, and during that time he was in ICU, with complete nursing care. He is doing fairly well, when he understands what is going on.
Some days he is quite perky; other days he just wants to sleep. He has now been in the hospital for almost two weeks. The plan is to send him to a nursing home for…rehab? Training? Long-term care? Yesterday I explained to him that, if he needs nursing care, I cannot do it. “What if you got sick in the middle of the night, what can I do? It’s better if you are someplace where there are nurses all the time.” I think he got it this time.
We have also explained to him that first of all, he can have his own stuff at the nursing home — his radio, his pictures, and other things that he wants. Secondly, a nursing home is not a prison. He will be able to go out when he is strong enough, and we — or at least Son — will take him where he wants to go. By the time Son and I left the hospital yesterday, he seemed satisfied with our explanations.
Meanwhile, I am trying to simplify things in the house. Both U.D. and I are pretty wiped out, emotionally and physically, from this venture. Just getting to wherever he is involves a long walk through two buildings (only one entrance), an elevator ride, and another walk to his room. (He is never in a room near the elevator.) There are still errands to run — groceries, bank, pharmacy, doctor appointments. What will we eat, when will we eat, who will cook? Sometimes the easiest thing to do is grab something from the freezer.
I love having a big freezer at home. I can buy stuff on sale and freeze it. We can make double portions and save half for another time. In the middle of all this — there’s always something, y’know — the freezer starts acting up. Yes, I know it needs defrosting, but I can tell there is something more. The unit is at least seventeen years old, still good at cooling, but growing large chunks of ice where I don’t want them. So we start to empty it.
It is a very big freezer; when I bought it, we had five people in the house. At the moment, there are just two. U.D. moved what she could into the small freezer over the refrigerator, but it was a tight squeeze. Certain items can go into the fridge itself; if they spoil, too bad. We started to eat what was left in the freezer. Everything I had bought for Husband… It all contained meat, and U.D. does not eat meat. Guess who. I cannot abide wasting food — and that’s a whole post for another time.
Last time I defrosted the freezer all by myself, I was in pain for two weeks. This time, I decided, I don’t care if it takes a long time, I don’t care if it makes a mess, I just want to be able to walk when it’s done. It is done. Empty and dry and unplugged. And I can see that the doorframe is bent and thus the seal is compromised, and it is not worth trying to get it fixed, even supposing that parts are still available. Remember, it is still far too big for my current needs. (It may have been too big seventeen years ago; I just had a very good deal on it…)
My appliance store of choice, a local company called Hallock’s, now operates just one location, in West Haven, just a few minutes from here. They have given me excellent service, most recently on my stove and my refrigerator, and I figured I would stop by one day and see what they have. Fortuitously, a sale was advertised in Saturday’s newspaper. So yesterday, after Son had visited with Husband and then taken U.D. and me to lunch, I asked U.D. if she were up to a short side trip.
We were home in about half an hour. My new freezer is coming on Thursday, and they will cart away the old one. The new one is smaller, it has adjustable shelves, it is frost-free!
My cousin is traveling from California to Boston this weekend, and I would like to see her. I am still not making a lot of plans — but I still believe in my guardian angel!
