Saturday, May 14, 2022

Not enough water and too much stress, I ended up in the hospital with IV antibiotics…

 Monday was a pretty good day. Karen came in and fed the hungry pooch, and then we did some personal care and a blowup bath; we usually do this on Sunday, but since Sunday is part of the open house and they wanted me to be out of there by 10:30 AM we decided to wait and do personal care on Monday. I still needed to get up and cruise around, they were going to show the house, and I wanted to cruise around Santa Cruz as much as possible until I had to leave; I didn't tell many people because I didn't want to have to say goodbye… I hate saying goodbye! Dude and I cruised through Depot Park; I remember how many times I cruised through this park just to see Rafael and his big beautiful smile… Sometimes I would cruise through the park three or four times just to see him and come home early because I knew he got off work at 3 PM. He hasn't worked here since the pandemic, so I'm pretty sure I won't see him before I have to leave. We cruised down to the end of the boardwalk and back, down to the end of the wharf, and back then home. I lay back and watched TV for a while until Rachel came in; she fed the hungry knucklehead, put me to bed, and then fit me. She started packing some more stuff, and she would label it in Spanish, and I would ask Karen to write underneath the label what it was in English. I never would've thought that Rachel would be the one I could count on most to help towards the end. I watched TV for a while, wrote on my blog, and listened to music until I fell asleep.




















 Tuesday was a perfect day. Cindy came in and fed the hungry pup, fed me, and got me dressed and up in my chair. They're showing the house again today; the realtor wanted me out by 10:30 AM; that means breakfast at the farm in Aptos… They have a breakfast sandwich on a fantastic croissant! I'm going to miss this place.  Before breakfast, I have an appointment with Dr. Petrocelli to get my Prolia shot for my osteoporosis; I'm so glad I got in before leaving for Oregon. We ate breakfast while listening to everybody's comments on my ring doorbell; food and people watching are my two favorite things to do. I haven't been feeling very good, and I'm sure I have another UTI; I've had long days and was cold most days, so I hope I'm not sick. We stopped at Safeway on the way back to pick up a couple of prescriptions and then headed home. I tilted back in my chair and watched TV until Rachel came in; she took Dude out and then fed him before putting me to bed. She cleaned up and did a couple loads of laundry before she left. I turned the heater way up, watched TV, and played candy crush until I fell asleep.


 Wednesday was a long day. Susan came in to give me a nice long hour massage; I'm really going to miss this lady… She's not only a great massage therapist but an awesome friend who is always there when I need anything! Karen came in and fed the hungry hound dog, fed me then we did some personal care and a bath. Melissa came by for Dudes grooming appointment; I'm really going to miss Melissa; also, she's always so perky and absolutely adores Dude… Who doesn't?? She got me dressed and up in my chair, and I was off to see the ocean; I don't know how many days I have left to cruise around Santa Cruz, but I sure will go by fast, and I want to see and take pictures of his much as I can before I move away. The waves were magnificent, and I could not stop taking videos and pictures. I cruised over to the boardwalk, and it looked like we were getting ready to open up for the summer; I couldn't believe I was not going to be here during the summer. Summer is my favorite time to cruise around because I don't have to get all bundled up, and everybody is happy to be out from under the thumb of the pandemic and back to being able to talk to people again. My hearing is getting worse, so most people's lips are complicated with the mask on. I cruised back over to the wharf and to the end and back. I had to cruise home because it was almost time for Rachel to come in. I watched TV until she came in; she fed the hungry hound, then put me to bed and fed me. Rachel cleaned up and did a couple loads of laundry, and started packing up some stuff for the move. I watched TV and played candy crush until she went home. I watched a movie and trying to catch up on my blog, I don't think I'm ever going to be able to catch up, but I'm going to give it hell. I gave up and listened to music and played candy crush until I fell asleep.






















Thursday was an okay day. Karen came in and fed the hungry knucklehead, fed me, then got me dressed and up in my chair. We took off through Depot Park, down to Cowles Beach, over to the boardwalk, down to the end of the wharf, and back then home. My niece sent me a picture of her son; I was trying to figure out what relationship we would be? He's getting so big and so handsome. It was just a quick trip today because I'm so cold from getting out of the house early in the morning and staying out all day, so all I want to do is just go back home, turn the heater way up, and watch TV until Rachel comes in. I always think that I'll go home and lean back and work on my blog on the computer, but it just isn't as comfortable as being in bed and being on the computer. I ended up just watching TV and napping on and off. Rachel came in and fed the hungry pooch, put me to bed, and then fed me.  My cousin sent me a picture of her daughter, she is so beautiful! I can't believe she is 16 and she got her license, she has been so much in 16 years, and she is such a talented lady. She's thinking about going to Stanford, and I would always think how wonderful it would've been to let her stay at my place, and then I have a chance to get to know her better. She's been having to leave early because of school, and I like that; it's nice to have so much time in the evening to myself. My aunt doesn't come over until 10 PM to let Dude out, so I really enjoy it. I'm glad she's staying there through the night because I am a little nervous being there by myself. I watched a movie and played candy crush until I fell asleep.











 Friday was a lousy day. I don't feel very good, and my bladder leaked all night long; I hope I didn't make pressure sores on my butt. Karen came in and fed the hungry hound dog and cleaned up my mess… I didn't eat breakfast because I just really didn't feel good. We did some personal care and a bath, but I just wanted to go back to bed and feel rotten; when I don't feel good, or I'm uncomfortable or sore, I just want to sleep until I feel better. I tried to sleep on and off all day; tomorrow's got to be a better day. Rachel came in and fed the hungry little guy; I tried to eat something, but I just wasn't hungry, so she buzzed around and did a couple loads of laundry and then went home. She didn't go to school today, but I think she realized that  Rachel showed me a picture of her friend's house; they got one of those 12-foot skeletons for Halloween, I wanted to buy a couple, but they were sold out. They have had it up since Halloween and have a change of clothes for every holiday since then; I hope it comes with it, or they sell it separately so I can order them this year. They are so cool! I just wanted to be alone and try to sleep; I took a couple of companies to help the process along. I watched some TV, but mostly I just wanted to fall asleep until I felt better; I hope I just had an off day, and that is tomorrow.


 Saturday was an even more miserable day, I didn't think I could feel more miserable than yesterday, but I do. Cindy came in and took Dude out and fed him. She fixed me some oatmeal and cut up a banana, and I tried to force down as much as I could come up; I was burning up. Cindy said I felt hot when she came in in the morning, but towards the afternoon, it got worse; she said I went from hundred and 101° to 103°. She put cold compresses on my head and stomach, but I wasn't bringing down my temperature. I hope something changes because I really don't want to go to urgent care; every time I go there, they tell me that I should go to the ER because they can't really help me because it's probably an evil UTI I need IV antibiotics. Rachel came in and fed Dude and tried to get me something to eat, but all I wanted to do was sleep and be alone. She packed up some stuff in the other room, and I watched TV and felt miserable; I was so overheated that I couldn't turn the thermostat down enough. I took cannabis gummy and a couple of Advil PMs, and eventually, I fell asleep.

Sunday was another miserable day. Cindy came in and told me I needed to go to Dominican ER; I was too hot and too sick to disagree, so she got me dressed and up in my chair. I was hoping they would do another PICC line, and I would have to go in for IV antibiotics for several days, but they really wanted me to be admitted to the hospital, and I finally gave up, and they admitted me. It's a good thing that I was admitted because my body was going septic, and it would've only gotten worse if I had gone home. Cindy went home, and Karen came in at noon to do the pile program, but I don't really remember anything except I didn't feel good; I wanted to go home, but I was glad I stayed at the hospital. Quite a few people I know are getting UTIs or pneumonia and ending up in the hospital, I usually bounce back pretty quickly, but this time I'm not. All I remember thinking was how great this mattress helped, it was an air exchange mattress, but it kind of lifted you up and came around like it was giving you a big hug; I liked the feeling. I guess I asked Karen to take a picture of the bed and the mattress because I liked them so much; they also have these really cool draw sheets with handles on them that attached to the top of your bed, so you didn't slight down, I asked Karen to also take a picture of those. After Karen left, I just watched TV and slept on and off.

Monday, May 2, 2022

A weekend of showing the house…

 Monday was a pretty good day; it sure felt great to wake up and be home where everything is familiar. Karen came in, and it felt like everything was going back to normal; I don't think it had hit me yet that I was moving to Oregon. She fed the hungry hound, fed me, then got me dressed and up in my chair. Today I was going to meet Jessica, the realtor who will sell my house. She looked around and took some notes, and then she said a lady was going to come out and take a bunch of pictures and then her husband would come out and do some videos. Dude and I went for a nice long cruise to get whatever she needed to get done. She said they were going to have an open house and told me that I would need to be out of here about 20 minutes before anybody came to look at me; for some reason, they didn't want anybody asking me any questions. Who knows about this place better than I do? I don't know the reason, but they must have a good one. They were going to start showing it, and then on the weekend, they will have an open house; for the open house, I will be pretty much expected to be gone the whole time. I didn't realize it would be so cold; I cruised over to Neptune's kingdom and found a cornerback behind all the machines where I thought it would be nice and warm… It really wasn't that warm. When the sun got warm enough, I could lay in the sun, which helped a lot. The day went by faster than I thought; I thought I would be out in the freezing cold forever. I told Jessica I needed to be back at the house at 3:30 PM every night because my caregiver comes in, and she only has a couple of hours before school. I rushed home and stopped and turned the heater on so it would be nice and warm when I got into the house; by the time my caregiver got there, I had like 78°… I was so cold. Rachel came in and fed the hungry hound, put me to bed, then fed me. Thank goodness I have these microwavable pillows that keep my neck warm; if my neck and shoulders are warm, the rest of my body is usually in pretty good shape. Rachel went to school, and I spent the rest of the evening warming myself up. I finally got nice and toasty, and then, of course, I got too warm, so I had to turn the air conditioner way up. It felt terrific to snuggle in and be warm. Is this how this week will be? I watched TV for a while and eventually fell asleep.

Tuesday was a pretty good day. It was so lovely to wake up and control my environment, the heat/air conditioner, the TV, the lights… It was just great to be home! Cindy came in and fed the hungry hound, fed me, and then got me dressed and up in my chair. I was so cold, but they're showing my house all week, so staying in bed is not an option; I should just be glad that there is so much interest in my place that they have at least 2 to 6 people lined up to look at it all week. I took off with Dude, not thinking that I better test the weather outside first; by the time I got over to the boardwalk, I was freezing, and I couldn't go home until 3:30 PM… I went into Neptune's kingdom and curled up in the corner of many video games, thinking that would keep me warm; it was better than being outside. When I finally got warmed up, we took a cruise up and down the boardwalk, up and down the wharf, up and down the boardwalk again, and then it was finally time to go home and warm myself up. I turned on the heater on my way back home so it would be nice and toasty when I got here; I finally got home; it was still cold, so I turned the heater all the way up to 78… Nobody else would like to be in my room, but I didn't care. I tilted back and fell asleep a couple times before Rachel came in. She took Dude out to go potty, got him something to eat, put me into bed, and grabbed my microwave pillow for the microwave, and before I knew it, I was nice and toasty, and Rachel was feeding me a nice warm dinner. I took a few pictures of my fence along the driveway because this is the last time it will ever be decorated; the decorations are coming down and going into a box. I found some more pictures of the accident from last night and pictures of my niece's son; my brother told me that he got into a fight at school and would get suspended. I think I fell asleep before Rachel left; so lovely and warm, I remember thinking when I woke up at 2 AM. I watched TV for a while and fell back to sleep.









 Wednesday was a pretty good day. Karen came in and fed the hungry pooch, fed me, and then we did some personal care and a nice long hot bath. I decided to stay in bed and see if I could get some organizing and figure out how we would get all of my stuff to Oregon. I handed up playing Candy crush most of the day. I pulled off pictures of our new house from the realtor site, and I can't stop looking at them; I never even dreamt that I would have a beautiful place, and I'm really looking forward to getting to know my family more. I keep looking at the pictures and thinking about the changes that need to be made, I don't always understand how all that works, but my family has a lot of experience and good ideas. I took a nap and watched 90-day fiancé and then took another nap. Rachel came in and fed Dude. I took him out to go potty. She took him out for a nice long walk and then returned and got me something to eat. Dude is walking around very nervous, watching everything being packed up, and I know he's wondering what the heck is going on and is he going along also? Rachel washed a couple of clothes, cleaned everything down, and then came home. I was looking at the realtor's site and marveling at how awesome my place looked when it was all cleaned up, it's usually really cluttered, and now I wish I would've kept it this claim all the time. It really looks fantastic! I watched TV and counted the days I had left in Santa Cruz before falling asleep.






















































 Thursday was a sorrowful day. I made the decision to sell my house and moved to Oregon. Also, on this day, 27 years ago, I was in an automobile accident commuting from where I lived in Los Banos to working in Milpitas. I was in a significant car accident and broke my neck, paralyzing me from the chest down. Jessica, the realtor assigned to my case, came by to make sure everything was cleaned up enough so that her husband could come by later and take pictures of the house to go on the listing. Karen came in and fed the hungry hound, put me on my side for a little bit, and it looked like at first I wasn't going to be able to get up… Nervous stomach and diarrhea. It cleared up, and I could get up and cruise around; it seemed like I had many more days to cruise around, but I knew it would go by fast. I was on the verge of tears all day, but I know it's for the best, and I just know it will be fantastic to have family around. I cruised down to Cowells Beach but didn't make it much further because the pelicans, seals, and other birds were having a feeding frenzy with the anchovies… I just can't get enough of watching that, and I took many videos and pictures. Before I knew it, it was time to go home because I knew Rachel would be there waiting to put me to bed; it would be a very long and sad night thinking of everything. Rachel fed the hungry hound, put me to bed, and then fed me… I really don't have much of an appetite. I made myself eat enough to take my pills without burning my stomach. Rachel did some laundry, cleaned up a little bit, wiped everything down, and then home. I was glad that she had school that day because I wanted to be alone. I mostly played candy crush, looked some stuff up on the Internet, tried to watch some TV, and eventually fell asleep.













 Friday was packing day. Karen came in, and fed Dude fed me then we got started with the personal care at a nice relaxing bath; it will show being nice when I don't have to take a bath in a blowup bathtub. After my bath, Karen got my address and opened my chill. Three guys came to pack up most of my house; they were really gentle and thorough and did great. Judy and I went out for a cruise, and when I got back, it was all done. This weekend will be the first open house, so I'm going to have to make myself scarce. Dude and I went for a bit of cruise down by the beach and Boardwalk, but it was so cold, I didn't think of putting hot hands on. We cruised into the arcade and found a place in the corner where it looked like it might be nice and warm, but it wasn't. Pretty soon, I got a little bit warm outside, so we just went and laid in the sun. We cruised around the boardwalk, cruised around the wharf, and headed home. I know I will have some time to cruise around, but I know the times that we go by fast, and I am torn between just cruising around Santa Cruz and saying goodbye to all the people I have met… I HATE saying goodbye; I avoid it whenever I can. I have so many unique and beautiful people in Santa Cruz, and I will never forgetting them. I hope you can go to the mall with me! It was time to go home, so we cruised back. The first thing I did was warm up the place; I was so cold I turned it to 78. I did run into Vince, Mr. Santa Cruz; he makes friends everywhere he goes, and he is such a fantastic person. One person I'm definitely going to miss seeing around Santa Cruz and stopping and talking to; he always makes me laugh.  I think I cruised by his hot dog stand on the end of the wharf at least once a day, some days two or three times; one day, he just stepped out and said, "Hi! my name is Vince, I keep seeing you cruising by, and I just wanted to say hello". "I dropped a hot dog earlier. Is it okay if I give it to your service dog? First, I said no, and then I thought to myself, "they just retired Robby two days ago, so he can have a hot dog," I told him yes and as soon as he brought out the hot dog the look on Robby's face was priceless! He looked at the hotdog, and his eyes got huge; he looked at Vince to make sure he saw what he thought he was seeing, then he looked up at me as if he was saying, "REALLY??". He gobbled it down quickly before anybody could change their mind; every time we went by that hot dog stand after that, he looked over to make sure that Vince saw him. My aunt came in to make sure I made it home and took Dude off of his leash. Rachel came in and fed the hungry pouch, put me to bed, then fed me, and she buzzed around and cleaned some laundry and mopped and swept the floor first, and left. It was lovely to be there by myself in my nice hot toasty room; I didn't have to worry about anybody sweating or being too hot.  The realtor's husband came by and took many pictures of my house after we cleaned it up, and wow! It looked amazing! Can I change my mind?? This is the perfect place, and it's clean! I watched a couple episodes of 90-day fiancé, and I think I was finally so toasty and warm they fell right to sleep.

















































































Saturday was a fantastic day! Cindy came in and fed the hungry handled, got me dressed and up in my chair, and we took off. This is the first day of the open house, and my realtor asked me to be out of here between 10 AM and 11 AM, so we decided to go over to the farm for breakfast; that place is so excellent! We sat there for a long time and watched people through my ring camera walking around and describing their thoughts of my house. I thought it would be awful, and people would say negative things, but it was all compliments and admiration. The weather was beautiful, the breakfast was excellent, and the coffee was unforgettable; it was sad knowing that this would be the last day I would spend with Cindy; I have learned so much from this lady; she is such a person! That is going to be the hardest! We decided we were going to get going, we're going to meet Rosa for lunch… I have a feeling this is going to be a tough day. They have such a unique family; every one of them is caring and loving! They become more than my second family! We drove out to pick up Rosa and then to the harbor and went to the Palomar Café, I got the shrimp nachos, and they were just as amazing as I remembered! It was a beautiful day. We reminisced; I had a nice lunch, didn't say goodbye but said we'll see you later, and then we drove down Westcliff Drive one more time and got out and took some pictures and videos. This is all I'm going to have long. It was time to get back home, so we left; Rachel fed the dog as they left. Rachel put me in bed, got me something to eat, and then buzzed around and did some more packing. She has really been putting in some hours, and really thankful for her help! I was between watching TV, surfing the Internet, and playing Candy Crush, and before I knew it, I fell asleep.

















 Sunday was a really fantastic day! Another morning I had to be out by 11 AM because they had an open house. Cindy came in in the morning and fed the hungry pound, fed me, and then got me dressed and up in my chair. Usually, today would be a personal-care day, but since they would be showing the house all day, I had to get up and make myself scarce. Dude and I took off for a nice long cruise, but we only made it to the wharf; there was some kind of feeding frenzy going on, and I just could not stop taking pictures and videos is so cool watching all the birds in big groups trying to catch the sardines before all the sea lions could get there. I got a lot of excellent pictures and some excellent videos; I hope they share them here. We tried to seek shelter at Neptune's kingdom again, but it was cold everywhere; I had to sit here and figure out what to do to stay warm. We cruised around inside until everybody gave us dirty looks like we were stockers, and we decided to just cruise down to the end of the wharf and back home. They wanted me to be out of the house Until 4 PM, so by the time I got home, Rachel should be there; on the way home, I turned the heater way up so my room would be nice and cozy by the time I get there. Rachel took out Dude and fed him, put me to bed, and then fed me. I played candy crush and watched TV while she packed a bunch more stuff up; she is really getting a lot of stuff packed up. I watched TV for a while before I fell asleep.