Christmas is getting closer…

Monday was a really good day. Karen came in and got me up and Robby and I cruised through the lagoon and down to the end of the wharf and back. we cruised down Water Street to check to see that Dig nursery had those vertical wall planters for my bathroom, it seems like every time I decide I want something they change it up so I just came back home and looked for the ones I wanted from Amazon. of course they had was there so I ordered them. My mom, Stanley, Robert, David, McKenzie, Melissa and I decided to go to Restauranta Italiano for dinner. Their food is always so good and they had this dessert that look like a giant baked potato, in fact I think that's what it's called, that was amazing. It's a big old slab of ice cream that's cut out to look like a baked potato and then rolled in cocoa powder, cut down middle and filled with whipping cream. It's always so nice to spend time with family. We came home and Rosa came in to put me to bad, when were going to watch a movie but By the time Rosa left everybody was to tired. I didn't sleep very good and if I did fall asleep it was only for a couple of hours.

Tuesday was a miserable day. Cindy came in and got me up and took me to my appointment at the ear nose and throat doctor, I was going cancel and stay in bed but I feel like I'm coming down with something and maybe we can catch it before it gets worse. Originally I went there because I'm getting his big soft lumps on the back of my head and sometimes they are painful just want to make sure everything is okay. Looked in my throat, my nose, my ears and my eyes and said everything looked okay. By the time he got home I had a sore throat, a headache and I was extremely cranky. The family was going to go to the Christmas lights in Vassona Park but I felt worse as the day went on and I you want to go out in the cold so I just told them to go on without me. We had to buy tickets for each carload of people so we had an extra ticket we offer to Rosa's family but I think it was too late of notice. They all had a really good time and came back and we all watched Elf, I probably watched it along time ago but I don't remember it and it was hilarious. I started feeling even worse.

Wednesday was pretty much a wasted day. Karen came in and I decided to stay in bed because I felt awful and my voice was barely audible. I was kind of bummed because we were going to go to Big Sur for the day that I would have been really miserable company. Stanley, Robert and Mackenzie went to go see the new Star Trek movie and David and Melissa stayed here to rest, Melissa wasn't feeling good. I was on myself it all day I wish I could've slept but then I guess I would not have slept all night, but would rather sleep during the night I guess. Everyone decided they wanted pizza for dinner, I'm always up for pizza… Even if it can't taste it.

Thursday was another bad day. Karen came in and put me on my side and I just basically laid in bed all day and tried to sleep, when I don't feel good I just want to sleep until I get better. I can't believe your nose and throat doctor didn't see that my throat was irritated, if you would've just seen it and prescribed me some antibiotics I would've been so much better off. My family left really early this morning for Oregon, I think it will be so nice to have such a huge family getting together… I've even been looking at places in Oregon. I really love everything about Santa Cruz except for the fact that my family, and now my extended family, are so far away. Rosa came in and sat me back up and if it wasn't for all of this codeine cough syrup and PMs I would be awake and miserable all night.

Friday was just awful, I didn't think that I could feel worse but I do. While my mom was gone I was coughing so much, the sad thing is that I don't have enough air in my lungs to cough anything up so it just gets caught in the top my and then I end up coughing and choking and pretty soon I can't breathe. I ended up texting my aunt to see if she could come over and help me cough but she had already left. Luckily my mom came in shortly after and helped me cough, I need somebody to push down really hard on my stomach while I cough. One of the housekeepers made me some tamales so I had one for dinner, too bad I couldn't really taste it. When my aunt came home she brought me over some coughing pills and some more codeine cough syrup. I can tell when I'm starting to get better because instead of the codeine helping it just makes me itch all over.

Saturday was another awful day although I feel like I'm getting a little bit better. Nothing really hurts anymore I just feel drained and antsy from being in bed for so long. Because I've been sitting up more I'm afraid that once I get over this pneumonia I'm going to have to stay in bed because of a pressure sore. My aunt is trying to get me to go to Valley Medical Center because they really the only hospital around here who knows how to take care of a quadriplegic. I'm really uncomfortable and my stomach feels like it's about to explode so I feel like when Rosa gets here and we can do some personal care I will feel a whole lot better. Rosa got here and after some personal care and a nice long hot bath I feel so much better. I'm glad I don't have to spend Christmas in Valley Medical Center.

Sunday I'm feeling a little bit better, it's Christmas. I'd like to go on my side because I'm afraid of a pressure sore but I don't have an evening caregiver so I'm just going to hope for the best. Cindy came in and got me something to eat and fed Robby. She told me that she talked to her boss and got Tuesdays off so she could spend the whole day here helping me with errands and stuff, I'm so excited. I watched my favorite movies most of the day, sleeping with the enemy, the hand that rocks the cradle and when a man loves a woman. My uncle and aunt came over and brought some turkey noodle soup, asparagus and garlic bread and we played about four or five games of cribbage… It was a fun evening and a great Christmas!

Getting closer to Christmas!

Monday was another really great day. Karen came in and got me up and Debbie and I cruised around for a little bit and then we went to breakfast at The Walnut Café, we wanted to go to Zachary's but Zachary's is closed on Mondays. I have been to The Walnut Café a couple of times and it was pretty good and I thought Debbie would like it. We both liked it very much. We cruised around town for a while shopping and talking, it was so nice and of course went by way too fast. We came back home and had some homemade tamales and some homemade orange rice that Cindy made. Rosa came in and we did some personal care but a nice long hot bath. Debbie came in and we visited for a while but we were both really tired so we called it a night.

Tuesday was another really great day. Karen came in and got me up at Debbie and I cruised over to Zachary's for breakfast, of course we both enjoyed it very much. We just sat around and visited for a while. The weather was really nice so we decided to go to the thrift store to see if I can find a Christmas sweater, we wanted to go to Ross and world market but I have an appointment at 2 PM with Jack and Andrei to talk about getting my new chair. Even though Debbie's plane was delayed it still wasn't delayed enough that she could go with me to my appointment, that way we could talk a little bit more… It just wasn't long enough. Unfortunately I got all the way over there and they said that they messed up on the date and I'm not due for a new chair for another year. I was sad that we didn't get a little bit more time to spend together but I was glad I got to talk to Jack and Andrei, at least I know what chair is best for me when I am eligible next year… They said we can start in November. I came back home and Rosa put me to bed and I fell asleep almost immediately. It was such a nice visit with Debbie and I can't wait to have many more really soon, we just get along great.

Wednesday was a pretty good day. Susan came in and I got a nice long relaxing massage, I always feel so great afterward and I'm asleep by the time she leaves. Karen came in and got me up and brought me a diet cruise down to the Life on Wheels support group, the weather was overcast but at least it wasn't raining. Melissa, the dietitian from Dominican rehab is going to come in and talk to everybody about staying warm and healthy during the winter. She did my diabetes classes and I came back to see her a couple of times when I was having issues, she is very sweet and knowledgeable. There was about six people there and everybody was very interested and got a lot out of it, we got a lot of questions answered and Melissa is very thorough. She told me that she had been handing out a lot of flyers and getting a lot of new customers for Food Smith, the chef that I use and introduced her to. I am so excited because he is such a nice man and I would like to see him get baton of new clients, he knows his stuff and he really cares. Robby and I cruised back and Rosa came in to put me to bed and we did some personal care and a nice long hot bath, I haven't been drinking very much water the last couple of days and I had a really bad headache that I just couldn't get rid After I went to bed and fell asleep it finally went away.

Thursday it rained all day. Karen came in and got me up, I really wanted to stay in bed but I had an appointment with my psychologist and I missed it last week because of the rain so I didn't want to visit again. It was cloudy when I went down there but on the way back it rained the whole way, I got home and Karen was still here so I had her put me to bed and I watched The Secret Life of do… Karen has been telling me what a cute movie it was and it was adorable. I watched a couple of episodes of one of my new favorite shows This is Us I just listen to music and just rested and kept warm the rest of the evening, I just couldn't get warmed up.

Friday was a pretty good day. Karen came in and we started to get me up but we ended up doing some personal care, a nice long hot bath and I ended up staying in bed. I was exhausted and slept on and off all day. I told Meaghan that she didn't have to come in because Karen left kind of late and there was really nothing to do. I just relax and watch TV for the rest of the evening.

Saturday was a really good day. Cindy came in and got me up and Robby and I took off to meet Kay at the Fellowship meeting downtown, this was my second and I met a lot of really nice people. After the meeting I was cruising down to the wharf when my mom texted me and said that David, Melissa, Grant and his new bride were here from Modesto so I came back but I miss them… They had already taken off for downtown. Robby and I cruised over to the wharf but then decided to go home because it was to cold. As I was cruising back I heard somebody say "hey aunt Tammie" I turned around and there they were. Needless to say Robby went berserk, he just loves those guys. I talked to them for a little bit and then they took off down the wharf and and I went home to thaw out. We rested for a bit and then Meaghan came in to put me to bed. Stanley, Janet, Robert and McKinzey came in and we talked for a while and then we went to sleep.

Sunday was a really nice day. Cindy came in and got me up and Stanley made a filling breakfast, Italian sausage and cheese omelette with a croissant. Stanley, Melia and I went for a cruise through the lagoon and over to the wharf, Melia likes to pick up pinecones, moss, sticks than anything else she can find to make projects… She's a pretty crafty little girl. We came back and Janet made a really nice dinner of turkey, green beans, mashed potatoes, stuffing, rolls and cranberry sauce. We ate and then my mom, uncle Dick and Janet played cribbage in the living room while Meaghan put me to bed and then they all came in here and we continued playing… Janet and I killed my uncle and my mom. Everybody left and I fell right to sleep.