Monday, September 18, 2017

Another week in my backup chair…

Monday was a pretty good day but really hot. Karen came in and got me up and the Woofpack came to get Robby, he always loves going on a hike with his friends. Dude and I went for a cruise through the lagoon, down Westcliff Drive… We had to turn around because the pavement was getting too hot. We cruised down to the wharf and then over to the boardwalk and then home, it was just getting too hot. I was going to go home and get Dude some water and rest for a little bit in the air-conditioned house and then go cruise around downtown but they have the street next to mine all blocked off and there was no way to get through so I decided to just have the workmen get me to my street and just stay there for the rest of the day. It felt so good in the house after I turn the air conditioner on, we cooled down and just hung out for a while. Cindy messaged me to tell me that Rosa hurt her thumb at work and wasn't going to come in. I messaged Karen and she was on her way down to the store but said she would come in when she got back to put me to bed. She put me to bed and I watched TV for a while until my uncle, my aunt and Claudia came over to play cribbage. Claudia was my partner and we won the first game and lost the last two.























 Tuesday was a good day. Cindy came in and got me up and I took Robby for a cruise through the lagoon, down to the wharf and back while she cleaned up. We took Dude and Cindy drove me over to the post office to send a package and then over to Staff of Life for some grocery shopping. Just as we got there Omar texted me and asked: "did you guys know that your bedroom doors open and Robby is in the driveway?" I can't believe I forgot to close the door, I always double check the door when I leave but I think we just started talking and I forgot, thank goodness it was Robby and not dude because I don't know that dude would've stuck around… He would go looking for people. Luckily my aunt and uncle are working next-door and if either one of them would have left the driveway they would have seen my aunt and uncle and went over there, next time I'm going to triple check. We went shopping and then Cindy dropped me off at the beginning of the wharf so Dude and I could cruise around for a while. We cruised home ended up cruising over to my aunt's house across the street to check out her garden, it's amazing! Rosa fed the boys and the girl then put me to bed and fed me. I watched TV for a while and then fell asleep.

























 Wednesday was a pretty good day. Susan came in and I got a nice long two-hour massage. Karen came in and we did some personal care and a nice long hot bath, what a perfect way to start your day. I got up and took Robby for a short cruise and then came back and got Dude and headed for the support group at Dominican rehab. I talked to Mariposa and she said that she would be willing to come and talk to the group about acupuncture and CBD oil, that should attract a lot of people. Besides Roger, Karen and I Ken was the only one that showed up. I think Roger is getting a little discouraged, this is the second or third support group that he has tried to start up. He said one day that he thinks it's because there's just not the accessibility problems in Santa Cruz that there are in other places that have support groups, Valley medical has a spinal cord unit and I remember when I went there they pretty much just take you in your bed if you're not in your chair when the support group starts… You don't really have a choice. No probably try a couple more months and then if attendance doesn't pick up will probably have to discontinue it again… That will be sad but if nobody's going to show up there's no use in having one. We cruised back home and I decided to take Robby out for another short cruise, we got down to the wharf and my battery was flashing red… I just looked down and I still have half the charge. The ride home was really slow and scary, I was thinking in my mind who I would call to come and rescue me if my chair just stopped. I know a couple of the guys who have been working on the street for the last several months because I see them every day, I mentioned it to one as he helped me across the street and he said he would watch for me and come and help me if my chair died… What a sweet guy! I made it home and in my room without help. Rosa came in and fed the gang and put me into bed, it was so nice to relax in bed… My spare chair is comfortable enough but I think it's the wrong seat because I'm starting to develop a pressure sore. I know it's going to be at least another week before I get my other chair back.










Thursday was another great day. Karen came in and got me up and since I didn't have my appointment today with my psychologist I decided to take Robby out first for a cruise through the lagoon, down Westcliff Drive, to the front of the wharf and back home. I rested for a bit and then took Dude for a cruise through the lagoon, down Westcliff Drive, down to the end of the wharf and back, down to the end of the boardwalk and back and then my went to cruise around downtown until my hair appointment at 1:30 PM. I was tilted back just enjoying the sun and watching people and I met a really nice guy from New Hampshire, he came over to see if he could say hello to Dude… He had to leave his black lab at home and I could tell he really missed him. He brought his dad to the Catalyst for a concert and decided to cruise around for a couple of days. I meet the nicest people cruising around. I decided to check my email to make sure my appointment was at 1:30 PM and I got another email from them saying that her schedule got delayed and she would be able to see me until 2 PM which would get me out of there at 4:30 PM and since I already scheduled Rosa to come in at 4 PM I had to cancel and told him I would call back to reschedule. On my way back home I happened to look down and my chair was flashing red again, I just checked my battery a couple minutes ago and it was only halfway down… I'm starting to think there is something wrong. Since it was only 1 PM I came home to help my mom plug my chair in but then decided my phone was also dead so I might as well just stay here and hang out with the boys, maybe we can trick Robby into liking Dude… As long as dude licks his ears all the time Robby will put up with him. At least I started early and got a couple of really nice long cruises with my guys. Rosa came in and put me to bed and I was pretty much out.





















































































Friday was another great day. Karen came in and we did some personal care and of course my nice long hot bath. She got me up and I took Dude for cruise through the lagoon, as we were cruising along I saw two guys in a boat floating around and as I got closer I noticed it was Andrew from the purple house around the corner, I met him and his wife about 10 years ago when I moved in here… Such a nice couple and they have an awesome kid named Noah. He said they were getting ready to bring those airboats in but there was a tree in the way so he volunteered to find out a way to move it, I would love to see the airboats… I should've asked him when they were coming in. They have been cleaning up the lagoon for a while now. We cruised up through Bay St., Park, down Westcliff Drive a little bit and back, down to the end of the wharf and back a couple times and then it was time to come back home and get Robby for his appointment with Dr. Martinelli. It was just a follow-up for his ear infection and to set a date to get his teeth cleaned. Before Robby's appointment Theresa came in so I can show her what I needed to be done around the yard, there's a lot of dead leaves on the vines and under the succulents in the front yard and she said she would help me out with that. I got back and she had done a lot and it looked awesome so we let the boys play in the yard for a while and then she put me to bed. Watch TV for a while and for some reason couldn't fall asleep, I listen to music for a while but that didn't help either.

























Saturday was a really great day. Cindy came in and got me up and Omar stopped by to install my new TV, the one in the living room died so I got a new one for my bedroom and moved the one from the bedroom into the living room… I love to upgrade. The Woofpack came to get Robby for his Saturday playdate so it was just Dude and I cruising around, we didn't get a very early start so we just cruise down to the wharf and while we were cruising down to the end and back I met some really nice people. Bill, the sand sculpture guy, was making this amazing sculpture it was part of a boat, a whale tail, and a couple of sea lions. Vince, the guy that everybody in Santa Cruz knows, introduced me to Bill one day… He is such a nice man and so talented. I said hello to him and also met this really nice guy that was hanging out with his father-in-law at the ideal restaurant watching again while his wife and his little baby daughter were over at the boardwalk. He said he used to live here and now he's trying to move back, I hope he gets to move back and I run into him again and get to meet his family. We cruised over to the boardwalk and almost got down to the end but it was time to head back. I wanted to stop by the crêpe place and get one of their California crepe and a dessert crepe but I didn't have enough nerve to go up and ask for help so maybe another day. We cruised back home and hung out in the driveway for a while and Theresa came in so I was showing her a huge hornet's nest that I just found on the side of the house, I was taking pictures to send to Omar. Yukio from the Woofpack came by to drop off Robby and we all came inside for dinner and to go to bed. I was asleep before Theresa left but woke back up and watched Despicable Me and Despicable Me 2, I love those movies.












Sunday was a long boring day. Cindy came in and fed the boys, Penny and I and put me on my side for the day. I tried to watch TV and listen to music to make the day go by faster but it was just a really slow day. Theresa came in at 2 PM so we can do some personal care and a nice long hot bath then I can relax the rest of the evening and watch TV. I started getting a really really bad stomach ache, Theresa brought me some tacos so I was hoping it wasn't that because they tasted so good. One was Al Pastore and the other two were tongue tacos, I used to get tongue tacos when I lived in San Jose and I love them but I have another for a while. My stomach got really bloated and it was just a miserable evening. I took some Pepto-Bismol, some Alka-Seltzer and felt a little bit better after my bath but I'm still really bloated.

1 comment:

betty said...

The pictures you post Tammie are always so good. Makes me miss the beach! Hope you get your chair up and running and figure out whats going on with it.

betty