Good morning folks!
This year I'm going to make a difference. It is clean out time.
Yesterday I attacked the hundreds of bubble wraps that I had accumulated over the years from packages I have received and donated them to Zach of "Boxes" in Milton. Two large black garbage bags.
Zach was so appreciative as was I. I'll never use all that bubble wrap in whatever time I have left in this life. Time to get rid of all that and other packing materials. Zach is a young guy just starting his business in Milton, which is one of those UPS/FEDEX mailing places. We could use a facility like that nearby. The only other facilities like that are on Route One and 24, heavily trafficked areas here in the Rehoboth Beach area. I prefer to avoid those roads if possible. I also prefer to recycle material so this is a win-win.
My mailbox still isn't fixed. Remember that was the one the Amazon delivery driver demolished last Saturday when he was attempting to turnaround in my driveway. He said it "would be a few days" but as I suspected, NOTHING is being done. I will file a complaint against him on the Amazon website. I don't like to do that because I know it was an accident, even though I've told those drivers time and time again DO NOT TURN AROUND IN MY DRIVEWAY but they continue to do so. By the way, Amazon is not responsible for the damages, the driver is. The driver is supposed to have his own insurance but I highly doubt that. Prove me wrong driver. As I said, I file a complaint today but by next week I'll ask my handyman neighbor to help me fix the mailbox post and I'll buy a new mailbox.
I only have two more doctor's appointments left then I'm off free to coast for a few months. Just in time to avoid the snow storms which we've dodged so far this year here in southern coastal Delaware.
Bill had some more issues. He's hallucinating at night again. Also developed a heat rash in his crotch area and still has those open sores in his buttock cheeks. Sorry for the graphic details sharing, but this is Life of the Caregiver. I try to get Bill to clean those areas every morning during our daily change of Depends but he just gets too confused. I'm doing it now. Never in a million years did I think I would end my life as a nurse but here I am. I balance this all out by continuing to be grateful that I can keep Bill here at home where he is comfortable and that I can care for him. I can't imagine he would ever get this kind of care in an assisted living facility no matter how much they would charge. Just doesn't happen.
This time of year, before COVID and my caregiving, I would be preparing for my annual trip to Modernism Week in Palm Springs. This will be my fourth year of missing that trip. Last time Pat and I were there was in February of 2020. I seriously doubt I will ever again make a trip anywhere but one never knows. Right now I just want to get my mailbox fixed before another catastrophe hits.
6 comments:
good for you!
May 2024 be a cleansing year for all of us.
Ur-spo,
Oh I'm going to do this for sure this year I feel better already!
Ron
Hi Ron. I enjoy reading your blog and have done so for many years. I do want to say, though, that there ARE good senior care places. I totally understand and appreciate your decision to care for Bill yourself. However, I hope that you will stop perpetuating the thought that all assisted living/nursing homes are undesirable places to live. My 91 year old mother lives in a wonderful place—and it doesn’t cost “an arm and a leg”. I am positive that she has lived longer because of the socialization and interaction with the other residents and the various staff members in the 4 years she has been there. I don’t disagree that there are some “not so good” places but that doesn’t mean that they are all bad.
Don,
You are probably right in that there are good senior living places. And I do understand that some find living in a senior living facility works better for them than living alone in a big house that they have to take care of. When I visited my late friends Bob and Jim at their facility I talked to one of their neighbors. She was an older lady and was very happy living at that facility. She told me she was a widow living in a big house all by herself. Now she has friends and activities. However, living in such a facility will not work for Bill. He would be very difficult. He would be one of those people they keep doped up all the time. I don't have a lot of experience with those facilities but I do have some from assisted living to total dementia care. My aunt (my Mother's sister) lived in one such dementia unit. I used to take my Mother there to visit her sister. The place was very nice and my aunt had her own room. The people were veer nice also. My aunt lived there for seven years until she ran out of money and they transferred her to a state run facility to make room for another person who could pay the $7,000 plus a month. I asked my aunt's son how much his mother ultimately paid for the seven years and he was $424,000. Neither Bill or I have that kind of money. And I don't want Bill to be one of those "difficult" people that they have to keep drugged up all the time. The two weeks he was at rehab after his strokes, they have him durgged up until I told them to stop it. So yes, those facilities work for some but they won't work for me, at least at this time. Maybe if Bill became more difficult and I couldn't handle him here at hime (which I have considered at times), I may have no other choice. I do have my limits, physical and mental, in taking care of Bill here at home but for now I can manage. Thanks for your input.
Ron
Don,
Just to be clear, I will try and stop "perpetuating the thought that ALL assist living/nursing homes are undesirable places to live." They just wouldn't work for us at this time. Hopefully I never have to put Bill in one. I couldn't sleep at night knowing what was going on and the fact that Bill would be very unhappy being there. My belief has always been "whatever works for you."
Ron
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