Sunshine and Warmth Again!

Sunday, February 2
It was wonderful to awaken to sunshine today.  Not only that, I slept in until 8AM!!  Heaven!  Generally I'm not able to sleep in because I have to get up to keep Gabby to his insulin schedule, but last night I had a night out and his evening injection was set back by a little over an hour, which meant I could make it later this morning also. So, both yesterday and today have been a breath of fresh air.

My friend Cheryl called day before yesterday and left a message.  I contacted her on Saturday morning and she suggested we go into Savannah for a concert/party for a CD release by a local band.  My FIRST thought was "oh, no.....up late, remain dressed past 7PM, energy required to be social, etc".  THEN I thought, "don't complain about having no life if you're not willing to say 'yes' to it!"!!  So, I said yes.....and had a wonderful evening.  I went over to Cheryl's for dinner (you've seen photos of her place on the May River from her Labor Day gathering), and then we picked up her friend Anika, who was very warm and personable.  The band, Velvet Caravan, plays "gypsy jazz", which I couldn't define for you except to say that it was very pleasant and enjoyable, along the lines of the Gypsy Kings but a little more mellow (You can read about them HERE, but the music clip is not of the full band and not as good as the music last night).  The evening began with a short movie about the members of the band, their musical history and how they came together.  Then they came onstage and played for over an hour.  It was very enjoyable and well received by the audience.  As we were driving home we all queried why we don't go into Savannah for more events....so maybe we will find it easier to do so in the future. While it was the first late night for me in a long time, I thoroughly enjoy all aspects of it.

 
Monday, February 3

This is for Jan...

 I, who railed against football, have to confess to thoroughly enjoying the Super Bowl!  For it to have been such a one-sided game, it was fun and pleasurable to watch.  Seattle came to win and everything came together for them perfectly...such synchronicity is always amazing to see, and I don't say that to minimize the hard work involved.  It's the first game I've watched from beginning to end in a long time, but I don't remember any being as exciting to watch.  I'm sure the win was savored even more by Seattle after the press touted Manning and Denver all the way, with little mention of their team (except to castigate Sherman).  It was a fantastic win and a great story of a young team....and Bruno Mars wasn't bad either!!  As planned, I also watched the Puppy Bowl, which was totally adorable!

Tuesday, February 4....One Step Forward, Two Steps Back!
I was literally finishing the paragraph above when the phone ran and "Bloom" popped up on the screen.  You can imagine how my heart drops to my stomach when I see that.  I had been by there earlier in the day and the girls told me that Mama had been combative in the morning, wouldn't get up for breakfast, refused to take her meds and, when I arrived, she pretended to be asleep.  I pretended not to want to wake her and left, planning to walk back later in the day.  My sense was that it would not be a good call, and I was right.  She had fallen again (trying to push her walker into a staff member).  I went right over and she couldn't be moved and was in a great deal of pain, so there was nothing to do but call the ambulance and go to the ER.  We were there from about 11AM until 6:30.  I've never seen the ER like that - in the admissions area they had put folding chairs down the hallway to accommodate everyone!  Once inside, all rooms were full and there people were in gurneys in the hallway!  It was a zoo and there was only one person who looked like a doctor.  They took loads of x-rays of Mama's right side, showing no breaks.  Eventually, they sent someone with a walker to see if she could walk, and she couldn't get off the bed or stand.  They then did CT scans, which also showed no breaks.  So, there was no reason to be admitted to the hospital and they sent us away!  They suspected that it might be a deep bruise that would lessen over time and I mentioned to the nurse that I was concerned that she might need pain meds for a couple of days.  She said she would mention it to the doctor, but I got no response, even after making a point of thanking her before we left...so she would know we were leaving.  She went back to Bloom and got as settled in as she could, though every move hurt. She wasn't able to walk to the bathroom, which presented other problems, etc.  Anyway, it seems that after I left, the hospital faxed over a script for pain meds, which I didn't know about until I went over this morning.  She lay in bed all day today, still not able to move her right leg or put any weight on it.  She did eat well and the meds relaxed her, but even coughing hurt.  So, I don't quite know where things will go from here.  She will get physical therapy, but it may not begin until Friday.  One of the ladies said that sometimes breaks or hairline fractures don't should up for about a week when the new bone begins to grow.  So, I guess we will have to see how it all progresses, but it is a lot for a 92 year old to go through.