HOUSEHOLD DANGERS

Last week my husband had been watching TV at the kitchen table. He stood up for some reason, lost his balance, hitting his head on the table. Then he fell backwards, missed the chair, fell to the floor and the chair toppled over on top of him. In a cartoon that might have been amusing, but not in real life.

He ended up with a hematoma the size of a baseball on his head, broken ring finger on his right hand, and a badly lacerated pinky. Since he is on blood thinners, the kitchen floor quickly became covered in blood. I was trying to apply pressure to his wounds, mopping up the floor, and arguing with my husband on the necessity of calling 911. He didn't need no friggin' rescue squad.

What the heck is it with men and their tough guy routine? I was on the verge of hysteria and he wanted me to just help him walk to the bedroom. The big guy wasn't walking anywhere under his own power. It took three EMTs to get him on the gurney. After two hours in the ER, X-rays, CAT scans, and stitches he was sent home with a prescription for antibiotics. I was instructed to watch out for any signs of concussion and told to change his bandages daily. His hand stopped bleeding after eighteen hours. The hematoma on his head seems to be emptying down around his eyes, the right side of his face, and his neck. Not sure what this means, but we will see the doctor tomorrow. We were told that some of this would happen, but whether it is excessive or not I do not know.

Took a self guided tour of many of the Ohio, Ashtabula County covered bridges with the Cairns, close friends. The day could not have been more beautiful with blue skies and mid 70s temperature. We stopped for lunch at the Jefferson Diner, home of the "Wimpy Burger".

Finished up the day by driving around Geneva-on-the-Lake and passed by the Perry Nuclear Plant.

Netcher Road Covered Bridge

Caine Road Bridge

Benetka Road Bridge

Side view of State Rd. Bridge

State Road Covered Bridge

Longest Covered Bridge in US

Shortest Covered Bridge in US

2017
I received a phone call from the senior center informing me that my mother would no longer be able to use the Senior bus that picked members up at their homes for special events and field trips. She had wandered away from the group and solicited a ride from a complete stranger. Fortunately it was a kind stranger who drove her safely home. She had no memory of the event.

I contacted assisted living facilities in the area and was surprised to find how many there were and selected one that was specifically designed for Alzheimer patients. We selected Maplewood of Twinsburg. I wanted a place that was beautiful and had programs that would stimulate her mind. The close proximity to our Twinsburg home was a bonus. It was expensive, but with her monthly pension, social security, and long term insurance we could handle it. 

The next time she had bladder surgery planned, we made arrangements for her to go directly from the hospital to her new home. I was pleasantly surprised how accepting of the change she was. She actually seemed relieved not to have to struggle anymore with finances, the mess of her home, and the loneliness of her life with old friend after friend dying or not remembering her. 

Her cancer advanced rapidly that last year, but she remarkably kept cheerful up to the very end. My one consolation is that our relationship was the best it had been in many years during her final months and she was happy.

Mother's Day 2017

2015
These past four years have been very difficult, beginning with my husband's massive cardiac arrest on New Year's Eve. He was life flighted from Twinsburg to Cleveland Clinic main hospital and put on life support. They lowered his body temperature to 85 degrees and placed him in a coma for one week. Even though he had been technically "dead" for over ten minutes, he still had active brain activity. He was quite talkative after they revived him from the coma. He underwent triple bypass surgery, his second since his first bypass at thirty-nine at the old Mount Sinai hospital in Cleveland.

At seventy years of age it took him twice as long to recover and we decided not to wait any longer on finding a vacation home in Florida. Thanks to the Cairns, who have been friends of ours for more than half a lifetime, we purchased a manufactured home in Plant City in the same retirement community they were spending winters. We became active with morning water aerobics, book discussion club, bridge, Wednesday dinner group, and a weekly prayer group.

2016
My mother's mental and physical conditons were deteriorating rapidly and doctor's were concerned that she would not survive radical surgery. She had bladder and lung cancer. Her hoarding was out of control and her dementia had intensified to the point that she fought anyone who disagreed with her. She paid a married couple $350 a day to drive her around on shopping excursions and do small chores around the house. Every room in the condo was loaded with clothing and papers. My mother had purchased gifts and greeting cards for friends and family, but could not part with them. So they were never given to their intended recipients. Such is the hold that hoarding can have on a person.

I sought help from the local police, senior center, and county agency for the aging, but until she was at a risk to herself or others I could do nothing about it. It was a heartbreaking time for me. Most of my mother's medical procedures were as an out patient, but the one time she required extensive hospitalization my husband and I cleaned up as much as we could. Within three months the condo had returned to an even worse condition.