Today was as interesting as yesterday was exhausting. Varied, which suits an ADD mind well.
Over the weekend, while Rob and I were at the salvage yard, Pam and Leslie went shopping (doh!) and bought the 5" closed cell foam for the trailer's (Thelma's) mattress. It took two pieces because it comes in 25" widths and the trailer's sleeping cabin is a luxurious 36.5" wide. So while I was cutting down the width (the lady at the fabric store had already cut them to the proper, 6' length), Pam was making the sheets. She still has to make the mattress pad but the sheets work perfectly. The bottom sheet has a pocket at each end and the top sheet is stitched to the bottom sheet at...wait for it...the bottom. The result is sheets that won't come loose from the foam because that pocket fits snuggly around the foam. And when I laid on it all I was surprised how firm the mattress felt. I was worried it wouldn't work, but I think it's firmer than our bed's mattress.
I spent just a little time working out in the garage on Ilsa. At 110 degrees it's too hot to be out there for long, but I got the front hood latch installed, adjusted, and connected to the knob inside the car. I'm waiting for the gaskets to arrive before I install the handle on the hood, as well as the license plate light on the rear hood.
Shortly after lunch I headed over for my cardio tests. Turns out they cancelled the echocardiogram because they noticed I had one done in the hospital (don't remember that part) and there's no need to repeat it. So they just did the chemical stress test. Mary put a bunch of those stick-on sensors on my chest and then gave me something through an IV port that took eight minutes to get into my system and progressively increased my heart rate as it went in. I could watch the TV screen and see my heart rate increase, but I didn't need that monitor to tell me what was happening. Didn't particularly like the sensation of my body acting up without me doing anything, and it gave me a weird sensation in my head - which she told me to expect. After about 15 minutes I was given a shot to reverse the effects of that first injection and she monitored my recovery. Then I went across the hall and spent 20 minutes laying on a table while a gradually rotating camera took pictures of my heart, not unlike a moving x-ray machine. Except different.
But what kept me so interested was the brisk conversation with Mary throughout the test, the totality of which took a good 30 minutes. She's in her late 40's, a native of Colombia, and has no inhibitions about opening up to someone she's never met. Her first husband died, and she divorced #2 after eight years. "The first pair of shoes fit perfectly but the second one gave me blisters." She's a devout Roman Catholic and thinks guilt is the worst of all motivators. (Yes, the inconsistency of those two things was noted by both of us.) Her first husband was not Catholic. "Then why, if you're devout, did you marry him?" A: (with a shoulder shrug, "I fell in love.") Husband #2 was a devout Catholic, but a "Do as I say, not as I do" sort.
She asked why I thought Pam and I have survived 41 years. I told her that besides being married to someone who is very easy to get along with, we have a third Person in our marriage who has been the key to surviving it all, including the rough patches. She said she asks all the patients who have been married a long time that same question and is particularly interested in men's answers because, "you guys are weird." I assured her the reverse assessment was held by husbands.
After that part of the test was done she brought me a cup of COFFEE! Apparently the two days without any caffeine has some people on edge and she normally does that to satisfy their craving. I didn't feel any cravings but it still tasted good.
The newest member of the Pathway community arrived early this morning. Mom and daughter will go home tomorrow afternoon. We're very happy for what is now a family of four.
Tomorrow another member of our fellowship will have some pretty major surgery. We'll take care of them both with meals delivered to ease the transition.
Yes, it's been an interesting day. Add in another chapter in the quasi-theology book I'm reading and there was plenty to think and feel. Plus, the Roger Clemens verdict, snippets from the Reille Hunter tell-all, and the plan by West Virginia Democrats to skip their national convention. Tomorrow promises to be more of the same, but you'll have to wait for that.
No comments:
Post a Comment