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The only trees up in my house are the cat trees. LOL.

So, Mom was released Thursday but wasn't feeling right. Long story short, she thought she had pulled her stent loose while showring and told the nurses but they ignored her. Turns out she did. Had to take her back to the ER before the sun came up on Friday morning. Bro wouldn't come along-- he was having a tizzy about having to pull her wheelchair through the house and down the steps. Local ER played phone tag with Mom's urologist. Claimed he never called back to approve her transfer to other hospital. The other hospital claimed they called back but no one picked up. Main nurse was absolutely exhausted and told me her hands were hurting and she was stressed. She was upset at how long it was taking to try to get through to the urologist. So, they called around 8am and ALL urologists in the entire state apparently close at noon and no one had gotten back to them. I even called the other hospital myself & they told me I should bring her to their ER. Around 3pm they finally got authorization to transfer her. I forgot to mention, her urologist told the local ER to pull her stent out but the doctor refused bc he didn't feel comfortable doing that. Mom threatened to pull it out herself. Anyway, they had me sign papers that I was transporting her by private vehicle (bc I know it can be a loooong wait for an ambulance and I didn't want someone to die bc an ambulance was unavailable for an emergency). Nurse kept apologizing to me for what a cluster things were. took an hour to get Mom to the other ER. The doctor there couldn't find the string for the stent and assumed it had come out fully, but Mom was still gushing urine out. So she found the string and pulled it out herself. Said it didn't hurt. She then showed the nurse who immediately went and got the doctor to come back and show him. He apologized and said he should hire her to find things for him. LOL. Anyway, no bleeding, no pain, leaking stopped. Nurse got her into a fresh diaper and gown, bagged up her stuff, fed her and gave her something to drink, etc.

I had to make one last stop at Walmart to get some no sugar added apple juice for her. Got home after 7pm and was ready to pass out.

She's still feeling cruddy. Power outage today made it worse. She's got major gas making her uncomfortable. Couldn't eat much. She felt better after the power came back on though. I gave her some celery to help reduce the gas. I'm exhausted but my brain won't let me sleep. At least she's not soaking the bed now and I got a new clean shirt on her.

I have a mountain of laundry to do though. Not looking forward to that.

A funny moment: I was burping her and Fippy started licking my arm. He doesn't usually lick me-- although he licked the begeesus out of her when she got home.

I got a new blood sugar meter-- best rated one available at the store. Supposed to be easy to use. All the stupid thing did was pop up error codes when I tried to check her sugar. So, I'm taking that stupid thing back. I followed the directions exactly but this is the problem I keep having with these machines. They keep having errors. I'm hoping the good pharmacist will be in Monday to give me some advice on that front. I also need a new blood pressure tester as mine gave up the ghost after 15+ years.

Ok, I guess my short story was still long. LOL.

About to try to get some sleep.
 
zannej said:
Power outage today made it worse. She's got major gas making her uncomfortable. Couldn't eat much. She felt better after the power came back on though.
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That was a massive storm that extended from @zannej 's house to @shan2themax 's house with me in the middle.

There was major damage in Tennessee, North of Nashville

I had our generator on Stand-by, which is why our power didn't go off! LOL

The air behind the front is very cold, dropping the temps by 20 degrees or more.
 
Good that everybody is safe and good your Mom is away from the Death Chamber, Z

People I have met from all over say it must be crazy to live where it's freezing / arctic for 6 months, but there's no Tornadoes in most of the State besides the upper NE by Canada / North Dakota that has warnings yearly... There was a funnel cloud here a few years ago, picture confirmed when my neighbor sent it to the closest metero-weather person, but that's about it.

People in Miami think people here or from the West Coast are insane for dealing with Earthquakes, and having been through them in Seattle and in the middle of nowhere here, they are different as far as what's going to fall on you or not...

We get 70 MPH gusts a few times a year, but if I ever saw a Tornado or Hurricane barreling down, that would be a teaching moment to always have some Depends on hand!
 
You can only wear one at a time in Montana... I reckon it's 2 pairs in Fargo though, you betcha!
 
I ran to the store and got a new meter. Couldn't return the other one bc I couldn't find the lancet stick that came with it. Was under $20 so not a big deal. Got new one set up and had my brother mess with it this time. She wasn't very lucid and at first he was fussy about it but then he realized how difficult she was being. Meter said Hi. She needed insulin but was arguing with me. I got him to get her to take it bc she wouldn't cooperate with me. He then checked her sugar himself about 15min later bc he was worried. Still Hi. Waited about 3hrs from insulin taking for next test. Still Hi so he got her to take more insulin. He checked her sugar 3x (at least one of the times I was back at the store getting zero sugar electrolyte drink).

Got home and he came in and checked her sugar again. Maybe it was 4x he checked? My brain isn't wanting to remember. Anyway, she has taken 2 doses of insulin to bring it down. I just checked it again (used alcohol swab on her finger this time) and it was 489. So, still needs to come down. At least I know the machine is capable of saying more than "Hi". And she's lucid. She had to pee so she's in the bathroom now. I'm about to go check on her.

But my day has consisted mostly of that. At least I had her walk out to the living room and sit in her computer chair for a bit so she can walk. And she walked back to her bathroom. Lady Sylvanas came into her room and followd her to the bathroom and purred very loudly for her. She petted her until I let Sylvanas out of the room and fed her (Sylvanas, not Mom).

Not sure what, if anything, I can feed Mom if her sugar is this high. If it doesn't come down I'll have to take her back to the hospital and I really don't want to.

Edit: She got back into bed by herself and I brought her a fresh vial of insulin from the fridge-- the other one was almost empty and didn't have enough for a dose. Tossed that one and she gave herself a shot. Will give her about 20 to 30min before I check again. Hopefully it will come down. I know 130 is still high, but if we can get it down that far, it will help. She actually reminded me about the alcohol swab to clean her fingers first this time so she's doing better.

Edit2: down to 392 so making progress. Still needs to come down more but she's able to cooperate with me. Need to figure out how to keep her sugar down though. She hasn't been eating stuff. I mean, she had a piece of celery but that shouldn't drive sugar up. I tried a new bp meter but the thing errored out over and over. Will take it back bc it sucks. Miss my old one.
 
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zanneji;
Has any of your mom's medical providers had an in-depth conversation with you, and your mom about the prudent use of insulin, recommended injection occurrences, as well as the different types of insulin available?

If not, you need to seek out a provider who will.

Many universities have schools of medicine, with clinics available to the general public.
 
Mom was supposed to have an appointment with the diabetes specialist at the doctor's office but she canceled due to feeling sick. Can't remember if it was Covid or something else. She also claimed to know enough about it without needing guidance from someone since she's had it for so long. All she ate today was a little bit of no sugar added apple sauce, and last night she had apple juice, and then she had a celery stick to help combat gas.

Just tested her sugar and its down to 205. She did not want to take any more insulin just yet. Will check it in awhile and see if it stays high or goes down while she is fasting. She's had water and zero sugar electrolyte stuff. I stopped giving her apple juice when I realized her sugar was high. She didn't have this problem before getting Covid. Probably threw her system out of whack.

I'll check her sugars again when my brother gets home from work and he may be able to help me convince her to take insulin if need be.

I'm going to call the doctor in the morning and ask for a consultation with the diabetes specialist asap. Hoping she'll be feeling well enough. she's still absolutely exhausted, but she's lucid and was able to show me which finger she wanted blood taken from.

Editing to add that the hospital gave her apple sauce and apple juice while she was in there so I thought it was Ok to give her when she got out.
 
Thanks and its refreshing to know that you realize there may a reluctance to accepting a refresher in care.

There is, generally, a distinctive methodology in the timing and dosage for insulin dependent diabetics, and inherence to, is fairly rigorous.

NO! should be an integral part of the vocabulary.

No sugar added, are red flags, for me, and the carbs in those are eliminators. My choice.
 
Ron Van said:
I’ve been blowing leaves for a week now and then mulching them with the mower. This yard was completely covered with a carpet of leaves.

View attachment 31989

It resulted in two piles of mulch.

View attachment 31990

I burnt one pile last week and this pile today.
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Think I'm done with our leaves this year, finally. Have 2 compost piles like this. They're about 5-1/2' tall. I pile up grass clippings all summer then mix in the leaves in the fall. I'll turn them a few times with the tractor and have 2 really nice piles of compost come spring. The garden loves it


View attachment 32017


This was last year's pile.

View attachment 32016
 
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Your mulch pics didn't show, but I like your style.
 
havasu said:
Your mulch pics didn't show, but I like your style.
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This year
1000009143.jpg
Last year
1000004173.jpg
Not too exciting. I do 2 piles because it's too far to drive and dump all in 1 spot. I have about a yard of finished compost left from this year that I'll spread over the asparagus patch.
 
It sure helps to have a tractor. I'd love to have that much mulch!
 
I miss having a tractor, but right now I'm focusing on inside the house. Got a flickering bulb after the power outage that I will have to change.

Called the doctor's office this morning and they scheduled her for an appointment today. I got her to leave her room for a bit and sit and watch Youtube, take care of some bills, play games, etc. She was asking me about a credit card that she thought I charged stuff too but its a card I never used so I don't know what that is about. Will have to go over it with her when she is feeling better. Her card is missing and I'm hoping it didn't get stolen from her purse or something. If it looks like stuff that isn't our charges I'll have her report it stolen and cancel it.

I turned the truck around and got her dressed already for the appointment. Will have to get her back up to go to the truck soon. Reminds me, I need find something for her wheelchair to assist going down steps.

I got a nice long nap in earlier and it felt good.
 
@zannej - Good to hear of your mother's improvement.

zannej said:
Not sure what, if anything, I can feed Mom if her sugar is this high. If it doesn't come down I'll have to take her back to the hospital and I really don't want to.
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zannej said:
All she ate today was a little bit of no sugar added apple sauce, and last night she had apple juice, and then she had a celery stick to help combat gas.
Click to expand...

I'm not an healthcare professional but I know that apples, most fruit actually and fruit derived food (e.g., apple juice), are very high in sugars (fructose). They are good because of the vitamins but if you're having trouble keeping blood sugar under control, I'd stay away. If it were me, I'd eat plenty of vegetables and stick with foods with low glycemic index as carbohydrates (e.g., sweet potatoes (in small servings) and oatmeal).
 
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