Mountain Mama's Point Of View

  Let's talk about the cuteness of baby butts! I am totally smitten with these boys! My arms feel empty now that we are home. Tiny little feet and toes! Josiah and Jonah. Not identical, but still hard to tell apart unless you are looking directly at their faces. Precious little bundles of love. I had such a good time getting to know them and their Mom. We left here early last Tuesday and stopped at the surgeon's office in Gainesville. The Patient was relieved of his unwanted appendage (aka: Nasty Bag). He looked so scared sitting on the edge of the exam table waiting for the surgeon. He was anticipating much pain to accompany the withdrawal of the drainage tube. He was surpised that nothing hurt and we were soon on our way south. He was still not eating much and I was a little worried as we hurtled down the road. Going through the mountain was an experience in the back of the RV, with the dogs. He took one curve a little too fast and I ended up in the floor! It is easier to hol

  I will pick up the rest of the story for Bo. Oh, this is Toni Louise. So, as you know by now, my man human came home from the hospital. He was so crabby! He did not appreciate my attempts to greet him. I tried to give him a big kiss, so I jumped into his lap and he acted like I stabbed him or something. Lady human came quickly and lifted me down to the floor and told me that my master still had a lot of pain and to try and stay out of his lap! To add insult to injury, he has a bag of stuff hanging from a tube that is coming out of his belly! I just wanted to investigate that bag and see what was in it and lady human yelled at me! I showed her, I hid behind man human's chair where she couldn't get to me. I could still hear, though. Eddie sat in her lap and Bo sat beside her while they all chatted and watched TV until we went to bed. Man human reverts to childhood when he is sick. He moans and groans and lady human runs hither and thither to bring him whatever he wants. Lady hu

  Remember me? The cute one, that's me. Things have been really scary here. Us dogs were so confused. My mom left here with our dad (she keeps calling him The Patient and this is also very confusing because he is not very patient!). She came back home that night after dark! Alone! Us dogs had plenty of questions, but we let her get a shower and eat some food, then we went to bed. She was holding Eddie and Toni Louise was sniffing Dad's pillow. She even stuck her head under the pillow, like she though maybe he was there! I was playing a game with all the extra pillows on the bed and jumping from one to the other. Dad won't let me do this, he always says that the bed is for being still and sleeping. She told us that Dad was in the hospital again. Why does he like to stay in a hospital so much? Is this going to keep happening? She said that Dad is sick again, but not in his leg, in his tummy. I feel really bad for him. I have had a tummy ache before and I did not like it! I th

  While The Patient has been indisposed, the household trash has been piling up. I had put the bags in the trailer of the golf cart after the cans were full. Bears or other nocturnal beings have had a free dinner and left quite a mess. You see, in the seperation of powers, and duties; the trash is not my responsibility. I have been to the dump on occasion with The Patient, but didn't really pay much attention. We tried to have trash pick-up, but it was iffy and we would often find a big mess at the beginning of our road where we were told to deposit the bags for pick-up. The guy would have all manner of excuses. He forgot, he was sick, he decided to choose a different day to pick up .... I did clean up the mess and rebag it a couple of times, but this morning I asked The Patient how he was feeling and if he thought he could go to the dump with me. He was agreeable, so he dressed and I headed out with fresh bags to contain a months worth of trash and garbage. We loaded the back of t

  Big day here on the side of the mountain. The Patient has an appetite!! He ate an egg and some toast. All at one sitting and said he could taste it. This is finally a sign that he is getting back to normal. I also redressed his abdomen. Still can't do much about the bag and its smelly contents. That can stay with the surgeon next Tuesday. I have a trip to plan! My nephew's twins are home from the hospital and I am ready for some seious baby holding and sniffing! I may have purchased some more outfits in bigger sizes. Life may actually be getting back to normal. He will only take two naps a day instead of dozing all day long. Now I need to go cook!

  As much as I was not exactly eager to make a trip to Gainesville in the rain, I was really looking forward to having The Patient's drain system removed. No matter that I have two gallon ziplocks enclosing the dog chewed bag, it stinks.  I was up early, drinking my coffee, pondering the ways of the world when my phone rang. It was the surgeon's office. The doctor designated to seeing The Patient is sick. Can we come in later this month or early February. I almost cried, so I know I sounded whiny when I explained my plight with the dog chewed bag to the same nurse who I spoke to last Tuesday. She checked the appointment schedule as I told her we didn't care which doctor we saw. Next Tuesday at 10 am. I had planned my week based on this appointment. Tomorrow I would gleefully rip the sheets off the bed and redress it, ridding them of the pungent smell that seems to permiate the very air in my house. I was ready to do a deep clean and purge my surroundings of sickness. Instea

  Another day has come and I have been trying to get someone to call me back at the surgeon's office. How many messages shall I leave? Still doesn't want to eat and is nauseated. I tried to empty the contents of the drainage bag. It leaked out everywhere and I can't measure puddles on the floor. The smell triggers a gag reflex. Still no pain meds, nothing for nausea and all he wants to do is sleep all day, then complain that he can't sleep at night. Then to make everything worse, the promised rain storm is beating down. All I want are the tools needed to care for him. I don't mind cleaning up all the necessary messes and taking care of him. I think he can heal better at home, but this is ridiculous. When the lady of the house is upset, the house cannot function properly! The Patient may have been joking when he said we should sell our current home and move. He says we need to move closer to a major medical center. I think we need to move across the street from a hos

  I stayed home all day and did endless loads of bed linen. But, the bed is made and I didn't have to drive to Gainesville.  And that is all I did today besides waiting on The Patient and trying to get him to eat. He ate chicken pot pie tonight. Not all of his portion, but enough for me to get his pills in him. The antibiotics will cause nausea if you take them on an empty stomach. He asked for a burrito for breakfast. One bite and then a couple bites of plain toast. I have offered everything I can think of and he says nothing sounds good. Waiting in the ER yesterday reminded me why I quit. Burn-out after dealing with humanity, and this before Covid was even a thought. People watching is usually fun, but all I could think about was the germy atmosphere and watch I might be exposing The Patient to. Not to mention me. If I got sick now, I honestly have no idea how I would manage. After the incident with the drainage bag yesterday, I admonished The Patient and told him that he needed

  You know what they say about the best laid plans? They never turn out as you imagined. After my mostly sleepless night I reluctantly got up at 7:30 with the dogs. I wanted to crawl back in bed, but the dogs were having none of that. I woke The Patient around 10:30. I made a scrambled egg and a lone piece of toast. He ate about half of it while I was in a cleaning frenzy. I can't stand endless clutter and I had a plan to conquer the mess. I had the washer going and waited about 15 minutes to see if the food would stay where we put it. I delivered his morning meds and he kept those down, too. Then I noticed that Eddie was next to the bed on the side of The Patient. I demanded to know what he was doing. He or one of the others had chewed a hole in the drainage bag. I cried. Then I taped it up and put it in a ziplock bag. Read the discharge instructions again that told me should anything happen with the drainage system I was to RUSH The Patient to he emergency room. I called the ER c

  Yesterday was spent mostly on the road. The Patient called to announce he was being released. That sent me into a different mode. I rushed around and settled and fed the animals and made ready for a homecoming. The ride was uneventful and the day was quite pleasant. I woke The Patient with my arrival and he demanded to know where his clothes were. They were right there where I had left them in full view of the man. I had SHOWN them to him. I had carefully selected a loose pair of flannel pants and a long sleeved tee. He is always colder than me. Well, in normal circumstance .... The last night I stayed at the hospital he complained of being hot and the temperature was set to accommodate The Patient. I nearly froze! The two sheets I had been allotted did very little to keep me warm. I found 10 pillows in the cabinet, but no blankets. I hated to complain because The Patient was a very difficult one that particular night. Not just him, but it seemed the entire floor was needy. Back to t

  I think we have finally rounded a corner and healing can begin. I came home yesterday and had a nice shower and a good night's sleep. I could tell he was a lot better when we talked today. Actually, I knew he was better when he got annoyed with me. I figured he would be better with the hospital staff if I left. I was right. He is hungry and that is the first time he has voiced that in 2 weeks. I will head back tomorrow, all rested up and hope we will have an idea about when he will be released. The weather today was stormy, so I stayed home. I am still pretty tired and plan to go to bed early again. I will post again when I know more. Thanks to all of you for your support and prayers. I felt surrounded with caring and concern.

  This day did not start well, but I did get to talk to the doctor and his nurse practitioner. After the sudden vomiting things started happening quickly. I love the nurses on this floor, day and night shift. They have been wonderful taking care of him and me. I asked all the questions The Patient won't ask the doctor, but will wonder about later. They think there is a kink in his small intestine. This is not uncommon with this procedure. They feel like it will resolve itself if he will get up and move around. But ... they ordered X-rays right away. His diet is clear liquid now and his antibiotic is back to IV. They did an echocardiogram. Not sure if they saw something on the read out from his heart monitor or if they did this as a precaution in case they might have to take him back to surgery.  He got up and sat in a chair for awhile a couple of times. Around 2 pm he went to sleep and so did I. He slept peacefully for a couple of hours and I was in that sleep that leaves you heari

  I made it to the hospital in record time. The day was sunny and the drive was pleasant with a minimum of traffic. The patient told me he was being moved to another room, so I checked in at the information desk and found that he was still in the same room as before. He was agitated when I arrived. His lunch was still on the table by the bed, untouched. Dinner came and he refused all my efforts to have him eat a bite or two, so I asked for some Ensure. He didn't drink the entire bottle, but about half. Around 7 pm they were supposed to move him, but that didn't happen. Again around 9 pm the move was thought to be happening, but they gave the room to another patient. I made my bed of torture and settled in for the night. I had finally gotten somewhat comfortable and was dozing when they came for vitals and told us another room was ready. This was around 3:30 am. I didn't move from my warm nest on my hard bed.  Finally they brought us upstairs at 6 am. I am watching the sun r

  I have lost all concept of time. I know it is day, just not which one. I think it is Thursday. I checked my phone and I am right. The week is going quickly. Monday night ended with The Patient going to Northeast Georgia Medical Center by ambulance. I waited until the next morning to make the drive. It should take about an hour and a half, but weather conditions made it be closer to 2 hours. It was drizzling rain when I left and vacillated between a drizzle and a medium rain and then when I arrived and was getting ready to exit the car, the rain started in earnest.  Fortunately for me a nice older gentleman was weaving through the parking lot with a golfcart and stopped to help me find a spot. It was the spot reserved for those people who wanted to walk their dogs! That is a new one I have not encountered before. The spot was on the end closest to the hospital and the remainder of the row was reserved for visitors of the NICU. I was on the side of the hospital devoted to maternity pat

  What a day this has been! The Patient has been experiencing abdominal pain for about 2 weeks now. The Patient's wife has been trying to take him to see our family doctor. He refused all my efforts until today. I told him I was sick of listening to him complain and hurt. He hasn't been able to eat and has lost 20 lbs. since his surgery which was December 12, not even a month ago! I have managed to force fluids. So, I told him he could go to the office or I would call an ambulance and he could go to the ER. I made the appointment for 3:00 today. Before we left, I talked to my nephew. The babies are here!! His wife started beeding excessively. She knew she would have to have a C-Section because she had placenta previa. This happens when the placenta is positioned right above the cervix. It burst, putting all three of them in jeopardy. The mother is fine and the boys have been transferred to a hospital with a neo-natal ICU. Both were having trouble breathing. They weren't due

  This past fall we had visitors. My son and his new family came from Minnesota, so I invited my sister-in-law to come up since she had not seen Jeff for quite some time. You know how it is when you have company coming. You make every effort to show your property in the best light possible. My gardens are still in a state of beginnings, but I promise it will be spectacular in 2024. We were still waiting for the driveway to be finished, but all in all things looked pretty good, if crowded. So when I asked my sister-in-law what she thought of our new home she said it was better than she was expecting. I was a little baffled. She saw pictures of the place before we bought it. But I didn't linger on that thought. It wasn't until we were coming home one day after all the company had left.  As we turned off the highway and onto the road leading up to the higher properties, I looked at all the "houses" along the way and I suddenly knew what she meant. She must have thought w

  I moved my sewing machine to my kitchen table from the She Shed. I don't have enough power in the shed to run a heater and still have lights and power for my machine. I still haven't found my box of thread. It must be hiding with the cutlery from my kitchen. By the time I was packing up the last items I used whatever box had room left. So, why would I eliminate the space to eat a meal with my sewing machine? Well, I needed to sew. My nephew, son of my sister, is about to be a dad again. Twin boys will be here soon!  I began hunting fabric. You might recall that I sold over 500 yards of fabric from my stash. So, not expecting to have a need for baby fabric it is all gone. Went fabric shopping and was shocked at how much pricing has gone up. Even my favorite online sites were expensive.  I went looking and finally found some that would do for little boys and choked on the amount! I could have just puchased some blankets, but I wanted to make them. Hand made is much more persona