Hear Me Roar

 Just when you are looking forward to a semblance of normal .....

I told you about our trip, leaving from the doctor's office in Gainesville, then heading south to Perry. The Patient drove the RV and I took my usual position in the back with the dogs. I could tell he was a bit rusty on the way to Gainesville. I like to have the window shade up enough to look out and I could tell where we were. We had come through the mountain pass, when I looked out to see scenery I was unfamiliar with.

"Where are we?" I asked The Patient (aka HeWho drives). He told me we were outside of Helen, that Siri was taking us a different way. I am not a fan of alternate routes when we have an appointment, but there we were. He must have assumed that we were out of the mountain curves and he increased the speed. He took one curve so fast I was slung to the floor.

He slowed and pulled to the side of the road as he asked if I was okay. Normally I would have carried on a bit about his criticism of my driving skills, but he looked a little upset, so I got to my feet (not gracefully) and sat myself back down with the canines. Water had splashed out of Dora's makeshift tank and I was a bit wet, but okay. I would say my pride was injured, but I seem to have none!

We did stop and rest on that short leg of the trip. Only three hours, but it seemed a bit longer. We made it in time for him to nap before we went to dinner with family. He ate a good portion of food and we went to bed early and slept well. 

The drive to our next stop was uneventful and we got there in record time. He took another nap after seeing the new babies. I was not going to deny myself the pleasure of holding a sweet baby, so I stayed with my niece, great-niece and my delicious great-nephews. When The Patient woke, he was hungry!

He left with our great niece and they came back with a mountain of Chinese food. He was going to eat the eggdrop soup from the quart container until his wife suggested that he use a bowl, since others might want some and I was sure he could not eat it all. But, he did eat it all!

I would have sworn this was a turning point and he would start to gain his strength back and I would once again have someone to argue with!

We made a short trip to visit his parents at the cemetary, then meet up with our cousins for dinner. We were at the Cracker Barrel and he wanted fried chicken. While I know this isn't a particularly good choice, I didn't care, I just wanted him to eat like a normal person. Unfortunately, the chicken brought to the table did not taste very good. I tasted it to see if it was his tastebuds gone crazy or the chicken.

It was the chicken and he just ate the sides. I have had better chicken at a gas station ...... Cracker Barrel did take the fried chicken off the bill.

We returned to the house of babies and spent another night and I got more cuddles in the next day before we left to go back to Perry. Another night and another dinner and we came home the next day.

That very night, Toni Louise, in her usual fashion got down out of the bed. She likes to reconnoiter our home, just to make sure all is well within our walls. She will then present herself to be lifted into the bed. Normally, she would do this at the foot of the bed and I would get up and lift her onto the bed. Just like I taught her to do.

Being excited to have her master back at home, she went to his side of the bed and began wagging her tail, which banged loudly on the wall and woke him. He turned to pick her up and put her in bed. Next day he started complaining about his back. I gave him some Tylenol and he sat all day long. Everytime he got up he would grimace and groan. I put some Icy Hot on his back and told him he probably pulled a muscle.

Bedtime came and once again Toni Loise did her thing and now she was sure of her new pick up point. He twisted around and picked her up and yelled about his back. You might be wondering why he would do such a thing if his back was already bothering him. You are not alone. I pointed out to him that we now knew what had happened to his back.

He can't take Ibuprofen with his blood thinner and swore that Tylenol did not help and that I needed to make an appointment for him. I pondered aloud about his being able to use a phone just fine and that he was perfectly capable of making his own appointment. I made the appointment. And this is how we ended up at yet another doctor's office yesterday morning.

I love our nurse practitioner. All I have to do is look at her over the head of the patient and she gets what I am trying to communicate! After he showered that morning he told me to come look at his legs. They were mottled with red spots and he said it itched.

Had it been only on one leg, I would have been more concerned, but both calves were involved. My legs have looked similar when I have the water too hot in the shower. He has really dry skin, but we all know creams and lotions are FEMALE products.

Amanda looked upon me with sympathy as I led the way into the exam room with The Patient who has lost another 4 lbs. She made all my diagnosis come true. Then we discussed appropriate remedy for The Patient. Ibuprofen would be the drug of choice for an inflamed muscle, but not for The Patient. We ended up with a mild muscle relaxer and a steroid dose pack. Added benefit of an increased appetite comes with the steroids.

Today, he is still in some pain, but greatly improved. He will not admit how much better he is. He does like to milk his illnesses and I am wise to him. I will never tell him that I hurt my back carrying the big bottle of water and putting it on the dispenser. Already took some Ibuprofen and expect to be better tomorrow. Will I go see Amanda? No, I will tough it out! I am WOMAN!