My mother would be so proud ...

In our family, my mother was known partly by her camera. Always there -- always ready -- and, yep, I seemed to have inherited it and now I am passing it along it seems.

Today was my first official 'outing' and I was getting rather 'stir' crazy even in our large house! (You can see Sandi's 'thumbs up' sign behind me in the photo.) And where did we go?? To Sam's Club, of course. And why did we pick a Saturday to do that? I have no clue except that I was feeling quite a bit better and thought it would be good to go stock up on a few things. Of course, I'm not a list person and that doesn't go well on a busy Saturday afternoon when everyone and their brother decide to shop at Sam's. And I really can't figure it out -- summer is basically over so kids are back in school and it is not yet Snowbird season, but Sam's was as busy as I have ever seen it. When you don't have a list, you have a tendency to zigzag throughout the store.

Try to maneuver a wheelchair with one leg sticking straight out in front of you through a store -- come to the end of an aisle and you think you need to yell something or other so no one will run you over! I told the girls I really needed just to tie a red bandana at the end of my foot -- it would just look like one of those overload trucks -- okay, so you get the picture and it isn't very pretty.

It is amazing how people get out of your way .. well, some do. Others must think we just add a brace and a wheelchair for effect to allow us to get good parking spots and get through the store more quickly.

So ... Roxanne pushed the wheelchair -- I actually can wheel it myself and could have mustered the strength to get into a motorized one but quite frankly, everyone in Sam's was much safer by my staying in the manual one I was in. (Manual? Wasn't sure what other word to use ...)

Sandi pushed the shopping cart -- and the two didn't always meet. I held stuff until we could find Sandi and she couldn't get to us from where she was and people were EVERYWHERE!!! Didn't they get the memo? It was shopping time for us somewhat limited mobility people ... and I wasn't the only one motoring around like this.

Soooo .. we finally got to the front to check out. Now I can relax .. How about a diet coke for the road .. you can grab a cup/glass right there at checkout -- so Roxanne did and while Sandi and I checked out, she went to the drink machine -- which she found out has been out of commission (sort of) for the past two weeks .. except for, let's see .. iced tea, lemonade and power ade. Okay -- I can do iced tea .. sounds good. Right! Out of four machines, two were working -- but those two had finally given up the ghost, too ... so, Roxanne trotted right back to the checkout area and asked for our money back.

After we got everything loaded into the van at Sam's, Sandi reminded us that she had forgotten to take a picture of me shopping at Sam's .. like that was special? Okay, so it was -- my first outing!! Oh, well .. we may get another one tomorrow ...

So ... that was part of my outing for the day -- except that it got better, sort of! We arrived home after finishing our errands to the remnants of "Fay" still pounding on our door ... it was pouring down rain. Sandi ran inside to grab a plastic bag for my brace -- never mind my head or my hair -- obviously that couldn't look much worse .. but we did need to keep the brace dry, she told me.

So, between raindrops -- and there were lots of them for a few minutes, we unloaded the car and they unloaded me (not necessarily a pretty picture) but we all made it inside safe and sound -- and I think my mind is a little clearer and my mood is better after getting a new perspective on the world -- outside my house!!! I think I'll do it again tomorrow ...

By the way, on a serious note .. thanks to our girls for being such troopers ... and while I won't go into detail here in the many ways that they have helped me because some are too personal to share, they have been of more support than they could possibly know .. Bob and I are blessed beyond measure

Grandkids .. ya gotta love 'em ....

Taking some time away from my leg woes ... which are actually getting less, thankfully, as I continue to progress ...

Kamen -- our almost 10 year old grandson who is now in the 4th grade. He has been such a great little helper over the past few days. He especially enjoyed pushing my wheelchair (which I use if I'm not on the walker right now) and getting me a drink, etc. However, when he came in to ask again if he could be of service, I thought I'd have a little fun with him ... "Uh, I need to go to the bathroom." He decided he'd pass on that task! He has a cute little giggle that sort of says, "I think I need to say something but what do I say??" In the midst of the giggles and laughter, there is pain for him this week. One of his classmates lost his dad (in his 30's) so he is trying hard to be of comfort. What a task for a 9 (almost 10) year old!! So, if you think about it, please pray for Donovan, Kamen's friend.

Skipping to the youngest of the grandkids, Rudy ... he has now mastered walking so he is everywhere, all the time. He dearly loves his sisters -- who dearly love to 'terrorize' him. I'm sure they don't actually do that but he doesn't seem to be too bothered by it. Teri said that Regan was doing her homework on the couch (usually she's at a table but had an 'injured' ankle), Rudy ran up to her, gave her a big hug and went on his way.

RJ, 5, started kindergarten this year and loves it! I think Shonna would like him to have at least expressed some hesitancy about leaving the nest, but he was ready to go!!

Tyler always keeps me intrigued -- all I have to do is listen! He comes up with some pretty interesting things but I really have fun when it comes to questions. He'll tell me something and I'll jump into a question and answer session. He's a great sport -- I must have asked him something a little embarrassing the other day because he burst into giggles and never did quite answer whatever question it is I asked. Due to the medications I have been taking (but are much less now), who knows what I asked him?

He yelled to me a couple days ago -- I couldn't hear him so asked Kasi what he said. She said, "He said, 'I love you, Nana!'"

Aw .. the blessings of grandchildren!!!

Musings ....

This is one of those days that I wish things could be different -- that I didn't have to rely on my girls for simple duties that should be so easy and personal. Yet, they do the tasks at hand with no complaints. You really don't realize how much you do for yourself until you have to rely on someone else to do them. Like getting out of a chair -- but, I'm not sure if I mentioned this earlier and perhaps I did -- and, if so, I'll blame it on the drugs!! A couple had access to a lift chair through some ex-relatives ... and I became the most appreciative benefactor!! Wow -- press a button and voila! Up I go and it's easy to stand on the one good leg since I have been instructed to put NO weight on the other leg for quite a while. When I'm ready to sit down, it takes me down easily -- and I can actually got all the way down to a lying position (no, that's not telling 'lies' position). It also has a computer 'stand' which I am using right now. For some reason, this sounds familiar so I probably wrote this to someone somewhere recently.

So, thanks to Dex and Grace Martin for such a lovely gift!! It looks brand new and still had the original info in the pocket!!

So, back to our girls -- their checklists have all kinds of stuff on it (some unmentionable here) -- from helping to get me up (although I did that twice during the night and Roxanne about went into shock this morning when she found me up and in the lift chair all by myself -- thank you very much! Oh, I was extraordinarily careful and had use of the walker and it was all of about five feet away!!)

So, as they ran a couple errands , they were checking ..

• Glass of water -- check


• Home phone -- check


• Cell phone -- check


• Computer -- check


• Paper / pens -- check


• TV remote (loving the Olympics right now) -- check


• Medications (nicely labeled and in their little compartments by the time -- wonder why they don't seem to trust my memory) -- check ("Mom, there are two pills here -- did you forget to take one?")


• Newspaper and pen / pencil to do crossword puzzel (my grandmother would be sooo proud)

That's what I have in hand .. as they went out the door, I was asking ... "Do you have your list?"

• Publix -- few supplies I need (some they'll get at Walgreen's)


• Walgreens -- thank you cards -- one especially for 5th floor North at Bay Front Medical Center


• Post Office


• Subway - lunch special there and right now, I don't have a great appetite (why did it take a broken leg to help squelch my appetite!!! I just want to keep up the weight loss in a smart way .. and usually the 'smart way' for me is not the way I take!! Some people get hit over the head as a reminder -- maybe I got hit in the leg to remind me to 'take it off' .. weight, of course!)

Poor girls-- "Mom, what would you like to eat?" "Don't have a clue -- I'm not hungry and when I'm not hungry I can't think of a thing I want ... " So, I think they may try to surprise me ... we'll see!

So, for a few minutes this morning, I had a pity party for myself -- maybe that's not what it really is but I wish so badly I could do everything I need to do for myself and right now, I can't -- for a person who's spiritual gift is "serving", it makes it about as tough as it can get and I think God wants me to learn some lessons through this process. I hope I do it quickly so I can get on to the next chapter!!!

"F" is for "Fickle Fay" ..

When I was growing up, I heard the word "fickle" more often than I do now. Typically we used it as a label for someone who would change his/her mind often. I had already started writing this when I picked up the newspaper today and the word "Fickle" referring to "Fay" jumped out from bold headlines!

We need to get some work done on our roof one of these days (it seems everyone in Florida has those issues!), so when we heard that "Fickle" Fay was bearing down on our part of Florida and threatening to unload truckloads of rain, Tim tarped our roof out of precaution. Of course, as he did it, we all thought, "Yup, just as soon as he gets this done, Fay will change her mind and go a different direction." And -- he did and she did!! We may have some rain today (the key word being 'may') but we will be prepared and I'm glad for that.

I still am amused when I remember my mother asking me what the difference between a tornado and hurricane was and without even thinking, my answer was "about a week"!!

While we really don't sit around for 'about a week' twiddling our thumbs waiting on " Fickle Fay" or her relatives to make up their mind on what route she/they may take, we also are very glad we are not in tornado alley where there is little warning and so much devastation. We have learned from experience that it is still very good to be prepared for a hurricane / tropical storm. And, of course, the kids are thrilled today since all schools are out!

By the way, I don't think it has rained here yet and it's after noon! We could actually use the rain but who knows ...

I Think I Sound Like my Grandmother! Oh, my!!

I remember when my dear Swedish grandmother would look over her glasses and inform me that there had been a meeting of the board (her kids) and they had decided what needed to be done! She would then tell me that Aunt Wanda was the chairman! What a job she had -- we loved our grandmother but she truly defined the term, "Stubborn Swede" ... I think my mother inherited that as well!!

So ... with that in mind, I thought I would give a short update as I keep falling asleep as I type this. The computer may end up on the floor if I don't pay atention ... So, here's my update and hopefully it is done before I actually fall asleep!

I am settled in at home now with my specialized home health care crew in place. Clipboards in hand, they tell me what I should eat, not eat, what medication to take, when to take it, what not to eat when I take it, what medication needs food, have I done the exercises on the bed, off the bed, have I walked enough, have I not walked enough and the clincher was, 'have you gone to the bathroom yet' .. okay, that's getting a little personal. Wasn't it just yesterday that I was asking you that same question!!!!! Thanks, Rox and Sandi - you are doing a great job!

I'm sure I'll have photos tomorrow!!! I'm just toooo sleepy ...

Of light switches, buzzers and paper towel dispensers ...

What do those things have in common? Minds of their own, of course!

I talked last night about the light switch -- the whole night seemed to be a comedy of errors. An IV was pumping some magic solution into my body (wonder if I'll glow in the dark) and with new technology and the fact that the IV thingy wasn't moving as quickly as the nurse would like it to, it was being pushed along by a pump. Said pump would very loudly protest when it had no more magic solution so you would here three short beeps -- beep-beep-beep by a very short interval of peace. Remember, this is about 1am or so .. but, hey, who's keeping time anyway??

It seems that while the pumps have their own alert system, other than making some crazy insistent "Listen to me, I'm over it!" type of screech, no one seems to listen. After about a minute of it (or less), I was happy to reach for the 'call button' and 'call' someone ... anyone who cared but at 1am, it seemed I was the only one that did!! Aha .. finally, a voice that sounded more like radio static than a person, "Can I help you?" "Yeah, Can you listen for a minute ..." Of course, it would have to be at that exact moment that said pump decided to come up for air and be quiet.

Soooo, I had to explain that there was some sort of creation in my room making some major fuss about something or other and I was patiently 'over it'. Actually, I've been a patient patient this entire week, thank you very much!!

The 'static' responded, "I'll tell your nurse." Okay, let's see -- eeny, meeny, miney, mo ... (how do you spell that anyway???) It might be Imma or Adrienne or Pat -- all them are good but who will be the most anxious to get an obnoxious noise maker (not me, of course) to be quiet.

So ... nurse arrives, fiddles with the machine but it protests a few times until it finally gave up with a resigned grunt. However, the nurse isn't the one to actually shut down the place, room, etc., -- that would be Mimi, the personal care tech for that shift. Mimi is a sweetheart but doesn't seem to be concerned to much about figuring out some simple ways to make things easier on herself.

I even tried to help her -- "You know, you can unplug my computer cord at the end of the bed so you don't have to prove how high you can jump in the middle of the night to get to this side of the bed..." Her response, "That's okay, I can get there from here." Right -- clang, clang. What was that??? Glad I didn't know then what I know now-- I had asked the girls to bring my "White Diamonds" (if you don't know what that is, then you don't know what it is ... perfume stuff ... TMI, right?)

In Mimi's desire to be coordinated, she grabbed the window sill but not realizing that the White Diamonds were there and I was so thankful that when it fell on the floor, it didn't break. (I did hear her mutter, 'What was that?' but other than that, she just keI'm not sure what the response would have been to anyone entering the floor -- hazardous fumes -- don't inhale!!

Okay ... where was I? Oh, Mimi .. I really was getting rather tired and as I mentioned last night, I like to sleep in the darkness. But, I can't get out of bed with a bum leg especially to turn off a light. (Remember when we played the game, "Last one in bed gets to turn off the light" but since hospitals are not really places for games, better stay cool!)

"Mimi, can you turn off the light?"

"Of course, Ms. Bedford. No problem ... " Oh, let's sing for a minute while we do a search .. "Oh, where, oh, where did that light switch go?" (Yank a cord in time to the music -- sounds like she is pulling down the ceiling.) "Oh, where, oh where can it be?"

And so the search begins ... I told my nurse, John, this morning -- "You may have some of the most brilliant people in your trauma hospital here, but surely they could add a course on 'How to Find a Light Switch' somewhere." Funny thing, he agreed with me!

Back to Mimi looking for switch -- I loved this one. She's looking all around to see if there is anything remotely similar to a light switch. Leans over to check the wall a little closer, has to lean down to do it and sets off the automatic paper towel dispenser over her head. The noise momentarily shocks her and I'll admit, we were both quite sufficiently amused! Amused but tired! I was tired -- she was tired (although she had another 4 hours of work left)!

Well, have paper towels now -- but we still have light, too. Paper towel vanishes into trash can. (By the way, you can see the paper towel dispenser in the photo behind and above Kamen's head. Guess we stayed far anough away to get attacked by it! The switch for the overhead light in my room is on the right side of the big white 'box' on the wall behind me.

Poor Mimi -- a little put out by a paper towel dispenser and not wanting to look foolish for losing the 'bet ya can't find the lightswitch game', she shrugged her shoulders and headed out the door.

I'm not going to bore you for the next half hour on how frustrating it can be to be so close and yet so far from a light switch -- so, the short version (yup, I can actually keep it short!) I tried to sleep with that light on so tried to cover up my head with the one extra pillow on the entire floor which is so thin, it could qualify for an oversized Wheat Thin. Didn't work and the fact that a couple had to decided to take their evening stroll around the 5th floor dragging an IV contraption behind them (glancing in my room every time they passed), just didn't help to make me sleepier.

Okay .. back to beeper -- obnoxious beeper ... Beep!!! Static voice, "May I help you?" (Although at this time of the morning, it was more like, "What do you need?") How do I explain that I simply want someone to find an on/off switch button!

Good ol' me, don't want to offend anyone so add enough 'pleases' to sweeten every pie from here to the coast (all of about a mile), ask, "Um, would it be possible when you have time in the next little while to turn off my light?" She probably wanted to answer, "Get up and do it yourself" but because of my kindness, she responded, "I'll tell your nurse." Oh, here we go again ....

Fortunately, this time .. the nurse was actually came quickly. It took her all of about 5 seconds to walk through the door, flip a switch on the wall and "there was darkness"!!!

Sort of, that is ..... it seems that after she did that, she forgot to shut the door and with the brightly lit hospital corridor "Supplies Here" sign right outside my room, it still wasn't much better.

Let's see -- it's now 5am -- Nurse comes in -- "Here are your morning meds. By the way, would you like me to shut your door when I leave?" What -- you mean after finally making myself get to sleep around 3am or so and trying to drown out the other beepers that hadn't yet been put to sleep, I'll get some peace now to go back to sleep?

Hardly but there is one consolation -- big consolation -- I was going home and I am so excited I can't sleep!!! I'm home and it is sooo quiet -- now I can't go to sleep for the quiet!!

But, don't think I'm going to go looking for elusive light switches, buzzers on IV machines and the like and paper towel dispensers that go off whenever there is a whisper of moisture in the area -- I'll be content in my own bed and I better go to sleep before someone invents something new!!