"My tits up went computer!"

Those are Richard's exact words, meaning, no computer stuff for him. No e-mail, no facebook, no Internet, etc. You get the picture. Until he either gets it fixed (7 years old) or replaced, every one gets to communicate the old fashioned way, YELL!!! Or phone home. Smoke signals anyone? This is what happened. He calls me from his cell phone, tells me to look up the lottery info, tells me I'm full of BS cuz his computer won't come on, then hangs up on me. Actually, the phone went dead cuz he didn't bother to recharge the darn thing. Still, he thinks I'm lying to him about the monitor not coming on, so when he gets home, still in a bad mood, he goes in and pushes all the buttons again, to find out that IT DOESN'T WORK!!!!!

Richard says:
Now, on another note...your mother is back on oxygen again and down to 113 pounds. Don't know what or if she is eating, says she is but you never know. A piece of toast and coffee with meds for breakfast does not make for a good eating habit. I suspect that she doesn't fix much because "nothing sounds good" and she has no appetite. So here's a thought for everybody to contemplate... and I know Ma will fight tooth and nail against it, but I'm thinking sooner or later she will have to bite the bullet and get into an assisted living place. Don't get me wrong, I'm not pushing the panic button, and I don't think anything has to be done right away. But I would appreciate every one's input on this or other options. Because if something happens, I will probably have to make a decision quickly and won't have time to call to ask for input or other options. I'd rather not talk to mom about this until I've heard from each of you. I know this is a delicate situation, and I really don't want mom pissed off with me, so let's see what we all can come up with before we mention anything to her. Well, this is what I've got on my mind and it just amazes me what goes through your mind when you are all screwed up on pain meds.

Later
RB

Richard Floating

Richard has been seen for his back ache, and the drs are referring him to a pain clinic. In the mean time, he just floats along about three feet off the floor due to the Norco, muscle spasm preventer and steroids that we picked up on the way home. He is slow to react to everything. Speech is slow and non-continuous (he starts to say something and forgets what it was he wanted to say after 2 words), eyes are glassy and he has this shit eating grin on about half the time. The other half, he's sleeping. Now we play the waiting game again. Dr. has to make the referral, correctly, Tri-West has to approve the referral, we get notice by e-mail, have to figure out how to sign on to Tri-West site again (they keep changing password) then we will call to make appt. We have learned to jump thru the hoops pretty well.

New car works well for us and your mother. We can all get in and out without a boost. Had to bite the bullet and traded in the Toyota pick up along with the Mazda van. The van qualified for the clunker stuff, so we came out a little ahead this time. The car is a Kia Soul Plus. Richard says it looks like a Mini Cooper on steroids. It has more room than the PT Cruiser, and a lot better mpg. So far about 30 mpg. The color listed is "Molten" which translates to really really red. It even has blue tooth in it and I finally sat down, took the time and got my phone to connect. That was interesting. Never done that before, so was a new challenge. Then I had to call home to see how it worked. Richard answered the phone, laid down on the bed to talk and promptly fell asleep. (When I got home, he was still asleep and stayed there for another 3 hours.) Can't get a photo to transfer, so if you want to look at the new car, check out www.kiasoul.com.

Catch you all later!
Cathy

Eventful Friday

We had yesterday all planned. (After your mother called at 7:30)Rich's dr appt for his hand, then lunch with my parents, then stopping at Heather's and drop off birthday present for Whitnee. Long story short-all goes well until Richard tries to tie his left shoe. This is nothing unusual, foot on chair to reach laces. But as he reaches for laces, there is a sharp pain, pop, and instantly, everything changes. He is in so much pain. I got him in the car and we headed for Meridian ER. When is all is said and done, 3 shots thru IV for pain, x-rays, we get to go home about 2:30. Stop at McDonalds to get something to eat (no breakfast as we planned a great lunch), find a place to pull over to eat the gut bombs, stop at Heather's, drop scripts at Albertson's and home. Pain pills work great and help him sleep. Now he is sitting in his chair with dogs, watching Spike TV (Trucks!; Extreme4x4; Muscle Car) high on Norco. No worries! Referred to Spine Intitute for pain management as not enough damage to warrant surgery, thank goodness. So, how did your weekend start out?

Cathy