Awake: 5:55am Sleep 7+29 light rain overnight @ Indiana, PA.
We leave @ 7:00am & drive to the town of Hastings (45 min) & check in at
the Miners Medical Center where Kathy is scheduled to have a Gastroscopic
examination. The physician will be viewing the inside of her esophagus,
stomach & duodenum (part of the small bowel). Her doctor requested this
because Kathy was complaining of having more and more heart burn
throughout the day. After she got checked in & assigned a room, I was
called from the (SPU) short procedure unit waiting area & allowed to stay
with her until she was called into the Gastronomical lab for the
examination.
A nurse & the doctor sort of described the procedure this way: An
intravenous (IV) is started & the nurse will give her an injection
(Versed) which makes Kathy sleepy & relaxed. After that medication has
taken effect, Kathy is asked to turn on her left side. The doctor then
asks her to swallow the flexible, rubber endoscope tube. This is
accomplished with surprising ease they tell me, due to the relaxing effect
of that medication…..and tho the tube does not interfere with her
breathing, they do give her oxygen per nasal cannula. They will also take
a biopsy for microscopic examination & she will feel no discomfort during
that process either. It should only take about 30 min.
I returned to that SPU place & did some reading & writing until I was
notified that Kathy was back in her room. Amazingly enough, Kathy was
feeling good but retained a little lightheadedness. The nurse waited for
about 2 hrs before offering Kathy something to eat. After some signing of
documents & making sure the results would be phoned in to us, and or
written, we thanked them, wished them a Merry Christmas & sped down the
highway toward Nicktown.
In Nicktown, we gathered our mail from the post office & sped back to
Indiana. Kathy insisted she was feeling “just fine” & insisted that
grocery & miscellaneous item shopping would be OK for her to do this
afternoon. She acted tough & she was.
So, we hit the Wal-Mart Super center pretty hard; Nick & Eriko had some
special items on their list, which we were able to fill & Zack also phoned
in an order. In addition to W.M., we stopped @ the “Game Stop” store for
Zack & that was a bust. Not to give up easy, we tried one more place: the
Hobby Shop in town & that also was a bust for Zack’s list. A visit to
Martin’s grocery store completed our list & then we checked in with the
Foote folks around 3:00pm. By that time, Kathy was back to being herself &
started helping Kevin in the kitchen preparing for the big dinner meal.
Matthew was extremely friendly with me today…..so far. No suspicious
glances, no holding back his smiles or conversation. It was like: I’m a
grandparent again. How nice! I had this feeling that he was searching for
us to do something together. Well, one of the toys that Eriko bought for
Jerry @ the Latrobe thrift store wasn’t quite working right, so I engaged
Matthew in taking the toy apart to find out just why it was not working
properly. Matthew is a very good helper; he aims to please. That toy had 8
screws that were holding the two units together. Getting those screws out
was not easy for a 3 yr old. Our 1st Phillips screwdriver was not good;
the sharpness of the point was worn & dull. Matthew was twisting & turning
with nothing happening. Luckily I found another, a little bigger & like
new. It worked well after I loosened the screws a bit so he could easily
remove them, pick them out & put them in a container so they wouldn’t get
lost. The two half sections were pried apart; now we can easily see the 4
small plastic gears with springs & other simple mechanisms. Matthew’s eyes
were BIG & aglow with enthusiasm but, we couldn’t do any more on this
project today because…..wine time was approaching & that in itself was a
serious priority before dinner. Matthew accepted this pause for now, but I
could tell he would not forget the repair & reconstruction of this
important toy for Jerry.
5:30 dinner: Spaghetti with meat balls, Caesar’s salad, garlic bread &
blueberry muffins.
After dinner, the standard before bedtime scenario began as well as the
routine clean up the dishes & kitchen program. Tonight it’s Zack, me, &
some much appreciated help from Kathy. Remember, she’s the tough one!
Later evening: We all play the game of “Split Second.” I didn’t fare well
doing this; my brain was too slow & my answers too long…..just the
opposite of what it takes to be in the winning circle.
This day was much better; having had Kathy’s Gastroscopic examination done
& some prescription medicine on order, was a good thing + knowing that our
grandparent license has not been revoked yet, is also good. Oh yes, there
are so many good things I could mention, it would just take too much time
to make the list. We are back @ our hotel after 10:30pm.
High temp=50 Lights out: 12:03am
Leave a comment