June 16, 2006 (8:43am)
I called over to the Residence Inn to make sure they had listed my preference (back row facing the woods, upstairs, nonsmoking) and also to ask them the best time to check in – too early, and the rooms wouldn’t be ready, too late, and the best choices would be taken. They said they had a room that met my requirements available now. “What number?” I asked. “1623," was the reply. “Uh, that’s right upstairs from 1613, right?” I asked. It was. This could be a problem. A couple weeks ago I had told another woman who was being kicked out of the Shepherd apartments about the great deal I’d gotten at the Residence Inn, and she was in 1613. She had told me she loved the place. She also told me there was somebody with dogs who lived upstairs from her, but that she didn’t mind. As you can probably guess by now, I would mind, so I wanted to make sure I wouldn’t be near them. So I told the Residence Inn guy my friend had told me their were dogs up there. “Yes,” he replied, “They’re right next to 1623.” Can you believe that? What are the odds that out of all the rooms in the place they were going to stick me in the one next to the dogs? I asked for a different room; he told me one the building over would be ready at noontime. I took it. Keep your fingers crossed.
I finished packing up and lined everything along the hallway of the apartment for the Gruenhages to help me haul out. Norma called, and they came over. I went out of the apartment and waved Gary’s brothers Bob and Donne and Donne’s son Justin up the stairs. Donne then told me his mom had fallen in getting out of their rented van. When I went over to the van to say “hi,” she was clutching her arm. “What a drag,” I told her. “What a drag,” she agreed. They wondered where to take her for a doc to look at her arm. I thought of Piedmont Hospital, right next door to Shepherd, said maybe they had an emergency room. They left to grab a takeout breakfast and find a doc, and I went to Shepherd. I dropped off my housing key at the security desk at Shepherd per instructions. Good timing, since just as I did so the housing guy called to see if I was out of my apartment yet. I really hadn’t expect them to be such sticklers for a 9am departure time, but evidently they are.
I got to Gary’s room and told him about his mom. “What a drag,” he said. We were all in agreement. I found out from a nurse that Piedmont did have an emergency room. I called Norma to tell her (or did she call me just then? I forget). It turned out they were just entering Shepherd’s parking garage. I told her there was a tunnel that led from Shepherd to Piedmont (Gary had been rolled through it on his way to Piedmont, which is where he had his flap surgery). I thought of meeting them at the elevators and taking them through the tunnel after getting the directions to the ER myself, but they decided to come up and see Gary first. Just then the tech came into Gary’s room and hoisted him into his wheelchair. His hair was a little wild from being in bed (and from it being too long), so he wheeled over to the mirror in the outer room and did his best to tame it before his family came.
It was a happy reunion, though Mom Gruenhage got teased for trying to take the attention away from Gary. We talked a bit, then I suggested we figure out how to get to the ER. We asked at the nurses’ station and it turned out someone was headed that way. At first only Mom G and Donne were going to go, I believe, but I asked Gary if he wanted to go too (to get a little change of scenery). He decided he would, so we had a little caravan. This was Gary’s first trip through the tunnel by chair, and we discovered that in some parts it sloped downhill and in other parts definitely up. Gary had to make a stop for a weight shift, and a few more brief ones to rest, so he and I and Bob fell behind the others. I asked Gary how he was doing, and he said he was getting a good aerobic workout. We made it to the ER, possibly doing something “illegal,” as to get there we had to briefly go outside off of Shepherd property and I don’t know if we were supposed to do that yet (not having had certain training).
Amazingly, it didn’t take long before a nurse came to take Mom G back to have her vitals taken. Gary needed to head back to the room, as he was only allowed to sit for an hour and a half today. Norma stayed with Mom G, and the rest of us headed back. At one point in the tunnel Gary zoomed off, due to the slope, and I ended up at a near-run trying to keep up – just in case. We had to stop for another of his weight shifts (right now he is to do them every fifteen minutes, though soon that will go back up to the standard half hour), then we headed up the elevator and toward his room. His PT saw us go by and said his TR (who Gary calls “the definition lady” (“ I am a recreational therapist. What do you think I do?”)) had come by for her scheduled visit at 11. We told her our sheet had said 10 and we’d wondered why she’d never shown up. Turns out there were two schedules in Gary’s room – the old one, which had been on Gary’s table and was the one we’d gone by had the RT coming at 10, and the revised schedule, hanging from the arm of the TV, which had her coming at 11. Oops.
I left to check in at the Residence Inn. I have a suite with a queen-sized bed, and I did get in back facing the woods. As long as my neighbors are quiet, this should be good. I unloaded enough from the car to have available the things I would need to cook dinner, then headed back to Shepherd. I certainly got spoiled with the convenience of the Shepherd apartments: it took me twenty minutes to get to Shepherd, as opposed to the two minutes from the apartments. It probably took longer than it normally will, though, since I had to deal with lunchtime traffic in Buckhead.
As I got about halfway through the hallway from the parking garage to the Shepherd building, I saw the Gruenhages in front of me, heading into the pharmacy. “What’s the verdict?” I called, seeing Mom G with her arm in a sling.
Broken arm!
At least it was only a hairline fracture. She will have to wear the sling, but that is better than having to wear a cast. The Gruenhages were filling a prescription for pain pills for her, and then they were taking her back to Helen’s condo to rest.
I went up to Gary’s, and he was ready for a rest, too. While he napped, I called my brother to see what was up with the house. We talked more about the roll-in shower, about the flooring (trying to decide whether to have ceramic tile throughout the entire master bathroom and bedroom so there is no break in surface or to have the tile only in the bathroom and have the floor in the bedroom be wood or vinyl sheet goods or low-pile rug (I preferred one of the first two choices but wanted to check with Gary)), and we also talked about the cabinetry in the bathroom – specifically, what to replace the existing cabinetry with, as the existing counter sink is being replaced with a pedestal sink.
Joe also talked about how much help he had gotten from Alex, and how much of a resource Jo Heath is for him. I can’t tell you how wonderful it is having this being handled for us. It would be overwhelming to have to deal now with all that has to be done in order to make our house wheelchair friendly – I don’t think I could do it.
I checked my email and opened the one from Janet Rogers – two cute pics of Tigger! Janet even went to the trouble of photoshopping out (don’t you love the practice of turning nouns into verbs?) the toilet plunger that had also made it into the picture.
Gary woke, and I showed him the cat pics – he thought they were great, too. I started telling him my conversation with Joe, and the Gruenhages walked in. So we gathered opinions from them as well (and they wanted me to be sure to convey their appreciation to Joe and crew for doing all this for Gary and me). We all liked the idea of a wood floor in the master bedroom best. For the cabinetry ideas kicked around, Norma pointed out that even if Gary couldn’t reach all the shelves in an overhead cabinet, they could be used for storage. So we are leaning toward a lower-drawers-and-overhead-cabinet system. While we were talking an email from my sister Janet arrived, saying “hi” to the Gruenhage family and wishing them a good visit with us (fortunately this email was immediately delivered). They say “hi” and “thank you” back.
The TR popped in and said Gary will have a couple table tennis classes next week. Now this is the type of rehab he can really appreciate! ;-)
Shortly before I was going to leave to do my usual early evening routine, Norma showed us some presents she’d brought: a large selection of paperbacks from various genres; since we like CSI and 24 and she does too, a lot of the ones she picked out had what she thinks is a similar flavor. But Gary is going to start with “Into Thin Air”; we’ve seen the movie based on it (on Donne’s recommendation, actually) and liked it very much (though we thought those climbers were a little nuts to have enjoyed the kind of climbing they did ;-)).
I left for my hotel, and shortly after the Gruenhages came over to help me with the rest of my stuff. It took less than two trips for the four of us, but that meant it saved me an extra four trips. Unfortunately my leg had started acting up as a result of the trips to the car the previous night, but I’m sure it would have gotten much worse if I’d had to do all the trips the Gruenhages saved me.
Later on, I brought my dinner back to Gary’s to eat, as usual. I suppose it had to happen sooner or later – somehow I knocked my food container of zukes and rice off the stand in his room and it went sailing. Food covered about a third of the floor, the dresser drawers, and part of my clothing. Gary said I couldn’t have covered more area with it if I’d tried. I got it cleaned up, and a nurse who had come in to check on Gary called an environmental service technician ;-) to go over it with a mop.
The Gruenhages phoned – they’d gone out to eat at the nearby Ted’s Montana Grill (owned by Atlanta’s Ted Turner) – and wanted to know if Gary had had dessert (good timing – he’d been planning on having some ice cream). They said they were bringing over a surprise. Boy, did they. Ice cream and chocolate brownie and chocolate sauce from Ted’s. Gary’s mom, who was up and about again after having spent the afternoon resting and said she was in no pain, wanted to know if the dessert was tasty. Gary said that wasn’t the word for it. The Gruenhages exhibited remarkable self-control, turning down Gary’s offer to share it (they claimed they were stuffed from the excellent meal they’d had, but still . . .); me, I silently endured the torture (when I’m about to die and allergic reactions don’t matter any more, give me this dessert; you can precede it with baked beans and crispy baked potatoes, both with a generous amount of catsup on top).
The Gruenhages said their goodnights, and shortly after I did too. I left a little earlier than usual because I live much farther away now. The room seems nice and quiet so far (I did hear those dogs outside about tennish, but that didn’t continue) but I still slept lousy – my leg was bothering me some, but I think it was mostly because it is a new environment to get used to. I’m not very adaptable that way.
All for now.
I called over to the Residence Inn to make sure they had listed my preference (back row facing the woods, upstairs, nonsmoking) and also to ask them the best time to check in – too early, and the rooms wouldn’t be ready, too late, and the best choices would be taken. They said they had a room that met my requirements available now. “What number?” I asked. “1623," was the reply. “Uh, that’s right upstairs from 1613, right?” I asked. It was. This could be a problem. A couple weeks ago I had told another woman who was being kicked out of the Shepherd apartments about the great deal I’d gotten at the Residence Inn, and she was in 1613. She had told me she loved the place. She also told me there was somebody with dogs who lived upstairs from her, but that she didn’t mind. As you can probably guess by now, I would mind, so I wanted to make sure I wouldn’t be near them. So I told the Residence Inn guy my friend had told me their were dogs up there. “Yes,” he replied, “They’re right next to 1623.” Can you believe that? What are the odds that out of all the rooms in the place they were going to stick me in the one next to the dogs? I asked for a different room; he told me one the building over would be ready at noontime. I took it. Keep your fingers crossed.
I finished packing up and lined everything along the hallway of the apartment for the Gruenhages to help me haul out. Norma called, and they came over. I went out of the apartment and waved Gary’s brothers Bob and Donne and Donne’s son Justin up the stairs. Donne then told me his mom had fallen in getting out of their rented van. When I went over to the van to say “hi,” she was clutching her arm. “What a drag,” I told her. “What a drag,” she agreed. They wondered where to take her for a doc to look at her arm. I thought of Piedmont Hospital, right next door to Shepherd, said maybe they had an emergency room. They left to grab a takeout breakfast and find a doc, and I went to Shepherd. I dropped off my housing key at the security desk at Shepherd per instructions. Good timing, since just as I did so the housing guy called to see if I was out of my apartment yet. I really hadn’t expect them to be such sticklers for a 9am departure time, but evidently they are.
I got to Gary’s room and told him about his mom. “What a drag,” he said. We were all in agreement. I found out from a nurse that Piedmont did have an emergency room. I called Norma to tell her (or did she call me just then? I forget). It turned out they were just entering Shepherd’s parking garage. I told her there was a tunnel that led from Shepherd to Piedmont (Gary had been rolled through it on his way to Piedmont, which is where he had his flap surgery). I thought of meeting them at the elevators and taking them through the tunnel after getting the directions to the ER myself, but they decided to come up and see Gary first. Just then the tech came into Gary’s room and hoisted him into his wheelchair. His hair was a little wild from being in bed (and from it being too long), so he wheeled over to the mirror in the outer room and did his best to tame it before his family came.
It was a happy reunion, though Mom Gruenhage got teased for trying to take the attention away from Gary. We talked a bit, then I suggested we figure out how to get to the ER. We asked at the nurses’ station and it turned out someone was headed that way. At first only Mom G and Donne were going to go, I believe, but I asked Gary if he wanted to go too (to get a little change of scenery). He decided he would, so we had a little caravan. This was Gary’s first trip through the tunnel by chair, and we discovered that in some parts it sloped downhill and in other parts definitely up. Gary had to make a stop for a weight shift, and a few more brief ones to rest, so he and I and Bob fell behind the others. I asked Gary how he was doing, and he said he was getting a good aerobic workout. We made it to the ER, possibly doing something “illegal,” as to get there we had to briefly go outside off of Shepherd property and I don’t know if we were supposed to do that yet (not having had certain training).
Amazingly, it didn’t take long before a nurse came to take Mom G back to have her vitals taken. Gary needed to head back to the room, as he was only allowed to sit for an hour and a half today. Norma stayed with Mom G, and the rest of us headed back. At one point in the tunnel Gary zoomed off, due to the slope, and I ended up at a near-run trying to keep up – just in case. We had to stop for another of his weight shifts (right now he is to do them every fifteen minutes, though soon that will go back up to the standard half hour), then we headed up the elevator and toward his room. His PT saw us go by and said his TR (who Gary calls “the definition lady” (“ I am a recreational therapist. What do you think I do?”)) had come by for her scheduled visit at 11. We told her our sheet had said 10 and we’d wondered why she’d never shown up. Turns out there were two schedules in Gary’s room – the old one, which had been on Gary’s table and was the one we’d gone by had the RT coming at 10, and the revised schedule, hanging from the arm of the TV, which had her coming at 11. Oops.
I left to check in at the Residence Inn. I have a suite with a queen-sized bed, and I did get in back facing the woods. As long as my neighbors are quiet, this should be good. I unloaded enough from the car to have available the things I would need to cook dinner, then headed back to Shepherd. I certainly got spoiled with the convenience of the Shepherd apartments: it took me twenty minutes to get to Shepherd, as opposed to the two minutes from the apartments. It probably took longer than it normally will, though, since I had to deal with lunchtime traffic in Buckhead.
As I got about halfway through the hallway from the parking garage to the Shepherd building, I saw the Gruenhages in front of me, heading into the pharmacy. “What’s the verdict?” I called, seeing Mom G with her arm in a sling.
Broken arm!
At least it was only a hairline fracture. She will have to wear the sling, but that is better than having to wear a cast. The Gruenhages were filling a prescription for pain pills for her, and then they were taking her back to Helen’s condo to rest.
I went up to Gary’s, and he was ready for a rest, too. While he napped, I called my brother to see what was up with the house. We talked more about the roll-in shower, about the flooring (trying to decide whether to have ceramic tile throughout the entire master bathroom and bedroom so there is no break in surface or to have the tile only in the bathroom and have the floor in the bedroom be wood or vinyl sheet goods or low-pile rug (I preferred one of the first two choices but wanted to check with Gary)), and we also talked about the cabinetry in the bathroom – specifically, what to replace the existing cabinetry with, as the existing counter sink is being replaced with a pedestal sink.
Joe also talked about how much help he had gotten from Alex, and how much of a resource Jo Heath is for him. I can’t tell you how wonderful it is having this being handled for us. It would be overwhelming to have to deal now with all that has to be done in order to make our house wheelchair friendly – I don’t think I could do it.
I checked my email and opened the one from Janet Rogers – two cute pics of Tigger! Janet even went to the trouble of photoshopping out (don’t you love the practice of turning nouns into verbs?) the toilet plunger that had also made it into the picture.
Gary woke, and I showed him the cat pics – he thought they were great, too. I started telling him my conversation with Joe, and the Gruenhages walked in. So we gathered opinions from them as well (and they wanted me to be sure to convey their appreciation to Joe and crew for doing all this for Gary and me). We all liked the idea of a wood floor in the master bedroom best. For the cabinetry ideas kicked around, Norma pointed out that even if Gary couldn’t reach all the shelves in an overhead cabinet, they could be used for storage. So we are leaning toward a lower-drawers-and-overhead-cabinet system. While we were talking an email from my sister Janet arrived, saying “hi” to the Gruenhage family and wishing them a good visit with us (fortunately this email was immediately delivered). They say “hi” and “thank you” back.
The TR popped in and said Gary will have a couple table tennis classes next week. Now this is the type of rehab he can really appreciate! ;-)
Shortly before I was going to leave to do my usual early evening routine, Norma showed us some presents she’d brought: a large selection of paperbacks from various genres; since we like CSI and 24 and she does too, a lot of the ones she picked out had what she thinks is a similar flavor. But Gary is going to start with “Into Thin Air”; we’ve seen the movie based on it (on Donne’s recommendation, actually) and liked it very much (though we thought those climbers were a little nuts to have enjoyed the kind of climbing they did ;-)).
I left for my hotel, and shortly after the Gruenhages came over to help me with the rest of my stuff. It took less than two trips for the four of us, but that meant it saved me an extra four trips. Unfortunately my leg had started acting up as a result of the trips to the car the previous night, but I’m sure it would have gotten much worse if I’d had to do all the trips the Gruenhages saved me.
Later on, I brought my dinner back to Gary’s to eat, as usual. I suppose it had to happen sooner or later – somehow I knocked my food container of zukes and rice off the stand in his room and it went sailing. Food covered about a third of the floor, the dresser drawers, and part of my clothing. Gary said I couldn’t have covered more area with it if I’d tried. I got it cleaned up, and a nurse who had come in to check on Gary called an environmental service technician ;-) to go over it with a mop.
The Gruenhages phoned – they’d gone out to eat at the nearby Ted’s Montana Grill (owned by Atlanta’s Ted Turner) – and wanted to know if Gary had had dessert (good timing – he’d been planning on having some ice cream). They said they were bringing over a surprise. Boy, did they. Ice cream and chocolate brownie and chocolate sauce from Ted’s. Gary’s mom, who was up and about again after having spent the afternoon resting and said she was in no pain, wanted to know if the dessert was tasty. Gary said that wasn’t the word for it. The Gruenhages exhibited remarkable self-control, turning down Gary’s offer to share it (they claimed they were stuffed from the excellent meal they’d had, but still . . .); me, I silently endured the torture (when I’m about to die and allergic reactions don’t matter any more, give me this dessert; you can precede it with baked beans and crispy baked potatoes, both with a generous amount of catsup on top).
The Gruenhages said their goodnights, and shortly after I did too. I left a little earlier than usual because I live much farther away now. The room seems nice and quiet so far (I did hear those dogs outside about tennish, but that didn’t continue) but I still slept lousy – my leg was bothering me some, but I think it was mostly because it is a new environment to get used to. I’m not very adaptable that way.
All for now.
posted by Peg Daniels at 5:58 AM
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