August 25, 2006
Last night Gary discovered a few of his pepper plants, which had been moved to behind the garage (we were probably told they were there, but it slipped our minds). They were rather parched, so I watered them – the tabasco plant now once again looks impressive, with its tiny red and green peppers. I also discovered three rosemary plants back there, so have put those on the patio – otherwise, out of my sight, out of my mind (no comments, please ;-)).
This morning I shot awake about five, dreaming that I’d heard our smoke alarm go off and our house was on fire. I got up to check, but everything was fine. At six-fifteen, I woke again, again thinking I heard the beeping. I got up. Nothing. A little after eight, I heard a beep again. But it wasn’t coming from the hallway where the smoke alarm is, so I was totally confused. Gary, with his hearing loss, heard none of these beeps. I checked the house again. Again nothing.
Just before we left to go to Gary’s therapy session this morning, the garage people pulled into the driveway, blocking my car. I told them I needed to leave, and a man said he’d move the car – then he introduced himself as the owner of the company putting up the garage. He told us they were putting in a drain on the opposite side of the garage from the one they’d already put in, and that after that they’d backfill and top with pea gravel all the ground that had gotten torn up (it turned out they ran out of gravel and will finish that next week).
The therapy session consisted of the same exercises as last time – Gary was able to add another plate to some of the cable exercises! The therapist also made some leg bands for Gary (circles of a cloth-covered foam, held together with velcro) to take home. These he can fasten around his lower thighs and grab onto them to help him maneuver his legs while he’s on his back – he wouldn’t need to use them in a double bed because he would have room to roll onto his side and then he can grab a leg and pull, but in the hospital bed there is no room for him to roll. (You remember I told you what he has to do to roll, right? Swing his arms from one side to the other, his head and trunk following the motion, until he gains enough momentum to roll? If he tried that in the hospital bed, he’d roll right off it.)
After therapy, we went to the university and got Gary’s keys to his office from the Access Control office. I tried to get the keys just by showing Gary’s ID, but of course that didn’t work. When I explained that Gary used a wheelchair and that I would have to put it together to get Gary into the building (not to mention that I’d have to help Gary transfer both ways and take the chair apart again, all for the few minutes required to get the key), the man immediately agreed to come out to the car to get Gary’s signature and hand him the key. After getting the key, we went to the math department, and I left Gary there for the day – and I didn’t even stick around to watch him go up the ramp ;-).
I went back to the house to discover the garage people still there, including the business owner. The shingles were being put on the garage, the cement around the garage was being hosed down (to get rid of all that southern red clay that had gotten smeared over it these past weeks from the ground being dug up), and dead branches from a tree in the driveway that someone had obviously parked too close to earlier in the summer were being trimmed away. The owner asked if I’d like the branches of trees lining the driveway and those overhanging the garage to be trimmed as well, and I said sure :-). A little later, my doorbell rang, and the owner presented me with a large basket of candy, saying he appreciated our business. He then said how much he thought of my brother, saying there weren’t enough people in the world like him, that he was a man of few words but had a big heart.
Indeed.
I went into the diningroom/storage room to get something, and “guess who” scooted past me. Damn, the thing is still in there. I suppose one of those “Hav-A-Heart” traps is next. Stupid cats aren’t interested in the critters once they’ve brought them into the house.
Before leaving for my writers group meeting, I noticed that the messages on our phone read “full.” I didn’t bother listening to any – finding a housekeeper is Gary’s job ;-). After my meeting I picked Gary up. He told me he’d had lunch about a block down the pedestrian walkway in front of the math building – at Einstein’s Bagels. He’s not sure how he’ll maneuver in there if it gets crowded – I can’t think of the name for it, but like there are at airports, they have a roped-off corridor that one has to follow to get to the counter, and it’s too narrow for his wheelchair; since the place wasn’t crowded at the time he went, though, he could go straight up to the counter.
He said he’d had a good day, but it was a little tiring. He showed me a couple of postcards he’d gotten from Toposym – the Topology conference in Prague – from people sending their good wishes for his continued recovery. I counted eighty-one signatures. :-)
When we got home, we discovered more cards to the two of us – from his mom, my mom, and Gary’s brother Bob. I got birthday checks from both my mom and his, so now I’m really raking it in ;-). Thanks for the very nice cards, moms, and no, Mom G, Gary will not be making me a spaghetti dinner for my birthday ;-).
Gary opened package number ten this evening: from the Flightseeing trip over Mt. McKinley. There were a couple postcards, a brochure of the flight, and a little pin commemorating it. Norma said she thought the flight was the most awesome thing she’d ever done, and thanked Gary for suggesting it be part of the trip.
About eight p.m., just as we were going to start our evening routine, I heard three beeps and told Gary about them. He wheeled out into the family room, and at about eight-fifteen, a single beep sounded again – this time he heard it. But he agreed it wasn’t coming from where the smoke alarm was. On the off-chance the Rogers might know something about it (I recalled that Jack had put in a new smoke alarm for us), I called them. They returned the call shortly, and Janet suggested it might be the old alarm beeping, indicating the battery was low. Fortunately she knew where the old alarm was (otherwise I would have gone nuts ;-)), and Gary was able to open the back of it and take out the old battery. Hopefully that solves the problem. (Gary said he was glad the Rogers thought of this and knew where the old smoke alarm was, as otherwise, he was sure, knowing me, I wouldn’t have slept at all but lay there listening for the next beep; he is undoubtedly right ;-).)
All for tonight.
Last night Gary discovered a few of his pepper plants, which had been moved to behind the garage (we were probably told they were there, but it slipped our minds). They were rather parched, so I watered them – the tabasco plant now once again looks impressive, with its tiny red and green peppers. I also discovered three rosemary plants back there, so have put those on the patio – otherwise, out of my sight, out of my mind (no comments, please ;-)).
This morning I shot awake about five, dreaming that I’d heard our smoke alarm go off and our house was on fire. I got up to check, but everything was fine. At six-fifteen, I woke again, again thinking I heard the beeping. I got up. Nothing. A little after eight, I heard a beep again. But it wasn’t coming from the hallway where the smoke alarm is, so I was totally confused. Gary, with his hearing loss, heard none of these beeps. I checked the house again. Again nothing.
Just before we left to go to Gary’s therapy session this morning, the garage people pulled into the driveway, blocking my car. I told them I needed to leave, and a man said he’d move the car – then he introduced himself as the owner of the company putting up the garage. He told us they were putting in a drain on the opposite side of the garage from the one they’d already put in, and that after that they’d backfill and top with pea gravel all the ground that had gotten torn up (it turned out they ran out of gravel and will finish that next week).
The therapy session consisted of the same exercises as last time – Gary was able to add another plate to some of the cable exercises! The therapist also made some leg bands for Gary (circles of a cloth-covered foam, held together with velcro) to take home. These he can fasten around his lower thighs and grab onto them to help him maneuver his legs while he’s on his back – he wouldn’t need to use them in a double bed because he would have room to roll onto his side and then he can grab a leg and pull, but in the hospital bed there is no room for him to roll. (You remember I told you what he has to do to roll, right? Swing his arms from one side to the other, his head and trunk following the motion, until he gains enough momentum to roll? If he tried that in the hospital bed, he’d roll right off it.)
After therapy, we went to the university and got Gary’s keys to his office from the Access Control office. I tried to get the keys just by showing Gary’s ID, but of course that didn’t work. When I explained that Gary used a wheelchair and that I would have to put it together to get Gary into the building (not to mention that I’d have to help Gary transfer both ways and take the chair apart again, all for the few minutes required to get the key), the man immediately agreed to come out to the car to get Gary’s signature and hand him the key. After getting the key, we went to the math department, and I left Gary there for the day – and I didn’t even stick around to watch him go up the ramp ;-).
I went back to the house to discover the garage people still there, including the business owner. The shingles were being put on the garage, the cement around the garage was being hosed down (to get rid of all that southern red clay that had gotten smeared over it these past weeks from the ground being dug up), and dead branches from a tree in the driveway that someone had obviously parked too close to earlier in the summer were being trimmed away. The owner asked if I’d like the branches of trees lining the driveway and those overhanging the garage to be trimmed as well, and I said sure :-). A little later, my doorbell rang, and the owner presented me with a large basket of candy, saying he appreciated our business. He then said how much he thought of my brother, saying there weren’t enough people in the world like him, that he was a man of few words but had a big heart.
Indeed.
I went into the diningroom/storage room to get something, and “guess who” scooted past me. Damn, the thing is still in there. I suppose one of those “Hav-A-Heart” traps is next. Stupid cats aren’t interested in the critters once they’ve brought them into the house.
Before leaving for my writers group meeting, I noticed that the messages on our phone read “full.” I didn’t bother listening to any – finding a housekeeper is Gary’s job ;-). After my meeting I picked Gary up. He told me he’d had lunch about a block down the pedestrian walkway in front of the math building – at Einstein’s Bagels. He’s not sure how he’ll maneuver in there if it gets crowded – I can’t think of the name for it, but like there are at airports, they have a roped-off corridor that one has to follow to get to the counter, and it’s too narrow for his wheelchair; since the place wasn’t crowded at the time he went, though, he could go straight up to the counter.
He said he’d had a good day, but it was a little tiring. He showed me a couple of postcards he’d gotten from Toposym – the Topology conference in Prague – from people sending their good wishes for his continued recovery. I counted eighty-one signatures. :-)
When we got home, we discovered more cards to the two of us – from his mom, my mom, and Gary’s brother Bob. I got birthday checks from both my mom and his, so now I’m really raking it in ;-). Thanks for the very nice cards, moms, and no, Mom G, Gary will not be making me a spaghetti dinner for my birthday ;-).
Gary opened package number ten this evening: from the Flightseeing trip over Mt. McKinley. There were a couple postcards, a brochure of the flight, and a little pin commemorating it. Norma said she thought the flight was the most awesome thing she’d ever done, and thanked Gary for suggesting it be part of the trip.
About eight p.m., just as we were going to start our evening routine, I heard three beeps and told Gary about them. He wheeled out into the family room, and at about eight-fifteen, a single beep sounded again – this time he heard it. But he agreed it wasn’t coming from where the smoke alarm was. On the off-chance the Rogers might know something about it (I recalled that Jack had put in a new smoke alarm for us), I called them. They returned the call shortly, and Janet suggested it might be the old alarm beeping, indicating the battery was low. Fortunately she knew where the old alarm was (otherwise I would have gone nuts ;-)), and Gary was able to open the back of it and take out the old battery. Hopefully that solves the problem. (Gary said he was glad the Rogers thought of this and knew where the old smoke alarm was, as otherwise, he was sure, knowing me, I wouldn’t have slept at all but lay there listening for the next beep; he is undoubtedly right ;-).)
All for tonight.
posted by Peg Daniels at 8:58 PM
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