Jul 24, 2007
Gary came home this morning and I took his report ;-). He said everything went pretty good, overall. He didn’t sleep that great while proning because although the pillows were those thick ones like the ones at the Holiday Inn Express in Columbus, he didn’t check whether he had put a firm one or a soft one underneath his chest beforehand, and it turned out to be a soft one and didn’t give him the support he needed. He was fine after he turned to his side though (about 3 am). He said the people at the hotel were happy to bring in his big suitcase for him and take it back out in the morning (at least, they were happy once he tipped them ;-)), so that was no problem. Maybe I should’ve had them do that for us in Columbus. Not sure if that works if you don’t look handicapped.
His first transfer into the bed took some planning on his part, because the bed was so high, and he said it didn’t go very smoothly. Because of the height of the bed, his feet didn’t reach the floor when he got into a sitting position on the bed, and whenever his legs are dangling without his feet being supported, his legs start spasming – literally kicking out – which makes it harder for him to balance. But since he forgot to turn out the hall light and had to transfer back out of the bed and then back in, he got extra practice on the transfer, and the second time went smoother. So now he feels confident he can transfer into a motel bed, at least if using the transfer board, with no problem.
He had another problem-solving situation arise at breakfast. In Columbus, I had gone to the breakfast area and brought him back bowl, spoon, banana, and milk, but here there was no way that he could carry back one of those 6 oz glasses of milk without spilling it on himself (normally he carries liquids in a big glass set between his legs while he wheels). Fortunately he had an empty 16 oz cranberry juice bottle, so he used that.
I didn’t worry too much about him during the night – woke up a couple extra times, I think. Worst thing was some ding-dong called my cell phone at 11:30 pm, and I shot for the phone, thinking it was Gary. Wrong number. Grrr. This is why I usually turn my phone off at bedtime.
Meant to mention with the random stuff yesterday, they had the auction of Gary’s mom’s household items last weekend. Mom Gruenhage wasn’t going to go – found it overwhelming, I think (Donne came up to oversee things). But she did go to it, and it turned out she was glad she did. She knew quite a few people there – including some cousins of Gary’s, who were bidding on stuff. And after people would win things, they would ask her for the history, so it turned she enjoyed it. The antique pedal organ didn’t go for as much as expected – about $250, I think. Gary’s erector set went for $35. :-)
Gary came home this morning and I took his report ;-). He said everything went pretty good, overall. He didn’t sleep that great while proning because although the pillows were those thick ones like the ones at the Holiday Inn Express in Columbus, he didn’t check whether he had put a firm one or a soft one underneath his chest beforehand, and it turned out to be a soft one and didn’t give him the support he needed. He was fine after he turned to his side though (about 3 am). He said the people at the hotel were happy to bring in his big suitcase for him and take it back out in the morning (at least, they were happy once he tipped them ;-)), so that was no problem. Maybe I should’ve had them do that for us in Columbus. Not sure if that works if you don’t look handicapped.
His first transfer into the bed took some planning on his part, because the bed was so high, and he said it didn’t go very smoothly. Because of the height of the bed, his feet didn’t reach the floor when he got into a sitting position on the bed, and whenever his legs are dangling without his feet being supported, his legs start spasming – literally kicking out – which makes it harder for him to balance. But since he forgot to turn out the hall light and had to transfer back out of the bed and then back in, he got extra practice on the transfer, and the second time went smoother. So now he feels confident he can transfer into a motel bed, at least if using the transfer board, with no problem.
He had another problem-solving situation arise at breakfast. In Columbus, I had gone to the breakfast area and brought him back bowl, spoon, banana, and milk, but here there was no way that he could carry back one of those 6 oz glasses of milk without spilling it on himself (normally he carries liquids in a big glass set between his legs while he wheels). Fortunately he had an empty 16 oz cranberry juice bottle, so he used that.
I didn’t worry too much about him during the night – woke up a couple extra times, I think. Worst thing was some ding-dong called my cell phone at 11:30 pm, and I shot for the phone, thinking it was Gary. Wrong number. Grrr. This is why I usually turn my phone off at bedtime.
Meant to mention with the random stuff yesterday, they had the auction of Gary’s mom’s household items last weekend. Mom Gruenhage wasn’t going to go – found it overwhelming, I think (Donne came up to oversee things). But she did go to it, and it turned out she was glad she did. She knew quite a few people there – including some cousins of Gary’s, who were bidding on stuff. And after people would win things, they would ask her for the history, so it turned she enjoyed it. The antique pedal organ didn’t go for as much as expected – about $250, I think. Gary’s erector set went for $35. :-)
posted by Peg Daniels at 8:12 PM
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