Saved By A Fly
Yesterday was one of those days when you tell yourself nothing else can go wrong. This too shall pass, only something else gets worse. My wife had a doctors appointment at 4:45 PM, Lab was scheduled for 3:00 PM.This appointment was made on a computer over three months ago, but we decided not to change it. At least it was not a fasting lab, modern health care best hurry! I was easy going at one time, health care is turning us all into high blood pressure patients. Rose did not have to starve herself. It would’ve been a whole lot different story if she had fasted for it. A 50 mile drive with a Hungry Mother Bear in the seat next to you, could be a trip to write a story about.
We usually have to go early for fasting. We never have that much time to kill, going anywhere is a major undertaking because she has two oxygen tanks in her walker. I have to always use my walker with four wheels, if I’m going to have a long day somewhere, I have an electric wheelchair that I unload. Usually our appointments are early in the morning because she has fasting lab and prefers that time. Well, yesterday we had a whole day to kill we got there a half hour early. She had to wait to see the doctor a lot longer than usual for some reason.
We leave the windows cracked open on our Van in case of a quick temperature change from a passing thunderstorm, that can make a windshield blow right out. The windows were cracked open very slightly, yes, just enough for hoards of flies to come in, thank the Lord they were not huge Blue Bottle flies. Fall is approaching and the flies are all looking for a new home for the winter. My wife started killing flies as soon as she got in the van, after she went into the doctor’s office, I smashed their little bodies awhile longer.
I drove to the local market, got my trusty small walker out to get in the store with. Then used their electric scooters with a big basket on the front, the basket was running over on four sides, I was there about an hour, I headed back up to the hospital/clinic. I sat there about an hour, killing more pesky,slow moving, dirty footed flies.
I started getting worried, something has to be wrong with her, they’re going to keep her in the hospital! I go into a hurry up panic mode, getting my walker unloaded, I almost fell over backwards, starting to realize, no hurry up is left in me. At my fastest pace, I started for the front door to the clinic, only about a hundred yards away. Several people offered assistance but I said I will be just fine. People are sure good when they see an old geezer on the verge of falling down.
I get to the front desk and ask the nurse, “is my wife Rose Marie still in the doctor’s office?” She gives me a puzzled look, ‘more instant panic’ “yes I guess so.” As I started down the hall. we met head-on as she turned the corner coming out. I was very relieved, until she said, “I’m ready to go out to the casino for awhile.” An Indian Casino is 8 miles out of town.
I knew she meant it, I cannot stand to have an 83 year old woman pouting, having tantrums and making my life miserable now and for days to come. I said, “okay but only for a little while.” “I refuse to drive after dark with these blazing blue, bright, arc welder headlights. Our days get shorter, faster now until December 21, which means we’re going to be coming home earlier every day for quite a while.
When we got out to the casino, I should have just stayed in the van and called for her to come out when I thought the time right, although it never is. At this time I was so worn out, knackered, I was almost to the crashing point. My arms were screaming at me, steering that van around all the different parking lots is hard exercise. I got the wheelchair unloaded and rode into the casino in style. I donated my tight wad share, after two hours I told her, I was going to go load up. I could not believe my eyes, she was outside before I had the electric wheelchair loaded. Might be a new chapter, certainly hope so.
We headed for home, pulled up in front of our apartment just as it was getting dark. She asks, “what needs to go in the house.” “I said only the milk and the other cold stuff, leave the potatoes until morning.” So she brought in the potatoes, I brought in the rest after plugging in the charger on my chair, at this time it was dark. I barely got into the apartment from being weak, sapped out, drained. We better start planning our outings better I tell her.
At bedtime I needed pain relief bad I was at 9.99 on the 1 to 10 scale. My neurology doctor tripled my dose of Gabapentin for neuropathic pain. I took the increased Gabapentin as he told me, but I was feeling so bad I also took a Tylenol PM. My right arm didn’t even want to move, could barely get into bed at 11:30 PM.
The last thing I recall is praying for my cousin down in Tulsa. He is in the hospital for tests, having a bad time with his lungs and is having a lot of heart trouble besides. He worked on many of the big pipeline jobs. I believe he was over in the Gulf Region, in Oman when the term was coined, “that guy is big enough to eat hay.” Well my cousin Lynn, actually my brother, we grew up together. He is like “Big John”, the kind of a guy who would stay down in the mine to keep the thing from caving in on everyone else. He could use a prayer or two from anyone else out there who is into saying prayers from time to time.
I wish there had been monitors on me last night. It was a lost night, I usually remember some dreams, something. Did I have an out of body trip to another galaxy? Was it only one? Were there more ravishing young damsels of a noble birth on some distant star. Time and distance mean nothing to us in out of body mode. Maybe I was looking for a ship from Venus to return and pick me up. The night was but wasn’t?
I woke to what I thought was a hearing aid buzzing that I forgot to remove in my condition at bed time. It was a fly, he kept up his same song and dance routine, until I opened my eyes. I did not want to open them. I finally did after 12 hours in bed! I sat on the edge of the bed for a long time, trying to piece together the night that just ended. That fly might have saved my life. Later on out in the kitchen I killed a fly, then it dawned on me, might have been the fly from the bedroom. Tonight, no Tylenol PM.
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