Winter and the waning sliver of the Moon of the New Year
Is there time?
Monday gratefuls: Swedish ER. New feeding tube. Putting the new feeding tube back in. Rigel whining. Sleep. Kep. Kate and her endurance. Jevity. Food. Water. Oxygen.
Oh, geez. Hitting the red line. Burn out. Exhausted. Both of us. Kate’s feeding tube popped out about 8:30 am. I have put in back in before successfully, but not this time. The stoma had tightened up. Call to a physician. No help. Call Dispatch Health, they’ll come to you. Except they won’t because we’re not in their service area. Call urgent care. No, we don’t do gastronomy tubes. Call Swedish E.R. in Littleton. Nope. Go to the E.R. at the hospital. In Englewood.
Finally left house around 10:30. Didn’t get back until 3:30 or so. In the E.R. more critical patients get cared for first, as they should. But. That bumps folks in Kate’s situation back in priority. I sat in the car and read while Kate was in the E.R. Covid.
Got back home.
At bed time Kate says, “Charlie, I need help.” What was it? The feeding tube had popped out. The new one! Jesus. The E.R. doc had not inflated the little balloon that keeps it in place. Sigh. I reinserted the tube and Kate inflated the balloon using a syringe and air. Pulled on it a couple of times. Should stay.
I went back out to watch TV. “Charlie.” Rigel had pulled the plug for Kate’s oxygen concentrator out of the wall. Again. Of course this brings up the string of incidents on Friday morning when Kate became hypoxic after one of our O2 concentrators died. Again. That day was tough because it took a while for her to reoxygenate. BTW: I have ordered a cord lock for the outlet.
Rigel chose last night to whine for about an hour or so. Sounded like she was sick. I couldn’t believe it. I was so sleepy. Finally got up and let her outside. She ran away happily. Grrrr. When she and Kep came back in a bit later, she went on the couch upstairs and went to sleep.
Back to sleep.
At this moment the feeding tube is in place. Kate’s got oxygen. Rigel has eaten breakfast as has Kep.
I’m in the loft writing this. Might work out. Tired. Not sure. I do need no contact time right now. Down time. Alone time. Recuperative time.
Used up my reserves over the last three days. And, it’s not like it was a quiet week in Washington either.
I’ll be fine. I only need rest and sleep. And quiet. And no problems to solve. Kate’s resting, too. A genuinely difficult week.
