We Are HOME!!!

 Just as I was preparing to leave the hospital Wednesday night, Amber called me to see if I was okay

Unbeknownst to us, there had just been a shooting downstairs in the ER.

We were fine and it was all over before anyone other than those in the ER knew anything about it.

A mentally ill 34 year old man had come in seeking treatment and became very angry, pulled a gun out and started shooting at the doctor and nurses. Thanks be to God, 3 armed police officers 'just happened' to be in the next ER room after bringing someone in and they shot and killed the shooter. Thankfully, he had missed hitting the ones who were trying to help him and no one was hurt. Physically, that is. Emotionally and mentally is another matter.

I heard the 'All Clear' announcement while I was packing up to go home but I had no clue what it meant at the time.

Randy, the Nurses Station Secretary, had walked me downstairs on my first night at the hospital so I wouldn't get lost and on Wednesday night he insisted on walking me all the way to my car.

I got home around 10:30 and whirled around in the kitchen for awhile making a batch of spiced pumpkin muffins for the nurses and staff before doing the 16 things or so I needed to do before going to bed. I guess it helps to stay busy.

Early Thursday morning the phone rang and it was Louis Dean begging me to come get him!

"I can't STAND to be here another minute!!!"

Apparently, they had 'booby trapped' both the bed and the chair and if he got UP bells and whistles went off and he went crazy. I won't go into the gory details but let's just say I was glad the day shift was back on duty and I did not have to face those ladies from the night shift!

I passed his doctor in the hall and we both smiled with out eyes and then recognized each other and I was able to visit with her as she explained our options.

I already knew I had the right to take Louis Dean home no matter what and I also knew that no matter what recommendations they made, I could choose our own course of action.

Louis Dean is npt your average 85-soon to be- 86-year old man.

They don't know him like I do.

The recommendation for him to stay two weeks in a rehab place would NOT work for him.

Nor would a Home Health visit daily.

He just wanted to go home and I knew he would get better when he got there.

So Doctor Chavali went off to put in the discharge orders and I went in to get Louis Dean ready.

 

Rashmi on the left was his RN and Kayla is on the right.

She says her job is to prick fingers and wipe bottoms!

As always in a hospital, things move slowly so we had plenty of time to get ready and even eat lunch before we left. Rashmi suggested he get a pneumonia shot before we left and she chased that order up a floor and down as it was cancelled and put in again and she finally went to the pharmacy and picked it up herself.

She made all the difference in our hospital experience!

We had a running joke while we were there as her voice reminded me of my friend Jutta in Finland.

I was telling her that and she said, "I am Rashmi." I THOUGHT she said, "I am Russian!"

So I replied, "Well then, y'all are neighbors!"

It was the next day when I understood my mistake and we laughed and laughed.

As we were about to get on the elevator to go downstairs, Louis Dean said to take a picture.

So I did.

Between Louis Dean and my sister Nita, I have been clinging to scriptures and devotionals.

So, we arrived home at 1:30.

I put things up and then was sharing an update about Nita - so it had only been 15 minutes or so and I assumed Louis Dean was in his music room.

NOPE!

He was outside in the backyard!

I could NOT believe it!

He had the water hose and was squirting the gazebo, AC unit and the roof to cool things off!

I ranted and raved and was shaking so hard!

You know what the problem was?

He had totally forgotten he'd had heat exhaustion and pneumonia.

He just came home and thought things were business as usual.

His sodium has been low and is creeping back up to normal and as he feels better physically, he will be better mentally as well.

I left him sorting and folding his t-shirts up Army style and I ran up to the drugstore and picked up his prescriptions. I went in since i needed more of the Liquid IV and the pharmacy said they had two prescriptions ready and the other would take another 15 minutes.

I was embarrassed that I teared right up when I told her I had left my husband home alone.

She said she would hurry and she did.

As soon as I had the Liquid IV in my buggy, they paged my name to return to the pharmacy.

Groceries and a hair cut were on my to do list.

The first one could wait another day and Yulisa made the second one happen by coming to our house!

First she cut mine.

I usually cut hair on the kitchen deck so that's where we went and we weren't out there much more than 15 minutes!

When I came in I could smell smoke and the exhaust fan on the stove was on as was the attic fan!

You will not be surprised to learn that Gorilla Glue was to blame!

He was trying to repair a drawer in his room and the glue was dry.

SOOOOOO.....he put the container in a pan of water on the stove to heat it up and turn to liquid again.

Except he caught a mat on fire!

Oh, my!!

It's a wonder I even know my own name!!

Yulisa gave him a haircut, too!

She is a jewel!

When she finished, Louis Dean started to go in the house and she pulled him back and said, "Oh, no! We are NOT done!" It is a tradition that she take a pic - front and back!

So our first night back home together ended on a good note!

The cats are glad to to have him home, too!

And it was wonderful to have him right there in bed beside me all night long.

Today (Friday) has been blessedly uneventful.

We slept until after 10:00 and lingered over our coffee in the living room while we talked, read the Bible and our books and then had another cup of coffee to finish us up!

Louis Dean worked on his music today - Willie Nelson songs.

I spent hours doing small chores like ordering OTC things from FirstLineBenefits.

I had lost the account # and had to call them and, surprisingly, after I finally reached a human voice, it didn't take long at all. But then I locked myself out of the website twice until I finally got the right login and user name!

I bought groceries at Aldi and that was a workout!

You pick the things up and put them in your basket.

Then you pick them up again to put them on the checkout belt.

You pick them up the third time to put them in the insulated bags that I keep in the trunk of the car.

I just wheel the buggy out saving myself another pick up!

The fourth and last time is when I pick them up and bring them in.

I guess there IS a fifth!

I have to  put each item up.

Louis Dean is eating a little more than he did in the hospital.

I made a Cheesecake for tonight and cooked some potatoes and pepper poppers.

He was hungry for a steak so I bought one and have it marinating in the fridge waiting for him to wake up from his nap.

I bought some boneless chicken leg quarters and divided the 5 pieces into two bags of two and cooked the 5th one in the crockpot this afternoon.

Tomorrow's dinner will be a fancy mac and cheese package from Aldi and I will use the yummy chicken broth and meat with it.

Update on Nita.....

Her sweet neighbor, Sheryl, went to see her this morning.

She sat with her and talked, prayed and sang.

Nita was moving her head some whenever she was doing this but didn't move it when Sheryl was silent.

All we can do is the most we can do - pray.

When I go see her this weekend, I will pray and play her song 'Inner Demons' and read a card to her my friend, Michelle, sent me for her.

I admit I got pretty emotional earlier this evening.

Louis Dean was sleeping and the house was quiet and I prayed and cried and prayed some more.