Category: APAD

APAD Day 36 5:50 am Phone call

~ msgracefulnot ~ 3 Comments

It takes me minute to realize that my favorite song is playing, not because I left the radio on, but because my phone is ringing. I open one eye and see that it’s still dark….. OH Shit! I’ve gotten enough of these calls in my life to know this is not a good thing. As I try to locate my phone, which has now stopped ringing, I realize I have been repeating “please don’t let anybody be dead” over and over in my mind. My hand is trembling as I try to remember the code to unlock my phone.

No One Died

OK! I have 3 missed calls from my dad, 2 from my sister in law, and a text saying, “call your dad, mom is hospital”. PUSH THE COFFEE BUTTON GRACE! I push the button and call my Dad. Thankfully he answers right away and there is no noise in the background. (I’m thinking no sirens or crash carts) My dad explains that my mom fell, split her head open, lots of blood and the ambulance is taking her to Hospital A on Blank Street. (Hospital B is on Blank street, hospital A is on not blank street?!?!? but ok). My Dad continues to say, “They have a no visitor policy, and if she is ok they will bring her home”…… Yep I’m gonna need that coffee!

Excuse me, I’m trying to find my mom

I asked my dad, “Other than trying to find her, what do you need me to do? Are YOU Ok?” He responded that yes he was ok, and to just find her please. In my family, this means “please take control and fix this”. Ok will do. My third call found her. She is at Hospital B on Blank Street. I am listed as her Emergency Contact, they have Power of Attorney on file, and they are aware that she has Dementia. They do have a no visitor policy because of Covid, unless….well we will not go there, but they will call me to keep me posted.

I’ve had some kind of sickness (upper respiratory thingy) since I came home from Colorado last week. Both of the boys were sick while I was there and all that cuddling passed their colds to me. I don’t want to go anywhere near people right now.

So now we wait.

Update*

They have admitted her to the hospital. Although the scans all came back clear, she did need stitches and is unable to put any weight on her legs. Because of covid, they will not allow anyone in to see her. I did deliver her phone charger and a laptop so that hopefully I can get a better picture of her current situation and calm her down later today/

APAD Day 34 The Perfect Calendar?

~ msgracefulnot ~ Leave a comment

Is there a PERFECT Calendar?

Until a year or so ago, I guess I just assumed they were one size fits all. I mean I know there are wall calendars, huge 16×20 desk calendars, pocket calendars, page a day calendars, and phone calendars, but I DIDN”T realize that there are 100’s of each type. I am still in search of the ‘perfect’ calendar.

Because I never seem to know what day it is (they all blend together) and I am always on the run or have somewhere to be, I THOUGHT purchasing a calendar would help me become more organized. Yes, I have thought about using an online calendar or my phone, BUT I want something that I can hold in my hand. Let’s just call me old school for now. I thought I had found the perfect calendar last year only to realize I needed one that covered more than 12 months, otherwise I would be carrying 2 around. I’ve tried the 24 month “pocket” calendars and they don’t have enough room to write details in their little boxes. I HATE going to stores, but purchasing a calendar online is tricky because they only show so many pictures of what the insides looks like…. So I made a list.

What are you looking for in a Calendar?

  1. Fits in my purse- This is the most important because my schedule is constantly changing so I need to have it with me all the time. 5×8 will work
  2. Displays a full month on one page (2 if open)- This is important when scheduling anything so you are not constantly thumbing back and forth between pages
  3. Room to write on each individual day- addresses, phone numbers, flight times etc
  4. More than 12 months- Makes it easier to add yearly events bdays, anniversaries, scheduling your 6 month dental visit in September for the following year.

Those a my ‘basic’ requirements in a calendar. Now how the hell do you search for that?!?!??

Google Search * 5 x 8 2 year calendars *

The first link showed a 5 year calendar but it was 8.5 x 11. :/ Since I was already at Amazon, I decided to enter the same terms in their search engine. 2 pages of the wrong size calendars, followed by the right size but only 12 months. (I learned the difference between academic and calendar year searches but still couldn’t find 24 months….ARGH! I THOUGHT I had found one that would work and ordered it. Now I know why monthly tabs are so important….smh. oh that and removable pages…FUCK! Oh well, I guess it is what it is for now.

So then I went back to talking myself into using Google Calendar more. Looking at my list of requirements above showed me that using it would technically meet all of them.

Phone Calendar

  1. It does fit in my purse (finding it in there may be another story though)
  2. displays a full month or can be viewed on the computer
  3. provides room to add details
  4. definitely more than one year

Using the Google Calendar

I do like that I always have the calendar with me. Even though entering things on my phone (with numb fingers) kind of sucks, I can just as easily enter events on my computer and view them on the phone. Many of the appointments that I have marked on the calendar are not for me, but for my parents. Some I have to be at, some I just need to be aware of for payments, or follow up etc. ( I have medical and financial power of attorney for both of them)

I made each of them a google account and gave myself access to their calendars. It’s been a learning process for sure. When I started teaching them how to use the calendars my mom was excited about feeling “in control” of something in her life. She tries very hard to enter appointments by herself but frequently selects the wrong day or an all day event. That’s okay, we are all learning. She was so excited that she began using her calendar to write down what she did for the day as well. Sucks for me trying to sort it all out, but at least she is using it. The fact that she keeps track of what she did each day may help with tracking her dementia.

I had to ad another color to know which appointments were “real”, and which ones I had to be at etc. (I’m running out of colors)

Overall, I really can’t complain about using the Google Calendar. Other than now having to find a new place to stash my mask that is easy to find in the paper calendar, but I can’t blame google for that. Heh.

APAD Day 32 Fall Detection on Smart Watches

~ msgracefulnot ~ 4 Comments

Does it work?

I’m not sure. For Christmas this year, my Dad purchased my mother and I a Samsung Galaxy 4 Smart Watch with fall detection. While the watch won’t prevent either one of us from falling, maybe it will work to let someone know that we might need assistance? To be honest, I am afraid to “test” it. I don’t want to fall! It hurts!

I have smacked my arm against a wall trying to imitate a trip with no result. During my last round of Physical Therapy, my therapist tried to set off the fall detection by “pretend” falling with no results. I’ve been exploring Samsung’s website to see if I need to adjust my settings somehow, but haven’t found any new answers. It does specifically state HARD FALLS. With my luck, I’m sure I will have the “opportunity” to test it again. 😦 I’ve also watched a couple of youtube videos of people testing various watches only to find that most of the watches respond maybe 50% of the time.

Things I didn’t know I needed?

So far the watch does not work like I had hoped it would. BUT, I am kind of excited about some of the other features that it comes with.

  1. I have used the FIND MY PHONE app the most! (The phone has a FIND MY WATCH option too)
  2. The watch face is customizable. I have mine set to show me the date and time, the weather, number of steps taken in the day, and how much battery life I have left.
  3. I can make, answer, and ignore calls and texts using the watch.
  4. I am learning to use the camera control on the watch to take pictures of my dogs, and grandkids (without it being completely obvious that I am taking their pictures.)

Always room for improvement

  1. The watch needs it’s own charger. ( you will not be able to use the same one for your phone)
  2. The watch band is not user friendly. I am sure that I could buy a new one, but that’s just more $$$

What do you think?

Do you have a Smart Watch? Do you like it? Why or why not?

A post a Day APAD Day 31 That’s gonna leave a mark!

~ msgracefulnot ~ 11 Comments

While I am happy to report that I did not have any surgeries last year. Let that sink in…. ZERO… not even one!!!!. ( If I haven’t mention before, I am 48 and have had more than 50 surgeries.) So ZERO is an excellent number! Alas, I am still Ms. Graceful…NOT, and I do have some injuries to report.

A Birthday Concussion

I don’t think I was awake for even an hour before I knocked myself out…. literally! I was standing in the kitchen, maybe pre-coffee? when I noticed that Einstein had taken out BOTH the recycling and the garbage. Of course he didn’t replace the bags, but he actually took BOTH of them without me nagging for days….This was huge! Happy Birthday to me!!! I don’t know if that thought had even sunk in before I slipped on the garbage can lid that he left on the floor and felt myself falling into the kitchen table, then the bar stool, and eventually landing on floor and passing out. Of course my head was the collision point for each surface. I’m not sure how long I was unconscious.

When I came to, I couldn’t see straight, the pain in my head was horrendous, and I began vomiting. I crawled to the freezer and put ice on my head until the world stopping spinning. After some time, I was able to clean up the mess I had made and messaged a couple of people that I had fallen and hit my head. Would they mind messaging me in a couple hours to make sure I was still awake? I even attempted to smh….FUCK that hurt!!!!!

I have had more than my share of concussions over the years, so I knew the drill. Don’t let the patient fall asleep and every hour or so ask them if they know their name etc. My vision appeared to be fine, so I spent the rest of the day watching tv and making small laps around the inside of the house trying to stay awake. Apparently “the drill” is an OLD drill. The new treatment for a concussion is lots of sleep!!!!! NO TV, NO COMPUTER, NO READING, JUST BRAIN REST!!!! Huh?….. Oh an apparently you should go to the hospital immediately if you are vomiting or lose consciousness. After two trips to the hospital for MRI’s, fluids, antibiotics, and pain killers I am now educated. I am also educated on the treatment of neurogenic fever….. SMH (it doesn’t hurt anymore)

Happy Thanksgiving to me?

Last year, Einstein and I hosted Thanksgiving at our (his) house. Our new puppy, Lady, woke me up at 6 am barking that she wanted to go outside. She immediately ran to the bedroom door and I followed to let her out. When I opened the bedroom door, she stopped, I DIDN’T! I tripped over her headfirst into the wall. and down I went ….again. THIS time, I didn’t lose consciousness, but there was lots of blood and I did require a trip to immediate care for stitches in my forehead. It took us over an hour to find one that was open, and the wait was more than 5 hours….. UGH…. Overall though we were all able to spend parts of the day together and my entire family (including Einstein) pitched in.

Can you guess what happened next?

Seriously try to guess…. I bet you can….

MORE STITCHES!!!!!

I was supposed to leave for Colorado the next morning so of course my house had to be spotless before I left. That sentence doesn’t even sound logical but somewhere in my brain it is….. The house must be cleaned before you go on a trip!!!!!! I don’t try to fight it anymore, it is what it is. I had also been cooking meals for Einstein to reheat while I was out of town. (this is so my kitchen is in one piece when I get home, not because I am nice) My suitcase was packed and sitting by the door. I was exhausted, but All that was left to do, was to feed the two of us and the dogs.

I cut the lid off of the can of dog food and placed it on a paper towel on the counter……, just as the doorbell rang signaling the pizza I had ordered for dinner had arrived. After answering the door, I carried the pizza into the kitchen looking for a place to put it on the counter.

Let me just scrunch up this paper towel ( the one with the lid on it) and throw it away…..

HOLY FUCK DID THAT HURT…..and SO MUCH BLOOD!!!!!!! Maybe the sounds that came out of my mouth were screams? I thought for sure I cut the tip of my finger off.

Thankfully I did not. Again, this required a trip to an immediate care. Fortunately, when you have blood spurting out of your finger you can skip the waiting room.

9 stitches this time

(compared to the 6 in my head)

The whole procedure was completed in less than 2 hours, the main complication being trying to control the amount of blood I was losing.

I still don’t have feeling in my finger, but I have been able to start writing with my right hand again. (on the computer and with a pen)

Here is hoping that 2022 is the year without more injury!

A Post A Day APAD Day 29 The wheels on the bus

~ msgracefulnot ~ 7 Comments

I’m sure it makes sense that I would have children’s songs stuck in my head after spending a week in Colorado with my 3 year old grandsons, Right? So why now, after being home for 3 days do I have have them stuck in my head again? (Because I took all the pictures and videos that I took off of my phone!!!!!!)

I am a picture person! Before I leave from seeing the boys, Thing One and I file share the pictures we took over my visit. (This time I came home with 487.) So at least once a month, I take 90% of the pictures off my phone and transfer them to my computer AND a back up drive.

Have you ever seen the show are you smarter than a fifth grader?

I haven’t seen it, but I’ve heard of it. After watching the proficiency in which my 3 year old Grandson D could navigate a tablet, I had to ask myself if I’m smarter than a 3 year old. I’m “old school” in my parenting style, and also in my grandparenting style….Go OUTSIDE and play, read books, sing and dance, learn to share etc. I have to admit I was kind of skeptical at how frequently the tablet appeared. So I had to investigate more.

D’s favorite activity on the tablet is watching Cocomelon or other learning channels. I think it might be similar to Seasame street from when I was a kid? I’m not sure since most of my time was spent outside. I did like that while we were watching, the words appeared on the screen, the kids were encouraged to participate in the singing and dancing, and the lessons each episode tried to teach (like abc’s and toothbrushing) were positive and something all kids should learn regardless of how they are taught. We even listened to and danced around to some songs from my childhood.

The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round

The ants go marching 1 x 1 hurrah hurrah…

10 little monkeys jumping on the bed

The fact that I still remember the songs would suggest that they had some significance in my life no? I am certainly grateful that the boys know how to video chat with me during the 6 weeks or so that I can’t see them in person. It’s a new generation for sure. I’m glad that the boys are getting the best from both of our worlds. I have my pictures to remember when my mind forgets, I wonder what they will have.

Damn it! The song is STILL stuck in my head….smh