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Post by kds on Jul 7, 2021 15:27:58 GMT
I know when we get back home on July 18, I'll be ready to go back.
Luckily, we also do a long weekend in August, followed by a trip on Labor Day Weekend, so we get ample time down there.
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Post by carllove on Jul 7, 2021 18:54:02 GMT
As I type this, I'm about 48 hours from the start of my vacation. It's amazing how much different going on vacation with a little kid is. In the past, I could pretty much pack up everything the night before, and it might take a total 20 minutes. Then, we'd hit the road the next day, and have a nice leisurely drive to the beach. Now, with a three and a half year old, there's like 2-3 weeks of prep work. And getaway day, forget it. You have to make sure there's enough to keep him occupied, plus plenty of snacks lest he get cranky. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade it for the world, despite the lack of rest and relaxation that comes with vacation now. Have a great vacation! My ex and I used to take our daughter to either Disneyland or Disneyworld every year. I think military generals could take advice from parents of young children who have taken vacations, for strategic planning!
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Post by kds on Jul 7, 2021 19:28:54 GMT
As I type this, I'm about 48 hours from the start of my vacation. It's amazing how much different going on vacation with a little kid is. In the past, I could pretty much pack up everything the night before, and it might take a total 20 minutes. Then, we'd hit the road the next day, and have a nice leisurely drive to the beach. Now, with a three and a half year old, there's like 2-3 weeks of prep work. And getaway day, forget it. You have to make sure there's enough to keep him occupied, plus plenty of snacks lest he get cranky. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade it for the world, despite the lack of rest and relaxation that comes with vacation now. Have a great vacation! My ex and I used to take our daughter to either Disneyland or Disneyworld every year. I think military generals could take advice from parents of young children who have taken vacations, for strategic planning! Thanks. Ain't that the truth? I remember pre-kid, a feeling of euphoria in the days leading up to vacation. I still get that, but now, it's a cocktail of euphoria, anxiousness, fear, and pre-tiredness
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 9, 2021 11:59:59 GMT
Yesterday was one of those days, partly for me but even more so for my parents.
I wasn't a busy poster yesterday because my parents asked me to drive them to Mayo at Rochester for a few somewhat intrusive tests (and frankly quite likely unpleasant results) on my dad. He had to fast for more than a day other than some vile liquid they gave him.
So I took the day off work, drove the nearly 100 miles to pick them up, then drove 90 miles a different direction to get to Rochester. My mom and I got him checked in, they took him back, and we left for lunch, understanding it would be about two and a half hours.
But as we finished lunch just over an hour later, we got a message that he was out and waiting for us. So we went back to get him, quite shocked at the speed of things. Well, things go faster when you don't actually do them. Just as they were about to get underway, the doctors realized he hadn't been told to stop (and thus had not stopped) taking a blood thinner he's on, meaning they could not proceed without serious risk of him bleeding profusely. An administrative screw-up on someone's end meant it was a wasted trip, all for nothing.
So we drove back to their house, and I drove back here. He's going to have to schedule it all over again, fast and drink the nasty stuff again, and we'll repeat.
Mistakes happen. And my missing a day of work isn't the end of the world. But my parents were both really frustrated (understandably) and it wasn't exactly a dream come true to be on the road about seven hours yesterday for what in the end turned out to be just some decent chicken tacos in Rochester and conversation with my mom.
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Post by carllove on Jul 9, 2021 13:13:18 GMT
Ugh - What a day! I feel bad for you and your parents. Glad you got to have some conversation with your mom. My mother's mind is going and she refuses to get help. She has lost track of time and reality. Appreciate what you have now. The opportunity for cognitive conversation with your parents may not always be possible.
I had a colonoscopy last year. The prep was horrible. It was just so nauseating and I was so hungry. Next time I'm taking the day before off as well. The procedure itself was quick and I was ready to get some chicken and waffles as soon as I left the hospital. Not sure if that is what your dad was going for, but it sounds similar. I feel for him. Just the anticipation of doing the prep again must be awful!
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 9, 2021 13:20:00 GMT
Ugh - What a day! I feel bad for you and your parents. Glad you got to have some conversation with your mom. My mother's mind is going and she refuses to get help. She has lost track of time and reality. Appreciate what you have now. The opportunity for cognitive conversation with your parents may not always be possible. I had a colonoscopy last year. The prep was horrible. It was just so nauseating and I was so hungry. Next time I'm taking the day before off as well. The procedure itself was quick and I was ready to get some chicken and waffles as soon as I left the hospital. Not sure if that is what your dad was going for, but it sounds similar. I feel for him. Just the anticipation of doing the prep again must be awful! Thanks for the nice words. It's funny, we actually were discussing the loss of cognition during lunch! One of my mom's friends has Alzheimer's and is just getting to the point of being more than just a little forgetful, so it's a sad moment. A person's consciousness and personality are certainly the most important thing, in my opinion. I'd lose my legs before I'd lose my mental capacity, personally.
Yeah, a colonoscopy was part of it, but he was simultaneously (!!) going to have some similar esopheagal thing. He's had a few years of almost constant intestinal pain and digestive issues now (which has landed him in the hospital a few times and at home in discomfort or worse a lot), and the worst of it is that it seems to have been caused by treatment for prostate cancer--a treatment including a regimen of radiation that is no longer given because it was considered excessive... So that's frustration upon frustration. Cramps, pain, bleeding, and an ever-changing plan of drugs and dietary guidelines with no progress yet. The hope was that yesterday, with a thorough evaluation from all sides at Mayo, might finally at least give a good diagnosis. But as noted, instead it will just have to be put off and done later.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jul 9, 2021 13:37:09 GMT
I had the colonoscopy. Yes, you really should take the day off before the procedure. I was prescribed Gatorade and some powdered medication which kept me running to the bathroom every half hour. Sorry for being so graphic. The positive thing was it did flush out my system and I lost a few lbs.
I also had the endoscopy where they insert a scope w/camera down your throat/esophagus to take pictures of the esophagus and stomach. No real prep for that other than fasting. Like the colonoscopy, you're out for about half an hour.
My mother is 88 and in an assisted living facility. I stopped over to visit her yesterday. It is my sister's birthday on July 11. My Mom had a birthday card on the kitchen table and I prompted her to sign it and I'd mail it right away. As she was addressing the envelope, she stopped and asked me, "Now, who is this card for?"
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 9, 2021 13:56:25 GMT
I had the colonoscopy. Yes, you really should take the day off before the procedure. I was prescribed Gatorade and some powdered medication which kept me running to the bathroom every half hour. Sorry for being so graphic. The positive thing was it did flush out my system and I lost a few lbs.
I also had the endoscopy where they insert a scope w/camera down your throat/esophagus to take pictures of the esophagus and stomach. No real prep for that other than fasting. Like the colonoscopy, you're out for about half an hour. Did you have them together? That's what he was going to (and I guess still is going to) have. There is a little added concern because he's approaching 80, has had heart attacks (which are part of why he's on blood thinners), and of course has the bleeding problems that are part of why he's going through it all in the first place, so there are kind of contradictory things going on. So anytime they put him under, they get a bit nervous about it.
As for the day off, luckily he's retired at this point. So he's got every day off.
Regarding being graphic--he was worse with me yesterday! My mom would leave the room and he'd give me a little more than I needed to know...
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Post by carllove on Jul 9, 2021 14:03:04 GMT
Sherriff John Stone, at least your mom is in assisted living. My mom and dad are still in their own house. When my dad was in the hospital last month after a fall, my sister and I had to take turns staying with my mom. Every morning she would ask where my dad was. She thought there was a secret cult at the hospital that was trying to steal all of my dad's money. She took his wallet, then lost it for three weeks. She loses the car keys so much, my dad makes sure he has his own set now, just in case. She asked my sister last week if I was her mom. My daughter and her fiance visited her last month and she asked yesterday if "the girls" were still at my house. I told her that they had returned to California three weeks ago.
Anytime we try to ask her to get help, she tells us we are "talking mean to her" and goes on the attack. She started deriding my sister so bad last month, my sister cut off communications until my dad went back in the hospital. She got angry when we were visiting when I wanted to get Pizza Hut instead of Casey's Pizza and stopped talking to me. I told my sister that the next time she threatens to kill herself, that she needs to call the police and then she will be forced to get help. She is afraid that mom will never forgive her, but if she doesn't get help soon, something really bad is bound to happen. My parent's stopped going to church because my mom got so angry with everyone over little things that they no longer would talk to her. It is really sad.
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Post by carllove on Jul 9, 2021 14:08:08 GMT
Kapitan, I guess I was lucky, because by the time I started the cleansing portion, I had been fasting over 24 hours, so stuff at that end wasn't so bad! It was just the constant stomach ache. Then the feeling like you needed to puke after drinking all of the cleansing stuff. Good times!
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jul 9, 2021 22:18:45 GMT
I had the colonoscopy. Yes, you really should take the day off before the procedure. I was prescribed Gatorade and some powdered medication which kept me running to the bathroom every half hour. Sorry for being so graphic. The positive thing was it did flush out my system and I lost a few lbs.
I also had the endoscopy where they insert a scope w/camera down your throat/esophagus to take pictures of the esophagus and stomach. No real prep for that other than fasting. Like the colonoscopy, you're out for about half an hour. Did you have them together? That's what he was going to (and I guess still is going to) have. There is a little added concern because he's approaching 80, has had heart attacks (which are part of why he's on blood thinners), and of course has the bleeding problems that are part of why he's going through it all in the first place, so there are kind of contradictory things going on. So anytime they put him under, they get a bit nervous about it.
As for the day off, luckily he's retired at this point. So he's got every day off.
Regarding being graphic--he was worse with me yesterday! My mom would leave the room and he'd give me a little more than I needed to know... I got them separately. My doctor told me to get the colonoscopy at age 50, but I waited a few more years. One year, I had my insurance deductible met so that's when I went in for it. It was a simple procedure. The nurse said to lay on my left side, she injected me with something, said to count from 30 backwards, and by the time I got to 25 I was out like a light. I woke up 45 minutes later, the doctor said I have the colon of a 21 year old, and I got dressed and left. Like carllove said, I was starving and then went home and ate a huge breakfast, probably gaining back all of the weight I lost the previous day. But, again, it's the day before which is a pain in the ass, literally.
I have acid reflux and developed a nagging reflux cough that I couldn't shake. The doctor suggested an endoscopy to "get some pictures". I had it done over my lunch hour. You're only out for 20-30 minutes. The doctor actually showed me the pictures of my esophagus and stomach before I left his office. Amazing.
So, I had them both done in my early 50's. I can understand the risk and apprehension for somebody approaching 80. I'm not a doctor, but I don't think they were/are too risky, though anytime you go under anesthesia there is risk, especially when you have other conditions.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jul 9, 2021 22:31:52 GMT
Sherriff John Stone, at least your mom is in assisted living. My mom and dad are still in their own house. When my dad was in the hospital last month after a fall, my sister and I had to take turns staying with my mom. Every morning she would ask where my dad was. She thought there was a secret cult at the hospital that was trying to steal all of my dad's money. She took his wallet, then lost it for three weeks. She loses the car keys so much, my dad makes sure he has his own set now, just in case. She asked my sister last week if I was her mom. My daughter and her fiance visited her last month and she asked yesterday if "the girls" were still at my house. I told her that they had returned to California three weeks ago. Anytime we try to ask her to get help, she tells us we are "talking mean to her" and goes on the attack. She started deriding my sister so bad last month, my sister cut off communications until my dad went back in the hospital. She got angry when we were visiting when I wanted to get Pizza Hut instead of Casey's Pizza and stopped talking to me. I told my sister that the next time she threatens to kill herself, that she needs to call the police and then she will be forced to get help. She is afraid that mom will never forgive her, but if she doesn't get help soon, something really bad is bound to happen. My parent's stopped going to church because my mom got so angry with everyone over little things that they no longer would talk to her. It is really sad. I'm very sorry to hear that, carllove. I have heard about and have seen cases where people develop dementia or Alzheimer's and become "mean". My father was in a nursing home for five years before he passed and I saw a lot. It is so hard to practice patience and understanding because you usually have no experience dealing with a person/relative like that. Please don't take it personal because it isn't. They really can't help it.
My Mom was doing fairly well when she fell twice at home and both times hit her head pretty bad. The last time she had brain bleeding, was hospitalized for about a month, and wasn't the same after that. Her memory is really starting to fail her, however, thankfully, she isn't "mean'' or combative. I don't know how much longer she can stay in assisted living. She is now having to get more care with showering, getting dressed, taking her medication, etc. If she gets...too bad...the facility or the nurses/nurses aides won't be able to devote the time necessary for her to remain there. I guess we'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it.
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 13, 2021 15:53:19 GMT
We were talking about vacations recently. I've scheduled mine and it begins Friday. I mention this because work this week is now really agonizing! I was already a little confused, time-wise, having had some days off last week interrupting normalcy.
Now to build on it, I'm both trying to do all I can do before my absence on one hand, but also just not taking on much new work that will have to be done during my time off. Feeling REALLY mentally checked out, but simultaneously trying like hell to get everything cleaned up before being gone, makes for some strange conflicting feelings!
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 15, 2021 13:48:12 GMT
It's my Friday, which I will spend reminding myself "you're still on the clock, you're not on vacation yet" right through the day. Worst of all, I'm booked for only one meeting ... at 3 pm! Awful!
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 15, 2021 22:51:13 GMT
Ladies and gentlemen ... I am on vacation.
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