Progress but TTT

As we recover from out misadventures of the last 7 weeks I  am reminded that things do indeed take time. This "Grook" is from a book of poems with simplistic illustrations by Piet Hein. Frank introduced me to it in our college days. This is the cover from the 1971 edition which is most likely the version Frank had (and probably still has – somewhere).

When I left off in the previous post we were hoping Alex would not require hospitalization with an IV antibiotic for a severe foot infection called cellulitis. We dodged that bullet. He responded well to a mix of three antibiotics and his foot is healing nicely.

Our failing furnace and inadequate duct work needed replacing and we had been meeting with a contractor to get that going when Frank fell. We resumed our negotiations, signed a contract and work was to begin Tuesday Jan 10th. The hitch was that the attic needed to be emptied of over 100 plastics bins of holiday decor and childhood memories and paraphernalia in order to allow space and a path for the new ducts. This next photo shows the area under the eaves in the low part of the attic around the perimeter but bins were stacked much higher at the central peak section of the attic.

The afternoon of Friday January 6th I had help from two of Frank's buddies to relocate the bins and empty the attic for the HVAC contractor. This is an example of true friendship.

Mike, Walter, and I carried or hoisted each bin one by one down the folding attic staircase to the master bath. Then in bucket brigade fashion, we hauled them off to two bedrooms for temporary storage. Frank could direct the work crew but not carry or move any bins. When he counted over 100 bins he stopped. Even that was tiring.

The guest room absorbed the majority of the bins, covering all existing floor space from floor to ceiling, and, on the California King size bed, from mattress surface to ceiling.

The bed in Alex's room was packed too, as well as space in front of his closet doors.

The duct work commenced on Tuesday Jan 10th. It was to take four days with a crew of four men initially and two men by the end. We would not have upstairs heat during the installation.

It was driving Frank crazy that he could not go up in the attic and see their work in progress. I would go and and take cell phone photos and movies so he would not feel left in the dark. Here is a duct splitter at one junction. 

It was OK that we did not yet have our new Toyota back from the body shop yet since there was no room in our driveway for it. The weather was intermittently pouring rain anyway so not conducive to a joy ride.

On the third day, Thursday January 12th I was feeling kind of crummy - very yucky actually - and spent the day down on our couch in the living room. Workmen need to pass through the master bedroom to access the attic; our other two bedrooms were out of commission due to their current (and hopefully temporary) role as storage facilities. I was very happy that the HVAC work actually finished that day, one day sooner that expected. I could not get to sleep that night due to abdominal pain that I began to acknowledge was more than just a tummy ache.

At 5:00 am Frank called an ambulance to take me to the ER. I suspected a kidney stone but could not rule out appendicitis. The ambulance crew were cautiously hooking me up to equipment to check for a possible heart attack since my symptoms were quite similar. I requested pain meds and basically was given everything they had on board. By 3:00 pm, after ~10 hours in the ER, three doses of morphine, and a CT scan that confirmed the position and size of a kidney stone, I was sent home with narcotics and told to wait until it passed. After a miserable weekend, a doctor's office visit, resulting in an adjustment up from an underestimated dosage of pain pills and an addition of anti-nausea drugs, I passed the stone Tuesday morning January 17th. Whew! What an awful 5 days!

Things are turning around now. During those days the body shop called and said our Toyota was ready for pickup. We told them to just hang on to it. Frank still could not drive and neither could I until I had flushed the narcotics from my system. After a few days they called and asked if we wanted the car delivered. Yes! How thoughtful! We now have our new car back and I was able to drive Frank to his hearing test on Thursday, January 19th.

Frank passed his hearing test and after I drove us home we went over to the rodeo grounds where he could "practice" driving and assess if he was ready. He did fine without any hip pain in transitioning between brake and accelerator. He was happy to regain some independence and drove us the short distance home. We phoned and authorized the health care company to come and pick up the hospital bed from our living room.  They scheduled removal for Tuesday, January 24th. Even though I had taped the Doin' It Right √ sign from the Toyota's temporary license plate on to the bed to add a bit of droll levity to the situation, the true way to be doing it even more right was to move out the bed.

Here is the before picture where there were only two pinch point access avenues where you could squeeze through sideways to sit in the couch or in one of the red chairs. I suppose you could have vaulted over the couch but somehow that did not seem like a viable option.

In the after photo, furniture positioning is still tweaked a bit to accommodate the wing chair that Frank can sit in and still have a good view of the TV. Without the bed and without the Christmas tree, it sure seems spacious. It is refreshing and rejuvenating. Per Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project, "Outer order contributes to inner calm".

Last Sunday, January 29th, two months after his November 30th fall, Frank, Alex and I all went bowling together per our Sunday ritual. Routine is good. Alex approved.

Frank could not bowl but he enjoyed watching Alex clap. Frank also welcomed seeing and conversing with the friendly staff at Earl Anthony's Dublin Bowl that know us so well via Alex. I wonder if Frank is contemplating when and how he can resume bowling? Positional constraints are still in place. We joked about him using the dinosaur ramp like little kids do so he does not need to bend. He is now able to walk a 1.2 mile loop around our neighborhood, although it does tire him out and he needs to rest afterward. 

A couple days after our bowling outing Frank drove himself to the barber shop to get a haircut, his first since his fall. I offered to cut it for him but I am much more skilled at cutting fabric than cutting hair. He declined my offer. Right decision, Frank. Lookin' good! Things are improving but, as we are experiencing, "Things Take Time". There are a couple more weeks needed to address a few HVAC corrections and pass some regulatory tests and then the attic can be repopulated. I will get to the bins ... eventually... all in good time!