13 Thousand Steps in a Day
Monday, December 12th, 2022 10:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snoozefestaudioI mentioned how my job had me up to 10K steps by the end of a four hour shift... and how that was two thousand more steps than my average eight hour day at the hospital. And at that hospital... once in a blue moon, I'd hit twelve thousand steps, if it was insanely busy.
But today... was my first work day, also with Dad being at the Strive rehab center... which is a big place.
And it's also the start of week 2 for the lonely dog downstairs, who's walks have grown longer... the longer Dad's been away.
So between Yvette, Strive, Work, and one quick errand to Walgreens... I racked up thirteen thousand steps today... which is probably more than I've done... even at Pokemon Go Fest!
So it's a damn good thing I had three months to really get broken in with the janitor job before Dad broke his hip!.. but as things are, I made it through with only some mild aches in my foot pads... and no ibuprofin until the end of the day!
--<>--
My actual visit with Dad today was short, but I got a lot done for him off stage!
A discharge coordinator called me to schedule a meeting on Wednesday, where we'll discuss all the issues surrounding his return home. And I'll get to that below.
But then I called the head nurse to chat with her a bit and asked if he could have a nicotine patch prescribed... and she thanked me for letting her know he might need one. And this was approved later in the day.
I then called his church, let them know what was up, and arranged for a priest from the parish to come visit him during the weeks, to help boost his spirits.
I brought him his clean laundry from Sunday, along with his hat... which he'd been asking for... and his electric shaver.
He was fully dressed again... today with his new shoes on. And he did seem slightly less delerious than yesterday.
His smart phone wasn't able to access the WiFi, so I wheeled him to the front counter so we could ask the lady there about it, and we straightened that out. So now he can use his favorite apps again... NewsMax, and AccuWeather!
--<>--
So... I'm hoping that with the added dignity of a clean shave, and his favorite hat... along with a working smart phone, some good old nicotine, and a visit each week from his favorite parish priest... he'll get a little more focused mentally, and motivated, physically.
------------{=0=}------------
As for him coming home... my two big requirements are that he can poop by himself, and clean himself up... and that his cognition is good enough to not be a danger to himself.
Assuming, of course, that he can also get around half decently.
If he needs help getting dressed or undressed?... I'm okay with that. Socks, shirts, shoes... I can deal with that.
If he has to use a commode next to the bed, because getting to the bathroom to poop is too difficult in the middle of the night... I'm okay with that. I can empty a commode.
But I'm not doing diaper changes! Sorry!
And I'm not babysitting him downstairs all day and night either!
--<>--
I'm sympathetic to how desperately he wants to be home, as well as to the fact that his dog needs his company. And for the sake of those two goals, I'm willing to compromise quite a bit.
Like... if he's not fully lucid, but is getting there, then I can deal for a short time with him as he recovers his cognition.
That kind of thing.
But it's gonna be a few more months until I have actual sick days to use without warning for work, so until then, I NEED to put in those four hours, Monday through Friday.
So... we'll just have to see how it all shakes out, but I do hope he can return home and operate semi-normally downstairs by himself.
------------{=0=}------------
Got a little more work done on Seven Hearts today before I left for Strive & Grape.
The doorknob and the sky, here, are definite. The flying seeds will evolve a lot from what's here today. And he pink flower is just to show you how the main flower in the basket will be comprised of seven hearts.
Those are helicopter maple seeds, which do tend to be twirling and flying thorugh the air in the beginning of May. I do want them to be part of this, but... they're probably a bit too large right now.
The lower part of the card, I'm thinking, will be grass green, dotted with dandelions, both yellow, and fluffy... as they are, in early May.
The basket itself, with all it's flowers, is a whole other challenge that will need to wait until I get the victorian doorknob better etched and shaded in.
But... these are the ideas taking shape for this card, as the week begins.
°¦}
https://soundcloud.com/snoozefestaudio
But today... was my first work day, also with Dad being at the Strive rehab center... which is a big place.
And it's also the start of week 2 for the lonely dog downstairs, who's walks have grown longer... the longer Dad's been away.
So between Yvette, Strive, Work, and one quick errand to Walgreens... I racked up thirteen thousand steps today... which is probably more than I've done... even at Pokemon Go Fest!
So it's a damn good thing I had three months to really get broken in with the janitor job before Dad broke his hip!.. but as things are, I made it through with only some mild aches in my foot pads... and no ibuprofin until the end of the day!
My actual visit with Dad today was short, but I got a lot done for him off stage!
A discharge coordinator called me to schedule a meeting on Wednesday, where we'll discuss all the issues surrounding his return home. And I'll get to that below.
But then I called the head nurse to chat with her a bit and asked if he could have a nicotine patch prescribed... and she thanked me for letting her know he might need one. And this was approved later in the day.
I then called his church, let them know what was up, and arranged for a priest from the parish to come visit him during the weeks, to help boost his spirits.
I brought him his clean laundry from Sunday, along with his hat... which he'd been asking for... and his electric shaver.
He was fully dressed again... today with his new shoes on. And he did seem slightly less delerious than yesterday.
His smart phone wasn't able to access the WiFi, so I wheeled him to the front counter so we could ask the lady there about it, and we straightened that out. So now he can use his favorite apps again... NewsMax, and AccuWeather!
So... I'm hoping that with the added dignity of a clean shave, and his favorite hat... along with a working smart phone, some good old nicotine, and a visit each week from his favorite parish priest... he'll get a little more focused mentally, and motivated, physically.
As for him coming home... my two big requirements are that he can poop by himself, and clean himself up... and that his cognition is good enough to not be a danger to himself.
Assuming, of course, that he can also get around half decently.
If he needs help getting dressed or undressed?... I'm okay with that. Socks, shirts, shoes... I can deal with that.
If he has to use a commode next to the bed, because getting to the bathroom to poop is too difficult in the middle of the night... I'm okay with that. I can empty a commode.
But I'm not doing diaper changes! Sorry!
And I'm not babysitting him downstairs all day and night either!
I'm sympathetic to how desperately he wants to be home, as well as to the fact that his dog needs his company. And for the sake of those two goals, I'm willing to compromise quite a bit.
Like... if he's not fully lucid, but is getting there, then I can deal for a short time with him as he recovers his cognition.
That kind of thing.
But it's gonna be a few more months until I have actual sick days to use without warning for work, so until then, I NEED to put in those four hours, Monday through Friday.
So... we'll just have to see how it all shakes out, but I do hope he can return home and operate semi-normally downstairs by himself.
Got a little more work done on Seven Hearts today before I left for Strive & Grape.
The doorknob and the sky, here, are definite. The flying seeds will evolve a lot from what's here today. And he pink flower is just to show you how the main flower in the basket will be comprised of seven hearts.
Those are helicopter maple seeds, which do tend to be twirling and flying thorugh the air in the beginning of May. I do want them to be part of this, but... they're probably a bit too large right now.
The lower part of the card, I'm thinking, will be grass green, dotted with dandelions, both yellow, and fluffy... as they are, in early May.
The basket itself, with all it's flowers, is a whole other challenge that will need to wait until I get the victorian doorknob better etched and shaded in.
But... these are the ideas taking shape for this card, as the week begins.
°¦}
