1. It was 4:30 a.m. in Kellogg on Tuesday morning when Christy called me to report that during the night Mom, needing to get up, had gotten tangled up in her oxygen cord and fallen to the floor by her bed. She landed on her right elbow and it immediately ballooned. Christy, Everett, Paul, and Carol all came to her aid. At the Emergency Room the news was as good as it could be. The doctor drained Mom's elbow. She did not re-injure the area that broke a little over a year ago. Mom's vitals were all strong. She was alert throughout the entire ordeal and returned home exhausted with pain in her arm, which Christy is helping her ice. Mom had an appointment this very morning with the heart clinic in Coeur d'Alene and she was too spent to meet it, but the people there were very helpful. They took Mom off the diuretic and potassium, told her to have blood work done in Kellogg, and rescheduled her appointment for Monday. As the day continued, Christy and I exchanged texts about who was who in pictures of Kellogg people on Facebook. It was good, because Mom's situation had stabilized so well that Christy and I could have some casual and fun texting. Christy will sleep over at Mom's on Tuesday night.
2. Joining Mom on the injured list is the Deke. On Monday and again today she called me to come to school and take her home early because of back spasms. This afternoon we buzzed down to a chiropractor's office and the Deke learned she has a pinched nerve caused, almost without a doubt, by, and I'm not joking around here, KNITTING. The Deke had had a five hour session using a two-stranded technique involving an unusual (for her) use of her left hand and arm and she contorted something and got blasted by excruciating back pain and intermittent searing spasms. The chiropractor ordered her to stay home from school on Wednesday, sent her to Urgent Care so a doctor could prescribe her some medication, and the chiropractor will see her again on Wednesday.
3. Really. What else could the Deke and I do after going to Urgent Care? We did the sensible thing. I piled and the Deke gingerly floated herself into the Sube and we crawled up the congested Beltway from New Carrollton to Baltimore Avenue in Beltsville and sat down for a couple of beers and some dinner at Old Line Bistro. I was ecstatic to see Troegs Scratch Series No. 232 Imperial Amber Ale on the tap list and enjoyed two snifters of it. It took me back to an afternoon at the Church Key in D. C. when I had my first taste of Troegs' other Imperial Amber, the heavenly Nugget Nectar. They are different beers, in the same ways two siblings can remind one of the other, and my beer today rekindled my excitement for the wonders of an Imperial Amber. I enjoy the extra kick, the higher alcohol content, and more aggressive flavors of the Imperial Amber over and against the milder, and most enjoyable, regular Amber Ale. Nugget Nectar Imperial Amber is a once a year autumn beer and this No. 232, I'm almost certain, is a one off batch, so when I see the words "Troegs" and "Imperial Amber", I seize the moment and be sure to order one of these most satisfying beers.
No comments:
Post a Comment