Thursday, December 20, 2018

Three Beautiful Things 12/19/18: Blood Draw and Patio Tarp, CdA Doc's Good News for Christy, Talking with Rita

1. Once I was done writing this morning, I zipped up to the clinic and Tracy, the world's finest phlebotomist, drew the once a month vial of blood from my arm to be sent to the University of Maryland's Transplant Center. On the way home, I stopped at Ace Hardware and bought a tarp, came home, and wrestled with the tarp for about a half an hour or so, covering our patio's table and chair set. To weigh down the tarp, I filled three growlers with water and also put water in big containers of vinegar that Mom had bought and we haven't used since moving here. I filled a cooler about half full of water and put it on top of the part of the tarp covering the table top. Time will tell whether my efforts to weigh down the tarp work.

2. Shortly after noon, I drove Christy in her Jeep to see the surgeon who is overseeing her cellulitis infection. On Monday, Christy had seen her Primary Care Provider in Kellogg and she was upset by what she saw when she examined Christy. But, she'd never seen the wound before and didn't know how much better it was doing.

The doctor in CdA has been treating this wound for the last three weeks. To his eyes, Christy is doing great. He was very happy with how the infected area is healing. He discontinued the home health nurse visits. He thinks chances are good Christy will be healed in a couple of weeks or so. When Christy arrived home, she received news from her Primary Care Provider than her blood work revealed another infection. It's treatable, but it means more antibiotics and an increase in probiotics. Very soon, I'll go shopping for Christy and buy her some probiotic food products to go along with the probiotic pills she taking, all to help keep the good bacteria coming into her system.

3. Back home, I relaxed and warmed up with a big coffee cup of hot water and brandy and finished eating the batch of creamy seafood chowder I made for dinner on Sunday. I got another crock pot of turkey stock going and I read up on things like probiotic smoothies. Rita called from Creswell. She'd just lost her cat, a companion who'd been with her for about fifteen years. She told me about how the ways she paid tribute to the cat's life, about her gratitude, and her grief. I also had a lot to talk about regarding what's happened over the last few months as I've been working to get listed at Sacred Heart and talked with Rita quite a bit about Christy's illness and recovery. I'm not entirely sure when I'll be going down to the Eugene/Creswell area in 2019, but I look forward to seeing Rita when I do.


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