1. In writing today's Everett update, I need to get some things straight in my mind -- and maybe it will help you who are reading this, too.
Everett has been under hospital care since Oct. 31st when the emergency room doctor in Kellogg determined that he needed more advanced care for internal infections than Shoshone Medical Center is equipped to provide. Once transferred, on Sunday, Nov. 1 he tested positive for the Covid-19 virus and was admitted into Kootenai Health's Covid unit. Christy couldn't visit him. He never showed symptoms of Covid-19 and after being isolated for about ten days, Everett was transferred to acute care. Now Christy could be with Everett. Everett was in acute care for about a week and on Tuesday, Nov. 17th, he was transferred to Shoshone Medical Center here in Kellogg.
The upshot of all of this is that Everett has a lot going on and a long ways to go in his recovery.
Christy is very happy he's at Shoshone Medical Center. It's calmer. From Christy's past stay there in 2018 and from Mom's long stay back in 2016, Christy, especially, and I became familiar with members of the staff who are working with Everett. Another staff member is a friend of Debbie's and mine. Not only do these people do really good work, but the familiarity is comforting and, with the slower pace at Shoshone Medical Center, these staff members can spend more time helping Everett with a variety of things like shaving, getting out of bed into a wheelchair, keeping him cleaned up, and so on.
Because he's at Shoshone Medical Center and because Christy only has to travel a couple of blocks to be with Everett and because she can spend a lot of time with him, she can be right there to help him understand what's happening when he gets (understandably) confused and encourage him when he's offered different services. Nov. 18th was Everett's best day for his mental state and spirit since he's been hospitalized. I'm not in any position to say how this day rated as far as his physical health. The doctor has put a plan in place and now it's a matter of everyone doing their best to carry it out -- patiently, one day at a time.
2. I had a modest cooking project planned for today and, in order to carry it out, I needed a few items from Yoke's. The weather was mild so I strapped on my back pack and walked to the store, bought a few things, and walked back home. I racked up about 2800 steps and it felt great. (And, since I'm writing this on Thursday morning, I can report that I had my best night of sleep in a while on Wednesday night.)
3. My cooking project was simple, fun, and a tiny bit adventurous. I thawed out a whole chicken and, following a recipe, I cooked it in two quarts of chicken broth accompanied by three onions, quartered, and some chunks of carrot and celery. Once I brought the broth to a boil, I added salt and pepper, garlic powder, thyme, sage, and, of all things (different in my experience), allspice. Allspice felt adventurous -- but then I remembered back to the good old days living in Eugene. A Vietnamese restaurant, Bon Mi, served chicken pho seasoned with cloves and I loved that layer of flavor in their soup. I felt confident that the allspice would add a similar dimension to what I was making.
When the chicken was done, I removed it and vegetables. I chopped some mushrooms, added them to the broth along with some rotini pasta I had in the bottom of a bag and brought the broth to a boil for about ten minutes to cook the mushrooms and pasta and to reduce the broth some. Meanwhile, I cut pieces of off the chicken and, once the broth was done boiling, I added in about half of the chicken, refrigerated the rest, and put back in the carrots, onions, and celery.
I loved the big steaming bowl I served myself, especially the allspice. I have three quarts of this soup/stew leftover in containers. I'll refrigerate some and freeze the rest.
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