Guilty Pleasure: PooTrap

As Seen on TV!

Nature's Pain Relief

Not enough to relieve the drought, but it sure was nice.

Guilty Pleasure: Tatie Danielle

I fell in love with this dark French comedy back in the early 90s. It's the story of an elderly woman who manages to kill her caregiver, and moves in with her nephew's family in Paris. The more people try to make her happy, the meaner she is to them.



Loose translation:

Nephew: I don't think you'll be capable of keeping Tatie in July. You will come with me to Greece.

Niece: But what about Tatie?

Nephew: I'll make arrangements for her. I think I made a mistake taking her in. I want to tell you something, but you have to keep it a secret.

Niece: Of course.

Nephew: I think she's mean.

Niece: (gasps) You're right. She is mean.

The only constant is change

We have had 65 days of temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius), and today will make 66. I'd forgotten how ferociously cabin fever strikes during these slow, hot Texas summer months. Just like in winter, we move quickly from the house to the van, from the van to the office/store/restaurant. And we move just as quickly on the return side.

Jordan went back to Illinois just over a week ago, after spending eight weeks as BR's live-in caregiver. It wasn't always smooth, but we did finally find a groove, and enjoyed her company. Jordan spent most days up in her room, which couldn't have been easy given that the A/C was not able to keep up with the heat and temperatures would reach 80-85 degrees each day. Great for beach. Not so good for bed.

We had a neurologist appointment on Monday. We really had only one expectation going in. Both BR and I were sure that he had gained some weight since his last sit on the scale four months ago. To our dismay, he's lost seven pounds. In four months.

131 pounds divided by 1.75 pounds lost per month leaves 75 months until 0.

Tonight was meatloaf night, with salad and heavy honey mustard dressing, black-eyed peas, and homemade peach ice cream for dessert.

The neurologist put BR on a more sustained schedule of steroids. Instead of three grams of prednisone every three months, he's taking one gram every four weeks. The difference in his energy levels, appetite, and comprehension is amazing. Please, no whammies!

Life is THE Event

"I donate to the AIDS Walk."

"I bid at the HRC Black Tie Dinner silent auction."

"I buy cookie dough from my neighbor to support music education."

These are all admirable actions. But you are more than money. You have talents. GIVE!

Prisoner or family?

I'm dragging my feet on the whole Medicare decision. Am I lazy? Confused? Scared?

Sure. A bit of all of those.

What I haven't said is that given our lack of marital status, BR is probably eligible for Medicaid.

If I had BR's best interests at heart, I would make sure he was taken care of in the event that anything should happen to me. That's a will and Medicaid, right?

I can't hear you!

Lately, I've been giving Cranky a run for her money. Now that the bladder issues are under control, BR's pain level has reprised its role as primary complaint. He's upped his breakthrough medications, and we are now fighting the associated mental fog, both figuratively and verbally.

Our first line of defense, Adderall, seems to be losing its effectiveness. BR is able to stay awake more, but I'm having a hard time adapting to the slow, quiet, imprecise, and constant communication that has become the norm. It got so bad last night that I had a bit of a panic attack.

I'm working on my relaxation techniques, and praying for the patience needed to make BR feel understood.

Eureka! Area Man Discovers Potential Breakthrough in Suprapubic Catheter Management

AUSTIN, TX -- Steve, after struggling for months to find a solution to Bobrobert's clogged catheters, has discovered a simple technique which he believes will keep the Yellow River from breaching its levees.

"You see, about 10 days after a tube change, the new one just seems to stop working. But I noticed that when BR's legs are stretched, the flow starts back up again for a short period."

It was during one such stretching session that the idea finally hit him.

"What if I tape the tube to alternating legs each day? That should change up the angle that the catheter rests against the bladder wall."

Steve hopes that in regularly changing the catheter angle, bacteria will have less of a chance to build a dam of sediment around the tube openings.

Bobrobert is all for giving it a try. "Hell. I'd chew off my right foot if I thought it might get me out of these diapers."

After the first day on the opposite leg, the tube has been flowing well. Says Steve, "One more day of dry, and BR's wish will be granted."

Welcome Hope Margaret

We're uncles again, for real.

Sunday afternoon, my sister Terri gave birth to Hope Margaret, 29 hours after entering the hospital with "leakage". It lasted so long, we had two birth hour pools. Not sure who won the second one, but it wasn't us. We had 7pm and 8pm. Damn c-sections!

A sunset stroll

The Mueller Sunflowers were officially turned on last Thursday evening. It took about 30 minutes for us to make our way to the far north end of the development where the solar sculptures are "planted".