Day Zero Plus Eighty-six – Two Patients Are Better Than One

I thought I could take care of two patients, no problem, since I’m an experienced “nurse” now.  Boy, oh boy, was I glad my sister, Judy, came to help me on Friday when Keith had his wisdom teeth out!  I stayed at home and did Jeff’s IV infusion while Judy took Keith to the oral surgeon.  Judy and Keith returned home with instructions for his medication to be given on a strict schedule and warnings not to take two of the medications together or extreme vomiting would occur.  Although he had only three prescriptions in total, I was feeling a little overwhelmed.  
 

Judy stayed at our house with the patients while I ran out for prescriptions for both Keith and Jeff.  We also needed pineapple juice because, evidently, every pharmacy in the country is out of the drug that Keith is supposed to have to prevent swelling.  Pineapple juice performs the same function only Keith tells me it doesn’t feel too good on those open wounds in his mouth. 

Keith’s post-op instructions said not to use a straw for several days.  Jeff told Judy that we don’t usually give Keith straw but that we would switch to hay for a few days, just to be safe. 

Keith complained very little and although he had a good appetite, he lamented that it hurt to chew.  Jeff said, “Chewing is the one thing I can do.”  Between the two of them, we have the equivalent of one healthy guy!

We’ve had a lot of rain this week so we didn’t get out for a walk every night.  Jeff and I used Google maps to measure our favorite walking route and learned that Jeff is up to 1.2 miles on a typical walk.  He is sleeping a lot these days.  His neck frequently hurts so he likes to lay flat.  That might be part of the reason he sleeps a lot.  He thinks he might be getting used to the oral magnesium again; his tummy doesn’t give him too much trouble.

Kim spent time with us this weekend.  She designed the most awesome shirts for The Dude Hates Cancer bowling event which takes place next weekend.  They are T-shirts that look like bowling shirts.  Judy used her fancy sewing machine to embroider team members’ names on their shirts.  See the link button at top right for more information about the event or if you would like to make a donation.