Saturday Morning

Friday was a great day! It even saw Mary in the kitchen tossing the salad for dinner. I think that is the first time I have seen her in the kitchen since the surgery on the 11th. Mary is no longer using the walker in the house but she does use it outside for safety. Reenie reports from the once-a-day wound care that the two remaining open areas of incision are healing nicely, with the smaller one almost being closed while the longer, deeper one will take a bit more time. It will be nice for those to be complete so Mary doesn't have to keep them in mind as she moves around.

We picked up the new blood pressure medicine and, of course, its a "brand" name with no generic substitute. Bummer, the co-pay is substantial. But, it should help Mary's electrolyte and fluid balance. Why? Her current BP med includes a diuretic that could be interfering with her body's attempts to get back to normal.

Reenie's son, Jacob aka Jake, has been a great help to his mother in the kitchen. And, is the inspiration for Reenie's menu for each meal. Breakfast today included scones made from scratch baked this morning, fresh fruit salad (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, etc.), bacon and eggs. They went shopping yesterday and brought home fixings for a nice steak dinner with spinach salad and baked potato last night. I guess it was the abundance of wine that prevented me from posting yesterday--but who can remember?

I should note that our neighbor Bill delivered fresh raspberries from his garden and they have been the treat at each meal!

Ingrid joined us for dinner and then gave Mary a back massage in a massage chair she had brought over earlier in the day. (Mary hasn't laid on her stomach yet. In fact, she hasn't even laid on her side.) The after dinner massage was the 2nd of the day and these massages are really helping Mary. My opinion is that after all the back muscle spasms Mary suffered earlier in the week, the massages are working the latent kinks out of her muscles and she is definitely feeling better.

Ingrid also lent Mary some of her "therapy" pillows that, properly arranged, allows Mary to get very comfortable. That meant Jake has made his first venture driving on California freeways as he went to Ingrid's office to pick up the pillows. Because the pillows are here, he must have made it successfully.

As for me, I started to develop the sensation of a gout attack in my left foot. Fortunately, my prescription is still on file and valid from last fall's attack so I simply ordered a refill. My first attack of gout happened last September and I really, really, really don't want to feel that again!

Reenie is in for a treat today. She is headed to Ingrid's salon for a massage. Having personal experience with Ingrid's techniques, Reenie will really enjoy it! If you are interested in Ingrid's service, here is the link. http://www.massagerescue.com/

As I have said before, Mary is clearly on the mend. "Grow that liver, grow, grow!" is a little ditty that constantly plays in my head. She is not ready to be on her own yet but I think she will quickly get there.

One of the gifts Mary recieved was a very nice bed jacket from her buddies at Habitat for Humanity of Silicon Valley. The jacket is her constant companion. Yesterday, Reenie took it from her to wash it during her afternoon nap. The first thing she wanted when she woke up was the jacket! We were kidding her that she was a bit like Linus from the Peanuts comic strip demanding his blanket. Thanks to Jennifer and all the gang at SVHfH! You can see the jacket in this picture from last weekend. And, you can see Mary and the previous Executive Director with an award given to her by SVHfH in this picture.

That is all for now!