Budget: Eating in day 2, friend went to ER so will have to start over tomorrow

Budget: Eating in day 2, friend went to ER so will have to start over tomorrow

I hadn’t realized eating in for 7 days would have hurdles.  Seemed simple.  But last night, Carol fell down on her driveway.  Kris and Haley helped her get inside.  This morning Kris called and said Carol was going to the ER because she couldn’t walk from the pain.

I went to the ER while Kris and Lisa fed Carol’s pets (3 dogs and a bunch of cats — really more like Carol’s kids then pets).  Beverly, Carol’s sister arrived before they could tell us if Carol was there.  At the ER, only one person can be with the patient so Bev went back with Carol.  I waited a couple hours until Bev called me in the waiting room to say the doctor said Carol broke her pelvis and would need to stay the night.

I asked Bev to let me know when Carol got a room as I needed to catch a nap. I had insomnia last night and hadn’t slept yet.  Carol hadn’t either so when they gave her morphine for the pain, it put her right to sleep.

Bev left because there was a family birthday party and Kris came in and stayed for a bit.  I ate breakfast on the way home as it was close to noon and I was famished.  The noodles from last night was long gone from my rumbling stomach. So broke my 7-day streak and will start again tomorrow.

You know insomnia when you can’t sleep and you’re tired, your eyes are tearing but you’re like sleepy and not sleepy at the same time.  Hate that.  Finally fell asleep at 3pm for a couple hours and got back to the hospital at around 6pm. Kris had had to leave because she, Lisa and Haley had organized a mini block party for that night.

I hung out with Carol for a few hours.  It was her wedding anniversary — her husband had passed about a decade ago.  They had married when she was 16. Usually she and her sister went out to dinner tonight, partly to not be alone on a night that reminded her so much of him.  They didn’t have any children but her sister did so she had plenty of nephews and nieces and grandnephews/nieces.  Tonight she had looked forward to the mini block party. The ER is a sucky way to spend an anniversary.

They put Carol on the same floor my mom used to be carted to to get dialysis whenever she had had a hospital stay. The last couple stays were for falls.  I was surprised by the wash of pain as I passed the dialysis door to Carol’s room.  I pushed it aside.  Carol didn’t need me all weepy.  Better to be at least semi-upbeat to bring her spirits up as Carol dealt with her own fall.

The cafe downstairs make an awesome bread knot with cheese, garlic and marinara sauce.  So I picked that up along with a diet coke for her.  It’s not an anniversary lunch but it tastes great.  She enjoyed it (we had to eat them on the sly as hospitals like to monitor your food intake).

Getting old, you get so fragile.  Carol is in her 70’s.  A thick patch of grass tripped her on the way to bringing in the trashcans. When you’re young, you fall down and scrape a knee.  When you’re older, the same fall breaks a pelvis.

Carol is lucky. She has good neighbors.

If you have a minute, say a quick prayer for Carol.  If you have an elder friend or relative, spend some time with them or do a chore for them.  It isn’t for them but for you.  Time slips away so quickly sometimes.  The only way not to have regrets when someone passes is to enjoy the time with them while they are alive.  The sacrifices I made quitting my job in California to come take care of my mom were not sacrifices.  They were memories I made with mom that I still carry with me now that she is gone.

So, go, go, make a good memory with someone you care about.

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