Cats of DOOM

[Drunk Monk]

The gift of Skittles is a total fail.  My mom injured her back severely, most likely from trying to look at the cat under the sofa, and has been laid up from pain.  It has been getting increasingly worse since Skittles arrived. He lives under the sofa during the day and comes out at twilight to sit on the living room window sill.  My mom was playing with him and petting him during this period, and then he would follow her to his dinner.  He would come up and sleep with her at night.

I was there this morning to help after she called me at Wobbleland last night.  I cleaned her house, which had become a mess - dirty dishes, laundry, newspapers, trash - she hasn't been managing well at all.  I got to do some deep cleaning of some of her kitchen utensils, which were filthy in corners that she wasn't seeing.  When I left, she was feeling better.  My cousin stopped by this afternoon after she called him because she couldn't get up.  They fed her and got her pain meds.  She has been using a cane and has a lumbar support belt.  

Stacy will stop by tomorrow on her way to some private clients.  She'll pick up Skittles that night and bring him here.  We'll house him in Tara's old room until we figure out the next step.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

Is this a window into a larger problem? Does you mom need to consider either having someone in daily or moving to a managed care facility?

[Drunk Monk]

Fair question. 

My mom called my cousin again because she couldn’t get out of bed. He and his wife went over to help. They live about a mile away. He is spending the night there in case she needs more help. We will check in tomorrow morning and Hearn over earlier. 

This escalated quickly over the last few days. She first suffered the injury shortly after New Years and was coping well when I was there last Monday. We’ll see. The cat was the worst gift ever.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

I hope that it is just a “passing rough patch” then.

[Drunk Monk]

My mom didn’t improve last night so my cousin called for transport to El Camino. I’m heading over now.

[Greg]

I do not approve of this message. Good luck.

[cranefly]

Let me know if there's something LC and I can do.  Logistics, transportation, other.  We're not that far away.

[Drunk Monk]

Thanks.

I’m back at El Camino, where my daughter was born and near to the home where my dad died. Last time I was here was for my mom’s knee replacement.

My mom is still in a lot of pain but in good spirits. She’s getting an mri now. I’m guessing it’s a slipped disc, given the progression of events. We should know soon.

Just heard an announcement that a code grey is ‘all clear’. That’s combative patient or terrorist attack. Good to hear it’s clear.

[Drunk Monk]

It’s a cracked vertebrae. A kyphoplasty operation is scheduled for Tuesday. 

Been a long day here in the ER. We’re still waiting to be transferred to a room. 

Bloody wolf super moon. ?

[Drunk Monk]

Now I’m at my mom’s for the night and cannot find skittles anywhere. My mom said he had found a new hiding place. 

This feckin cat.

---

FOUND HIM! 

He was tucked in between my mom’s Japanese dolls. Must’ve walked past him a dozen times.

[Drunk Monk]

Stopped by the hospital on the way to work.  My mom was okay, happy to just lie there and be waited upon by hospital staff.  Many of her friends will be coming to visit, and I'll swing by again after lunch.  Tiger Claw is giving me plenty of leeway, for which I am grateful (I've always been annoyed that we don't have MLK day off, given that our entire company is minority now).  After checking in with my mom, I'll swing by her house and take Skittles to our bungalow.

[Drunk Monk]

Skittles is in the bungalow...


...for now.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

No, that wasn’t ominous. No, not at all.

[Drunk Monk]

I haven’t slept well since before Wobbleland. I got to my mom’s around 2:30 Saturday morn and got one cycle in. Saturday night I was in the Cruz, but had the strangest dreams, almost hallucinogenic, like an out-of-body experience. Sunday, at my mom’s, I couldn’t sleep after chasing the cat and watched dumb tv to keep my mind off it all. Tonight I took a long epsom salt bath, and got in bed early, but the brain circus is so loud, even though I’m so exhausted. I just got one cycle in and hope to get another.

The hospital failed to schedule my mom’s procedure yesterday so she’ll be an add on today, which means I don’t know what’s up yet. I’ll stop by on the way to work, then I have a chiro appt in Palo, then I’ll probably get lunch and head to the hospital - they have good WiFi and I can work from there. I’ll crash at my mom’s again tonight. I imagine she’ll be discharged on Wednesday, either to home if the kyphoplasty is a complete success or to a nursing home for rehab.

[Greg]

I feel you.

For some reason, I've been having dreams about moving and home renovation. My mother has been cleared by the surgeon, but still has a lot of rehab to do. She'll be in Seattle for another ten days.