Travel, medical issues, more travel

I got home from Eagle Pass yesterday in the early afternoon. It was about nine hours on the road and other than seeing multiple police check points and dozens of officers either clocking cars with radar, in pursuit of offenders or talking with someone they had pulled over, it was pretty uneventful. I drove a little over 1100 miles round trip, but it was well worth the effort. Now I have to catch up to my regular work.

Lately I have been getting a rash on my shoulders, my upper back and my chest. It has been recurring for about a year now. At first we thought it was an allergic reaction to something in the t-shirts I was wearing so Mama changed laundry detergent – several times. Still it persisted. We looked at just about everything I could think of. When we showed the rash to Grandma a couple days ago, she knew what it was: shingles. That made perfect sense. It does not help me deal with it, but at least it identifies it. Mama is after me to show it to a doctor and I probably should but there is very little they can do to treat a viral infection.

Grandpa took Grandma to the doctor while I was away and they did an ultrasound on her gall bladder. It will have to be removed soon. The surgery is listed as “emergency” for scheduling purposes but that means something different to the hospital than to Grandma. She has been telling everyone she talks to that she is having emergency surgery - sometime next month. To her it is really funny. If she tells you, be sure to laugh.

Mama is doing much better. Rather than get her stitches out yesterday, the doctor’s office moved the appointment to sometime next week. It did seem a little early to have the stitches out only ten days after the surgery, but I do not make those decisions. At any rate, she is on the schedule to have them removed at a later date. Until then she will have to shower with care. That is the part she likes the least.

She has been walking without any assistance of crutches or canes although she takes a walking stick with her as she moves about the farm. She still has a slight limp but that is going away. She is still not able to pivot on that knee. It may require physical therapy to start developing that strength, but she is not in pain any longer. That is the best part. She is planning to have the right knee done as soon as possible. I am thinking October or November but she is thinking sooner. I have a feeling the doctor will be on my side but we will find out.

I will be heading to Borger next week – after the Memorial Day Holiday. It has been too long since I have been there. Over the past several months I have had pressing work related matters to deal with as well as awaiting word from Licensing, so I have not been able to venture far from the office. Now that several of those matters are settled, or well under way, I can get back into a routine of making my rounds every month or so.

Grandpa made progress on the apartment while I was gone but with doctor visits and other matters of the home, he did not get too much further. I still have some work to do to seal the roof edges so we do not get any rain finding its way into the shop. One hard, wind driven rain got the shop and apartment pretty wet. That kind of shut Grandpa down on any sheetrock work.

Further sealing that edge will be the focus of this weekend.