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Thursday, October 05, 2006

He's Home and Elcie's Back In School

The first thing he did was fix the t.v. of course. I still don't understand what causes it to go nuts every time a tape comes to its end and rewinds. There has to be a better system. Right now he's comfortable in the living room and I'm listening to music in here. CCR is singing Proud Mary at the moment. I'm dating myself again.

I'm puzzled by several things. I think they discharged him too soon for starters. They're counting his hospital time from when the doctor first wrote the admission note (which was almost 72 hours before he went in as you may remember). He was very wobbly last night but this morning is better so far. I'm watching him closely.

He had some sort of spell in the hospital - blood pressure suddenly dropped to 60. They had crash carts in his room. Did he tell me this? Of course not, at least not until he was home.

They've prescribed methadone and morphine according to him. I haven't picked up the prescriptions yet and I'm going to google methadone. They say it's a common pain reliever in addition to its well known properties of combatting heroin addiction. But then morphine too? Something's going on. He's never complained of that kind of pain. And if his primary problem is with his lungs, why morphine? Strange.

I will find out. He's misunderstood what they've said before. In addition, he has a new anti-biotic.

If I sound like I'm against modern medicine, I'm not. I do think they're taking a scattergun approach though and three different pain meds (not including ibuprofen and the aspirin he takes for his heart) might be a bit much.

Update: This doesn't make me any more comfortable. It does, however, list pain relief as one of the uses of methadone.

In other news? Not too much really. Elcie balked at returning to school but she went. She'd missed two full days plus the first day when the school sent her home. She seems to wake up feeling rotten but an hour or so into the day she's feeling better. That's what I do unless I'm really sick. She'll be spending much of her weekend on makeup work.

Rebecca and Rochelle are accepting their grounding with some grace. They both insist they brought my cell phone back inside and neither one knows how it was stolen. Point is, they didn't have permission to take it outside the house and it's the second phone in a couple of weeks that has disappeared in the same way. I spent much of yesterday trying to get a phone that would work immediately even if I had to leave it on the charger while I used it. Thank heavens Tim came through. Insurance takes a couple of days and I haven't decided whether to file claims on both phones. It will involve a police report (which I can do online), making a trip to one of the Verizon stores, and forking over $100. Meantime, the Cricket stays in my pocket. (And I may let them out of jail before they turn 21 - I'll have to think about it).

With both phones, they were answered the first time we called them - in Spanish. This time I had my Spanish speaking neighbor call back. Some kid answered, swore at him in Spanish, and hung up. I borrowed a phone and turned my phone into a paperweight. They can't use it, can't activate it. If they try to activate it, they're in trouble. I don't think my Hispanic neighbors are more apt to steal than anyone else; it's just that there are more of them. It's the law of averages and some kids steal. These kids happened to be Hispanic and may even be the same kids in both cases.

I've been having some problems with the two younger girls this year. They've had a little more freedom and they're confusing freedom with license. I have clamped down. Even after they're ungrounded, they're restricted. No further than the local store and a strict time limit.

The next few years should be great fun for all of us.

Take care everyone.

19 comments:

Merle said...

Hello Ann ~ Glad to hear that Ray is home, and that does sound like a lot of pain-killers. I hope that he will be OK on them. Sorry to hear about the phones They were so handy to know where the girls were, but it seems they have been careless. Glad your cold has gone. Thanks for your comments, glad you liked "keep pace with the drummer" It is a good one. I only got 47 on the Quirky test. Funny word that. Take care,Love, Merle.

Susie said...

Glad Ray is home. That is really scary about the BP dropping like that. Those sound like big gun pain relievers. It must be awful for him to be in that much pain to need those drugs.
What a pain to deal with the hassle of those stolen cell phones.
I think every kid wants one and doesn't care how they get it.
I was dumbfounded to find that one of the kids in second grade had one!

Kendra Lynn said...

HOpe RAy is feeling better.
Busy over here...Scott's birthday party is Saturday, and the house needs to be clean.
Sigh..its hard to keep up in between the girls' breathing treatments and what-all.

Kendra

Anonymous said...

Is there something Ray isn't telling you, you think, that could be the reason for the 'big gun' drugs?

You gave the girls some rope and they seem to have hung themselves with it. They will learn...eventually.

Arwen said...

cell phones, Crash carts and methadone, Oh My! I am glad Ray is home, I am sorry the lock down had to occur on the kids, it is a tough lesson, hopefully this will start getting through to them (skulls thicken as puberty approaches).

Jo said...

I'm glad to hear Ray is home. I hope he is feeling better (and you too.)

Kids can be sort of scatterbrained when they are first learning responsibility. I went through that with my daughter.

BTW, I LOVE CCR. My next door neighbour is only 28, and he loves them as well. I had a John Fogerty song on my music blog the other day. "Run Through the Jungle." It still sounds great.

Cheers,

Josie

Jo said...

I'm glad to hear Ray is home. I hope he is feeling better (and you too.)

Kids can be sort of scatterbrained when they are first learning responsibility. I went through that with my daughter.

BTW, I LOVE CCR. My next door neighbour is only 28, and he loves them as well. I had a John Fogerty song on my music blog the other day. "Run Through the Jungle." It still sounds great.

Cheers,

Josie

Turtle Guy said...

"If I sound like I'm against modern medicine, I'm not. I do think they're taking a scattergun approach though and three different pain meds (not including ibuprofen and the aspirin he takes for his heart) might be a bit much."

Here's a similar story. Several years ago now, my Mom slipped on the ice and broke her hip. She was 9 weeks in the hospital - two for the hip, 7 in physio learning how to walk again.

She had literally had over a dozen pills to take over the course of a day. TWO extra-strength Tylenols THREE TIMES A DAY. Ouch. When I asked what the little red pill was, I was shocked. It was a drug to counter the side effects of one of the other drugs!

I've never been a huge advocate for medecine, unless it's necessary and this is just a mild example of the craziness that's bottled and sold to us as "This will make you feel better, honest."

Thinking of you and Ray and your family...

Tina said...

Was the blood pressure number '60' systolic or diastolic, do you know? Terrifying, either way.

Yondalla said...

I'm glad he's home.

Computer stole my blog time today...

peppylady (Dora) said...

Glad to hear Ray home people do better in their own enviroment.
I know sometime the doctor will give an Rx to regulate something in body just don't recall what.

Meow (aka Connie) said...

Glad to hear Ray is home. Seems like a lot of painkillers, though. HOpe you can get some answers, and sort it out.
Too bad about the phones ... my Chicky has my old one on a pre-paid thing, but when she is not using it, I make her put it on the kitchen bench, just so I know where it is. She doesn't take it to school, and only uses it when she goes out of our street with her friends, bike riding, or whatever. Kids can be so careless.
Have a great weekend.
Take care, Meow

Carole Burant said...

I'm sure Ray will be more comfortable at home but it's still worrisome with him having to take such pills! Gosh, those girls sure keep you on your toes, don't they!! You are truly doing a wonderful thing by raising them and at least they have your guiding hand! Take care!!

Margaret said...

Dear Ann, thanks for comments on My Lyle, I had the idea that you would know where I was coming from. Happy for you that Ray is home again, medication does sound a little like 'hitting a tack with a sledge hammer". I hope you can get to the bottom of that. Sorry about your phones,responsibility has to be learned and it appears you are a very good and just teacher to your girls. God Bless Margaret

Rowan Dawn said...

my daughter and her friend have been getting into trouble too. not listening, taking off, not doing their homework. so me and Na Na (the girl's grandmother) grounded them for the week from each other. so they got sneaking and tessa brought haileys binder home. Na Na came and got it and they didn't get there way. I thought it was funny, i just didn't tell tessa that. she has finally learned how to be sneaky.
oh, and they are tornados. you should see tessas room!

good luck, girls can be a pain, i know i was one not that long ago, lol

clairesgarden said...

I am accused by my daughter of being too strict, but her friends get to do this and that she says. I am not her friends mothers I reply, this is my house and rules etc. she has had mobile phones for a couple of years now, first one a present from one of my more well off friends( who isn't much of a friend now as she realised my new lack of funds wasn't going to wear off, huh)since then she's lost and had stolen-from school- at least a dozen phones, and we always replace it with a second hand one, seems most people I know get a new one every five minutes and we get the old one.
I hope Ray is feeling more comfortable now he's home.

JBlue said...

I hope Ray's better. Those girls are at THAT age, I see. Good luck. You'll do fine, though.

Anonymous said...

Hey Im glad ray is home and doing well!!! good thing it wasn't stronger.. that other stuff can be kinda scary..

Ingrid said...

Granster, since you've gone down this road before, you know that there is no guilt allowed with clamping down right? Just checking. Kids need boundaries so much, we try to enforce them at home within reason (we think) and I feel vindicated when I see other people's kids either being out of control or just plain not being re-directed when they do not behave. I am starting to feel good (and more used to) about being a parent. It only took me about 8 yrs! lol
Hope Ray will continue to recuperate well and perhaps, even if he might have been released too early from the hospital, perhaps psychologically he'll relax and start feeling better sooner being home. That always made me more happy to get the yukky hospital smell and food out of the way! Hugs to the both of you!
Ingrid