In this blog entry, I answer a number of questions asked by each of you. My original goal was to post pictures of the items received, but my designated helper failed to appear on Friday… she apologized, stating that she'll be back Wednesday. Ugh.
@christiankatz
I'm trying to understand the feeding bag situation. Can we help you get feeding bags?
Insurance only pays for one formula bag per day (bags are $6 each). I need three separate feedings each day. I set up the first feeding bag by myself in the morning.. and then I need the same formula bag cleaned out twice daily (5pm and 11pm).
So, if a nurse is two hours late with my 5pm feed, I cannot get my full formula bottle in prior to the 11pm changeout… unless I wait until 1am. If I do that, then the morning feed falls back by two hours, etc.
To combat this, I use a brand new bag if a nurse fails to appear (at either 5pm or 11pm). I have a few extra on hand now, so I can do this. But eventually, this facility will have to pay out of pocket (insurance won't cover) when I run out of bags.
And I WILL force them to do this, because it's not my fault I'm not getting fed (at all, on-time, or less than I should be).
So really, I've got this all handled.
I've got every angle accounted for, and this situation has been well-documented. And really, the cause of this (my feed problems) is likely a result of being short-staffed. Almost all the nurses here are registry nurses. They are unaffiliated. They're basically contractors. And for the most part, they do not wish to be hired-on permanently because the pay is better.
@lenora
Does roomie talk at all? Does he sleep when you aren't then during the day, I wonder? Your biggest concern seems to be your rotten roommates, doesn't it?
He speaks very little. And it appears as though he's got some physical (or mental) health issues contributing to his communication difficulties. However, I'm not sure what those hindrances are, specifically.
When I stayed in the room the other day, he watched loud television nearly the entire time, and took a three hour nap halfway through. Well, I don't even know if he's actually watching what's on television. Listening to it? Yes. I suspect so. At that volume, it's impossible not to.
@Hufsamor
How’s the situation with your mom for the moment?
My mother is okay, mostly. She's happy that she gets to go out to the park with her friends to get "fresh air" (smoke cigarettes) daily. So there's that.
A childhood memory?
My father came home late from work one evening, picked me up, then gave me a hug and a kiss.
As he hadn't shaved for a day or two, his face (uncharacteristically) had the 5 o'clock shadow thing going on… so I said, "Dada, how come you have eyebrows all over your face?"
And my mother seemed to be impressed by my response, repeating the story to any number of people.
A dog event?
After my son was born, Koko (a white German Shepherd Husky mix) would always stand guard by my son, remaining in the same room with him always, and usually laying on the floor beneath him. And my cat (Pizza Place) took the high watch, laying near and about his head area.
Both were extremely tolerant of my son's incessant grabbing and tugging, too.
The other cats were far less interested.
The time you saved the day?
My former step-daughter's friend lost consciousness and stopped breathing. I administered CPR while simultaneously calling 9-1-1. The friend is still alive today. The step-daughter is not.
The situation that you turned into disaster?
A former girlfriend was upset with me and wouldn't return my calls. So, in order to apologize for whatever wrong-headed thing I said, I surmised that paying her a surprise visit would help resolve the issue.
I hitched a ride part way there, then walked the remaining 15 miles (during mid-summer late afternoon in Arizona, no less), which took nearly five hours.
Upon arrival, I immediately said something stupid, and my girlfriend summarily dismissed me.
It took me more than eight hours to walk back home.
There are more details (police involvement, a jealous husband, a pop-up thunderstorm and subsequent flooding, ketchup problems at Denny's, security guards/more cops, my last quarter, sexual stuff, traumatic injury)...
Yep, total craziness… and in the end, my girlfriend somehow blew out my intestinal wall (inguinal hernia) and the doctors had to manually stuff my intestines back inside of me… which was INCREDIBLY painful.
Does that qualify as a disaster?
That disaster continued on and into subsequent weeks, as the grande finale took place at the Phoenix International Raceway. Someone even died. Crazy right? But in the end, I refused to be airlifted out.
Days later, surgery was successful.
The friend you texted with, how did you meet?
We met on an online forum. She used to freak out a lot, and I thought I could help. Eventually I started freaking out because she was freaking out so much, so then she realized she had to stop freaking out or risk losing her "freak out" support friend.
Now, years later, we mostly crack each other up. An hour or two exchanging texts, and everything brightens. I get to be my ridiculous off-the-cuff improvisational self with her. Hammer down. Pedal to the metal. And rarely is she offended or incapable of responding… despite me going overboard fairly often.
I am a challenging human being. Haha!
@lenora
A thought: What about putting subtitles on the TV for him? Perhaps he doesn't know how it's done and that would help.
I think, and I'm not exactly sure, that the noise is somehow soothing to him. It seems as though there has to be excessive noise emanating from somewhere, anytime he is awake. But I am not certain of this.
When were you the happiest in your life?
I think I'm the happiest I've ever been right now. It may not seem the case, but I am particularly unburdened.. compared to before. I'm not spending any time or effort trying to make someone want me (full well knowing they do not). Fighting lost battles drains untold amounts of energy (energy I do not have).
Now instead, I interact with others in a more natural one-on-one fashion... so I get to improvise, react, interact, emote… without putting undue pressure on myself to "fix" the problem. If I mess up or offend one person, there remain other guinea pigs, additional people and opportunities to explore!
Thanks to each of you for the thoughtful questions.
Take care,
Howard
@christiankatz
I'm trying to understand the feeding bag situation. Can we help you get feeding bags?
Insurance only pays for one formula bag per day (bags are $6 each). I need three separate feedings each day. I set up the first feeding bag by myself in the morning.. and then I need the same formula bag cleaned out twice daily (5pm and 11pm).
So, if a nurse is two hours late with my 5pm feed, I cannot get my full formula bottle in prior to the 11pm changeout… unless I wait until 1am. If I do that, then the morning feed falls back by two hours, etc.
To combat this, I use a brand new bag if a nurse fails to appear (at either 5pm or 11pm). I have a few extra on hand now, so I can do this. But eventually, this facility will have to pay out of pocket (insurance won't cover) when I run out of bags.
And I WILL force them to do this, because it's not my fault I'm not getting fed (at all, on-time, or less than I should be).
So really, I've got this all handled.
I've got every angle accounted for, and this situation has been well-documented. And really, the cause of this (my feed problems) is likely a result of being short-staffed. Almost all the nurses here are registry nurses. They are unaffiliated. They're basically contractors. And for the most part, they do not wish to be hired-on permanently because the pay is better.
@lenora
Does roomie talk at all? Does he sleep when you aren't then during the day, I wonder? Your biggest concern seems to be your rotten roommates, doesn't it?
He speaks very little. And it appears as though he's got some physical (or mental) health issues contributing to his communication difficulties. However, I'm not sure what those hindrances are, specifically.
When I stayed in the room the other day, he watched loud television nearly the entire time, and took a three hour nap halfway through. Well, I don't even know if he's actually watching what's on television. Listening to it? Yes. I suspect so. At that volume, it's impossible not to.
@Hufsamor
How’s the situation with your mom for the moment?
My mother is okay, mostly. She's happy that she gets to go out to the park with her friends to get "fresh air" (smoke cigarettes) daily. So there's that.
A childhood memory?
My father came home late from work one evening, picked me up, then gave me a hug and a kiss.
As he hadn't shaved for a day or two, his face (uncharacteristically) had the 5 o'clock shadow thing going on… so I said, "Dada, how come you have eyebrows all over your face?"
And my mother seemed to be impressed by my response, repeating the story to any number of people.
A dog event?
After my son was born, Koko (a white German Shepherd Husky mix) would always stand guard by my son, remaining in the same room with him always, and usually laying on the floor beneath him. And my cat (Pizza Place) took the high watch, laying near and about his head area.
Both were extremely tolerant of my son's incessant grabbing and tugging, too.
The other cats were far less interested.
The time you saved the day?
My former step-daughter's friend lost consciousness and stopped breathing. I administered CPR while simultaneously calling 9-1-1. The friend is still alive today. The step-daughter is not.
The situation that you turned into disaster?
A former girlfriend was upset with me and wouldn't return my calls. So, in order to apologize for whatever wrong-headed thing I said, I surmised that paying her a surprise visit would help resolve the issue.
I hitched a ride part way there, then walked the remaining 15 miles (during mid-summer late afternoon in Arizona, no less), which took nearly five hours.
Upon arrival, I immediately said something stupid, and my girlfriend summarily dismissed me.
It took me more than eight hours to walk back home.
There are more details (police involvement, a jealous husband, a pop-up thunderstorm and subsequent flooding, ketchup problems at Denny's, security guards/more cops, my last quarter, sexual stuff, traumatic injury)...
Yep, total craziness… and in the end, my girlfriend somehow blew out my intestinal wall (inguinal hernia) and the doctors had to manually stuff my intestines back inside of me… which was INCREDIBLY painful.
Does that qualify as a disaster?
That disaster continued on and into subsequent weeks, as the grande finale took place at the Phoenix International Raceway. Someone even died. Crazy right? But in the end, I refused to be airlifted out.
Days later, surgery was successful.
The friend you texted with, how did you meet?
We met on an online forum. She used to freak out a lot, and I thought I could help. Eventually I started freaking out because she was freaking out so much, so then she realized she had to stop freaking out or risk losing her "freak out" support friend.
Now, years later, we mostly crack each other up. An hour or two exchanging texts, and everything brightens. I get to be my ridiculous off-the-cuff improvisational self with her. Hammer down. Pedal to the metal. And rarely is she offended or incapable of responding… despite me going overboard fairly often.
I am a challenging human being. Haha!
@lenora
A thought: What about putting subtitles on the TV for him? Perhaps he doesn't know how it's done and that would help.
I think, and I'm not exactly sure, that the noise is somehow soothing to him. It seems as though there has to be excessive noise emanating from somewhere, anytime he is awake. But I am not certain of this.
When were you the happiest in your life?
I think I'm the happiest I've ever been right now. It may not seem the case, but I am particularly unburdened.. compared to before. I'm not spending any time or effort trying to make someone want me (full well knowing they do not). Fighting lost battles drains untold amounts of energy (energy I do not have).
Now instead, I interact with others in a more natural one-on-one fashion... so I get to improvise, react, interact, emote… without putting undue pressure on myself to "fix" the problem. If I mess up or offend one person, there remain other guinea pigs, additional people and opportunities to explore!
Thanks to each of you for the thoughtful questions.
Take care,
Howard
