It's Always Something........

"As my father always used to say: Roseanne Rosanna Danna, it's always something".........Gilda Radner character on Saturday Night Live

Thinking of that character and the skit cracks me up every time.  I even repeat it when things around here get nuts!   And nuts they are.

Monday was the day I planned on getting back to the housecleaning.  And I did.  Worked on the kitchen all day.  Scrubbed the ceiling, walls, countertop tiles, cupboards.  Moved out the fridge and stove, cleaned behind them, washed them both down.  Washed the curtain and odds and ends.

The stove was the last to be moved because.......it's the worst.  Never know what I'm going to find back there and what spills have accumulated down the sides of the thing.  I have to muster up some courage.

Not too bad, actually.  Being that I just did this last Summer, not bad.  So all washed, I proceed to wiping up the floor behind it.  Wait a minute.....there's a strange smell.  I'm sniffing all around like a hound dog on the scent.  Aha....it's coming from the connection of the gas pipe into the stove.  A very small whiff of gas.  Sniffing down the gas line, the in-house connection.....definitely coming from the stove.  Panic.

Go explain the situation to BH.  He never panics.  Everything is ok; don't worry; what're you going to do about it; where's the money coming from......yada, yada, yada.  Surprisingly, he was very supportive.  "well call the gas company if it'll make you feel comfortable".  And so I did.

Well, the tech can't come out until Tuesday.  What should I do in the meantime...the stove is sitting in the middle of the kitchen.  "Is there a shut-off valve?"  Yes there is.  "Go ahead and turn off the valve".  Okey dokey.

He came out yesterday afternoon.  Checked everything.  Took the whole oven apart, saying sometimes the oven valve doesn't close all the way when you turn the oven off.  Nothing.  No leaks.  Checked all the connections, using his handy-dandy soap mixture.  Explaining that any leak would cause the soap mixture to turn black.  Nothing.  Well, that's a good thing.  Except now I look like a nut job.  I tell him the smell of gas makes me very nervous.  Still don't know where the smell was coming from, but I will definitely stay alert.

Now I had planned on attacking the utility room Tuesday.  That was put on hold.  Another day that puts my plans behind.  Ok. Ok. No problem.  There's plenty of time.

So, finished with the kitchen, it's time to clean up and relax til supper.  As I'm walking out the door to empty the cleaning bucket, I hear this crash.  What the hell fell over?  Look around the corner.......there's BH laying on his back on the kitchen floor.  Stunned, dazed and a bit shocked.  Oh my God!  Oh my God!  "I'm ok", he says.  "My leg fell asleep but I thought it would be ok if I got up and walked.  Just let me lay here for a minute.  I think I twisted my ankle".

I got him up and into the family room, to the recliner, with much effort.  He definitely was having a bad time walking.  Within an hour, the ankle and foot are swollen 3x it's normal size.  What's that?  Take him to the doctor?  Maybe even Urgent Care? ............Don't be silly!

He had a very uncomfortable night Monday.  Yesterday he spent in the recliner, leg up, ice bags and ibuprophen.  I went to the storage house and dug out the walker.  So he used that to get to the bathroom.  We'll see what today brings.

The background to this is he was diagnosed with polyneuropathy some 4 yrs ago. The sheathing around the nerves in his legs is disintegrating, leaving the nerves exposed.  Doctor said it's like stripping the insulation from an electric cord and having the wires exposed.  So sometimes the nerves don't make proper connections.  All caused by his body producing too many antibodies. He underwent 6 months of plasma pheresis (using a dialysis machine).  Did not work.

So for the past 6 months, there have been changes.  He falls a lot more now.  He also has a "dropped foot" as one of the effects; he has to remember to pick his foot up when walking, or he trips on his toes.  And his hands shake a lot.  He has to concentrate when picking something up...like a cup of coffee or dinner plate.  It will shake right out of his hands.

I sat with him all day yesterday; helping him get to the bathroom, bringing food and drink, changing the ice bags, keeping the woodstove fired up.  Today I'm going to attempt cleaning the utility room.  Because it's off the family room and I can watch him and hear him from there.  Wish me luck.

Son is coming up for fishing this weekend.  So he thinks.  Little does he know he's going to be enlisted to do some work outside.  Bring more wood into the house, put the lawn furniture away and maybe start putting the hay down around the house.

Thursday I have to go into town for a meeting with daughter's helpers.  I had planned on spending the day with her, doing a few things around her apartment.  That ain't gonna happen.  I'll have to get home as soon as possible.  So.....that means another day will have to be set aside and another trip.

It's always something.........