Hi Mary Jo. Whine on, you are entitled, as you have a lot on your plate to deal with. The midwest weather here sucks too, and I am tired of watering and dealing with the heat on top of everything. Take care of yourself now too before you have Dan coming home. I hope you will have help then too, such as a nurse's aid, home help, or family. My prayers go out to you and Dan.

:friends:

Julie

Mary Jo: I commend you on your decision to give Dan a bit more time, at your own cost. I know how expensive it is and it is such a tough decision, along with balancing the finances.

Doen't sound like a whine to me. When Bruce was working for himself several years back, he had no time for the law, so we hired a lawn mower man. He would do all the other stuff, but that was the one thing Bruce kep for himself. Bruce said other than fertilizer and basic weed-insect control, he was not going to water every day to accomodate even more chemicals. I did the spot dandelion control and it worked well for years. Come stroke, almost none of the other stuff gets down. Two years now I am sure I put down the wrong stuff at the wrong time and I know Bruce is checking it out. He would never say anything, but I am sure he is appalled. With just an acre to deal with, lawn maintenance kind of takes a back seat. It may not be grass, but it is green-lol.

I agree with your idea on the lift. I hated that the most and fortunately had an excellent PT here at home who made short work of it. I kept it for a few weeks, like you, just in case. But could not have been happier to see it go. With the ostomy bag, you might want to consider having him face the toilet, if the WC fits there or a bedside commode and clean the bag going forward into the toilet or pail. If you can tolerate it, even a bedpan in his lap would work. Buy two pair of one size larger elastic waist pants and always a towel under the ostomy bag. I know I do this all the time, but it does take some getting used to. That way for pee, he could use the urinal sitting or if he can stand using a grip bar and with urinal, grip bar can be anywhere, not just by the toilet. Hopefully all of this will be short-lived with some good work at the Rehab and then some dependable, professional help at home. Best, Debbie

You are lucky, here in central Texas our yards look like range land, brown and dead. We have no water or rain. Cows are dying, lakes are drying up, the mariners are dry and people's boats are stuck in the mud which is drying up fast in this 100 degree and above heat. 46 days thus far and31 in a row.

There is nothing we can do, no washing cars, watering grass ordered by the city!

Fred!

Wow Fred, 31 days in a row? In central Indiana we've had 14 days in a row and everyone's wilted. I can't imagine 46 days of over 100 degree heat. Guess this is proof that it can always be worse!

Stay inside with a cold beer!

NH