Dinner with the Bridge Players – May 31, 2012

Clark and Erin joined us between sessions of the bridge tournament for dinner at the Elephant Bar.  Patricia, Jim, Mary Ose, and I had played on a team this afternoon, so Mary joined us for dinner, too, as did Dave Vidaver with whom Clark and I have had a lot of sushi outings.  Mary commented that this was the 3rd night in a row that she had had dinner with us. Dave and Patricia always enjoy intellectual conversations every time she is out from Denver.

After dinner Clark took Erin to AT&T because her new phone was locked.  He went into the store and got an accomodating clerk to come out to the car to help with the phone. The girl took the phone back into the store and it took her about 15 min to get it working. Erin lost some of the stuff that she had stored on the phone.

Barbara

Aunt Patricia with Erin – May 30, 2012

My sister Patricia arrived from Denver today. Erin and Patricia have September birthdays 5 days apart, so they have always had a special bond.Patricia came to see Erin and to play in the Regional Tournament which is taking place at the Double Tree. Brother Jim also came up from Berkeley to play in the tournament. Clark and Erin met us for dinner at Roxy. Then Barbara, the volunteer, came and stayed with Erin tonight while Clark and I played on a team with Jim and Patricia. We won none of our 4 matches! Jim had his cochlear implant activated yesterday and he is elated hearing sounds he hasn’t heard in years. Barbara

Recovering from the Busy Weekend

Erin is still recovering from her busy weekend. She slept until 11 am getting up then for bath and lunch.  Then she went back to sleep and sat on the bed to talk to Denise, the RN, when she arrived at 3 pm.

Erin complained of the pain that starts in the forehead and goes down the front of her face. Denise doesn’t think it is due to the tumor, but instead may be a sinus headache. So, Erin is going to try Claritin, the allergy medicine, for a couple of days.

Abby, the bath giver, noted that Erin’s right leg was shaking. Clark noticed it yesterday, and I noted it a couple of days ago, but forgot about it. She doesn’t have much use of her right leg. That is why she is prone to fall.

Barbara

Birthday Boy

Today was Steve’s birthday.  I was playing in the Regional Bridge Tournament at the Double Tree, so I met the gang at Chevy’s for dinner. My bridge partner for the day, Mary, joined us also.  She and Steve talked cars because she has a rare car.

Earlier in the day Clark and Erin went to the grocery store, and then went to Big 5 where Erin got out of the car.

Erin lost her iPhone in San Jose this past weekend, so on the way to dinner, Clark and Erin met Steve and the boys at AT&T, and got Steve a new phone and Erin will inherit Steve’s.  Tommy rode with Clark to Chevy’s and he came in all excited about riding in Clark’s car.

Barbara

Fun in San Jose

Steve brought Erin home about 6:30 tonight after a fun, but perhaps tiring, 2 days in San Jose.  Erin was up all day yesterday visiting their Argentinian friends Carolina and German and  their 4 young children. Steve used to work at eBay with German. Erin’s nurse practioner friend, Debbie, was also there.

The “handicapped room” at the  Double Tree was not very well equipped, not even a hand-held shower, and Erin fell, but survived.

Today they visited cousins Ken and Anne in Santa Cruz near Scott’s Valley.  Steve said that their 15 year-old Alec and almost 12 year-old Caroline are both taller than he is. Paco had fun playing with 2nd cousin, 10 year-old Kyle.

Erin is tired and in pain through the front of her face.  I think the pain meds are making her talk very incoherently. But, the weekend was a big success and she wants to do more similar outings.

Barbara

Off to San Jose; Access Ramp May 26, 2012

We took Erin to Davis this morning. Steve rented a larger van to take Erin, Paco, Tommy, and Mišelka to San Jose for the weekend. They were going to visit their friends from Argentina today, and have brunch in Santa Cruz with my nephew Ken and wife Anne and kids tomorrow. Steve rented a handicapped room at the DoubleTree. Erin was very apprehensive about going and being in a place without Safe-T-poles in the bedroom and bath. But, Tommy was very excited about the big car. Paco noted that there were 9 cup holders. There were 3 seats plus room for luggage and wheelchair. Our new access ramp arrived yesterday and Erin used it for the first time this morning. The threshold from the garage to the house is just 2 1/2 inches high, but with the light weight wheelchair so wobbly, both Shannon and I had had trouble with getting over that ledge. It was a much smoother ride over the threshold this morning. The ramp is very portable, so we can also use it to get from the patio into the house. Steve, let us all know how it is going. Have fun! Barbara

Erin & Valerie at Little League Game – May 25, 2012

Tonight was Paco’s last Farm game, so we took Erin to Davis to see it. She seemed to have a wonderful time visiting with all of the other parents. She is pictured here with Valerie whose husband is one of Paco’s Giants coaches. Valerie has a younger son who plays with Tommy at the games, and I think she kept an eye on Tommy during the games Steve umpired. Valerie also organized bringing dinners to Steve when he was first alone with the boys. As Judy (Steve’s Mom) said, “Valerie is a doer.” All 12 team members bat even though only 9 go on to the field. Paco sat out the beginning of the game, then played short stop, 2nd base, right field, and catcher – his favorite position. He throws the ball accurately back to the pitcher. The person who impressed me most was Steve who jumped up and caught a foul ball that was headed for the top of my head! Barbara

A Good Friend

Erin slept most of the day … until about 3 pm, when she and I had an early dinner.  We split her Mac ‘n Cheese and I had some steelhead trout.  She was asleep when Barbara, the volunteer, showed up at 6 pm, and we left for bridge.

When we came home, Erin was all perky and raving about how much Barbara had helped her – with laundry, closet arranging, medicine.  Erin says that Barbara is a good friend.

Barbara

Erin and Clark waiting for Valet Parking – May 23, 2012

Erin had an appt with Dr. Adams today. Last night she had one of the worse headaches she has ever had. It originated near her left ear and went down the front of her face. However, Dr. Adams said that in general the disease is not painful because there are no nerve endings in the brain, just in the meninges in the skull. A better indicator of growth of the tumor is clinical presentation. He did not see much change in the last 3 weeks…. maybe a little more difficulty with word finding. He did a test. He asked her to repeat, “no ifs, ands, or buts”. She couldn’t do that, but she could repeat all of the other words or phrases he asked for. She could repeat “California”, “no ifs”, “no buts”, etc. She asked him again what her life expectancy was. He said he couldn’t say. Again he said to enjoy each day. He said that he could probably say her life expectancy was less than 2 years. That was encouraging to her. Jude, the Physical Therapist, came at 3:15 pm and Steve came, too, so that she could show him how Erin should transfer. He and Erin went out for dinner. Barbara

Apria Healthcare

Yesterday my friend Lucy Brown suggested Apria Healthcare as a possible source for a ramp.  I had  actually talked to them yesterday and they do not carry ramps.   So, we ordered one on line.

We went into Apria today for the first time since it switched from being Abbey and what a difference! There is not a big store to roam around and look at things like I used to do 20 years ago when Brandon was in a wheelchair. There’s a sterile lobby where you sign in. Supplies are all behind empty walls.  Fortunately, there was a young employee who came up to the desk as I was signing in, and he looked at Erin’s transport chair and told me where to tighten screws with an Allen wrench so that the handles would not be so wiggly.  We were there 4 min.

Afterwards, we went next door to Costco where Clark with his bad foot and Erin sat in the food patio while I laid in supplies.

Colleen just stopped by and worked with the Allen wrench getting things tightened up.

Barbara