I slept well on my recliner with a chair foot extension and “borrowed” air mattress topper! I had the snacks in a cubby that Amanda could reach while I was gone. The drawers are stacked with the good no-tie hospital gowns and extra towels. These gowns are hard to come by, and why they’d ever get gowns where you have to tie the arm hole together is beyond me! So I have rat-holed about a half dozen good ones stowed-away drawers. Amanda said that while I was gone, an assistant was going through her drawers, looking for something, and came across them. Amanda just played dumb! With all the space taken, I had to get creative with my backpack placement, so I used the load straps on the shoulder straps to hang it from the clothes rod.
The doctor came by with not much new. He wanted to do the same medication as yesterday but try an IV push of it versus the pill as yesterday. The thinking was that she wasn’t absorbing it well because of the fluid in the gut area. It was a while before the nurse came by with the extra push of Bumex and the new medication. The new one was an oral suspension instead of an IV. Amanda was perturbed about the oral liquid that resembled the pneumonia finger paint consistency medicine she takes daily. She wondered if the pill absorption was bad; this junk couldn’t be any better. The doctor put it in; I assume he changed his mind. I just wish they’d have let us know what was going on. I thought I might have to make a “cocktail” to help her get it down. It was pretty nasty, but she got it down. Oral or IV, it still didn’t do its job very well. She hasn’t gotten a ton of fluid off yet. It is coming off but very slowly; she is looking better.
We’re doing our best to conserve funds. There were leftovers, but without a refrigerator or cooler, Amanda couldn’t eat them. On the other hand, I have an iron gut and eat food that’s been out a while at work. Amanda got a Mediterranean grain bowl from the cafeteria, but they sent a teriyaki bowl instead. It wasn’t great but edible, she said! I ate cold Chinese leftovers I’d stored in the windowsill.
After lunch, I went apartment searching online. We haven’t had an apartment in 20 years. I’m being picky, but I’d like something with a study or den we could use for a guest bedroom. It would make taking care of Amanda easier if I needed to leave to go to work. Or if we had friends from home who wanted to hang out with us for a few days, we’d have a place for them. The last transplant was in 2020, so we were strict on covid protocols. I found a few and had a short list of two I wanted to tour. I did find a crazy pet policy at one place. They DNA swab your dog, and they DNA test poop not picked up to match to your dog if you didn’t scoop the poop. What will they think of next!
I needed to get a little union work done, I had many reports due, and a big Treasurers Annual Report I needed to get knocked out. I went to get my union laptop out of the Yukon. I stowed some TP rolls in my man satchel and headed back to the room. I got back all ready with my accountant hat on to get to work, and I only had a binder in my bag. I guess I left the laptop in our office! I was ready to get some work done.
Brittany had called Amanda while the nurse stopped by, so she called her back after the nurse left. Brittany and her family could use some prayers; her grandfather passed away a few days ago. I have fond memories of him and his wife when I’d stay at their place with Britt’s cousin, who I was friends with. I planned to tour apartments tomorrow, but I figured the phone call would last a while, so I swapped my footwear to a more appropriate choice for the rainy weather and took off to see two different apartments. One was east of the NRG stadium and the old astrodome. I’d been by the area and didn’t think it would be too bad and still close to the med center. I took a longer route past where I should have turned so I could do a drive-by of another potential location. It was ok, at best. I made my way to the first selection, and it only got worse as I went. I passed some apartments that were orange, blue, and white; they looked like an old Gulf station. I was hoping they weren’t the ones I was headed to. It turned out to be next door and about the same, just not gas station colors, with lots of cars street parked. I didn’t even get in the right lane to turn and just drove on by!
The next choice was farther north and on old Highway 90, the road that runs through Brackettville and all the way through Alpine, my away-from-home terminal. This apartment was closer, nicer, but more expensive. I waited a bit to speak with someone. After I had sat down and told them what we needed, the lease manager quickly told me they didn’t have any three-month leases available till November; the next shortest term was 12 months. She did tell me of a corporate housing company they lease to that provides furnished apartments on short term. I sent a request; they would be great and cater to medical patients, don’t have lease terms, and you can extend as long as you need, but they are double the rate. I left discouraged in the apartment hunting.
I grabbed a refresher and my usual cold foam and ice on the way back to Amanda. The barista had my order ready before I even ordered and paid and before the two in front of me in line. I was telling Amanda about the quick service; she said maybe he had a crush on me! I told her he was just focused and good at his job. She said sure, I replied well, he’s terrible at flirting if he has a crush on me! Once I got back, it was snack time, and Amanda wanted to go through the snack bag. Not surprisingly, she hadn’t even opened all the snacks I got her before I went home. I’m a browser and will eat a little of all snacks; I’d have had every bag open within 10 minutes of getting back with the groceries!
After snack time, I did more apartment research. I looked at street views on Apple Maps this time, though. I found some reasonable ones that had studies that would be perfect. I called and spoke with the leasing manager at one; she was pleasant and easy to talk to, unlike the previous two I went to look at. She gave me her number and said to just text when I was headed that way so she could be available to show me around. Now, she may have been flirting with me! I scoured the entire street these apartments were on. There are luxury apartments flanking either side, and it is close to a grocery store we used to use. There is an older but remodeled apartment across the street, the old boxy roof style with wood shingles. I plan to check both of these out tomorrow. I have a good feeling about the one I called. I like the layouts; the prices weren’t bad, even the slightly higher three-month term. The area is a 9-minute bus ride to the hospital or a 35-minute walk. I told Amanda I could shave a good bit off with one of the scooters the Rice students zip by on. I got a resounding NO!
Amanda wanted pizza for dinner, so she ordered one from MOD across the street and went to pick it up. I’d just eaten some egg rolls and rice for lunch, so I still had a little of our previous night’s dinner left and would eat that for dinner. She couldn’t eat but half her pizza, so I just had the other half for dinner and chunked the 24-hour-old Chinese food. It was probably a good idea; I do eat some rally old food at work sometimes when I get stuck on a train for over 12 hours, though! The pizza was good, and I’d ordered a fruit plate for Amanda’s hospital dinner, so we had that for dessert.
You got this post early because I am tired and ready for bed! It’s been ages since I got a good night’s sleep or even come close to catching up on the sleep I’ve lost. It looks like I’ll head home on Thursday to catch a westbound train on Friday, then back home on Saturday, and back here early Sunday morning. I have a Brackettville friend coming to stay with Amanda for part of the time I’m gone.
Response
Praying for you 🙏