CHAPTER 218: COMIN HOME 2020
The lady who drove me home in the Gem Mobile Van, took me up the four steps from the doorway into our living area and put me in my lift chair. She brought my wheelchair in and my luggage.
I did not expect the chaotic messI found. The living room was littered with stuff and I had clean things up before I could maneuver around. This was not at all like Lois. It was strange and should probably have warned me things weren’t quite right with her.
I discovered neither computer was working, but Lois didn’t know what happened to them. She is not really computer savvy any more. I spend much of my time home getting my files and programs back as they should be. Then I noticed all my ID cards had disappeared, and none of us knew why. I had kept these cards in my wallet and hadn’t taken the wallet to the hospital or rehab with me. I don’t know how they escaped my wallet, but they did and I spend several weeks getting a replacement Medicare card, supplemental insurance card, a new driver license and all the other papers that proved I existed. We managed to do this.
I also acquired an aide from an agency called Bayada, who came in three mornings week from 9:00 AM until 1:00 PM. Her name was Evelyn Boone. (She was the only health helper whose picture I failed to take.) She took good care of me though.
reduced to wearing pull-up, which Medicaid does supply to me monthly for free. during my rehab stay. In the beginning the attendants there would put me in diapers ever time they changed me, like a I was a giant baby. On one time an aide put a pull up on me (I’m a big boy now.) From then on I insisted on these. They were much more comfortable than the adult diapers and I could now change myself. Eventually after I got home I only put these on when I went to bed, just in case of an overnight accident. I could get to the bathroom quickly enough during my waking hours (usually) so didn’t feel the need to always wear them.
Not long after I got home we had dishwasher problems and ordered a new dishwasher.
reputable business. Apparently not. I paid to have the new dishwasher delivered, installed and my old dishwasher taken away. Seems simple enough for such a large retailer to handle. I paid for everything on June 6. They said delivery would be in two weeks.
It did not come. They said they were waiting for shipment to their warehouse from the manufacture, which was a German company and it would be another week. Another week and it did not come. They kept postponing delivery.
Finally the delivery truck crew contacted me. He claimed their delivery truck had broken down (Home Depot only has one truck apparently? Why didn’t they rent one of those vans they palm off on customers at $29 a day? They have these sitting right in their parking lot.)
Probably be in two weeks once their lone truck was repaired. Apparently this giant company with but one delivery truck also only delivers on certain days as well. (I probably should have dealt with Lowes )Three weeks passed. I called again. Promises, promises. Finally the truck driver called again. They were on their way.
A truck pulled up out front with two men in it. The small guy carries in the dishwasher on his shoulder. the big guy carried a clipboard. Division of labor by size, I guess. But wonder of
wonders, it is the correct machine. Age crate was set down in the middle o my kitchen so they could take out the old dishwasher. They set about installation. Sure. These jug-heads could not figure out where the power cord was. Come on. This was the fourth dishwasher we have gotten since living here. That meant four installations. No other installer didn’t know where the power cable was. Just Curly and Moe. They should have had the third stooge along. They looked in the nearby cabinets. They glanced under the nearby cabinets. They went outside ( like women going to the restroom in pairs) and poked about the circuit breaker box. They could not figure it out. At least they didn’t electrocute each other. They finally gathered before me and
declared they could not do the installation or disconnect the old dishwasher because the couldn’t locate the power cord, then they packed up and left my new machine sitting unwrapped in the middle of the kitchen. They did not disconnect the old one, let alone haul it away, nor did they install the new one. As they drove off out of sight, the driver told me I would be reinvested for the fees I paid for these services.
and dispose of the old one. He came promptly. He didn’t have any problem whatsoever finding the electoral connections. He was very diligent, very friendly and did the job. He warned us ahead of time thet people were usually surprised it cost as much to install a dishwasher as it did to buy the marine, and it did, but Lois and I were happy because it got ‘er done, including hung away the old machine. I would hire Lem the Plumber in a flash in the future.
And the Bosch dishwasher works great.
After coming out of the Rehab, named Evelyn Boone proved an excellent aide. Evelyn was with me thought out the end of 2020 right into Spring of 2021, then she began not feeling well. She developed this itch that would not go away. Then one morning my health care people, Bayada, called to say she was in the hospital and would not be coming back. It wasn’t Covid. After working for us nearly a year, she developed an allergy to cats. That doesn’t work in our place. At that time we had 5 cats.
It’s difficult to find aides now that we have this pandemic. I had some temp aides, but most of my time I did without, then they send me Brandy Dill. She was perfect. She was a hard worker and her and I hit it off immediately.
She wouldn’t let me snap her photo without her mask, but
she looked a lot like this actress, but this actress was blond and had teeth.
of the man who was in the hospital with me who broke up and swallowed his crack pipe.) Not only did she lose her teeth, she lost one of her sons, who the state took from her. She is currently in court battling to regain custody. The man she was with then died. She has his name tattooed on her left arm. She has several tattoos, some she did herself after learning that trade. This was an skill she learned. She escaped that druggie life through a belief in Jesus Christ. My oldest daughter is actually one year older than Brandy, but she never did drugs and she has all her teeth. Brandy is currently being fitted for new teeth.
You need it feel comfortable with your aide when you are as
powerless as I have become. I can’t even bathe myself anymore. I had a shower chair, but had recently gotten a shower bench on the recommendations of those who look after me. I must be helped down upon that bench slip to the middle and then bathed, like an elephant being hosed down at the zoo. After she helps me out and dries me off, she runs a special moisturizer all over me One must get over any shyness and it helps if you can feel secure with your aide.
The bench is placed in the tub. Two legs go outside the tub on the bathroom floor and the other two legs, with the wider suction cup feet, go into the tub. You can adjust the legs so he bench is level. A person sits on the outer Lip, then swings the legs inside the tub ad slides down the seat to the back rest. Then the aide
can use the hanging shower head to run water over the body and such. Once washed and rinsed the procedure is reversed. I slide up to the end and the aide lifts my legs over one at a time.
(My shower bench broke in 2021. And can’t be repaired. I have had to order a new one. It cost $55 on Amazon.)
with a few years ago. He is a Canadian and the baby of the group, being in his early seventies.
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