Slow but Steady

Good Evening All,

There is perceptible progress on the Bernice health front. As mentioned before, the discolorations on her legs have largely faded and are now almost gone. The ankle and foot swelling persists but the associated pain is much less. Just days ago when Ronnie, the Visiting Nurse, asked Bernice to gauge the ankle and foot pain, Bernice rated it a 9 or 10, especially when stepping out the first thing in the morning. The reply to the same quarry today was a 2 or 3. Bernice considers this pain and foot discomfort the biggest impediment to her progress in getting well again. There were other good signs. With some help from Ronnie and me, Bernice got down the four stairs to the main house level and she was happy wheeling herself around in her rollator. Thanks Elaine for the use of your handy rollator. We have one for each level. Bernice got to her big computer in her study, read some email, and managed to get out a few messages. She spent some time on the couch there, but does not yet have the strength and endurance for a prolonged visit. Bill, her PT guy came later in the day and is encouraging her to be up and about as much as possible. She also has an exercise program he has directed. All this, of course, is aimed at getting her back into physical shape. I suppose that the reason for this leg business will remain a mystery and we hope there is no recurrence.

Yesterday, we had a rare treat when granddaughter Rachael came and spent part of the day. At 25, Rachael is already an experienced camera person who free-lances, mostly in the TV industry. For the past two years she has worked steadily and this week happened to be the very first instance when she was not at a job (not counting her few time offs) so we were fortunate to have her company. One of her TV shows who alternated seasons between NY and LA decided to move permanently to LA and this gave her the time off. Among other things, directed by her baba Bernice, Rachael made cheese pancakes. Too bad I can't emulate Bernice's tradition of giving out the recipe but I can say these are fluffy and delicious pancakes which I love to have with jam and sour cream and they are made with eggs and flour or matzah meal. Not finding the latter ingredients, Rachael and I went shopping. While Rachael was at the kitchen sink cleaning up we noticed some water on the floor and soon saw that something was leaking from the pipes. Another water incident? unbelievable. I immediately called jack-of-all-trades son Dave who came over and discovered that the pipe from the kitchen drain pipe was perforated and about to fall apart at two of its leaking joints. He disconnected the whole assembly which had couple of interesting bends. He bought new copper pipe (the best he said) and with his tools fashioned a complete replacement which he installed today. It is nice having talented sons and faster and, in this case, cheaper, than depending on hiring plumbers. Dave is multi-talented for Bernice saw an interesting recipe for cheese biscotti in the NY Times Dining section today. She evidently discussed this with Dave for, late in the day, he presented his mom with freshly baked biscotti.

Dimary, the home health aide came today and helped Bernice bathe, straightened the room and helped Bernice count and stick to her exercises. She also helped me to make an inventory of our upstairs freezer. Under the best of circumstances I have always depended on Bernice to know what and where items were in our freezer and the recent inflow from friends and relatives have packed the freezer to create for me a mystery realm. Now I have a written inventory and can consult with Bernice on choices to be made. I plan to repeat this process with the downstairs freezer when Sonia, our TTh aide comes tomorrow. Ironically, emptying the freezer revealed the presence of a half bag of flour, and two boxes of matzah meal, one whole wheat and the other regular. Who knew?

The signs of fall are becoming undeniable despite the reluctance of the daytime temperatures to fully acknowledge the transition. The dogwoods in our neighborhood are responding to the ancient signals but there are considerable differences in their individual inclinations. A few are already garbed in a deep russet, others are in the middle of their seasonal alteration, and a few holdouts are clinging to their greenery for a last fling before succumbing to the inevitable. One of ours, the younger one, still sports most of its green while the elder, located in clear view outside Bernice's study window, is now wearing its initial russet coat. This tree also has an abundance of its red berries which form a fetching contrast to the changed leaf color. I am keeping an eye on this tree and hope i do not miss the exciting and dramatic display of feeding robins. This is the time that our robins are preparing for their annual migration of thousands of miles and they must stock up on rich reserves. I have witnessed the scene a number of times over the years. Somehow, on a particular day the word must go out to the robin community and I have seen a hundred birds or so engage in a wild eating frenzy and completely consume almost everyone of the bright red berries offered by the dogwood. This is an exquisite evolutionary timing of great advantage to each species: the birds are fortified by a rich food source for their coming journey and the tree, working all summer for this day, will have its seeds spread widely and be in a casing of nourishing bird droppings. Other dramas were also visible in our yard today. We have tall stands of buddlia (butterfly bushes) at the rear of the yard and, as their name implies, these attract many butterflies during the season, my favorite being the bright yellow-winged Tiger Swallowtails but at the equinox the most prominent butterfly is the Monarch. These amazing butterflies migrate in the waning warm days for thousands of miles to certain (no longer secret) forested mountain havens deep in Mexico. The buddlia provide precious fuel for their long journey. My tomato crop is almost all gathered. I plant only six plants and this year chose six different varieties: cherry and grape (big production) and four modest producers - beefsteak, early girl, big boy and la Roma. These six are all finished but there was another unplanned tomato plant. It is what Uncle Henry from Buffalo called a volunteer and it sprouted on its own right in the flower bed and next to my purple clematis vine. I saw it there in the spring and wondered how it was seeded some 40 feet from where I grow tomatoes each season. I almost pulled this misplaced aggressor out but curiosity prevailed. I caged the regular crop but did nothing but look occasionally at this curiosity. And what do you know? This plant has proved to be a huge success out producing all the others. I picked four good-sized and delicious fruits from its sprawling vines today and there are many green and partly red tomatoes remaining.

I am leaving Bernice and getting back to my water aerobics program at the JCC on MWF mornings and I received warm greetings from my pool mates when i returned. I saw friend Elaine as she was leaving and I was entering at 8:30 this morning. Many there ask about Bernice. Her fellow spinners have sent her greetings and encourage her quick recovery so she can join them again in their vigorous hour-long classes. Alle Vey (it should be so).

Good night,
Merwin

Back Again

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Hi All,

Your blog writer has returned. There have been emails and phone calls wondering where the blog is and if something happened. No real problems I am happy to report but now I am faced with having to recall events over a span of days instead of mere hours.

The picture is hot off the email press and the occasion is our dear daughter-in-law Sandy's Birthday. There she is with loving son Harvey at a posh restaurant in New Haven. These are two extremely busy people and I am pleased to see they found a common chink in their schedules to celebrate. Sandy just returned from a week in Quebec for a favorite conference of hers. In addition to being an elected Selectman in her community she is the clinical and business administrator of the radiology department at the Yale New Haven University Hospital. We love her. Harvey was here this past weekend and helped out in multiple areas. He and son Dave extended our wifi coverage in the house to more strongly reach the bedroom and sitting room area where Bernice is spending virtually all her time. Her old laptop there has been replaced and she has made a couple of forays to a new laptop. As her legs and feet grow stronger and the pain there subsides she looks forward to getting back to work on the computer.

The black&blue blotches on Bernice's legs have largely faded but her lower legs and ankles were painfully swollen. On Monday, Ronnie the Visiting Nurse who is here MWF was so concerned about the left swollen foot that she called Dr. G our primary care doctor. There was fear of a blood clot. Dr. G said to get to the office ASAP. Bernice was determined to make the trip on our own without getting the ambulette transport. With son Dave's help Bernice got down the two sets of four steps and into the cushioned seat of our car. Dr. G had arranged things so there was very little waiting once we arrived. Bernice was put in a wheel chair and first had a venous doppler sonogram test. Dr.G told us there was no indication of a clot, noted the reduction in the black&blue areas, and observed the swollen feet and their sensitivity to touch especially on the left side. His speculation on what may have happened is that somehow a bleed originated in the area of the pelvic break that occurred in March and the blood moved downward in the legs. The break was on her left side and that is where the problem was worse. Apparently, this blood flow has stopped. So, we have regained a degree of independence as far as travel outside our home.

The health and care routine is now satisfactorily organized for Bernice. Dimary who was here yesterday and comes MWF helped Bernice shower and dress before we went to the doctor yesterday. Dimary is part of the Visiting Nurse service all under the very welcome medicare program. Today, Sonia was here and will be coming every TTh as long as we need her. She helped Bernice with her now daily shower and did organizing in the kitchen. With her new knowledge of how to make spinach pancakes she supplied her family with this new dish and they all loved it. Today she made steel cut Irish oatmeal, a dish Bernice loves but which requires a slow simmer of 40 minutes to prepare. Bernice has hers with a pat of butter and ground pepper. On the rare occasions when i have this dish I put i more butter, brown sugar or maple syrup and a good quantity of half-and-half.

Until the next post,
Merwin

Sammy's Day

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That is Bernice's dog Sammy in the picture. More of that later.

Things may be looking up. Before I go into to detail I must say that Bernice has accused me of occasional sugar-coating in my role as substitute blog writer. I tell her that I try to call it as I see it. So, be forewarned. The black& blue discolorations are fading but are not gone. Her ankles and lower legs are swollen and are painful but my impression is that the pain is less. Her doctors remain uncertain as to the cause but it is probably related to her underlying blood condition. A trip to the doctor is a major operation at this time and would involve hiring an ambulette again. Dr M, the main doctor involved in her care, seems willing to wait and see.

In the time being the situation with Home Health Aides appears to nicely resolved. Sonia, who I mentioned before, was here on Tuesday and Thursday. A very competent and willing worker who gave Bernice a shower, put all her linens in the wash, and generally straightened things out. Bernice instructed her in the making of spinach pancakes. Sonia is married to a Chinese man who does the major cooking in their house but she did a good job and we all enjoyed the dish. I can only say that the ingredients are limited to fresh spinach and eggs mixed together and added to a hot frying pan coated with some olive oil. I have never made this but have feasted on these delicious pancakes for decades. The family story is that when Bernice's older sister, Mildred, was a child a knowing doctor, to induce her to eat spinach, gave the recipe to Bernice's mother and this preparation has been a family favorite ever since. The present plan is have Sonia here every Tuesday and Thursday. She is sure to acquire more culinary instruction from Bernice.

With Yolanda gone we had new aide from the Visiting Nurse Service and she is a gem. The nurse was here on Yolanda's last day and agreed with us that it was just not worth having her here. I do feel sorry for this woman who certainly tries and I wish her luck and I hope she can find work elsewhere. Our nurse was instrumental in getting our new aide Dimary assigned here. She was here two hours today and gave Bernice a sponge bath and rearranged Bernice's drawers while Bernice instructed. Bernice decided to bag most of those colorful Bernice-signature stockings to make room in one of her drawers. Dimary, a young woman who happens to be attending Nassau Community College with hopes of becoming a nurse, was fascinated by these cool stockings. Bernice had her pick out a few to keep. At one point, Bernice sent me out to get some nail polish and Dimary gave Bernice a spirit-lifting manicure.

The presence of the aides are a blessing to Bernice and they certainly make things easier for me.

Now, about Sammy the dog. Bill the physical therapist returned yesterday and helped Bernice down the four steps to the main level of our home and Bernice, with her rollator, was greatly brightened by touring all the rooms. She needed Bill's help to get back up the stairs as her legs are not yet strong enough. He has given her exercises aimed at reducing the leg and ankle swelling and to strengthen everything. Sammy stands stoically in our front vestibule and greets guests as they enter our front door. Some visitors are momentarily taken back but soon see that Sammy is quite harmless and many give him a friendly pat. As Bill was leaving yesterday he told me that there was water on the tiles of the front vestibule near where Sammy was guarding our entrance. I knew I could trust Sammy for he is as throughly house broken as any dog can be, but I was greatly concerned about the source of the water. The ceiling was dry and a quick inspection under the large credenza offered mo immediate clue. There is a radiator located at the front wall and I had horrible visions of what a radiator leak might mean. But, why on a hot summer day? I found the culprit and was puzzled but greatly relieved. In the corner, hidden by the large credenza I had a half bag of Snow Melt crystals (not salt) which I last used to spread on ice on our front steps. Evidently these crystals had absorbed water to such an extent that they were now giving off the excess which had puddled onto the floor. I will have to ask our chemist granddaughter Laura for an explanation. Sammy, I suppose saw all this develop but was his usual silent self.

good night all,
Merwin

Ups and Downs

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Good Morning Everyone,

Here is a happy scene from last night and there is much to notice here. Bernice is very content and happy with her new up-to-date hair style. Steven, the barber came in the afternoon with all his tools and quickly collected the shorn hair in his barber sheet. Steven and his fraternal twin operate their barber shop in our little town of Glen Head. He and his family came to this country from Uzbekistan when he was 15. They were Jews living in a largely Muslim part of the Soviet Union at that time. He absolutely refused to take any payment (this is a mitzvah!) but was very grateful when Bernice gave him a copy of her father's book in which he describes in lyric detail his life in the Ukraine until he was about 17.

Pictured are half of Bernice's writing group: from left to right, Hedda, Jay, Meta, and Barbara. They came at 6:00 and brought the makings of a splendid dinner: a shrimp pasta dish, a bountiful salad with fresh ingredients from Barbara's garden, wine, breads, cheeses, side dishes, and desserts. We assembled in the dining room within earshot of Bernice who was enjoying the feast in her bedroom recliner chair. The group has been together since about 1982 and they meet monthly and read aloud their stories, essays, and poetry. An outsider, I have never been in one of their gatherings but I know that they all love the mutual support, supportive criticism, and abundant love and friendship provided in their monthly meetings. Early on the group was all young faculty in the English department and now all are active professors with two retirees including Bernice but all are deeply involved in their own writing.

Notice also, Bernice's hospital bed which allows her to separately elevate her head and feet. She is so much more comfortable here in her own bedroom and does not even want to contemplate a revisit to any hospital. The ups and downs mentioned in today's title refer to the unpredictability of things. Bernice was feeling quite good yesterday, especially through the evening when her dear friends were here. The black&blue splotches in her legs have continued to slowly fade but the night was not good. Her ankles and lower legs are more swollen and her left ankle especially was terribly painful during the night. Not being a doctor (they are also uncertain in this case) I can only speculate. There has been a downward movement of the sub-surface blood accompanied by the fading patches but all this fluid has now reached the ankles and feet with painful consequences. Hopefully, it will be absorbed and the pain relieved.

Right now, Sonia the home health aide is here for her second day and this seems to be a success. She has put in a wash and is helping to bathe Bernice. No doctor plans yet today. Dr M in his emails advises a brief wait and see.

A few blog readers, according to emails, are under the misapprehension that it is dear Bernice who continues to author this blog. If the context is not enough of a hint then my engineer's writing style compared with Bernice's fluid prose should have been evidence enough.

Bye for a time,
Merwin

A Ray of Light?

Good morning all,

We have had a busy few days. The MRI results came in and showed nothing at all abnormal so the cause of the extensive black&blue blotches on Bernice's legs remains a medical mystery. The most distressing component has been an excruciating ankle pain that developed about two days ago when she first stood from her bed or chair. There was good news this morning for this pain seems to have abated. To paraphrase one of Bernice's favorite guys: one day without that pain does not a cure make. More encouraging is that the discoloration has faded somewhat and has moved downward. Harvey says this collected sub-skin blood would tend to move downward. Both he and Dr. M recommend to keep walking, keep feet elevated when in bed, and exercise the legs and feet even when in bed. If you know bernice, you can depend on her faithfully following such directions. She is doing a great deal of walking in the limited space of our bedroom and sitting room area. Until things settle down and she gets the doctor's OK the PT work has been suspended.

We had plans to try and get in and see her long-time hematologist Dr. K today but have now found this is her day off. This was a stop-gap we decided with Dr. M who recognized that a trip to Mt Sinai in NY City would be too arduous. I have hopes that this latest assault on her legs and sensibilities will fade away and she can continue to heal. She is dividing her time reading the NY Times, listening to some classical music, but with a special enthusiasm is working on the manuscript for Measure for Measure. This puts a big smile on her face and a glow in cheeks.

Yesterday Bernice suggested that she does not approve of her half-shaved head. A fuzz has sprouted where the neurosurgeon had to shave her skull and the rest sports her familiar and much-loved hair style. She wants to even things up and shave the other half — or at least level the playing field as they say. I was reluctant in my approval but Bernice almost always wins me over. Our neighbors Mel and Viv asked a local barber named Steve if he would come over to our house and perform this special shaping. Steve, a Russian-Jew said it would be a Mitzvah (a special blessing.) I will report later on the result.

On another front concerning a Home Health Aide, we may have an arrangement. As part of the medicare sponsored Visiting Nurse Service we are entitled to such help and we experienced the "help" of Yolanda for two visits. She was willing in her way but was very slow, quite dim, and neither Bernice nor I thought it was at all worth the trouble. In the time being, on the recommendation of Jane our agent for a Long Term Care policy we have, we had Sonia in yesterday. Based on this one visit we may be in luck. More on this as the situation develops.

Bernice and I composed a long shopping list and i am off to do this in moments.

Enjoy the day,
Merwin

Eventful Weekend

Hello all,

On Monday we may get the results of Friday's MRIs and we shall see if they show nothing wrong. This will support Bernice's speculation that the continued pressure of the bed rail as she left and entered the hospital bed, was the cause of the bad bruising in her thighs. Hard to tell at this point if there is much improvement but things are not worse.

Friend Laury arranged to have Margarita come to spend some time cleaning our house. Margarita is one of three sisters and her sister Pilar works for Laury cleaning her house. Sunday morning is a convenient time for Margarita and is fine with us. She has two girls, 5 and 10, whom one of the sisters can watch. Margarita is a whirlwind at cleaning: she is fast and got to places to clean that we believe may not have been touched for years. We are all for having her come every Sunday. We have a cleaning service who come in every three or four weeks with three people who stay for two hours. Margarita wins this competition hands and mop down.

Laury herself also came and spent time with Bernice on their Shakespeare work. This is notable for it is the first time that Bernice is spending time on her work. Bernice and Laury already co-edited a Romeo and Juliet publication for Focus Publications intended for high school and early college students. They are in the process of editing another Shakespeare play, Measure for Measure, and this work may be about 80% complete. It is a joy for me to see Bernice working with the printed manuscript pages. She is not quite up to spending much time with a laptop but admits to feeling more alive and happy with this start. While they were working on Shakespeare I loaded Laury's little iPod with Beethoven and Haydn until it was filled to capacity.

There were the usual calls from our sons getting mom's news and telling us of their activities. In the afternoon cousin Sylvia came from Brooklyn bearing exotic foodstuffs from that remote outpost. For Bernice's vegetarian tastes there was chummas, smoked trout, and taboulleh salad and for me she brought tasty corned beef and chocolate flaky rugelach. In addition there were frozen foods she had prepared, packaged, and labeled. She and I had to struggle to fit all this food into our two little freezers. I intend to take an inventory tomorrow for I will never remember the details of this abundance. A few months ago my dear Bernice insisted, for reasons of economy and her common sense, that I disconnect our large upright freezer which has served us for decades and was still operating. It now stands forlorn in the basement, with no mission, and not wanted by anyone I have contacted. My, could it hold tons of food.

Have a great week everyone!
love, Merwin

Another Adventure

Dear All,

Sorry for my absence of a few days but i will try to to give an efficient summary. We were occupied with another not-needed distraction which (I will say at the start) I believe has been favorably resolved. If you are tired of hearing more medical stories, skip this paragraph. A couple of days ago Bernice complained of pain in her left thigh and when we looked there was huge black and blue area extending the full length of the thigh and half its width. With Bernice's condition we and the doctor's must be alert to changes of condition, especially to something which pains. We called DR. m and described the situation on the phone. Difficult to make a judgment by phone. Any chance of a picture? he quarried. He knows I am technologically prepared but it was son Dave who took three pictures and i emailed these in. Minutes later Dr. M, along with his team, viewed the pictures and asked more questions. Bernice bruises very easily and always sports a set black and blue marks and this appeared to be a spread of blood under the skin surface. He wanted her to see a doctor locally since the trip into NYC did not seem feasible. We were able to get squeezed into an appointment in the office of our primary care giver and Dr. C recommended that Bernice get MRIs of the pelvic and lower abdomen areas to rule out the possibility that there is a leaking blood source above the crotch. In order to transport Bernice, who has been confined to her bedroom area for the week since her release from the hospital, we had to hire a special ambulate company. They got her into a wheel chair and into their van which has a lift gadget at its rear. We were picked up yesterday morning at 6:45 and Bernice was the first patient. In spite of this there was no diagnosis — the doctors left early for the Jewish holiday - and we must await Monday. This morning Bernice complained of pain in her other thigh and when we looked, there was the telltale black and blue discoloration. Bernice now had an idea as to cause. She is sleeping and resting in a hospital bed and there are metal side rails. The back rail is raised but she does not use that side. The other rail is lowered to its full extent but the top bar is just about (or a bit higher) than the level of the mattress. When she leaves and enters the bed and she is in a sitting position, this top bar presses firmly into her upper thigh. Since the left leg has been stiff and hurt, she has favored the right leg and she speculates that this is why this thigh may have succumbed to the same injury. Bernice bruises easily due to her blood condition and the bruises are long-lasting. I have now removed that side bar from the bed. I expect a negative diagnosis from the MRI readings (I hope so) and feel a good level of confidence that Bernice is right.

On other fronts. A home health aide from the Visiting Nurse Service started yesterday. Her name is Yolanda and we hope she will work out. She travels by bus and i pick her up about a half mile away. She helped Bernice shower and wash her hair, changed all the linen and put in a wash. Yolanda is rather slow and not overly bright and actually got lost in finding Bernice's room after going to the laundry room. We shall see. The visiting nurse also came to pay a visit.

Our nearby neighbor, Vivian, sent over a lovely dinner for me — not vegetarian! Lincoln came by for a visit. We did little to observe Yom Kippur and did not even consider a fast.

love to all, Merwin