Blondie's Pringles ~ Coco, Lexi, Crash & Psycho

So the decision was completely up to Carl, because Xena was his babygirl, and I know no-one else in the world can ever replace her... but he has always wanted to raise a baby dragon, seeing as how 3 of our 4 are rescues, and adults when we took them in...

So darn if they aren't totally like, well as fresnowitte says, P-R-I-N-G-L-E-S-!

So Carl picked out his baby... it'll take a little while to name her, we have to see her personality. Welcome into our hearts, little one... almost 14 inches / 166 grams / crazy hyper personality so far ...

As soon as we got her out of the packaging, she made a bee-line for my son's leg & pancaked out, so CJ got the first real snuggles, he's my little seatwarmer:

Look at that sweet face:

Ooh, soft, what's this?

Yum, salad... nom nom nom...

Hey, lady, I cleaned my plate, can I have more?...

Oh, wait, ...
um, what else was I gonna say? ...
Oh, yeah,

There's MORE!

I had to crop that first picture, look really closely...

did you look really really close?
???
Really?

Barbara was worrying about finding this little guy a special home, and Carl fell in love with him/her too... so he's our "little guy/gal"... Quasi now looks huge, and Crash looks like Godzilla compared to these two!

So meet little guy / 60 grams / 11 inches ... so laid back, just watches everything going on, and eats and eats and eats (hand-fed salad today :mrgreen: )

Just a little stress going from Cali to Ohio...

Bath time! This little one loves to swim already!

Ooh, what's this?

Ooh, what's up here -- slowly progressed up the branches, then just watched us and all the activity in the room for about an hour...

 

[beardie parents]

Hi, Dawn, I didn't get a chance to read your thread yesterday, we had a busy day and still stuff to do when I got home, after 8:30pm, then on this am to find your f-i-l's health issues. I'm sorry, I'm also sorry about your family's issues. Greed is soo unnecessary. When my father died we weren't like that. My dad had already decided who gets what and we didn't argue. I still have my mother and they celebrated their 52nd wedding anniversary about 2 weeks before his death. I know how hard this is, it's always too soon.

 

[blondie098]

no decline today, except that his stomach is not processing foods at all, so they had to add an additional drain for undigesteds. Poor guy has tubes coming out everywhere. They are not sure why, whether the fluids are not being produced, or if his stomach lining has toughened up like his bladder (his bladder was not pliable at all, it's like a tough old dry leather satchel, wouldn't stretch or flex at all, I'm sure you can guesstimate what problems that causes).

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Dawn, I am so sorry to hear about Carl's father.
I know you are going through a very difficult time and I will keep all of you in my thoughts and prayers.
(((HUGS)))

 

[blondie098]

well, more bad news... they docs are about ready to list him as hospice, and we found out his insurance pays 0% for in-hospital care. and only 20% for in-home nursing support of any kind. Blessedly today there was an electric hospital bed listed on FreeCycle, I have communicated with the giver, and if the first responder doesn't pick it up, its ours. I will be happy to re-pay-it-forward to a family in need after we're done with it. PLEASE let it be his... it would be a godsend.

The docs kinda took the wind out of his sails today, he was in a pretty bummy mood, but the grandkids kinda perked him up. He got a kick out of them, I am so glad they behaved.

Gotta go finish cleaning up the livingroom and rearranging furniture just in case -- I can do without a couch if needed, I can stand it up in the corner to make room for a hospital bed for him -- I cannot stand the thought of him sweltering at his own home without air conditioning, when we have central air. PLUS we work from home, so someone would be with him 24/7.

Luckily I have a lot of medical "unofficial" training, my mom was in the medical field for eons while I grew up, so I learned loads. But now I may have to break down and learn how to cath someone. I hope its not too freaky for him, cause I'm his D-I-L, ya know? I refuse to let him get additional infections by not having it changed often.

On a better note, Carlye has pretty much recuperated from her heat exhaustion. Lesson learned, she was borderline heat stroke, which is dangerous. She has been fully educated on it now, not only to help herself be safe, but also peers during these hot summer months.

*** EDIT: just got the email -- I can pickup Sunday!!! yay!!!

 

[beardie parents]

Oh good, you got it! I'm happy for you.

I do know that you need to make sure you drink lots of water, especially when it's hot. The Tucson, AZ area had 3 deaths from that, all because they were walking out in the sun with out enough water. We take water with us when we go on drives to run errands or whatever, unless we are going to church, this is only about a 15 minute drive (slow speed laws where we have to drive) one way so it's not bad. I guess we should anyway just in case of car trouble.

 

[Goonie]

Congrats on getting the bed. I know your f-i-l will be very grateful that you're offering your home to care for him.

Thank goodness Carlye is doing better and have learned a life-saving lesson.

 

[blondie098]

yes, always have water with you! -- she had gone on a bike ride, and even tho we force the kids to take breaks, she still overheated, and didn't replenish the liquids like she should have. She knows better now, and Saturday she has a school function in the heat of the day -- luckily it will only be about mid 80s Saturday, where it was 96 during the bike ride with heavy humidity. She is worried about being out in the heat, but we've armed her with the info, and she knows what signs to watch for; as well as how to fix any warning signs. I've taught her that she needs to listen to her body, and sweat is good. Not sweating is bad.

Gina, he hasn't decided yet as to where he'll be most comfortable. If that is here, fine - we'll make it work. I don't have loads of room, but Coco or Lexi can be moved to Carlye's room (I really don't think she'd mind at all LOL) -- and I can up-end the loveseat to fit the hospital bed. Carl can sleep in his recliner in the livingroom to keep him company.

I need to talk to a social worker about the insurance mayhem, I am hoping that Carl's aunt "heard wrong" or scrambled her facts, or something. He is 68, so should have Medicaid, which should cover a huge chunk of the hospice, no matter where he's at. Home health care aids don't have to be there 24/7, as family can take some of that time/load. But if his insurance definitely won't cover those essentials, I'll learn whatever I'm lacking to be nurse's aide.

 

[sweetiepie9]

You are such an angel to give him a wonderful place to live, but I'm hoping you'll find out his insurance does cover. At least you get a hospital bed, which will be necessary if he's staying with you. So I guess you'll find out soon how that is all going? Keep us informed, please, when you can.

I'm glad Carlye got over that, heat stroke is nothing to mess around with. So I'm glad she's now aware how to treat it herself & that staying well hydrated is so important when it's hot & humid. Covering your head is also important, etc, so I'm glad she's now listening to you. Sometimes moms do know best!
Take care, good luck
Deb

 

[athenacp]

Dawn, its been a LONG time since I had to deal with medicare for hospice care, I did find this link, maybe it can help:

http://www.medicare.gov/coverage/Search/Results.asp?State=OH%7COhio&Coverage=36%7CHospice+Care&submitState=View+Results+%3E

I know that Medicare had cut a ton of services that are covered, so the best bet is to give them a buzz and find out for sure. If you can call early otherwise you are gonna be stuck in "hold" land.

Glad you got the bed!

Also is he a vet? I know the VA sucks a lot, but maybe you can find out something there too.

 

[blondie098]

we got paperwork squared away to where the majority of hospice will be covered, and after today's visit, we talked with nurses -- he is deteriorating quickly, and they do not suggest he be moved. He's still on the palliative care wing, but they have upgraded him to hospice. He seemed so wiped out today, like he's just given up. And we were really mad at the nurses when we arrived, hubby went and had to hunt them down -- one of his drainage bags was so full it was ballooned up, ready to explode.

He is not digesting much food thru his stomach, so he has the extra bag for undissolved foods as it leaves his stomach (if that makes sense)... That bag was so full, he was throwing up when we arrived, and that's when Carl saw the bag ready to explode.

Don't get me started there, it won't be pretty. And the hospital lost his bottom denture, so he's peeved with the staff on top of having an overall crappy day.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Poor guy, it's good that he's got hospice care, but seriously, those nurses better be on top of that. It's bad enough that he's terminal, but he still needs good care. Good luck with getting him the care he needs & I'm glad his costs are mostly covered. You can vent on here anytime!
Deb

 

[Goonie]

I could only imagine how upset (to put it mildly) Carl was to see that his father had thrown up due to the overflow bag being so full, then to find out that the hospital had lost the bottom dentures. It really is a shame how the medical staff cares for (or lack thereof) their terminally ill patients.

 

[blondie098]

I emailed the gracious lady about the hospital bed, telling her its too late to try and bring him home. I hope she has a list of people who contacted her. We told hubby's uncle about the bags and stuff, so he can stay on top of the nurses in the morning visit.

 

[sweetiepie9]

That's good news, hopefullly he'll get better care now.

 

[beardie parents]

I'm sorry about all this, Dawn. I know how hard it is to watch a family member die from cancer. It's hard to watch. My father died July 1st 2005, about 12:30 am my mother came out to check on him and found him gone. It was hard to watch him go down hill. You all have our prayers.