2026 Life Logs, Day 126: Onward
Date: Wednesday, May 6, 2026
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, Rain in the PM; High Temp 65, Low 50 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
In the past five weeks, I have spent more time than I care to even think about, dealing with my sister’s healthcare situation. It has been frustrating, discouraging, and totally maddening at times, but there have also been bright spots. Doctors on call at a hospital who took the time to call me to update me and to tell me my sister has an amazing ability to rebound. She went into the hospital with double pneumonia, Covid, an insanely high sugar count, and an extremely low oxygen level. Three days later, at 92 years and 9 months old, she was rebounding. I talked on the phone daily to people from doctors to people dealing with palliative care. I read her My Chart continually to check her blood sugar levels, her white blood cell count, and a myriad of other tests. I learned to understand how to interpret a chest x-ray. A week later she went to rehab, and there I had to learn to talk to another whole group of people. Physical therapists occupational therapists, social case workers. Then after two weeks in rehab, she was ready to go back home to her assisted living situation. All of a sudden, there was no one to talk to. From last Friday to today, I have struggled mightily with communication with the med tech staff where she lives. But I am hopeful that I have finally found a path going forward. I am not sure any of this would have been easier if I were there in person because almost all of the communication is via text, email, or phone. It has taken a chunk of my life, but here’s hoping I don’t have to talk to anyone other than her physical therapist who texts me with updates for the foreseeable future. I am going to officially close this chapter right now.
Because of all the time I have spent overseeing Patsy’s healthcare for 5 weeks, I am more than a wee bit behind on other responsibilities. But I’ll get there. Heather’s new podcast was launched in the middle of this medical mess, but tonight I watched two of the four podcasts she has out there so far. Wow! I know she is good at whatever she attempts to do, and this new venture is no different. She is a great interviewer and the information I have learned from just two episodes is huge. More on this tomorrow night after I listen to the other two episodes. If you haven’t watched one yet, I highly recommend you do so. Just Google ‘Not a Climate Scientist’. I watched on YouTube.
