Monday – Six Weeks Post-Op

day-mon

Another slow day.  The 3 walking events from last weekend were just too much for now.  In all three instances, they involved parking garages and it was cold.  I remember the visiting nurse saying to put a scarf over his nose to keep the air coming in a bit warmer but, of course, we didn’t have a scarf.

Someone had asked DH to meet at iHop tonight.  I weighed in and said that they should meet at Bob Evans because we knew that there was something there he could eat and we had no idea if there was anything at iHop.

The day slipped by in naps and DH never made the call.  His phone was off and he finally got the message that the person had been waiting for 30 minutes at iHop.  <sigh>

The dog got to go for a ride when we dropped DH off.

Fortunately, DH got a ride home so we didn’t have to go back out.  He said that I was right (of course!) – there wasn’t anything on the menu he could eat.  But he managed to cobble together something with fresh fruit, dry toast and herbal tea.  I thought the only fruit there was in those syrups.

day-wed

We had snow, sort of.  Big, heavy stuff that would have been good for a snowman but we weren’t going out, except for me walking the dog.

I was having a movie kind of day and heard someone out in the driveway, shoveling.  I went out to investigate and found two women from church clearing our driveway.  That was so nice 🙂  In a bit DH came out and said hello, too.

day-thurs

Thursday, I was into day 2 of an itchy cycle.  I haven’t written about that yet, so there’s something to look forward to!  As a result, I don’t do much of anything but itch and be miserable.  At night, I can take Benadryl which helps the itching and makes me sleep.

More on that later!

day-fri

Fridays, I normally play piano duets with an older friend but I hadn’t been since before Christmas.  I decided it was time to go back so I took DH along with me.  We all had a nice visit – we’ve known my friend and her husband for maybe 35 years.  She had a heart attack about 15 or so years ago so DH was able to ask lots of questions.

When we got back, it was nap time, again.  It’s still mostly do something followed by an equal length nap but it’s getting better.

day-sat

I had been awake until 4:30 am so I wasn’t in a great mood when I woke up.  DH wanted to go walking at the Mall – but first, a stop at Staples for more business cards.

I was already tired before we got to the Mall but we walked a bit.  Stopped in the Apple Store to look at iPad Minis, then turned around.  He went into Zales to get the ruby he didn’t get on the first day, the anniversary-heart-attack-day.

On the way out of the mall, he said we could go to Bob Evans for breakfast and I said no way!  Too tired.

day-sun

Back to Staples to pick up the cards from Staples, then on to walk around Wal-Mart.  DH looked longingly at no-salt peanuts.  I showed him the back with the calorie counts and pointed out the size of 1 serving and asked if he could stick to that.  He put them back.

Back home and more nap time.

He says he’s feeling better and better, has lost more weight, no more pain killers.  Hooray!

Salt and Battery

Sorry for the pun-ny title again!  Like our new diet, this post is really low/no salt.  It’s just a followup on our Monday car adventures and has nothing to do with heart stuff so feel free to stop here.


My plan had been to get contact AAA on Tuesday for either a jumpstart or tow but it was one of those icy/cold/freezing rain days so I put it off until Wednesday.  I didn’t really have anywhere to go, anyway.

Wednesday morning, I tried my car again, just in case.  Nothing.  I tried DH’s car, too.  If his worked, I might follow the tow truck and use that.  Nothing for his, either.  It hadn’t been driven since it came home from the ER.  <sigh>

I used my AAA app to contact them and sat in the car to wait.  I didn’t want to rile Mimi up any more than necessary. Joe, the Advanced Automotive driver dispatched by AAA called DH about 15 minutes later to say that he was about 2 minutes away.  I’m not sure why he didn’t call me, though.

He took a look under the hood and asked me the usual questions if I’d left the lights on (DUH), had been listening to the car radio while waiting, etc.  I have way too much experience from living in Milwaukee to run down a battery like that.

He gave it a short boost and the car started.  Hooray!  He asked me to turn it off and start it again.  Nothing.  Another jump and another start.  He checked the alternator.  That was fine.

He had three options: tow the car to a mechanic, get a jump start and drive to a mechanic or he could replace the battery for $125.  A no-brainer, I chose replace the battery.  He said it would be about 30 minutes, so I went back inside.

After about 10 minutes, he knocked on the door – and riled up the dog, just what I was trying to avoid – and said he’d never replaced the battery on a Cruiser.  To do so, he’d have to remove the air filter and several hoses.

I went out and took a look.  The hoses looked fairly important so I told him I’d go with the second option – jumpstart and drive to the mechanic. I was very impressed with his honesty.

I finally got to Fair Oaks Chantilly Chrysler without incident, checked in and hunkered down with my iPad and coffee.  90 minutes later, they told me everything had checked out and they had a new battery.  Their’s was only $120 – unfortunately, all the other electrical checking was another $175 😦  Still worth it to have a car that starts.

A quick stop at Walmart for essential dog food and home to find DH napping.  Time for a nap myself!