Ivy and I.V.

The same day Poppa was released from the hospital, he received this wonderful, whimsical arrangement.....

..........isn't it pretty..........the wooden box is real barn board.............and see the little ivy growing on the right hand side?  Ivy - oh yes!  Poppa was allowed to go home if we would learn how to administer an IV to him, so he could continue to get his medication.  He happily agreed.  I was a little apprehensive........not about the IV..........but he had been so sick and I would become responsible for his care......a somewhat daunting prospect.  The IV gear was delivered to the house and subsequently a nurse came to the house to show us how to hook it up.  It was late in the evening, and I think she just wanted to get home........she had it hooked up before I even got a chance to see what she was doing!  Then she went and sat in her car to do some paperwork while it ran into Poppa's arm.  About an hour later it was finished.  She took the time to show me how to un-hook it and left.  All was well.  Early next morning..........we waited and waited for a nurse to arrive between 8 and 8:30 as promised.  Unfortunately, 8:30 came and passed and .......... no nurse.  I called the service provider and was informed that no nurse was scheduled to come to our place, but one would arrive around 9.  Ok - we'll wait.  Shortly I received a call from a different nurse saying she was on her way.  She arrived very soon, and showed me how to hook him up - good!  I assured her that I could un-hook him and she headed off to her next client.  After a few minutes of watching TV, Poppa tells me it has almost stopped - Oh Dear!  We check for crimps in the line - nope.  We change the little control wheel - nope.  Now what?  I call the nurse.  Soon she calls me back and says she will come again.  When she arrives, she decided that perhaps the port in Poppa's hand is bad, and she'll try for a new one.  No luck with that - she can't find a good vein.  So - she tries again with the old one and discovers that if Poppa holds his hand just a certain way it will work.  So he agrees to do that and off she goes to her next client.  Eventually all the medication is inside him - but it took a long time!  Next time he is due for medication - we go through all the steps ......... only to discover that the line won't flush - so, the medication won't flow.  Now what?  I call the nurse again (feeling like a terrible nuisance!).  She is too busy to come, so we get in the car an head to emergency again!  Now, I should mention that Poppa isn't feeling too badly.......just annoyed over the IV thing!  After a short wait at ED, a really nice nurse (whom we had met on our previous visits) calls Poppa in.  She checks the port in Poppa's hand and quickly says it is definitely not a good one.  In about two minutes, or less, she has a lovely big vein all connected up to a larger port!  Oh my goodness!  Thank you Nurse Sophie!  She sends us home, we hook Poppa up and everything works just marvelously!  Hurray!  In the morning we arise (very early!) in time to re-connect Poppa for his next dose.  The drip seems a little slow, but other than that all is well - so we sit for a longer period of time, but it works.  Then Poppa is starting to feel a little restless, so he wanders around the house looking for something to do.  He keeps reminding me that the doctor said he could do whatever he wanted - as long as he didn't tire himself out - since his body has been through a bit of an ordeal and needs recovery time.  What did he do?  Well, I'll show you some of it.
He checked his hot tub.....

........and added some chemicals to keep it nice and clear - since he won't be getting in there until he doesn't have an IV port in his hand.  He called his Mom (Great-Gramma)..........

........and while he was standing near the front door - where the reception was best - he noticed .........

......that the latch on the screen door wasn't working very well - so he took it apart, cleaned it up, oiled it and put it back together.  Then he looked for something easier......so..........

.......... he sat down with Squeegie to catch up on the blog.  As you can imagine - it took a few minutes to do that since he'd missed all the "Poppa Update" blogs.  Soon it was time for the next IV infusion..........guess what..........it started fine and then stopped!  Oh no!  We checked it all - it wouldn't work.  Since the port in Poppa's hand flushed fine, we knew it wasn't that.  So we took off the line with the little drip control on it - and replaced it with the old-fashioned kind, which just has a little dial control.  It worked just fine!  I guess the little control wasn't functioning correctly.  Anyway, no problem - the infusion finished in the correct time.  Shortly after supper and before the next dose was scheduled - we received something else.  What is Poppa doing with his IV stand?

Oh my goodness - this will be much better!

His evening (make that 11pm) dosage went smoothly with no problems - I think we've finally got it all figured out!  This is what he is doing right now..........

........poor thing - it seems that it dominates his life right now.  But - personally, I am glad to see him recovering - and it sure is nice to have him back home!  All is well!  And here is what I am doing while we wait for the IV to finish....

......it's Mommee's scarf set - that lump of yarn in the centre is her hat - Hee!  I will keep knitting on that piece until it turns into a hat.  One more thing..........would you like a close-up of the ivy arrangement?  Here you go........

............ is that Squeegie out golfing????