General Update #74

Dusty stopped by around 2:30 p.m. to visit Joyce on his lunch hour through her window. She was resting comfortably with her pain levels around 4 out of 10 at the time of his arrival. Joyce reported that the pain medicine seemed to be working fine today. She had gone for a walk earlier in the morning with the physical therapists and was looking forward to going again for a walk with them later in the afternoon or early evening when they said they would come back by to see her again. "I'm going to get up and go for a walk if they ask, even if I am hurting, because I want to improve and get back to the farmhouse," she said. Joyce said that lunch today was two slices of pizza and a small can of soda pop which she enjoyed. The nursing staff has been giving Joyce ice water to help keep her cool. Dusty explained that the fan he procured for Joyce to have in her room was not permitted due to COVID-19 safety protocols at Aspen Park and Joyce understood but lamented it could not be brought into the room. Dusty updated Joyce on what Jennifer at the front desk had said, that Joyce could request a wet washcloth (to provide evaporative cooling) and that the staff could be asked to open the windows (if closed) and would look into adjusting her room's temperature settings.

Joyce and Dusty visited about the outgoing executive director of human resources at the University of Idaho, the COVID-19 safety protocols the university has in place (and compared them to Aspen Park's), noted the appearance of a new ice cream truck in town (at least they had not seen it before, an old converted postal jeep from the look of it), the new merit badge that the Scouts BSA is rolling out, the ongoing saga of getting documents and information updated from unit to council levels, and the first week Dusty spent back at work following remote work since mid-March.

Joyce had a shower today and said that she was feeling wonderful from it. "I'm feeling human again," she said. She cannot recall if this was the first shower she's had since leaving Gritman or not. 

Joyce expressed that she misses being out at the farm. The weather was so nice looking outside today that she said it would have been a fine day to sit outside on her patio and work on planting things into pots of soil.

Joyce speculated what Craig might be up to at that point in the day. "Smiling at the nice weather and doing farmer things, he's probably happy today," she mused. "Because of the nice weather and time of year." 

The cards from Linda and Frank, the Estes Club, and Glenda were well received and Joyce was touched by the thoughtfulness. Dusty's two letters he mailed last week have not arrived at this point apparently according to Joyce. Or if they were placed somewhere in her room then she has not located them yet. 

Dusty departed after ~30 minutes to return to work. 

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Dusty called Joyce to check in around 8:45 p.m. Dinner this evening was "a sort of cheese dish," which was quite good, but Joyce was unable to define the meal beyond that as "dinner was so long ago." 

Joyce reported that her room got terribly hot this afternoon. She did not ask for a wet washcloth, having forgotten she was to have done that. Joyce said that her mom used to say it was easier to stay warm when it was cold than to cool off when it was hot. She used to say that a lot, trying to console herself when it was hot. The nursing staff kept the blinds to Joyce's room up from earlier in the day during Dusty's visit so Joyce was able to enjoy the nice weather and views outside, but she thought that the afternoon sun beaming in might've contributed to her room's increased temperature. Dusty reminded Joyce that she can use the call button to summon the nurse to close the blinds if she desired it. Joyce confirmed knowing this and stated that she wanted to see out the window today as the blinds had been closed that last two days, blocking the view. 

Joyce misses being out at the farm and being able to play in the dirt. Joyce asked Dusty why they were keeping her at Aspen Park. Dusty informed Joyce that the doctors think it best for Joyce to receive skilled nursing care and physical therapy under the care of trained personnel. Joyce thought that made sense. Joyce stated that they were asking her lots of questions, checking her memory and how efficient she is at responding. "When they come to ask me questions at my little desk I try to pay attention." Joyce stated that they ask her trick questions, and if she does not pay attention then she will miss the answer. "They don't know that I know that." 

Joyce and Dusty discussed Dusty's online training courses he is taking for the Scouting program, how much he had done, and how many more hours of content he has to work through. Joyce thought that it was handy that Dusty could work through the online training at his own pace without needing to set aside blocks of time for live training or travel up to Spokane or other training centers. Dusty concurred but noted that he still has some live training to attend.

Joyce requested a ball point pen earlier and the nurse who responded to the request gave Joyce the pen she had in her pocket. The pen was received most thankfully. Joyce had paper in her room and is prepared to create a calendar for herself as well planning to jot down some things that have been going through her head that she wants to remember for later. "It will be nice to write down notes," she said. Joyce stated that she writes down notes when she is at home and makes use of her little calendar she keeps by her chair to track her days and aid her memory/internal chronology. 

Joyce wishes everyone a good night and a wonderful Saturday.