Jim was up twice during the night and pain meds were given close to 4 a.m. At 7:30, he called the dentist re: jaw pain that started yesterday (see Day 14 post). The earliest he could get in is 2:40 this afternoon. Pray there is nothing major going on. I have no one to cover for me at The Gazette, so will just have to make do. Dr. McGrane, our dentist, called about 10:30 a.m. Appointment was rescheduled to noon.
My devotions this morning led me to Psalm 27:7-8 -
"Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. When you said, 'Seek My face,' my heart said to you, 'Your face, Lord, I will seek.' Do not hide Your face from me; Do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my help; Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation."
and Colossians 3:12-15a, 17 -
"...put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, bearing with one another, and forgiving one another ... above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts... and whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."
and I wrote:
"Seek My face,"
the Lord said
and we,
remiss in previous days
return
our gaze
upon Him
asking for guidance,
assistance
in the day ahead
thanking and
praising Him
for the day passed
He does not hide
from us
nor are we hidden
from Him
but our awareness
of Him
is sometimes absent
in the circumstances
of the day upon us
He waits
for us
to come
into His Presence
He is patient with us.
We, in our waiting,
are impatient
and often fail
to see all He has
prepared for us
each and together
He is steadfast
always
continually
showing us the way
through His love
to His peace.
(c) CMOL
Dental visit showed Jim has internal dying of a tooth (molar) and it needs to be pulled. The dentist will call the thoracic nurse coordinator at UIHC to further discuss. ... well, Jim has to visit the oral surgeon to have it pulled. Also, although medical people at UIHC instructed him not to brush his teeth, his dentist indicated otherwise - he said Jim could dry brush (without water) and to floss. Bacteria still gets in even if he's not eating or drinking.
The feeding pump is causing problems. We were all set to take travel pack, when a red light came on and pump said call tech. We called when we got back from the dentist at 12:30 p.m. No one can come out until between 2 and 3. Left message with UIHC thoracic nurse Joan requesting call back. Her return call calmed our concerns a bit. Said the extra tubing is more a convenience for us than anything else, and if necessary Jim can receive nutrition and meds direct to the tube that is attached to his stomach. She also said some patients have gone 3 to 4 hours without the feeding tube, so it is okay if Jim needs to do that too, but she wouldn't suggest it on a regular basis.
Bradley from UnityPoint Home Medical came shortly after 2 this afternoon. He didn't have to replace the pump. He gave us instructions that we didn't have before - we need to prime it every time we change bags, meaning every 24 hours. The tubing to the bags were at fault and so the bags needed to be changed out. Once that was done, it appears, once again, everything is well.
Jim got his exercise today going up and down the basement steps - he washed a load of clothes. After I finished work, we went to CVS Pharmacy to pick up his meds and then to Fareway to buy food for me to eat. It was nice doing that together - he had some more exercise walking the grocery aisles and with his assistance, I found things to buy that weren't time consuming to make.
It has been a very busy day between doing Gazette work and providing cares for Jim.
My devotions this morning led me to Psalm 27:7-8 -
"Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. When you said, 'Seek My face,' my heart said to you, 'Your face, Lord, I will seek.' Do not hide Your face from me; Do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my help; Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation."
and Colossians 3:12-15a, 17 -
"...put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, bearing with one another, and forgiving one another ... above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts... and whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."
and I wrote:
"Seek My face,"
the Lord said
and we,
remiss in previous days
return
our gaze
upon Him
asking for guidance,
assistance
in the day ahead
thanking and
praising Him
for the day passed
He does not hide
from us
nor are we hidden
from Him
but our awareness
of Him
is sometimes absent
in the circumstances
of the day upon us
He waits
for us
to come
into His Presence
He is patient with us.
We, in our waiting,
are impatient
and often fail
to see all He has
prepared for us
each and together
He is steadfast
always
continually
showing us the way
through His love
to His peace.
(c) CMOL
Dental visit showed Jim has internal dying of a tooth (molar) and it needs to be pulled. The dentist will call the thoracic nurse coordinator at UIHC to further discuss. ... well, Jim has to visit the oral surgeon to have it pulled. Also, although medical people at UIHC instructed him not to brush his teeth, his dentist indicated otherwise - he said Jim could dry brush (without water) and to floss. Bacteria still gets in even if he's not eating or drinking.
The feeding pump is causing problems. We were all set to take travel pack, when a red light came on and pump said call tech. We called when we got back from the dentist at 12:30 p.m. No one can come out until between 2 and 3. Left message with UIHC thoracic nurse Joan requesting call back. Her return call calmed our concerns a bit. Said the extra tubing is more a convenience for us than anything else, and if necessary Jim can receive nutrition and meds direct to the tube that is attached to his stomach. She also said some patients have gone 3 to 4 hours without the feeding tube, so it is okay if Jim needs to do that too, but she wouldn't suggest it on a regular basis.
Bradley from UnityPoint Home Medical came shortly after 2 this afternoon. He didn't have to replace the pump. He gave us instructions that we didn't have before - we need to prime it every time we change bags, meaning every 24 hours. The tubing to the bags were at fault and so the bags needed to be changed out. Once that was done, it appears, once again, everything is well.
Jim got his exercise today going up and down the basement steps - he washed a load of clothes. After I finished work, we went to CVS Pharmacy to pick up his meds and then to Fareway to buy food for me to eat. It was nice doing that together - he had some more exercise walking the grocery aisles and with his assistance, I found things to buy that weren't time consuming to make.
It has been a very busy day between doing Gazette work and providing cares for Jim.
