I take a walk around the neighborhood near my office on as many consecutive days as I can during the workweek. I try to get up from my desk and take a short mile and a quarter walk at around 10:30 a.m. (in all kinds of weather). If it isn't raining and the winds are calm, it's a very quiet neighborhood. If the mowers aren't in the condo complex right up the street- Monday is their day- it's a beautiful nature walk. In this area, most residents are at work when I walk so there are hardly any animals, or people, or vehicles to contend with.
Today being a Monday in September (still grass-growing season), the mowers & trimmers were out in full force. But - what I noticed most of all during this mindfulness walk was that there were no birds. Yes, the city is nearby, traffic, sirens and back-up beepers can be faintly heard while I concentrate on my steps and my breath. These urban threads of sound fade easily into the background. Yes, it's Indian Summer in the midwest and so the drone of insects in the grass and late season locusts in the cottonwoods are still an undercurrent of sound to accompany my footfalls, but where were the birds?
Usually on this mindfulness walk I can hear all kinds of birds, far away, close by, making a sound with their throats, chattering in the trees, honking or chirping at each other, or I just hear the beating of their wings as they fly by and around the roofs and treetops....but today, September 15th, there wasn't one single bird in the sky, in the trees, or in the yards. That seems very strange to me. Is it migration morning? Are the crows coming early this year? I only noticed because of the lack.....
Where are the birds?
Monday, September 15, 2008
Saturday, September 13, 2008
old people fall and break bones......
Monday, September 1
on Labor Day, just as we finished dropping our friends off at the airport for their respective flights, Daddy Bill fell off of the front porch and broke his right hip. We arrived just as the ambulance did. The porch sits above the driveway, two steep steps up. The trash bin had been rolled up next to the porch for easy access. There is no need to go down the steps to toss a plastic bag of trash into the bin. Daddy Bill reached out to move the bin closer, then made the decision to step down one step. He never made it....he fell all the way to the driveway.
Wednesday, September 3
Bill is in surgery today to repair his hip. I understand from talking to others who have had this experience that this is very, very serious....not the broken bone(s), not the hospitalization, not even the surgery, but the chances at a full recovery without major complications are slim...... Daddy Bill is 87 years old.
Friday, September 5
Bethie off work again today, she hasn't been at work since August 23rd. She was filling out the FMLA paperwork as I left this morning, page after page of it that must be signed by Bill's doctor. Bill is moving to a Wesley rehab facility at 13th and Ridge/Tyler as I write this. He should be in rehab about 20 days, which means we will leave for Greece before he gets out. There is much to do to prepare the house for his return -especially on the outside. The stairs have got to go, or be covered up. The bathrooms (already somewhat ready for handicapped) will need additional retro-fitting. There is the matter of getting him back and forth to additional rehab after he returns home. Seems overwhelming right about now.
One week later:
The rehab facility may release Bill to come home for four hours on Sunday the 14th. There is a checklist of tasks he will have to accomplish when home. Of course, getting him IN the house is our challenge - we are not ready yet. We spent the last two days looking for a handyman or carpenter to assist us with porch modifications. Beth is meeting with someone who might help us at 3:30 this afternoon. Hope it isn't raining, but probably will be. Hurricane Ike may dump 10+ inches of rain on Wichita over the next 3 days - - so tonight we will attempt to frame out the steps to the front porch ourselves -with or without help, in the rain if necessary. We both work for the next two days, so time is running short to get it done by Sunday. A Department of Aging representative met with the Wimbers at Euclid on Thursday and toured the home. She explained what needed to be done to the house (specifically the bathrooms). The Wimber's are eligible for assistance, but there is a deductible that has to be paid by the homeowner(s). Basically we need to ditch the bathroom doors (replacing them with pocket doors), stabilize and cut one tub, and there is something called a transfer bench we may have to purchase for the master bath.
Saturday, September 13
The rented ramp is in place. The transfer bench is ready. We are installing the grab bars today. I had to kid Bethie that she put the mirror in our hallway too low for me to see the top of my head, I can only see my nose....so I reminded her to raise the grab bar on the front porch HIGHER! grin.
on Labor Day, just as we finished dropping our friends off at the airport for their respective flights, Daddy Bill fell off of the front porch and broke his right hip. We arrived just as the ambulance did. The porch sits above the driveway, two steep steps up. The trash bin had been rolled up next to the porch for easy access. There is no need to go down the steps to toss a plastic bag of trash into the bin. Daddy Bill reached out to move the bin closer, then made the decision to step down one step. He never made it....he fell all the way to the driveway.
Wednesday, September 3
Bill is in surgery today to repair his hip. I understand from talking to others who have had this experience that this is very, very serious....not the broken bone(s), not the hospitalization, not even the surgery, but the chances at a full recovery without major complications are slim...... Daddy Bill is 87 years old.
Friday, September 5
Bethie off work again today, she hasn't been at work since August 23rd. She was filling out the FMLA paperwork as I left this morning, page after page of it that must be signed by Bill's doctor. Bill is moving to a Wesley rehab facility at 13th and Ridge/Tyler as I write this. He should be in rehab about 20 days, which means we will leave for Greece before he gets out. There is much to do to prepare the house for his return -especially on the outside. The stairs have got to go, or be covered up. The bathrooms (already somewhat ready for handicapped) will need additional retro-fitting. There is the matter of getting him back and forth to additional rehab after he returns home. Seems overwhelming right about now.
One week later:
The rehab facility may release Bill to come home for four hours on Sunday the 14th. There is a checklist of tasks he will have to accomplish when home. Of course, getting him IN the house is our challenge - we are not ready yet. We spent the last two days looking for a handyman or carpenter to assist us with porch modifications. Beth is meeting with someone who might help us at 3:30 this afternoon. Hope it isn't raining, but probably will be. Hurricane Ike may dump 10+ inches of rain on Wichita over the next 3 days - - so tonight we will attempt to frame out the steps to the front porch ourselves -with or without help, in the rain if necessary. We both work for the next two days, so time is running short to get it done by Sunday. A Department of Aging representative met with the Wimbers at Euclid on Thursday and toured the home. She explained what needed to be done to the house (specifically the bathrooms). The Wimber's are eligible for assistance, but there is a deductible that has to be paid by the homeowner(s). Basically we need to ditch the bathroom doors (replacing them with pocket doors), stabilize and cut one tub, and there is something called a transfer bench we may have to purchase for the master bath.
Saturday, September 13
The rented ramp is in place. The transfer bench is ready. We are installing the grab bars today. I had to kid Bethie that she put the mirror in our hallway too low for me to see the top of my head, I can only see my nose....so I reminded her to raise the grab bar on the front porch HIGHER! grin.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)