Get up!

God is the only thing holding the wheelchair together. 

Yesterday, my day off, I woke up with a "pretty bad" headache.  They can usually be resolved with Excedrin and a very cold, caffeinated beverage. 

I was wrong, as it turned out.  It was a migraine and I later found myself desperately swallowing my phenergan at the bus stop. 

Ron and I didn't have any trips.  When I got up, I found Ron sleeping in his bed, Pretty Girl lying next to his head.  I think she's claimed him as her special human. 

She loves me, but not the way she loves Ron.  She finds him wonderful, someone to cuddle, someone to pet her, someone who stays in the same position for hours (unlike Mommy).  I'll take her scraps. 

He is not giving her any treats, either.  We had a talk about that.

Ron wanted to go to McDonalds.  I had just taken the execdrin and went back to bed for an hour.  When I got up, around 8, I told him I'd go. 

We ended up leaving around 9:30.  As usual, we took his manual wheelchair.  The chair has suffered a lot of abuse in the last 4 years, but that's why we got it.  The Medicare wheelchairs are nice, but not very sturdy.  [cough cough] Paratransit [cough cough] can be pretty brutal on them because most of the cab drivers DO NOT tie down an unoccupied wheelchair, so it flops around in the back and gets damaged.  If we ask them to tie it down they either say they did, when they didn't, or they get a massive attitude, big sigh.  A lot of the big van drivers, especially the women, drop the wheelchair down the flight of stairs, rather than carry it down 4 steps or use the [cough cough] wheelchair lift.  Again, a big attitude if you ask them to be careful. 

It's like, Dude, they are paying you to do this.  I do everything I'm paid to do.  What's the BFD?  

So, we had lost 2 spokes on the wheelchair.  It's the big wheel, on the left.  It's very unnerving to turn a corner, pushing Ron in the chair, and hear a loud POP as the chair skids off to the side.  Yike. 

However, Ron said he felt fine riding in it, and he's the one who'd fall out if the chair broke.  We went to McDonald's, then Ron said he wanted to do that "on the way home".  AGH.  It is pretty difficult to hit it "on the way home" and I would have told him that. 

We agreed, in the future, before leaving the house, we would discuss each stop and the order in which we'd make them.  [rolleyes]  Communication. 

Ron was pretty cranky but we got over it. 

I decided to go to a Dollar Store.  I got some +3 reading glasses.  I am approximately a +5, I figured, God forbid something happen to my glasses I would like some way to read.  They work pretty well.  And, they're a Dollar.  The rest of the selection was disappointing.  No antibiotic cream. No real food items. 

I concluded, since he is in a high-traffic location, he has cut back on inventory selection in order to pay the rent.  Hm. 

The return trip bus stop was close by, but it's the mold stop.  The whole place reeks of mold.  Even if I didn't have a headache, I do by the time the bus arrives, and, like I said, I was working on a migraine. 

As I pushed him down the sidewalk, TWANG, shimmy - we lost another spoke.  The wheel began to wobble alarmingly, moving out at the bottom and scraping the armrest at the top. 

That's why I say, only God got us home.  Ron kept saying it wasn't a big deal, if the wheel caved we'd just call a cab (good thing we took a short trip!).  We did get home, thank God. 

I handed out 2 Bibles, which made me happy. 

I had 2 bus drivers cracking up.  The bus driver is actually a lot better about caring for a wheelchair client, than the paratransit.  They pulled up and extended the ramp.  I put my hand on Ron and told him:

"In the name of Jesus, GET UP!" and he got up.  The drivers died laughing.  Ron staggered on and found a seat, while I pushed the wheelchair aboard and folded it. 

I got the feeling, the bus drivers needed the laugh.  We finally got to our home stop (I live near some good routes) and I pushed him home.  God held it together. 

Then I laid down and curled into a ball for the rest of the day, only emerging to eat and take my pills, then back to bed. 

As usual after a migraine, I woke up exhausted. 

We went to work, did out end-of-the-month procedures.  The machines look good.  We made a little more than hoped, thank you God. 

We came home, then went out again.  One of the drivers had given us a tip about a thrift store selling good-condition used wheelchairs. 

Let's just say that didn't work out, but I did get some used books, and a gallon of milk at a gas station.  I've been making protien shakes for Ron. 

I use 1.5 scoops of whey protein (he likes chocolate peanut butter flavor) to cup milk, then blend it.  I was out of milk, though. 

The gas station sold the milk more cheaply than they sold the gas.  Ha.  And I never buy gas!  I had brought a cold bag for storage., and the milk was still chilly when we got home. 

We got home, I took my pills, and a nap.  I woke up and "my" cat is sleeping on Ron again.  They look so cute I'm not even sad about it. 

But I do miss her cuddles.