We left the gallery and got home before 7:00. We had dinner; mine was White Castle ground up (which I was able to use to take my drugs) and then some vanilla ice cream with the RSO. After I was done, I decided to use the stopwatch on my phone to see how long it would take to get me to the bedroom bathroom. Just getting up from the kitchen chair and out was 1.5 minutes. Getting to the bathroom took a total of 4 minutes and 54 seconds. I left the stopwatch on, and by the time I got out of the bathroom, it was close to 25 minutes. I finally got into bed with Amy’s help; she massaged my knees and legs, and I was asleep.

On Saturday, I woke up 6 or 7 times, and then the alarm went off at 7 (I need to remember to shut that off when we don’t need to get up on the weekend). By 9:15 I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth, and then made my way to the kitchen and did my usual; I was done by 10:20. I went to the bedroom and Amy offered to get into the shower with me to cut my hair (not sure I will ever be able to go back to the barber shop), and helped me wash. After we were done, I got into bed for a while, and she got herself ready. After that, she helped me get dressed, and I went to the kitchen to take the Doxy. She then had to go out to return and buy some things. I went to my home office to answer several emails.  When Amy got back, our good friends Donald & Hildy Teplitz stopped by for about an hour and a half to see how I was doing. After they headed out, we had dinner, I had spaghetti and meat sauce (took the medication with the mix), and some vanilla ice cream. Then Amy put a bowl with some water in it, gave me my toothbrush, and I brushed my teeth in the kitchen. I am having an issue standing, and she thought that this would be a better thing; it was. After I made my way to the bedroom, she helped me get in bed, which takes a bit of time. I watched TV while my wife had things to do. When she got back, I needed help moving on the bed (not much I can do by myself anymore). Then I went night-night!

On Sunday, I woke up twice (the first time, I made a little mess, but it wasn’t too serious, so I went back to sleep). The alarm went off at 7 (I need to turn that off on the weekends, but I forget), but Amy got up and shut it off. By 9:15, I got up (takes a bit of time to get out of bed), went to the kitchen for my amazing breakfast (water, protein, drugs, vitamin B-12, etc.), and watched Amy have French Toast with syrup – boy, do I miss that! Then I used the toothbrush and, after that, made my way to the bathroom. My loving wife got into the shower and helped me get washed. I got out, did my hair, and then slowly got out of the bathroom and onto the edge of the bed. Amy bought a device to help put the compression socks on, but it did not work for me. I got dressed and sat on the bed until Amy finished getting dressed. I made my way to the office, and Amy was on the phone with several people. My parents were supposed to come over around 1:30, but on the way to their car, my dad fell. Nothing very serious happened, but they decided not to come.

Amy had things to do at the mall, so she left around 1:45. My daughter and her two kids were meeting her at the mall – Amy wanted to take them to Build-A-Bear.  I sat home and around 5:00 Amy was back, made me some dinner before Mark & Robin Hoorwitz came by for dinner and Scrabble. They showed up around 6:10, and I made my way to the dining room – Mark helped me get into a chair. After they ate, we played Scrabble… Mark won. They then had some ice cream, and by 8:30, they headed home. I went into the kitchen and had some ice cream with the RSO, then brushed my teeth, and headed to the bedroom. Amy helped me get on the bed (then moved me closer to the edge), and I fell asleep.

Monday, I only woke up twice, and the alarm went off since our electrician was coming over at 8:15 to fix one of the lights in the living room. Amy showered, got dressed, and greeted them – it took them all of about 15 minutes to resolve the issue. Amy came back to the bedroom; I got up and moved my way to the shower. She then got in with me and helped me clean up. Then I shaved myself in the shower – only cut my face twice! Finally, I finished and got to bed, where Amy helped me get dressed. Then, I went to the kitchen for my wonderful breakfast. I then went to the office to reply to some emails, and around noon, a gentleman from Mobility Works arrived with a wheelchair van. I had to make my way out of the house to get into the van. The specific van was not one with which I would be comfortable with. He spent some time with Amy, and I went to the kitchen and had the Doxy. Around 3:00, I had my lunch. My mother stopped by for a few minutes and actually used the chairlift to go downstairs.

For dinner, Amy made me a chili mix, but it had tiny pieces in it, which caused an issue with swallowing (though I did manage to take all my medications by mouth). So, in the end, I had two ice creams – vanilla and banana! I brushed my teeth in the kitchen, used some rubbing alcohol to wipe my forehead, and then made my way to the bedroom very slowly. Amy helped me get into bed and watched some TV while she massaged my legs and feet. Finally fell asleep.

Tuesday, I got up three times, and then at seven, the alarm went off. I got into the shower around 7:45, and my lovely wife helped me wash up. When I finally reached the edge of the bed, she helped me get dressed (these days, standing up is more difficult), and then I headed to the kitchen for breakfast and brushed my teeth. Then we headed to the car and off we went to the gallery. Along the way, I texted Lance a Happy Birthday – July 15th! We got to the gallery around 11 am. A short while later, I got a photo of Lance and Alyssa on their way to the Seattle Art Fair.

Had my Doxy around noon, lunch at 2:15, and then ice cream at 3 (Neil made it for me). We headed home, had dinner (it’s funny that all the mixes are basically the same color), had ice cream, RSO, brushed my teeth, made my way to the bedroom, and finally got to sleep.

What is annoying is that I am constantly biting the inside of my mouth, and there is blood. In addition, I have to keep paper towels in my mouth, and when I remove them to put another in, I yawn, and saliva

On Wednesday, I woke up twice, and about 20 minutes after the alarm, Amy helped me get to the shower. After we finished, I brushed my hair, applied hair gel, and then got back into bed so Amy could help me get dressed. I made my way to the kitchen, did the morning routine, then brushed my teeth, and made my way to the chairlift. We made our way to the framer and then to the galley, arriving there around 11. Amy then went to look at two apartments (which were not suitable), and I took the Doxy (which needs to be administered 2 to 3 hours before and after eating to be effective). I had lunch around 2:15. I had some strawberry ice in the afternoon, and at 5:20, Amy went to get the car. We got home around 7:00, and Randi was coming over to have dinner with Amy. When we got to the kitchen, she blended the Pastitsio. It was a little tough, but I managed to eat most of it. Randi and Amy had dinner in the dining room (they even built a walker that arrived at the house), and I stayed in the kitchen. I did have two ice creams, the RSO, and brushed my teeth. Finally, I got into bed (realizing that my legs were swelling again) and relaxed; I finally went to sleep around 11:00.

I will add that Lance and Alyssa did an amazing job with their booth setup at the Seattle Show, which opens this Thursday night. Sadly, I could not go! I do plan on going to the Newport Show next week.

Thursday, I woke up twice, and by 7:20, we got up. I made my way to the bathroom and realized that my left leg was pretty weak. We showered, and then Amy took everything to the bed area, so I didn’t have to try to stand up at the sink. I got partially dressed, brushed my hair, applied hair gel, then went to the kitchen, had my amazing breakfast, used the urinal, put on my shirt, and got to the chairlift. We were on our way to our framer before 9:45. Finally, we arrived at the gallery around 11:00, and Amy went to look at another apartment with Neil – it was no good. At 12:00, I took the Doxy and waited until after 2:00 to have lunch. A gentleman came over who might be able to help us at home, and then I had an appointment with Dr. Choi, so the gentleman came with us. He helped me get into the car, out of the car, took me to the doctor’s office, and helped me get back in the car. He then went to the subway, and we got home around 7:00. Had dinner, drugs, ice cream, brushed my teeth, used the urinal, and went to the bedroom. Amy helped me get into bed, and she put some ice on my feet (they were swollen again). I watched some TV and then went to sleep.

Friday, I woke up twice, and then around 7:30, we got up, took a shower together, I slowly made it back to the bed, and then Amy got me dressed (actually put the compression socks on – it is a big issue for her since they are so tight). I then went to the kitchen, had my one-hour breakfast, and then headed to the car. We arrived at the gallery around 11. Did my Doxy at noon, had lunch at 2:00, and some ice cream at 4:00.