RE: buying an oxygen saturation machine
Thanks for the suggestions. DH sees a pulmonologist about every 2 months. He has stage 4 sarcoidosis which causes severe restriction in his breathing. He has about 31% lung capacity now. DH definitely has sleep apnea, confirmed by a sleep study, but his lung disease made it nearly impossible for him to tolerate the bipap pressures. So he uses oxygen on 2-3L/min, which gives him enough gentle pressure to act kind of like a CPAP would to keep his throat open and prevent him from stopping breathing during the night.
When he goes to the doctor they usually do "the 6 minute test" where they walk him around and try to get him all out of breath to see where his oxygen sats go. He never desats below the 90s during that time. But holy cow! you should see him the rest of the afternoon. He's exhausted!
I'm going to look into a small inexpensive oximeter, I think. Just for my own interest. When DH is getting all verklempt I'd like to just pop that doo-hickey on his finger and find out if he's coming up short on oxygen or just "having a moment."
RE: Jobs/ work???
I have to say, when we traveled through western Oregon, as pretty as it is, I don't think I could stand the isolation. You have to be made of some hardy stock and very self-sufficient to live there, it would seen. Coming from a large metropolitan area to live in a spot like Bend would be culture shock of the 3rd degree.
Good luck, OP. You ideas sounds awesome. Hope you can make your dreams come true.
I might ad that Bend in in eastern Oregon in the high desert, not western Oregon. Western Oregon you have plenty of metropolitan areas such as some along the coast, Portland,, Eugene, Roseburg. and a bunch more. Surely not isolated in western Oregon, well unless you choose to be, but there are many populated ares to choose from.;)
thanks for pointing that out Firedude. I didn't mean that we didn't like Oregon, at all! Being from the Atlanta area, we just thought everything along I-5 looked kinda isolated. but thought the same thing about eastern Washington and all of South Dakota, too:p
Except downtown Portland. Whoever told me "sure, just drive straight through, piece of cake" had obviously never driven straight through with a travel trailer in tow during rush hour!:E
buying an oxygen saturation machine
DH has severe lung disease. I have reason to think that he is suffering from drops in his oxygen saturation at times, but it never does it in the doctor's office. He uses O2 at night and recently did a night study to find out that--duh! he needs o2 at night.
the things I'm noticing most are his propensity to get confused over the smallest things. We can have a conversation and 1 hour later he would swear on his father's grave that we never talked. I write down just about anything that matters. In simple sentences. He hasn't gotten confused while driving, so far.
DH requires at least one 2-hour nap per day to "reboot", and many times he needs two naps. He uses his oxygen during naps. But even with naps and coffee( he drinks several cups of espresso throughout the day) he can't seem to think straight. The smallest things set him off and he has no capacity to multi-task. This was a man who regularly took on corporate attorneys and ate their lunch! And he's having trouble holding his own with our 22yo son!
Since our insurance is never going to pay for this, I was wondering if there is a vendor for oxygen saturation monitors. I'd just like to know if this is caused by hypoxia or if something more sinister is going on.
RE: What breed of dog is that?
People all the time ask what breed she is. I tell them Bichon Frise, and they say like a poodle. I don't keep her in the Bichon full cut, so can see where they might think that, except for the tail, the ears, the body shape, the nose, the height, weight, she looks just like a poodle. LOL
haha...doncha love people? I have a large,at least 1/2 Standard Poodle (We *know* his mother was a standard, but who knows about the father??) He's a strikingly handsome dog and looks very poodley, but with a long tail since he never had his tail docked. We hear a lot of comments everywhere we go: is it a goldendoodle, a labradoodle? Some kinda doodle, I'm sure.
RE: Jobs/ work???
What can I say?
Bend is a nice area for the retiree with lots of money. However the pay scale in the area is really bad and the locals have a really hard time making a living there. BTDT. Maybe before you go off half cocked again and move across country to a location that you really don't know anything about that you should be prepared for the culture shock that comes with a move like that. Or be totally committed and prepared to accept the temporary position knowing that it is temporary and enjoy yourselves. Either way, from your comments I get the impression that your wife is not sold on the idea of living in a rural setting.
I have to say, when we traveled through western Oregon, as pretty as it is, I don't think I could stand the isolation. You have to be made of some hardy stock and very self-sufficient to live there, it would seen. Coming from a large metropolitan area to live in a spot like Bend would be culture shock of the 3rd degree.
Good luck, OP. You ideas sounds awesome. Hope you can make your dreams come true.
RE: Changing a Family Traditon
One of the best Thanksgivings we ever had was 2 years ago. My nephew was in college far from home, but only about 3hrs from us. His parents planned to drive up with their camper so they could see him for the holiday, so we just decided to join them. Next thing I knew, two other sisters piled on and pretty soon we had a family reunion going! Awesome!
DSis #2 was the only one with a TT at the time, so she cooked a turkey for us. The rest of us brought in multiple sides: collard greens, sweet potatoes, salad, jello, devilled egs--yum! The park allowed us to have their pavilion for the weekend, so we decorated with twinkly lights and set up all our stuff there and had ourselves a little parky party!
It was cold, the leaves were dry, the weather was clear. The only fly in the ointment was that I broke my ankle when I fell in a hole while chasing my son, who was headed for a cliff. But all's well that ends well. Son was captured(by someone else!), no bones were sticking out, we had some ice and ACE wraps, and it gave me the perfect excuse to sit on my butt and do nothing for a few days. (I did eventually go to the ER, several days later when I couldn't stand the pain anymore :R Nurses make the worst patients!)
RE: Shingles
thanks for your good thoughts and prayers. DH is doing pretty well. The lesions are drying up and he still has a good bit of pain,but it's not keeping him up at night now. Naproxyn seems to be taking care of the pain, for the most part. He's still very tired and cranky--don't know if that's the virus or the medicine. Or maybe its just that he's sick & tired of being sick & tired! Don't know, but I'm taking him camping this weekend. I figure if hes' going to be out of sorts anyway he can just do that in the woods, right? Heck yeah!
(Actually, he'll probably feel better out there. No phones, no household stuff. Just woods and plenty of fresh air. He can go inside and lie down if he gets tired and I can take the kids on a hike through the woods or down to the lake while he rests.)
RE: Fall Rally for GA'RVers at Twin Oaks RV Resort, Nov 14,15
Anybody going out this weekend, Oct. 3-5? We're going to be at McKinney COE, not sure which site yet. We have a Springdale with an RV.Net sticker on the kitchen window(curbside.) Stop by and wave if you see us--autistic kid, great big poodle, crazy woman...you know the drill...
RE: Little dog has a problem with gulping/gasping air??????
My big 80-lb Poodle does this too. you should hear it! Honk Honk Honk!
The sound comes from his trachea which is too flexible, so it collapses slightly. Not enough to cut off oxygen or slow him down, but enough to make this weird sound. We just don't use choke collars on him or allow him to pull on leash.
RE: Pet death question
I was thinking what would I do if I was on a several week long vacation and a pet died. Would you find a nice place and bury it? Take it to a local vet and it cremated or disposed of? Cut your trip short and take it home and bury it at home? hoping it wouldn't smell too bad when you got there.
This should be interesting for responses.
Depends on the size of the pet. Last summer while we were crossing the country for 8wks we had DD15s 6 gerbils with us. While we were in the Grand Tetons one of them kicked the bucket. DD woudn't hear of burying the critter--"it might get eaten!" lots of tears. So what does a good mom do? I wrapped it up and stuck it in the freezer until we got home 4 wks later. :C
You might not want to eat anything at my trailer.
RE: Pew! stinky dog
Just wanted to say, I am so happy with the way Minky's coat looks! He's been on this Canidae for about 2 weeks and his fur is so black & shiny and silky. and he's not scratching anymore. I swear, it looks like someone put conditioner in his hair. He could be a fur model!
RE: Grand Canyon planning
If all goes well we also hope to go to the Grand Canyon early next summer. I have a 15 yr old daughter and a 13 yr old son. I want to really plan this trip well as it will be our biggest together and I want it to be as positive of an experience for them as possible. Next summer will probably be the last that we can easily all get away together before my daughter starts working and thinking about college, dating, etc. :(
Good luck with your plans.
That's exactly why we did our trip in 2007--because DD was moving up to HS and I knew that the next 4 summers would be filled with jobs, camp, summer school, and *eek!* boyfriends. I have to say, it was a very positive experience for all of us and while we had some boooooring hours crossing the desert we got along great and became closer as a family (living in a 20ft trailer for 8 wks will either kill you or make you stronger:R)
RE: Do You Know How Much Stuff You Have ??
So true. We had a similar experience when we traded PopUps! By the time we were done unloading we had filled half the garage and were laughing hysterically that all that stuff came out of such a small trailer. Needless to say, a LOT of it didn't go into the new trailer. Even with the new TH, we go through about once a year and clean out unused stuff.
I hear you! We had the same experience when we traded our PUP. I couldn't believe we had so much stuff in there--it filled up the entire bed of the truck, 4 feet high!
We learned our lesson. Now we purge once a year. 'Course, the basement is getting full now...
RE: silly question, but here goes...
...there's no prize for getting it filled up...
No way!! First one to get 'em all filled in gets one week free camping at a KOA in Billings, Montana. Second person to fill 'em up gets two weeks free camping at a KOA in Billings, Montana.
GM
:S D'oh! I think we stayed there.
RE: Shingles
What lung disease does he have that lowers his immunity? I have copd and I have all intentions of getting the shot...once I can afford it.
DH has stage 4 sarcoidosis. He only has about 30% lung capacity and he also has it in his heart & brain. He has been on steroids & methotrexate for several years, which helps ease the sarcoid but has destroyed his immunity. Every little cold & sniffle makes him sick as sin, so we have to really be careful.
Thank goodness the kids and I have had chicken pox! No worries there. :)
RE: Shingles
I think they recommend the vaccine for healthy people over 60. DH is only 51 and he has severe lung disease. They don't usually give the shot to people with compromised immunity because it is a live virus--the shot can *cause* shingles in that population.
He says it feels like boils under the skin--owwwww. And his left ear keeps buzzing. I think that's the nerve being irritated by the shingles virus. It's still breaking out and he looks pretty awful. Poor hubby!
RE: So long, Tangerine
Thanks, ya'll. DD is taking it pretty well. Tangerine was such a sweet thing, never bit her and always real personable. She was one of 6 gerbils we took with us on our cross country trip in 2007, so Tangie was a well-traveled little thang. It's sad--one by one the last litter is dying off now. Now we're down to the last 2; they're both about 3-4 yrs old. DD has been raising gerbils since she was 5yo--she's 15 now. Even though they're rodents, these little gerbils have been so much fun. I miss every one of them.
RE: Grand Canyon planning
I am not the OP on this one, but have been following it closely since we are planning a possible trip to GC in fall of 2009.
Our plans currently (subject to change) are to stay a few days at RV park in the campground (Trailer Park?) to visit the South Rim, then head to Vegas for a few days, which will include Hoover Dam. Heading back we were planning on stopping at Petrified forest, Meteor crater and maybe Sedona.
Big trip for us since I plan on taking 5 days to get there and 5 days to return. Lot of driving...want to make sure it is worth it.
So, thanks to everyone for their suggestions! I am sure it will help us!
We stopped by the Petrified Forest/Painted Desert NP on our way out to Grand Canyon--totally worth the time it took. Unfortunately, we opted out of Meteor Crator and DH hasn't let me forget it.:R We skipped the Hoover Dam too, since I knew the kids wouldn't be nearly as impressed with that as we would be. I do wish we had taken the time to visit the ancient Indian villages in Flagstaff.
So long, Tangerine
It's a sad evening at the Chock house. We found one of our gerbils curled up on her side tonight, with her two roommates trying to keep her warm. They were visibly upset and didn't want to leave her, even when we put fresh food in there. Tangie passed about 6pm and DD15 made a little grave for her out in the back, with the other dear gerbils and bunnies who have gone before.
