Monday, September 5, 2016

Kohala House Is Done!

... for now. There is more repair and renovation work needed on the garage. And solar panels to be added. And a remodel for an addition on the north side of the house. But this initial part, to make the house accessible and safe, is done! Here are some photos sent by the contractor. I will be making a trip later in September to clean things up and unpack boxes. Later I will take Mom over for a visit but I don't want her there while I am unpacking because she will want to help and that will tire her out too much.
Accessible bathroom doorway with walk-in shower and raised basin to allow wheelchair access.


Kitchen with new floor, stove, and door.

Mom's blood pressure is still low. I think. According to the Internet, a blood pressure of less than 90/60 mmHg is considered hypotension. Both measurements do not need to be below those thresholds, if either the systolic (90 mmHg) or the diastolic (60 mmHg) is low, then you have hypotension. Of the 47 measurements I have taken since this started, 39 of the diastolic (83%) are below 60 mmHg and 2 of the systolic (4%) were below 90 mmHg. The low systolic were on the day she got very dizzy and had trouble walking. Twenty-seven of the systolic (57%) were higher than 120 mmHg (prehypertension) with 3 higher than 140 mmHg (6%, hypertension) over the last 2 days. Yes, I know, this paragraph sounds like one of those reports I used to write for the State and Federal agencies! I think the thing that concerns me the most is that 21 of the measurements (45%) have a systolic that is 120 mmHg or higher with a diastolic lower than 60 mmHg. Which would mean meds to lower her blood pressure would tend to push her diastolic measurement even lower! One other thing, on 2 occasions Mom's pulse shot up to 95 for walking around.

Happy Birthday to Tim, Denise, Uncanny Injury Guy, Rikayla, Kerry, & Andre! Happy Belated Birthday to Michael & Jeremiah!

3 comments:

  1. Is there such a thing as blood pressure that is too low, Kinuko? Mine is regularly around 90/60, and my doctor says to me that it is fine; I just have to be careful when I stand up, as once in a LONG while I can get a little dizzy. This is not a result of my older age; I have been this way since I was a young adult . . . I am not versed at all in any phases of medical lore, tho . . .

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    1. My blood pressure is similar to yours. For the average American adult blood pressure less than 90/60 is considered too low. But children have blood pressure lower than that because there is less mass that the blood has to flow through so less pressure is needed to circulate the blood (http://www.emedicinehealth.com/pediatric_vital_signs/article_em.htm). You & I both have less mass than the average American, so a lower blood pressure is just fine for us!

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  2. This looks great - just saw it - and am following you now so I can keep up on the news with Aunty.

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