Traffic Jam on the Ramp

When we went to do Mom's blood draw this morning there was a traffic jam on the ramp leading in to the parking garage. The ticket machine was jammed so the gate would not go up. There were at least 3 cars behind me and 2 ahead of me.

Looking in the side view mirror at the cars behind me.

The parking garage attendant fixing the ticket machine. Yay!

Later Mom went to see Dr. Pham about her thumb. Dr. Pham said to just watch it to see if it gets worse or if there is a fever. While there Mom had a dizzy spell, I told Dr. Pham all my observations. She had Mom turn her head to the right, then quickly lie down. Even from 6 feet away I could see Mom's eyes bouncing around in nystagmus; Dr. Pham said this was the most extreme nystagmus she has seen in a while. She diagnosed Mom with Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV). Her treatment is for Mom to do the modified Epley maneuver 3 times a day until the dizziness goes away, then continue doing the exercises for an additional 24 hours.

We tried the modified Epley maneuver this evening. It made Mom very dizzy, she kept trying to close her eyes. I'm not sure if she will want to keep on doing this, but I will be on top of her to do it. Dr. Pham says it usually takes 2 or 3 days of doing the exercises 3 times a day before the dizziness goes away. I sure hope it works. And I think Mom does, too.

Dad saw Dr Toilolo for his ankle. Since the pain begins when Dad gets in to bed, she thinks it is a matter of poor circulation causing the pain spasms when he lies down. She recommended exercises to get the blood flowing in his lower legs just before he gets in to bed. But she had x-rays taken to see if there was anything internal that might be wrong. The left leg is the one he was injured in during WWII; his femur was shattered by a bullet so they took some bone from the tibia to rebuild it enough so he could walk on it. Results will be back tomorrow. (While we were waiting for Dad, Mrs. Vea came by with her son. She had been to the phlebotomy lab for a blood draw because she is on warfarin.)

Because we were out so late with the medical appointments, I decided to take Mom & Dad out to dinner at their favorite place, Zippy's! I had no arguments from them. Mom was really cold so she had the Portuguese bean soup, Dad had the loco moco, & I had the furikake miso salmon with tempura donburi. Sorry, the camera on my phone is acting up so I couldn't take any photos.

The Little Red Hen came to visit today. As I was bringing the garbage can in this afternoon, I noticed a hen walking up the driveway. She puttered around a little in the front yard, then headed towards the orange tree. She spent a lot of time scratching around and eating bugs. I brought Xander out to see his reaction, she scared him! Then I brought Shiro out, he started stalking her; when she saw his predator-focused stare she got very nervous. The Little Red Hen was not bothered by Mom being so close.

Mom checking out the Little Red Hen.

Both Mom & Dad had a difficult time getting in to the RAV4. I measured the front seat and found the front edge to be at about 28-1/2" high, the rear was about 27" high. The Subaru will be so much easier for them to get in and out of.


Happy Birthday to Gregg, Marilyn, Cristien, & Marilene!