The Flu Is Here

When I arrived, Dad was asleep. And he had 2 ice packs on him! RN Ellie said he had a 100 degree F fever early this morning; Tylenol alone was not able to get his temperature down so they also used ice packs. By the time I got there his temperature was back to normal. But they warned me to keep him on the 2nd floor today since several people on the 3rd floor were confirmed to have the flu. Dad only drank 360 ml Breeze & 240 ml Plus for breakfast. Since I couldn't take him up to the 3rd floor, I didn't bother to have him moved to the wheelchair, he just went back to sleep after breakfast.

Post-breakfast nap.

Then just as lunch arrived, Dad began to shiver uncontrollably. I asked CNA Jessa to take his temperature, it was 100.2 degrees F. His blood pressure was also elevated at 140/96 mm Hg. Dad's heart rate was 105, which is high for him. His oxygen level was 97%. Dr. Gries was expected today; they called him & let him know what was going on. Dr. Gries ordered an x-ray since RN Christan said he heard some congestion in Dad's lungs. RN Ellie gave Dad Tylenol and ice packs, it slowly started to lower his temperature. When he arrived, Dr. Greis checked Dad out; he prescribed IV fluids to keep him hydrated and antibiotics because he suspects a respiratory infection. Later in the evening the x-ray was done. They packed him in ice packs to keep his temperature down and comfortable enough to sleep.

Napping through the fever.

On my walk to Maunalani Park today I was originally going to do my normal power walk at 2.8 mph. But the vog was pretty bad so I opted to do the tai chi slow walk so I was not inhaling so deeply. There was no one at the park; perhaps the other people whom I normally see are smarter than me about this! By the end of my walk my skin felt a little tingly; I think perhaps some of the components of the vog were affecting my skin. I took a shower as soon as I got home and felt much better.

When I walk tai chi slow I see much more, like this roadkill brown anole.

This morning, even before I got out of bed, I noticed that there were some little bits of skin poking out from my tattoo. Later in the shower, I found about a dozen little black bits of skin on my wash towel and the shower floor. The shedding has begun.

You can see some of the little bits sloughing off along the right edge.

I was going to cook dinner tonight but The Roommates were planning on doing things after work and would not be home for dinner. So I just had leftover pork larb. And a Chocolate Avocado Cookie! I will cook again next week; I'm trying to use the raw materials that are in the freezer before I start buying more stuff.

After dinner I finished cleaning out the guest bedroom. I will begin moving things from the room I am currently in over the weekend.


Hurricane season starts in 3 weeks. (The Roommates were unaware of this.) I need to complete the disaster preparations that I started a few months ago. Although now that there are 3 humans in the house I will need to increase the amount of stored water by 50%; not sure if I will have enough storage space available for that. (We will always have enough canned goods!) It has made me wonder what the situation is at Maunalani with disaster preparedness.

Happy Birthday to Kathleen, Esther, & Alan!