Walmart Times Three

Chloie from AT&T was lovely to be sensitive to his needs. One of the things you have to understand about my brother and this has always been the case. He acknowledges we were brought up in a stressful  tension-producing childhood. He's aware he needs to have something to aggravate him. In his pre-whack days, a term we use instead of having to say TBI, terminally brain injured, we just say pre-wacked.

 

Back in the day, he had a couple of motorcycles he messed around with, so they would be a little less easy to run than they were. Then he could be aggravated because the motorcycle wasn't running well.

 

 From our trip to Walmart,  where we didn't want anyone to sell him a program but just give us the phone, we went down to AT&T to talk to the clerk Chloie who sent us there to get the phone. She immediately hooked my brother up with the required program and the equipment he needed for his phone.

 

The most aggravation going on now is with his phone.  He doesn't like his phone but it doesn't bother me because I told him he needed something for aggravation.  Now I've come home for a couple of days and charging my cellphone.  I'm keeping in touch with him at home and he's able to cook his own meal in the microwave or order out.

 

He does use his phone to make the calls for the Instacart where he learned from his former caretaker who used to order a meal for both. What a great plan. All Mike needs to do is call up his favorite eatery named Denny's. They deliver different meals to him. He gets a lot of sausage and gravy and pancakes. One thing he ordered for me that I'm very excited about is a double hamburger, double cheese, french fries and no pickle. 

 

What we're eventually working on and maybe I will be able to get a hold of somebody on Monday to get him a caregiver and a case manager. I'm hopeful we'll be able to begin that process tomorrow, Monday. I was given numbers to call people and what the conditions might be. When I finished the page of phone numbers, because of my ADD I had no idea what I had written or what agencies any of the numbers are connected with.
  
I just learned there are many helpers going to be coming in and I will not have to go down there for maybe a month. That will be wonderful.  I will keep in touch with him on the phone of course, even though I'm becoming emotionally exhausted. Fortunately, everything is settling out. There are people who are supposed to be coming to help him and I can be here in my own home. 

They are even going to be helping him with his ADLs.  He has had a very difficult time showering. I am in hopes they will make it so it's not so frightening for someone with TBI. It becomes a startling moment when the water hits his skin. He said there's something about his TBI that makes his skin very sensitive at certain parts.

 

This makes it difficult for him to initiate his own shower.  He's going to have a nurse come in to help him figure out how to calmly take a shower. There was one idea they came up with, that for some reason I just never thought of. Some of you always seem to be a little ahead of me in my investigations, so you’ve probably already thought of a shower chair. He's looking forward to that.

Mike is not someone who's just going to sit around waiting for everybody else to do stuff for him. He went searching for an agency that might be able to help him and he found one. It sounds like someone that can be me. I'm getting worn out. Every other week I'm traveling 2 hours of Vermont roads with switchbacks all along the way.

 

But once again the universe smiled on me and a lady called and gave me the numbers Mike and I needed to call.  There were only about two of them, not a whole page like the other list.  I told her I had ADD and I needed to go slowly. She said she was fine with that .

 

She's going to be with me every step of the way or if she can't be, she is going to get somebody so now I'm going from I don't know what to do with step one to there may be some people that will help me with step one.

 

In addition to this group my brother has found another group that may cost some money but I told him he is well worth it. He may be arranging with a group of people to come in and visit him a couple times a week for two hours and maybe do some work.  I'm not sure but it would be good for him and for me so I don't have to travel two hours. I actually am going to be able to stay home for possibly three weeks.

 

We also just got connected with VNA. Vermont Nurses Association. They are exploring Mike’s needs and one of the most wonderful helpers to come there will be a nurse to help Mike with his ADLs. He is as excited as anyone can get with TBI. Mike is looking forward to it. He's not been able to take a shower since Karen has left.

 

A note of reminder to all readers. She was his caregiver for 18 years and she was wonderful til she wasn’t. She knew how to turn the handle of the shower, so it was just the right temperature. 

I detest those handles on the showers. I've been intimidated when running across them in hotels or motels. You turn the lever up and you don't know if it's going to be hot or freezing water, or nice warm water.

 

Mike couldn’t do that confidently therefore he always had Karen take care of it for him. After Karen left nobody else seemed to be able to do it the right way so we're hoping this nurse, Bob, will be able to. Mike is so looking forward to Bob’s arrival. In the meantime, we will continue as we are.

 

 When my brother's caretaker went to Alaska for about 8 days, he did fine as long as he got his food and she called him one time then she called in his meal. He has learned how to call in his own meal. He calls me about 15 times a day. so he's getting plenty of social connections with me.