December 01, 2007 Entry

12.01.2007

Not much happening here ,so that’s the reason for no updates lately.

We are still in Casa Grande Arizona and plans are to hunker down here for awhile till everyone gets to feeling like traveling again.

There is one thing that happened last Wednesday that I told to some family members and they thought it should be shared on the website.

So here goes:

I had a doctors appointment in Tucson at the Veterans Hospital at 7:30 am and Connie had a follow up appointment to her hospital stay at 1:00 pm

No problem, we just had to get up real early and drive down to Tucson. We left here about 6:00 am because of lots of construction on I-10 in the Tucson area

We arrived at 7:30 at the VA and I pulled up in front of Building #80.
Connie was still not feeling well and she was also on oxygen with those little portable bottles on a two wheel cart…..I got her a wheelchair and brought it up to the car.

After she had gotten positioned in the wheelchair I placed the oxygen cart in front of her and loaded her lap down with my medicine and all her medicine she might need while we were there. She had a lap full of stuff, plus a blanket as she was having some chills in the early morning air.

As I started to get her inside until I got the car parked, I got a sample of some of the problems we would have trying to negotiate a wheelchair and oxygen bottle cart in tandem.

As I was trying to push this train inside, the driver of the oxygen cart kept jackknifing. Finally, after several tries I turned around and pulled her inside backwards.

After getting the car parked I returned to the wheelchair and cart problem.

I told Connie she would need to keep the cart in front and steer it as I pushed her chair. We had to go to the elevator up the hallway and it was good to have big wide halls. After several jackknifes and “excuse us please” to innocent bystanders we made it to the elevator.

I had never really noticed how narrow those doors are on elevators…

After several tries and help from some nice lady we were able to get through those narrow doors even though we were in somewhat crossways..

Arriving at the second floor I was able to back us out of the elevator without too much trouble, especially since the nice lady was holding the doors for us.

However these halls were much smaller than the big hall at ground level and did present quite a challenge. We used every bit of hall space and I was glad that no wheelchair cop saw us or we would certainly would have been stopped for DUI.

A few wall banging’s and jackknifes later we arrived at the clinic where my appointment was….whew, I thought we were never going to make it..

Uh oh……One more obstacle to overcome and it was a doozie.

Double doors operated by a big button on the side of the wall was all that was between us and the clinic now…….. I pushed this train up to the doors as close as possible as they opened toward us.

I walked over and slammed the button on the wall and returned to the train. I grabbed the handles on the wheelchair and started forward, only to have the doors not open….. Walking back to the big button, I really nailed it this time , thinking that maybe I did not get it’s attention before.

Nope, that button was not going to open that door….

Plan “B”……I grab the doors and fling them wide open, running back to the wheelchair and start to push us through only to have the doors close before we got in. After several comedic tries at this it was determined that plan “B” was not the solution….

Plan “C”

Jerking the doors open as hard as I could and grabbing the oxygen tank cart which was being held by Connie , who was in the wheelchair, I was able to pull a laughing Connie into the clinic waiting room..

Now use your imagination here….

A woman in a wheelchair with all kinds of bags filled with medicine, wrapped in a blanket and she is trying to push an oxygen bottle..

Being pushed or pulled as the case may need by an old man huffing and puffing……..I wished I had my camera.

And if that is not enough, remember we are at the Veteran’s Hospital for my appointment… After signing in I set down by this poor woman that I had wheeled up here and could see the curious stares from the other patients..

They seemed to be wondering.,..

WHAT WAR DID THIS LADY FIGHT IN?

Welcome!

GLAD YOU CAME TO VISIT. WE MISS YOU