So dad can't hear.....

I'm awake. Why am I awake? Well, I got woken up by my parents.....

Mom was asking dad if he washed something in hot water. He kept saying that he washed it. She keeps asking "IN HOT WATER?"

Finally he says, "Of course I had water, don't you always have water when you wash something?"

At that point, Mom tells him to go away because he's frustrating her.

I swear, I need to starting writing these misunderstandings of dad's down. There's got to be something comedic here......

Like I heard about how some of the neighborhood boys came and rang the doorbell because their ball was in the yard. According to mom the conversation went something like this.....

Boy "My ball is in your yard."
Dad, "I can't understand you."
Boy, "MY BALL IS IN YOUR YARD."
Dad, "I can't understand you."

Repeat a few more times with the boy's voice getting progressively louder, (you know how loud kids can get) and Dad still saying he doesn't understand.

Mom said she could hear the boy in her back bedroom. But because she needs assistance to get out of bed, it's not like she could get out of bed, get into the wheelchair and go help.

The boys finally got their ball back. When I got home that night, and heard that story, I told dad that he has to tell folks that he can't hear so good, not "I don't understand."

What's really fun is when he tries to talk on the phone. He'll say that he didn't understand the person. I tell him you have to say that you don't hear them properly. He'll say, "I do hear them, I just don't understand what they're saying. It sounds like they're saying 'blah blah blah blah."

So my dad is like a kid in Charlie Brown world, hearing the adults' voices. LOL

Sigh.....

And in this last visit to the eye doctor, now she wants him to go have diabetic testing due to something she saw. (He's been going about every three months for a bit, due to having gotten cataracts removed. She apparently wanted to make sure his eyes healed properly.) She feels it's okay for him to go back to her in a year, for his regular eye check up, but she really wants him to get diabetic testing, and she's forwarding the info to his regular doctor.

I told him that he should have this investigated, because "You're already deaf, last thing we need is for you to go blind as well!"

Raising parents is hard!

Edited to add: When I first posted this, I typed in "dad's deafness issues" in the tags, and for some reason LJ chose "fanfic: numb3rs" as the tag instead of the above. LOL. Perhaps Frank the LJ goat is attempting to tell me that this would make a great fanfic for Don and Charlie dealing with an aging Alan who is losing his hearing?

My first CT scan experience......

So I missed the American Greetings Christmas party, because I had to go to get a CT scan.

The staffperson at the gyn's office told me that I had to empty my bladder first, then drink two bottles of water before the sonogram.

The sonogram tech was really happy about that I had a nice full bladder..... I was just worried about peeing the table! Here she is pressing on my abdomen with that wand. LOL.

CT scan.... if you never had one before, they give you a dye that gets injected into a vein. They'll put a 'port' in your vein, tape it in, and then inject the dye through that. I saw the 'port', but didn't get to see the dye being injected in. They had me put my arms over my head.

They told me that the dye would give a warm feeling, which was nice as that place was cold, and I was trying not to shiver. Not sure if that would mess up the CT scan. It makes you feel as if you've peed. LOL.

There's different side effects. The staff guy (who assisted the tech) told me that if I developed hives, rash or difficulty breathing, they would shut down the CT scan. But the only reaction I had was vertigo, which my maternal Grandma used to have. Though she also got big welts from CT scan dye.

The CT technician says to me afterwards, "Wow, those are some big fibroids." Oh, joy.

She also told me that I needed to drink plenty of fluids the next few days to flush the CT scan dye out of my system.

I'm now wondering if that was what was behind a really bad vertigo attack I had last night, as yesterday I only drank about 16oz.

Anyhow, that was my experience, in case anyone had never had a CT scan, you now have some idea of what to expect. Except for me they were attempting to scan the pelvic area, so someone getting a different area scanned might not get the peeing sensation.

I asked the tech if anyone had ever peed the table, and she said only once in 20 years. It was a 90-something year old man, who wasn't very aware of his surroundings.

I should realize that Dad doesn't listen to me....

I don't know if it's part of his hearing issue or he's just not paying attention.   Maybe it's the Lipitor? 

This happened Tuesday, but only got the chance to write it up today.  
Tuesday I was brushing my teeth when the faucet made a loud whine and knocking noise.   I quickly turned off the cold handle.  The hot was not on.   I was done brushing and needed to rinse my mouth.  So I turned the cold back on.  Loud, ear-splitting whine and knocking noise start again.  

Then the handle for the hot water shoots off the sink, and hot water is spraying everywhere.  

My mouth was filled with toothpaste and I'm not sure when I ended up swallowing the toothpaste. 

I go to the kitchen to communicate to my dad that the faucet needs to be shut off. 

Dad "What?"
Me "Where's the water shut off in the bathroom?"  

Conservation goes around and around for a bit, with me asking about shutting off the water in the bathroom, and dad not understanding what I'm asking.  

So dad decides to go to the bathroom to check things out for himself.  He sets one foot in the bathroom and falls and slides on his back.   At the time I was worried he hurt himself, but now I'm laughing at it.  

Dad finally got the water shut off, with me holding a cup over the hot water handle-less spot. 

Dad ended up having to run out and get a new faucet.  

Then my uncle reminds both me and my dad that I had mentioned that the hot water handle was hard to turn. 

See, I like to use my elbows to turn on the hot water, so the handles don't get dirty.   I'd stopped using the hot water, as I couldn't turn it on with an elbow anymore.   I kinda' got after dad for not paying attention to me.  He says, "Well, I would have had to replace the faucet anyway."   I pointed out he could have replaced it much sooner, and there wouldn't have been a mess all over the bathroom floor.  

Hope all that water didn't damage anything.  


On the plus side, I can now turn the hot water on with my elbows again.  

PS if anyone needs a dentist in Dallas, TX

I can pass you a referral card for Dr. Richard Garcia at Contemporary Family Dentistry.   Just send me a private message.  

Just curious regarding dental work

Okay, I'm curious if I set up a GoFundMe regarding my dental work, if anyone would be willing to contribute? 

Trying to sell some items via Craig's List

I suppose the paintings I could easily ship, but I have no idea how to ship the pottery.

Black Caddo-inspired style pot
http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/art/5198203189.html

Some watercolors….
http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/art/5198173349.html

Very large pot….
http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/art/5159070416.html

Subject? Don't need no stinking subject!

Near the card section, there is an endcap with Star Wars school supplies.   Dad and son walk past.  

Dad stops and says to son, "Do you want a Star Wars binder?" 
Son; "Naw." 
Dad; "Are you sure?  Last chance." 
Son; "Yeah.  I'm sure." 
(pause)
Dad; "Should I get myself a Star Wars binder?" 
Son; "Totally." 

And I didn't even pipe up that Target has in-binder folders and separators, so he could buy it and start keeping household records in it.  See, it would be a perfectly legitimate purchase. 


I made a kid cry.   See, someone who is a foster parent (via the Lesbian Duplex) mentioned that you have to turn things around to a kid's POV.  The example she used was urging a kid to hold mom's hand crossing the street so mom won't get lost.  


I've been using a version of this at Kohl's.  When I see a kid start to wander off, I tell them that parents get lost when you wander too far.   They usually turn around and go back.  
This one tyke had gone a bit farther than usual, but I remember the parent she came in with.  (Mom was white, but the kids were mixed-race.  That's why I remembered. :P )  

Anyway, when I told her "You shouldn't wander away from mom.  Moms get lost when you wander too far.  Did you know that?"  She had to stop and think over what I said. 
I swear you could see the wheels in her brain turning. Then she figured it out and started the sad eyes and turned down lip, "Mama!"  Sniffle.  "MAMA!"  

So I pointed out mama to her and she ran back and cried at mama a bit.   Really didn't mean to make her cry.  LOL.  

Another time, I told this to a pretty young tot.  She was maybe two.  While I tell her this, I'm looking around to see if I see any frantic adults.  But after a few minutes of me talking to her, her older brother(?) comes out of the lingerie section and freezes on seeing me.  I ask, "Is she with you?"  He nods, grabs sister by one hand, and hurries off with a backward look to make sure I haven't turned into Baba Yaga and started chasing them. 

So good to see I can still scare the crap outta' kids.