October 2004

Oct 2, 2004
Barney is in the hospital again, Overlook instead of Muhlenberg this time. Barney’s son S says that his father is in lala land. But he says that Barney is happy and not in pain. I guess that the doctors are trying to find out if the bladder cancer has spread to other places. Things do not sound too good for Barney, but you can’t feel sorry for a man who lived to age 93 without taking any medicine. Until a few weeks ago, his mind was sharp, and he was a wonderful story-teller. Even if he does not make it this time, Nana was lucky that he came into her life at a time when she was thinking that her life might be over. He made her smile again.

Oct 12, 2004
The rats seem to be gone. They finally had to put poison in the basement to get rid of them. One night a rat ate one of Nana’s cockatiels. The next day she gave the surviving birds away, and decided to put poison in the basement. We are still being careful to put all the food away immediately.

Nana went back to the eye doctor today. The first laser surgery fixed most of the problem. But the doctor found some leakage today. Nana is to go back for a second laser surgery in three weeks. She came home very disappointed. She had hoped to get glasses so that she could see again. Maybe she can next time.

Barney was just transferred to a rehab center today. They hope he will get strong enough for surgery to remove his bladder. Evidently they found cancer on the outside of it. His son is hopeful that he will get better. We hope so too.

On Friday Nana and I had lunch with W (a high school friend of my mother) and his mother (Mrs. S). The two mothers seemed to bond immediately. Perhaps they can understand each other because they both have trouble with sight and hearing. At one point I saw Mrs. S touch Nana’s ears. Nana has hearing aids that fit totally inside her ears. Mrs. S has the old fashioned kind with a battery pack attached. It was a very nice lunch for us all.

Oct 22, 2004
Today I took Nana to get her hair done. When she came out and got into my car, the car would not start. The battery was dead. B&B Auto Repair could not come to get my car. So A (my aunt; my mom's sister) rescued us. B&B will pick up my car tomorrow. A took Nana to see Barney tonight. A said that Nana and Barney were just glowing. Nana thought that he looked a little better tonight. It is a shame that we can’t get them together more often. Those two really love each other. Barney still has many medical problems, but I am glad to hear that he was feeling a bit better tonight.