July 27, 2010;
We had planned to take the trolley tour around Great Falls, and had the alarm set for 8 AM. It was very cloudy so we decided to wait.
I went to see Glenna around lunch time, She was in the dining room. I think she is in the lunch room because that is right after a therapy session and they drop her off there. I spoke to one of the staff about getting her hair washed and set and about them doing her laundry there instead of taking it to the RV for Gerri to launder. After lunch we went back to her room and she laid down for a rest. As I was leaving I passed the occupational therapist in the hall going to get her. She probably had 3 minutes rest. After she went to therapy I spoke to the admissions lady about Glenna’s next evaluation and found out it was scheduled for Aug. 11. Earlier I had spoken to the occupational therapist about what Glenna would need in the way of equipment when she was released. I bought a walker, long handled shoehorn, a tube to help her with socks, a grabber to pick up items and a stool for the shower.
I did three caches on the way back to the RV Park.
Back at the RV we just hung out. In the late afternoon Jim and Cheryl came over for a visit. Jim had got the parts for his fuel system and installed them. They plan to leave on Wednesday, eventually getting to Redmond for the FMCA Convention.
Gerri and I went to see Glenna, we got there after she finished her supper and visited until about 8 PM.
July 28, 2010;
Again we planned to take the trolley tour. I also planned to take my computer to a shop to have it check because of the periodic stopping. I backed up my files and unplugged everything. We decided we didn’t have time to drop off the computer and make it to the 10 o’clock trolley.
After explaining the problem to the technician, I went back to the RV Park. Gerri and I drove to Ryan’s Dam. This is a large dam built on the Great Falls of the Missouri. We viewed the dam and falls from a beautifully landscaped island which had picnic areas and walk ways to viewing points. After Ryan dam we drove about four more miles downstream to Morony dam. The drive to both dams was through wheat fields and then a drop down into the gorge to the river. Morony is a small dam on a water fall much smaller than Ryan, but still scenic and worth the drive We learned there was a series of four dams and we had seen three of them. All the dams are for hydroelectric power generation.
Gerri and I went to an early supper at a restaurant downtown that had been recommended to us. The restaurant also had a lounge with windows into the hotel pool. There were no swimmers. We had good Fish and Chips before going to visit Glenna for a couple of hours.
Today we got an e-mail from Neva with an update on her left index finger which was operated on 7/11. She saw the Hand Surgeon today and he was pleased with the healing. The sutures were removed and then he proceeded to pull and cut away the dead skin surrounding the area. She no longer will have a home nurse daily but now must go to the therapist several times per week for the next month to five weeks. She also has other instructions plus two "buddy straps" to wear in the day. They are narrow Velcro bands to put around her injured finger and the middle finger next to it, holding the two side by side so when she uses her middle finger, the index will be forced to go with it--a form of exercise. She is still on all meds that were prescribed when discharged from the hospital. The antibiotic has been cut from 500 mg pill to a 250 mg Levaquin. She now can shower without bagging her hand.
July 29, 2010;
Today we finally did the trolley tour of Great Falls. We should have taken the tour as soon as we knew we would be here for awhile. There was a lot of information on things to see and do. It’s quite a pretty area and has more trees than when the town site was laid out in the late 1800’s. We were told about the area when Lewis and Clark arrived and the route they took overland when they encountered the falls. Before the dams there were five falls. The dams were built on top of four of the falls so the extra height would provide more drop for power generation. The dams are where the nickname of “The Electric City” for Great falls derives. The fifth and smallest falls is now inundated behind the Black Eagle Dam. We have now vied all the dams, two from below and two from above. They aren’t as impressive as structures as Hoover Dam but the falls under them makes quite a sight as does the water cascading over the dams. They don’t have spillways like Hoover so the excess water goes over the top of the dams. The tour of the dams is also something we should have done right after we got here. The rivers have dropped about five feet since the first of the month. The tour took us past Giant Springs and the Roe River which we visited a couple of weeks ago. After the dams and surrounding areas the tour went downtown. The older and historic structures were pointed out. Some of the saloons have been there for over 80 years and we were told that many of them have the original Brunswick bars and back bars. We went by several of the local parks, there are 57 in town, and then through what was once the ritzy residential area. In a lot of old cities these original residential areas were made up of homes with similar architecture. In Great Falls it was a wide range of eclectic styles from almost every important architectural period. All very nice and most of them quite large, especially when compared to what we were told was the oldest residential structure in town. That was a log cabin about 10’ x 12’ now located in one of the parks. During the tour we spotted two more painted buffalo. We went back after the tour and took pictures.
After the tour I went to see Glenna, she was sleeping. Since I knew that the therapist would be there soon, I let her sleep. I spoke to the nurse and got the dates for Glenna’s next review and her follow up appointment with the surgeon. The surgeon appointment is Aug. 6 and the follow up is Aug. 11. So we will still be in Great Falls for a few more weeks. We are hoping he allows her to put as much weight on her left leg as she can tolerate.
I went by the computer store to check on my computer. The tech told me he had run some checks and used programs and the internet several times and found no problems. Sounds a lot like, “Cannot duplicate customer’s complaint.” He had some more scans to run and said it should be ready on Friday morning.
Gerri and I did some shopping at Sam’s, our home away from home. I then went to visit Glenna. She was in the dining room eating with two other residents. She ate half her hamburger and fries. We visited for awhile with the other diners and then for awhile back in her room.
On the way back to the park I did three caches and re-photograph one of the buffalo so I wouldn’t have so much road construction visible. The cones and barriers were gone so it was easy.
After our own supper we just relaxed until bedtime. And yes, relaxing is something we do a lot of.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment