Burns, Gout, and Licorice

Okay, so some of this post will be for my family members far and wide. Mostly so they can stay up-to-date on the goings-on here with Grandpa's health. Because I've learned one thing over the years (and it has been confirmed by 2 of my aunts): my mom is a terrible informant. So, I'll take over that job :).

Grandpa has had gout twice now. He got it in his right foot about 2.5 weeks ago. It went away after a few days. Then Sunday night, Grandpa's left foot started bothering him. By Monday he was in severe pain and couldn't walk without two canes, and even then it was severely painful for him. His having gout is a particularly bad sign, because it has to do with too much uric acid building up. And it's building up because the kidneys likely aren't functioning properly. And the pain is phenomenal from what I can tell. Any slight touch of the affected area (no touches by me, though, as I don't want to hurt him at all), would earn a huge jolt from Grandpa. So I know it was very very very tender. Which further helped the home health nurse to determine it's being gout. And, though there is medication to help alleviate the gout, they cannot prescribe it to him in good conscience because of his heart. The nurse later called and told me that that medicine could send him into heart failure. So, he's been sitting a lot, taking 2 extra-strength Tylenol, and keeping his feet elevated. I have noticed a marked difference the last couple of days, so that has been good. I hope he doesn't get any more gout, though. That looks like incredibly terrible stuff. However, if he does, he now has a wheelchair. Which is also probably good for him to have for trips to, say, Ivar's, or something. It's really just not good for him to put any unnecessary and abnormal strain on his heart anymore. So I think having the wheelchair is a good thing, even though I'm betting it will be a battle to get him to use it in public.

I made Grandma her herbal tea last night (with a teaspoon of honey). I took it to her and set it on the tv tray she has beside her all the time. I walked away. I got halfway back to the kitchen when I heard a gasp and dishes clank. Grandma had somehow spilled piping hot tea all over herself. Oh my gosh, it was awful. I cleaned it up while she changed and we got her some cold washcloths to lay on her badly burned legs. They were very red. Also part of her stomach. This morning, she was blistered, but good. You wouldn't believe how badly. In the end, I ended up taking her to Urgent Care (thanks Aunt Hila for telling her she needed to go!). The blisters had gotten even bigger. And, it turns out she was close to being hospitalized because they admit you if the burn goes all the way around your arm or leg. YIKES. So, Grandma had a lot of 1st and 2nd degree burns. She has to go back tomorrow to the Burn and Wound unit there, but the Urgent Care people dressed her burns for the night. Thank goodness it wasn't any worse! I was shocked when the physician's assistant came in and said she almost landed herself a night in the hospital!

And this is just random. You can consider it something else you now know about me, since I haven't kept up with those 100 Things About Me posts since I have been back in the blogging world. I hate licorice. Yuck. And I hate anything that tastes remotely like it or reminds me of it. That list includes rye bread and molasses and cane syrup, which tastes like molasses, which tastes, to me, like licorice. Ick. Also these malta goya drinks my dad used to drink in Panama. Ick. It was like carbonated molasses water. Anyway, why do I mention this? Well, I started using toothpaste the other day that I got from the dentist in T-town before I left. Free. It always left a bad taste in my mouth. The whole 3 or 4 times I used it. Monday morning, as I was headed to Christina's, I realized that it made my mouth taste like licorice. And then I asked myself why I was still using it if it tastes so gross and is such an unpleasant experience... So, I don't use the Crest Pro-Health anymore. But, if you like licorice, give it a whirl. Ick.