Tuesday (Letter to family on 21 March 2017)

E-mail sent to family on 21 March 2017.

Today was a day with a lot of sleep for everyone but it didn’t start that way.

On Monday afternoon the latest doctor told Patrick he shouldn’t go anywhere except bed, chair, or bathroom, for fear of causing more damage to his back. He scheduled another MRI for Saturday (Patrick hates them) but until then he’s not even supposed to get rolled next door in a wheel chair to the hospital for rehab. The doctor also gave Patrick a new, powerful prescription, which is so potent that the pharmacist was very concerned, with a very serious face, when describing it. She stressed that Patrick should never be left alone, and to watch out for all kinds of side affects, and so on.

Anyway, early Tuesday morning Patrick awoke with a start, dreaming he’d fallen out of bed and whacked his head open. Moments later the sofa bed dumped me onto the floor, making a loud bang. My wrist took the brunt of the fall so I got up and got some ice from the fridge to ice it down, but in the morning it was fine. Also, Ivonne has a welt from some kind of bug bite overnight.

Anyway, on Tuesday we started off full of energy (well, except for Patrick, who had a hard night with his new medicine) and drank coffee and put some clothes in the laundry.

Ivonne and I went out and tried (unsuccessfully) to help him get his address changed at a local bank, (successfully) update his passbook, (unsuccessfully) find a place to exchange dollars for euros, and (successfully) buy some water and almost-bananas (plantanos de las Canarias).

Then we returned to the apartment to unload stuff and give Patrick an update. A nap followed. Later in the afternoon she and I went out again on foot to fetch some lunch. We had Ke Bab and brought him a Doble Whopper from Burger King. Although beer is available at fast food joints, we skipped it.

After lunch we all enjoyed another nap, getting up just before sunset. Ivonne and I went into Old Town Palma where she lives. She picked up her computer and pajamas from her flat while I bought a few Mallorcan-made gifts for family, including something I think that Olivia will love.

Patrick was going to relax again after we left, but he was first disturbed by the building administration staff, then by various phone calls (Ivonne left her phone behind in the apartment) and then with a visit from Adriana.

Eventually everything settled down, Ivonne made a late dinner of mushroom ravioli, and Patrick and Ivonne went to bed while I came out to the game room to work on some school stuff (e-mail, grading, etc) and writing a computer game for Aina, Ivonne’s daughter.

What is obvious throughout all this experience is the genuine affection that Patrick and Ivonne have for one another. Yes, there’s is a symbiotic relationship too with each one helping the other, but there’s much more than that and it makes me happy to see it despite the discomfort he’s in for these last many weeks.

Now it’s almost 2 AM so I’m going to hit the sack.

Love,

JP

P.S. Ca’n Granada is the name of the new apartment place, an assisted living facility. The rooms are small, but contain everything from washer and dryer to a full kitchen, living room, bed room and bath room.