This was supposed to publish this morning but apparently I didn't do something right. Anyway, big surprise when I got to the hospital Sunday afternoon, they had completely weaned him off oxygen. I guess 14 days of IV antibiotics, steroids, breathing treatments, etc finally hit a watershed and BOOM. This mornings x-ray was so so much better than the last one last Thursday but still will take time to completely clear. His general health had improved so much that he was too healthy to qualify for the insurance to pay for the in house physical therapy so they discharged him from the hospital. Oral antibiotics for two weeks instead of 6 but that could be extended. Now to get a primary care doc and a referral to the pulmonologist who has been treating him and Home Health Care to work with him on physical therapy.
After fixing my dinner Thursday night, I turned on the hot water faucet to wash the few dishes and waited for it to get hot. And waited, and waited, and waited and no hot water. Checked the water heater and the pilot light was out. It had gone out a few weeks before Marc got sick so I didn't think anything about it and followed the instructions on the tank...turn the knob to pilot, hold down the knob, push the striker button, continue holding down the knob until the status light comes on. OK, pilot light would flame but the status light would never come on and when I released the knob it would go out. Well, fuck.
Called Rocky 8:30 Friday morning, could he come light my water heater as I was having no luck. No problem, I'm nearby, I'll be right there. He couldn't get it to light either. Called his plumber friend who said the thermostat was bad, it would cost as much to replace the thermostat as to get a new water heater, you need a new water heater. Well, fuck.
Rocky located a same size, 30 gallon, water heater in El Campo, about 20 minutes down the road, went by his current job doing something for the Methodist Church to ask if they would give him half a day to help me out and they graciously agreed, so off he went to get the new propane water heater.
Now, when we bought the one that had just failed, the one we were replacing was too wide to get it out through the door to the closet in which it sat so they had to take the molding off and remove the door jamb to get it out. The new one one was smaller in diameter and it could be installed or removed without having to do that again. So Rocky gets back, takes out the water heater, puts it in my studio room, opens the box of the new one and I'm looking at them and the new one is wider, 18” to the previous 16”. Rocky, it's not going to go through the doorway unless you dismantle it. Well, fuck.
He takes off the molding, removes the door jamb, gets the new one in and hooked up, tests it to see if all is well, pilot comes on, puts the doorway back together again, we turn on the hot water faucet in the kitchen and no hot water. Pilot is off, won't come on, further investigation and the guy sold him a water heater for natural gas. Well, fuck, fuck, fuck.
Rocky is not happy. Takes the doorway apart, removes the water heater, boxes it back up, takes it back and gets the one for propane he ordered, gets it installed, pilot comes on, burner comes on and we're in business. By this time it's 5 o'clock. I sent him home, we can put the doorway back together later. He came back Saturday morning and finished up.
the result of all that trouble
Consequently I didn't get anything done I had planned to do on Friday while at home, ran a few errands Saturday and catching up on my sleep, and headed back to Victoria Sunday.
