John recovered from pneumonia but with pulmonary fibrosis, he’s still not well. He’s now on oxygen all the time. He uses a pre-filled tank when away from home or outside and an oxygen generator inside. When he’s in the house the generator allows him to breathe comfortably. He has the sorta noisy generator in a corner of the great room. The tubing is 50 feet long. That means he can go most anyplace in the house. Both first floor bathrooms, our bedroom, the kitchen, dining room and great room are available to him. He can even make it out to the garage. Not hard to find him… I just follow the clear tube from the generator to him.

He got the oxygen last Tuesday evening after he was released from the hospital. Wednesday we went shopping and we picked up some newly prescribed prescriptions.

Shopping was an experience. At Krogers, he loaded the tank into a shopping cart which he walked behind. It was further than he should have tried walking but he made it. In Meijers, he used their handicapped mobility cart. It worked much better. I did the excursions to get stuff, while he stuck to the main aisles around the store. He was less tired than he had been at Krogers but he probably over-did it. He rested up Thursday.

Last night (Friday), we went out to our long-anticipated walleye dinner at the Moose club. We parked in the handicapped area and he made it into the Moose without oxygen. It was a nice evening. He did remarkably well. I did a little shopping afterward while he waited in the car.

We have to plan ahead and bring enough tanks (a full tank lasts about five hours) or he must try breathing without the supplemental oxygen. It’s a constant challenge.

He won’t give up yard work or cooking. He’s careful to avoid open flames around his oxygen, but he can bake and microwave and he can shut off the oxygen while he cooks on our gas range.

Yard work is his idea. We argue about the wisdom of him riding on his rider. Although he wears a mask-type respirator, we can easily afford to have the work done, but he’s insistent that he wants to do it. I can’t convince him, even with a quoted price of $35 which is half of what I expected.

I’m trying to do more for him than before but he’s proud and stubborn. I do a lot of the leg work (getting him a drink of water, etc.) He says he can’t just sit around, but at 78, he should learn that on your butt is not a bad place to be, especially if it helps to make you healthier.