We’re expecting some yooge killer thunderstorms on Wednesday.

Yesterday was one of the worst days ever around here. After my hospice nurse left around 11 a.m. I began having problems with my oxygen. The oximeter readouts* were sinking fast … from the 90s to the mid-80s and eventually sinking into the low 70s by late evening. At that point Sam had already turned up the generator to the highest setting (5 liters), but my oximeter readouts never improved. In fact, they were continually crappier as the night wore on until it felt like somebody dropped an anvil on my chest.

THE OXIMETER READOUT. According to people who know about breathing, anything below 92% is considered unacceptable readouts in the 80s are seriously low, and readouts in the 70s are FUCKING DANGEROUS. There should be teeny alarm sirens going off in your head. (Or your lungs!)

Sam called the hospice at 11:30 p.m., and the administrator said she’d send over a new generator immediately with higher capacity … along with a nebulizer. I was feeling quite poorly by then. My symptoms included: 1) a headache; 2) difficulty breathing; 4) no energy; 5) a lousy mood; 6) mild nausea; and 7) no appetite. That last one definitely scares me a lot.

The generator finally showed up around 2:30 a.m. HALLELUJAH! AIR! OXYGEN! After the delivery dude wheeled the generator alongside my hospital bed and knelt down to hook it up, the only four words out of his mouth were: “Your tubing was disconnected.”

Disconnected? WHAT THE FUCK?!

Three minutes later, with the generator set at “7 liters,” my oximeter reading rose to 98% and all of my suffocation side effects disappeared. Sam didn’t recover as quickly as I did, though. He felt like somebody sucker-punched him in the gut, and he spent the rest of the night in misery, sitting on the sofa with his head in his hands. It was absolutely heartbreaking. Sam is my rock!

And so, we try to move on …

---

Apparently the Dallas metro area, which includes Howdygram headquarters (see photo in right sidebar), is expecting some yooge killer thunderstorms tomorrow with potential twisters and hail the size of baseballs. TWISTERS?! GIANT HAILSTONES?! Holy crap!

The fireworks will get underway here around 3 p.m. and continue for the next 12 hours. Of course we’ll have to make a few advance adjustments to our family room décor in case we lose power. This includes positioning our high-beam flashlight and portable (battery-powered) oxygen tank next to my bed and maybe moving that huge carton of NutriGrain bars (thank you, Costco) from the pantry so nobody will accidentally starve to death.

---

Now it’s time for some dinnertime drugs (love my drugs!), a nice snack to help my stomach survive the medication assault, and a few juicy “Bar Rescue” reruns. Thank you for reading this, and I look forward to somebody remembering the goddamn Alamo besides just me for a change.