Last Minute Juggling Act

Breathing is the greatest pleasure in life. – Giovanni Papini

I don't know if it's the greatest pleasure but it surely makes all the others possible. Since being diagnosed with NSIP, the least virulent of all the fibrotic lung diseases, breathing has become near and dear to my heart. And I'm so thankful for the invention of Portable Oxygen Concentrators that allow me to wander the world like anybody else, as long as I have a way to recharge my batteries from time to time.

Except when my POC has technical difficulties...

The DH and I were walking in Walmart yesterday (I'm shooting for 5000 steps a day, which, while not earthshaking, is a lot for me) when suddenly Percival (my sleek, lighter weight purse-sized POC, an Inogen One G5) beeped in distress and sent me an error message. The screen showed O2 and a down arrow. 

Never a good sign.

We cut our shopping short and headed home so I could call Main Clinic Supply in Rochester, MN, my POC provider. Sure enough, Percival needed a new set of columns, but he'd already gotten some in May, so Ricky, the technician there, said he'd overnight me a whole new unit. I thanked him kindly, and crossed my fingers, but I had my doubts it would reach us in time.

Southern MO is a long way from Rochester. 

So I unpacked all Percival's extra batteries, 4 ft cannulas, charger and power cords, and turned to my tried and true Herkimer, an Inogen One G2. It's heavy enough that I need the rolling cart to use it. The DH unpacked Percival's backpack and loaded up Herkimer's bigger, bulkier one with his heavier batteries, 7 ft. cannulas and all the accoutrements. When we go on excursions or are on uneven ground, the DH always likes to carry my POC for me, the way he used to carry my books when we were in college, bless the man! 

Herkimer took me all the way around the world in 2018, so I'm sure he'll get me to Alaska and back. But I'd certainly rather be able to use Percy. It's a lot easier to be inconspicuous with a purse-sized POC.

And then, against all my expectations, my new Percival arrived shortly after 3:00PM today. Kudos to FedEX, and Main Clinic Supply! 

Of course, then we had to unpack and repack all my O2 equipment and supplies, but that's okay. I'm glad to be able to use this new machine.

We're still waiting on our Covid results, but Nephew has his. He's negative! Woohoo! Can't wait to meet him in Seattle tomorrow evening! 

More once we're in the Great Northwest....

9:00PM Update--The DH's phone started pinging a few minutes ago as, one after another, all our Covid results came pouring in. We are all NEGATIVE. (Isn't it odd to ponder that being negative is actually positive in this case?) Thank you, God!