Thu Mar 1 = This evening I drove all the way back to KCMO for comedy at the Mockingbird Grill and found it all shut up with nobody around. I knew that was a possibility because, although their website showed the open mic, there was no answer when I had tried to phone them earlier.
Fri Mar 2 =
Stan
Stanley, my older brother who was in the hospital and is retired as a machinist for Eaton Corporation in Hutchinson, KS
is now breathing some on his own with no help from the ventilator tube and machine that still are in place, just in case. He sat up on the side of the bed (with a lot of help from the nurses) for the first time at 10:50 this morning. It turned out to be his last time.
Sat Mar 3 = I spent time with my brothers,
George
younger brother who lives in Mesa, AZ
and
Stan
Stanley, my older brother who was in the hospital and is retired as a machinist for Eaton Corporation in Hutchinson, KS
(the one who is in the KU Medical Center intensive care tower). Stan cannot speak but manages to communicate fairly well through writing notes.
Sun Mar 4 = Among other things, I researched replacing the battery in my cell phone. BIG job, so, at least for now, will be carrying an auxiliary battery and cord with me.
- I flew back to Phoenix - a direct flight! On the way I did about five minutes of comedy for a family of four.
Mon Mar 5 = Now it is high gear for getting
Dahlia
my Phoenix rental house located on Dahlia Drive
updated. Meeting manager, contractor, gas fireplace logs etc. etc.
Tue Mar 6 = As I try to do every day, I interspersed sitting with moving around. For sitting project I: 1) charted all the open mics in Connecticut (CT) by day of the week from BadSalva and comedy.openmikes.org. That took way too long so I will be figuring a way to streamline the process for MA. 2) switched my APS (electricity) billing to their newPremier Choice plan since they are discontinuing my current plan. It's about the same, but with a usage cap to be put into the next higher plan. Probably just a way to get more money.
- Moving around, I cleaned up a little by archiving my 2016 receipts and discarding/shredding my 2010 receipts. A sitting project was inputting fan email addresses I have collected the last two weeks or so into my database.
Wed Mar 7 = I phoned
Stan
Stanley, my older brother who was in the hospital and is retired as a machinist for Eaton Corporation in Hutchinson, KS
's
nurse today. She said he is breathing on his own now (with the machine standing by), but with an oxygen level increased from the normal 21% to 50%. He is still losing blood internally; may mean a EGD (from the top) and a colonoscopy (from the bottom.)
- For
Dahlia
my Phoenix rental house located on Dahlia Drive
I decided on a taupe color with highlights for the new carpeting throughout the house.
Thu Mar 8 =
George
younger brother who lives in Mesa, AZ
phoned from the KU Medical Center with an update for Stan, who is experiencing more internal bleeding. They will cauterize his throat. He has a 40-50% chance of recovering, buy not to normal. Even with a lot of therapy, he will likely have to be in a nursing home - tough for such an independent guy. Stan can still not swallow, which means sputum will collect in his lungs, cause him to have a gagging feeling and cause pneumonia. The breathing tube has to come out because it irritates to the point of life-long complications. The only option is a tracheostomy , which will allow him to breath through a hole in his throat.
- It was a tough decision, but George and I decided to put
Stan
Stanley, my older brother who was in the hospital and is retired as a machinist for Eaton Corporation in Hutchinson, KS
in Hospice care. He is not recognizing people, and his left side is mostly paralyzed, indicating a stroke, along with possible brain damage.
Fri Mar 9 =
George & Cindy
my younger brother and his wife who live in Mesa, Arizona
and the social worker from the KU Medical Center (KUMC) did all they could to find hospice care for Stan in Kansas in Hutchinson, Wichita or Newton. The only thing available is St Luke's Hospice in KCMO. Stan will be taken there as soon as he is able to survive the move.
- By phone, the KUMC nurse told me that they now have Stan on DNR (do not recessatate), have removed the breathing tube, the feeding tube and all the IVs but the one remaining through which they give medication to make Stan comfortable.
- Today
Stan
Stanley, my older brother who was in the hospital and is retired as a machinist for Eaton Corporation in Hutchinson, KS
smiled once and squeezed George's hand with his unparalyzed left hand.
- So we would be prepared, I researched direct cremation services. Decided to go with Reflections there in KCMO.
- Back here in Phoenix, this evening I installed the new gas logs at
Dahlia
my Phoenix rental house located on Dahlia Drive
- twice. The second time it was with a gas injector and not using all the live coals, sand and clinkers. It does not need all that came with the unit, and it will be good to have some spare stuff.
Sat Mar 10 =
George
younger brother who lives in Mesa, AZ
and I discussed ideas for a possible memorial service for Stan. We also decided to pay some of Stan's utilities in Hutchinson.
- Stan is OK now for transport to St Luke's Hospice. We are told it is one of the best.
- I hate it when I am backing up at night on a dark street and hear a crunch. That happened a few days ago when I was taking a man home from Fry's Marketplace because he had back problems. Backing out of his drive I put a $600 scratch in the bumper of a pickup. This afternoon I met the owner of the truck at Safeway. I learned... if you have a backup camera, it helps to look at it when you are backing out of a driveway.
Sun Mar 11 = Stan is going down fast, now having blood in his urine.
- Very helpful have been Pastor Jim Frances and Steve Fowler, Stan's friend and work buddy from Eaton.
This evening I hosted my final Insane Off Main open mic. It was a good run. Thanks, Chris!
Mon Mar 12 = My brother for 76 years, Stanley Self, passed away today at 8:24pm in KCMO with complications from myasthenia gravis. Stan's passing hit me a lot harder than I expected.
Stanley Arthur Self: June 1, 1940 - March 12, 2018
Tues Mar 13 = Things are getting into high gear, so far as finalizing arrangements for Stan, notifying relatives etc.
- I lay out in the sun. Also had a headache all evening.
Wed Mar 14 = I sent out about 303 emails through MailChimp for my Sunday appearance at Stand Up Live in downtown Phoenix.
- At Toso's tonight I did my MinivanKids routine for the first time there.
Thu Mar 15 = Tryting to practice for Sunday, tonight I went to Spinelli's Pizzeria and did my MinivanKids routine.
Fri Mar 16 = Today I ordered an OldShark 1080P dash cam. I paid over $10 for their overnight shipping, having just gotten wind of dash cams a couple of hours ago and wanting it for my road tour.
- Three on my MailChimp email list unsubscribed: two are no longer interested and one said they did not subscribe. Not too bad. Next time, I'll make the emails from Arizona Lou Stand Up Comedian, instead of just Arizona Lou.
Sat Mar 17 = I am in high gear getting ready for my road trip. It is complicated by the fact thay I may not come back here to Phoenix before heading out for my spring/summer tour. Preparing for a memorial, cleaning up Stan's stuff and traveling for comedy and kiteboarding into the middle of August almost boggles the brain. It is a challenge to prepare for cold winter traveling and hot summer traveling, all in the same trip.
Sun Mar 18 = Today I phoned various relatives about Stan's death.
- This evening I appeared at Stand Up Live in downtown Phoenix, one of my favorite spots, with my MinivanKids routine. I got a pretty good reception, although I did not have very many people there.
Mon Mar 19 = Today I hooked up the cute little new OldShark 1080P dash cam I received yesterday. This afternoon I went over to
George & Cindy
my younger brother and his wife who live in Mesa, Arizona
's
for fish and to go over things for
Stan
Stanley, my older brother, of 76 years who was a retired as a machinist for Eaton Corporation in Hutchinson, KS before he died on March, 12, 2018 of myasthenia gravis
's
estate. It was the first drive with my new dash camera.
- This evening I took way too long but did an awesome job of putting a second mini USB plug on my Garmin power/traffic cable, so now both the Garmin and the OldShark operate automatically. I figure a modern dash cam comes in third after having insurance and wearing seat belts.
Tue Mar 20 = Today I was reminded by an email that I owe $256.55 for the repair of our well. Four other homeowners and I own the well together. Just one of the benefits for owning two empty lots near Wittman.
Wed Mar 21 = Comedy at Laughter @ The Lounge this evening was fun, but my FitGym routine did not have he punch I wanted. Maybe I have milked it for as much as I can here in the valley.
Thu Mar 22 = I did two things that put my leaving for Kansas late, but I am glad I did. Both of them were things that would be more difficult if done on the road. First of all, I added a second mini-USB connector to the Garmin power/traffic cord. That way both my GPS and my new dashcam operate automatically with no cords dangling. Secondly, I washed the inside of my van windows with my special window cleaning tool and Karshner vacuum squeegee.
- About 3pm I put my nose to the grindstone, or rather, my foot to the peddle, and drove to Grants, NM. I got one of my best night's sleep because the Walmart was not close to the railroad or the freeway and my van was facing west and into the wind.
Fri Mar 23 = There are surely lots of good people in the world. Steve Fowler is one of them. When I got to Hutchinson, he guided me in for the last 10 miles on his phone and then gave me a quiet place to park for the night in his back yard. Thanks, Steve and Lou (his wife).
- Most of the day I have had some diarrhea, so took a Loperamide Hydrochloride 2mg tablet before bedtime. Spent the night in Steve's back yard.
Sat Mar 24 = After breakfast in my van and dressing for
Stan
Stanley, my older brother who was in the hospital and is retired as a machinist for Eaton Corporation in Hutchinson, KS
's
memorial service I made a pit stop in Steve and Lou's bathroom, then headed to the church. It was a lovely service, including George and the pastor reading several memories about Stan from various people. I gave about five minutes of some of my memories... from a comedian's point of view, of course. Pastor Jim finished off the service with an expected evangelistic sermon. We had people from all over, including relatives from Arizona, Colorado and Sterling, Kansas.
Here is a direct link to the 60-minute video, in case you wish to share: https://youtu.be/GhKOjyGiRd4 - The immediate family drove over to Newton to the Greenwood Cemetery to place Stan's ashes in their final resting place next to Mom and Dad. It was lovely and very emotional.
- This evening's exciting active was going through a lot of Stan's paperwork and bills with
George & Cindy
my younger brother and his wife who live in Mesa, Arizona
in their motel lobby. I started a spreadsheet with critical account information for as many accounts as I could find.
Sun Mar 25 = Today I stopped by Stan's duplex rental on Sherman and visited with the occupants. They are not paying rent
Mon Mar 26 = Today I set up my office on a card table with a little ceramic electric heater nearby to take off the chill. Going through more paperwork now, I am keeping things organized in a 23-section accordion file I bought at Walmart.
Tue Mar 27 = My daughter, Anne, drove over from Wichita, KS to help organize and double check all the credit card statements for
Stan
Stanley, my older brother who was a retired as a machinist for Eaton Corporation in Hutchinson, KS until he sucommed to a three-week bout with Myasthenia gravis in March, 2018
. Steve Fowler was also here helping go through a lot of Stan's stuff. Later Steve and I checked out Stan's unit at Superior Storage. Lots of junk, and maybe a little somewhat important papers.
Wed Mar 28 = Today I spent about half my time on phone calls to banks, insurance companies, an attorney etc. Steve and I held our breath as we opened Stan's Ford Explorer van. It was not as bad as we expected. We got it cleaned out, supplying us with a good amount of trash and some good stuff for an Estate Sale.
Thu Mar 29 = This was mostly a business day for me, arranging for property appraisals, opening a checking account for the estate and getting some more supplies for an estate sale. Steve went to Stan's Superior Storage unit and loaded the contents onto a trailer. This evening we got the trailer unloaded and into the 8th Ave house. You couldn't ask for a better friend than Steve.
Fri Mar 30 = Another work day. I shopped for some pants at Walmart, decided the ones I bought yesterday at Goodwill were better, got four non-working keys at their automatic key machine, bought a cash box for the garage sale, and bought a neat headlamp. It has five modes: high or low setting for spot and flood and also a red mode for preserving night vision. Also it is rechargeable with a Lithium battery and its own USB charging cable.
- This afternoon, I met appraiser, Ron Gingrich, and got his off-the-cuff appraisal of
Stan
Stanley, my older brother who was a retired as a machinist for Eaton Corporation in Hutchinson, KS until he sucommed to a three-week bout with Myasthenia gravis in March, 2018
two realestate properties. Later, Steve Fowler and I worked, going through things, with a long ways still to go, until about 11:00 pm.
Sat Mar 31 = This morning I met Anne, her family and in-laws at the Hutchinson Cosmosphere. What a place. It went on and on with interesting, informative and interactive exhibits. We ate lunch together there. Surprise! It was reasonably priced.
