Got up at 6:30am. Packed up, cleaned up, and moved out of the Lodge by 8am. Got to Gary by 8am. He seemed to be holding up quite well. He had a good breakfast and was ready to get up and walk downstairs. So I helped him put on his tenny shoes (Converse High Tops that required all the strings to be straight and flat), and we went downstairs. He was animated, even excited, about getting home. He wanted a fan in his room. It was hot in during the day because of all the glass. Downstairs, he had a couple of cigarettes and we talked about Joe and his land and Bill and all kinds of things. I told him my plan was to go get laundry done and to bring him some more skivvies -- then on Sunday, I'd bring street clothes and we'd get out of there Monday morning early. He said it was a plan.
We went back upstairs. He was moving slowly, but well. I was encouraged. I didn't tell him I had moved out of the Lodge and had all of our stuff in the rental car. Too much information. I left a little after 10am to find a hotel and do some shopping. Checked into a Days Inn or something and went to Target. Got him a fan and new skivvies. Stopped by McDonald's drive through and ate on Terwilliger on the way to the hospital. Didn't want to take McDonald's to his room to eat.
When I got there, he seemed really confused. He asked me about the fan though, and was thrilled when I pulled it out of a Target bag. The nurse said we needed to have permission to use it, but I plugged it in anyway. He thought it made a lot of noise, but what did you want for $10 anyway? He wanted to walk downstairs with me again -- we planned on three times per day over the weekend. He needed a shower though, he thought. He wanted me to wait. I could hear him banging around in there, and asked if he needed help -- of course, he refused. The nurse got him new pajamas and he got his razor and cleaned up his beard. I helped him lace on the Converse tennies again, just right, and we started to go downstairs. I could tell he wasn't good on his feet. Still, he talked just fine, even though he seemed so much more out of breath that he was just that morning. He smoked a couple of more cigarettes, and then he was ready to go back upstairs. When he stood up, he said he was really lightheaded. I saw a wheelchair that was unused near the bus stop. I asked if he wanted me to wheel him up. "That'd be a great idea," he said, and got into the chair.
I took him back to his room and told the nursing staff that he might need help. He was having trouble breathing. They took his O2 level and found it really low. A bit of oxygen, and he was doing OK by their standards. But he wasn't the same. He wasn't making much sense. I stayed with him until around 8PM after they brought him dinner. He wasn't interested in the food. He just wanted to sleep and for me to go away. I left a note for them to leave his dinner for him. If we were going to travel back, he would need all of his strength. I had to go do laundry. I wanted everything to come back clean.
Another stop at Taco Bell, and a bit of time getting a little lost to get back to the motel, and I was in laundry mode. I sanitized each of the four machines. Then I separated everything and began the laundry ordeal. I was talking to Mom and Joe and watching TV periodically. I finally got to bed at 4AM.