No more knees that need replacing

What is a RantWoman to do?

--Meander into the maelstrom of electoral college chatter likely swirling around the Twitterverse?   Not so much, at least not yet without strong beverages ?

--Digest the many strands of commentary about the recent 60 minutes hack piece about the #ADA. Also not yet except for a digression about apparent wheelchair accessibility concerns and the location of a certain event: Look it's a disaster. Disasters are not intrinsically accessible and of course the really determined ... will show up anyway and RantWoman will not feel bad about not getting the invite forwarded as well as she might. RantWoman MIGHT think to send a couple wheelchair using software  folks over to see about job except they already have plenty to do anyway. RantWoman will fold any further commentary into a more general piece.

--Pen a #nonewyouthjail screed and dedicate it to what she has come to belive may be a flock of middle schoolers on the verge of going awry in Wallingford?? Stay tuned!

--do brain dump about what RantWoman would put on an interactive map of severe weather issues to help people in Seattle prepare for winter.?

--Do brain dump about actual RantWoman experience with snow and windstorms in Seattle and what advice she has learned not to ignore?

--Pen a screed about how it is critical to BUILD MORE VERY AFFORDABLE HOUSING so that store clerks can live near where they work and not have to travel TWO HOURS by bus during severe weather to open a neighborhood drug store? Probably enough said but RantWoman may feel called to repeat.

--Make wisecracks about RantMom and knee replacement surgery.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

RantMom moved to Seattle with a family history of arthritis and knees needing replacement. It took a couple years for the needed surgeries and PT.

The first surgery, at about the beginning of the storm sequence now known as the Snowpocalypse:

--Ahead of the surgery both RantSisters agreed that neither of us or even the two of us together could do 7 x 24 looking out for RantMom after surgery and that Medicare would pay for time in a rehab. So the trip to the rehab was already in the works as the storm brewed.

--The day of the surgery, it was snowy and blustery. RantMom had not gotten one key piece of living will paperwork signed so the wonderful church friend hero who brought RantMom and RantWoman to the hospital was dispatched to get needed signatures from people other than blood relatives.

--Little did heroic Driver Friend realize, but there  was an alleged bank robber loose somewhere in a far end of the medical complex. The RantWomen listened to lots of messages about "code grey" and learned that the hospital was on lockdown. No one could move between wings or departments. When Heroic Driver Friend got back with the needed signatures, the paper work had to be passed through a barely cracked door to a staffperson. Finally, after about a 2-hour delay Code Grey was lifted and RantMom went off to surgery. RantWoman does not remember when she actually learned about the bank robber.

--Surgery was uneventful and a few days later, Driver Friend arrived to help deliver RantMom to a rehab, located in a neighborhood both RantSisters could theoretically under normal conditions get to easily, a flat bus free travel path for Little Sister and her wheelchair and either bus or simple walking route for RantWoman. Weather for the drive was blustery, and snow was in the forecast. In other words, these were not normal conditions.

--The rehab was not exactly posh and RantMom had many grumbles. Fortunately for everyone's sanity the rehab scored in a MAJOR way: physical therapy AT 6 AM!!! Trust RantWoman on this one. RantMom is a MORNING PERSON. 6 am may be before the universe opens its eyes as far as the city slicker generation, but Farm Girl RantMom thought it was wonderful!

--The Snowpocalypse was just setting in. For a couple days, neither RantSister even tried to visit RantMom. RantWoman does not even remember about cellphone connections. RantMom really dug the PT schedule but reported that some staff could not get to work and other staff were finding places to sleep overnight and working double shifts. RantMom was counting the days to her one-week followup visit, to getting busted out of the rehab and going home with RantWoman for company for a few more days.

--One of the miracles of the Snowpocalypse was that, as far as RantWoman knows very little of the city lost power. RantMom lives in a building where it was easy for her to take the recommended daily walks up and down her hallways. RantMom was happy to let RantWoman brew soup several days in a row. And RantMom's apartment was conveniently located to provide a weird form of snow entertainment. When not otherwise entertained the RantWomen could sit and listen to cars spin out on what to the RantWomen did not seem like a difficult curve to drive if one has even modest snow-driving skills. In Seattle, this is such a big if that in many cases, even if one has complete confidence in one's own skills or the skills of one's driver,  it absolutely makes sense just to stay home.

--RantWoman thinks she was between cats, one reason a multi-day stay at rantMom's was practical. RantMom is one of RantWoman's designated cate feeders; the other lives near RantWoman but not in her building.

--The world is entitled to a separate inventory of RantWoman's experiences trying to get around on the bus during severe weather. Stay tuned.

By comparison, the second surgery and rounds of rehab were COMPARATIVELY uneventful, as long as one does not count the helicopter manhunt in the same neighborhood as the rehab for an alleged cop killer. Alas, RantWoman DOES count this. In terms of keeping drama levels manageable, RantWoman is just glad RantMom does not have any more knees that need replacing.