The word from my mom is that she has been transferred to the Health South Rehabilitation Center on W. Lancaster as of last night. I believe that she is in room 3113 A but I'm not sure of it...She called last night to tell me of her whereabouts...she sounds pretty good following her partial hip replacement on Tuesday. I’m not sure yet of how long she will need to stay at the rehab center but I’m very glad she will have access to daily therapy etc. for a while.
Jim made it through his gall bladder removal yesterday. We had to stay at the hospital a lot longer than we had expected but he did get to have a laparoscopic surgery which I assume means his return to normalcy will be faster.
When he was called back to the surgery center at 6:15 am or so he had stepped into the restroom for a sec. I told the nurse that and as we waited, she asked me if I knew her charge nurse, Sue Sudan. I said yes that she was a friend from church. She said that she hoped that Jim had a good sense of humor because although Sue wasn't working that day, she had decorated his room the night before. My response was that he usually did have a good sense of humor so as we got to the room just before she opened the door she turned to Jim and relayed the greeting from Sue that she couldn't be there but had decorated his room. There were pictures of food (from the magazines) cut out and taped up on each wall of the room, on his tray table, and on the pillow of the bed..
We all had a good laugh and Jim said he was just glad that there were no pictures of cups of coffee ---that's what he wanted most.
The reaction of the nurses who had not already been "IN" on the joke was especially funny. They would enter the room and then their mouths would drop open and they would say, "Who did this?" and "How mean?"
The operation itself took about an hour and a half and the doctor, (Paul Stiefel, Mary Hightower's son and Jim's across the street neighbor as he grew up on Martel Ave. and a fellow classmate of mine from elementary school at Meadowbrook to high school at EHHS.) said that his gall bladder was rather "beat-up" and that Jim had most likely been suffering a lot more attacks than he had thought. He said that he had had to sort of "chisel"out the gall bladder so the expectation is that the pain that Jim had been experiencing was caused by the gall stones and the removal of his gall bladder would mean that he could go forth with no more pain in the abdomen area.
They wouldn't let him go home until he "peed" and that was why we didn't leave until about 4:30 pm or so. Patrick even volunteered to “pee” in Jim’s place as we sat there from 10:45 on and waited. I told the nurses that it would most likely be a while since Jim is the “King of Not Stopping to Go to the Restroom” when we are driving on vacation. We all enjoyed the nurse that spent most of the day with us and decided that she was definitely a “perky” person. Congratulations were in order at about 4:15 or so and we got home just in time to receive the meal that our Sunday School Class had prepared. Jim says that he is very sore this morning at the incision sites... I'm sure that he will be getting steadily better. He will be taking some time off from work next week and plans to return to work the following week.
So. that's more than you really wanted to know, I'm sure but I wanted to write it all down so that I can relate it to others too...
Several sad notes: We are both saddened to hear of McKay Brown’s death. She is a long time friend from our Sunday School class at Meadowbrook and will be missed I’m sure by all who knew her Also saw in the paper that John Woodard’s family will be celebrating his dad’s life this afternoon with a memorial service at Handley UMC in FW. .
Thanks again for your prayers and your concerns...I'm hoping that both Mother and Jim will get well quickly because I'm not as good a nurse-caregiver as they are and am thanking God that at least I'm already retired and don't have to worry about school at the same time as trying taking care of them.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
A very eventful week...
Friday of last week I had my first day of subbing...only planning to sub for first grade and only when needed badly. I subbed in Sondra's class and enjoyed a nice day since her class was very attentive and very good. They worked hard that day and I must have too because I was very tired. That evening our Sunday School Class met for a party and dinner at the Nelle's house. At least I won the booby prize for losing the most during the night.
Next day I went to watch a little girl from last year's class play soccer. Her team had a game and she had sent me a copy of the schedule with an invitation to come so I went out and enjoyed the beautiful weather that day. Jim spent most of the day working on his newer aquarium of reef fish and animals....he's still got a lot to do on it.
This week is only half over and already I'm just about worn out! First of all, we got to see THE LION KING at the State Fair Music Hall Sunday night. It was absolutely awesome and incredible! We agreed as we drove home that night that both of us could see it again and again. The costumes were great as were the puppets and masks that each character wore. The music was good (written by Elton John and Tim Rice).
Next big thing that happened: When we got home late that Sunday night we had a message on the answering machine from my mom...asking us to call when we can. Normally I would wait since it was after 10:30 pm but something told me I should call so I did. She had fallen earlier that day (about 3:00 pm right before the Cowboy game started) and she said that she felt like she'd probably really goofed this time). She was trying to "dust" the shelves above the TV and standing on a small white plastic stool...The stool didn't tip but she says she guesses that she stepped off it wrong...lost her balance, and sat down hard on the floor. The carpet is so worn there that she said the floor was really hard and that Scott told her to sit there a minute to make sure she was ok before getting up...
Well, I don't know how she did it but, she sat and watched the cowboys get beat and eventually went to bed which was where she was when I called. I asked her if she thought she had broken something...she said she didn't think so and that she and Scott thought she had "sprained " a muscle and that she'd most likely be sore.
Next morning, Jim and I went to the hospital so that he could get all the pre-op stuff taken care of for his scheduled surgery this coming Friday--he's having his gall bladder removed Friday at 7:00 am. When we got back home at about 10:00 I called Mother only to find out that she had called Clay and also her mother and her mother's friend and driver to come over and help her...she didn't think she could get up from bed etc. So, I waited until they called again in the next 30 min. and then grabbed some books and magazines and my laptop and drove to the hospital to meet them at the ER at Baylor All Saints in FW. I just beat them there and then Bobby and my grandmother arrived with my mother in their car. Clay drove up too just ahead of me and they had to get help to get her out of the car and into a wheelchair. Now we were having to sit and wait...she was in a lot of pain by now and they gave her some pain meds to try to help. Following xrays we finally got the word at about 2 or 2:30 that she had definitely broken her hip and "who was her orthopedic surgeon?" We called her brother to find out who had put my grandmother (mother's mother) back together back last November when she broke her hip and then we called that Dr. to come and talk with us about mom.
She ended up having a partial hip replacement yesterday (Tues. afternoon). I had spent Monday night with her at the hospital (trying to sleep on two straight back chairs pushed together--believe it or not I did sleep some that night) so I drove back to the house and changed clothes and took a shower and then went back to be there during her surgery. Cindy Woelke, Lynn Rambo, and Jane Maxwell (all from our old church and mother's now church ...as well as Patrick's place of employment) came and sat with Scott and Clay and me in the waiting room. Jim Chandler, the new pastor at MUMC, came by the night before to pray with us and had also called yesterday morning and prayed with mom on the phone. (He refers to mother as "Patrick's grandmother" because mom hasn't been to church except to the musical in August, and he doesn't know of her history at the church: having been the church secretary for 27 years before retiring.)
This afternoon, I went up there to see her for a while...had to wrap up in a blanket it was so cold in her room with the fan blowing right where I was sitting. She was working with a physical therapist and she was glad to be sitting up on the side of the bed for a couple of min. before getting dizzy and having to lay down again. The doctors and nurses expect her to be there for 5 or 6 days and then to rehab for a while before she can go back home. In fact, she may come here for a while if she has to between rehab and home.
I'm very lucky to be retired and not have to worry about planning for a sub, etc. but I suspect that I won't have much time to spend up at school volunteering or subbing since Mother's going to need more help for a while. Now hopefully, Jim's surgery on Friday will be successful and not last as long. He's expecting to be home sometime after noon time and is planning to stay home next week to recover. Funny story about that is that we both grew up at church and at school (and Jim even lived across the street) with his surgeon, and we are both pleasantly surprised at what a great guy he's evidently turned out to be! Many people have told us of their own experiences with him and all that has been said has been very positive. So as you are getting up on Friday morning ...please say a little prayer for him and for his recovery. It goes without saying that I am happy to be on the other side of the hospital bed in both cases...hopefully I can manage to keep care of them both as well as they took care of me when I've had my numerous surgeries (which actually Mother has me beat in that area--after going through her entire medical history from 9:30 pm until midnight with the doctor who is coordinating her case at the hospital and then the nurse on duty and lucky enough to get mother as her patient. They were very thorough and I'm glad of that!)
Thursday (tomorrow) I have a baby shower to attend for one of our former team members (she's teaching second grade now)...and then there's always the trip over to the hospital in FW and hopefully nothing else!
Next day I went to watch a little girl from last year's class play soccer. Her team had a game and she had sent me a copy of the schedule with an invitation to come so I went out and enjoyed the beautiful weather that day. Jim spent most of the day working on his newer aquarium of reef fish and animals....he's still got a lot to do on it.
This week is only half over and already I'm just about worn out! First of all, we got to see THE LION KING at the State Fair Music Hall Sunday night. It was absolutely awesome and incredible! We agreed as we drove home that night that both of us could see it again and again. The costumes were great as were the puppets and masks that each character wore. The music was good (written by Elton John and Tim Rice).
Next big thing that happened: When we got home late that Sunday night we had a message on the answering machine from my mom...asking us to call when we can. Normally I would wait since it was after 10:30 pm but something told me I should call so I did. She had fallen earlier that day (about 3:00 pm right before the Cowboy game started) and she said that she felt like she'd probably really goofed this time). She was trying to "dust" the shelves above the TV and standing on a small white plastic stool...The stool didn't tip but she says she guesses that she stepped off it wrong...lost her balance, and sat down hard on the floor. The carpet is so worn there that she said the floor was really hard and that Scott told her to sit there a minute to make sure she was ok before getting up...
Well, I don't know how she did it but, she sat and watched the cowboys get beat and eventually went to bed which was where she was when I called. I asked her if she thought she had broken something...she said she didn't think so and that she and Scott thought she had "sprained " a muscle and that she'd most likely be sore.
Next morning, Jim and I went to the hospital so that he could get all the pre-op stuff taken care of for his scheduled surgery this coming Friday--he's having his gall bladder removed Friday at 7:00 am. When we got back home at about 10:00 I called Mother only to find out that she had called Clay and also her mother and her mother's friend and driver to come over and help her...she didn't think she could get up from bed etc. So, I waited until they called again in the next 30 min. and then grabbed some books and magazines and my laptop and drove to the hospital to meet them at the ER at Baylor All Saints in FW. I just beat them there and then Bobby and my grandmother arrived with my mother in their car. Clay drove up too just ahead of me and they had to get help to get her out of the car and into a wheelchair. Now we were having to sit and wait...she was in a lot of pain by now and they gave her some pain meds to try to help. Following xrays we finally got the word at about 2 or 2:30 that she had definitely broken her hip and "who was her orthopedic surgeon?" We called her brother to find out who had put my grandmother (mother's mother) back together back last November when she broke her hip and then we called that Dr. to come and talk with us about mom.
She ended up having a partial hip replacement yesterday (Tues. afternoon). I had spent Monday night with her at the hospital (trying to sleep on two straight back chairs pushed together--believe it or not I did sleep some that night) so I drove back to the house and changed clothes and took a shower and then went back to be there during her surgery. Cindy Woelke, Lynn Rambo, and Jane Maxwell (all from our old church and mother's now church ...as well as Patrick's place of employment) came and sat with Scott and Clay and me in the waiting room. Jim Chandler, the new pastor at MUMC, came by the night before to pray with us and had also called yesterday morning and prayed with mom on the phone. (He refers to mother as "Patrick's grandmother" because mom hasn't been to church except to the musical in August, and he doesn't know of her history at the church: having been the church secretary for 27 years before retiring.)
This afternoon, I went up there to see her for a while...had to wrap up in a blanket it was so cold in her room with the fan blowing right where I was sitting. She was working with a physical therapist and she was glad to be sitting up on the side of the bed for a couple of min. before getting dizzy and having to lay down again. The doctors and nurses expect her to be there for 5 or 6 days and then to rehab for a while before she can go back home. In fact, she may come here for a while if she has to between rehab and home.
I'm very lucky to be retired and not have to worry about planning for a sub, etc. but I suspect that I won't have much time to spend up at school volunteering or subbing since Mother's going to need more help for a while. Now hopefully, Jim's surgery on Friday will be successful and not last as long. He's expecting to be home sometime after noon time and is planning to stay home next week to recover. Funny story about that is that we both grew up at church and at school (and Jim even lived across the street) with his surgeon, and we are both pleasantly surprised at what a great guy he's evidently turned out to be! Many people have told us of their own experiences with him and all that has been said has been very positive. So as you are getting up on Friday morning ...please say a little prayer for him and for his recovery. It goes without saying that I am happy to be on the other side of the hospital bed in both cases...hopefully I can manage to keep care of them both as well as they took care of me when I've had my numerous surgeries (which actually Mother has me beat in that area--after going through her entire medical history from 9:30 pm until midnight with the doctor who is coordinating her case at the hospital and then the nurse on duty and lucky enough to get mother as her patient. They were very thorough and I'm glad of that!)
Thursday (tomorrow) I have a baby shower to attend for one of our former team members (she's teaching second grade now)...and then there's always the trip over to the hospital in FW and hopefully nothing else!
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Butterfly Life --My Choice For Workout Place
Ok, well, I've made my choice for a workout place. I did choose the nearest place. I can walk up the street to the storefront and can get there within 20 min. I think... This afternoon (after joining this morning) I went up for my first workout. At 3:15 I met with one of the women that works there and she got me started on the circuit machines. She weighed me and took my measurements and then we went through the circuit once with her showing me each set up and then I did the next circuit by myself. I am starting at the lowest level with the weights and the smallest number of repetitions. It's amazing but I already can "feel" the soreness that I'm sure I will be experiencing big time by the end of this week. The workout room had only one other person in it during the time that I was there. I was there for about one hour but I expect to be able to do it in about 30 -45 min. if I drive there, and in about an hour if I walk up there. The walking up there will most likely occur once it gets a little cooler weatherwise.
So, I'm exercising regularly now...hooray and hopefully I can lose the weight that I've put back on since I lost that weight last year prior to the first cruise we took. I'm sure that I will begin to feel better once I lose some of this weight.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Time for EXERCISE
If you have driven around here in Arlington and perhaps in your town, you have seen the logo that I have placed on the left here. That is what I am trying to make a decision about. Should I go to the Curves nearest me and sign up for a great workout? or should I go to the newer and similar place (it's even closer to the house!) and sign up with the Butterfly Life program?
I'm leaning toward the Butterfly mostly because it is so easy to get to and is also in a brand new facility . Also I have found a yoga class that is offered at this same place and that is one of the kinds of exercise that I'm interested in. So, the next step is to get myself motivated and get out of the house and go sign up!
Maybe tomorrow!!! :o)
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