Monday Oct 21, 2013

Hot damn, its Monday and the third week of my second go around with the Focus T-25 workout program.  Ya, I'm crazy but you all knew that, so what else is new.



Actually I rather like these workouts, they definitely challenge me and yes, I admit it, I have some aches and pains, including pulling abdominal muscles but overall I feel good. Then my darling sister read if you take one teaspoon of turmeric everyday you get all sorts of health benefits.  Lose weight, have more energy, supposedly has properties that count down on various diseases, etc.  So we are trying, in my opinion its like downing a very bitter root but you get creative and add "sweeteners" to dull the taste.  It's only been 4 days and I'm not sure, so far I see nothing but hey, it's early.  Remember, I was the asshole who bought into that garcinia shit, expensive and totally friggin worthless (hell I used it for a week and gained four pounds).  Anyway, I am adding the turmeric to my shakeology drink, which is another aspect of the T-25 program...when I add it, peanut and some guava, I'm able to drink the stuff.


Each week the coaches have us do various challenges, like post sweaty face pictures, video of us working, comments on the daily workout, pictures of the veggies and/or fruit we eat...here's mine for today: 

Then while my daughter is working in Asia and dealing with various airlines, hotel rooms, language differences and trying various cuisine, Clint and I are hanging out---we do have our moments, eh?

Now you have not really lived until you paint pumpkins with an almost four year old.  We start off using paint and brush, then we progress to finger painting the pumpkin and we cover the entire pumpkin we as much paint as we can apply.

Can you guess which one is Clint's?





In the meantime, my sister is here cooking up and storm and we just keep laughing alike crazy.  They see us enter stores and every clerk wants to follow us because they know this is gonna be fun.  For example, I wanted just three damn apples, picked them from the display and wouldn't ya know it, the damn apples took off, rolling all over the place. Other customers were handing them to me; "here's an apple, wait, here's another."  In the meantime the clerks are roaring and saying; "wait a minute and 50 more will roll by!"  This is just a mild example of our shopping experiences and the fun we share with everyone.  Now when Sissy returns to the big city, I hide out and let the local stores recover until she returns and we once again, grace them with our presence!

 

Fall photos.  You gotta get photos fast as the rain and wind cause leaves to drop quickly.

However the yellow and red leaves are almost always the last to show up and stay longer.

So, let me check and see if Face Book is fixed. I could not post a damn thing this morning, Kel texted me from Beijing saying she could not post and I had to text her back and tell her, it wasn't just China, they must be working on the damn site...bastards, drives me nuts.

Workouts Continue

 Let's start with this photo.  We took our sister-in-law Shirley out for her birthday.  Man, did we laugh and  have a good time.

Then she was saying how her sister, Irene who lives in Florida would love to see, but she won't come North because her husband is ill.  So, we quickly suggested she join us in April on our road trip to Florida.  

We nicely explained the details (ya, like there are so many).  We split the cost for gas and hotel room, but meals you're on your own.  That way nobody feels they had to pay for more drinks than they consumed.  Plus, we could always drop her off at her sisters and travel on to see our sister or she could join us, etc. We haven't worked out all the details but the idea is planted -- hey, it won't happen until April, so we have plenty of time.

This is Clint at some apple, pumpkin picking playground. He could of cared less about the apples, he loved all the playground equipment, in particular an in-ground bouncy gym which he jump on constantly.

Just trying to get him to look at me was not gonna happen but we had a good time.

Well believe it or not, I'm doing a second month of the Focus T-25 Workout programs.  These suckers kick ass but I'm getting toned, losing inches and even dropping a few pounds. I also have finally accepted the shakeology drink and that is actually curbing my desire for sweets.  Oh don't get me wrong, I still want my sweets but I'm not craving them so much now.  So, as I said I'm doing another month and so far so good.

As many of you know October is Breast Cancer Awareness month.  And when I saw this display,in Norfolk no less, I had to stop and snap a photo.  The gal who lives there is still under going some reconstructive surgery but she and her partner dreamed up the pink pumpkins and I thought it was fantastic.  Just for the record, I do NOT support any cancer -- that statement just causes me to go livid.  I support cancer research and cancer awareness but I do NOT support cancer.  Are you friggin nuts?  

So, my daughter is currently in Bangkok, going to China in a couple days and various other places, all part of her job and not due home until Oct 28th.  She has had one hell of a screwed up flight so far and I just did face time with her and she looks exhausted. Its an 11 hour time difference and I told her to get off the phone and go to bed.

Now I plan to head over and see Clint, take some pictures and post to her email address.  Then come home and fix pork chops for dinner.  So life is good and hope all of you are having a good day, week, month and year.  Hugs.

Week Two

 Okay, I'm into my second week and so far so good. Holy water, I tied for a prize with another gal for total points.  We get prizes -- thrill, thrill.  This is a fun group and like I said, I'm the oldest one, but you know what, these young gals and guys keep me focused and I absolutely love their humor.

Oh hell yes, I am sore, have had some aches and pains and wondered (really wondered) if I wished to continue this madness (my dau-in-law's comment, "hell, you are 70, eat what you want, makes me laugh).  I am a sweet freak and trying my best to cut down on sweets. I don't give a shit what they say, a damn peach, pear,plum, etc is not a sweet like a chocolate brownie!!!

I have no idea what day this is but one of the things we do, or try to do, is posted sweaty face pictures.  I guess this proves we sweat or something or at the very least, how unattractive we can be while getting toned, losing weight and developing a much healthier attitude.


Gotta admit some of these workouts are just unreal and altho there is a "modifier," I modify a bit myself.  Like, lunges, grabbing my foot and pulling it up to my butt or how about getting down on al four, lift up and legs forward, now bring foot up to arm (are you nuts).

  Every Wednesday, along with a sweaty face, you can make it wacky -- so this was this weeks version of Wacky Wednesday.


I'm gonna keep at this, its for a month and who knows, I may keep going.

Now sure about this drink tho.  It's Shakeology and supposedly full of all kinds of good stuff but it tends to cause me some digestive issues (like mild constipation) and that is not good.  I usually take a daily dose of MirLax to stop this nonsense,with Shake, I switch to a stool softener and not sure that is working.  Now my daughter is "advising" me to not use MirLax or I'll rip my butt out or some such comment (she got her medical degree at Wal-Mart).  Look it's quite simple, I will do what I need to do to insure this ole body functions as it should,amen.

On September 5th my youngest grandchild, who is 3.5 years,began pre-K (aka pre school) and what a cluster morning that was -- we had three different buses arrived (are various times) before the 3rd one was his and he was mighty upset when he couldn't ride one and finally when the right when did arrive, he was all smiles and happy as hell.

Needless to say his mother was calling the school, asking about the damn bus, knowing she was late for work, etc.  He only goes half a day, so when they bring him back, they bring him to his house (wrong place assholes) and they call to learn what needs to happen (they have paperwork that tells them but who knows, can they read?)  Anyway,eventually everything worked out and Clint was one happy school kid.

This is the second day, all "tagged" up and this time the bus was on time and all worked out nicely.

When I asked him how school was (he was busy playing in the sand mind ya) he replied, "great."  End of story.

Ya, he likes school and that is good.

FOCUS

Okay, starting September 1st I began this Focus T-25 workout program.  Each day, for 25-minutes, you do various workouts.

Monday:  Cardio - whew
Tuesday: Speed 1.0 - talk about sweat!
Wednesday: Total Body Circuit
Thursday: AB Intervals (this shall be interesting)
Friday: Lower Focus (wait down sculpting)
Saturday: Record your Stats
Sunday: Stretch

I think I got this right??? All I can tell you at this time is, its a bloody ass workout and I am sore but I did do the Speed 1.0 this morning. Now, come on, I don't do all they show -- like lifting my leg and holding it behind my back -- give me a break.  Nor do I hop on one leg and swing my arms in the air like I am boxing Ali...again, not gonna happen this soon.  But I do manage to do most of the exercises and I do them for the required 25-minutes.

Then when done, sweating up a storm and what have you, I fix this lovely Shakeology drink -- its a powerful super food formula designed to give your body the perfect combination of nutrients to help give you energy, reduce cravings, maintain healthy body weight and support your immune system.  There are various recipes you can use with this powder, adding veggies, fruit,ice, etc. I quickly learned that if I added ice, I ended up with brain freeze and that was not good.

I'm in this focus group and trust me, I am the oldest person in the group, but I don't care.  We come in all sizes and fitness levels but each of us is doing our best to tone up, lose weight and get healthy -- duh!  Currently its a private FB page for our daily posts, which can include daily sweaty face photos, videos, comments, inspirational quotes (mind was simple, move your fat ass or die) and of course, helpful hints.  We even score points for doing various things and there are prizes -- like I give a shit.

I measured myself at the beginning and will measure again at the start of next week, including weight but so far, it's not too bad.  Like I said, a tad sore as these muscles have not been used in a long time and leg lifts nearly killed me...ugh. Oh well, go slow and progress and your own level, I will get thru this, it's only for a month!!!

Diet Crap

Okay, I'm gonna rant for a few minutes. I had a blonde moment (or we'll call it a chemo brain fart) and ordered the so called fat burner, no exercise pills -- aka - garcinia. 

Let me tell you, first off this shit is expensive and I tried to stop my order but that didn't work so I waited and sure enough it showed up.  It's one friggin pill per day and I tried it for almost two weeks.  I swear I did not lose one goddamn inch and if anything, gained four pounds.

I went on line and listened to others bitch about how they attempted to return these bottle and get their money back and how after 3, 4, and 6 months they are still waiting, so suck it up and consider it a lost.  

Ya, I know any pill that makes this kind of claim is not real but again, chemo brain fart and you sometimes just want something to work -- well this does not, so don't waste your money.

As I said in an earlier post I now going the T25 (focus) workout,25 minutes a day: cardio,speed (total body circuit), AB intervals, Lower focus, and Stretch and start again next week.  You go at your own pace and there is a "modifier" for us newbies  and hey, if my body says "stop, this is enough," this gal stops.  But it's a workout and I will try like hell to do it for a month or longer if it makes me feel better, which I have been told will happen.  It's all a matter or attitude and we have a team and coaches to keep us motivated, etc.

Anyway, I shall keep you posted -- no pictures tho--you won't see my fat ass on this site!!!

August - Selfish or Delish?

 Clint and I are Pizza Hut.  He would spend his first overnight with Meme and Papa, by the way, he is a bed hog!

 As the kids prepared to depart on their vacation, camping at Bar Harbor, I was tasked with baking a turkey for them to take.  When it was done, and being cut up, I said; "wait I want at least one piece," and this leg was set aside. Within seconds, Clint grabbed it and it was now his.

Oh this was interesting. My sister and I decided to "set up" the inflatable kayak.  Well, once set up, I crawled in and I my son said; "looks like a coffin!"  We have yet to launch this on the water but we sure had a blast setting it up -- and for the record, it weighs more than 25 pounds!

My beautiful and only granddaughter, out for lunch with her Daddy. Oh how I miss this girl.

Wow it has been over twenty years since I have seen my sister-in-law and although it was a short vist it was so wonderful to see both her and John.  Hope they had a good time,we sure did.

Well Sissy just detested my so called food processor so she went and bought me a new one orange and claims its "f-king fantastic!"

Now I gotta hide it as Kelly will try to borrow it for dang sure!

Sissy loves to cook and Pat and I are receptive to almost anything she prepares...love her cooking.






So you have had a chance to enjoy the photos and now the medical updates.  Patrick is all done with his antibiotics and no more trips to Burlington, thank goodness.

I had my second oncology visit this past week, all is good.  Now in December I will have another mammogram and see the oncologist again -- so life is looking alot nicer for both of us.

Now in September I have agreed (actually) joined this Beach Body Challenge group, its a workout program that is 25-minutes a day and this Shakeology drink you consume as well.  Mostly young pups are doing this but I decided this would be a nice way to tone my body and perhaps lose a few pounds too.

Oh the post title.  A few days ago Sissy and I had dinner over at my daughter's house.  Sissy had baked this amazing blueberry pie but we only took half over, as I wanted to be sure we had some here for me. Well, later my dau texts her aunt and says; "thanks for helping with dinner and the pie was selfish!"  We thought she meant because we only gave her half but it was an auto-correct and she meant to say -- delicious (or delish as the young folks say it now) .  So now we refer to anything great, delish or whatever as selfish!

So as August winds down and the US Open ends the tennis season, I am feeling good, getting ready for Fall weather and come April I definitely hope to head to Florida and spend time with not only nephew and nieces but get our older sister and escape to various beaches and just do our sister thing.  Plus, again I shall hook up with my Nam buddy and Justine. So life is looking damn good and I hope all of you are in good health too.  Hugs peopel

July is Here--YAY

 Tim and Clint mowed the lawn.  Tim's first time using a riding lawn mower, so Clint was "instructing" him on how things worked.  He was such a good sport and Clint loved every minute on the mower!

 Meg getting "encouragement and instructions" from Dan before she began her bike ride.  She would end up with a burn on her leg (hey, we told you, long pants!  And at one point, she rode thru some poison ivy, so she has that itch to remember this lovely ride too.

Clint decided some pool time was in order, it was very hot and this was very cooling!  Later we would take him and dogs to the river and Auntie Penny would wade in, almost neck high, so he could swim off the dock to her and of course Brooklyn (the dog) as also learning to jump in the river and swim.  Notice I have not mentioned the young people in the water, just the old people..hummm!

Okay girls, here's the plan, get a helmet, ride like hell, make the boys find us? 

Clint is somewhat puzzled as to why this taking so damn long, he is ready to ride and as he had no nap, he is getting tired and this better happen soon.  He likes to lead the riders and knows where all the trials go...he informed me "Tim doesn't know these trails, Meme, I gotta show him."

Guess everyone is ready, helmets on and ready to ride. What a fun day!  Oh ya, and the beer was nice too.

Updates and Stuff

Kelly and I at Patrick's honor dinner in Lake Placid on June 15th.  We had a blast.  After the dinner, it was change into comfy clothes, head to the bar area and dance the night away.  Not me, the younger kids, I just drink and watch.










He is Grandpa with his youngest grandson wearing what we called his Papa shirt.  He was such a good boy but when it came time to eat, he was more than ready and no way was he hanging around for the speeches.  there was a swimming pool he wanted to use!

Memorial Day -- he was having good time here too.

With Mommy and Daddy, not sure who's shoulder's her preferred but Daddy is taller so that's a higher vantage point.






So, on Friday, June 14th I had my follow up mammogram.  Gotta tell ya, I was nervous as hell but I was doing my level best to remain positive. Well, it worked, there was no cancer cells seen and all films looked good.  I even got to see the films of where the tumor was found a year ago and now compared the films to the this day.  Believe me, I was one happy camper.  I doth believe it is safe to say I am disease free.

Still have not had that lovely bone healthy infusion but that will happen in due course. Been thru the dental aspect, so that has been cleared.

June 18th Pat and I head back to Burlington, Vt. and tomorrow he will have a ct scan and some kind of intervention radiology test done, where dye is used and watched to ascertain whether there is any other holes or the drain is done and can be removed.  If the latter is the case, it will be taken out, then we'll leave the main hospital and head to Williston, just a short distance away to see his surgeon before heading back home.  So another trip for us clowns.

We are looking forward the 4th of July as my niece has indicated she and her boyfriend plan to visit and my sister will be here, we'll have quite a bit of family.  BBQ and cool drinks, nothing fancy, just low keyed and relaxing.  Hopefully the weather will be nice too.  Lately all we get is rain and more damn rain. We could use some dry weather and warmer temps.  This morning it was 48 degrees -- holy crap!!!

So ya all have fun and stay happy.  So proud of my granddaughter, she passed all her swim tests and my grandson is doing great playing ball this year and running track too.  Wow, busy summer. Daughter-in-law and son are great parents and enjoying life too.  Keep smiling

Doctor Appointments and Rainy Weather

So us gals decided to haul our skinny asses on the back of the 4-wheeler and Let Kelly drive us around the woods -- are we nuts or what?

Guess who decided to show up?  Yup my hummingbird.  I was so happy to see him (or is it her?).  They are fun to watch and I hope they return often.

Some days you just have to look down the train tracks and think, "where in hell does this go?"  Well I know where and it was a fun journey many years ago and I'm sure its a fun one to this day.  Sadly passenger trains are hard to find these days and some are just to damn hard on the body -- all that bouncing and those lovely beds -- ye gads.

As the title indicates, today is doctor appointments for me at least.  It's see the radiation oncologist at 1 and the oncologist at 1:30.  Mostly follow up as far as I can determined and I am sure my oncologist will probably order a mammogram for next month.

I do wish to discuss with both this back pain/ache that seems to have taken over lately but I can't be sure if this is due to the recent activities, i.e.: gardening or just friggin ole age!  I just know I dislike. I have another issue which my oncologist may suggest I talk to my urologist about..no big deal.  I feel good and if he wants to do that osteoporosis infusion number, I doth think I am ready...dentist appointments are over, thank goodness.  My next thing is to make an eye appointment...I would like new glasses and let's face it, I need a eye exam too.

And the weather -- well shit, we can't seem to get two days of sunshine, nope, we have to get this dreary, rainy weather and temps that drop into the 20s and at one point in this month we had snow -- holy crap.  When summer does arrive, every one will enjoy it -- no complaints for damn sure.

May is Here

 Whew,it has been busy around here.  As you know (I think), Patrick is no longer in the hospital.  He's been home the last two months but his recovery is a slow process and we are still making trips to Burlington for check-ups, to the VA hospital in Syracuse to see his Coumadin doctor, getting his new hearing aids, and of course, each week or so it seems, he has blood drawn.  Damn vampires!

This photo is his grandson, checking out his surgery and deciding if they did everything correctly! 







This Papa and his youngest grandson. Look how skinny he is -- he said "gee, I look so tall!"  Hello, Clint is 3 -- duh!

Well, Papa can't have all the fun.  Meme has to have some too.  Here I am with Clint 4-wheeling and he's providing directions.  It was cold that day but we had blast.


Yes, Meme is feeling great these days too.











Now it is Papa's turn to help put a new toy together. For once, something inexpensive turned out to be the best damn toy ever.  Usually you end up with crap that doesn't last two seconds, but this sucker seems to be holding up quite nicely.

Yes, it is now May and we have had snow, rain, temps in the 20s and just flat ass yucky weather.  I did manage to plant 5 rose bushes, and Clint managed to plant three flower pots with a variety of plants. We have tomatoes to plant but we are waiting to see if the weather is gonna warm up first.

My sister has been here the past week and we got busy breaking down boxes in the garage, we hauled them out them out for the garage man to take today. When he pulls up he's gonna wonder what in hell happened.  We also had the lovely Lowe's experience yesterday too.  Wait, it started last Friday when we bought 8 bags of mulch, 4 black and 4 brown.  It was back-ordered but a good sale price.  So yesterday we went to get the bags.  Now this is when shit hitting the fan would have been easier.  First off, it shows we ordered 8 bags of red mulch.  No, we did not, we again repeated what we wanted and now we had to go customer service and get the new codes.  Ok, so far we are not too upset.  Sis gets back to the mulch area and is asked to bring her car around and they'll load the bags for her.  No problem, she arrives and the guy says; "oh you're the lady that wants 8 bags of red mulch, right?"  She looks at him and says; 'WTF!  Are you from another planet? Do you not read or understand English?"  He replies, you're a tad old to be using that word, you are not twenty anymore!  Well, that set her off in good style.  Finally she gets him to understand she wants 4 brown and 4 black bags of mulch and please put the brown bags on the bottom as they are going to Syracuse.  Now she has confused him again and she is ready for a beer.  In the meantime, I with Patrick as he buys a new kitchen faucet  padlock and lawn tractor!
They want to charge us $70 to deliver the tractor 4 miles down the road and I said, "you know what, I would like to see the manager!"  He shows up and within seconds he announces FREE DELIVERY!  Okay, gotta change the sales receipt now and then, Patrick reminds her he gets a 10% military discount too. so again, another receipt change to get everything correct. And people wonder why shopping at Lowe's' is such a pain in the ass. Do they deliberately hire dipshits?

Well, you all have a good day and Justine, we are fine, thanks for caring about us.

Medical Update

Clint felt Papa deserved one of his tractors, and due to the fact that he was in isolation, this tractor would not be coming home so Papa owes him a new tractor!  

This photo was taken at the Canton-Potsdam Hospital back in February.


On Feb 23rd he would go the CPH ER and within an hour or so, it was determined he needed to go to Burlington, Fletcher Allen Hospital, three hours away.  He would go via ambulance and Kel and I would drive ourselves.

This was a fun drive to say the least, and finding the ER at Fletcher Allen was fun too.

He would have a very risky emergency surgery on Feb 24th and Feb 25 his son would fly into Burlington and be here to help us with everything.  That was one long ass week and lots of worries, waiting and wondering. We asked tons of questions and all of us learned more about the pancreas than we ever thought possible.

On March 4th I would take my son to the airport so he could fly home, and around 10 that same morning, Kel and I would head back to Burlington to check on Patrick, etc.


Here is what the road looked like on one of your many trips back and forth between home and Burlington.Wind and drifting snow just made us slow down and that was fine.



Here we are getting on the Ferry Boat, this is considered shorter by us and a nice break from driving. Once on board, shut off your engine and relax.  You can even get out and walk around if you are so inclined.  The best part was a bathroom break was available too.  Hurrah!

Ya, this is what the Ferry looks like and it's a pretty smooth ride, even when the river is a bit choppy and you see white caps on the waves.


Again the Ferry saves time and provides a break from driving. And yes, it is also fun, so thar!


Be fun to see and do this in warmer weather too.

Here's Patrick as he starts to recover and feel better.  On March 7th he was moved from ICU to the Ward (actually he was moved twice but let's not go there) and he is doing much better.

Kel and I headed home Friday, March 8th and I called the next day and Patrick was doing well.  Another tube was gonna be removed, lung volume improving, he was starting physical therapy (getting up and moving),his diet had been upgraded so he was getting actual food, well, not lots but cream of wheat, coffee, etc.  Blood pressure was coming down, etc.  All in all, he's on the road to recovery.

He wants to come home but has yet to grasped the idea that he has weeks of rehab ahead of him. We are hoping this can happen closer to home, as this three hour drive, staying in hotels, etc., can and does get exhausting not to mention expensive.

It's now Sunday, March 10th and I'm waiting for a return call on how he is doing today.  No big deal, they will call when they get a chance.  Fletcher Allen is extremely good about not only taking care of patients but keeping family informed, etc.  they are truly a very caring staff and wonderful doctors.

Yes I am headed back to Burlington on Monday, this time my sister-in-law will go with me and we'll return home Thursday.  The following week is up for grabs as this point, we tend to play each week by ear and if they should release him and let him come home, that would be wonderful too but again, let's not send him home too soon.  That is never a good idea.

So that is the update -- he is on the mend, finally caught a break and ready to do whatever it takes to get himself healthy and out of the hospital.  As for me, I am fine, when I tire, I just stop, return to the hotel and have a nap.  No big deal.  Keep smiling, life is good.

Here's a photo of the kids in the penthouse apartment in Wilston, VT, where we stayed aka Resident Inn 

Kel and I were constantly cold and poor Dean was dying from the heat upstairs, he told us many times, "you girls need to sleep up here, its hotter than hell!"

The photo below is Clint, first he helped shovel snow, via his digger trucks, then found his bike in the garage and decided riding/pushing it would be fun.
 

March Madness

Whew, just when we thought everything was finally getting back to normal, the medical issues began again.

It was Feb 23rd when I took hubby to the ER as he was in pain, shaking, vomiting and just miserable. This is all part or due to his ongoing battle with pancreatitis (also gallstones).  On going since Feb 2nd I should say, prior to this, no health issues to speak of, okay?

Potsdam Hospital ran a few tests and quickly decided this was way over their heads and he needed to go to Burlington, aka Fletcher Allen Medical Center in Vermont.  That's a good three hours from us and he would go via ambulance.  so with about an hour to get ready, Kelly and I went home and packed for what we thought would be a few days in Vermont (wrong thinking and we'd be wearing the same jeans day after day, and clothing was getting worn more than one day too. I would also run out of my pills, etc).

On Sunday, Feb 24th Patrick went in for a very risky emergency surgery at 10:05 pm.  We would hear the results around 1:30 a.m.  He had an exploratory laparotomy, drainage of pancreatic cyst and omental patch repair of perforated duodenum.  The surgeon checked his gallbladder, did not feel any stones ( he could have passed them) and he would have removed the sucker but Pat's blood pressure was dropping so he felt it best to get out and close him up.

He was now gonna spend some time in ICU and in due course another drainage tube would be inserted, via guided imagining at the head of the pancreas to drain fluid from that area (about the size of a tangerine).  He had an epidural inserted back a few days earlier and this numbed his stomach and kept him pretty pain free.  However, we did learn that the duladen (dilaudid) they gave him for pain causes severe confusion. Hell, he had no idea where he was and barely knew his family.  And he was having breathing issues, so they changed his oxygen mask, which forces him to take deeper breaths.

AS of today, he was stable, alert, knows where he is, responds to commands and altho still a very sick man, it looks like he is finally catching a break.  Still in ICU but hopefully he will be moved to ward this week.

Yes,both kids were with him.  Kel and I from the get-go and Dean arrived at the Burlington Airport last Monday.  I just took him to the local airport so he could get his flight back home.  Kel and I plan to head back to Burlington around 10 this morning, for another week of hospital visits, etc.  We came home Saturday and it sure felt good to sleep in my own bed and just chill for two days.

I was out of my pills, which was bothersome to some, laundry definitely was an issue and repacking to insure we have suffice clothes for a week's stay, etc.  Plus Kelly wanted to see and be with her 3-year old son for a few days who missed his Mommy and wanted her to come home. All in all, we hated to leave Patrick with no family but he is in good hands, being well cared for and come on, we needed a break, at least I did.

So that is the update and we thank you deeply for your prayers and warm thoughts. This is gonna be a long haul, as he has weeks of recovery and rehab ahead of him.  No idea when he shall be home but for now, Fletcher Allen is where he and where he'll remain. Positive thoughts people, positive thoughts.

Planets Lining Up

Here we go again, this cactus just blooms whenever it feels like it and although my parents called it a Christmas cactus, it has bloomed at Thanksgiving, Easter, Valentines Day, etc.  It just does it's own thing and each blooming is special.


What makes this odd is it is February and blooming is not something you see..hummm, gotta think it's got it's own schedule!!


The best part is I have not killed this plant but to be fair my sister usually calls me to tell me to water the damn thing.






Okay, on Feb 15 I finished my radiation treatments and even got a certificate -- hell I thought I was getting a PH'D!!!

I know some think this went by fast, six weeks, aka 30 treatments but trust me, it went slower than molasses at times.  It was painless but bothersome to go in each day. Well, painless until the end when the "sunburn" boob started and a cracked/raw sore under the boob just about drove me bonkers.  I am applying every cream known to mankind, including the script which is an antibiotic cream so I don't itch the damn thing-- hoping this clears up soon.  But so happy this is over.  Now my next thing is to see the dentist, get my teeth clean and a note saying it's okay to have this IV infusion to help strengthen my bones.  My bone density exam indicated I am a candidate for osteoporosis so this infusion (once a year) should help.  I'm also taking calcium and Vitamin "D", which I was taking anyway.  Calcium pill is a like a horse pill and you take it twice a day, tried to take both in the morning and that was not working, so one in the morning and one at night.  I figure when they get done cleaning my teeth the dentist will want to do other work as well, and I am not a fan of dentists but hey, you do what you need to do, right?

Also on Feb 15th hubby got to leave the hospital where he had been since Feb 2nd for pancreatitis and pneumonia.  He had a really bad gallstone attack and was a very sick man, spent almost a week in CCU and was so drugged up he won't remember any of that, thank goodness.

After things calm down and he is doing better, he'll need to discuss surgery options and that gallbladder needs to come out.  But for now he is home and that is good news.

He just told me he lost 25 pounds but he does not recommend this diet.  If he continues to lose weight, which he needs to do, he will feel much better.


So that is our update and our February..fun, huh?  More another day, keep smiling folks, life is good.

Hello February

I know its just hard to believe it is February and it's like January flew by, eh?  And in this family each month brings on new challenges, some of which we did not expect or even want.

On Saturday hubby complained of stomach pain and wanted to go the ER,which was done.  We spent considerable hours in the ER procedure room before he was finally admitted -- pancreatitis and a very inflamed pancreatic   Basically its a gallstone issue.

His first room was unreal.  His roommate, an elderly man with a heart condition had his entire family visiting constantly or those far away calling him and wanting/expecting him to chat.  They were loud, rude and stupid.  When told there was a limit on how many could be in the room, two would leave and five would enter.  At one point we got silly and made comments like:  "gee Ma, look they got indoor toilets," or "okay, who has the teeth today?"  These be some strange critters and what a good looking bunch!


They had all the chairs too.  Poor hubby was trying to rest, he was in alot of pain and this noise was just too much.  I finally said they had to move him into another room, this was just too damn much.  The ward is full but as soon as a bed opened he was moved.

Monday, as I'm going to get my stitches removed after my radiation treatment the hospital calls and he's been moved into CCU. He is being monitored and there was talk if things didn't improve he might be transferred to a bigger hospital, aka Burlington.  But thankfully, he passed the stone(s) and started to improve.  Make no mistake he is a very sick man and will be in the hospital for at least ten days.  Gotta get this inflammation under control and no surgeon would touch him at this point.  I mean, its not even clear if he will need his gallbladder removed -- that's a waiting game.

Last night the doctor called and said the latest test results were good and he seems to be on the recovery road, he still is sick and will remain in CCU but things are improving. The best part, the doctor said, is he will not remember any of this..thank goodness.

So today is my 22nd radiation treatment and next week we'll target just the tumor area and by the 15th I shall be done with this stuff.  I feel good but fatigue does hit now and then and wipes me out.  I'll be so glad when all this is done but hey I am disease free and my hair is starting to come back.

And its colder than hell here today too -17 and gonna get colder tonight and they say we'll get more snow, how thrilling.  Hey, you all have a good day.

Us in Vietnam many years ago.