The story of Osama Bin Ladin's death has taken over all the news channels. It is a week later and still it is hard not to hear about the man, his family, the compound where he was living, the Navy Seals who killed him and the ones who buried his body at sea. There is a lot of controversy as well, most of it aimed at President Obama. I did listen to the speech the President gave on May 1st and it didn't seem like there was anything bad about it. He seemed to give credit to the Armed forces and all its branches that have worked so hard to help the Arabic people in Afghanistan and Iraq take control of their own countries while still fighting in the war against terrorists since 9/11/2001. But as time goes by I hear more and more that the man should have said more or that he should have said less or that he forgot to give credit to someone or he gave himself too much credit. The whole thing is depressing me. It feels like there is something wrong with having taken out a major terrorist. Or was he? And did he have a long form birth certificate to prove that he was born where and when he says he was?
Sonny hurt his ankle what seems like ages ago, stayed off it for awhile until it didn't hurt to use it...and then he hurt it again and had to start staying off his ankle until it didn't hurt. This past week he has really been staying off it because it has been swelling. He has kept it wrapped and has put ice on it and kept it elevated. And me, now I have two people who need me to carry things to them and fill their drinking glasses. I'm the only one left to feed the dogs and fill the cat's dishes. It has kept me pretty busy when so many new things have been added to my usual dishwashing, laundry, bill paying chores. I'll be glad when either one or both of the Mikes is able to lend a bigger hand.
Lately we have had a man here, Gary, who has been working in the yard. The tornado weather blew lots of leaves and branches and trash up into the corners of the yard. Mike2 and I did some raking and Mike2 and Mike did some mowing, but now that our yard can be measured in acres instead of feet, it is too much. Gary trimmed everything. He cut the branches on the tree that fell so that it is no longer laid out across the yard. He raked the front yard and cleared out along the sidewalk and raked tons of leaves from under the hedges and the trees that line the front of the house. He used a weed eater around the bottom of the fence both inside and out and he trimmed around the rose bushes and the mailbox and the carport. Now the yard is beautiful.
And today, I got a check from the County Judge's office to pay me for having served my Jury Duty in January. That'll pay for what it cost us to have the yard work done. And I got a good laugh when I heard Gary's wife tell him about the money he earned doing our yard work "That'll pay our electricity bill!"
On Friday (yesterday) Mike and I went to Little Rock for his 3rd followup visit after his surgery. He drove. He had his crutches in the back seat, and he had to travel around the hospital in a wheel chair to get his xrays taken and to go see his surgeon, but he is very much better. Even the doctor said so! He does not have to wear his leg brace and he can start bending his leg when he feels like it and he can put weight on it. He still has to be careful not to re-injure himself and he needs to continue going slowly doing only as much as he can without hurting himself. His xray showed, though, that his bones are healing nicely and there was no sign of any re-growth of his Large Cell Tumor. We will go back there in July for more xrays, but all the news was good news. And today Mike was able to go outside and use the tractor while Gary used the rakes and shovels and the weed eater.
And me, I am several paragraphs past admitting to the depressing things in my life and am thinking that I should go out and light the pile of deadwood and leaves that Gary cleaned off the yard and make a bonfire!
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Monday, May 2, 2011
Listening to the news
I am waiting for the President to come on television to speak about the news announcement made earlier that Osama Bin Ladin has been killed.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Portal - Credits Song 'Still Alive'
This was a triumph.
I'm making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS.
It's hard to overstate my satisfaction.
Aperture Science
We do what we must
because we can.
For the good of all of us.
Except the ones who are dead.
But there's no sense crying over every mistake.
You just keep on trying till you run out of cake.
And the Science gets done.
And you make a neat gun.
For the people who are still alive.
I'm not even angry.
I'm being so sincere right now.
Even though you broke my heart.
And killed me.
And tore me to pieces.
And threw every piece into a fire.
As they burned it hurt because I was so happy for you!
Now these points of data make a beautiful line.
And we're out of beta.
We're releasing on time.
So I'm GLaD. I got burned.
Think of all the things we learned
for the people who are still alive.
Go ahead and leave me.
I think I prefer to stay inside.
Maybe you'll find someone else to help you.
Maybe Black Mesa
THAT WAS A JOKE.
HAHA. FAT CHANCE.
Anyway, this cake is great.
It's so delicious and moist.
Look at me still talking
when there's Science to do.
When I look out there, it makes me GLaD I'm not you.
I've experiments to run.
There is research to be done.
On the people who are still alive.
And believe me I am still alive.
I'm doing Science and I'm still alive.
I feel FANTASTIC and I'm still alive.
While you're dying I'll be still alive.
And when you're dead I will be still alive.
STILL ALIVE (x2)
Safe!
It was stormy here last night, one of those nights when it is good to live in a snug house on top of a rise in the terrain. We watched television throughout most of the storms that crossed the whole of Arkansas from Shreveport and Texarkana to Memphis and the Mississippi River.
Things have really changed weatherwise. I remember when I was a youngster in Kansas, when the weather got bad, windy and rainy and then the hail would fall, we would all run for the storm shelter while the weather cell passed over. We didn't have any idea if there would be a tornado, but better safe underground than hurt by a storm. As a child, I didn't mind. Our tornado shelter doubled as the fruit cellar and was full to the brim with wonderful things that my Grandmother and my Aunts had stocked away in fruit jars. There were homemade candles and we had light. We all grabbed our pillows and our blankets to take with us into the cellar, so as a child, sheltering from a storm was almost comfortable, practically fun.
Today the weather watchers have instruments and cameras and doppler radar. The television shows were blanked out and the Little Rock stations went 'local' and followed the bad weather all along its way. On our computer, we could watch the storm travel across the map, live and in vivid color. We were told almost exactly to the moment when the winds were going to start. We were prepared for the high winds and listening for any sirens. Bismarck has tornado sirens that will go off if the conditions are right. We have a lower floor, a basement in our house. The best place to take shelter is equipped with a king size bed and a window air conditioner and ceiling fans to keep us cool. It has a big screen television set and a little refrigerator, a full bath with a walk in shower and NO WINDOWS! What, me worry? We were safe from last night's storms.
But a few places in Arkansas were hard hit. On television we watched a small town named Sunshine as a tornado touched down in a wide swath and moved slowly with it's black cloud (The weather service called it's "junk" cloud...meaning the cloud held all the dirt and branches and trash and parts and pieces the tornado had picked up and was carrying along with it) and everything in its path dissappeared. Storm chasers now take pictures from a distance, but in a storm, you can't say for sure what has happened until it is over and those who can go to check on the circumstances of others. Immediately after the storms passed, ambulances rushed in, so those of us watching the scene could know that someone got hurt!
The weather men said that Arkansas was getting tornado activity that was normally the kind that Oklahoma or Kansas would get because of the tornado's wide path of destruction and the fact that the swirling tornado stayed on the ground for a very long time before rising back up or blowing itself out. At one point, when the weather activity and the tornado touchdowns were passing through Hot Springs Village, I worried about my friend Mirka, who lives in Hot Springs a few miles south...but when I called to talk to her to say it was going to be all right, her cell phone had no signal.
Watching on our television, we could see a highway sign that was familiar to us just outside Hot Springs on Highway 70. It said to a right turn at the next exit would take you to Carpenter Dam. On the television, in front of our eyes, the dark clouds formed a trail that touched down. The traffic moving along the four lane highway didn't stop. The road seemed to be almost as busy as it is on any normal afternoon. The storm was moving fast, and the tail of dark clouds didn't last long, but had it been worse, there would not have been any shelter for the cameramen in the van! The television weatherman was as startled as anyone and started immediately to warn the camera crew to take care and to get out of there!!
At one point, when the storms went through North Little Rock, the US weather advisory personel went off duty so they could seek shelter as the storms blew over their location.
This morning, in my yard there are leaves and limbs everywhere, but all is well. I spoke to Mirka, and she had gone to work. She said she had some branches fall on her roof, but the damage was not bad and that she weathered the storm. I am especially aware that all is well with us when I see on television that Governor Beebe is making the rounds of the small towns that were damaged and speaking to survivors, some of whom lost family and friends and many lost all their belongings when tornadoes touched down. Today once again, Arkansas has areas of concern, conditions right for a super-cell weather circulation to form. The name has changed, but the damage a tornado can do hasn't.
Things have really changed weatherwise. I remember when I was a youngster in Kansas, when the weather got bad, windy and rainy and then the hail would fall, we would all run for the storm shelter while the weather cell passed over. We didn't have any idea if there would be a tornado, but better safe underground than hurt by a storm. As a child, I didn't mind. Our tornado shelter doubled as the fruit cellar and was full to the brim with wonderful things that my Grandmother and my Aunts had stocked away in fruit jars. There were homemade candles and we had light. We all grabbed our pillows and our blankets to take with us into the cellar, so as a child, sheltering from a storm was almost comfortable, practically fun.
Today the weather watchers have instruments and cameras and doppler radar. The television shows were blanked out and the Little Rock stations went 'local' and followed the bad weather all along its way. On our computer, we could watch the storm travel across the map, live and in vivid color. We were told almost exactly to the moment when the winds were going to start. We were prepared for the high winds and listening for any sirens. Bismarck has tornado sirens that will go off if the conditions are right. We have a lower floor, a basement in our house. The best place to take shelter is equipped with a king size bed and a window air conditioner and ceiling fans to keep us cool. It has a big screen television set and a little refrigerator, a full bath with a walk in shower and NO WINDOWS! What, me worry? We were safe from last night's storms.
But a few places in Arkansas were hard hit. On television we watched a small town named Sunshine as a tornado touched down in a wide swath and moved slowly with it's black cloud (The weather service called it's "junk" cloud...meaning the cloud held all the dirt and branches and trash and parts and pieces the tornado had picked up and was carrying along with it) and everything in its path dissappeared. Storm chasers now take pictures from a distance, but in a storm, you can't say for sure what has happened until it is over and those who can go to check on the circumstances of others. Immediately after the storms passed, ambulances rushed in, so those of us watching the scene could know that someone got hurt!
The weather men said that Arkansas was getting tornado activity that was normally the kind that Oklahoma or Kansas would get because of the tornado's wide path of destruction and the fact that the swirling tornado stayed on the ground for a very long time before rising back up or blowing itself out. At one point, when the weather activity and the tornado touchdowns were passing through Hot Springs Village, I worried about my friend Mirka, who lives in Hot Springs a few miles south...but when I called to talk to her to say it was going to be all right, her cell phone had no signal.
Watching on our television, we could see a highway sign that was familiar to us just outside Hot Springs on Highway 70. It said to a right turn at the next exit would take you to Carpenter Dam. On the television, in front of our eyes, the dark clouds formed a trail that touched down. The traffic moving along the four lane highway didn't stop. The road seemed to be almost as busy as it is on any normal afternoon. The storm was moving fast, and the tail of dark clouds didn't last long, but had it been worse, there would not have been any shelter for the cameramen in the van! The television weatherman was as startled as anyone and started immediately to warn the camera crew to take care and to get out of there!!
At one point, when the storms went through North Little Rock, the US weather advisory personel went off duty so they could seek shelter as the storms blew over their location.
This morning, in my yard there are leaves and limbs everywhere, but all is well. I spoke to Mirka, and she had gone to work. She said she had some branches fall on her roof, but the damage was not bad and that she weathered the storm. I am especially aware that all is well with us when I see on television that Governor Beebe is making the rounds of the small towns that were damaged and speaking to survivors, some of whom lost family and friends and many lost all their belongings when tornadoes touched down. Today once again, Arkansas has areas of concern, conditions right for a super-cell weather circulation to form. The name has changed, but the damage a tornado can do hasn't.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Easter Sunday, April 24, 2011
Mollie didn't answer. I suppose it surprised the 3 year old that there was someone's voice on the telephone she had swiped from her Daddy. She listened to Mike (I mean Pops!) for a little while, then she hung up. When Mike called back and talked to Troy, the two of them agreed that Mollie had pushed just the right button to call her Pops, so Troy gave her the phone and that time she did talk! She said "Hi, Pops!" And she said "Happy Easter Pops!"
A nice way to start today. I had sent Easter cards to my great grandchildren and when I looked at my email this morning, my granddaughter let me know that Zoey's card had arrived in good time for the holiday. I talked to my father on the computer microphone and told him Happy Easter. At the church next door, everyone was dressed in their finery--the girls all wore hats, most of them with big floppy brims, and the boys and the men had on suit coats and neckties. It was fun to watch the little ones in their Easter outfits outside this morning hunting easter eggs on the front steps and lawn of the church.
I am sure everyone had a big meal to continue the Easter celebration. It talked to one of my cousins who told me she was fixing a big ham and inviting her husband's parents and brother over to eat dinner with her family. Another cousin told me that her daughter and son-in-law were coming over with a smoked brisket and they'd all have Easter dinner together. Mike and I and Sonny were together. Neither of them are walking much. Mike is still recouperating from his knee surgery in early March and Mike 2 sprained his ankle last week then twisted the same ankle. He decided today that he was going prop it up on pillows, wrap in in an Ace bandage, put ice on it...and, for as long as he can, stay off of it. Since I am the only one walking, I fixed a special dinner to say "Get Well Soon" and "Happy Easter".
The pasta and shrimp dish I fixed must have been good. Both Mike and Mike2 cleaned up their plates and even though I made a lot, there were no leftovers. I fed the dogs, and since it was Easter, I made sure they had yesterdays leftovers mixed in with their dog food. And I gave Kayley the cat the last of the kitty treats left in the bag. No dyed Easter eggs, but it was a happy Easter.
One unusual note, in 2011 both the Gregorian and the Julian calendars have designated April 24 as Easter. Unique this year, the Orthodox faith celebrated the same day as Roman Catholic and Protestant churches.
In countries around the world, the Easter Egg is used to celebrate the holiday.
In Bosnia, a Bosnian Serb woman can be seen seated at a table decorating eggs with melted wax in the southern town of Banja Luka In Germany one couple decorated a tree in their garden with 9,800 stunning Easter Eggs. | |||||||||
In France, high-end decorated chocolate Easter eggs crafted by the French chocolatier family Colas are displayed in Paris' Jicara Chocolat boutique
In the Ukraine, children examine an egg shaped sphere sculpture made from Easter eggs, on the day of its unveiling at Kievo-Pecherskaya Lavra cathedral in Kiev
In the USA, in Florida, a scuba diving Easter Bunny hides eggs in the sand at the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
In the USA in Colorado, Brandy, dressed in her Easter finery, sporting a set of Easter Bunny Ears and holding an Easter Basket is the perfect representation of our American way of celebrating Easter! Find the eggs, Brandy!Saturday, April 9, 2011
American Vultures
Big black birds nest in the woods behind our house. I don't see them in the winter, but when the weather warms, what first appears to be a tiny black speck in the sky grows larger and larger until I can see its a big black bird. I see them regularly come in for a landing, and disappear in the nearby trees. This spring is no different. The birds are almost solid black, but when the wings are spread out in flight you can see whitish tips. The head of the bird is also whitish. The birds are huge, bigger than any other bird I see around here.
Not knowing what they were, I looked them up online. They call them American vultures, but they are more akin to a hawk than to a vulture or a buzzard. They eat carrion, but are not strictly a carrion bird and will pick up small living prey as well. Watch out squirrels and bunnies!
According to Wikipedia, the birds lay their eggs on the ground. It also says the birds have a keen sense of smell and of sight. That explains a lot about these neighbors of mine.
Not knowing what they were, I looked them up online. They call them American vultures, but they are more akin to a hawk than to a vulture or a buzzard. They eat carrion, but are not strictly a carrion bird and will pick up small living prey as well. Watch out squirrels and bunnies!
Friday, April 8, 2011
Tick talk
An interesting day yesterday. I am not sure whether to feel good or bad about it all. On Tuesday, I scratched an itch that turned out to be a tick. I asked Mike to take it off because I could not even see it. It was attached to me just on my waistline on the right side of my back. Even with a mirror I could not see it, let alone remove it. Mike put nail polish remover on it and pulled slow and steady with a tweezer...exactly what the online instructions said to do...and when the tick came off, the head of it remained embedded under my skin. Mike dug at it with a needle, but it was so deep under my skin that he could not remove the tiny splinter that remained. I put ichthymol on it (In Louisiana they called it 'drawing' ointment.) hoping that, like a splinter, the head of the tick would surface so Mike could remove it. That didn't work, all that happened was that the area under the bandaid turned red. Mike called the doctor.
Mike is still walking with crutches and unable to put much weight on his leg since his surgery in early March, but he seemed to want to get out of the house on such a beautiful sunshiny day. He said he felt very good and he drove the car, no problem! Our doctor is in Malvern, some 20 miles from here, the seat of our Hot Springs County. It was not so bad. Our doctor is in with a group, and Mike had talked to his nurse who, because our doctor was busy, set us up with a medical assistant who worked at that group. We had to leave immediately because the appointment was about 45 minutes from when Mike called. There was a bit of a wait to see the doctor, but it was not so bad. The Medical practicioner who took care of me used a set of tiny tweezers and said she had to dig deep, but she managed to get the rest of the tick out...and said that I really would not need to worry, but that just in case I should have a blood test to be sure there was no trace of Lyme Disease. She started me on a weeklong regimen of a tetracycline and said that if Lyme Disease should happen to show up in my blood they would call me and increase the prescription for a 2nd week and that should take care of any problem I might have with any bacterial infection from the tick. The drawing of the blood was not wonderful, but it was not so bad. Mike said that the simplest thing to do with the tetracycline prescription would be to have it phoned in to the Walmart store there in Malvern so we could stop to pick it up on our trip home.
At the Walmart store, when I went to the pharmacy, the prescription had not yet been received. Mike was using one of those electric wheelchair baskets to get around inside the store and it was not so bad. We did some other shopping and I went back to the pharmacy about fifteen minutes later and still no order from the doctor...so I left my phone number for them to call me when it was ready and said I would come back before I left the store if I had not yet heard from them. As soon as I got back to where Mike was looking in electronics for a USB microphone for Mike2, I realized that I gave the pharmacy the wrong phone number and went back to give them the right number for the cell phone I was carrying on me...and the order from the Doctor was there. It was not so bad. The person I talked to said it'd take about 15 minutes to fill it. Mike and I finished our shopping, and the fifteen minutes was up so he headed out to the car in his electric cart and I went back to the pharmacy.
I waited in line behind three people to be in front of the pickup desk in the pharmacy. The lady behind the desk said that the prescription was not ready yet, but the check out lady said that the intake lady had asked to speak to me when I got back there. Back to the end of the line at the intake desk, there were 3 people in front of me and when I finally talked to the lady behind the intake desk, she wanted to see my insurance card. I showed my card and the lady brought my information up to date and informed me that my pills just needed to be counted out and I could pick up my prescription shortly. Back to the end of the line at the pickup desk, there were five people in front of me. And when I got to the front of the line the lady told me that there was not yet any prescription ready for me. I waited. And waited. And waited...for nearly an hour, the entire time complaining loudly that my husband, waiting for me out in the hot car must think I had died...but there didn't seem to be any rush behind the pharmacy counter. As a matter of fact, there were two other people waiting with me complaining loudly as well, one, a man who was worried about his sick wife in the car who needed the prescription so all he could do was wait there and see how long 'a few minutes' was, and a lady who said she had to be at work at four and that she really hoped her prescription would be ready 'in a few minutes' like they'd said. None of us squeeky wheels seemed to hurry them up in the pharmacy though. I stopped thinking that '...it's not so bad'.
I don't have any problems at other Walmart stores in Hot Springs or anywhere else, for that matter, but at the Walmart Store in Malvern I guess there is no competition or any reason for that store to make any attempt to win customers over. It must be the only game in town. That was not the first time I have spent a very long time waiting at the pharmacy counter in that same store. That was not the first time I have been disappointed at the high prices on the merchandise in the aisles. That was not the first time I'd been bewildered at that same store not having the merchandise I needed even though other Walmart stores do. Every time I have gone into the Walmart store in Malvern I have said that I won't be back. Matter of fact, I have lived here for four years and in all that time I think I have gone into the Malvern Walmart all of four times. Maybe after this time I won't ever need to go back there again.
I have started on my tetracycline regimen and am hoping that no other tiny little tick will cause me any more big problems!
Mike is still walking with crutches and unable to put much weight on his leg since his surgery in early March, but he seemed to want to get out of the house on such a beautiful sunshiny day. He said he felt very good and he drove the car, no problem! Our doctor is in Malvern, some 20 miles from here, the seat of our Hot Springs County. It was not so bad. Our doctor is in with a group, and Mike had talked to his nurse who, because our doctor was busy, set us up with a medical assistant who worked at that group. We had to leave immediately because the appointment was about 45 minutes from when Mike called. There was a bit of a wait to see the doctor, but it was not so bad. The Medical practicioner who took care of me used a set of tiny tweezers and said she had to dig deep, but she managed to get the rest of the tick out...and said that I really would not need to worry, but that just in case I should have a blood test to be sure there was no trace of Lyme Disease. She started me on a weeklong regimen of a tetracycline and said that if Lyme Disease should happen to show up in my blood they would call me and increase the prescription for a 2nd week and that should take care of any problem I might have with any bacterial infection from the tick. The drawing of the blood was not wonderful, but it was not so bad. Mike said that the simplest thing to do with the tetracycline prescription would be to have it phoned in to the Walmart store there in Malvern so we could stop to pick it up on our trip home.
An American Dog Tick...Arkansas is a little south of where these are prevalent.
At the Walmart store, when I went to the pharmacy, the prescription had not yet been received. Mike was using one of those electric wheelchair baskets to get around inside the store and it was not so bad. We did some other shopping and I went back to the pharmacy about fifteen minutes later and still no order from the doctor...so I left my phone number for them to call me when it was ready and said I would come back before I left the store if I had not yet heard from them. As soon as I got back to where Mike was looking in electronics for a USB microphone for Mike2, I realized that I gave the pharmacy the wrong phone number and went back to give them the right number for the cell phone I was carrying on me...and the order from the Doctor was there. It was not so bad. The person I talked to said it'd take about 15 minutes to fill it. Mike and I finished our shopping, and the fifteen minutes was up so he headed out to the car in his electric cart and I went back to the pharmacy.
I waited in line behind three people to be in front of the pickup desk in the pharmacy. The lady behind the desk said that the prescription was not ready yet, but the check out lady said that the intake lady had asked to speak to me when I got back there. Back to the end of the line at the intake desk, there were 3 people in front of me and when I finally talked to the lady behind the intake desk, she wanted to see my insurance card. I showed my card and the lady brought my information up to date and informed me that my pills just needed to be counted out and I could pick up my prescription shortly. Back to the end of the line at the pickup desk, there were five people in front of me. And when I got to the front of the line the lady told me that there was not yet any prescription ready for me. I waited. And waited. And waited...for nearly an hour, the entire time complaining loudly that my husband, waiting for me out in the hot car must think I had died...but there didn't seem to be any rush behind the pharmacy counter. As a matter of fact, there were two other people waiting with me complaining loudly as well, one, a man who was worried about his sick wife in the car who needed the prescription so all he could do was wait there and see how long 'a few minutes' was, and a lady who said she had to be at work at four and that she really hoped her prescription would be ready 'in a few minutes' like they'd said. None of us squeeky wheels seemed to hurry them up in the pharmacy though. I stopped thinking that '...it's not so bad'.
I don't have any problems at other Walmart stores in Hot Springs or anywhere else, for that matter, but at the Walmart Store in Malvern I guess there is no competition or any reason for that store to make any attempt to win customers over. It must be the only game in town. That was not the first time I have spent a very long time waiting at the pharmacy counter in that same store. That was not the first time I have been disappointed at the high prices on the merchandise in the aisles. That was not the first time I'd been bewildered at that same store not having the merchandise I needed even though other Walmart stores do. Every time I have gone into the Walmart store in Malvern I have said that I won't be back. Matter of fact, I have lived here for four years and in all that time I think I have gone into the Malvern Walmart all of four times. Maybe after this time I won't ever need to go back there again.
I have started on my tetracycline regimen and am hoping that no other tiny little tick will cause me any more big problems!
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Tuesday
Tuesday (written November 25, 1997 by Myra Brewer)
Time and life measured, impossibility!
Time, a fourth dimension, unproved mathematically!
Time and life measured, impossibility!
We all go on forever, for as far as the eye can see,
While where we want to be is where we are, and
While where we are is where we want to be.
Pretending we understand our beginning!
Pretending there’ll be no end to it, but
Time and life unmeasured is our reality!
Time and life measured
Time and life unmeasured becomes our diety!
Life unmeasured, equals infinity.
And everything is as everything ought to be.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Wildflowers
Today has been absolutely beautiful, from the weather to the oniony smell of our new mowed lawn. The days have begun getting noticeably longer. Already it is after 7 pm and the sun is only now beginning to set and the horizon turn orange. Mike has continued to heal rapidly and to do a little more every day. He showed off today walking from the bedroom to the top of the livingroom stairs using only his cane. He now takes his own showers without ado using his crutches and standing on one foot balancing himself with his other. Yesterday we drove once again to Hot Springs because we had to take the wagon we bought at Big Lots on Monday back. One of the posts that we were supposed to put a cotter pin through didn't have a hole to put the pin into.
I don't mind shopping. It's that second trip to take back the things you bought that I don't like. I was only in Big Lots for a minute, just long enough for them to put a credit on the card they had debited for the wagon two days before. I'd meant, the next time I was there to get more of those cookies...because they went so fast I know they were really good...but like I said, I was only there long enough to get my money back on the wagon and I was out of there and on the way to Sam's Club to get some groceries...no cookies, but we did buy some rosemary bread! It was so good the amount we bought was not nearly enough for the three of us! I'll have to buy some more of that one of these days!
Today was another good day. This afternoon Mike went down to the garage and tried the tractor to see if it would start. It did. So then he decided to see if he would be uncomfortable sitting in the tractor seat, so he tried that. That worked, so there was nothing else to do but drive off to see if the bumping of using the mower would bother him. It didn't. I think it might have been a little much though because he was back after only a couple of rounds of mowing the front yard before he got off and Mike2 took over the job. Now it smells outside like fresh onion and new mowed lawn and it looks beautiful!
We needed gas for the mower, and I drove into Bismarck for that. There were an amazing number of people lined up in front of Hobo Joe's shaved ice trailer! I went by Fisherman's and picked up hamburgers and brought them home, added cheese and bacon and dill pickles and we had supper. Sometimes it's really nice not to need to cook.
Now, at sunset, it's quiet. The wildflowers have been cut down. Our lawn is now green, not the purples and whites of the little blooms and the tall green spikes of the wild onion grass that were there this morning. It is hard for me to decide which is more beautiful, the spring or the fall, the winter or the summer. Here in Arkansas, I look forward to each season as it comes and each season brings me views of the mountains and the skies and the trees that I don't remember having seen before. The new has not worn off retirement in Arkansas yet...
I don't mind shopping. It's that second trip to take back the things you bought that I don't like. I was only in Big Lots for a minute, just long enough for them to put a credit on the card they had debited for the wagon two days before. I'd meant, the next time I was there to get more of those cookies...because they went so fast I know they were really good...but like I said, I was only there long enough to get my money back on the wagon and I was out of there and on the way to Sam's Club to get some groceries...no cookies, but we did buy some rosemary bread! It was so good the amount we bought was not nearly enough for the three of us! I'll have to buy some more of that one of these days!
Today was another good day. This afternoon Mike went down to the garage and tried the tractor to see if it would start. It did. So then he decided to see if he would be uncomfortable sitting in the tractor seat, so he tried that. That worked, so there was nothing else to do but drive off to see if the bumping of using the mower would bother him. It didn't. I think it might have been a little much though because he was back after only a couple of rounds of mowing the front yard before he got off and Mike2 took over the job. Now it smells outside like fresh onion and new mowed lawn and it looks beautiful!
We needed gas for the mower, and I drove into Bismarck for that. There were an amazing number of people lined up in front of Hobo Joe's shaved ice trailer! I went by Fisherman's and picked up hamburgers and brought them home, added cheese and bacon and dill pickles and we had supper. Sometimes it's really nice not to need to cook.
Now, at sunset, it's quiet. The wildflowers have been cut down. Our lawn is now green, not the purples and whites of the little blooms and the tall green spikes of the wild onion grass that were there this morning. It is hard for me to decide which is more beautiful, the spring or the fall, the winter or the summer. Here in Arkansas, I look forward to each season as it comes and each season brings me views of the mountains and the skies and the trees that I don't remember having seen before. The new has not worn off retirement in Arkansas yet...
Monday, March 28, 2011
Was it Monday? Or was that a 2nd Sunday in a row?
Today has been a very good day. Mike is doing unbelievably well. This morning he took a shower all alone. Well, not exactly alone, because I was there in case he needed anything. But he didn't need anything. After that he got dressed and he and I and Mike 2 went to Hot Springs. My cousin Sheryl had told me that she saw where Big Lots had a wagon on sale in her Sunday paper and when I looked online, I found the same thing and made plans to go have a look. Sonny wanted to find a USB microphone because when he talks to his friends online there is a lot of feedback....something about his sound card is built to work its best with a microphone that connects thru USB.
Mike drove. It was tricky using his crutches to get himself into the car, but he did it and didn't wince or complain of any pain. And he said that driving was easy enough, not difficult for him at all. He didn't get out of the car though. He just stayed listening to a read aloud story on the CD player while Mike and I went into the stores to get the things on our list. At Big Lots, I liked the wagon and we bought it. I got some chocolate chip cookies too. We went to Walmart and looked for the microphone, but they didn't have it. We did buy a few groceries from there and I got a pre-cooked chicken for lunch. We tried finding the microphone at Office Depot, but they didn't have a USB microphone either.
As soon as Mike got home and into the house and we brought in the things we bought, I fixed him lunch. I had thought he would want to take a nap after all that effort. But he didn't. He ate lunch, watched some tv, made some phone calls, got onto his computer and showed me some of the things that are being auctioned on the Texas Unclaimed Money page and has now, still awake, gone back to watching tv. And I am on my computer. I think it's my turn to take the nap. I don't think I will put my wagon together right now. And I will let the kitchen and laundry kp slide for the time being. zzzzzzzzz
Mike drove. It was tricky using his crutches to get himself into the car, but he did it and didn't wince or complain of any pain. And he said that driving was easy enough, not difficult for him at all. He didn't get out of the car though. He just stayed listening to a read aloud story on the CD player while Mike and I went into the stores to get the things on our list. At Big Lots, I liked the wagon and we bought it. I got some chocolate chip cookies too. We went to Walmart and looked for the microphone, but they didn't have it. We did buy a few groceries from there and I got a pre-cooked chicken for lunch. We tried finding the microphone at Office Depot, but they didn't have a USB microphone either.
As soon as Mike got home and into the house and we brought in the things we bought, I fixed him lunch. I had thought he would want to take a nap after all that effort. But he didn't. He ate lunch, watched some tv, made some phone calls, got onto his computer and showed me some of the things that are being auctioned on the Texas Unclaimed Money page and has now, still awake, gone back to watching tv. And I am on my computer. I think it's my turn to take the nap. I don't think I will put my wagon together right now. And I will let the kitchen and laundry kp slide for the time being. zzzzzzzzz
Saturday, March 26, 2011
The second return to the scene
It's cold here today. Not freezing. My thermometer says it is 46 degrees. It rained a little while this morning and I think it must have brought with it a cold front and a drop in the temperature. I usually go about noon to get the mail and here it is two thirty in the afternoon and I am still debating whether to put on a coat to go down to the end of the driveway. The cat always walks with me and she is curled up underneath a blanket asleep in bed with Mike.
Yesterday (Friday the 25th) Mike and I were up really early. I got up a little after five and he woke up at six. I think he had a rough night and woke up several times from a sound sleep. Maybe he was afraid he would not wake up in time because we had a 9:30 a.m. appointment in Little Rock for him to see Dr. Nicholas again. We got on the road a little before 7 a.m. and were at the hospital parking the car before eight. It was no problem for us to find the place where we had parked the car last time and no problem for me to find a wheel chair or for Mike to get into it from the car. That proves he is getting better!!
I wheeled Mike inside out of a chilly morning wind, parked the car across the street and came back quick to take him to the elevators, up to the 7th floor and we signed in and waited to be called by the Doctor. It was really smart of him to get there early. We were sitting there when Dr. Carpenter came out to get himself a cup of coffee and we chatted a minute asking him how the visit a week before with his wife's pregnancy doctor had gone. He could not remember telling us about the fact that he was going to have a baby, but once he realized we already knew, he told us the visit was for a sonogram and they could not yet tell the sex of the baby even though it is due early September. He said this is his 2nd child, that he has a two year old boy and that it does not matter to him what the sex of the new baby is so long as it is born healthy. So far so good.
No one else was there to see Dr. Nicholas yet but us The doctor and his staff apparently arrived early, saw Mike's file waiting and they took us in soon after. Dr. Carpenter removed the rest of Mike's staples and put back a few pieces of bandaid suture at the top of the scar. When Dr. Nicholas came in he seemed really proud of the way Mike was healing. He had not taken any xrays and told us that even if the tumor were to come back that they would not really see it on an xray for about three months. It was only 18 days, so we really don't need to return for another ten weeks unless something drastic happens to the surgery. Mike convinced Dr. Nicholas that he was totally able to take care of the wound himself so Dr. Nicholas told him that he can sleep without his brace when he wants and that it will be okay for him to take a shower (after giving the tiny spots left by the staples 24 hours time to heal over) and get his leg wet. He cautioned against wearing blue jeans for any long period of time and against Mike bending his knee right away and even then to take it slow and said it would be okay for him to put some weight on it, but again, take it slow, only a little at a time until he is used to that effort. Mostly all news was good news. We got a new appointment for sometime in May...so long into the future that Mike is as good as well now...well, well enough to take it slow and go a little at a time back to full use of his knee. Maybe he will never need another surgery for giant cell tumor and maybe he will never need to have a knee replacement! Dr. Nicholas asked us about the physical therapist and told us that he'd be calling us about a checkup but he didn't say Mike would need any more therapy. He told Mike it would be okay to mow so long as he didn't bend his knee or make it hurt.
After all that, good news, there was a problem with someone parking a van in the middle of the roadway when I went back from the parking lot to the building to get M for the ride home so it took awhile for us to get loaded up. It was warming up outside though and the day was pretty and sunshiny for the ride home. After the strain of getting back into the house, Mike was tired, ready to get out of his 'going to the doctor clothes' and back into his bed for something to eat and then a good long sleep. He gets up all by himself now and has gone down to the kitchen, once to get himself something and a 2nd time to look for something for Sonny. I didn't take a nap, so yesterday was just a long day for me. After supper I listened to a story read aloud on Sonny's computer for several chapters and drank a beer with Sonny on a Friday night and when I came back upstairs and got into bed, as soon as I got warm I was asleep, dead to the world around me until I woke up this morning at nine dreaming about a cup of coffee. Mike is an early riser and he told me that he had been waiting for me to wake up because he wanted coffee. That made getting up easier, that and the sun shining through the french doors in the bedroom so that I could see it would be a beautiful day today. That second part didn't work out though, because about eleven there was a short little rain. I didn't notice it even until I saw Red get up from a spot where she had been lying on the bare ground in the back yard and I saw that she'd left a dry spot that was a different color than the rest of the back yard.
I reckon I will post this, then go see if my granddaughter has posted any new pictures of Zoey, my great granddaughter on her facebook page. I miss that little girl and right now she is growing and changing every single day. I can't resist posting a picture her mother took of here here. She is watching her cousin's t-ball game and eating cotton candy. I betcha Zoey thinks the eats and treats are the best part of any sporting event. I used to think that my granddaughter Ashley thought that because she would always want some pocket change to go to the concession stand when she'd go watch her brother Craig play catcher at his games. I probably think like that remembering myself going to outdoor sporting events!
Anyway, this gives me a chance to introduce Zoey to the ones who read this blog, find out that she is the apple (or should I say cracker?) of my eye and make this a start back into talking about why I call myself a walking talking bit of history...
Yesterday (Friday the 25th) Mike and I were up really early. I got up a little after five and he woke up at six. I think he had a rough night and woke up several times from a sound sleep. Maybe he was afraid he would not wake up in time because we had a 9:30 a.m. appointment in Little Rock for him to see Dr. Nicholas again. We got on the road a little before 7 a.m. and were at the hospital parking the car before eight. It was no problem for us to find the place where we had parked the car last time and no problem for me to find a wheel chair or for Mike to get into it from the car. That proves he is getting better!!
I wheeled Mike inside out of a chilly morning wind, parked the car across the street and came back quick to take him to the elevators, up to the 7th floor and we signed in and waited to be called by the Doctor. It was really smart of him to get there early. We were sitting there when Dr. Carpenter came out to get himself a cup of coffee and we chatted a minute asking him how the visit a week before with his wife's pregnancy doctor had gone. He could not remember telling us about the fact that he was going to have a baby, but once he realized we already knew, he told us the visit was for a sonogram and they could not yet tell the sex of the baby even though it is due early September. He said this is his 2nd child, that he has a two year old boy and that it does not matter to him what the sex of the new baby is so long as it is born healthy. So far so good.
No one else was there to see Dr. Nicholas yet but us The doctor and his staff apparently arrived early, saw Mike's file waiting and they took us in soon after. Dr. Carpenter removed the rest of Mike's staples and put back a few pieces of bandaid suture at the top of the scar. When Dr. Nicholas came in he seemed really proud of the way Mike was healing. He had not taken any xrays and told us that even if the tumor were to come back that they would not really see it on an xray for about three months. It was only 18 days, so we really don't need to return for another ten weeks unless something drastic happens to the surgery. Mike convinced Dr. Nicholas that he was totally able to take care of the wound himself so Dr. Nicholas told him that he can sleep without his brace when he wants and that it will be okay for him to take a shower (after giving the tiny spots left by the staples 24 hours time to heal over) and get his leg wet. He cautioned against wearing blue jeans for any long period of time and against Mike bending his knee right away and even then to take it slow and said it would be okay for him to put some weight on it, but again, take it slow, only a little at a time until he is used to that effort. Mostly all news was good news. We got a new appointment for sometime in May...so long into the future that Mike is as good as well now...well, well enough to take it slow and go a little at a time back to full use of his knee. Maybe he will never need another surgery for giant cell tumor and maybe he will never need to have a knee replacement! Dr. Nicholas asked us about the physical therapist and told us that he'd be calling us about a checkup but he didn't say Mike would need any more therapy. He told Mike it would be okay to mow so long as he didn't bend his knee or make it hurt.
After all that, good news, there was a problem with someone parking a van in the middle of the roadway when I went back from the parking lot to the building to get M for the ride home so it took awhile for us to get loaded up. It was warming up outside though and the day was pretty and sunshiny for the ride home. After the strain of getting back into the house, Mike was tired, ready to get out of his 'going to the doctor clothes' and back into his bed for something to eat and then a good long sleep. He gets up all by himself now and has gone down to the kitchen, once to get himself something and a 2nd time to look for something for Sonny. I didn't take a nap, so yesterday was just a long day for me. After supper I listened to a story read aloud on Sonny's computer for several chapters and drank a beer with Sonny on a Friday night and when I came back upstairs and got into bed, as soon as I got warm I was asleep, dead to the world around me until I woke up this morning at nine dreaming about a cup of coffee. Mike is an early riser and he told me that he had been waiting for me to wake up because he wanted coffee. That made getting up easier, that and the sun shining through the french doors in the bedroom so that I could see it would be a beautiful day today. That second part didn't work out though, because about eleven there was a short little rain. I didn't notice it even until I saw Red get up from a spot where she had been lying on the bare ground in the back yard and I saw that she'd left a dry spot that was a different color than the rest of the back yard.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
The first return to the scene
I'm not always up at five o'clock in the morning, but today I was. Kayley Cat, wanting attention, jumped up on the dresser below the television and Mike called my name wanting me to take her down. "Do you want to go outside, Kayley? Well, come on, and I'll open the door."
That cat has changed her habit of staying outside all night and coming in to sleep all day on Mike's bed. Now that spring has arrived, she wants to be outside most of the day. But, from what I see, she spends her time outside in the garage sleeping in the seat of the lawn tractor and her time inside sleeping on Mike's computer chair. She does walk down to the mailbox with me every day, so she does stir herself into activity occasionally. I had to laugh yesterday, Saturday, because she was asleep in the bed, having crawled up under a pillow at the foot, when Mark, the physical therapist came about noon. He laid his briefcase on that pillow and Kayley came out looking very confused and made us all laugh.
Speaking of Mark, since I mentioned that he planned to come back to see Mike on Saturday after Mike's visit to UAMS in Little Rock, I need to go back to Friday. We were up early on Friday, but not at five, more like at seven o'clock, getting ready to make the trip back to the hospital at the end of the first week of Mike's recouperation. It was not easy for Mike to get into the car but Mike2 was here to help him get down the three steps in the livingroom and the one-long-step down into the garage and the high step up into the car. I know the trip was hard on him because he wasn't able to find a comfortable way to set the heavy cast down and put his foot on the floor for most of the trip and kept using his hands to pick up his leg a little so he could move it to a new position. Even though the road was not, the trip over to Little Rock was smoothe. Mike didn't even think about plugging in the GPS (He calls it 'she' and has named 'her' Newbie.) until we were on I-630 and very nearly to the hospital itself. Of course Newbie never picked up any signal and Mike knows more than Newbie anyway, so I asked him to watch the road signs and tell me where to turn since he had been there before and knew the route. We went to the front of the hospital, the same place where I had picked him up to bring him home the week before. The hospital transport person on the front deck listened to where we needed to be, spoke to the lady a the information desk, and gave us a map and directions to get to the 'outpatient' cancer clinic. From there it was an easy trip circling around the hospital to the right building where a different transport person brought Mike a wheel chair and took him inside the building while I went into the garage across the street to park the car. I have to tell you that all the people at that hospital are very nice and very good about helping us out and giving us smiles of support no matter where we are. It is all very reassuring and makes the most difficult thing seem as if it were just a breeze.
The first task was to find the 'cast room' to have Mike's pretty blue cast removed. We went back to the very same place where Mike had originally gotten his leg brace and the very same technician who'd fitted Mike for the brace used a little saw to cut the cast in half, take the top half off his leg and wrapped his cotton covered leg in an ace bandage telling Mike that an x-ray could be taken okay with the covering on. It was not hard at all to find x-ray from where we were since we had been there before, but we did have to take a very small elevator to the 4th floor so we could take the walkway across to another building then take another elevator back down to the first floor where the x-ray would be taken. We remembered it, even though the memories had become a little vague. When we got to x-ray there were no orders for Mike and the receptionist recommended that I go tell Dr. Nicholas' office to put Mike into the system, but Mike used the cell phone to call and talk to Dr. Nicholas' nurse Kim and he was 'put into the system' almost immediately after that. His name was called, they removed the metal bits that held his ace bandage, took his x-rays and we took the elevator back to the 4th floor, walked across to the other building, and took another elevator up to the 7th floor where Dr. Nicholas' office was in the cancer clinics.
Dr. Carpenter, the surgeon, came out and talked to Mike awhile to tell him that he was not going to be seeing him that day because his wife had a doctor's appointment for her pregnancy. We congratulated him for his expecting a baby. As soon as Mike signed in, I got our parking ticket validated so I would not need to remember to do that anymore. We waited a little longer but it wasn't long before we were called back for a nurse to take Mike's vital signs, fill out his paperwork and take him to a visiting room. There one of Dr. Nicholas' nurses helped Mike out of his wheel chair and up into an exam chair. She removed the ace bandage, the bottom half of the cast and the cotton batting and uncovered his bare leg. Dr. Nicholas, the oncology orthopedist himself came in. He took the big bandaid off the surgical site and we could see the staples holding Mike's cut skin together. There must have been thrity staples. The entire surgical line looked completely healed over though.
The first thing Mike did when he saw the doctor was to ask not to have the cast put back on. Dr. Nicholas seemed surprised that I had brought Mike's leg brace along but he didn't answer that question at first, just telling Mike that he was only going to remove half the staples and that he was going to put bandaid type sutures in the spots where he took the staples out. He seemed to be delighted at how well the wound was healing. He looked at Mike's x-rays and once again seemed to be delighted--at how well the bone cement was setting and the bone at the top of the tibia was knitting. Then he told Mike that he could leave the cast off and use just the leg brace. He removed about two thirds of the staples from Mike's leg and replaced them with tape type sutures and told Mike he wanted to see him again in a week.
When Dr. Nicholas left the room, the nurse rebandaged Mike's leg and explained to us how to redo it at home. She wrapped her work in an ace bandage, helped Mike put his leg brace on, helped Mike back into his wheel chair and out into the hall. Nurse Kim came and apologized for Mike's not being in the system when he got to x-ray and said something about she'd put in the information in but it had disappeared. (She probably does not realize that Mike knows what can and cannot happen when using a computer.) Then, we were free to go! Back to the entrance and Mike waited in the wheelchair in the foyer while I went to the parking garage, found the car, turned in the parking ticket at the exit and wound my way back to where Mike was waiting. One of the hospital transport people offered to help Mike into the car, but he didn't need any help. I think he felt like he was light as a feather without that heavy cast on his leg. He didn't even need a walker or crutches to push himself up out of his chair on one leg, turn and pull himself up high into the car seat.
The trip back to Bismarck was smooth, apparently, since Mike was able to make himself comfortable. He did ask me once if there were some pillows in the car, so I know it was not perfectly easy for him, and I did stop in Malvern at Walmart to pick up some things we were running low on and some fresh bananas and a tomato, knowing neither would go to waste but we were back home again a little after one. An easy trip! Mike2 came to help Mike back up the steps he would need to negotiate on his crutches, but mostly Mike didn't need any help. Without the cast, he didn't have any trouble at all. He was tired though and as soon as he ate some lunch he fell fast asleep for a time.
Since then, being back home, Mike has not been taking his pain medication other than tylenol. He uses his walker to get to the bathroom and into the computer room and although he has not gone downstairs and has spent most of his time in his bed with his leg propped up on a pillow, he has been quite capable of doing things for himself and has barely called me to come and help him. When I did my shopping last Wednesday, though, I had a coupon for Reese's Pieces miniatures and since I had to buy two bags to get one free, I got both the regular ones and a bag of dark chocolate ones. Mike seems to love his Reese's and have a special liking for the dark chocolate so he has asked me a few times to go get him some Reese's. Other than bringing Mike food and drink from down in the kitchen and the pantry, I have not been on call. Yesterday Mike2 and I drove to the trash dump. I went for a walk down to the mailbox in the morning and in the evening I raked dead leaves and sticks and sweet gum balls into a pile and lit a fire outside and at night I watched episodes of Kitchen Nightmares and 30-Rock with Mike2 and Mike didn't even miss me.
Yesterday afternoon Mike went into the bathroom all by himself (with his walker) and cleaned up, washed his hair, brushed his teeth, shaved and changed clothes and the only time I helped was when I offered to get him clean clothes. I didn't help him put them on though. He is doing everything himself. And he seems to be taking very good care of his leg to boot! (pun intended!) I saw him twice doing his exercises and watched while he rearranged his pillows to continue keeping his leg raised. He changed the settings on his brace to match the bend where the cast had kept it. He told me that today he is planning to take a shower sitting in a chair using the hand held sprayer. Mark the physical therapist, when he came yesterday just talked to Mike for awhile then cancelled both his Tuesday and Thursday appointments. He'll call before he returns next.
Mike already has his schedule to go back to see Dr. Nicholas next Friday at nine in the morning. And after that if all is well he'll go back once a month for a time just to be sure that no regrowth of the tumor takes place. Mike got the statement from the hospital in the mail yesterday and his surgery and his 3 extra days in the hospital cost over $14,000. Thank goodness we went to a University Hospital and thank goodness for the Medicare and Windsor Insurance that covers some of that. I hope we are not too much out of pocket. Just to make me smile, though, along with the hospital bill came a $40 rebate from EVGA on a video card we bought and a $20 check from a class action dryer duct settlement. God works in wonderous ways! Mysterious, but amazing and wonderous nevertheless! From the looks of the day it is going to be a very pleasant and peaceful Sunday today!
That cat has changed her habit of staying outside all night and coming in to sleep all day on Mike's bed. Now that spring has arrived, she wants to be outside most of the day. But, from what I see, she spends her time outside in the garage sleeping in the seat of the lawn tractor and her time inside sleeping on Mike's computer chair. She does walk down to the mailbox with me every day, so she does stir herself into activity occasionally. I had to laugh yesterday, Saturday, because she was asleep in the bed, having crawled up under a pillow at the foot, when Mark, the physical therapist came about noon. He laid his briefcase on that pillow and Kayley came out looking very confused and made us all laugh.
Speaking of Mark, since I mentioned that he planned to come back to see Mike on Saturday after Mike's visit to UAMS in Little Rock, I need to go back to Friday. We were up early on Friday, but not at five, more like at seven o'clock, getting ready to make the trip back to the hospital at the end of the first week of Mike's recouperation. It was not easy for Mike to get into the car but Mike2 was here to help him get down the three steps in the livingroom and the one-long-step down into the garage and the high step up into the car. I know the trip was hard on him because he wasn't able to find a comfortable way to set the heavy cast down and put his foot on the floor for most of the trip and kept using his hands to pick up his leg a little so he could move it to a new position. Even though the road was not, the trip over to Little Rock was smoothe. Mike didn't even think about plugging in the GPS (He calls it 'she' and has named 'her' Newbie.) until we were on I-630 and very nearly to the hospital itself. Of course Newbie never picked up any signal and Mike knows more than Newbie anyway, so I asked him to watch the road signs and tell me where to turn since he had been there before and knew the route. We went to the front of the hospital, the same place where I had picked him up to bring him home the week before. The hospital transport person on the front deck listened to where we needed to be, spoke to the lady a the information desk, and gave us a map and directions to get to the 'outpatient' cancer clinic. From there it was an easy trip circling around the hospital to the right building where a different transport person brought Mike a wheel chair and took him inside the building while I went into the garage across the street to park the car. I have to tell you that all the people at that hospital are very nice and very good about helping us out and giving us smiles of support no matter where we are. It is all very reassuring and makes the most difficult thing seem as if it were just a breeze.
The first task was to find the 'cast room' to have Mike's pretty blue cast removed. We went back to the very same place where Mike had originally gotten his leg brace and the very same technician who'd fitted Mike for the brace used a little saw to cut the cast in half, take the top half off his leg and wrapped his cotton covered leg in an ace bandage telling Mike that an x-ray could be taken okay with the covering on. It was not hard at all to find x-ray from where we were since we had been there before, but we did have to take a very small elevator to the 4th floor so we could take the walkway across to another building then take another elevator back down to the first floor where the x-ray would be taken. We remembered it, even though the memories had become a little vague. When we got to x-ray there were no orders for Mike and the receptionist recommended that I go tell Dr. Nicholas' office to put Mike into the system, but Mike used the cell phone to call and talk to Dr. Nicholas' nurse Kim and he was 'put into the system' almost immediately after that. His name was called, they removed the metal bits that held his ace bandage, took his x-rays and we took the elevator back to the 4th floor, walked across to the other building, and took another elevator up to the 7th floor where Dr. Nicholas' office was in the cancer clinics.
Dr. Carpenter, the surgeon, came out and talked to Mike awhile to tell him that he was not going to be seeing him that day because his wife had a doctor's appointment for her pregnancy. We congratulated him for his expecting a baby. As soon as Mike signed in, I got our parking ticket validated so I would not need to remember to do that anymore. We waited a little longer but it wasn't long before we were called back for a nurse to take Mike's vital signs, fill out his paperwork and take him to a visiting room. There one of Dr. Nicholas' nurses helped Mike out of his wheel chair and up into an exam chair. She removed the ace bandage, the bottom half of the cast and the cotton batting and uncovered his bare leg. Dr. Nicholas, the oncology orthopedist himself came in. He took the big bandaid off the surgical site and we could see the staples holding Mike's cut skin together. There must have been thrity staples. The entire surgical line looked completely healed over though.
The first thing Mike did when he saw the doctor was to ask not to have the cast put back on. Dr. Nicholas seemed surprised that I had brought Mike's leg brace along but he didn't answer that question at first, just telling Mike that he was only going to remove half the staples and that he was going to put bandaid type sutures in the spots where he took the staples out. He seemed to be delighted at how well the wound was healing. He looked at Mike's x-rays and once again seemed to be delighted--at how well the bone cement was setting and the bone at the top of the tibia was knitting. Then he told Mike that he could leave the cast off and use just the leg brace. He removed about two thirds of the staples from Mike's leg and replaced them with tape type sutures and told Mike he wanted to see him again in a week.
When Dr. Nicholas left the room, the nurse rebandaged Mike's leg and explained to us how to redo it at home. She wrapped her work in an ace bandage, helped Mike put his leg brace on, helped Mike back into his wheel chair and out into the hall. Nurse Kim came and apologized for Mike's not being in the system when he got to x-ray and said something about she'd put in the information in but it had disappeared. (She probably does not realize that Mike knows what can and cannot happen when using a computer.) Then, we were free to go! Back to the entrance and Mike waited in the wheelchair in the foyer while I went to the parking garage, found the car, turned in the parking ticket at the exit and wound my way back to where Mike was waiting. One of the hospital transport people offered to help Mike into the car, but he didn't need any help. I think he felt like he was light as a feather without that heavy cast on his leg. He didn't even need a walker or crutches to push himself up out of his chair on one leg, turn and pull himself up high into the car seat.
The trip back to Bismarck was smooth, apparently, since Mike was able to make himself comfortable. He did ask me once if there were some pillows in the car, so I know it was not perfectly easy for him, and I did stop in Malvern at Walmart to pick up some things we were running low on and some fresh bananas and a tomato, knowing neither would go to waste but we were back home again a little after one. An easy trip! Mike2 came to help Mike back up the steps he would need to negotiate on his crutches, but mostly Mike didn't need any help. Without the cast, he didn't have any trouble at all. He was tired though and as soon as he ate some lunch he fell fast asleep for a time.
Since then, being back home, Mike has not been taking his pain medication other than tylenol. He uses his walker to get to the bathroom and into the computer room and although he has not gone downstairs and has spent most of his time in his bed with his leg propped up on a pillow, he has been quite capable of doing things for himself and has barely called me to come and help him. When I did my shopping last Wednesday, though, I had a coupon for Reese's Pieces miniatures and since I had to buy two bags to get one free, I got both the regular ones and a bag of dark chocolate ones. Mike seems to love his Reese's and have a special liking for the dark chocolate so he has asked me a few times to go get him some Reese's. Other than bringing Mike food and drink from down in the kitchen and the pantry, I have not been on call. Yesterday Mike2 and I drove to the trash dump. I went for a walk down to the mailbox in the morning and in the evening I raked dead leaves and sticks and sweet gum balls into a pile and lit a fire outside and at night I watched episodes of Kitchen Nightmares and 30-Rock with Mike2 and Mike didn't even miss me.
Yesterday afternoon Mike went into the bathroom all by himself (with his walker) and cleaned up, washed his hair, brushed his teeth, shaved and changed clothes and the only time I helped was when I offered to get him clean clothes. I didn't help him put them on though. He is doing everything himself. And he seems to be taking very good care of his leg to boot! (pun intended!) I saw him twice doing his exercises and watched while he rearranged his pillows to continue keeping his leg raised. He changed the settings on his brace to match the bend where the cast had kept it. He told me that today he is planning to take a shower sitting in a chair using the hand held sprayer. Mark the physical therapist, when he came yesterday just talked to Mike for awhile then cancelled both his Tuesday and Thursday appointments. He'll call before he returns next.
Mike already has his schedule to go back to see Dr. Nicholas next Friday at nine in the morning. And after that if all is well he'll go back once a month for a time just to be sure that no regrowth of the tumor takes place. Mike got the statement from the hospital in the mail yesterday and his surgery and his 3 extra days in the hospital cost over $14,000. Thank goodness we went to a University Hospital and thank goodness for the Medicare and Windsor Insurance that covers some of that. I hope we are not too much out of pocket. Just to make me smile, though, along with the hospital bill came a $40 rebate from EVGA on a video card we bought and a $20 check from a class action dryer duct settlement. God works in wonderous ways! Mysterious, but amazing and wonderous nevertheless! From the looks of the day it is going to be a very pleasant and peaceful Sunday today!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
A week of healing
Mike is much better today than he was yesterday. And yesterday he was better than the day before. Monday Mike's leg and foot were swollen and he kept ice on it all of the day. He was worn out after doing his exercises and needed rest after only getting out of bed to stand for a few minutes with his walker. Tuesday he got out of bed early in the morning and walked to the bathroom and did a little personal hygiene and sprucing up and clothes changing before he was tired and ready to go back to bed. A physical therapist named Mark came just before noon and stayed awhile, going over his exercises and explaining what each exercise would accomplish. He was glad to see Mike had been doing every one of them ten times each twice a day. He told Mike to increase them from ten times each and do fifteen. Little did he know that Mike had already done the ten times each and was fitting in a second bout of fifteen times each while he was there. And that didn't stop him from doing them all again at night. I stayed close and watched, but he didn't need much help to raise his cast and once he got out of bed all by himself, pulling his walker over with the handle of his cane. Still, the work wore him out and he seemed glad to get back into bed after each work out. He isn't on any special diet so I've been making every attempt to fix him food that he likes and his appetite has returned.
Wednesday, I got up early to get ready to go to Hot Springs. I have a friend there that I have been helping out. She is going through a divorce. She is from Czechoslovakia and although she speaks English very well, she has a hard time writing. She had asked me to if I would help her to write some letters to gather evidence to be presented in her court case. I made plans to stop by her house to do the writing on her computer for her so she could print it out. And I needed to do some shopping because shopping has been one of the things I have not been doing lately and we needed milk and bread and eggs and I wanted to get lots of other food to fix for Mike's meals. I also wanted to surprise him by going by and picking up a 'to go' order from our little sushi restaurant in Hot Springs. Mike does love sushi.
The hospital in Little Rock called to say that Mike needs to return there on Friday at ten to have the staples from his surgery removed from his leg, so we'll need to go in early to have the cast removed and have some xrays taken, then he will see the doctor for more information about the progress of his healing and find out what we can expect in the future. I meant to fill the gas tank in the car while I was in Hot Springs but there was so much to be done that forgot that. I woke Mike2 before I left, to let him know that he needed to look in on Mike and I gave him a walkie talkie so that Mike could call him if he needed anything, but I still didn't want to be gone for any long time...so when I started the trip toward home, stopping for gas slipped my mind completely. Other than that, I reckon we are ready to go on Friday. None of us is looking forward to Mike having to go down the steps and to the car to make that trip, but we are ready to be there so we can find out more about this healing process and how long this recouperation will take and when he'll be able to use his leg again. Already he is telling Mike2 things that he would normally take care of himself . Mike2 will have to mow the front lawn and till the garden and change out the water filters and feed the animals. Thank goodness he is here to help Mike go down the stairs and get into the car come Friday!
I took pictures of the springtime here so I can remember the front lawn that is a field of purple and white wildflowers. They'll be mowed down soon. The blossoms on the pear trees out front are already blowing off the branches and covering the ground underneath the them with white petals. They'll be completely green soon. Right now, the view from my front windows is beautiful, completely different than what I saw in the winter. The bare branches of the trees have little green buds and soon they'll leaf out. It's time to plant the garden, but I think it'll be late this year!
Meanwhile, Mike has gotten out of bed several times today, even going to sit at his computer and chat a bit with his son in law. By Friday, going to Little Rock won't be a big step for Mike the stepper!
Wednesday, I got up early to get ready to go to Hot Springs. I have a friend there that I have been helping out. She is going through a divorce. She is from Czechoslovakia and although she speaks English very well, she has a hard time writing. She had asked me to if I would help her to write some letters to gather evidence to be presented in her court case. I made plans to stop by her house to do the writing on her computer for her so she could print it out. And I needed to do some shopping because shopping has been one of the things I have not been doing lately and we needed milk and bread and eggs and I wanted to get lots of other food to fix for Mike's meals. I also wanted to surprise him by going by and picking up a 'to go' order from our little sushi restaurant in Hot Springs. Mike does love sushi.
The hospital in Little Rock called to say that Mike needs to return there on Friday at ten to have the staples from his surgery removed from his leg, so we'll need to go in early to have the cast removed and have some xrays taken, then he will see the doctor for more information about the progress of his healing and find out what we can expect in the future. I meant to fill the gas tank in the car while I was in Hot Springs but there was so much to be done that forgot that. I woke Mike2 before I left, to let him know that he needed to look in on Mike and I gave him a walkie talkie so that Mike could call him if he needed anything, but I still didn't want to be gone for any long time...so when I started the trip toward home, stopping for gas slipped my mind completely. Other than that, I reckon we are ready to go on Friday. None of us is looking forward to Mike having to go down the steps and to the car to make that trip, but we are ready to be there so we can find out more about this healing process and how long this recouperation will take and when he'll be able to use his leg again. Already he is telling Mike2 things that he would normally take care of himself . Mike2 will have to mow the front lawn and till the garden and change out the water filters and feed the animals. Thank goodness he is here to help Mike go down the stairs and get into the car come Friday!
I took pictures of the springtime here so I can remember the front lawn that is a field of purple and white wildflowers. They'll be mowed down soon. The blossoms on the pear trees out front are already blowing off the branches and covering the ground underneath the them with white petals. They'll be completely green soon. Right now, the view from my front windows is beautiful, completely different than what I saw in the winter. The bare branches of the trees have little green buds and soon they'll leaf out. It's time to plant the garden, but I think it'll be late this year!
Meanwhile, Mike has gotten out of bed several times today, even going to sit at his computer and chat a bit with his son in law. By Friday, going to Little Rock won't be a big step for Mike the stepper!
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