Happy New Year! Following up since the last post, I did go back to the doctor on the 23rd. Got the bulky cast off and saw what was under it. No wonder I was in pain. I did take a picture, but since my arm resembled a cooked pork loin, I decided not to post the picture. They removed the stitches but I have a pin that will have to stay in for six weeks. I exchanged one bulky cast for another equally bulky cast. I will have to wear this one until the first week in February. I guess the doc will pull out the pin then. Something to look forward to.
The week after my surgery, my son-in-law had surgery and my wife flew to San Antonio, Texas to help. A friend of ours took her to Atlanta for her flight out, but I picked her up on her return trip. That gave me a chance to visit with my brother and his family before heading to the airport. Of course it was pouring down rain, one handed, glaring lights and bad windshield wipers, but I got to the right place and on time.
The rains continued till Christmas causing flooding all around, So much rain fell that I had white water rapids flowing down my front yard, I had to drain the extra water out of my pool twice to keep it from overflowing, I now have some new piles of fist sized rocks that the current moved the bottom of the mountain. That will give you an idea of just how powerful the water was. Rains finally stopped on Christmas day. Because of the storms a water main broke and we had no water Christmas morning. Amy went to Birmingham for lunch with her mom and I went to my mom's house to eat lunch with her.
My daughter, Katy and her clan (Scott, Kinsley, Cooper, and dog Baxter) came for a few days after Christmas. Jason and Shelley their dog Brooks, were able to come eat with us. It was really good to have them here. Next year we expect all here for Christmas. Kinsley and Cooper really enjoyed playing with Brooks, since he is bigger than both of them. I think they were more excited to see Brooks than Jason and Shelley.
Amy and I celebrated the new year by falling asleep before seeing it in, I guess that is just a sign of getting older. Also we have watched all the bowl games we care to see, except for one more next week. I decided not to make any new year resolutions, that way I will not break them. Until next time ...
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
Saturday, December 12, 2015
December 12, 2015
The days seem to fly by. I seem to have so much to do that I can blink and another week has passed me by. Or it may be that I am getting old enough to be forgetful. Injury update - Doctor set me up for an mri to check on the ligament damage. By this time I was feeling no pain in my wrist and I was able to move everything inside the cast. The mri was extremelypainfull due to the awkward position I had to lay in. The prior damage to my shoulder made it impossible to lay on my stomach with my arm stretched out. He said the imaging would take four minutes. After what seemed like an hour, they said three more minutes, but I was done. I had to get out of the machine. They had to lift my arm up because I could not raise my arm. I hope I never have to do that again. This past Monday (7th) I went back to the doctor halfway expecting to have the cast removed. Instead I was told that I needed surgery to repair the wrist. Not only was there a break in one of the outer bones but also a dislocation of the bones in the center of my wrist. After more X-rays the doctor showed me the problem and scheduled surgery for Wednesday (9th). The surgery was extensive and the wrist was reconstructed with ligaments taken from the back of my hand. When I left the hospital I was in fair shape, but I've had to double up on my pain meds every 4 hours. Fingers are really swollen and thumb is in what feels like heavy concrete cast. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rank my pain level at 15. Meds sure help but make me feel loopy and all spaced out. I go back to the doctor on the 23rd. I guess I will find out what it looks like under the cast then.
Saturday, November 28, 2015
November 28, 2015
Yesterday was so beautiful that we headed for the woods. Amy, Jason, Shelley, and Brooks and I hiked about 7.5 miles.
On Monday after my doctor visit, where I was told there may be ligament damage in my wrist, we headed to Woodstock, Ga. to visit my brother. We originally planned to stay one night, but those plans went out the window. After lunch on Tuesday, Lewis and I went to Walmart and were headed to Lowe's when my car started to overheat. We tried to get it to a chevy dealer, but I did not want to ruin the engine, so we could only go about 1/2 mile before I had to cut it off and let it cool. Although the dealership was only about 7 miles away we had to get on the interstate during rush hour traffic and continuously pull over on the shoulder to let the car cool. Needless to say we never made it to the dealer. Had to call a wrecker and have it towed the last mile, One of Lewis's neighbors came to pick us up. So, we stayed an extra night. The dealership provided a car for us to drive home because the repairs would take a couple of days. We will go pick up our car on Monday. The problem was a busted water pump, and someone put the wrong coolant in when trying to get to the dealership, which ruined the radiator. Okay, the someone was me. Other than the mis-adventure with the car we really enjoyed the visit, We will plan on visiting once a month.
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Nov. 18 2015
Update on Friday 13 hike.. So I followed up with the doctor and i now have a cast.
I have to have an mri on it tomorrow to see if surgery is needed. Doctor thinks the bone is too small to operate so we will wait and see. The worst thing is I missed a 3 day church trip with good friends to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. I told my wife that I would drive up after the doctor visit. I knew there was no way that was happening but I did not want her to back out of the trip because of me. She gets home today. More to come later.
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Saturday, November 14, 2015
Nov. 14, 2015
Yesterday was a beautiful day. Amy and I decided to go hiking at Cheaha State Park. We parked at the trailhead and set out to hike some of the Pinhoti Trail then loop back on Cave Creek Trail. I had hiked this before, but had no idea of the distance. This was Amy's first hike.
About 3 miles in I managed to trip and fall. Not just once but 3 times in all. The second fall was the worst. I was in pain after that. Wrist was hurting, ribs were bruised. Amy wanted to turn around and go back. Being as stubborn as a mule I kept pushing for us to keep going. I really should have listened to her. We were on the trail for over 6 hours. The last 2 were in the dark. I had taken a headlamp just in case so Amy used it and I used the flashlight on my phone. The loop turned out to be 9.4 miles. We were so glad to get back to our car. Tired, hungry, cold and in pain. Once we got home I could see my wrist was swollen. I thought it was sprained so I put some ice on it, ate supper, watched T.V. and then went to bed. About 3:00 this morning I had to go to the hospital. On a scale of 1 to 10, my pain was at least a 20. Turned out the wrist was broken. I'm not superstitious but I'm never hiking again on a Friday the 13th.
About 3 miles in I managed to trip and fall. Not just once but 3 times in all. The second fall was the worst. I was in pain after that. Wrist was hurting, ribs were bruised. Amy wanted to turn around and go back. Being as stubborn as a mule I kept pushing for us to keep going. I really should have listened to her. We were on the trail for over 6 hours. The last 2 were in the dark. I had taken a headlamp just in case so Amy used it and I used the flashlight on my phone. The loop turned out to be 9.4 miles. We were so glad to get back to our car. Tired, hungry, cold and in pain. Once we got home I could see my wrist was swollen. I thought it was sprained so I put some ice on it, ate supper, watched T.V. and then went to bed. About 3:00 this morning I had to go to the hospital. On a scale of 1 to 10, my pain was at least a 20. Turned out the wrist was broken. I'm not superstitious but I'm never hiking again on a Friday the 13th.
Nov. 12, 2015
Over the summer I have said I would post pictures, so here they are. They do go back to previous posts.
The hardest puzzle I ever worked. (2000 pieces)
Pool construction pictures.
Almost ready to swim???
Beginning to take shape
Now ready to swim.
Wall construction.
Concrete poured.
New parking area.
Caught in the act tearing down my bird feeders.
Before sod. Note the rocks.
After sod.
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
November 3, 2015
Okay, it looks like this will be a quarterly update A lot of good things have happened since the last update. Mom has improved to the point where she is beginning to get out of the house some. She has been to church several times and we even went to visit Lewis last week in Woodstock, Ga. We can only credit mom's improvement to answered prayer and her occupational therapist, Lisa, who was able to convince her that the only thing limiting her was her "can't do" mentality. Mom had made so much progress that she no longer quilifies for home health care. We hated to see Lisa stop coming. She had gotten mom to even walk across the room with out her walker. She would strap on her magic belt and off she would go. Of course mom thought Lisa was right behind her holding the belt, but Lisa would be on the other side of the room. That is the reason we called it a magic belt. As long as the belt was on, she could walk without the walker. Lisa will be missed. Mom's caregivers are excellent and take extremely good care of her. We do have a standing joke about them having to take nerve pills to keep staying with her, but the truth is they are excellent help with mom. We are lucky to have them.
Lewis has been well enough to take several trips but his loss of appetite has caused him to be more feeble. He continues to be a fall risk and now uses a walker sometimes. He still has a great attitude and is now on steroids to increase his appetite. They seem to be working. He needs to gain some weight, and that is one of his goals. I am not sure I understand the thinking that drinking an Ensure counts as a meal, even though that is what they say. Each one is not but about 300 calories and drinking 3 would only provide less than 1000 calories a day. That is the amount most people would take in if they were trying to loose weight. Of course that thinking probably comes from my being 240 lbs and really overweight. I would gladly share some pounds with Lewis, but it doesn't work that way. Lewis's original prognosis was two years, which has now stretched to 4 and counting. Another answer to prayers. The results of his last scan were not as promising and he may have to go back to IV chemo after Christmas. He has been on oral chemo which has not been as strong as the other, but has had less side effects. We pray that his next scan will show improvement, and further delay the IV chemo.
Changes have been made around my house. Amy and I raked the top rocks in the front yard and I decided to put down sod to cover the remaining rocks. I estimated about 4000 square feet of grass would be needed. That came to nine pallets. So a couple of weeks ago I had them delivered. I don't know what I was thinking. I somehow failed to realize that I had to pick up each piece and set it in place. I knew I was in trouble after the 1st day when I had only put out one pallet. The race was on to get the rest out before all the grass died on the remaining 8 pallets. After a quick trip for a back brace and three days later I was done. I never want to see another pallet of grass, ever! In my mind I knew I was putting out some dead grass, but at least all the rocks are now covered and I will be able to use the lawnmower again this coming spring. I hope that the grass comes back to life in a couple of months, but for now even dead grass looks good. Of course most of it is growing, and it may need cutting before winter.
The pool is finally finished and I even got to swim in it a few times before the temperature started to drop. Another good thing is that I finished my physical therapy on my shoulder. I had mess it up when I hauled the 38 years of accumulated junk around the house to the landfill. Some of the things were quite heavy. I was able to load those things on the truck with my front end loader, but once I got to the dump, it was just me to get them off the truck. Every piece had to be lifted over a rail to get it into the dumpster. I thought it was a bad sprain, but it hurt like a broken arm. After a couple of months I finally went to the doctor, had two shots in the shoulder and then 5 weeks of physical therapy or should I say torture therapy. I was so glad when I was released from that ordeal. I will have to admit that it really helped though.
After working the 2000 piece mostly dark blue puzzle, the hardest one ever which took 6 months to finish, it would seem that I need a break from puzzles. But, I have started another one that is mostly green, but only half the number of pieces than the other one. It should be completed by the end of this month. I will try to post pictures and less writing for my next post. This week we are visiting Kinsley, Cooper, Katy, Scott, and Baxter in Chantilly, Virginia. Having a great time, but dreading the ride back home at the end of the week. That's all for now, will post again soon.
Lewis has been well enough to take several trips but his loss of appetite has caused him to be more feeble. He continues to be a fall risk and now uses a walker sometimes. He still has a great attitude and is now on steroids to increase his appetite. They seem to be working. He needs to gain some weight, and that is one of his goals. I am not sure I understand the thinking that drinking an Ensure counts as a meal, even though that is what they say. Each one is not but about 300 calories and drinking 3 would only provide less than 1000 calories a day. That is the amount most people would take in if they were trying to loose weight. Of course that thinking probably comes from my being 240 lbs and really overweight. I would gladly share some pounds with Lewis, but it doesn't work that way. Lewis's original prognosis was two years, which has now stretched to 4 and counting. Another answer to prayers. The results of his last scan were not as promising and he may have to go back to IV chemo after Christmas. He has been on oral chemo which has not been as strong as the other, but has had less side effects. We pray that his next scan will show improvement, and further delay the IV chemo.
Changes have been made around my house. Amy and I raked the top rocks in the front yard and I decided to put down sod to cover the remaining rocks. I estimated about 4000 square feet of grass would be needed. That came to nine pallets. So a couple of weeks ago I had them delivered. I don't know what I was thinking. I somehow failed to realize that I had to pick up each piece and set it in place. I knew I was in trouble after the 1st day when I had only put out one pallet. The race was on to get the rest out before all the grass died on the remaining 8 pallets. After a quick trip for a back brace and three days later I was done. I never want to see another pallet of grass, ever! In my mind I knew I was putting out some dead grass, but at least all the rocks are now covered and I will be able to use the lawnmower again this coming spring. I hope that the grass comes back to life in a couple of months, but for now even dead grass looks good. Of course most of it is growing, and it may need cutting before winter.
The pool is finally finished and I even got to swim in it a few times before the temperature started to drop. Another good thing is that I finished my physical therapy on my shoulder. I had mess it up when I hauled the 38 years of accumulated junk around the house to the landfill. Some of the things were quite heavy. I was able to load those things on the truck with my front end loader, but once I got to the dump, it was just me to get them off the truck. Every piece had to be lifted over a rail to get it into the dumpster. I thought it was a bad sprain, but it hurt like a broken arm. After a couple of months I finally went to the doctor, had two shots in the shoulder and then 5 weeks of physical therapy or should I say torture therapy. I was so glad when I was released from that ordeal. I will have to admit that it really helped though.
After working the 2000 piece mostly dark blue puzzle, the hardest one ever which took 6 months to finish, it would seem that I need a break from puzzles. But, I have started another one that is mostly green, but only half the number of pieces than the other one. It should be completed by the end of this month. I will try to post pictures and less writing for my next post. This week we are visiting Kinsley, Cooper, Katy, Scott, and Baxter in Chantilly, Virginia. Having a great time, but dreading the ride back home at the end of the week. That's all for now, will post again soon.
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