It's Me Again Margaret.......

I wanted to take a little time and let you know what is going on with Mindy. She went back to the lung specialist the other day and the news wasn't great, but it was still better than what we had feared before. She has what is known as 'Restrictive Lung Disease' . The doctor told her that he has seen this in senior citizen patients before, but never in anyone so young as Mindy. If she does not quit smoking she will die within two years. She is still struggling with this. As a previous smoker, I know how difficult it is to kick the habit. There is no cure for this disease, but if she is successful with throwing out the cigarettes, if she starts eating and resting better, then she can stop the disease from progressing. There are five stages to 'Restrictive Lung Disease' and Mindy is in stage four. The only cure for her is a transplant and until she reaches the point of taking better care of herself she won't even be considered. She was told also that she needs to be very careful about not being around anyone that is sick, if she should catch a cold or the flu and if it were to turn into pneumonia, she will die. As you can see, prayers are still very much needed for Mindy.

Just a day or two before Mindy went back to the doctor, her brother, Robert was being sent for an ultra sound of his liver. He had been to the doctor and blood work had been done. They were concerned with the results of his liver function numbers. Upon completing the ultra sound he was told that his liver is enlarged and the Doctor will probably have him come in sooner than was planned to discuss the results. Please keep Robert in your prayers as well. Bad news sure does seem to be raining down on this family.

I am feeling quite a bit better. Thank you all for your well wishes and comments while I was away from my blog. It will take me a while to get caught up on everything and everyone. Last Friday was J.D.'s birthday so the two of us went to Olive Garden to celebrate the day. He insisted on wearing his 'Birthday Suit'. I know it was his birthday and he should have gotten to do what he wanted to do, but I just had to draw the line on that one. His 'Birthday Suit' was wrinkled anyway (after all he has had it for 67 years). I offered to iron it for him, but he would have no part of that. Since Britt and T-bear were with their Dad last weekend and Alley Oop was with her Mom, we waited until this weekend when all of the Yankee children and grandchildren could be here to have J.D.'s family birthday dinner. This is the meal where I will be fixing his favorite dish, authentic Cajun Gumbo with potato salad on the side. I will also be fixing a pot of Veggie Soup for the ones that don't care for Gumbo (These Yankee children are hard to please sometimes). Instead of cake we will be having sugar free Cheese Cake. That all takes place tomorrow, except for a lot of the cooking which I will do some of today.

May your weekend be filled with blessings and happiness.