Angels Watching Over Me

I realized that I haven't posted much about my knee replacement. So I will correct that right now. I want to thank Theresa, J.D., Melody and Amy for keeping everyone updated on my progress until I came home from the hospital. It is great to know that I have this kind of support. I love you all!! The last few things that I remember before the surgery was my Doctor came in and asked me what my name was and what knee he would be doing the surgery on. He then autographed my knee. The Anesthesiologist then came in and explained that he would be doing a spinal block, as well as putting  me to sleep. The next thing I knew, I was waking up and the nurse was putting the button to the magic pain machine in my hand and giving me the instructions on how it worked.

As I drifted in and out of sleep I remember my leg being on a machine that continuously kept it in motion. When I was awake enough to realize that the pain medications were wearing off and my leg had been moving with the help of the machine for quite some time. I was so surprised that I wasn't experiencing the " fight the tears back pain"  that I had before the surgery. I was feeling some soreness but not the searing pain that I have had for the past few years.

I was told by family and a couple of the nurses that at some point during surgery or in recovery my blood pressure had dropped to 40 over 20. I have pondered that information and came to the obvious conclusion that not only do I have Angels watching over me, it just wasn't my time to meet my Creator. So I will just keep on keeping on with what I have been doing and that is mostly paying forward the good that I have received. 

Meanwhile I am keeping up with my physical therapy. The plan was three sessions a week for six weeks. Thursday was my third session. I walked in using my walker and walked out without it...... Not even a cane. The therapist was surprised with how fast I am progressing.  With my first session the range in my knee was at 85% and yesterday it measured 110%. The therapy is painful and at times  I find myself reliving the  "  fight back the tears painfulness "" that I had before the knee replacement. It is the necessary path  though that has to be traveled if I want a full and complete recovery. I will do what has to be done and I will fight back any tears that tries to surface. In the future I will remember to take some pain pills before the session and not after it.

That pretty much catches you up to where I am in my recovery. I am hoping to get around to do some more visits as I continue to improve and the stiffness and soreness in my knee becomes less. Until then I am hoping that you have sunshine in your days and the wonderful sounds of springtime in your nights.    

   

Marty Has Been Found

A while back I posted about a friend's son that had been missing since December 29th, 2008. I did a blog page to try and help find Marty @ Marty Is Missing . Since I recently received this e-mail from our friend Jackie, concerning Patty's son, I wanted to update you on the situation:

" The Harris County, TX coroner confirmed (June2) that the unidentified skull they located (they don't have the rest of the skeleton) is that of Patty's son Marty. They have had the skull since April 17. His death is now considered a homicide. They still will not release the skull until their investigation is complete.

The detectives still are not giving any information as to where the skull was found other than it was in Crosby, TX. and that positive identification was made by dental records.

Patty has been handling things fairly well. Ruth Ann, her daughter and caregiver, was not handling it well at all !! "

I can not even imagine what Marty's family is going through, but my heart and prayers reach out to each of them. It is a Native American belief that the dragonfly carries the spirits of our loved ones into the next life. Marty, I hope your journey was a peaceful one after the painful life you lived and horrible death that you suffered.

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.

Wild Thing......You Make My Heart Sing

Here it is Saturday already and we are spending the day with Seth and Riley while Mommy and Daddy have a day out. When I went to the Dr Tuesday my pain level was an 8 - 8 1/2. With that he decided to try the cortisone shot in my knee to see if it will help any. I have to say it has been 4 days and I have had some relief to the pain in my knee, but when you add to the equation the fibromyalgia and the pain in my hip that is a constant, the shot to the knee was sort of like throwing a bucket of water on a forest fire. Although the knee is no longer hurting the rest of me still is. He was very concerned that my Vitamin D levels in my blood work was so extremely low. So he ordered more blood work to start the process of elimination to find the cause for that. Riley had his first soccer game of the season this morning so I figured we could go by the lab, get my blood work taken care of, go to Riley's game and then spend time with the boys. It was a good plan except for the blood work. Who ever was scheduled to draw blood today didn't show up. So no blood work today.

I neglected to bring the camera, but I thought the above picture would pretty much fit in. I have a story to tell you about something Alley Oop did the last time she came to spend the night with us. The head board on the bed in the guest room is metal with bars. Pretty much like the old iron head boards. Oop had gone in to plug her cell phone in to recharge and was gone for quite some time. When she finally came back to the living room she had this sheepish grin on her face. I asked her what has she been up to and she didn't hesitate to tell us all about her adventures in the guest room...... It seems that the only outlet that she could think of to plug her phone into was behind the head board of the bed so she stuck her arm through the bars, but she couldn't feel the outlet. So she then stuck her head through the bars on the head board so she could see where the outlet was. It seems that her head got stuck and she was there for quite a while struggling to get it out. When I was able to stop laughing long enough to talk, I asked her why she didn't yell for help. I mean talk about a photo op. She laughed and said that's why she didn't yell for help. So I don't have a picture to share of that one, but it gives you a chance to use your imagination and get a mental visual of it. What was really so funny to me was that she didn't want me to take a picture of something like that, but she couldn't wait to tell us about it. That's our Alley Oop though.

We still haven't heard back from the Dr about Mindy's CT Scan. The waiting for knowledge of unknown is always the most difficult part of an illness. I will let you know when we hear anything. As for friends and family in Louisiana during Gustav, they were all fine and didn't have any damage to any of the property.

That's it for now. I wish you many blessings and much happiness.

I believe In Miracles

I want to thank everyone for their 'Get Well' wishes. I am feeling much better.

I am sure that you are all interested in the latest update on Dominic. The last report that I had was a couple of days ago. Dominic is blind and the Doctors are giving him a 25% chance of regaining his sight. Tests have shown that there is still pockets of swelling in his brain. Perhaps when all of the swelling goes down his vision will return. They did a tracheotomy the other day, which they believe will need to be permanent. The family was told that Dominic will never mentally progress past the age of two. On top of all of this the poor baby is going to spend at the very least a month in the hospital. This family has been given a lot to try to digest all at one time. Please keep little Dominic in your prayers, as well as the family. I will continue to keep you updated as I learn more. There have been cases where doctors have been wrong in their diagnosis. The future looks bleak for Dominic right now, but I believe in miracles and the power of God's healing power and love.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As a tribute to my mother, I wrote a poem for her before the cancer took her away from me. She lived for two months after the cancer moved to her brain. I read this at her memorial service. To celebrate her memory for Mother's Day I would like to share that poem with all of you.

'Jo and Mom'

My Mother's Love

~*~*~*~

Through the years I came to you,

with hurts of all kinds.

Some were major cuts and wounds,

some almost too small to find.

~*~*~*~
Still you kissed away the hurt,

for everything,you seemed to have a cure.

My Mother's Love was always there,

to make me feel secure.

~*~*~*~
When dreams awoke me from sleep,

and filled the night with fear,

My Mother's Love was always there,

to dry my every tear.

~*~*~*~
You taught me solid values,

what was wrong and right.

When I questioned and faltered,

My Mother's Love was always there,

to be my guiding light.

~*~*~*~
It didn't go unnoticed,

that many times you went without.

My Mother's Love was always there,

to teach what giving was about.

~*~*~*~
I admire you beyond words,

your pain has been life long.

My Mother's Love was always there,

showing me how to be strong.

~*~*~*~
When my heart has been broken,

and I thought it would never mend.

My Mother's Love was always there,

to prove a mother can also be a friend.

~*~*~*~
Any good that has come from my life,

Any pain I have learned to rise above.

Gentleness and concern I have passed on

I owe it all to....

~ My Mother's Love ~

© 2000 Jo An Riley Dupree

Friday Update On Dominic

I talked with Amy today and the news wasn't good. Although Dominic is only depending on the respirator for 25% of his breathing (that is what was meant about the # 30 yesterday) his little brain is starting to swell. Which leads me to think that he must have hit his head on the edge of the pool before falling into the water. Please continue sending those prayers up for this baby. It truly breaks my heart to think of what he is going through, as well as what the family is dealing with.

Today was Seth Day and since J.D. is still not feeling up to parr, I went in alone. T~Bear's school had their Cinco de Mayo program this morning. Tersie took the morning off from work so she could go to the program. She was such a God send to me, being there to help me with Seth. I don't realize the toll that the fibromyalgia and arthritis has taken on me until I try to deal with the little ones by myself. I am exhausted, so I am going to go lay down a while and rest. I just wanted to update you on Dominic's condition. I will post on T~Bear's program tomorrow.

Easter Greetings

May Easter Rabbit in your heart's nest

Lay the golden egg upon whose quest

All knights and ladies plain and fair,

Are seeking, seeking everywhere.

The longed for GOLDEN EGG of PEACE

Which makes all earthly woes to cease

By filling hearts with LOVE FOR OTHERS,

So self's forgot as we help our brother.

by Winifred Sackville Stoner, Jr.

Update on Darlene:

They gave her a transfusion last night and watched the blood flow. As I understand it, the blood flow slowed enough to where they didn't see the need for an emergency Cat Scan and are more or less just watching things for right now. Personally, I don't understand why they haven't already done the Cat Scan. If there is bleeding from an unknown source, it seems to me that finding that source would be a priority. I will keep you posted on what is happening, as we find out.

Have a Blessed Easter Eve. ~Jo