That's the title of an old Sam Cooke song, but there may be some people reading this who don't know who Sam Cooke is. If you don't, do a Google search, and try to listen to the song. It has nothing to do with my post, but it's a great song from a great singer, who died too young.
We are having a dull Saturday night, and nothing could please me more. DH is sleeping, along with his faithful canine companion. He ate cereal and some of my favorite Chick-fil-A entree, which is a Hot Brown. He didn't like the Hot Brown, so that's why he ended up with cereal. I'm sitting in my studio, updating my blog and listening to the wind howl through the trees. We are expecting bad weather from 9:00 p.m. until 9:00 a.m. Sunday morning, and since we live in an area prone to tornadoes, we try to be vigilant.
DH's dialysis treatments are going very well. The nephrologist did grand rounds on Tuesday, and told DH that if his blood stayed as clean as it's been, they will be able to cut back on the time he has to be there for dialysis. We think that probably means cutting back from four hours to three hours, and we see anything along those lines as a blessing. The nurses repeated the same thing to him when he was there Thursday; I'm not sure if anything was said today.
The trip to the eye doctor was Thursday, and we got good news there, too. Our optometrist said that he thought that DH's eyes would improve as DH improved, and that he didn't see any signs of cataracts. He wants to see him again on next Friday; DH said that his eyesight has already started to improve, and feels very encouraged.
Two friends came today and worked on our yard. They also replaced burned out spotlights on our outside light fixtures, and that was just as important to us as the yard work. While they were working on the yard and DH was at dialysis, I rode with my sister to a neighboring town to have lunch with my niece, nephew-in-law, and precious, darling, wonderful great-niece (can you tell that I think she's about the cutest baby ever born?). My sister's birthday is next week, and part of her gift was getting to see the baby. They live about two hours away from us, so we don't get to see them nearly as much as we'd like. Since I have no biological children of my own, my niece and nephew are like my children, and that makes that sweet baby my chance at a grandchild. My niece is in graduate school, and will have her doctorate in a year or so, and then they'll probably move about four hours away from us while her husband works on HIS doctorate (in computer science; hers is in school psychology). Thank goodness for digital pictures that can be sent via e-mail...
Another boring Saturday night...and a wonderful one. I've gotten to see some of my favorite family members, my darling husband is recovering from two life-threatening medical situations, and I'm in my beautiful studio in my beautiful house, with anything I could possibly need and most of what I could possibly want. Sam Cooke didn't have a good Saturday night; I'm having a wonderful one...
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Waiting for DH
I am sitting in my studio, waiting for the dog to signal me that our friend has brought DH home from dialysis. It is later than I thought they'd be, and I'm a little concerned. The weather is messy, though, and it's time for rush hour traffic to start up. When I married DH almost nine years ago, I never thought we'd have all the "adventures" we've had...but that's a subject for another post.
We've had a new issue come up--DH says his vision is not right. When he mentioned it for the second or third or fourth time, I got concerned. I know from past reading that vision changes are a symptom/side effect of kidney problems, and I was hoping this would not rear its ugly head with DH. No such luck. I called our optometrist, who is also a family friend, and he's going to work DH in Thursday morning and check his eyes. DH has already had his glasses changed for this insurance year, so this exam will be my responsibility. Dr. David will tell us what he thinks, and if he thinks DH needs to see an opthamologist or a specialist, he'll help make the arrangements.
DH came into my studio last night and asked me if I knew something about his illness that he didn't know. I told him absolutely not, and that's the truth. I also told him that I thought he had the right to know everything, but that I didn't want to get us excited and upset over obstacles that we might not have to face. I reminded him that I told Mother as soon as I could that the doctors thought she had liver cancer because I thought she needed to know and had the right to know.
I walked around our block this afternoon. It was sprinkling on me all the way, and got harder off and on. We live in the part of town known as "the mountain" and our neighborhood is just off the brow of the mountain. Our street slopes, and not very gently. It took me about sixteen minutes to walk it, and I was struggling during the last four or five minutes. That's when I was coming back UP our street toward our driveway. I turned right coming out of our driveway when I started, and that was the "easy" route. If I really want a challenge, I'll turn left and walk UP my sister's street. I've got to get back into shape because I don't know what's ahead with DH and I need to be as strong as possible...for both of us.
I had a telephone call yesterday afternoon from our pastor offering to pick up DH this afternoon, and I had another call this morning around 6:40 from another friend offering transportation of any kind. I had already made arrangements for this afternoon and Thursday afternoon, but we have been so blessed with people offering to help us...and I really think most of them mean it. We have had three or four meals brought to us, including the one that's sitting on the stove right now waiting for DH to get home.
I think I'll go wait in the den for him...
We've had a new issue come up--DH says his vision is not right. When he mentioned it for the second or third or fourth time, I got concerned. I know from past reading that vision changes are a symptom/side effect of kidney problems, and I was hoping this would not rear its ugly head with DH. No such luck. I called our optometrist, who is also a family friend, and he's going to work DH in Thursday morning and check his eyes. DH has already had his glasses changed for this insurance year, so this exam will be my responsibility. Dr. David will tell us what he thinks, and if he thinks DH needs to see an opthamologist or a specialist, he'll help make the arrangements.
DH came into my studio last night and asked me if I knew something about his illness that he didn't know. I told him absolutely not, and that's the truth. I also told him that I thought he had the right to know everything, but that I didn't want to get us excited and upset over obstacles that we might not have to face. I reminded him that I told Mother as soon as I could that the doctors thought she had liver cancer because I thought she needed to know and had the right to know.
I walked around our block this afternoon. It was sprinkling on me all the way, and got harder off and on. We live in the part of town known as "the mountain" and our neighborhood is just off the brow of the mountain. Our street slopes, and not very gently. It took me about sixteen minutes to walk it, and I was struggling during the last four or five minutes. That's when I was coming back UP our street toward our driveway. I turned right coming out of our driveway when I started, and that was the "easy" route. If I really want a challenge, I'll turn left and walk UP my sister's street. I've got to get back into shape because I don't know what's ahead with DH and I need to be as strong as possible...for both of us.
I had a telephone call yesterday afternoon from our pastor offering to pick up DH this afternoon, and I had another call this morning around 6:40 from another friend offering transportation of any kind. I had already made arrangements for this afternoon and Thursday afternoon, but we have been so blessed with people offering to help us...and I really think most of them mean it. We have had three or four meals brought to us, including the one that's sitting on the stove right now waiting for DH to get home.
I think I'll go wait in the den for him...
Sunday, February 18, 2007
My Craft Studio
Several years ago, I found a quote in an issue of Legacy magazine, and it has stuck with me: "Art is work that is created by an artist. Who is an artist? Anyone who labels himself as such." That changed my thinking...or at least gave voice to what I always knew inside. I read the quote to my mother, and she agreed with the writer...and with me. She was always an artist--with pen and ink; with fabric; with oils, acrylics, and canvas; with bits of wood and other ephemera--and she encouraged self-expression with her children and her grandchildren. What a wonderful woman, and how lucky we were to have her in our lives for so many years.
I have posted pictures of my studio, and I call it a studio because I am an artist, and I do all sorts of artistic things in this room. I work on my personal scrapbooks, I make cards, I write, I edit photographs and order prints, I work on my canvas collages, I work on my art journal, and I simply enjoy the room and its contents.
The room is the smallest of the bedrooms in our new house. When we first looked at the house, I knew that it would be my room and I would fill it with my treasures. I have two bookcases that were built for me by my darling father. I have my grandfather's desk, and I use that for my computer and basket of scissors and pens. I have my great-grandmother's pierced tin pie safe, and it is full of wonderful supplies--paper, stamps, and brushes. I have rolling drawer units full of more treasures, and the closet has boxes of pens, my beloved tote bags, blank canvases, idea books, envelopes for cards, and my Pages by Design templates. There are two baskets FULL of alphabet stickers, and I am ashamed and embarrassed by their great quantity. I may take a vow to get rid of about half of them during the summer break; I have a plan, I think...
The room is painted a deep red, and while I like the color, I think I'd like this room better if it were a different color. The room next door was to be my mother's sitting room, and it is currently painted a bright green (it was a little boy's room previously). Mother wanted to leave it bright green, but I have other plans. I found a wonderful jungle print rug for the floor, and I am going to paint it one of the lighter colors from the rug, and I think I'll use the same color in my studio. It will probably be a grayish-green, and I'll keep the trim white.
My room has a beautiful view of our backyard. We haven't lived in this house during the spring and summer, so I don't know what the view will be when the trees are green, and the grass is not brown. DH grew such wonderful flowers at the other house, but with his health still on the mend, I don't know if we'll have any spots of color in the yard. Maybe I can get my stepson to plant us some things that will bloom and also be able to survive my benign neglect.
My window needs some sort of curtain, but I don't want to obstruct my view. The window is not tight; the cold air comes in right now, and I'm sure that means that warm air will come in during the summer months. If we can get the breeze stopped, then I can get away with just a valance for color.
If I look to the right when I am sitting at my work table, I can see our "woods". Actually, it's just a strip of our lot that we chose not to enclose when we fenced the rest of the yard before moving into the house. I think the strip is about twenty to thirty feet wide, and runs the length of the lot. DH has cleared out a path right next to the fence for me to use when I walk to my sister's house (she lives on the street behind us, two houses up) or for our friends to use when they walk over here. It's a nice path, but I've also talked to my stepson (the landscaper) about putting some sort of rock on the path (he suggested river rock). I'd also like it if the dog across the street stops leaving droppings on the path...his owner must not have heard about the leash law that was passed by our city about twenty or more years ago.
I have posted pictures of my studio, and I call it a studio because I am an artist, and I do all sorts of artistic things in this room. I work on my personal scrapbooks, I make cards, I write, I edit photographs and order prints, I work on my canvas collages, I work on my art journal, and I simply enjoy the room and its contents.
The room is the smallest of the bedrooms in our new house. When we first looked at the house, I knew that it would be my room and I would fill it with my treasures. I have two bookcases that were built for me by my darling father. I have my grandfather's desk, and I use that for my computer and basket of scissors and pens. I have my great-grandmother's pierced tin pie safe, and it is full of wonderful supplies--paper, stamps, and brushes. I have rolling drawer units full of more treasures, and the closet has boxes of pens, my beloved tote bags, blank canvases, idea books, envelopes for cards, and my Pages by Design templates. There are two baskets FULL of alphabet stickers, and I am ashamed and embarrassed by their great quantity. I may take a vow to get rid of about half of them during the summer break; I have a plan, I think...
The room is painted a deep red, and while I like the color, I think I'd like this room better if it were a different color. The room next door was to be my mother's sitting room, and it is currently painted a bright green (it was a little boy's room previously). Mother wanted to leave it bright green, but I have other plans. I found a wonderful jungle print rug for the floor, and I am going to paint it one of the lighter colors from the rug, and I think I'll use the same color in my studio. It will probably be a grayish-green, and I'll keep the trim white.
My room has a beautiful view of our backyard. We haven't lived in this house during the spring and summer, so I don't know what the view will be when the trees are green, and the grass is not brown. DH grew such wonderful flowers at the other house, but with his health still on the mend, I don't know if we'll have any spots of color in the yard. Maybe I can get my stepson to plant us some things that will bloom and also be able to survive my benign neglect.
My window needs some sort of curtain, but I don't want to obstruct my view. The window is not tight; the cold air comes in right now, and I'm sure that means that warm air will come in during the summer months. If we can get the breeze stopped, then I can get away with just a valance for color.
If I look to the right when I am sitting at my work table, I can see our "woods". Actually, it's just a strip of our lot that we chose not to enclose when we fenced the rest of the yard before moving into the house. I think the strip is about twenty to thirty feet wide, and runs the length of the lot. DH has cleared out a path right next to the fence for me to use when I walk to my sister's house (she lives on the street behind us, two houses up) or for our friends to use when they walk over here. It's a nice path, but I've also talked to my stepson (the landscaper) about putting some sort of rock on the path (he suggested river rock). I'd also like it if the dog across the street stops leaving droppings on the path...his owner must not have heard about the leash law that was passed by our city about twenty or more years ago.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Catching Up...
January 21--DH carried to hospital in an ambulance because he couldn't breathe; nephrologist told us that his kidneys are functioning at around eighteen percent.
January 22--Cardiologist tells us that DH has had a heart attack, and needs to have a heart catheterization to check on the extent of the damage. However, the dye used for the procedure will probably shut down his kidneys completely. DH is moved into the Coronary Care Unit.
January 25--The heart catheterization is performed, and showed that DH needed three bypasses. As expected, the fluids he was given to help pass the dye through his system end up causing respiratory distress, and he is treated with Lasix and a catheter is inserted. He lost almost six pounds in about eight hours, but his breathing returned to normal. He was on oxygen already (since being brought into the ER).
January 26--DH is moved out of CCU into a regular room. He was taken off Plavix, and the doctors wanted to wait five days before doing the bypass surgery. This was to lessen the chances that he would bleed out during surgery. The surgery was scheduled for January 30, but was postponed to January 31 so that enough platelets could be available. There is a statewide blood shortage...
January 31--Triple bypass surgery was performed on DH. He was taken down before 7:00 a.m., and the surgery began just before 8:00. The surgery team called me every hour during the surgery, and the surgeon came out to talk to me when they were done. The surgery went well, and his son and I saw him an hour later. He opened his eyes, but he didn't remember that visit. He was conscious and the breathing tube was out when I saw him three hours later. That was excellent progress. This time he was in Surgical Intensive Care.
February 2--DH was moved into a step-down unit, but did not do as well as expected. He was nauseated a lot, and unable to eat.
February 3--Dialysis was ordered, and DH was carried upstairs to the dialysis lab. That treatment lasted about three hours.
February 4--DH was sent back to SICU, and watched the Superbowl when he wasn't napping.
February 5--Another dialysis treatment was ordered and done in the SICU.
February 6--DH was moved out of SICU into the step-down unit. The doctors are talking about letting him go home...finally.
February 7--Day eighteen of our hospital stay. Dialysis treatment ordered again.
February 8--DH was finally dismissed from the hospital. The floor nurse began working on his discharge at about 9:00 a.m., and we FINALLY got home at 7:15 p.m.
February 10--DH had his first dialysis treatment at one of the local dialysis centers. It was very hard on him, but he managed to eat a little dinner after he got home.
February 13--DH had his second dialysis treatment at the dialysis center. It was still horrible, but not as horrible as the Saturday treatment was.
January 22--Cardiologist tells us that DH has had a heart attack, and needs to have a heart catheterization to check on the extent of the damage. However, the dye used for the procedure will probably shut down his kidneys completely. DH is moved into the Coronary Care Unit.
January 25--The heart catheterization is performed, and showed that DH needed three bypasses. As expected, the fluids he was given to help pass the dye through his system end up causing respiratory distress, and he is treated with Lasix and a catheter is inserted. He lost almost six pounds in about eight hours, but his breathing returned to normal. He was on oxygen already (since being brought into the ER).
January 26--DH is moved out of CCU into a regular room. He was taken off Plavix, and the doctors wanted to wait five days before doing the bypass surgery. This was to lessen the chances that he would bleed out during surgery. The surgery was scheduled for January 30, but was postponed to January 31 so that enough platelets could be available. There is a statewide blood shortage...
January 31--Triple bypass surgery was performed on DH. He was taken down before 7:00 a.m., and the surgery began just before 8:00. The surgery team called me every hour during the surgery, and the surgeon came out to talk to me when they were done. The surgery went well, and his son and I saw him an hour later. He opened his eyes, but he didn't remember that visit. He was conscious and the breathing tube was out when I saw him three hours later. That was excellent progress. This time he was in Surgical Intensive Care.
February 2--DH was moved into a step-down unit, but did not do as well as expected. He was nauseated a lot, and unable to eat.
February 3--Dialysis was ordered, and DH was carried upstairs to the dialysis lab. That treatment lasted about three hours.
February 4--DH was sent back to SICU, and watched the Superbowl when he wasn't napping.
February 5--Another dialysis treatment was ordered and done in the SICU.
February 6--DH was moved out of SICU into the step-down unit. The doctors are talking about letting him go home...finally.
February 7--Day eighteen of our hospital stay. Dialysis treatment ordered again.
February 8--DH was finally dismissed from the hospital. The floor nurse began working on his discharge at about 9:00 a.m., and we FINALLY got home at 7:15 p.m.
February 10--DH had his first dialysis treatment at one of the local dialysis centers. It was very hard on him, but he managed to eat a little dinner after he got home.
February 13--DH had his second dialysis treatment at the dialysis center. It was still horrible, but not as horrible as the Saturday treatment was.
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