Farewell, 2018

After spending 365 days with you, it's time to say farewell to you, 2018.  But just as your predecessors, you taught me a lot this year.  

The biggest thing you taught me is to keep my eyes open to be able to see miracles.  I've always had faith in my Christian walk, and I've been a firm believer that miracles happen.  But it wasn't until a few weeks ago that I saw many many big miracles happen right before my eyes.  In 2019, I am making it a point to keep my eyes open for more miracles that I know will happen. 

You also taught me that seemingly bad things happen to us for a good reason.  Mid-year, I made a major change in my job duties at work, and the stress that I had for the last few years was gone almost instantly.  That situation also taught me patience. 

Thank you, 2018, for making me a stronger person.  

WTG, UK

TWIT and I would like to congratulate the University of Kentucky Wildcat mens basketball team on their win yesterday over University of Louisville in the annual Battle of the Bluegrass.  And we are late, but we would also like to congratulate the Wildcat football team on their win a couple of months ago against U of L.  

Now if we can win on Tuesday in the Citrus Bowl!

Go Big Blue!  BBN!!

Old Friends

The Old Man had a great day today.  In fact, all three of us did.

We had finished breakfast this morning and were all three still in our pajamas drinking coffee, when we heard a car pull in the driveway.  It was none other than the Old Man's Best Friend Hal.  He lives down in Jackson, TN but had been up here to visit friends in Simpsonville, and he came out to PRP just to check on the Old Man.  

He came up to visit the Old Man in the hospital. That in itself was impressive to me - coming up to Louisville from Jackson, TN just to visit a friend in the hospital.  But that's the kind of friend he is.

We had a great visit with him today.  We spent a lot of time reminiscing about the awesome things that Gram would cook/bake back in the day.  We all agreed we were so thankful for such precious memories. 

Friday Updates

It's been an action-packed few days here at The Compound.  

The Old Man had a visit from the home health care nurse today, and she said she would be here next Friday and if all goes as she thinks, he will be released from home health care.  Check mark.

Then the Old Man had a visit from the occupational therapy nurse this afternoon.  He said she put him through a half hour of exercises and tests, which he passed.  She said that he doesn't need her to come back.  Second check mark.

Each day this week I could see the Old Man getting stronger and stronger, thanks to the Lord and all of the prayers.  That's about all I can say. 

Something You Don't See Every Day

We needed milk and a few other things, so I got up early this morning and ran up to the Super Krogers, just in case they had some cool things that I couldn't live without.  But I digress. 

I got my milk and a few other things and then quickly checked out.  As I was walking out of the store, I passed by the Kentucky Lottery vending machine, the turn-in-you-old-cell-phone-for-cash machine, the coins-for-cash machine, and a new vending machine I had never seen before: turn-in-your-unwanted-gift cards-for-cash.  

The part that blew me away was, first of all, I have never seen a machine like this before.  I knew there are places online you could redeem the cards for cash, but have never seen a vending machine for it.  The second thing that blew me away, was the fact that it was before 9:00 in the morning, and when I passed by the machine on my way out of the store, there were at least 10 people waiting in line to use it. 

Public service announcement:  
If you think about giving a gift card to someone next Christmas, forget about it, and just give them cash. 

Merry Christmas

TWIT and I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. 

Today, I am celebrating the miracles of the birth of my heavenly Father, and the life of my early father.  

Happy Christmas Eve

It's not Christmas until we've heard the Sweeney Sisters sing their Christmas Bells Medley.

https://www.downvids.net/sweeney-sisters-bells-medley--259279.html?fbclid=IwAR09nGzbWQssRE3NGYE2FaPmvPPmQVbdUdEcLpBvmxPapwepIAfAyo1bAk0

A Great Christmas Eve Eve

We've had a great Christmas Eve Eve today.  The morning started out with Krispy Kreme donuts for breakfast.   The Old Man took a shower and said he felt great.  Then things got even better - The Old Man's Country Cousin and his Sweet Wife came up and spent the afternoon visiting. Talking about old times and laughing did better than I think any medicine could have done.  

Another Great Day

Today was another great day, thank the Lord.  He wanted one of his favorite crossandwiches from Burger King for breakfast, and I was very happy to run up to get them.  He ate his down like a little piggie, so thank goodness his appetite is back.

I spent a couple of hours finishing my Christmas shopping, and came home and we all three took a nice, restful nap. 

He's had a great day today - and he even felt like barking orders to me earlier today when I put up our inflatable Mickey and Minnie Mouse decorations on the front porch.  It sure was good to hear him tell me to do it his way. 

Another Update On The Old Man

Today was another day filled with answered prayers. 

This morning, he said that he slept better last night, and had a pretty good night's sleep.  I told him that each night should be getting better and better as he is getting stronger and stronger.

I checked online at his Norton's Chart, and saw that the EKG from yesterday's visit with his regular doctor came back normal.  Thank you, Lord.  And he got a great report from his home healthcare nurse this morning.  Once again, thank you Lord.

He had a great visit today with a dear, old friend, and the visit did both of them good.  His friend assured him that he would be back to visit again, soon.

Thanks again so much for first of all, the prayers, and for the kind emails, texts, messages, and phone calls over the past week and a half. 

Today Was Another Good Day

The Old Man had his follow-up visit with is family doctor this afternoon.  I specifically asked my friends to pray for no waiting in the germ-infested waiting room.  And those prayers were answered.  We walked in and were the only people in the waiting room, praise the Lord.  

The doctor saw him, and like his doctors at the hospital, he was amazed first of all that he lived, and second, at how well he is doing.  

He checked him over and said he was doing great, and did an EKG to make sure all was well with the old ticker.  And then he sent him home, and told him he'd see him again three months.  

As I said before, the Lord is still performing miracles, if only we keep our eyes open to see. 

Today Was A Good Day

The Old Man said that he slept much better last night, and tonight at supper he said he feels stronger.  He even looks and sounds stronger. To me, he seems just like he was a couple of weeks ago.  Thank you, Lord.  

Tomorrow, we have a follow-up visit with his family doctor.  I am not expecting any surprises.

As always, stay tuned. 

Another Update On The Old Man

There's not a whole lot to update on today. He said he had a great day, and was happy to get to visit with his cousin Cathy and her husband Jack. He was a little more "feisty", shall we say, than in the previous few days, and I am taking that as a good sign.

He really enjoyed his visit with my Friend Of A Lifetime Diva Stacy tonight. Thank you so much for the meals you brought. And more so for the love you showed tonight.

He still specifically asked me tonight to ask you all to continue the prayers for him. I assured him that just because he got home, it didn't mean that people would stop praying for him. And he wanted me to let you all know that he was praying for you all, too.

Another Update On The Old Man

It's just been one week since The Old Man's aortic artery aneurysm ruptured and he had his surgery. The home health care nurse came today and said he was doing awesome. She will be back on Friday, and if all goes well, she will sign off. Another major miracle. He goes on Thursday afternoon for a follow-up visit to his family doctor, and we aren't expecting any surprises.

He was in pretty good spirits today, and once again he wanted me to thank you all for the prayers, and asked for continued prayers. I assured him that his faithful prayer warriors would keep on raising him up. And he wanted me to let you know that he is praying for you all, too.  My Sweet Mother and I also want to thank you for your prayers. They truly helped.

As always, stay tuned. 

Another Update On The Old Man

After fortunately more ups than downs on Friday, the Old Man got to come home yesterday - just five days after he had the major emergency surgery.   As of 12:30 yesterday afternoon, he was home sitting in his recliner.  Major miracle.  

Another Update On The Old Man

Dad's hemoglobin levels were up last night and this morning. First miracle.

They moved him to a regular room this morning, just three days since the major surgery. Second miracle.

The majority of his doctors came in today and all said "we're done". And if all goes well tonight, he will go home tomorrow. Third miracle.

We talked to his nurse for a good while tonight, and to make the long story short, she told us that the surgeon that did his quadruple bypass in 2015 had a heart attack, and was discharged today. Even with all that is going on with him, Dad stopped and prayed for the doctor. Not counting this as a miracle, but just throwing it out there.

Thanks again so much for the calls, texts, emails, visits, and good thoughts.

As always, I'll keep you posted.

Another Update On The Old Man

Yesterday was a day filled with ups and downs, thankfully more ups than downs. And just as I suspected, we had more miracles.

When we got to the hospital this morning, the renal specialist had just gotten there and was checking out The Old Man. He said that the kidney numbers were awesome and he was peeing like he should. First miracle.

Then we had another issue to deal with. The renal specialist also said the surgeon was concerned because his blood level was low. They had given him a pint earlier, and a couple hours later gave him a second pint. The surgeon wanted a CT scan to make sure that there was no bleeding. The renal specialist said that he felt confident that there was no bleeding and that it was "delusional", whatever that meant. If they did find bleeding, they would need to go back and do the more evasive surgery; the last thing that we all wanted. I started sending out the prayer request texts while they had him down in radiology getting the second CT scan. Before he went for the first scan, his cardiologist came in and he said he was so happy over The Old Man's kidney and other levels, and he said that he was also confident of no bleeding. Second miracle.

We waited and waited and still didn't hear anything from the doctor about the scan results. We got very nervous because lunchtime came and went and they didn't bring The Old Man his food; it was a bad sign, we thought - if they were going to do surgery again, they wouldn't want him to eat. But at about 2:00, his nurse brought him his lunch tray, and she had a big, big smile on her face. We still hadn't heard from a doctor, which we (and his nurse) thought was a good sign. Third miracle.

Later this afternoon, his blood pressure skyrocketed. And it stayed very high for about an hour. Once again, I sent out text prayer requests and within minutes, his BP was down in the normal range and when we left to go home tonight, it was still in the normal range. Fourth miracle.

Also later in the afternoon, the nurse had him move from the bed to the chair, where he sat for a good while. She said he stood up on his own and before she could grab onto him to steady him, he had already walked over very steadily and sat down in the chair. And he did the same thing going from the chair back into the bed. Fifth miracle.

All day long, The Old Man was able to get some rest took some naps. He kept telling us and his nurse that he didn't have any pain in his back or stomach. He looks "normal" - if you were to have walked in his room and saw him [minus all of the tubes, IV lines and machines he was hooked up to] you would swear he hadn't almost died two days ago and had major surgery. Sixth miracle.

Some old, true friends came to visit him tonight. Actually, I don't think of them as friends; they are family. He loved seeing all of them and chatting and laughing and reminiscing. I'm not calling this one the seventh miracle; I'm calling it a major blessing from God that they have been a part of my family's lives for a long time.

Thanks again for the prayers and concern

Another Update On The Old Man

Today was yet another day filled with miracles.

When we got to the hospital this morning, The Old Man was sitting up in a chair. The nurse said he had a great, restful night with no pain. And he was in very good spirits. All of this 18 hours after having major life-saving surgery. First miracle.

Things didn't go as we had wanted this morning and most of the afternoon. His kidneys seemed to have stopped working, even though his surgeon had put the stints in lower to not touch the arteries going to the kidneys. And his blood pressure was very low. It scared me because his nurse Katie was upset and so concerned. We all sat there around his hospital bed, everyone of us staring at the catheter bag, hoping to see it get fuller. I took a break and walked down the long hallway to the water fountain to fill my water bottle, and on the way I saw The Old Man's awesome cardiologist talking to one of the nurses. He recognized me and waved, and walked over to say hi. I told him that The Old Man was here, and gave him the Reader's Digest version of what had happened. He literally ran to The Old Man's room, got on the computer to check all of his charts, and started talking with The Old Man. He said he was going to tell the nurse and the other doctors that he was taking him off two of his current meds, as they might have some impact on his kidneys. When he left The Old Man's room, I walked out with him and thanked him, and he put his arm around me and said that he was truly amazed. He said that the majority of people that have an aortic artery aneurysm rupture don't make it. He also told me that even the test results and numbers say that he has a weak heart, it is a strong heart with the will to live. Second miracle.

The nurse came in to remove the stints and tubes they had in his neck and she asked us to go get a snack or whatever while she did her work. We (me, Minnie, my cousin and her husband, and The Old Man's cousin and his wife) all walked down to the big ICU waiting room and chatted. While we were there, The Old Man's vascular surgeon walked up and had a huge smile on his face, and gave us the thumb's up sign. Even though it appeared that The Old Man's kidneys had shut down, he said he was amazed at how good he was doing, and he was still optimistic for no dialysis. At the time, we were honestly a bit skeptical, but this came from the surgeon, so we were happy. Third miracle.

After many glasses of water and a couple of IV bags, the BP was still low and he wasn't peeing. My cousin and I started sending out text prayer requests and asked our faithful prayer warriors to specifically pray for the BP to stabilize and most of all for him to pee. Shortly there after, his BP had risen, and praise the Lord, he started to pee. Fourth [major] miracle.

Shortly after, the renal specialist came in to check things out. Just like the vascular surgeon, he was amazed at how good The Old Man was doing, especially now that his BP had risen some and he was peeing. He asked The Old Man where we lived, and when The Old Man told him PRP, he said that they had just built a new dialysis center off of Dixie Highway. And then he said "But you won't need to use it." Fifth miracle.

People can be skeptical if they want - that's their prerogative. But my family and friends can testify to the many miracles we've seen performed over the past two days. And something tells me, there are more miracles to come.

Thank you all so much for your comments, texts, phone calls, and messages, but most of all for the prayers.

Another Update On The Old Man

I've been getting lots of texts and calls, so I want to update everyone. I am going to do my best to list all of the miracles that the Lord performed for The Old Man today.

Let me preface by saying that in just the past two weeks, Dad had made tremendous recovery with his bullous pemphigoid (huge skin blisters issue). Yesterday was the first day he had been able to wear regular shoes, and he went to church and also back to church last night for the Christmas program.

Yesterday morning while we were at Cracker Barrel, Dad's aortic artery aneurysm ruptured. We had just gotten our food, and started to eat when he said he had excruciating pain in his lower back. This continued, and then all of a sudden I looked across the table at him and he had a blank look on his face and had zoned out. My cousin's husband told him to swallow his food and he didn't respond. I immediately called 911 and a man at the table next to us overheard and came over and said he was a nurse. He took over and cleared his mouth and got him down on the floor on his side. First miracle.

The man's wife came over and put her hand on Dad's chest and prayed for him. Within seconds, he snapped to (he was only zoned our for maybe a minute or two, but it seemed longer) and was his old self - trying to get up from the floor and get in the chair. Second miracle.

EMS was there within two minutes of me calling. Third miracle.

He was able to stand up and walk to the stretcher. He was as alert and coherent as he always was. Fourth miracle.

The ER rushed him through, and the nurse rushed him to get a CT scan. It took maybe 15 minutes, where normally it would have been 1-2 hours. Fifth miracle.

The tests confirmed what the ER doctor was hoping would not be the case - that his aortic artery aneurysm had ruptured. He called for a vascular surgeon who also confirmed. The surgeon said that he would need surgery immediately or he would die. They were able to get him in surgery about half an hour after the doctor told us this. The surgeon laid it all on the line for us - he could do the surgery two says. One - he would cut him open from below the heart to his groin and repair the rupture. But the blood clots that had formed would move down, and to make the long story short, he would lose the kidneys and need to be on dialysis. The second option was much less evasive and an easier surgery on the 84 year old patient - he would make two incisions in the groin and put in stints to repair the rupture. But the stints would cut off the blood flow to the kidneys and he would end up on dialysis. Bud didn't hesitate and told him to do the "easier" (his words) surgery.

The surgery lasted about three hours, and when the surgeon talked to us afterward, he said that everything went well, and that he was able to put the two stints in lower, so they wouldn't affect the arteries going to the kidneys. MAJOR sixth miracle.

They kept him in the recovery room for four hours on his back to make sure there was no bleeding. Seventh miracle.

We went back to see him once they got in him the ICU and his color was great, and his spirt and temperament was like Normal Old Man. And he said he didn't have the pain anymore. Eighth miracle.

They took more blood while we were there, and the surgeon asked his nurse to give him the results immediately. All of the levels they checked were normal, especially those related to the kidneys. Ninth miracle.

He was finally able to get some water and he inhaled his cup of Jello, another good sign. He was still in great spirits, all the time giving thanks to God for the prayers answered. So we left him in the very capable hands of his ICU nurse and we went home, where we will all hopefully get some rest tonight.

But wait, there are still a few more miracles to tell you about. 

I had the day off, so I was there with him when the aneurysm ruptured. If it had been any other day, I would have been at work, and chances are he would have died here at home. Tenth miracle.

Last but not least, my Favorite Cousin and her Dear Husband were still here with us. They had been here visiting with us since Friday, and had planned to go home this morning after we all had breakfast together. The Lord had other plans for them; the Lord wanted them to be here beside my Sweet Mother and I today. Eleventh miracle.

I hope the Lord forgives me if I missed out on telling about any other miracles. He already knows how thankful we are for everything He, the doctors, nurses, and others did for us today.

Another Update On The Old Man

I am very happy to report that The Old Man was able to not only go to church this morning and back again for the Christmas program tonight, but he was able to wear his regular shoes!  That in itself is nothing shy of yet another miracle from the Lord.  

Bring On Old Man Winter

My cousin's Dear Husband spent all morning and part of this afternoon out in the cold getting the Girls' coop winterized.  We had to go to Lowes and get some pieces of sheet metal, and he cut them to fit in the slide-out trays that are the bottom of the chicken coop.  Then he put some insulation inside the nesting boxes.  After all of that, I refilled the bottom of the coop with a thick layer of wood shavings and put a lot of straw into the nesting boxes to keep them warm.  They seemed pretty happy and appreciative. 

Update on The Old Man

I took the Old Man back to the dermatologist this morning to get the stitches out from the biopsies and for a check-up on his horrible rash and blisters.  The doctor was very pleased with the progress, as were we.  His feet are clearing up, as is the rest of the rash and blister spots.  The doctor said the rest of the healing process would be slow, but he was very happy with the progress so far.  That news made us all very, very, happy. 

Christmas Vacation, Sorta

I'm off tomorrow and Monday and will be enjoying a nice long weekend.  My Favorite Cousin from up north in Lafayette, IN and her Dear Husband will be arriving tomorrow morning and will be holidaying with us until Monday.  We so look forward to their visits.  We plan to eat, drink and be merry.  

Can't Have Nothing Update

I was surprised to get an email back from the ConAgra Corporation today, apologizing all over the place for their bag of Bertolli not having any bowtie pasta in it.  They said that they would be sending me some coupons for free bags of Bertolli, and they asked me to give them another chance.  

I will most definitely give them another chance - we love our Bertolli bowtie pasta with spinach and chicken.  I'm thinking that our dud bag was just a fluke.

Stay tuned.

Can't Have Nothing

Every other week, we have one of our favorites for supper, Bertolli's Chicken Florentine and Farfalle.  It's just enough for the three of us, and it is truly one of our favorites.  But tonight, we were in for a surprise.  My Sweet Mother opened the bag and poured it into the skillet, only to find that there was no pasta in it - only chicken and spinach.  Sure, we got more chicken in the bag that we normally would get, but that's just because there was no bowtie pasta.  

I went to the Bertolli website and gave them all of the pertinent info.  I'm hoping they will at least give us a coupon for a free bag.  

We will continue to buy this, until we discover another bag with no pasta, and then, that's all she wrote.

Stay tuned. 

Thank You, Girls

I am very, very happy to report that the Girls are back in action. After three months of no eggs due to molting and growing new feathers, they are back in business.  We got one egg on Friday, four on Saturday, two yesterday, and four again tonight.  They are very active, and are eating like crazy.  They enjoyed the Lucky Charms cereal and raisins we gave them tonight. 

Thanks again, Girls.  You rock. 

Christmas Decoration 2018 Update

I made at least 87 trips up and down the basement steps today to bring up all of the Christmas decorations.  It wasn't an easy task but I did it.  And got a lot of steps in on my Fitbit, I have to add.  
The tree is up and decorated, and we're slowly but surely getting the family room, back porch, and dining room decorated.  We're waiting a day or two to put our inflatable Mickey and Minnie Mouse on the front porch until the high winds and storms that are forecasted have passed through.

Stay tuned.