Home Again, Home Again

I tried to call Woody this morning to see what the plans were, but he didn't answer...but I did find out his room number so that helped. He told me later that he heard it ring but it wasn't close to him. Nathan and family juggled this morning at Abigail's school. Then he took them home and came to pick me up. We got to the hospital a little after 11:30am and there wsn't anyone in Woody's bed. We knew it was his room because it had his bag and Snoopy blanket! The nurse came in and said that he was still in the holding area before his surgery. She said that they were going to take a good look at the graft, but were probably going to put in a permacatheter. She said that the doctor said that Woody would be ready to go home shortly after he got back to his room. Her estimation was 2pm...well, that is hospital time...it was more like 3pm and when he came back they said that they were going to do dialysis before he went home. Since the nurse had said what she said earlier,I spoke up and mentioned the earlier plans and told them that things were all arranged for him to go to our center tomorrow. The doctor who came in decided that we could do that if his potassium came back in range. It did come back in range and we were away a little before 5pm and home around 6pm. They couldn't get his graft to work again so it was decided to put a long term catheter in his neck. The doctor remembered that Woody only has one good arm and didn't want to put a graft in that arm. This must be placed a bit differently than the other hemodialysis catheters that he has had...those were temporary. These can stay in place for months before being replaced. If I'm interpreting correctly, he can have this one in till the end of the year. Time to change the dressing on his leg, that wasn't seen to while at the hospital. To be continued. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Same Song Second Verse

Well...where do I start...perhaps with the words: "never a dull moment!" This morning we didn't get a call to come in early so we just did various things to fill up the time till it was time to head off to dialysis. I got a grocery list ready so I could do a quick shopping trip after I dropped Woody off. As we were driving up to the dialysis clinic, Woody asked me if I would go to Lowe's to get an onion set. I decided to do that first. I had to stand in line while folk checked out LOTS of gardening stuff so I could buy my littlr bundle of onions! When I finally got away from there, I headed to Kroger. I was just grtting ready to put a head of cabbage into a bag, when my phone rang and it was Fresenius, Woody's kidney clinic. The nurse was calling to say that once again Woody's graft was not working. So I put the cabbage back and rolled my cart to the end of an aisle and headed off to pick Woody up. Today's directive from Dr. O was to go to St. Thomas Hospital ER in Murfreesboro. I got in touch with Nathan to see if he could take us and he could. Woody and I headed home so I could pack a bag for Woody. We had talked and decided that I would come back home when Nathan headed home. The ER doctor had determined that Woody would be staying the night and having whatever procedure is deemed necessary tomorrow. He said that we could go on and leave and Woody urged us to. So we got home before dark. Nathan planted the onion sets before he left...at Woody's request. Woody wanted them planted before tomorrow's predicted rains. Woody's labs came back showing that he wasn't in dire need of immediate dialysis so any procedure can take place tomorrow. Possible things they may do: 1) attempt to declot the graft, again, 2) if they can't do that put in a line in his clavicle area mthat dialysis can be done through, or 3) put in a new graft. My guess is that if they can't open up his current graft, that they will do the line in his chest and have him come back at another time to have a new graft put in...just my guess. He is in the hospital where his graft was put in so perhaps his doctor can have a look and decide what is best to do in this situation. Time will tell! Nathan will take me back to the hospital in the morning. He and Kathy and family are doing a juggling program in the morning at the church preschool where Abigail teaches. After that, we will head Murfreesboro way. I'm guessing, again, that things won't get underway very early tomorrow as he is a work-in. I think that they will fix things so that he can have dialysis one way or another and that he will come home and have dialysis at his usual time on Saturday. To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Wednesday Work!

Melany, Erin, and the home health nurse arrived at the same time this morning. Melany and Erin got busy getting things ready to paint the mail box and post. The nurse got down to business...one of her tasks today was to communicate with the wound care doctor via a telemed call.The doctor made a couple of suggestions and changes to the way we are to dress the wounds. Positive steps forward. We had a nice visit with Melany and Erin and they got accomplished what Melany had set out to do...paint and stencil the mailbox, paint the post and lattice behind the mailbox, and get the leaves cleaned out of the mailbox garden...goals met! It's so nice to have the mailbox freshly painted. We all were pleased with the match of colors. In the future we will use this color paint to paint the rails and posts on the front porch. And, paint the door with this color blue...seems appropriate, as the blue paint color name is "Country Door."We had lunch together...today was a fast food day..Arby's and Sonic to meet everyone's food wishes. After lunch, Melany went out to finish the paint job...paint numbers and stencil tulips. I went to get my hair cut. Goosey(Woody) and Erin rested! We visited a little more after i got back, but they left fairly early as Melany had a PT appointment for her bum shoulder. The goals she set to accomplish were all ines she coukd do and not hurt her shoulder or over exert with her foot that has just come out of a boot for a stress fracture. The rest of the day was pretty much uneventful up until a little while ago. The nurses have been urging him to drink some protein shakes so he decided to have one for his supper. Well, it only stayed down a very short time. I have a large load of wash going now due to that "incident!"To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious! I think that I met the oldest person I have ever come in contact with! She will be 106 on Friday! She was getting her hair done after me today. I wished her a happy birthday as I was leaving. She laughed and said, "and many more, right?!?"

Tuesday Doings

We got another early call from the dialysis center asking if Woody could come in early. We agreed and soed up our morning routine so we could get there between 8:30 and 8:45. After I dropped him off, I headed to Lowes, as Melany and Erin are coming tomorrow morning to paint our mailbox. I needed to get paint and paint brushes. I accomplished that task and headed home. I cleaned off the mailbox so it would be ready for their beautification attempts tomorrow! I did a load of wash and just some general picking up around the house. It amazes me how quickly the four hours pass that Woody is at dialysis! I know that my hours pass more quickly than Woody's do. But betweeen his crossword puzzles and and a book that I checked out for him yesterday, he does have some things to occupy those hours. I did take a little time and did a little cross stitch before I went to pick him up. I have stitched a little more since. This evening I have been getting wound dressings changed. I did one before I blogged and am going to go do the other after I publish this. Woody has done some TV watching, reading, and keeping track of Elijah's ball game. We have an app that lets us see the plays "in real time" and keep track of balls, strikes, and walks and runs scored. Elijah's team didn't fair very well tonight, but Elijah did get a single and scored one of his team's runs...that we know of...we might have missed something...the plays go by auickly and if you glance away, you sometimes miss something and there is no way to bring that play back to figure out what happened! As I mmentioned, Melany and Erin plan to be here in the morning. It's Melany's Spring break. We haven't heard from health since we had to cancel our appointment last week..well, I did text with the nurse we saw last, but she told me that she wasn't assigned to us for last week and that someone else would get in touch with us...so far haven't heard from anyone. I'm glad that he doesn't need help from them very much! I can get in touch with them if we are in dire need of them! Truthfully it is rather nice not to have anyone coming to the house at the moment...except for friends and family! To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

It's Official

As of noon, it became official that Woody is an in-center dialysis patient. And, how do I know since it isn't dialysis day? Well, at noon today the dialysis machines, dialysis iPad, and the chair scale were whisked away...so we CAN'T do dialysis at home! So I consider that it is official! Tomorrow will be his first day as a permanent in-center dialysis patient. After lunch I ran errands. Then this evening I went to prayer meeting. Woody chose to stay at home. He didn't feel bad...just didn't have the energy to get from his chair into wheel chair, transfer to the car, transfer to the wheel chair, go into prayer meeting, transfer back into the car, transfer from car to the wheel chair, and finally transfer from wheel chair to his chair or couch. When you think about all that transferring it would make just about anyone tired...and when you don't have a lot of strength it takes a lot out of you to just go from one place to another! We had a nice barn trip yesterday...lots of fodder for blog photos! To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

A Sunday Afternoon Barn Trip!

Lots of Hard Work!

Melany, Wade, and Erin paid us a visit today. They arrived after lunch all ready to do some work in the yard. The goal was to clean up the area between the ramp and the house. Last year it got very overgrown with good plants...lilies and hostas...but also many unwanted plants...blackberries with their stickers and grape ivy and its tendrils wrapping around everything. Melany wanted to get to it before it got out of hand this year. She and Wade pulled out all unwanted undergrowth and left the more desireable plants. Then they went to Lowes for some mulch. While she was at Lowes, she decided to see if she could call in some reinforcements by calling Nathan to see if he could come help...and he did along with Kathy, Esther, Elijah, Isaac, and Joseph. All those hands and legs helped get the task done quite quickly. Kathy, Esther, Isaac, and Joseph attempted to attack the nandina near the garage/driveway...trying to move them back from the edge of the garden where they encroach on the driveway and garage door. That was hard work. Note Esther holding Isaac and helping him give a strong pull. They will finish that task another day! We appreciated all the help! Woody had an early dialysis time today so he got home before the Proctors arrived. Woody was very tired after dialysis. It may have been the dialysis or it could have been interrupted sleep about midnight last night. The tornado warning siren went off. So we were wondering if one was coming our way. We were watching the progression of the storm line on a Huntsville TV station and about the time it got close to us the TV station stopped covering the storm heading our way because we are out of their viewing area...a lot they know! It calmed down and we both went back to sleep. I got up this morning focused on getting Woody to dialyis on time and to get underway with the cooking. Melany and Wade brought part of the meal...layered salad, fruit salad, and no-bake cheese cake with strawberries. I made Swedish meatballs with egg noodles and baked pineapple. I'm definitely more stuffed than usual! And, our refrigerator is stuffed, too...they left part of the leftovers with us. Woody really enjoyed the layered salad. They left shortly after supper trying to not drive the whole way in the dark. Melany just texted that they are home safe and sound! Dishes are washing. We're both settled in for the night. To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Things Have Been Hoppin' Here!

Maybe I should say that things have been buzzing...we are inundated with flies once again...I guess from our unwanted squirrel visitor in our chimney...Nathan worked really hard to get the fireplace box and flue cleaned out, but some eggs must have remained...insert eye roll! There's no telling how many I have killed today...and, at the moment I have one buzzing around my head because this room has the only light on upstairs. I will be bringing the fly swatter upstairs shortly! So got the unpleasant part of the day out of the way at the start...rest of the day has gone fairly well...between swats! We had the nurse practitioner come to the house from Evergreen. She ws very nice and very thorough in checking Woody out. We passed on having a nutritionist check in with us. If we have questions about nutrition, we will check with the nutritionist that he has at Fresenius. I guess her visit took around an hour. Before she got here, I had started making the sweet red pepper sauce that Woody uses in place of catsup. I finished that after she left and he had a meat loaf sandwich for lunch using the red pepper sauce. After I had lunch, I got busy on the latest rack of ribs...wonder how long this food interest will last for Woody! I will say that the type ribs that I get for him have been on sale so that is good...with the price of meat these days! He had a couple of ribs and some creamy apple slaw for supper. He's watching March Madness. I woke up in the wee hours of the morning and couldn't get back to sleep so I worked some more on the Sunday School lesson. Tomorrow Melany and Wade are coming to do some yard work for us. Wade and I had talked about Swedish Meatballs one time...I told him that I would make this recipe that I recently found on the internet when Woody asked for Swedish Meatballs...but found out that what I made were not what he thought Swedish Meatballs were! Anyway, I told Wade I would make this recipe so he could see how it resembled, or not, the way he makes them. Mine have a light gravy and he said that his have a brown gravy...so in the morning I am going to put that recipe together. I'm also going to make a baked pineapple dish that we all like, and Melany is bringing a layered salad. Today, I also put the ingredients together for Woody's breakfast sausage. So it's been a cooking day for me and tomorrow will be, too! I have gotten the kitchen all cleaned up so it will be ready to make a mess in tomorrow moning! In a little while I will go back down to give Woody his nightly meds and then I'm heading back upstairs (with a fly swatter!) to either read or stitch...probably fall asleep since there hasn't been any napping time today and since I lost several hours of sleep last night. To be continued. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Pretty Normal Day!f

It's always nice to have a day we can call "normal!" The only thing out of the normal was that the dialysis center called and asked us to come in early and this time they wanted him there in an hour. He hadn't had breakfast and wasn't dressed so we had to hustle! We got there in about 65 minutes. I stopped at Kroger on the way home...resupplying some of the food that Woody is most interested in these days. I decided that I would get items to make another recipe of the creamy apple slaw...guess what I managed to forget...the cabbage! Oh, well...another stop...another day! I worked on Woody's room while he was gone. Washed all his fleece throws. Started to make plans as to what I can put out of sight now that he is going to be in-center for dialysis. Monday the dialysis machines will be picked up as well as the dialysis iPad and the chair scale. But that is all that they pick up...so we are left with LOTS of supplies. Some supplies like gauze and tape and bandaging will still be useful, but the packages of syringes, dialysis needles and lots of other things can at least be out out of sight. I don't want to throw things out in case we need to start doing it at home again. I guess that Melany's old room/former office and school room may become the storage for the boxes of solutions, etc. I guess I can just shut the door and forget they are there!?! Some of these have an expiration date so I will dispose of them as they go out of date. Woody's dialysis went well. So yesterday's trip fixed things at least for the moment. Woody is watching March Madness. We're keeping track of Elijah's double header on an app that lets us see who is batting and the fielders and lets us know strikes, balls amd outs...and can see base runners. It lets us keep track of the score. I have worked some on Sunday's Sunday School lesson that I will be teaching. So I think you can see why I said today has been fairly normal...To be continued. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

WOW! 54 Years!

Today wasn't exactly how I would have chosen to spend out 54th anniversary! But the outcome was a positive one. The doctor and team were able to declot Woody's graft. Nathan came on the dot of 8am this morning and got us on the road shortly thereafter. We drove in the rain most of the way...it did let up as we got closer to our destination in Nashville. It really didn't feel like a work-in appointment. Woody went went back around 11am and the procedure got underway a little after noon. We were on the way hone around 1:30pm and got home around 3:30pm. A long day, but worth it since it was a successful procedure. Woody doesn't seem any the worse for wear! He asked on the way home if he had been put to sleep. The answer to that was "yes!" He had the shakes/shivers after coming out from the anesthesia, which is normal for him. He is loaded up with fleece throws now in an attempt to get warm. His request when he got home was his favorite breakfast: Swiss cheese omelet with scrambled sausage, and sauteed mushrooms, green onions, and sweet red pepper. He was happy. I guess that was brunch and maybe he will have a late supper of a rib and some apple slaw. His medicine is all messed up...will end up getting most of his meds...but not sure about the med that is to be given 12 hours apart. He may miss one of those today so that we can get back on schedule with his meds in the morning. We are so appreciative of Nathan, Kathy and family being able to juggle their schedules so he could take us. He is now all set to have dialysis at his regular time tomorrow. His potassium level was back in normal range today so they said that it was no problem for him to wait till tomorrow. So back to our "normal" dialysis schedule. To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

What Next?!?

Let's start at the beginning of the day...or really last night around 10:30. I got a message from Woody's infectious disease doctor answering one of my questions around 10:30...late working doctor! She had rethought after I sent her questions about whether we could use the antibiotic that she had prescribed earlier but in a different size tablet. She decided to go back to what she originally prescribed and to only take it three times a week...after each dialysis. Taking it after dialysis keeps the dialysis from dializing it out of his system before it can do some good. So that sounded good...but she didn't address my question about whether he was supposed to continue on with the antibiotic he was already taking. So I messaged her that question again. That answer takes us to first thing this morning. Before it was time for Woody's breakfast, she had messaged me that answer. Yes, he is to continue to take that antibiotic, too. So questions answered at the end of uesterday and the start of today. Mid morning, Davida called to tell us that he was a temporary in-center dialysis patient through Saturday, but come next Tuesday he would become a permanant in-center dialysis patient. He has been approved to stay in-center...they have a permanant slot for him...probably the same time slot that he has now...we will see. This doesn't mean that he can't go back to home dialysis at some time in the future if in-center isn't the best fit for him...but for the time being till he is feeling better than he is now, he will be going in-center three days a week...Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays for approximately 4 hours each session. All were in agreement that it seemed best for now, at least, Dr. O included. Not long after Davida called it was time to get the numbing cream on his arm and wrap it is plastic wrap so it would be numb when they stick him. We do that about an hour before we leave home. We headed off a little before noon and I dropped him off, leavimg him in the waiting room. I knock on the dialysis treatment room door before I leave so they know he has arrived. I headed home and warmed a bowl of chili for my lunch. Before I had finished the bowl of chili, I got a call from the dialysis center saying that Woody's graft had quit had clotted off and that they had a call in for Dr. O and that he would need to go to Murfreesboro or Nashville tomorrow to have it declotted. Before the nurse heard back from Dr. O, she had already arranged for him to go to Vascular Access Associates in Nashville. She thought that was what Dr. O would want. The Murfreesboro doctor who put in Woody's graft doesn't work on Wednesday...or work on grafts that day...just Thursdays. Getting the graft back to working is under a time crunch as he can't go without dialysis for too long...and, he hasn't had dialysis since Saturday...the longest time between treatments. I was told I could come pick him up simce they couodn't dialyze him today. I got there and they didn't bring him for a while. One of the nurses came out and explained what needed to happen. She still hadn't heard from Dr. O, but she was pretty sure that he would approve the appointment that she had made. She told me that I needed to keep the phone near me when I got home so they could get things worked out between all of is. I did text Nathan to see if he could take us in the morning. And, with a little rearranging of his schedule he can. Not long after we got home I got a call saying that Dr. O did want us to go to Nashville. Then several more calls came after that about various and sundry details. One was that they had checked his potassium level amd that it was high so he needed to take a med to bring it down...the fact that he hadn't been dialyzed for several days and couldn't be today made them check potassium levels. The nurse said that she would phone the prescription in to our pharmacy...but guess what the next call was to tell me that our pharmacy didn't have it nor did other phrmacies im town! But the Kroge pharmacy in Shelbyville did have it. So I had a trip to Shelbyville for medicine. We weren't told a lot about this medicie except that it might make him spend some time in the bathroom. Just a few minutes ago, he headed into the bathroom...but got surprised when he started throwimg up every where...not sure that was supposed to happen, but clean up is under way...his clohes and quite a few towels are washing. I have mopped the floor in there. Woody has gone to bed...not sure what the night has in store for us! Around here one just never knows what's next! To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious! (I'm having trouble wih the screem not scrollimg so am not even goig to make a feeble atempt at proofimg this tonigt!)

Happy First Dayof Spring!

And, what a brrrrrrrry first day of Spring it was for us...but hopes of warmer temperatures are on the horizon! I just returned from prayer meeting. Woody didn't go tonight. He didn't get home from his Keytruda treatment until almost 4:30 and he was tired...rarely does he not go to prayer meeting. His leg is also still hurting him. I did get in touch with his infectious disease doctor and she is prescribing a stronger antibiotic than he is on now. It has been a communication with doctors day. I started out messaging, at Woody's request, his infectious disease doctor to let her know what is going on. He didn't want to wait till he sees her in two weeks. Looks like she agreed with him. I am still waiting on another communiation from her about whether we can use this antibiotic that she prescribed...have a whole bottle of them...just not the exact amount...waiting to hear if we can cut them in half or if we have to go for another prescription. Also wIting to find out if he is to continue the antibiotic he is on now along with the one whe now wants him to take. He had been on two prior to the one he is on now...but not this combination. I also messaged our PCP and asked for her email so I can send the list of Woody's surgeries. She asked me to send the list to her and told me she would give me her email and then we forgot to get it before we left the appointment. She called me this afternoon with her new email and I got the list emailed to her...hopefully. Woody got his Keytruda infusion this afternoon. On the way home from dropping Woody off at TN Oncology. I stopped at the close grocery store to buy the ground pork that they carry that has no additives in it...about time to make his sausage again. Ehen Ingot home, I made a pot of chili and about the time that it got to simmering it was time to go pick him up at Oncology. He headed straight to the couch to lie down as soon as he got back and decided at the last minute that he would let me go to prayer meeting by myself tonight...a rare occurance...if he is at home. He did rest while I was gone. He's having a bowl of ice cream now....we're trying to put some meat back on his bones! I'm heading to clean up the kitchen...didn't have time to clean up the chili mess. Haven't had much time in my recliner today...looking forward to heading up to it before too long! Oh, and no new barns...yet...we decided it was too cold yesterday to keep rolling the windows up and down in the car! We want to get one more trip in before all the leaves are back on the trees...leafed out trees hide barns! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Last Saturday in Winter

Note to self...tonight's title references the season of winter and not wintry temperatures! Winter may end soon, but its temperatures may linger a while longer! Today has been a wintry Winter day. Tomorrow is supposed to be even colder. Not a lot has happened on this Saturday. We got a call early saying that he could come in around 10:30 again today which we accepted. He had breakfast and got ready to go. I got his bag packed...he takes his mitten, neckwarmer, arm warmer, a fleece throw and his clipboard with today's crossword puzzles and a ziploc bag with essentials like pencils, a small magnifying glass, his readers, and an extra button or zip-up-the-front sweater. Some of the people at dialysis go in with rolling suitcases. So far his green tote bag has sufficed. When I got back from taking him to dialysis, I made our new recipe for cole slas...creamy apple slaw. We both are enjoying this take on slaw. I worked for a while in the kitchen getting things pretty much cleaned up and then went upstairs to rest in my chair and stitch a little. And, that is what happened...more resting than stitching. I did get some stitching done, but have also slipped in quite a bit of resting...but, then, I didn't sleep well last night. Woody came home very sleepy after dialysis and wasn't ready for a late lunch. So I guess when he did eat, he ate lupper. He has watched quite a bit of March Madness while resting on the couch. Things are settling in for a long winter's nap...can't have many more winter naps...so guess we need to get them in while we can! To be continued. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious! P.S. Maybe new barn photos will be coming your way depending on temperatures cooperating, at least a little, tomorrow afternoon. Time will tell!

St. Patrick's/Birthday Treat!

Nathan, Kathy and family gave me a gift card to Dairy Queen for my birthday. I decided that I would use it when we came back into town after Woody's appointment to our Personal Care Physician. Needed something to look forward to! Mine was very St. Patricky a mint brownie Blizzard. Pretty good! Woody had a pecan turtle Blizzard. He seemed to enjoy his treat! This has been quite a medical day. The homehealth nurse came a out an hour prior to us leaving to head off to Woody's applintment with Dr. Harlow in McMinnville...it takes 45 minites to an hour on a good-weather day. Today was not a good-weather day...rained on us most of the way there and some of the way back. We left at 11:30am and got home at 3:30pm. This was a longer appointment, as she was trying to catch up on what has happened to him over the years since she has seen him. She did accept him as her patient, again, and is willing to play the part of coordinating amongst all his specialists and home health and what all else! Her concern about being his PCP is the distance to her office. But my thoughts are that if we lived in a big city, it would take 45 minutes or more to get from one place to another amidst traffic. We have a very pleasant 45 minute drive through beautiful countryside. See lots of barns...go through many school zones...had to slow down for six different schools at least on the way back! But still a nice drive! Woody expressed to her that if it were a major emergency that we would be going to the ER rather than her office anyway, and she agreed. It's nice to stay with her since she already is familiar with with our various and sundry ailments! She took a piece of paper while we talked and she divided up what doctors that he sees for each ailment...wrote down what they are currently doing for him, etc. and she will go sort throuh all that and bring her records up to date. I am supposed to give her an up-to-date list of surgeries. I found the list that I currently have and realize that I am about a year and a half behind. I will peruse the blog and get the list current...what a barrage of things to add over these last few months! Today, Woody's bad leg is bothering him. His home health nurse recognized that it was bothering him more than usual and saw a red, warm place on his leg below the wound. The nurse was glad that we were seeing Dr. Harlow today. Dr. Harlow did look at it. She said that it is all on the surface at the moment and wonders if the tape from the bandages we are using on his wound might be irritating it when we pull it off...plus he is allergic to many adhesives, She suggested a different way to dress sans adhesive bandages and also prescribed a topical antibiotic ointment to use on the red, warm place below the wound. I picked up the ointment and applied it to the red area and rebandaged his wound the way she suggested. We'll see if that works. His leg hurting just started today...it was not red last night when I dressed it. So everyone (specialist doctors) should be happy that he once again has a PCP not just in name only! We were very glad to get back home. Now tomorrow..."just" dialysis. Sunday...church. Monday...Oncoloy and Keytruda. Tuesday...dialysis. Wednesday...home healh nurse...Thursday...dialysis...Friday...that new entity that has hitched itself to Dr. O is sending a nurse practitioner to our house...and back to Saturday...dialysis and Melany and Wade may be coming to help us with our yard (my bday present from them). Quite a list of medical stuff next week...and I just had to reschedule an appointment with his Vanderbilt infectious disease doctor as they scheduled it right in the middle of his dialysis here...can't be at Vanderbilt in Nashville and be hitched up for dialysis in Tullahoma at the same time! So lost one appointment in the upcoming week. At least all are in town or at our house! He really needs to see his infectious disease doctor so hated to have to put it off, but was able to get one in the next week. Nathan stopped by a little while ago with the contents of Woody's old, old, old PC...Windows 2000, I think! But he was able to pull document files off the old one and out them on a tiny thumb drive and reload them on Woody's laptop and amazingly enough they can all be read! Woody once again has his book-read list back...but unfortunately, he doesn't have the books that he has read in the last few years. But all was not lost! To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Another Dialysis Day

I don't know if it is the time change or dialysis schedule, but our meal schedule has changed quite a bit...supper is later these days. Today we got an early call that they could take Woody at 10:30am and we accepted the earlier time. That meant that his time overlapped lunch time. So he ate a late lunch when he got home. Sometimes that becomes lupper and he only eats two meals that day, but today he decided to have a late supper. He just finished. And, I've come upstairs to blog. While he was at dialysis, I cooked a rack of St. Louis Spare Ribs...cook them with a dry rub...Memphis style. I have concocted a rub that is very low in salt content. I roast the ribs in a shallow pan in a slow convection oven for several hours. They come out pretty tasty! Ribs are Woody's latest most often meal request. Luckily ribs have been on sale the last few times that I have shopped. After I got the ribs roasting, I filled out the paperwork for Woody's appointment with our personal care physician. He's getting restablished with her. His appointment is mid day tomorrow in McMinnville...45 min. to an hour away. But before we can head her way, he has an appointment here at the house with his home health nurse. We definitely won't escape the medical visits tomorrow! The last little bit before I picked up Woody from dialysis I did manage to do a little cross stitching. Last night I finished a tiny sampler. After I finished the samper last night, I went back to work on something that I am stitching for a Christmas gift. Today I have managed to sit down twice to stitch and those times I worked on another small sampler. I'm not sure which of these two projects I'll stitch when I settle in upstairs in a little while...after I change the dressing on Woody's leg...or maybe I won't stitch...maybe I'll read...or...fall asleep! Woody's been watching March Madness and working crossword puzzles this evening. To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Abigail's First Big Girl Purchase!

Today, look who stopped by...a pretty happy first-time-car owner! She's been saving her "pennies" and has been on the lookout for a car for a while. And, she ended up with our car's twin...well, I guess not a twin since it is three years younger than ours! It's a 2017 Ford Fusion. She was very excited to let us know that she had made her purchase. We're proud of her level head. She waited until she had enough to pay for it outright...so no car payments for this first-time car owner! Smart girl! Abigail, enjoy the ride and be safe! Both Woody and I have stayed home today and no medical folk stopped by...amazing what can get done without time taken out for someone coming into our house to check in on Woody's health. I turned to and worked really hard to get the living room and dining room totally back to "normal" including vacuuming both rooms and finished dusting in the dining room...even polished the dining room chairs, took off and washed the tablecloth, which meant that the table is actually cleared off (for the moment), and made the table smaller. It's gppd to have everything back in order after having Christmas stay around for so many months...about four months from middle of November to middle of March. Even though the temperatures have dropped again, it still feels like Spring is just around the corner...and, it really is...first day of Spring is next week! I'm ready for it! I wanted to get the vacuuming done downstairs so I can begin upstairs...really ready to vacuum the hall after it having Christmas storage boxes in it for all those months. But I wanted to NOT have to take the vacuum up and down so waited till I had finished downstairs. I vacuumed the family room while Woody was at dialysis yesterday. So I have brought it up and it is all ready to go to work upstairs...but I'm not...I'm through clening for the day. After I got it upstairs (thinking the whole time as I brought it up...about the fact that I bought this vacuum because of its small size and the fact that it was fairly lightweight...thinking as I went up the stairs that it no longer feels light weight!), after that effort, I was ready to sink into my recliner and stitch for a while. I did put in a few stitches before my eyes closed and I took a nap! Woody has entertained himself with his computer this afternoon. That is, once we got it connected to the internet, again. I got it connected earlier in the day, but for some reason it disconnected and then I couldn't get what I did before to work. So I called Nathan and told him Woody's latest woe with his computer. Nathan started laughing. He told me to come and open the door because he was out front! That had us puzzled for a minute or two! He and Kathy were out in the front yard waiting for Abigail to drive her new wheels here to show us. They had been with her for the final transaction...after all...she needed someone to drive the old car home! Nathan got Woody back online and Woody has been doing various things on the computer since. Guess he figures he'd better use it while it is cooperating! Woody also started doing our taxes today. He'd been waiting till we could print out the tax form he needed and our printer was out of black ink, Ink arrieved yesterday so he didn't waste any time once I got the cartridge put in. So we have had a nice fairly productive day without many medical thoughts...nice once in a while! To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

My Kitchen Helper Stopped By Today!

We had to get up and get going this morning because dialysis clinic asked him to come in at 10:30am instead of 12:30pm, his usual time. We were going right along with getting breakfast and getting things he takes with him packed up, whenall of a sudden Woody "lost" his breakfast. He so rarely gets sick lately that it really surprised me..and probably surprised Woody, too! We still had plenty of time to recover from that and get his shirt changed before it wss time to head dialysis way. I put together a grocery list so I could grocery shop at the start of the four hours that Woody is at the dialysis center. Going at the start assures me that I can have them put away before I need to pick him up. Before we left, we got a call from his home health nurse to plan a visit fir today. We set up that she woukd come at 3:45pm. I dropped Woody off and headed off to do my shopping. When I got home, I brought in the groceries and popped a pizza into the oven and got started putting groceries away. Before I got too far, Nathan rang the doorbell (The new wireless doorbell that he installed a few weeks ago...one of our Christmas presents from them...this doorbell rings in the family room. Our old doirbell still rings on the stairs, but had stopped ringing in family room. Thus we couldnt hear it when in family room with TV going...so now the secret of our doorbells...ring both...or ring ine and if we don't come, ring the other!). Nathan brought Woody's computer back..again. Abigail's boyfriend had worked on it...again! This computer has been nothing but a headache for Woody and for all who constantly have to work on it! Nathan helped me put the rest of the groceries away and then helped me eat pizza for lunch! Good timing for me and he seemed to enjoy the pizza! Woody had his nurse appointment not long after he got home. Then he decided what he wanted to eat. Now we are all settled in for the night...all blinds and curtains are closed hoping to hold the heat in, as it is going to be another cold night...predicted to go down into the 20s again! Another brrrrrrry night. Two good things about tomorrow...I don't think we have to go anywhere and I don't think any medical folk are coming here! To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Santa's Helper Stopped By!

We're just finishing our supper. We waited till after Monday night prayer meeting so we are eating fashionably late...We have had a fairly busy day for staying home except for prayer meeting this evening. And, boy was it an awakening to a drop in temperature as we left and even more of a drop when we came home. We are under a freeze warning till tomorrow mid morning. It's alredy 32° and there was a wind blowing. Brrrrrrrrrr! We were very glad to get back in the house! There is a group has connected with Dr. O's kidney group and they are now part of Woody's care. We had a telemed visit with a nurse practitioner. We were in that appointment for an hour. All I can say it is just one more set of questions that Woody has to answer...the same questions that he has beem asked by multiple other agencies. Seems so redundant! Oh, well, and, that was only half of the imitial appointment. She made an appointment to come see Woody later in the month. Oh, boy! At least so far we haven't had to leave home! A little after that appointment ended, we got a call from the dialysis center and they have an opening tomorrow morning. Always glad to get the treatment underway and not have it run so late in the day. Now...about the visitor that we had that I alluded to in the title of tonight's blog. Nathan stopped by to see us and I asked him if he had time to help me get the rest of the boxes into the Christmas closet! I had dealt with half or more of the boxes and planned to get the rest put in today...so it was nice to have some help. And, they are all now in the closet and the doors closed! This is the first time since early November that the upstairs hall has been clear of boxes...a very good thing! Nathan makes a very good Santa's helper! To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious! And, stay warm, if the frigid air is visiting you once again during these last days of Winter!

Spring Forward!

Well, it's the last day to be only an hour away from my sister. At 2am we will move to two hours away. And, lf Congress has its way and we stop changing from standard to daylight savings time, there is a chance that we will remain two hours away...time will tell! I have already changed the clocks downstairs so when i liiked at the kitchen clock, i thought that I was late blogging. But when I opened the iPad to start writing, I noticed that it was "really" before 7pm...at least for tonight. I have really been lazy today. I just couldn't motivate myself to do much more than what had to be done. I took Woody to dialysis a little before noon. I came home and headed to my chair to rest. I did'nt feel like doing anything! while resting in my chair I got two phone calls...one from my Cottey College roommate. We had a nice chat catching up with each other. Not long after I hung up from talking to her, Melany called...so had a nice chat with her. And, a few minutes ago I got another call this time from one of my barn buddy, Marie. So it has been a catch-up & chat kind of afternoon and evening! . Woody said dialysis went well except that they had trouble stopping the bleeding at the end of the treatment. Now he has a couple of days off from dialysis...always welcome! To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Celebrating a Birthday…A BIG One!

It took the above cake crew to make Woody realize that it was my birthday! And, they arrived at 5pm! Needless to say he is off in keeping up with the month and day and sometimes the time! I'm guessing that it is the first time in 55 years I've known him that he hasn't remembered. After the cake crew left he appologized and asked me what I wanted for my birthday...I told him I was shopping...online! Might wish that he had remembered! Woody has had a pretty good day on my birthday. He had a PR evaluation this morning and it was decided that he didn't need to have PT...since he seems to be back to where he was prior to his hospitalization in early December. So one less person dropping by the house! The home health nurse also paid him a visit this afternoon and she is also quite pleased with his progress...his wounds are healing and he is overall feeling better even than he was when she saw him earlier this week. He decided this morning that he wanted to go for a hair cut this afternoon, which we did after home health left and we had some lunch. So all his reports were good today. Plus he had his "ears set out," what my father used to say after he got his hair cut. I worked more at getting the house back to normal. I still have the little bookcase, that belonged to my parents, left to put things back in...I have to bring down the antique books that I display my Hummels with...a good job for tomorrow...maybe! I also got into my Spring decorations...mainly bunnies and eggs...finding places to tuck them in so I can enjoy them for this season. At least these decorations aren't quite as extensive as Christmas! I have been enjoying our kitchen table that got displaced when we remodeled our kitchen. It has been located in a couple of spots after the remodel...but I think that I have found a good place for it...on the staircase "wall" in the living room. I am sitting at it right now as I type tonight's blog...enjoying being in the living room. It's a good place to sit and have a cup of tea and do a bit of reading...or whatever I might feel like doing seated at a table. Enjoyed eating breakfast at it this morning. Nice to have things back "to normal!" I still have boxes to go back in the Christmas closet upstairs...but chose not to do that task on my birthday.I guess I haven't filled in the important piece information about THIS birthday...how many I am celebrating...but 75 seems awfully old when I realize that means I am now 3/4 of a century old! How did that happen?!? Guess I'll ponder that question as our story continues...to be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Signs of Spring!

A sweet friend brought us this hanging basket today for Spring and for "a birthday"...more about the latter tomorrow! It definitely brightened up a rather gray day! I continue to be busy bringing the house back to normal. I worked a lot in the living room getting furniture back in place and getting "normal, everyday" items back out on end tables, etc. The vacuum got a workout as did the dust/polishing cloths. And, it is looking more normal...though Chrustmas was looking pretty normal since it had been around so long! I have decided to get out some Spring decorations...perhaps that will happen tomorrow. I have packed more boxes into the Christmas closet. It is filling up and the stacks in the hallway are getting shorter. I "think" that everything that is Christmas is upstairs now either in the hall or tucked back in the closet. Woody had dialysis today and everything went fine as far as we know. We got a call from someone from home health who wanted to stop by this afternoon to evaluate Woody for PT. I told him that Woody would be at dialysis at that time so he plans to come tomorrow. The home health nurse plans to come tomorrow, also. At least we won't have to go anywhere for these "appointments!" We got a little rain today, but not as much as I thought was predicted. More predicted for tomorrow. To be continued! Be safe! Ve well! Be cautious!

It's Gone!

The Christmas tree is officially undecorated and back in its box in the Christmas closet. I even started loading boxes into that closet...putting the boxes back in the closet is like working a jigsaw puzzle. I will go at that job slowly but surely! Picking up some of those boxes is a challenge...rather heavy! I go at it till my back says, "no!" Then I rest a while and the next time I pass by the boxes, I will choose another and see if it is the right one for a space. Getting the tree out of the living room was my goal for today...so mission accomplished! I did some cooking this morning. Then started taking branches off the tree after lunch. We managed to have no doctor nor home health appointments today...so just stayed home. Woody has rested. His allergies continue to bother him. We opted to stay home from Elijah's game tonight...due to the fact that the temperature has cooled off once again and the fact that Woody was sniffling and probably didn't need to be out with pollen floating around. We are able to watch an app that keeps up with strikes, balls, outs, hits, and runs. At the moment Elijah's team is trailing 3-0. It's time to dress the wound on Woody's leg. My nursing duty of the day. To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Tree is Empty!

Neither of us slept very well last night. As the evening progresses, I am looking forward to the end of the day and heading upstairs to my recliner. I did make a major goal today...I got the last ornament off the tree. Now, I still have to pack up the last group of ornaments that were the last to come off the tree easlier this evening. The last group to come off was the handmade ones. Instill have to pack thrm up in their boxes...a task for another day. This morning we got a call from a home-zhealth nurse. She wanted to come check on Woody. She called and 15 minutes she was here. She checked him out and said that she will be back on Friday. Woody had dialysis this afternoon. All went well as far, I think...at least he didn't say that anything out of the ordinary happened while there. After I dropped him off, I ran a couple of errands. It was another pretty spring-like day. Tomorrow is supposed to be a bit cooler...the warmer temps seem like a tease at this time of the year...one day freezing and the next short-sleeves weather! I think we are both going to turn in early tonight...to be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Back of Tree, Shoulder High, Behind an Ornament This Shape, but More Round!

Tonight's blog title are the hints from Isaac via a text from Kathy last night. And, I can say that I did find the pickle ornament! Where Isaac said it was, is pretty much where I had been looking. The problem was that it had fallen from the branch that he had hung it in and was nestled laying on its side in some branches close to the center of the tree! But ut has been located and has been safely packed away in its box. The undecoratingnof the tree goes on. At the moment, almost every surface in the living room, except where I am sitting, is covered with boxes of ornaments or boxes that the ornament boxes will go into. But the job is starting to wind down...though still many to oack away. And, someone coming in now and seeing the tree might think that the tree is still decorated since there are still so many on it. The ones that are left on the tree are the handmade ones or the glass balls or ones that have no boxes of their own and will just be layered with tissue paper in the boxes that remain. Probably still several hundred to pack away. I feel that I am at a good place to stop for today and pick up tomorrow. Many hours have been spent packing away the ones that have already been taken off the tree. Woody has had a quiet day. He stayed at home and didn't have any home health folk show up today. We did go to orayer meeting and have just gotten home. His allergies continue to bother him. He will have dialysis tomorrow. But all in all it has been a good day. A beautiful day outside...very springlike! To be continued. Be safe!Be well! Be cautious!

Hunt Continues!

Pretty much a quiet and fairly lazy day. We went to Sunday School this morning and then came home and watched our church service online. I made a pot of soup...Woody's request: J. Hatheway's Italian Sausage Soup. That seems to be his go-to soup these days. I'm waiting for him to go back to enjoying a variety of soups from our soup recipe notebooks. But his appetite is definitely picking up! I believe that we both took naps this afternoon. I have worked some more on the Christmas tree. The pickle ornament still eludes me!!! The tree still looks fully decorated, though I have removed many, many. To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

The Hunt is On!

Our power did come back on last night between 7 and 8. It was out for a little over five ho We were both glad when they came back on! The power company were still working this morning and still at it at noon when I took Woody to dialysis. I ran a couple of errands after I dropped Woody off and then came home. I realized yesterday that I hadn't undecorated the shadow box in the family room. So that was first on my list to do when I got home. So now...maybe...I only have the tree to do now...maybe! I have started the tree...so the hunt is on for ornaments. The funny one that I can't find to put in its box is the pickle ornament. I know last Saturday that Isaac found where I had put it this year and then decided that he would hide it. Well, ovviously he hid it well! I am presently looking for ornaments that have their own individual box to be put in. Once those are all boxed up then I will put the boxless ones in and around those boxes wrapped in tissue paper. I will say that only the tip of the iceburg is off the tree...LOTS to go! It is a job that I can only do for so long and then I have to stop and do something else or rest a while...it can get to my back pretty quickly! And, I have already made LOTS of trips around the tree looking for specific ornaments! Woody seems to be feeling pretty well! He continues to do a lot of resting on the couch, but he is moving around a lot more...he is using his walker to move around in the family room and into the bathroom. His appetite has improved a lot and is eating a bigger variety of food. So far the home health folk who have been here since he came home from the hospital have been impressed on how much he has improved since prior to his hospitalization. He's still not going to run any races but he is improving which really hadn't happened since early December. I believe that this GI bleed had been present for a while...just not so obvious as it became two weeks ago! Guess it is time to go give Woody his nightly meds and get him tucked in for the night! To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautiousM

When a Tree Falls on W. Lincoln…

When a tree falls on W. Lincoln, power reciners no longer recline in our house! I'm just glad that Woody wasn't reclined in his...not sure that he could have gotten up if he needed to! Power went off around 2pm and, at this point 4:22pm, it hasn't come back on. Today's photo show the huge root ball for the tree that fell...landed across blocking Lincoln and also brought down power lines. The power folk were johnny-on-the-spot about getting here. They have been hard at work all that time. We have really had blustery winds today...still whistling around the house. Neither of us slept the best last night so we slept in a bit later this morning. Home health nurse called,just as i was waking up, to see if she could come in 45 minutes. So we hustled around and had breakfast and were ready for her when she arrived. Just a few minutes ago PT called to say she was running late and didnt know what time she could get here tonight. I told her we had no power so that gave her reason to put off coming till Monday! So maybe we're clear from home health over the weekend. But he will go to dialysis tomorrow. I managed to get some cooking accomplished before power went out. I made Woody some meatballs that he had been wanting. He had also been wanting me to make a different coleslaw recipe. I made Creamy Apple Cabbage Slaw...we'll see! It is in the fridge getting cold and blending flavors. One of our friends stopped by this afternoon with a salad and blueberries...yum...so we're set for several meals! I don't think I mentioned that I cooked a rack of ribs the other day...another food that Woody requested. So we're enjoying those, too. Woody's definitely venturing into eating a bigger variety of food than he had been. I'm enjoying cooking more since he is more interested in eating what I make. Well, I'm going to keep this short so I won't run down the power too much in my iPad. When I knew we were to have high winds and possible storms that could cause power outage, I got my phone and iPad all charged up...so far we still have internet...so will post while I can! To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Thoroughly Thursday

At the moment I don't even know what we've done today...but I know that we were both tired enough to take late afternoon naps...one of those naps that you think it is morning when you wake up! Our morning got started off with being awakened with an early call from the dialysis clinic saying that they had a cancellation and Woody coupd could come at 9am instead of 12:30pm. Always glad to have it early and get it over with so accepted the appointment change. But that meant getting a move on it and get ready. By the time he got his breakfast and got his clothes changed, it was about time to head out the door. We had a two hour warning, but things move slowly around here! That also meant that I needed to get un touch with Nathan as he was going to fix Woody's chair while Woody was at dialysis. Nathan pulled into the driveway just after I did on my return trip from dropping Woody off. So he got to work and managed to get the chair arm fixed and then put up the ringer for our new wireless doorbell. Thank you, Nathan! I worked on my grocery list while he worked on chair and I headed off to Kroger pretty soon after Nathan left. I shopped, came home, brought groceries in, put away cold things and it was time to head off to pick up Woody. He said that, once again, things went well at dialysis. He has passing the time while at dialysis doing crossword puzzles. I got Woody his late lunch after we got home and then at some point innthe afternoon we both took naps. I didn't get a lot more done with undecorating. I did get Christmas decorative plates off the dining room table and stored away in the china cabinet. I don't think that there is anything Christmas downstairs now except the Christmas tree. A big except! But that will happen. At this point there are no appointments tomorrow...but expect to see either a home health nurse or PT. But we will carry on as if on our own till we hear from them! To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Welcome, March!

March has arrived! Woody wants to know what happened to January and February! We are watching weather approaching from our west. Up to this point March has come in like a lamb...but we may have some storms before this day ends. Today, we thought that Woody had no appointments. I had a hair cut appointment and while getting my hair cut, my phone rang and it was someone from home health and she wanted to stop by the house and do some evaluating as to whether Woody needs occupational therapy. The good news on the outcome from that appointment is that she decided that he doesn't...so one less person stopping by the house! I had planned to run errands before going home after my appointment, but had to drop going to the grocery store from my errand list. I was able to stop and pick up Woody's Sunday School literature. He is going to teach his class of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade boys this Sunday. Getting back to normal activities...ball games, teaching Sunday School, prayer meeting, dialysis, Oncology, etc., etc. Today we also added two appointments to our March calendar...his personal care physicians office called and remade his appointment. And, someone from dialysis center called about making a telemed call later in the month...some new service being offered by the dialysis centrr here...combining with anothrr entity so we have to talk to the other entity...a bit of eye rolling for that appointment...as if we don't have enough appointments! At least we don't have to go anywhere for this one! I'm sure that we will still see PT sometime this week and probably a nurse...week is running out of days! He has dialysis tomorrow. I have managed to out the last decoration that goes into a box in said boxes...so now I can get started on the tree. The tree is a job that I enjoy,,,as I get to touch and look at each ornament and think about the person who gave it to us or remember about a trip or a family tradition...or circumstances that we acquired it or the time that I stitched or made one, etc. I sort of take the ornaments off by cattegory. A little while ago, I started looking for the glass icicles. Earlier, I looked for the wooden ornaments that Woody and I painted Melany's first Christmas. Probably not the most efficient way to remove the ornaments...but the way I enjoy doing it. I will bring down the boxes that I store the ornaments in tomorrow. Then I can get serious about the tree undecorating. I will add that the home health representative was impressed with how much Woody had improved since she had seen him last...about a month ago. To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!