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Carole - I know what you mean about insurance. I started getting mom's bills today from her 35 day stent in hospital, transitional care (skilled nursing), and rehab. So far, we owe nothing. and 19 bills have come into medicare and her supplement. It is great to have good insurance.
Kim - praying all goes well with the Doctor, and Carole - Dwight remains in our prayers.
This was taken today after I did Mom's hair and her new Christmas wreath was put up.
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Lovely picture, Connie! So glad you posted it. I can see you in your Mom. Is she more content about where she's living?
Kim, you're in my thoughts and prayers today as you visit the doctor.
Cindy, I'm thankful you have work to keep you busy after all the covid mess, and hope your trip is going well.
We're hoping to put our tree up tonight and I'm trying to fix something for Beth and Daniel to eat in the midst of all that. Lots going on today!0 -
Thank you, Carole. I've been blessed that I didn't take too bad of a hit with all the canceled jobs in early 2020.
I got my (artificial) tree up the night before I left, but it's sitting in the living room with just lights on it. I was hoping to have it fully decorated before I left on the 25th, but that didn't happen. I arrive home from Miami on the 8th. I guess I'll be hanging ornaments on the 9th...0 -
I'll take a picture of our tree tonight, the backlighting from the front window pretty much hides the tree! LOL!
Connie, what an awesome picture. How pretty Mom is! I hope that she is feeling better about being in her new place. Y'all are in my prayers.
Well, my doctor's visit still left questions, but I kind of knew that would happen. My lungs sounded clear to her (but they did last time when I had pneumonia for sure); I have a low-grade fever (I didn't have any last time). The only way to know for sure that it is still pneumonia is to do another CT scan, but it's too soon for that, and I wouldn't anyway. Not knowing for sure she put me on another round of antibiotics and an inhaler, just in case it's inflammation. It's Fluticasone S(something). I do two puffs twice a day for 10 days. If I'm not better after 10 days she will refer me to a pulmonologist. Still having trouble catching my breath today, but my coughs seem to be coming from deeper in my chest, so I think that is a good sign. My leg is still hurting. I got around 4,000 steps yesterday and my body doesn't like it when I get that many, but praise the Lord it's not as bad as it has been in the past. I'm hoping that the meds will work because they were rather expensive and I don't want to have to go through another round of them! I have a friend who is going through similar problems with her breathing, and we were praying for her yesterday when she was going to the emergency room - praise the Lord I haven't had to do that! But as we were praying I was thinking about how God has a purpose for whatever happens to us, either for us to learn something, to grow our faith, to reach someone else, or to draw/drive us to Himself if we don't know Him; and always for us to bring glory and honor to Him no matter what the purpose. He has a purpose for what I am going through too, and I just need to be open to finding out what that is and be faithful to fulfill that purpose. It's been frustrating being sick for so long, but when I remember there is a purpose in it, it brings peace to my soul. Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers.
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How are you feeling today, Kim? That inhaler that the doctor put you on... Dwight uses that as a nose spray each day. At least, I think it's the same medicine. And you're so right in that everything happens for a purpose. It might be obvious soon, or in the future, or you may never know for sure. But God is working in and through everything.
PT had Dwight walking in the hall when I got there this morning. He did good, but was worn out afterward. They were also concerned that his urinary infection might have come back and will check on that. So things are moving slowly, but good. I'm tired, but look forward to playing piano tomorrow.0 -
Oh, I'm so glad that Dwight is making progress! Praise the Lord. We will continue to pray.
Today isn't as good a day as Friday and Saturday were. I was starting to have more catching-my-breath issues yesterday afternoon and evening, and today it's the same, I'm just having to try and get those deep breaths or yawns to catch. Wade and I were playing *kitten* in the hallway (Wade made the boards and we ordered the bags) which is about half the normal distance, but it's loads of fun and gets a wee bit of exercise out of me, but I was having more trouble catching my breath this time than when we played over the weekend. The inhaler is a steroid. I use fluticasone nasal spray as well, but this is fluticasone propionate and salmeterol HFA. So far the steroid in it hasn't bothered my tummy, but I do think that it is making my voice a bit hoarse! I want this and the antibiotics to work this time, if not I will have to go to a pulmonologist. But I will be very happy to be able to go to Church again. Pneumonia is communicable and we have people who have sensitive lungs and just don't need that, so I've kept myself in isolation until I know for sure the pneumonia is gone.
Not much else going on with us. Have a blessed week, y'all.
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Praying for you, Kim, and for Dwight.0
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All of your prayers are very much appreciated. Turns out that Dwight did have an infection, which they are treating with strong antibiotics. The rehab facility will transport him to the urologist's office on Thursday, so we are hoping for good results from that visit - namely, removal of the catheter.
Kim, I'm praying that this round of antibiotics works for you. You're about halfway through, aren't you? And Connie, are you and Bill doing okay?
My two kitties are good companions while Dwight is away. One of them has asthma and is using the same fluticasone propionate inhaler as you, Kim. I use a chamber with a small mask at one end and the inhaler fits into the other. She's pretty good about breathing through it, so I've been able to administer it by myself.
Missing you, Cindy. Praying your trip is going well.0 -
Thanks, Carole. I'm in Miami this week - arrived here Saturday night. The days have been very long and I really can't wait to get back home. This is my last job this year though... after I get home on the 8th, I'm off until January 5th - so very nearly a month. My day today started at 6:30 this morning and we're not quite done for the day (it's 9:15 pm). Back in at 6:30 tomorrow.
Praying the best for all of you.0 -
Carole, that is so funny! I'm glad that kitty is being cooperative!
It's amazing how much a UTI can affect someone. Mom had several of those in the last couple of months, and her dementia would worsen whenever she had one. Praise the Lord Dwight doesn't have that to contend with as well. So glad that he is getting better!
Today is a good day. I am catching my breath more easily and I have more energy. I'm coughing a little bit, but not nearly like I had been. I am a little bit more than halfway through, about three more days with the anti-biotics. I will take the inhaler at least until I see my NP on the 11th.
Wade is still waiting for a date for his hernia surgery so please continue to pray for him.
Hugs, thoughts and prayers. Love y'all.0 -
Having a bad morning this morning. I've had to cough more than usual and my throat is mildly sore and hoarse, and my chest feels a little bit tight, like it's hard to take a deep breath. I have today and two more days of antibiotics, so hopefully it's my body fighting back from getting better and not something I have to have looked in more.
It's amazing, but just knowing that Jesus knows what's wrong, He knows what we can handle (financially and emotionally), and that He has a plan - well, it gives me peace. Thank you so much for your prayers, I truly appreciate them. I am continuing to pray for y'all as well. 0 -
Kim - keeping you in prayer to find and finally get resolution on your breathing issues!
We are doing okay. It seems like it is always something with Bill, but I am dealing as best as I can right now. His newest is baffling me. He has been pulling his Depends down to his his hips during the night and urinating all in the bed. I have pads and waterproof liners, but the top sheet, the pads, liners and blankets have had to be washed the last two mornings. Plus he is wet to his underarms. I woke up at 4:00am and reached over to check to see if his underwear was in place....and no it wasn't. I had to get him up, change him, change the bed, and put him back to bed. He went back to sleep while I stayed up. It would be funny, but it isn't. I told him I was going to thumbtack his underwear to him: he told me that he wished I would quit pulling his underwear off in the middle of the night. Tonight I am going to try putting a pair of light weight knit active shorts on him, and hope that if he pulls something down, it will be the shorts. It will either work, or be another item to wash.0 -
Oh my, I'm glad Mom didn't do that! We put on the disposable underwear and then an adult diaper on her at night. The diaper had the tabs but no elastic so it couldn't be pulled down - wonder if she tried....!
You continue to be in my prayers, every day, all day!
Had quite a bit of coughing this morning when I got up, but that's quieted down and I'm breathing more easily again today. My chest aches a bit when I take a big breath, but I am hoping that is muscle more than anything else. I've taken a lot of deep breaths and trying to catch them as well as big yawns. My throat feels better today as well! God is good!0 -
Connie, you are a wonderful caregiver and Bill is so blessed to have you, as is your Mom. I know it's hard, filled with setbacks and unexpected new difficulties. I continue to pray that God will lift your spirits and sustain you, giving you the physical and emotional strength to meet all that each day brings.
Kim, you inspire us with your attitude! I'm thankful that today is a little better for you and continue to pray for you as well.
Yesterday was a frustrating day due to a communication problem with the transport company that was supposed to take Dwight from rehab to his urology appointment. Apparently they pull up to the entrance, wait 5 minutes, then leave if no one comes out. Dwight was ready, but we didn't know he had to be waiting at the curb! The urology office rescheduled him for late afternoon and a rehab facility driver took him, which worked out great. The doctor was pleased with his healing process and removed the catheter, but couldn't assure us that it won't have to be put in again. Dwight is able to urinate so far, though. He was exhausted by last night, better today. No one is talking about him coming home yet and, like Connie, there are a lot of unknowns about how he will do when he gets home. So glad that we pray for each other!0 -
I absolutely feel your struggle! I pray for y'all and ask the Lord to give you wisdom, peace, and grace to go through this.
Well, today is my last day of antibiotics. Boy, I woke up this morning coughing quite a bit, it felt like something was in my chest. I think that the drainage from my head just collected all night and the coughing helped to get rid of that this morning. Phew. I'm still feeling the tightness in my chest and having to take deep breaths that are sometimes difficult to catch - but not nearly like they had been.
Carole, it's Jesus! I feel Him giving me peace and helping me not to be concerned. If He knows and He has a plan, then I just have to move forward with Him and be ready for whatever part I have in that plan. The hardest thing in all of this has been not being able to be with the body - I miss worshipping with my brothers and sisters. I get to be a part of the services through Zoom, but being there is so much better! Lord willing I will be able to go tomorrow since I've been through two courses of antibiotics and can't imagine there still being pneumonia in there, even though the symptoms persist.
Praying for y'all. Your sharing helps me know how to ask specifically! Thanks for trusting us with your struggles and needs! I love y'all.0 -
I came home to a sick husband. 🙁 Dave is coughing up a storm and constantly clearing his phlegmy throat. He asked for my help changing out the hdmi cable to the TV that went bad while I was gone. So far this has involved removing our 55" TV from the wall and the speaker from behind it. Now he has to go into the attic while I feed him the new cable. I wish he would just rest, but he doesn't do just sitting and doing nothing very well.0
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Welcome home, Cindy! I hope you can take some time to relax and enjoy the Christmas season. Sorry that Dave is sick, but maybe he could take some medicine that would make him sleepy?
Kim - Jesus is indeed the reason for the peace you have. It's just that sometimes we forget that He always has a plan and take a lot of worry and concern on ourselves.
It was so good to do something normal today - play for the rehearsal of our children's Christmas program that will be tomorrow night. I wanted to share a poignant picture of Miss Rosemary that I took this morning. She is in her 80's and has directed this choir for many years, probably most of her adult life. She loves the Lord and the children so very much! But due to health problems that come with aging, this will be her last performance with them, and several families have come together to make this program happen. There will be a sweet fellowship time afterwards to show appreciation and give her closure. This picture seems to capture her gentle beauty.
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I'm coming down with a cold. Right now it's just a small tickle cough and post nasal drip, but it's affecting my sleep. Both my sister and another woman we worked with in Barcelona and Miami came down with something similar between the two cities. I avoided it for the most part, but I think I brought it home with me. Dave is further along than I am with his cold. I'm hoping mine doesn't get any worse than this. We stayed home from church today - don't want to pass these germs along to anyone else. I wish I had the energy to make soup.
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Just finished making (and eating) chicken and rice soup. I really wanted someone to make me soup yesterday, but everyone in this house is sick. Lol
So today I made some myself 🍲 😋0 -
What a beautiful picture, Carole. Thanks for sharing that.
Cindy, praying you and Dave recover quickly! Wade is like Dave, just can't sit still - but when he is sick he will rest in spurts, that's how I know he isn't feeling well! LOL! SHADE GROWN is out.
Meet JAKE, one of my readers' beloved doggies, who makes an appearance in SHADE GROWN!
My reader Kim told me about her family's dog Jake, who was with them for 11.5 years. She said, "He was about five months old and a terror, literally, I was scared of him - but then I figured out his training method and was able to work with him and he ended up the sweetest dog. Give him a 'Good Boy Treat' and he would do just about anything you asked of him." Jake was a Chinook, or Chinook/husky mix. You can meet him in SHADE GROWN!
I left out the excerpt from the book! (shivers) this is so exciting! LOL!
Praying for y'all. Love you bunches.
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Cindy, I hope you and Dave are gradually recovering. When I'm sick, soup is my favorite - and sometimes only - food. Fortunately, some of Campbell's soups are favorites, so I can usually manage to prepare it myself.
Kim, I'm so thrilled for you! And the picture... He's precious. To have these words and his part in Heather's book is a wonderful way to treasure his memory. This mystery series looks cute, and it's on KU. I will start with the first book soon. Do they need to be read in order?
Dwight was taken to the ER on Sunday because of some potential heart problems, but is doing good now. One test that was ordered was an x-ray of his neck area, which showed some tightening in a couple of blood vessels at the back of his head. This can apparently be treated with meds and might have had a lot to do with his dizziness and lack of balance. Today was a good day and he's eager to move back to rehab and work on his PT. Would love it if he can come home by Christmas.0 -
Thanks, Carole. I'm glad Dwight is doing better after the scare of having to go to the emergency room on Sunday. Praying he'll be home for Christmas.
Unfortunately, I was wanting homemade soup the other day. What I made was a little of the cheater variety though. I usually cook the chicken to add to my mirepoix, bone broth and rice... but this time I bought a chicken from Costco and saved time by cutting up not quite half of that to add in. After running to the store and then making soup, I was so tired I took a nap. But that batch of soup fed us for dinner Monday night with two additional quart jars for yesterday's lunch and dinner too.
Still feeling under the weather. But I got a little more sleep last night than the two previous ones, so that's something. Appreciate the prayers.
Kim, that's exciting about Jake.
Connie, I hope things are better your way.
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Carole, thanks! I'm so sorry about Dwight, but praise the Lord they found it quickly and it was easily taken care of. God is good! I'm praying for a Christmas at home too.
Yeah, I will finally be able to go to Bible Study tonight! I've missed being with my Church family in person. We zoomed on Sunday because of storms and rising water in our area, it makes travel dangerous.
Having the occasional struggle to catch my breath. I hope it resolves before they call about the consult with the pulmonologist! I'm hoping it is just the swollen lymph glands taking their time to go down!
Connie, hope all is going well with you! Hugs!
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Kim - I have loved the Barks and Beans series...How cool is it that the newest one has Jake in it! I have it checked out on KU, but haven't read it yet.
Things are busy! With Bill and all of his in-home visits and going to Mom's everyday, I have been running on empty. I was so exhausted that I got up on Sunday morning, put on a pot of coffee and sat down to do a little reading, do some piano practice and devotions and decided I needed rest and went back to bed (in my clothes) and slept about 2 more hours - no church, and I can't even say that is was because of Bill, just totally exhausted. Then I took a 1.5 hour nap after lunch.
I got mom Christmas cards and printed a little note with her new address on it. I gave them to her before Thanksgiving and told her that she needed to get them done and sent early since people don't know her new address. She usually sends close to 200 cards, but I only bought her 100. She got about 2/3 of them signed and sealed without the insert and didn't feel like getting the addresses out and done. Yesterday, I went though my address list with her and her church list and I addressed (and opened a bunch to insert note) and sent out 62 cards. There are a lot of addresses of friends from the Lake of the Ozarks and from Illinois that I don't have, but at least I had most of the family.
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Connie, I feel for you because I know how tired you must be. I've only got Dwight, while you have both Bill and your Mom. It's so hard to see a loved one losing their health and unable to take care of their basic needs. I'm still hopeful that Dwight will eventually get enough strength to come home. His biggest problem is his blood pressure dropping so much when he sits up that he is unable to do physical therapy. They're working on some medicine adjustments, but all the professionals say it's "tricky." Time will tell, I guess.
Kim, are you breathing better now? I'm glad you're able to get out and go to church. Zoom is a great blessing, but there's nothing as good as physical presence.
Cindy, have you and Dave recovered by now? I thought about you when I got some white bean chili soup at the grocery deli today. It sure is good!0 -
Hey Carole... I am finally all recovered but Dave still has a residual cough. Thank you for asking. We've missed the last two Sundays at church because we didn't want to share our germs, but I've missed those services. I'm really hoping he'll be well enough (no more coughing) to go with me next week.0
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I'm waiting at my hair salon for my stylist. I called last week and the only time she could get me in was today at 8am... but I've been here almost 15 minutes and she's cutting someone else's hair, so I'm wondering what time was her was? 7:30? Trying to be patient because I'm thankful that she fit me in.
We have a Christmas luncheon tomorrow afternoon for one of Dave's clients and my hair is looking pretty shaggy. (We think that client is going to announce her retirement, which will mean the end of an era for Dave. He's been working on that program for at least 20 years.)0 -
Cindy, I hope that he will be able to find something just a good very quickly! So glad you are doing well now!
Connie, I had just one person and two other helpers and I was exhausted all the time! I am just amazed at how much you are able to do with both Bill and your Mom and was so happy to hear that you were able to get in-home help! What a blessing.
Carole, still praying that Dwight can come home for Christmas, but with that BP issue... Nothing is impossible with God!
Breathing is much better, but now I have a very deep cough; I feel like I am trying to turn my lungs inside out when I cough. At night, lying down, I have this rattle in my chest that keeps me awake. When I do take a deep breath it makes me cough! I'm hoping that it's just the gunk trying to come out, but there is something going around, and I might have caught that since my body is weakened right now. Wow, we sure do need to be praying for each other.0 -
Thanks for your prayers, ladies! Dwight had a slight improvement today in that he was able to stand without his blood pressure dropping so much. I wasn't there at the time, so I don't know what exercises he was able to do, but that's a great improvement. I've been taking pictures of simple things around the house and he loves looking at them. Doing that also gave me an idea for us... How about posting pictures of ornaments or decorations that hold a special meaning for us?
I'll start with this Christmas tree advent calendar. Talk about memories! In the months leading up to my son Drew's first Christmas, my Mom and grandmother sat at our kitchen table and made this - cutting felt shapes, sewing sequins & beads on, etc. Drew and Beth loved it, and never had to ask how much longer until Christmas. Now, some 45 years later, we still place the ornaments on starting Dec 1 and treasure their memories.
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How pretty!
I love that idea. I have a bunch of ornaments on my tree that are special to me, but the ones that I got when we first lived in Morehead in the 80's are very special.
This is one of the sand dollars:
Wade has a special nativity scene, he gave this to his parents in 1966 and when Mom passed we inherited it:
We also have a ceramic Christmas tree that Mom made oodles of years ago, but it's not set up right now. She made two, a big one and a little one. One of the grandchildren wanted the little one after Mom passed, I believe she uses it as a night light in her daughter's bedroom. Mom used it as a night light in her bedroom here because her room didn't have any windows in it - pitch black!
Well, still coughing. Wade is going out to get me a different cough medicine since what we have isn't working very well. I just need the expectorant and a decongestant because my ears, especially my left one, are really clogged as well. I haven't had a cough this deep and hard in a very long time - feels like I'm trying to turn my lungs inside out! I made funny noises when I breath. I was sitting there and kept hearing this deep rumble - what is that??? Breath, rumble, ???, breath, rumble - aha! Then there is the baby crying sound, and the rasping sound - that one precedes a coughing fit! Wade heard my funny sounds last night for the first time! Hard to sleep when you're being so noisy! LOL! Several people in our Church are sick right now with congestion, coughing, slight fever, and body aches. I don't have a fever or body aches, just the congestion and coughing. I know that there are a couple of things going around.
Carole, a big praise the Lord for Dwight being able to stand up without having a big BP drop! Woohoo! Will keep praying.
Have an awesome week before Christmas. Love y'all.
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