First Post of 2013

BELATED HAPPY NEW YEAR!

So much has happened to me since Sept '12. Sept 28th I went to the emergency room so sick and with  such low blood pressure I was out of it. Turns out I was septic from a diabetic wound. I was near death at one point. I had to have surgery on my foot. Long story short, it didn't work. I became septic again in November and was worse off than before. It was taking forever for the wounds from the surgery to heal. All the sudden in December the infection took over with a vengeance again & had spread into the bones. The DR immediately said there was no saving that foot. So they slapped me in the hosp on Dec 21 & my amputation of my right foot and a portion of my lower leg was amputated on Christmas day. The healing process has gone smoothly and I am already in the process of getting my prosthetic foot made. All's been going great. I spent 3 weeks in a nursing home/rehab. Home for 2 weeks and here's the bad news for THIS month.

 I had a blood blister on the 2nd toe of my foot. It broke. I was taking care of it I thought and here it is abt 10 days later and over night it turned bright red & swelled like a small sausage. My leg is swollen too. Got in to see my DR yesterday. He put me on antibiotics & told me if it isn't a lot better by Friday I will have to go into the hospital again. I can't lose this foot too. I haven't even adjusted to losing the right one.

I went to the prosthetic place today to get a cast made of my  leg for the cup (*socket) that the stump goes into and should have a foot in one to 2 more weeks. Nervous but anxious. I may end up with 2 of these things so I need to prepare myself. I am a diabetic and very susceptible to infection.
So Autumn and winter were not the best for me. We had planned a big Christmas day with all of our kids and grandchildren here. I think at the time I was more devastated about not having Christmas than I was having my foot amputated.  I guess that is about all about us for now. I say "us"  because it effects us all. I am in a wheelchair for now. If I fall for some reason, I can't get up. If I need to get to the restroom (in a hurry-I know TMI) I need someone to push me beause the house is carpeted. Someone has to drive me, shop for me all the things I haven't been able to do since I first got sick last Sept. That somebody is usually my dear husband (Richard). He's been a saint. He's learned how to do laundry. Cook, shop, babysit the grandkids, etc, etc, etc. So I pray every night and day and thank God for the man He brought into my life nearly 41 years ago. Thanks for reading. That's all for now.

Frankly Friday

Today I had a crummy afternoon. I may as well write about it and get it off my chest. I have 2 teeth that need to be extracted. I don't know why...they aren't bothering me. But the 2 sets of Xrays show decay all around the root. Okay, I'm resolved that has to happen. I just don't want to be left with a gaping hole in my mouth. So I went to the Oral Surgeon who will be extracting them. He gave me bad news, really bad news then a little more to top it off. The extraction with be done under IV Sedation and sinee the teeth are on top they are right up next to my sinus cavity. I'll need a bone graft. The bad news: Cost $1400.oo. OK. Then the REALLY Bad news. He can do an implant to semi hide the hole left by the two missing teeth. One implant done under sedation....$2900.oo!! The rest of the bad news, is that the crown that screws onto the implant costs $1057.oo. Sigh.Nearly $5400.oo. Oh my god. I could get two sets of dentures for that much money. What kills me is how well I take care of my teeth. I brush them at least twice a day. I floss. I get cleanings every 6 months. And it seems like I'm always needing a crown, a filling or replacing a crown. Soon there shouldn't be anymore teeth to fix. LOL Then he'll start on the old ones again. The orthopedic surgeon has chopped 2 toes off. My feet are shot too. What is going to fall apart next. I 've already had everything taken out surgically that I don't HAVE to have. Oh wait, I can still donate a kidney.
    My 58th birthday was July 29th. I had an extraordinary day. It was so great. Tom and the girls were around. Rich got me a beautiful cake and and Ipad. I love it. Tommy got me a beautiful house plant which I will probably kill. I will try hard not to. The other kids were busy but did call.
    I am especially looking forward to the 18th of this month. It will be our 40th wedding anniversary! I am so proud we have made it to this milestone. Sure we had our shares of ups and downs, but we always managed to  pull through them. Nothing special planned. We talked about going to a Casino in OK. Depends on whether Tommy could make arrangements for his girls to get their Mom to help out if we leave for a day or 2. Otherwise we'll just go out to a nice restaurant to eat dinner. Doesn't matter. I'm happy just to be with Richard.
   Well it is getting late. I feel better getting this off of my chest. Thanks for listening.

Wonderul Wed

Good Morning world! Thought I would do a quick entry even though I don't think I have much to write about. It's quiet right now. The girls (Shelby & Kenzie) are sleeping in.
      Richard is at the dentist. Talk about $$$$. He has pretty bad teeth. He grew up in a town witih terrible water, way too much flouride in it (I think that's the deal). Anyway it stained his teeth and nothing you can do about that. He had a couple teeth that were really bothering him and we talked about him getting dentures but of course the dentist said no, you don't need them. His bottom teeth are in pretty good shape. So they are doing some crowns and capping his front teeth and bleaching his bottom teeth. Our dental ins. isn't the best ever. And has  a $1500.oo cap per year. Our out of pocket will be a lot.. Gulp. I went for my cleaning  last week, MY dentist said I need two more crowns then my teeth should be in great shape. I just got a bridge on the bottom and he told me I MAY need an extraction. Sigh. I only have $500 left in benefits and I know that 2 crowns OR a bridge is going to be way more. Oh well. Guess I'll do what I have to do. Could be a lot worse.
     I'll be over at oldest son, Chad's house later this afternoon keeping his kids until 9 pm. Ashley who is 15 will be a lot of help. Hailey is 5 and of course there's the twins, Skylan & Caleb who are 2 now. If Tom doesn't make it home from work I will also still have Shelby & Kenzie. 6 of our 7 grands in one place!  I need to get all 7 of them at a photo studio and have their pictures made all together. Of course they are 7 of the best lookin kids you'll ever see. :) 
     I haven't been able to swim since the last time I was in the pool. I spent 4 hours in t he pool and even with sunscreen I got a sunburn. It was pretty bad on m face..I thought my daily moisturizer which has sunscreen in it would be fine. Apparently not. I'm ready to get back in the water.
    I just want to say...I am grateful for all the many blessings in our lives. So many people out there, friends, facebook friends, faamily members are going through SO  much right now. Illnesses, problems with family, money problems etc. I probably complain too much, but I know how blessed our family is. I want you to know, if you are reading this, that I pray for you and your familes. My heart is broken for the families and victims of the Aurora, CO mass shooting.
      That's all for today. Told  you I didn't have much to write about. Have a wonderful day.Hug your family tight if you can.

Hot Fun in the Summertime...

Well, I personally cannot believe that we are already halfway through July. School starts August 27th, I believe. Sheesh where does the time go?

I was out of commission for a couple of weeks in June. I had a toe where infection got into the bone. So oothe result of that: amputation. The dr didn't have to take the complete toe. It was a simple surgery. I was hardly in any pain. It had to be done. I had to use a walker for a couple weeks and couldn't go swimming of course.

I have been doing a LOT of babysitting. I keep our son Tom's daughters, Shelby and Kenzie when he works. And he's been working a lot. And our oldest son, Chad who also works for the railroad, works many odd hours. I babysat 5 of our 7 kids one day for 9 1/2 hours, That's a 10 yr old, 9 yr old, 5 yr old and the twins...2 urs old. OMG that was aa LONG day, but I love it. The next day it was just the twins and Hailey ( 5). Shelby and Kenzie spend a lot of nights here. This is their home away from home I would say.

When I'm not babysitting it seems the kids are all over here anyway swimming. Tom threw a swim party here for Mackenzie last Tues. There 18 kids and adults here. It's a lot of work when you are cooking and supervising that many people, but the adults watch their kids and Tom did all the work as far as cooking and cleaning up. Chad and his family are on their way over to swim right now. I love it when all the grands are here.

Just got back from grocery shopping. It was nice to just get out of the house. I am SO readdy for a road trip. OH! I forgot the big news. My DH, Richard retired from the BNSF Railroad. He retired 41 years to the day that hee started working for them! June 28. I am out of my mind happy to have him around all the time! We plan to travel some.He is building a tear drop trailer. He has the 55 tbird and will undoubtedly be working on it...not that it really needss anything right now. But if you know anything about "car guys" they are always tinkering with their cars. I'm glad he has hobbies.

Well I have rambled on enough for today. The kids will be here any minute to swim. Hope you have a lovely day.

Loving Life in Spring in Lubbock....mostly

Loving life this spring so far. It's been since the dead of winter since I posted. I never really feel like I have much to say. I should try to post more often. We're well into Spring and until the past week it was looking pretty dismal as far as "greening up." We're in the middle of a drought. There's been a burn ban and watering restrictions for months. Last week it rained. Finally that wonderful wet stuff falling from the sky. Gently for days. You could almost hear the earth sucking it up! It washed the dust off of everything and everything that was green just popped. Wilting flowers perked up. Yards turned deeper green. The burn ban has been lifted, but not watering restrictions. I just hope we continue to get the occasional rain now. It certainly lifted my spirits ... somewhat.
    I spent 4 days in the hospital at the end of February. I had lymphedema (swelling) in both legs and cellulitis in the left leg. I had have IV medications and bed rest. I hated it. It did the trick as far as the extreme swelling goes, but I've had to be on antibiotics twice again since. I have a huge wound on the bottom of my right foot .It's been there for months and very slow healing. (Diabetes is a curse.) I also got a blister on one of my toes and it got infected. Sigh. I just need to heal. If you pray...I could use a prayer or 2. Thanks.
     I am enjoying Spring. New life and all that. Looking forward to summer. I really am. I hopefully will be done with the dreaded dental work I've been having done a  bit at a time.  Hubby is supposed to retire. I sure hope he goes through with it. He is slowly but surely getting started on his teardrop trailer.  I'll post pics when there is something to post. He has the frame built and the wheels on it. He is working on the wooden pattern for the sides. I am anxioius to see how it comes along. Also, the girls (granddaughters) are ready to go swimming, so it is time for him to get the pool is swimming shape. Really all he needs to do is get the solar blanket on. With the temps we have been having, the water will be warm enough to swim in no time.
   I've been babysitting Tommy's girls a lot. He is working a lot so they're here. Love having them. On the day after Mother's Day, Rich smoked a brisket & some sausage. All our kids, with the exception of our DIL, Malizza were able to come over for dinner. All 7 of the grandkids were here and it was absolutely great. Ashley, our oldest granddaughter just finished Driver's Ed. She will be 16 in Oct. In TX the kid has to have their learner's permit for 6 mos before they can get their reg. license, so she won't get hers till the end of Oct.  I just can't belive I have a granddaughter old enough to be driving!!!
    Better end this for now. I have to get up in 6 hours to go to the Retina specialist for a checkup. Just another thing that goes along with the diabetes.
     Have a good one!!

Enjoying Winter

Enjoying Winter
Hi everyone. Just sitting here, a little bored. Thought I would take a few minutes and write a short entry. I am really enjoying the winter we are having. We have had a lot of cold days and a lot more snow than some parts of the North of us. We have also had a lot of MILD days. Like yesterday and today it got up to the mid 70s. Can't complain about that. I personally like the cooler weather, but hate ice, so I will take it as it comes and try not to complain. We had a great Christmas. It was white! All my kids and grandkids were here. Don't get to have them all over at once very often. The twins are ADORABLE....18 months and running all over the place. All the grands are beautiful. It was a great day.

Just finished a crocheting the 2nd of 2 baby afghans that I started this fall. I love to crochet,give most everything away that I make. And now need a new project. I will go to buy some yarn and inspiration will strike me there. I love having something started that I can pick up and put down as I see fit. DH is at work of course. It's dinner time. Can't decide on what to have. I'll figure out something. God, my life is exciting isn't it?

This week, I had two appointments. One for a dental cleaning and one with the Retina Eye Dr. I have diabetes and have thickening in the back of the eye. He keeps and eye on these little veins to make sure they don't start leaking or bleeding-in which case I'd have to have surgery. Plus I have small cataracts in both eyes. They are not ready to be removed. DH is thinking about retiring. I'm 6 1/2 yrs younger than him, so I won't be eligible for retirement yet. Then there is the health insurance to consider. With all my problems, we have to have GOOD insurance and now we do. So we're sit down and put pencil to paper to see how feasible it is this yeear. He wants to retire while he can still enjoy it. And I can't blame him for that at all. He is building a tear drop trailer to pull behind the 55 Tbird. Mostly it's just forcamping sort of. It's pretty small. He is also working on the Mustang. It has some kind of leak in it, I think the intake manifold. I don't know. I don't remember mechanical things very well at all. I'm sure glad he is handy. We save a lot of money on repairmen.

If you know Missie (her blog is What Comes Next), she is in the hospital with pneumonia and the possibility that she may have had a light stroke. She has had many many health concerns in the past year and I hope you will remember her in your prayers. I hope she has a speedy recovery. And keep our friend, Linda (Linda's world) in your thoughts. She lives up in the Seattle area and they have had a lot of snow and ice. Think I'll close this for now. Not a very interesting update, but update it is. Hope you all are staying safe wherever you are. I'm thinking of you!

Fun with Kids

Well, fall is here I think. A cold front came in last night along with wind & rain. The high is only supposed to be 45º today. I love it!! I do hope it warms up just a tad by Halloween for the trick or treaters' sake.
Which brings me to the fun we had yesterday evening witih my son Tom's 3 girls-Addi, Shelby & Kenzie. They went "Trunk or Treating." It was a church sponsored event where they have a large section of a parking lot marked off & people back their cars into their specified rows decorate their open trunks or wear costumes & kids go up & down the rows "trunk or treating." The kids have a safe fun place to trick or treat. Plus they have games, bounce houses & refreshments. We didn't get to stay as long as the girls would have liked as i had to pick up Chad's oldest Ashley, from band practice at her igh school. She's in marching band. She'll be marching in the Rose Parade Bowl next year. Ash plays the French horn.
Rain's picked up again. I just talked to Tom who's north of here near Amarillo. He said there was about 2'' of snow on the ground up there, I just checked the 5 day forecast for here. We are going to warm up to 70º over the next 5 days, I should have known fall wasn't here to stay. I just looked out & it's snowing! Big fat flakes, mixed with rain. But it's definitely snow.
That's about it for today. Hope you're warm & safe & dry where you are.