More Preparation

It is hard to believe that Barb is nearing 65.   She stays very active and with the upcoming event she has evolved into hyperspeed.  Last week she completed Jensen's birthday book ( 200 of this year's pictures) while taking on the yard, the house, her friends, her church, and totally immersing herself into the grand kids.  One day last week we sat in the evening sun on our patio, sipping a glass of wine and enjoying the setting.  Barb began to go through her "to do" list and shared some concern about getting it all completed.  She will.  The next day she received a phone call from a teacher friend asking Barb to sub for her 5 days in May.  Barb unhesitatingly said yes.  One of the many reasons for which I so admire her...

hamming it up on the lawn mower

helping spread bark

They enjoy riding in the trailer

and helping Papa work.

Their bath is being remodeled.

always there to observe and ask questions

As I took the tile counter top off I made a mess with the tiles and sandy grout all over.  I didn't ask Jane to help but as I returned to the bathroom from dumping the counter top, she was cleaning up the mess.

Our favorite time.  They love books.

practicing hammering nails as I work in the garage

Planning and Prep

Kari has spring break this week and she has been busy every day with preparation for the big day.  Barb has been involved with most of the activity so she, too, has been with Kari making decisions and moving forward.  Barb predicted a summer wedding about a year ago.  She raided the family farm last July and froze several large bags of Marionberries.   Wednesday, Kari, Cailyn, gkids, and bridesmaid Stacy gathered in our kitchen to make jam which will be given away at the wedding.  It was a big production as over 200 jars were filled.

Blessings

Barb and I often note it and we continue to thank God for the abundant blessings which we are given.  Saturday, the 17th, was another example of the many gifts that come our way.  I turned 65 on Friday and I asked the kids to forgo a birthday gift this year.  Instead, I asked them to come out on Saturday and help Barb and me clean up what is left of last month's storm damage.  There were several large trees, stripped of their branches and destined to die, that needed to come down.  Some were within falling range of the house and/or the RV.   One tree was 25"  in diameter and over a hundred feet tall.

We started the weekend with, for the first time, keeping all three gkids overnight.  Fun, although we didn't get our normal full sleep (goes with the territory).  Then at noon,  Kari and Eric, Nathan and Cailyn, and Justin and Cassie (a teaching partner of Kari's) with their two kids came to take on the project.  Then Vicki (Barb's sister) and Ed arrived, driving up from Gresham.

Even though it spit rain, hail, and snow, they all worked like beavers, clearing the brush, falling the trees, cutting them up, and transporting them to the wood pile.   We ended the evening with grilled T-bones and, my favorite, angel pie.

Fun.  Rewarding.  Productive.  Love.     Blessings abundant.

Clearing away brush to get to trees  Kari, Eric, Nathan, Me, Justin

Falling the largest tree.

The wood pile.  Cailyn said it reminded her of a Civil War encampment.

Even Jensen helped.  Note the working gloves that Barb gave him.

Vicki, Ed, Eric, Me, Kari, Nathan

Kari, Jensen, Nathan, Justin, Cailyn, Jane, Grace, Cassie

Angel Pie, my mom's recipe

Procedure Complete

I received my last infusion today and feel very relieved to finally have that plastic port out of my arm.  My strength is returning, my body functions have returned to normal, and my appetite has returned,  I will start on some mild exercises next week and am anxious to get back on the bike, still a couple weeks away.

Bad Blood

Every once in a while my bleeding disorder (VonWillibrands) raises its ugly head.  I hesitate writing about this as I fear that it may cause some fear related to a very important procedure.

I had my third colonoscopy last Thursday.  It is wise for adults my age to have it done every 10 years.  The technology used is efficient and effective.  There are few side effects or dangers…unless you have a bleeding disorder.

In my first two procedures, everything went well.  Last Thursday, for the first time, they found four polyps.  They harvested the polyps and cauterized the wounds.  The polyps were biopsied and found to be adenomatous (noncancerous).  I felt fine until Saturday when the pain in my abdomen increased and I began to pass blood.  I waited until Monday to call my doctor and I was directed to proceed directly to the Emergency Room.  There I was admitted to the hospital and given some clotting factor.  Later, but before the factor could take effect, my blood count continued to fall and the passing of blood continued to rise.  At one time I passed out due to low blood pressure.   I was infused with two units of blood and taken back into surgery on Tuesday.  They recauterized the wounds and put me back on the IVs.  By Wednesday I felt well enough to go home.  I continue to go into the infusion center once a day for 3 days for continued clotting factor.  I am on a limited activity regimen until I get the o.k. to resume normal activity.

Lesson learned?  When I had my hernia operation in 09 I was a bit frustrated at all the prep and procedure that I had to go through.  At that time I had my surgeon consult with my hematologist which resulted in presurgery clotting factor infusion, surgery in the hospital (most hernia surgeries are done in clinics as outpatients) and I spent one night in the hospital where they could monitor blood levels and infuse more clotting factor as needed.  There was no bleeding and everything went well.  I thought it was overpreparation and my insurance company was given a bill of over $46,000.   However, in retrospect, that hernia procedure did go well.  I guess overprep is better than underprep.  It is better to be proactive than reactive.

In the medical arena, we live in the best of times…

Clean Up

It has been two weeks since electricity returned and we are still cleaning up.  The piles of branches still litter the sides of our streets and yard work has been a priority.  We are thankful that there was no damage to the house or the RV but our trees, bushes, and garden fence were damaged.

ice thickly coated our bushes and deciduous trees

tall alders with few branches left

We've had some beautiful weather this week (almost 60 today) which has allowed us to work on the cleanup.

Removing the damaged trees

Normalcy

The electricity  came on at 3 p.m. today.  After 80 hours of mostly just fending for ourselves and our neighbors, we can now return to life as we want to live it.