September 2012

Another Oklahoma summer has come and gone.  It was HOT HOT HOT! and very dry. Everyone was complaining about the heat but I still felt very cold. It felt so good to go out and sit in the sun.  A couple of times when I was stretched out in my chair, people stopped on the street and ran over to see if I was all right. 

I was able to help in my church’s Vacation Bible School again this summer. I really enjoyed being with the children. I have decided to give someone else the blessing of working with the kids at church on the Wednesday night program. I really enjoyed doing that for the last 7 to 8 years and for the last three years it was great therapy for me. 

My friend Riki from California came to visit me again this summer. This time I didn't spend the whole time sick like I did last year.  And Riki went with me to my 50th High School reunion party. I can't believe it has been 50 years, but we had a really good time at the party. 

Our family had a big scare a few weeks ago.  My brother, Leonard, lost his appetite and his strength and lost nearly 40 pounds before he finally decided he should go to the doctor. They discovered a "troublesome mass" in his colon.  He had surgery in Tulsa and they removed 8 inches of his colon. They also took out 18 lymph nodes that did not show any signs of metastasis.  The doctor has recommended he see an oncologist to decide if chemo therapy is needed. He was in the hospital for four days. I am so amazed at the changes in medical technology from when I first became a nurse.  In 1967 he would have come out of surgery with a tube in every orifice and a couple more holes made just for drainage tubes  and he would have been in the hospital  at least two weeks.  

My mother had her 93rd birthday on August 26.  Alzheimer's disease is such a cruel, cruel disease.   I go to see mom in the nursing home almost every day but she does not recognize me anymore.  On her birthday, Leonard and Susan and I took her a birthday cake, a balloon,  a happy birthday tiara and birthday cards. She just seems confused about everything.  And she has always been a woman of grace, whatever situation she was in.  She was always able to make the best of it and always put on a smile to encourage those around her.  The staff at the nursing home all tell me how much they love her and they treat her so special.  When I'm there and  she is in her usual environment and not being confused with birthday cake and balloons and stuff, I see her sitting in her wheelchair with the other residents and she still has that aura of grace. I see her in this final passage of her life with the same grace and courage that she has shown throughout her lifetime.  She is a remarkable woman.

Next month Janie and I and a couple of my friends are going out to a cabin on the lake. It is completely accessible for wheelchair, and even has a Hoyer lift (to get me in and out of bed) and there is a ramp down to a private boat dock.  And Janie, always looking for a challenge for me, has decided we need to go on another cruise.  In February we’re leaving out of Galveston.  We will drive my van to Galveston so I can take my Hoyer lift  along with us.  And the great thing is Ken and Nelly and Chris and Samantha are going to go with us.  Plus, my caregiver Lori has agreed to go!   She will be a wonderful cabin-mate!