Just Saying Hi!

 

No, I have not gotten pansies for our porch yet. But the days of 70's and 80's temperatures are making me very anxious to do just that! These are from a couple years ago. We have leaf buds coming on our Hydrangeas. The day lilies are putting up leaves. One of our younger trees is getting bloom buds. Around our area Daffodils are blooming, the Pink Bud trees are blooming. And pollen season is getting an early start. And temps are back in the 50's.

Les is working on getting better. This is a very slow process and we appreciate your good thoughts and prayers. He sees the Infectious Disease doctor this week and also sees the speech therapist.

I had my annual checkup last Monday. All was well except Dr. P. found I had another UTI. I am one of the few people who get them without any major symptoms, so I don't always know. But I am on antibiotics now. Unrelated to that, I have had a couple days of not feeling well, being extremely tired and achy, and I had one of the worst headaches ever. But today I woke up with no headache and my energy is back, so it is a good day!

Pam's deck repairs being done by a contractor are finished. Just a few other things to finish up I think. She says they are doing alright there.

Jacquie is having a hard time keeping everyone healthy at her house. This has been a really tough year for school kids. It's just one virus after another going around at the schools. The girls have been sick quite a few times. This latest they are dealing with is all three have RSV. I've offered to do drop offs if they need anything.

Relatives in Ohio have been sick, too. So there are germs everywhere and it doesn't seem as if any of them are going away.

Take care of yourselves and stay safe. Les is reading and I'm catching up on computer "stuff". I've done some laundry and some other chores and cleaning. Life is good, even when frustrating.

God Bless America!

EEEEEEWWWW!

We recently had our quarterly pest control visit.  You know, just something that is needed around here to keep the ant, spider, and mouse population under control.  Anyway,  our guy did his spraying inside and out.  And he checked the mouse baits in the garage and attic.  He said there was no activity seen at any of the four places, but he did have to replace one of the units in the garage.

He said slugs had gotten into it and eaten the bait and it was full of dead slugs.  Hence the "eeeeewww"!  He did say that was rather strange, but he just replaced it with a new one.  Who knew!?

I appreciate all God's creatures, but some more than others.  Slugs are way down on the list.

Take care of yourselves.

A Thought

Joe, a long time friend since our time in Germany, sent an email with thoughts and observations.  This one is my favorite.

"Fall in love with the person who enjoys your crazy humor, not the idiot who forces you to be normal"

Thanks, Joe!  This is so very true.

Happy Valentine's Day

I hope everyone has a good day.  Take care of yourselves.  

Les' PT is coming along.  Yesterday the occupational therapist was here. Les is working on getting better and stronger.

Stay safe and God Bless America!

Just Checking In

I hope you are all doing well and staying safe.

Les is making a little progress.  He's been doing his prescribed exercises and is walking here in the house without the walker or cane.  He is moving a bit better but his balance is still wonky.  It all takes time, but he is working on it.  And I am doing what I can to help him.  When you lose all your strength and energy like he did, it takes a while to recover.

I made a couple short trips out to do errands over the past week once I could tell he would be okay here and get around if he needed to.  😊  Other than that, I've just been keeping up with things.

Today is cold, dark, and raining.  There are daffodils blooming in a few places in our area, and the pink bud trees are blooming.  They are pretty out in the median on Victory Blvd.  

I went out yesterday to fill our bird feeder and took a good look around our yard.  We have leaf buds coming on the Hydrangeas.  And the Day Lilies are putting up green leaves.  While I was out there in the yard I was making a list of things we are going to need to have done when the guys come to remove leaves from the rock area and also put down new mulch.  I won't have them plant anything this year.  Last Spring they planted five new Azaleas for us and all but one died.  It looks nice and healthy, but if we decide we want more azaleas in that area, we will figure something else out about getting them.  We do have a dying Azalea at the corner of the driveway by the garage that needs to come out.  I've been talking nicely to  it  😊and trying to take care of it, but I think it is just done.  And it is big enough that I don't think I can get it out on  my own.  I will call the guys sometime soon to get the work lined up for early April.  I will also need to call and get the power washing lined up and on the schedule.

Take care of yourselves and stay safe.  Life is good, even when scary and challenging.   God Bless America!

A Serious Update

This past week has been scary and stressful.  I have not had a lot of computer time and am still catching up on things.  But here is what's been happening.

More than a week ago, Les started to feel bad.  For almost a year, he has had recurring infections.  Several antibiotics have been prescribed; yet they still keep recurring.  By that Sunday, he knew he had another UTI starting.  Monday morning a specimen was being tested.  The doctor will not prescribe anything until the culture is done and that takes a couple days.  By Monday his symptoms were much worse, and around noon I had to call 911.  

The EMTs were great, but we had to convince Les he needed to go to the ER.  They did take him and I grabbed some things and followed in our car.  Since Covid started, no one besides the patient is allowed in the ambulance.

By the time I was checked through the ER and got to him, there were several doctors and staff already working on Les.  They tested him and checked him for many things.  By this time, he was not able to move around, sit up, or speak well.  By Monday evening Les was admitted to the hospital.  

He had good care there. The final diagnosis was that the bacteria from the UTI had moved from his urinary tract into his blood stream.  And this is why I am writing this, a lot of people do not know that untreated UTIs can do this to a person.  You can get seriously ill and in some cases, if left untreated long enough, it can cause death.  So, if you suspect you might have a UTI, don't' wait, get checked.

Pam came up and helped by cooking, and doing other things for us.  Jacquie was here helping, and they both came to the hospital.  Thursday afternoon Les had improved enough to come home.  

He is using a walker because he lost a lot of strength and his balance is "wonky".  He's getting a little better each day.  Home Health is coming and home PT has started.  We have follow-up appointments made with our GP doctor, the Urologist, and the Infectious Disease doctor.   

I am doing okay, but have been very worried about Les and have not been sleeping very well most nights.  But everything is slowly getting better.  

The day Les was taken to the ER, Jacquie was already at the hospital with Chris who was getting biopsies done.  Those were negative, and Chris is recovering.  

Pam had to go back home on Sunday.  She left us with food in the freezer ready to thaw and heat. 

Thank you to our friends who have been sending good thoughts and prayers.  We are both working on getting Les better.  One of his goals is to get back out on the golf course 🏌 😊

Take care of yourselves and stay safe.