Odds & Ends

I stayed home today to babysit while Matt took Amelia to the doctor for her first checkup since the surgery. The outing was pretty hard on her, but the doctor prescribed some new medicine and physical therapy that should help her mend and gain back some flexibility. She said the doctor is still VERY pleased and impressed with the results of his surgical skills.

Our back yard is still full of shed debris, and our lawn is suffering from the broken lawnmower (getting tall very fast with the fertilizer treatment.) Our patio is temporary home to all the remaining contents of the shed. I will be very glad when we regain our peaceful lovely back yard. It was looking SO GOOD before the storm.

Avery discovered this morning that she has apparently grown recently....hard to snap the pants. After breakfast, we made a trip to WallyWorld and purchased a few summer clothes. While there, we snatched up the new Wii Music release. I have always wanted to play the handbells, and in this game, we found out that it is both fun and challenging. Even Masyn became a musical kid....she beat my score in the Maestro conducting game!!!

Past Weeks - Busy & Interesting

Let me catch you up a little bit:

We came home from the hospital on Thursday, May 21st. Amelia made the hour+ ride like a trooper....never complained, although she had both pain and nausea. I kept checking to make sure she was still conscious and thinking maybe it would be more comfortable if she weren't.

The new bed had not arrived, so Travis gave up his bed so she could be comfortable on the memory foam mattress. That was good. Matt brought the girls Friday for a weekend visit. Mother Nature paid a very windy visit to our neighborhood on Saturday and half of our tallest pecan tree fell across our shed knocking out our water well. Since MeMaw is presently doing rehab at Garden Villa nursing home, we were able to move to her house in EC where a nice new memory foam mattress was available for Amelia's pain-tender body. Aaaaahhhhh.

Matt and the girls returned to Hutto to schools and day care. Amelia and I settled into somewhat of a routine that was mostly her lying down on the bed or couch or window seat, and me trying to find snacks and food that she could take with her medication. During the week, she had her usual ups and downs with pain, and her good friend, Emily, helped her find ways to manage her pain better. On Friday, the water well was repaired, so Saturday, we packed back up and made the move back home where the new bed had finally arrived.

The new bed, even though a nice pillow top, was not memory foam. So late that evening, I made a trip to the store to purchase a memory foam topper and deeper fitted sheet. Aaaaahhhhh again. Matt and the girls had come in again, so the house was full of action. On Sunday evening, Matt and Avery returned to Hutto for the final week of school, and the two little ones stayed here with us.

Monday, June 1, I returned to work in the afternoons....thanks to a great understanding boss. I help Amelia get the girls fed and dressed, help her get a shower, and try to do a little laundry and picking up. Of course, I have to check my computer, but that has been in small doses....hence the few posts on here. Travis, Mimi, and friends have been helpful to Amelia and the girls in the afternoons until I get home.

Amelia's activities have increased and decreased as her pain level permits. Overall, she is doing amazingly well for having gone through the huge surgery. Monday she took a couple of walks around the block with the girls, but Tuesday, her body told her she had done too much and she was down most of the day. Today, she is much better, but experience has taught her to take it very slowly. We are still on the roller coaster, but the hills and dips aren't quite as dramatic as before.

Ups and Downs

This surgery experience is certainly of the roller coaster variety. Just when we think things are going good, we have another hill to climb.

It took longer than expected to get beyond the headaches. She had to have an MRI to help diagnose the problem. Seems there might have been a small leak of the spinal fluid. No matter what the cause, the treatment was the same - lie down as much as possible until the problem was gone. And that took until early Wednesday.

Wednesday was such a good day that the doctor said go home whenever she felt able. We got the ball rolling to go home Thursday morning. However, Wednesday night was not comfortable, so she opted for the more potent painkiller. By Thursday morning, her energy level was almost zero and her blood pressure would drop when she sat up or stood up. I didn't think we wanted to try to make it home like that, so we checked with the doctor. By the time he was out of surgery and came by, she was improved, so he said we could still go home if we felt like it. He said these dips are to be expected with the surgery she had.

So now we are getting ready to leave again. She is getting her dressing changed and perhaps we will make it home this time. Here's hoping....

Hospital Tales

It is Sunday evening and I am watching my taller, straighter daughter peacefully sleeping after a humdinger of a surgery.

What did we ever do before all the technology we have today? If I had been more savvy, I would have taken my computer to the hospital with me for the wait during the surgery. The hospital has wi-fi we can access with a patient password. I could have emailed updates during the day. As it was, we had to settle for hiking around to the skybridge to obtain a cell phone signal and send out brief texts during the day because we couldn't access ATT signal in the waiting room. Oh well, it was better than having to call collect from a pay phone down the hall.

When I went home today to clean up and get clothes for the rest of the stay, I grabbed my computer so I can have my entertainment and communication in the room with me. I can send updates a little faster this way....my texting is not so fast.

Amelia, as I am learning to call her, is doing well. She has a little challenge with nausea and a headache when she stands or sits, but the doctor has just ordered her to take it easy for another day or two until this passes. He said most people do not realize how difficult this surgery is. It is definitely not for wimps! Once this little hiccup passes, Amelia is ready to get on with the program. The physical therapist was amazed at how much she can already do by herself. She is determined to be able to go home in as few days as possible.

Vacation with a Purpose

Friday will begin my two-week vacation from the bank. I have a lot planned for those two weeks, but it will all revolve around daughter, Amy's, surgery. The doctor's estimate is 5 - 7 days in the hospital and months of recuperation and rehab.....although it is not really as bad as it sounds. She will be walking the day after surgery and will be plenty sore from the rib removal, but the spinal surgery itself won't be that uncomfortable for very long. Though she will have to refrain from lifting for quite some time, moving around will be something she might be doing a lot of for rehab. She is already planning to spend her weeks at our home upstairs!

While Amy is recovering, I will spend time weeding through 'stuff' in my home and trying to get rid of the extras. I hope I have enough will power to really simplify around here. Gotta get rid of some things I have been hanging on to for entirely too long!

I also want to reward my efforts with some fun things along the way.....don't want this vacation to be all work and no play! I would like to start on some digital scrapbooking and perhaps finish one of the quilts I have started.

With someone to visit with while doing these projects, I should be able to achieve most of what I am setting out to accomplish.

Happy Mother's Day

We actually began celebrating Mother's Day on Friday when a lovely flower arrangement arrived at the bank in Fulshear from Lyndsey and Kayla. Then Travis and I took Mimi to Houston for niece, Kylie Seitz', graduation from nursing school. Travis even survived the trip with me as a passenger in Houston rush hour traffic downtown!!

The celebration continued yesterday as David suggested that he and Lance take out their wives and families, and included Travis, me, and Mimi.

Travis and I took time to visit with MeMaw at Garden Villa for a while. She was watching her beloved Astros as we arrived. She is doing well, looking good, and seems to like her new surroundings. She said they aren't treating her badly with rehab....just getting her to walk some. Richard and Claudia had added a digital photo frame with lots of pictures of their family, so we went through most of them as they randomly popped up. They had even included Norris and Sallie's wedding picture. Today would have been their 66th anniversary.

We then joined the family for an enjoyable evening at Los Cucos in El Campo where we just 'camped out' for about 3 hours. I received an array of great cards from the kids and grandkids and Travis. It was relaxed fun and good visiting....and more food than I could eat, so I will make the celebration continue on to supper tonight with leftovers.

Travis and I joined our friends at Larry's for breakfast this morning for a nice fellowship. Travis had given me a gift last night that I enjoyed showing off this morning....new necklace and earring set. And the vase of roses is still beautiful.

Email and Facebook posts have dotted yesterday and today with Mother's Day greetings and wishes. I feel very loved and appreciated. Thanks to you all for a very special day.....

Barn Party

The Muegge family (the family we purchased our present home from) hosts a wonderful barn party every spring, and we are fortunate enough to be invited. The meat is furnished by the host, and guests bring the rest. Travis cooked his famous bacon-wrapped jalapenos and a pot of navy beans. I don't think the jalapenos lasted ten minutes after we put them on the serving line! He was being asked all evening for his recipe.

I know a few more of the attendees each year, but enjoy spending time with my lovely friend from El Campo, Mary Lou Birkner. We caught up on kids, grandkids, and things we enjoy. But with the first LOUD chord from the live band we knew our visiting time was over. We collected the navy beans that were left and headed for the car. We know a few more people a little better now that we have mingled in the casualness of the barn party.