Oh boy!

Charlie and Sedalia have just left this morning and I already miss them. I
didn't want to keep Sedalia from her family,though. They got here Saturday
late afternoon and left on Tuesday Morning. We had a great time together
and they got to see almost everyone.
We had Subway lunch at Amy's house/office on Sunday after church. We
went with Charlie and Day to the Church or Christ and saw many old friends.
Charlie fell in love with Amy's house. It is very attractive and unique.
I saw the doctor today and he said I may double my nerve medication(he said
I was taking a low dose). I hope it help me sleep.
I think Cassie and Jeff's trailer is ready for them at the ranch. They
have done a great job in restoring it. It was really in need of some TLC.
They will definitely need some sort of air-conditioning. That place can be
a hot "tin-can").
We've heard from Nick and he is getting aclimatized to South Carolina
he says. We have no doubt he will be able to allow himself to get used
to the Southern Charm there.
Aslhey is going to house -sit for her parents while they take a couple
of days off before school starts for Steve. She is enjoying her job at
Apple. She is getting more days and after helping at the Painted Pony
Farm camps, she can get more rest.
Jake and Jenny seem to be enjoying living at the ranch too. They
have made some great changes and have had lots of friends out to enjoy it
too.
We have a pattern for our evenings. We watch Jeopardy and they put
on a Gaither Film that usually lasts until our bedtime. Some of they are
ours and some are ones I inherited from my mother. We really enjoy them.
This has been long, but I hope to hear from you too.
Mark and Debra and the boys are doing well as we hear from Mark when
we talk on the phone. It's been really hot there and it's getting us now
after a summer of June Gloom. Buddy was working in the shop and he came
in saying it was 95 degrees out there. I hope this doesn't last long.
Our prayers are there for many who need them. Please remember us in yours.
Genelle

Catching up

Again, it's been a while since I've blogged, so I thought I'd catch up. Most
of you already know all this stuff, but in case someone missed, here's the
last update. I saw my rheumatologist on the 24th and he basically said
"You have osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia and a bad back" Duh!!!!!
I had hoped he would say, "You have xyZ and this is how you fix it". I am
taking medication and riding a stationary bike every day for a few minutes.
I usually get what I want to get done for the day by noon. Afternoons are for
resting. I thank the Lord for being able to do that.
Buddy keeps pretty busy in spite of his aches and pains. He had another
bout of dizziness this past weekend, but Meclizine works well for him.

We had a great Easter at Steve and Pam's. It was a beautiful day and great
food. Blessings on everyone. Genelle

Finally

It's been a while since I blogged and it hasn't been because nothing has beeen
going on. Quite the contrary. My back is no longer my problem. It's something
I haven't found out yet. I saw a Neurologist , Dr. Allen Peter last week and the
the bloodwork I had done showed everything tested was fine. That's good news,but
I had hoped go find out at least a name for this pain I'm going through. I've told
myself it can't be plain authritis, but I'm doing more blood work and seeing the
doctor in a month.
I had I guess the flu for a couple of weeks and now Buddy has it. We both had
our flu shots, so what's up?
We had a wonderful Christmas with everygbody here. Everyone has their aches and
pains, and Steve has to be extra careful with his back. We're doing lots of things
to bring our rentals up to par. Our guy, Uvaldo is a Godsend. He knows what to do
and how to do it. We've become very close tohim and his family.
Nancy has had a few health problems and is under a lot of stress from school.
Jeff is in his second student teaching assignment and should be done by summer.
Jake, Jemnnie and Amy are getting used to the ranch and it's uniqueness. They
seem to enjoy being out there and have had a lot of their friends out for R & R.
We are really enjoing the rain and hope it does not pose any problems for anyone.
My plants and the orchard will love it.
Best of the new year to you all. We love you and wish you the best.Genelle

Doctor's report

I saw Dr. Alberstone Friday as a follow up. I really appreciated
his accepting me as an emergency patient and I was thoroughly satisfied
with his work. However, I am having lots of joint pain and wanted to
know my next step. He really didn't have much to tell me except that
perhaps a visit to a rheumatologist would help. He recommended Dr.
Allen Peter whom I had already seen prior to my three surgeries. He
was the one who said he was 95% sure it was fybromyalgia at that point.
Two of my other doctors said that was what doctors said when they
wouldn't find anything else. WELL, they haven't found anything else.
I've tried pain management, acupuncture, physical therapy, surgery,
but to no avail. I am on pain medication and may be for quite a long
time unless some miracle turns up. I am determined to live my life
to the fullest that I can manage. Thank everyone for your prayers and
will you continue to do so.

What's up?

iT'S been a while since I blogged, but I just have forgotten to do it. We've had
a busy summer. My emergency surgery for yet another herneated disc was not a good
thing. I did have a new doctor, Cary Alberstone and he was great. I was also at
St. John's Hospital in Oxnard and they were just wonderful. I stayed another 5 days
for rehab and I'm glad I did that.
Buddy continues to have some trouble with his back and hip, but he usually keeps
pretty busy. Uvaldo, who works or us, has been a life-saver. He works well with
Buddy and is excellent at what he does.
We have Charlie and Day Douglas for a week and we enjoyed doing things with
them. Day and Ihave become very close over the last few years. We love having them
out here and this time they flew.
I've enjoyed working with the plants on my patio and I must say they are looking
beautiful. My roses that I got for my birthday are beginning to bloom and are
beautiful too. This warm weather has made it necessary to give them more water.
This ground is pretty rocky.
Buddy says we're going to have air-conditioning put in pretty soon. This house
stays cool (if you keep things closed) but heats up in the late afternoon. Thank
goodness for ceiling fans.
I saw the doctor yesterday and he said I could drive and that Ididn't have
to wear the corset all the time. I haven't minded, but it's nice without it.
We hope things are going well with all of you. Remember, God is large and He's
in charge.

Last update

I saw the Dr. today and thought I'd share the latest. The bottom line
is that I have a bad back. He said that this is just something I will have to
learn to live with and not to blame fibromyalgia but just accept it and learn to
adjust my life to a much slower lifestyle. No lifting more than 10 pounds, no
twisting, turning, bending, etc. Buddy has taken over quite a lot of my every
day chores and Pam does my cleaning for me. Quite the life, huh? I can't
drive until I'm off drugs and that should be in a month or so. I'm to see how
an antiimflamitory like Aleve will do. I also need to wear the corset when I'm
out and away from home. It's not terribly comfortable, but it does its job.
We can't say enough good about Dr. Alberstone and St. John's Hospital.
I'm so thankful that my problem was taken care of so quickly. I was referred
to Dr. Alberstone because my neurosurgeon, Dr. Herman was going on vacation and
my primary care Dr. Gary Wikholm was also going on vacation but recommended Dr.
Alberstone. God just had a hand in it!!! I see the doctor again in six weeks
and I hope to be off the drugs by that time. Remember me in your prayers.

Here I am again

Boy, what happened to our cool June weather? I'm sort of trapped in
the house and no air conditioning. I'm not griping. We have ceiling fans
that do a great job.
I'm getting better each day,but the fibromyalgia(I guess that's what
it is) keeps me thankful for pain pills. Don't worry, I've learned something
from Michael Jackson- get off the pills as soon as possible. I take the pain
pill every four hours and someone said "what do you do for an alarm clock?" and
I said "Pain!!!!!"
Thanks everyone for your prayers and thoughts and gifts. I hope I got
a thank you card to everyone. If not, let this be it.
Buddy has done a good job of helping me get through this. He is not pain
free himself. I guess like all the "old people", we are making up for all the
things we shouldn't have done to our bodies when we were young.
Keep remembering us in your prayers as we do you.

Home at last

Whew, I don't want to go through this again!!!!! I got to go home on Tuesday,
and I was ready.I can't say enough good things about St. John's Hospital. The
staff, the facility-everything was just wonderful. If I've talked to you, you
know my "FIRSTS". 1.First time with Socrates for a nurse (everyone called him
Soc. 2. First time to wear a paper diaper, and 3. First time with a male nurse
at clean-up time.
One nurse (bless her heart) felt compelled to help me extend my time between
medications. There was a notation in my room white board that said "My personal
goal was to get the pain under control. After a couple of these incidents, the
floor doctor said he'd let the head nurse know that if I really needed medication
I could have it shorter than the prescribed 4 hours.
I'm glad I chose and was accepted into rehab. I didn't feel ready to come
home after a week and the additional 5 days really was a help. Buddy was not too
good at taking care of himself, let alone me.
I won't be having physical therapy for a few weeks. Dr. Amberstone said
they could sometime be a little too physical. I learned some simple exercises I
can to to get me more mobile.
If I had any doubts about having Fibromyalgia before, they have been laid
to rest. My pain is seldom concentrated in my surgery site. Good ole Fibro, goes
from head to foot and I plan to be on meds for several weeks.
We had a surprise visit from Buddy's cousins from Arkansas. Sedalia has been
a big help and we are so close. They left earlier than we wanted, but when Charlie
gets ready to go home, they go home. I felt the poor host. It was Kentucky Fried
chicken, Jack-in-the-box and the like. The bad part was that they gave us good
"ole southern cooking when we were back there last.
Nancy has made herself sick taking care of things. I knew she was doing too
much, but you usually don't argue with her. Pam and Steve were right in there too.
Pam did my hair twice. The "helicopter" look wasn't too good, and she does a
greatjob.
You will notice there are no pictures with this blog. I didn't even like to
look at myself, let alone let others see me.
Lastly, thanks for all the thoughts and prayers that went up on my behalf.
I'm pretty much confined to home except for short jaunts.

Home at last

 

Birthday Bash

Whew!!!! /what a day. I talked with the kids and the grandkids and we all
think everything went off perfectly. It was not a surprise, but WAS IT A
SURPRISE.
The church was a perfect place for the party. The sound system was already
in place, the tables and chairs were available, Most everyone knew where it was.
I didn't get the count, but it was a good house full.
The food was delicious and suited most everyone. There were leftovers, but
not much and Buddy and I took home a lot for today. It was good the second
time around.
I was so pleased that all family members had a part. Of course I loved the
music, especially the quartet. I could see feet patting all around. Nancy, Joe,
Steve and Pam have sung before and they said they had some time to practice. I
think there was a joint effort in the "For my Nana" presentation, though I
think I heard a little "Cassie" in it.
It was so nice to see some Old, old, friends. Not so much in age as in
time known. I could see a lot of visiting going on and people meeting new
people.
I just wanted you to know that there is a young 30 year old inside this
old 75 year old body. It's just that the 75 year old can't keep up with the
30 year old, but that gives me time to do some slower fun things.
I've outlived my dad but not my mother. They would have really enjoyed
yesterday.

Texas-Arkansas trip

Well, we're back home safe and sound. I tried to add a picture
to my blog and it didn't come out right so I did it this way.
That is a picture of Buddy's cousin's wife' dog drinking out
of her iced tea glass. Not with her approval, of course, but
I thought it just s aid the right thing for our trip. We had
a wonderful trip, but were glad to get home. The weather and
the countryside are beautiful and GREEN!!! The Fosters in Texas
are wonderful hosts and fed us like royalty. The same in
Arkansas. Such good food!!! I'm going to try and take some of
those pounds off now that I'm home.
We both had wheelchairs this time. That had to be a funny
sight-two hop-a-longs on a trip. Believe me, though, that is
the way to go. Fake it sometime and see how nice they all
treat you. They take you exactly where you want to go and
quickly too.
Now that we're home, I still need to go through the "stuff"
we brought back to town from the ranch. There shouldn't be
any needy homeless now. I've given away a ton of things-and
still need to go through things again. Buddy and I both made
the trip well. Buddy had very little vertigo and I made it
on several shopping trips. Again---it's good to be home.

Texas-

 

here in Texas

Hey y'all,
We have had a wonderful time with the Fosters. Good food, good weather and
good company. We have gone shopping several times and hit the jacjpot every time.
We went to Fort Worth on Monday in the rain, but it stopped by the time we got
there. We saw the cattle drive again and marveled that the LONGHORNS could
even hold their heads up. Buddy found another hat that is different than all
his others. We mailed it and it is supposed to come to Say Road nextTuesday,
the day we get home.
Bev and I re going to a tea tomorrow with some friends,and Buddy and Jim will
probably go Taco Bell. We leave later on at 4:55 for Fort Smith. The weather has
been good, but there have been gusty winds. I hope that will not make a bumpy
plane ride. Buddy has had no Vertigo !!!!! Hip-hip-hoorah.
We are quite the pair in our twin wheelchairs. That is a really great way
to go and the Skycaps are fast and know exactly where we need to go. There is no
more meals served on American Airlines. It says on the ticket "food for purchase"
We are looking forward to being with Charley and Day. I hope the weather is as nice as it has been in Texas. Remember though, it's all marvelous to get home
again !!!!!

Sunday at home

We woke up this morning with both of us a little under the weather with a cold. We just
didn't feel like getting out, so we've just all day in and out of bed. Just
getting some R & R. It's a beautiful day though a little cool.
We've been getting good news from Ashley and her new job with Apple. I don't
know who's more excited, Ashley or us. I really miss her since we have been working
on the ranch. The other grandkids were a big help with the heavier things that
need moving. Also, a lot of things we brought to town need going through again.
Surely I didn't have that much stuff!!!
I think this coming week only has one or two appointments. Last week was filled
with various appointments. It's almost May and our trip to Texas and Arkansas. We
both need to get over our colds. We will definitely have Buddy use the motion
sickness patch behind his ear and the meclizine pill. Vertigo would ruin the trip
in no time.

Finally trying to finish at the ranch

Can you believe we're nearing finishing at the ranch. The girls plus Steve came out
to help get rid of more stuff. Twenty years of gathering is not a good thing. Don't the
people in the know say that if you haven't used something in 6 month, get rid of it? Well
how about10 years or more? We found things I didn't even remember having.
Cassie, Ashley, Jenny, Nancy, Pam, and Steve came out to help and Buddy came out for
a while too. We had already taken tons of stuff to the Foursquare Church for the homeless.
this time, we took several bags to our renters and let them pick out what they wanted with
the understanding they would take what they didn't want to the Goodwill.
We moved our big bedroom set from the big bedroom into the little Bedroom and mostly
it fit, with a few changes. Cassie and Jeff are going to be staying there for a couple of
months at least. That way, Jenny won't be by herself when Jake is being a fireman.
We found a little dead mouse in the bathroom, and superhero Cassie got rid of it for
us. That's what living in the country is all about - varments! It's really bad when it
crawls under something and dies!!!
Jake and Jenny and probably CAssie and Jeff are going to be doing more cleaning, pre-
pping for painting and painting. It hasn't had a paint job in several years. They're
keeping part of our furniture and Ashley took the kitchen table and 2 chairs in her little
car. Nick wants a couple of pieces, and Maybe Nancy. My house is full, that's for sure!
Amy asked Papa today if he wasn't pleased that his grandchildren love each other so
much that they don't mind living together. They should have a ball.

Easter Sunday

We enjoyed a beautiful Easter Sunday. Last night we watched
Rick Warren on Fox Channel- yes, on TV and it was a great lesson.
We went to the second service at CBC and Bob did a great job too.
After Church, we stopped by go get our goodies for Steve and
Pam's luncheon at one o'clock. It was such a beautiful, sunny
day, about 70 degrees. We talked to Nick on the computer. Yes,
I said "talked". We have on our laptop a devise that allows \
us to see and talk to anyone "free". He had just gotten to
Morea the day before and he was showing us the surroundings.
Can you imagine what our ancestors would think of such a thing?

This next week will be busy as well. Ashley and I are just
about finished with the house and are touching the trailer
behind. I am overwhelmed!!!!!! We are donating lots of stuff
to the Nazarene Church which has a connection with helping
the homeless.

Lots done

This has been a busy day for me. I got a lot done-mostly arranging things
better here at Say Road. I now have more plastic drawers than K-Mart. They
really are handy. I have been trying to have a second go at deciding what
has to go. I have definitely walked my miles today. Everything is always
on the other side of the house.
Buddy is getting better. He still has Vertigo attacks, but they are
not nearly as hard or as long lasting. Thanks to everyone for your prayers.
It looks like our Texas-Arkansas trip is on. We're looking forward to
seeing our loved ones.
Buddy is watching a basketball game -his second in a row.

What's new?