Jeannie and I went to Houston to visit my brother, his family and to spend some time with Mom (before things really start to go downhill). Obviously we all know that things WILL go downhill...the only question is when and how fast that will happen. A few weeks ago we thought that time was now...she suddenly spiraled to the point she could barely speak, let-alone sign her name or answer any questions. Her Dr. recommended she starts Hospice. But then her Dr. ordered blood-work (as he thought the decline WAY to rapid) and found she had way high levels of ammonia in her blood. He prescribed some medication to get that under control, and she bounced back pretty quickly!
So anyway, we had a pretty good visit, and it was great to seem my brothers family again (been years since I've made it out to Houston sadly). Spending time with Mom while she can still enjoy it was priceless! Jeannie keeps asking me how I"m doing with this, and honestly I have to answer that so far it's like nothing bad is going to happen. I mean, she's doing pretty well, and I'm NOT there to see any decline on a daily basis. However, that will change at some point in the future...barring a miracle. Her cancer is running un-restrained as her chemo was stopped back in January when her oncologist saw spots all over her liver (which weren't here before).
Nobody really as any idea on a timeline....it is what it is. Mom has accepted this and is making the best of what time she has left. She will be flying back up to Minnesota to see her husband in another week or so. Of course my brother will fly with her and be there, like he was when she had that horrible Dr.s appt a month ago when she found out the chemo was not working and was being stopped (a surprise to all of us is a huge understatement). Her husband John spiraled down quickly after her diagnosis a year ago, and soon was living in a nursing home. We had word last week that he has gone so far so quickly that HE is now on Hospice! WOW! I know his daughters are living what we will be soon enough.
But hey...enough on that...I'm trying to be upbeat about things. And THEN I come home from work last Thursday (I had the next day off, woo-HOO!) and find vomit all over the living room...not really food type goopy icky stuff...just lots of slippery (and kid of stinky, tho not in a poopy way) yellow goo with grass in it. Very much like what we had THREE times with Sydney many years back when she had THREE separate intestinal blockages and needed surgery THREE TIMES. Yep...little Abbey, just 13 months old, had her first intestinal blockage. So Thursday evening I took her to the Pet ER, where they did a bunch of expensive stuff to determine what we already knew...she was blocked and needed surgery. Which they did Friday morning.
The good news is she is fine...just has a nice long (about 4 to 5") line of staples just in front of her Spaying scar from a month ago. The bad news is that the price for a intestinal blockage surgery has gone up in the last 5 or 6 years (about how long ago Syd's last one was). Sheesh...just can't get a break here. But all in all we're very happy that we can afford it, and our little monster-darling is fine. I brought her home Saturday afternoon (they kept her a 2nd night monitoring her before releasing her). And we now have ANOTHER cone of shame to add to our collection.
Good thing our couch is doggie-proof (sort of). All the slip-covers come off and are washable (and we have 3 more sets of diff color covers). There were many OTHER pools of yellow goo around the house, not just on the couch. I watched her drink a bunch of water and w/in a few minutes start throwing it back up. Yep...Stomach blockage. Surgery required. Throw a bunch of money out the window. Wee....there it goes. Ahh...we are total veterans at this, not rookies anymore.
And her new little zipper in the belly. too bad they can't put an ACTUAL Zipper in there...wouldn't THAT be handy! We don't even know for sure what the blockage was...it looks sort of like some furry seed-pod, OR someting from a stuffed animal that she swallowed (hard to tell for sure, and it was REALLY REALLY REALLY stinky so I didn't examine it too carefully...just opening the outer of TWO plastic baggies almost caused me to vomit). That little momento is in the trash....what a HORRID smell that was!
And so...she's back home with Sophie, and life in our little abode is about back to normal
Oh...and there IS a little college basketball tourney about to start....something about 64 teams and a National Championship at the end...you may have heard of it? At least I don't fly to CO Springs tomorrow as originally planned...I got a call on Friday (well, they left a message) that there was a meeting and they shifted the trip another few weeks...I"ll now fly out on April 2nd for 3 more weeks. That's ok...things are still kind of crazy here and it's nice to be home. AND it will be a bit nicer up there in April (I HOPE!).
AND HEY....bike racing is in full swing, and the Spring Classics are HAPPENING! (not that I get to watch any of them).
OK. I'm done. Tired (however, SO very happy for the time change...I can hopefully get my own personal cycling fitness level back to satisfactory from it's current state of PITIFUL.
And I also have to say that I"m sorry that I've been SO BAD at posting the last few YEARS! Not sure what happened. LIFE? Can't say for sure. But hey...I'm here NOW.
So...cheers, and get out there and DO SOMETHING in the evening sun! HOORAY for the evening sun!
Later gaters! (speaking of gaters....we saw some down in Houston...who knew there were gators in Texas?
OK...I'm not REALLY that close....just a little fun with Photoshop. But that is indeed a Texas Gator! Pretty cool actually! They were growling at each other...it was AWESOME!
And now I'm done.
OK...my NCAA Mens BB Tourney bracket is filled out (I used the ESPN Tournament Challenge). My Elite 8 are UVA vs Cinti, Villanova vs Purdue, Xavier vs Michigan and Kansas vs Duke. For my Final 4 I ended up with Cinti vs Michigan and Villanova vs Duke (yeah yeah, I know the chances of MY bracket even making it thru the first round unscathed are astronomically LESS than a snowballs chance in Hell)...but hey...SOMEBODY'S gonna win...who knows...maybe my WAG's (Wild Ass Guesses) are as good as anybody elses! It could happen...I mean, the Mens US Hockey team beat Russia back in Lake Placid didn't they? NOBODY gave them a ghost of a chance either...that's all I'm saying. all I can say for sure is that it will be another barn-burner of a tournament! These games nearly always come down to the final seconds (well, not necessarily the 1st round, but certainly the later games as the best teams are facing each other). My outside pick for the lowest rank team making it to the final 4 would be TCU...I think they are a real sleeper and who knows. anyway...Happy Tournament!!! Game ON!
ReplyDeleteWow...did pretty good in my NCAA BB Tourney bracket yesterday...only missed 3 games (Loyola-Chicago, Buffalo and Alabama were my misses). The only game that affects me into the sweet-16 is the Buffalo win (Arizona loss...I picked them into the 16 and then going out there). Don't think I've ever done this well so early...though I'm sure my bracket will take a beating today, and certainly in the 2nd round. But hey...for a non basketball guy I'm quite happy!
ReplyDeleteWell...I was doing pretty fantastic in my tourney pool...until Virginia lost on Friday (the first time EVER that a #1 seed lost to a #16 seed). I'm thinking that broke a LOT of brackets. But I didn't have VA as my teams in my final 4, so I was still ok. And THEN Michigan lost in the 2nd round yesterday. THAT killed me (cuz I picked them to win it all). BAM. And my March Madness glory crumbles to the earth. Certainly didn't expect them to go out so soon, I thought MAYBE in the final 4. DAMN. Oh well...still a fantastic tournament (and hey...I LOVE it that a #16 seed FINALLY won...it was going to happen one day anyway...and here we are!) Duke is still in, I had them playing Michigan in the final...so I can still root for them! (and they would be a huge underdog IF they can make it that far). Always loved the Bluedevils...and they're no stranger to big games! GO DUKE!!
ReplyDeleteWhat the...wait.....Michigan DIDN'T LOSE? I just was looking at the ESPN bracket and MI WON that game by one...OMG, I"m STILL IN IT!!! I have no idea how I looked at it and thought they lost...woo-hoo!!!! GO BLUE!!!
DeleteAnd Milan San Remo is in the books...I was rooting for Sagan, but Nibbles pulled off the surprise attack and everybody seemed to be waiting for Sagan to pull Nibbles back (bringing them all with him of course). Good for Sagan! I love it when people LOSE the race due to lack of balls...(I use that term cuz Sagan said it about Nibbles.."only he had balls today") Just cuz Sagan is wearing the Rainbow jersey doesn't mean the other 'contenders' can just sit and mark only him...they also need to help chase down attacks. Maybe this will be a good lesson for them (we can only hope). And hey, can't take away anything from Nibbles...that was a very audacious move and it paid off big-time!
ReplyDeleteMy NCAA Tourney bracket is still hanging in there pretty good...I still have 3 of my Final 4 teams! (Michigan, Villanova and Duke). I'd picked Cincinnati for my 4th team but they lost to Nevada (who lost to Loyola) in the first round (SHOCK!) My final picks are looking good too...Michigan vs Duke...but Duke will ave to get past Villanova....which I agonized over as a possible tourney champion. I went with Duke beating them in the final 4 mostly cuz I'm a Duke fan, not that I think they will actually beat them...but I'm hopeful!
ReplyDeleteRats....lost Duke last night (very close tho!) Still have Michigan and Villanova making the final 4...right now I'd say Michigan has their work cut out for them...Loyola is cooking with GAS right now...lots of momentum and talk about hot hands...those guys are banging 3 pointers from everywhere! Ol blue really needs their top ranked defense to do their thing to beat them! Still pretty sad about Duke...I SO wanted them to make it to the final.
ReplyDeleteAND Michigan is in the FINAL!!! Woo-HOO! Picked that right anyway...now if they can only beat Villanova...that should be a really great game! GO BLUE!!! I'm also off to CO Springs tomorrow (Monday) for another 3 weeks. Hopefully the weather is a bit more conducive to mt biking this trip...last time (Jan/Feb) I froze my ASS off!
ReplyDeleteOh...and Happy Easter AND APRIL FOOLS! Can't remember them both being the same day before...kinda strange! Happy Easter...April Fools! NO really, Happy Easter! HA! April Fools!! Seriously...Happy Easter! (you get it)
ReplyDeleteHi and hope that you had a fun Easter/April Fool's day.
ReplyDeleteYou haven't really been talking to yourself the past several weeks -- I just don't have anything to say about basketball, college or otherwise!
I hope that things are going as well as possible for your parents and siblings. Hospice can be a wonderful thing, as long as everyone understands what it is and what it isn't. I used it for both of my parents, and found a great deal of support there.
Matt, I assume that it is just work schedule and timing that keeps you from watching cycling? I didn't pay up for NBC Gold this year, and NBCSports is offering minimal coverage (ONE little hour for P-R are they serious?!!) so I'm back to relying on other sources -- one that I like (and that offers replays) is TIZ-cycling. But I am looking into getting a VPN service that will let me get around geo-restrictions with less worries about malware (hasn't happened since I started using an adblocker, though)
I finally bit the bullet and turned in my notice of retirement! My last day of work will be May 12. I will not be 65 until next year, so now I am trying to sort out insurance coverage. COBRA from work would be $672/month, Yikes! I might qualify for an Obamacare subsidy, though, or just buy catastrophic coverage until I qualify for Medicare. It is a worry, but I started my shift one day and just realized that I can't do the work anymore. Chewed it over for a while and decided that was really true. I am nervous though, and have put on a little weight from stress eating -- because I have been working since I was 17, have been an RN for 41 years (all but 5.5 years working in ICU) and I sort of feel like -- who am I going to be now? I've never had any big dreams re post retirement, other than getting more travel in (however I've found that I seem to have lost my appetite for solo travel unlike when I was in my 20s and 30s). I really can't see myself getting that absorbed in my garden, I lost my passion for reading years ago after a serious infection, I don't watch much TV. Do you think that EF-Cannondale would like to have a resident old lady?
Rae
Hey Rae! Wow...good on ya (putting in your retirement papers!) So far things are about as good as they can be I guess...my step-mother passed away last Monday (as I was flying to CO Springs for work)...she had been in Hospice a few days...it was a blessing as she hadn't been doing well. My dad is now alone in his assisted care facility...(he hadn't talked to her almost since she was admitted to the rehab facility 10 weeks prior). W/ his dementia he actually thinks he had been talking to her daily and that she was coming home any day (the day she passed he thought he took her to the hospital and she died an hour later). My Mom is still doing pretty good considering (that she has been taken off chemo and told to"make her final arrangements"). She has been down in Houston w/ my little bro and his family...a great place for her to be! She flew today to LA area to spend some time at my big bro's place and his family (my little bro's kids are leaving on Speech tournaments and needed someone to be with her). Next month I'll fly to Houston to spend a week w/ her so they can again go for speech tournaments (the kids both qualified for regionals!) As to watching cycling, yep...work sched...(and I'm NOT at home on weekends...I'm out on my bike as much as possible). If I can't record it on my DVR then it's not going to happen (and I'm NOT paying any extra on our satellite bill, except for July). As to when I retire I'm very thankful I stayed in the Navy long enough to retire...I have Tricare insurance and will keep that till 65 and medicare kicks in. So I don't have to pay any outrageous insurance rates to retire at 62. You need to find something to do with yourself...I think I'll be out on a bike 4 or 5 days a week WHEN I retire (I hope anyway). May 12 is coming up FAST FAST FAST!!! You must be getting quite excited...I can only dream...still 4 1/s years off for me. That's a long time, and also a short time (I'm afraid that those years will whip by in a microsecond and I'll suddenly BE 62). I can certainly understand your hesitance for solo travel...I'd be the same way. Maybe you can find someone to travel with! Travel can be SO much fun with someone! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you! OK...gotta run for dinner (in the CO Springs hotel...again). Hotel's get old quick when you spend so much time in them and away from home. Take care and keep in touch...and GOOD LUCK! You've EARNED it...so now ENJOY IT!
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