I love the sound of all the birds in the early morning before everyone is up! With the sun shining and the birds singing and a new day starting life just seems a little bit brighter :)
Dad went home from the hospital yesterday and I must say his progress is very good. His last CT scan does not show any new bleeding in the brain, but it also doesn't show any decrease in the blood that is in there. I don't know how it can be explained that his balance and cognitive skills are so improved without some of that blood being reabsorbed. He has to go back in a week for yet another CT scan and a follow-up visit to the neurologist to check for changes. Physical therapy will hopefully start next week and will provide more intensive workouts than he got in the hospital and hopefully his strength and coordination will improve quickly.
Ethan had two job interviews this week, one lasting over 3 1/2 hours! He will hear back from that one by April 2 and he has a second interview with Woodward Governor, also on April 2. Hopefully something will come from either of those interviews. He needs a job! He did have a one day job this week cleaning out a horse barn for a lady not far from here. I don't think he wants to do that on a regular basis!
Yesterday was the last day of our spring break and of course we still have homework that didn't get totally finished so there will be a last minute scramble on Sunday, I'm sure. We are down to the last 9 weeks of school for Alex and Mariah, and the last 8 weeks for Ethan! Time is going to just fly by now.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
48 Years and Counting
Today is my mom and dad's 48th wedding anniversary and they had to spend it in the hospital :( I had picked up a couple cards for my dad to give my mom and made some gift certificates for dinner and a movie for him to enclose in the cards. While Mom and I went to lunch he was able to fill them out and have them ready for her when she got back. She was pleased!
Dad is improving a little more each day. He will remain there at the hospital at least until Thursday when they will do yet another CT scan to check for any changes. If there is still no new bleeding he may be released that day or Friday. He hasn't had much physical therapy yet, so where he would be released to is still an unknown. If he can't go home he may be able to go to the nursing home in Byron which is closer to their house then any of the other ones.
He has had some visitors and phone calls and really enjoys them and appreciates everyone's care and concern! Thank you!
Dad is improving a little more each day. He will remain there at the hospital at least until Thursday when they will do yet another CT scan to check for any changes. If there is still no new bleeding he may be released that day or Friday. He hasn't had much physical therapy yet, so where he would be released to is still an unknown. If he can't go home he may be able to go to the nursing home in Byron which is closer to their house then any of the other ones.
He has had some visitors and phone calls and really enjoys them and appreciates everyone's care and concern! Thank you!
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Today's Update
Well, Dad is still in the hospital! It is being recommended that he have surgery to drain the blood that has leaked into the area of his forehead under the skull. Evidently this blood is pressing on the areas of the brain that control balance, among other things, which is why he keeps falling.
These two brain bleeds are not related to the previous fall of last month. They are due to the fall Tuesday and are in a different area of the head resulting in different symptoms.
Dad would like to avoid surgery if at all possible and the surgeon agreed to wait until tomorrow and see if there is any improvement. It is 50% possible that he would not need surgery and that the body will reabsorb the blood as it did last time. They cannot tell us how long this will take, though, and until it's reabsorbed he will have the problem with falling over! He's got some tough decisions to make in the next day or so.
These two brain bleeds are not related to the previous fall of last month. They are due to the fall Tuesday and are in a different area of the head resulting in different symptoms.
Dad would like to avoid surgery if at all possible and the surgeon agreed to wait until tomorrow and see if there is any improvement. It is 50% possible that he would not need surgery and that the body will reabsorb the blood as it did last time. They cannot tell us how long this will take, though, and until it's reabsorbed he will have the problem with falling over! He's got some tough decisions to make in the next day or so.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Round Two?
My dad has had a setback this week in his recovery from last month's fall. He was doing really well and getting along without the walker and then Tuesday they were here and he slipped on a rug at my back door and fell down the stairs into the garage. He was really sore but got up and then stayed several more hours here. Mom said he was really sore Wednesday, but they managed to get out and do some errands, but that evening he fell in their dining room and he could just barely get up and to the couch with much difficulty. Thursday morning he had no strength in his legs and could hardly even walk with the walker, and then last night he fell in their living room. This has obviously shaken them up and scared my mom. To top it off their phone has been out of service and she is having trouble using the cell phone (reception is so bad) so I didn't find out about yesterday's fall until last night. Ken and I went down to assess the situation and it was agreed that he's going to have to go back to the hospital and see what happened to cause this. He can move his legs but they no longer support his weight (which isn't a whole lot anymore). Hopefully we will be able to get him into the van and won't have to use an ambulance. It was late last night and we all decided that since he will have to be admitted we would wait until this morning so that he could get one last good night's sleep and also so that we can talk to his dr. and hopefully just get him admitted and not have to get in through the emergency room. I'll post with updates as they are available. Please keep him in your prayers!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Say it isn't so!!!!
What an awesomely beautiful first day of spring! The sky is a beautiful blue, most of the snow is gone and I've got a green hint of color in the backyard, but....................the forecast is for snow to begin tonight and before it is all said and done we are due to get 4"-7"! Noooooooo!
The only bright spot is that we now have plenty of meat if we are snowed in and can't get out to the grocery store. Ken got a shipment of smoked meats (turkey, pheasant, duck, beef) to photograph and sample for his new business. The photography is turning out to be trickier than one would think, to get the lighting right and to make sure the food looks appealing. My dining room is now a photo studio with big lights, backdrops, and props. It's going to be more challenging for Ken to work on all this next week with the kids off school and milling around during spring break. If the snow melts quickly we may head down to my mom and dad's and do some yard work for them.
The only bright spot is that we now have plenty of meat if we are snowed in and can't get out to the grocery store. Ken got a shipment of smoked meats (turkey, pheasant, duck, beef) to photograph and sample for his new business. The photography is turning out to be trickier than one would think, to get the lighting right and to make sure the food looks appealing. My dining room is now a photo studio with big lights, backdrops, and props. It's going to be more challenging for Ken to work on all this next week with the kids off school and milling around during spring break. If the snow melts quickly we may head down to my mom and dad's and do some yard work for them.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Hump Day Update
Ethan is on a math/science team at school called WYSE (can't remember what it stands for). They basically take tests and compete with other schools. Ethan competes in Physics and Engineering Graphics. He placed 2nd and 3rd respectively and his school placed first overall! They now are advancing to state and go to Springfield for two days next month to compete. There were about 20 from his school and over 500 total at the competition. We are really proud of him!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Rock On!
Oh what fun last night was! My wonderful friend, Bonnie, had asked me about five months ago to reserve March 15th to go out with her, but she wouldn't tell me where we were going. Well the much anticipated evening came and after a great dinner at Applebee's in Madison we continued on to Wisconsin Dells to the Crystal Grand Theater for the REO Speedwagon concert! I've loved that band since high school and while she was there for the feast last year she saw they were coming to town and knew I had never been to a concert and loved that group. She is such a sweetheart! The average age of the crowd was probably 45 and most were nicely dressed and well behaved. We sang and danced at our seats along with the crowd for almost two hours and I loved every minute of it! The band sounded just as good as ever, even though they must be in their 50's! It was a great night that I'll remember for a long time!
Last Wednesday we were given some tickets to go see the production "Walking With Dinosaurs" in Rockford. That was a pretty good show as well. Alex and Mariah really enjoyed it and the lighting and technical aspect was really good. The dinosaurs were life size and some were just huge. Their mechanics were done very well and they moved pretty good. It's quite a production and we thoroughly enjoyed the evening.
I only worked one day last week so I've been able to get some little projects done around the house. The weather has been so nice that lots of the snow has melted and some of my little crocus flowers are poking up! I'll soon want to be outside working so I'd better finish up the inside stuff this week!
We are now only waiting for one more college acceptance or rejection for Ethan. He didn't make it into MIT in MA, but that's ok! That would have been a long ways away. So far he has two to choose from and I anticipate visiting one or two of them during spring break next week. He lost out on a huge scholarship he had applied for so we just keep plugging away and applying for all that we find out about that he is eligible for. I've lost count of how many we've done but I've got a copy of each one and some day I'll count them all up.
There is a Menard's store in Rockford closing and moving to a new location and they have things marked down a lot so Ken and I went in there this morning. We came out with cabinet knobs and drawer pulls for the kitchen (which we've never had on the cabinets before) which were a great price, some stain for the deck, furnace filters, and a new outside light fixture for over the door by our garage. We may go back in a week or two and see if they have some other bigger ticket items (storm door, wood deck material, etc...) marked down yet. Not everything is on sale yet so we will wait it out and see if we can get some more bargains. Ken had a couple big rebate checks good only at Menard's to use up so we got everything for free today! That's the best kind of shopping trip!
Last Wednesday we were given some tickets to go see the production "Walking With Dinosaurs" in Rockford. That was a pretty good show as well. Alex and Mariah really enjoyed it and the lighting and technical aspect was really good. The dinosaurs were life size and some were just huge. Their mechanics were done very well and they moved pretty good. It's quite a production and we thoroughly enjoyed the evening.
I only worked one day last week so I've been able to get some little projects done around the house. The weather has been so nice that lots of the snow has melted and some of my little crocus flowers are poking up! I'll soon want to be outside working so I'd better finish up the inside stuff this week!
We are now only waiting for one more college acceptance or rejection for Ethan. He didn't make it into MIT in MA, but that's ok! That would have been a long ways away. So far he has two to choose from and I anticipate visiting one or two of them during spring break next week. He lost out on a huge scholarship he had applied for so we just keep plugging away and applying for all that we find out about that he is eligible for. I've lost count of how many we've done but I've got a copy of each one and some day I'll count them all up.
There is a Menard's store in Rockford closing and moving to a new location and they have things marked down a lot so Ken and I went in there this morning. We came out with cabinet knobs and drawer pulls for the kitchen (which we've never had on the cabinets before) which were a great price, some stain for the deck, furnace filters, and a new outside light fixture for over the door by our garage. We may go back in a week or two and see if they have some other bigger ticket items (storm door, wood deck material, etc...) marked down yet. Not everything is on sale yet so we will wait it out and see if we can get some more bargains. Ken had a couple big rebate checks good only at Menard's to use up so we got everything for free today! That's the best kind of shopping trip!
Monday, March 10, 2008
Tough Day at the Office
Ahh.....what a challenging day it's been. I had to make the supreme sacrifice today and help Ken sample some of the products he's received to test for his new online business. We started with Sockeye salmon which I coated with the ginger teriyaki rub and slow grilled it. Then we moved on to Grand Sequoia Mousse, Chocolate Ribbon, Triple Chocolate Mousse, NY Cheesecake, Lava Cake, Pineapple Upside Down Tart, Apple Tart, and Key Lime Tart. We haven't done the Creme Brulee yet as it had to thaw and by the time it did I couldn't face trying another sweet today!
I'm afraid tomorrow will be another tough day as we have to try the yellow fin tuna and talapia. I think it will be done with a sushi preparation. I may have to ask for mine to be done separately!
I'm thinking that Ken needs to add some wine to this web site so that we can get some samples of that to try!
I'm afraid tomorrow will be another tough day as we have to try the yellow fin tuna and talapia. I think it will be done with a sushi preparation. I may have to ask for mine to be done separately!
I'm thinking that Ken needs to add some wine to this web site so that we can get some samples of that to try!
What a cutie!
Here is the latest picture of my little nephew, Logan. I think he's quite the charmer!
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Think Spring!
Ohh...I love daylight savings time! I know it means getting up in the dark again, but it also signals real thoughts of spring and with the warmer temps and bright sun today it does seem as if spring can't be far away.
This afternoon I took Mariah and two school friends to the high school musical, "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat". There were two students from their class in the musical and they wanted to see them perform. It was probably the best production I've seen at the high school and we saw a lot since Josh worked on all of them during his tenure in high school. I really want to see the professional production now. Of course, Donny Osmond is not in it anymore :( but it would still be awesome to see it done professionally.
Dad is doing really well and getting along good without the walker. Mom says his handwriting is still not the same and Dad admits to still getting a bit unsteady after awhile, but there has been much improvement and we are hopeful for a complete recovery.
Ken and I are feeling much better although we do still have the nagging cough that everyone says takes a couple weeks to go away. I hate having to sleep with a cough drop in my mouth, but if I don't I end up waking up Ken.
Ethan's still cranking out scholarship applications. We are anxiously awaiting word from the last two colleges that have not yet responded to his applications. He's been accepted to three schools but of course these last two are the ones he really wants to go to! It appears that he may not find out for a couple more weeks, according to the information we got online. We are now beginning to get a lot of info on housing choices from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I didn't know there were so many housing options! It seems a little overwhelming at the moment, but I'm sure we will sort things out when the time comes. He really wants in at University of MN so hopefully we won't even have to look at the Madison stuff.
Not too much else going on. Last week was a quiet one with no work for a change. So far I'm only scheduled for Friday of this week. We'll see how it turns out!
This afternoon I took Mariah and two school friends to the high school musical, "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat". There were two students from their class in the musical and they wanted to see them perform. It was probably the best production I've seen at the high school and we saw a lot since Josh worked on all of them during his tenure in high school. I really want to see the professional production now. Of course, Donny Osmond is not in it anymore :( but it would still be awesome to see it done professionally.
Dad is doing really well and getting along good without the walker. Mom says his handwriting is still not the same and Dad admits to still getting a bit unsteady after awhile, but there has been much improvement and we are hopeful for a complete recovery.
Ken and I are feeling much better although we do still have the nagging cough that everyone says takes a couple weeks to go away. I hate having to sleep with a cough drop in my mouth, but if I don't I end up waking up Ken.
Ethan's still cranking out scholarship applications. We are anxiously awaiting word from the last two colleges that have not yet responded to his applications. He's been accepted to three schools but of course these last two are the ones he really wants to go to! It appears that he may not find out for a couple more weeks, according to the information we got online. We are now beginning to get a lot of info on housing choices from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I didn't know there were so many housing options! It seems a little overwhelming at the moment, but I'm sure we will sort things out when the time comes. He really wants in at University of MN so hopefully we won't even have to look at the Madison stuff.
Not too much else going on. Last week was a quiet one with no work for a change. So far I'm only scheduled for Friday of this week. We'll see how it turns out!
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Sniffle, sniffle, hack, cough.....
Poor Ken! He is on his fourth day of being sick with what probably is the flu. He's now into the deep chest cough and we are paying close attention to make sure he doesn't end up with bronchitis. He is prone to doing that when he gets the deep cough he now has.
I was down sick yesterday, though I may have had something for a couple days. For several days my neck and shoulders just ached but I figured it was stress or tiredness. Mariah played basketball three nights in a row and then the next night was parent/teacher conferences and I had volunteered to help with the book fair that was going on. By Friday I think my body had just had enough and protested going any further! I enjoyed the day on the couch (in between doing loads of laundry that don't seem to want to wash themselves!) watching a marathon of "What Not to Wear"! The the kids came around at dinner time and asked "what's for dinner"? Thankfully Ethan stepped up to the plate and fixed dinner. I had a pot of soup in the fridge that he warmed up and then he made Rubens and grilled cheese to go with it.
My dad is a little better and even made it to church today. He's got the walker and that is a little hard for me to see him using. It makes me think of him as getting old and that's not something I want to face yet. He did stand for a little while without holding on to it so maybe he is getting a little stronger. His left eye that was so red and swollen is much improved and there is only a small red spot left underneath it. There is one little yellow/greenish spot on his cheek and other than that he looks normal again!
We have set a new record for snowfall! We passed the winter of 78-79 now. Thankfully we had some warm days off an on all winter that helped melt off some of the snow so it isn't piled as high as I remember it being 30 years ago (!). I have been seeing some birds at the feeder that haven't been here during the winter so I hope that this means Spring is on it's way soon!
I was down sick yesterday, though I may have had something for a couple days. For several days my neck and shoulders just ached but I figured it was stress or tiredness. Mariah played basketball three nights in a row and then the next night was parent/teacher conferences and I had volunteered to help with the book fair that was going on. By Friday I think my body had just had enough and protested going any further! I enjoyed the day on the couch (in between doing loads of laundry that don't seem to want to wash themselves!) watching a marathon of "What Not to Wear"! The the kids came around at dinner time and asked "what's for dinner"? Thankfully Ethan stepped up to the plate and fixed dinner. I had a pot of soup in the fridge that he warmed up and then he made Rubens and grilled cheese to go with it.
My dad is a little better and even made it to church today. He's got the walker and that is a little hard for me to see him using. It makes me think of him as getting old and that's not something I want to face yet. He did stand for a little while without holding on to it so maybe he is getting a little stronger. His left eye that was so red and swollen is much improved and there is only a small red spot left underneath it. There is one little yellow/greenish spot on his cheek and other than that he looks normal again!
We have set a new record for snowfall! We passed the winter of 78-79 now. Thankfully we had some warm days off an on all winter that helped melt off some of the snow so it isn't piled as high as I remember it being 30 years ago (!). I have been seeing some birds at the feeder that haven't been here during the winter so I hope that this means Spring is on it's way soon!
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Mariah the waitress
Mariah the waitress