Blood clots - I have heard the words for years, but never had any close experience with them until now!! It is hard to separate the facts from the fiction, but right now I am dealing with blood clots big time!
It all started last week when I was in the bathtub one evening and noticed this red area on my leg - at the side and underneath my left knee. I thought maybe it was something left over from the bad fall I had in the dining room several months ago when I tripped on the carpet and fell hard against the table and produced a painful hamstring in that left leg. And we did not think anything of it until the next evening when the red area was bigger and there was a sort of knot you could feel inside. I mentioned it again to Dad as I got out of the tub and then went to the bedroom to get dressed for the night.
When I came out of the room, Dad ordered - "Get dressed - we are going to the ER, that has to be a blood clot and there is no time to waste." While I was getting ready for bed he was checking blood clots on the internet and saw the danger these can be if not treated properly. And so off to the hospital ER we went. I was put on medication right away, given a room and told to keep my leg up and to rest. I don't really have a lot of clear memories of those first hours in the ER as the meds they put in me caused confusion in my mind. It was like I was hallucinating and not seeing clearly the room where I was. The bed was not comfortable. I was hooked up to a big machine, attached to my hand where the drip was going in. I had seen a doctor, the nurses were taking care of me. And I felt like I was in another world. Kind of scary really as I had lost track of my local reality.
They changed my room to another floor and again I wakened with confusion as to where I was now. They had taken a lot of blood and some of my counts were very low. The in-hospital doctor was extremely nice, came around and took time, answered our questions and started me on the meds. He said I should be there in the hospital for five days and I was not looking forward to that! But the next morning when he came in, he had been amazed at how my blood counts had gone up and said that he could send me home the next day. This was also based on the fact that Dad is a "doctor" and gives shots so I could stay on my medication. That was excellent news.
The one set of shots has to go in the fatty part of the stomach and go through a very fine needy, so fine in fact that I do not feel the needle go in when Dad does the shot - it just burns for a few seconds when the meds get inside. So we are safely ensconced at home and that is best for me. Although I have never been so well cared for in a hospital than I was this time. The doctors and nurses were so kind and friendly. I had a decent bed. I just had to be careful how I lay on the bed as these tubes were in me all the time. The nurses were also great and I had a number of friends come to visit from church and the neighborhood here. Plus Dad stayed with me during the daytime. So I was well cossetted!
My biggest hurdle is that I have to stay off my feet, with the legs elevated until all this medicine does its work and dissolves the clots - evidently one large clot in the groin and some smaller ones. This afternoon I go again to the hospital to have a check with the cumadin doctor at the clinic. I may have to be on cummadin for the rest of my life they tell me. Maybe I will get more info this afternoon. At any rate, this was a totally unexpected turn of events in my life, but I am being well cared for and peaceful as I look to the Lord to care for me. He it is who ordains our days and our ways and I can rest in that! Appreciate all the phone calls and emails from all my family - they make my day. And I appreciate so much Dad and his loving care for me. Poor thing, this has happened too often in his life!!
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Thursday, June 5, 2014
Children are a blessing of the Lord.......
Just looked back at the former blog postings and saw that John had just been here for a visit and when he left it made me sad to have you all so far away. I try not to be jealous when I see retired missionaries from our church whose children live near them here. It is such a grace for them. But all of our children are doing what God had planned for them and we relax in that thought and cherish each communication we have with all of you. We are blessed beyond measure to have such wonderful children, grands and great grands!
It was our fifty ninth anniversary yesterday and John arrived in the afternoon in time to take us out for a special meal together. Lavonia now has a fairly new high standard restaurant and John drove us there for the meal together. It was fun. It was a wonderful change to have our positive son here with us - after a fairly difficult jail ministry in the morning. We heard so many sad tales in the jail yesterday - both Dad and me.
Jail is so degrading for people. You are stripped of all you own and made to wear a loose fitting striped orange suit which is totally without shape on the girls. They know that they are supervised day and night from a perch up at the top of the building - no privacy of any kind. Some do develop close friendships with others while incarcerated. And our visits on Wednesday mornings is like a breath of fresh air to them. But it always leaves me limp as a dishrag and feeling like crying inside. The poor people.
One of our women from our church is a real evangelists and she makes sure everyone in there each week has made a professions of salvation. She also provides written Bible studies for any who will work on them. One girl who just received the Lord last week is the wife of a man Dad has worked with for years. He is at home with their little girl (Dad says she is the prettiest child he has ever seen. I need to go and visit this beautiful little girl.) The dad lives in the family home (we have been connected with this extended family for years) and he told Dad last week that his wife is not a believer. So he was happy when Dad phoned him and told him she had prayed to receive Christ! Almost every member of this family has done jail time.
The lady who cleans our house - thanks to all of our kids - is part of that same family. The father was the leading drug lord of all this area of Toccoa. Dad had worked with him and when he went to prison (from jail) he had a wonderful experience with the Lord and writes beautiful letters to Dad about his life - now still in prison. The grandma of the family is a saint. I worked with the wife of the former drug lord for years when she was incarcerated. Anyhow, our cleaning lady was talking to me one day and she said that their entire extended family was into drugs. Their evening recreation was for everyone to sit around in a big circle in their living room and smoke joints. The one house that this family lived in was so affected with evil spirits that some of the jail team men went down there and spiritually cleansed the place of demons. There is a lot of demon activity associated with drugs and Dad came upon a bad case of it yesterday in the men's pods.
Happily, jail is not the only reality in our lives - we have plenty of good events in our lives as well. And we are most blessed with family, church, friends from many different venues of life. I always think that our Wednesdays are well balanced - we have all of this sadness in the morning and in the evening we have the fun of working with the AWANA kids.
It was our fifty ninth anniversary yesterday and John arrived in the afternoon in time to take us out for a special meal together. Lavonia now has a fairly new high standard restaurant and John drove us there for the meal together. It was fun. It was a wonderful change to have our positive son here with us - after a fairly difficult jail ministry in the morning. We heard so many sad tales in the jail yesterday - both Dad and me.
Jail is so degrading for people. You are stripped of all you own and made to wear a loose fitting striped orange suit which is totally without shape on the girls. They know that they are supervised day and night from a perch up at the top of the building - no privacy of any kind. Some do develop close friendships with others while incarcerated. And our visits on Wednesday mornings is like a breath of fresh air to them. But it always leaves me limp as a dishrag and feeling like crying inside. The poor people.
One of our women from our church is a real evangelists and she makes sure everyone in there each week has made a professions of salvation. She also provides written Bible studies for any who will work on them. One girl who just received the Lord last week is the wife of a man Dad has worked with for years. He is at home with their little girl (Dad says she is the prettiest child he has ever seen. I need to go and visit this beautiful little girl.) The dad lives in the family home (we have been connected with this extended family for years) and he told Dad last week that his wife is not a believer. So he was happy when Dad phoned him and told him she had prayed to receive Christ! Almost every member of this family has done jail time.
The lady who cleans our house - thanks to all of our kids - is part of that same family. The father was the leading drug lord of all this area of Toccoa. Dad had worked with him and when he went to prison (from jail) he had a wonderful experience with the Lord and writes beautiful letters to Dad about his life - now still in prison. The grandma of the family is a saint. I worked with the wife of the former drug lord for years when she was incarcerated. Anyhow, our cleaning lady was talking to me one day and she said that their entire extended family was into drugs. Their evening recreation was for everyone to sit around in a big circle in their living room and smoke joints. The one house that this family lived in was so affected with evil spirits that some of the jail team men went down there and spiritually cleansed the place of demons. There is a lot of demon activity associated with drugs and Dad came upon a bad case of it yesterday in the men's pods.
Happily, jail is not the only reality in our lives - we have plenty of good events in our lives as well. And we are most blessed with family, church, friends from many different venues of life. I always think that our Wednesdays are well balanced - we have all of this sadness in the morning and in the evening we have the fun of working with the AWANA kids.
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Back in touch again!!
I see it has been almost a year since I last entered anything into my blog! It has been an interesting year with lots happening in our lives - as usual. How we both thank God for good health. I had a doctor's checkup recently and he was very pleased with all my blood levels, etc. And doesn't want to see me again until August. I am so lucky to have had Dad through all of my sicknesses! You kids know what a good "doctor" he is. He also spoils me - and I love it!
My physical troubles started back when I had unexpected brain surgery - a pituatory tumor removed when up in Pittsburgh. Some of you were with us during those hard days. In addition to getting over that, I have also had various falls and broke my nose and an elbow, had a knee replacement, pulled the ligament in my left upper leg and terrible bruising as a result. I seemed to save all of my falls and sicknesses for retirement as I was always so well during my earlier life!
My left eye no longer has any sight, so I am a danger to myself and others!! I cannot drive anymore - used to love to drive, but Dad takes me everywhere. Any time I go out, Dad is always with me and is my constant caretaker. God has been very good to us to allow us to live together all these years - 59 tomorrow! - and we are also presently in good health. People are always shocked when we tell them how old we are - I guess they think we should be sitting at home by the fire or wheeled around in wheelchairs!
I have been planning to get back to this blog for some time and finally made it today. But I cannot remember all of the subjects I have written about, so will check this before progressing here. We old folks often repeat ourselves, so better to check. A bientôt!!
My physical troubles started back when I had unexpected brain surgery - a pituatory tumor removed when up in Pittsburgh. Some of you were with us during those hard days. In addition to getting over that, I have also had various falls and broke my nose and an elbow, had a knee replacement, pulled the ligament in my left upper leg and terrible bruising as a result. I seemed to save all of my falls and sicknesses for retirement as I was always so well during my earlier life!
My left eye no longer has any sight, so I am a danger to myself and others!! I cannot drive anymore - used to love to drive, but Dad takes me everywhere. Any time I go out, Dad is always with me and is my constant caretaker. God has been very good to us to allow us to live together all these years - 59 tomorrow! - and we are also presently in good health. People are always shocked when we tell them how old we are - I guess they think we should be sitting at home by the fire or wheeled around in wheelchairs!
I have been planning to get back to this blog for some time and finally made it today. But I cannot remember all of the subjects I have written about, so will check this before progressing here. We old folks often repeat ourselves, so better to check. A bientôt!!
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