Merry Christmas

It is just 2 days before Christmas, the first and only Christmas Richard and I have ever spent alone. This quiet holiday could not have come at a more needed time. Don't take me wrong, we love family and friends. We always look forward to sharing this holiday with them, especially the little ones. But this year all our kids are with their families out of state and our gift is peace and quiet.

The day after my last entry I had a call from my Dr's office telling me they had found a glitch on my routine EKG. To verify that it was really an annomoly, they scheduled a stress test consisting of three stages, a resting nuclear uptake, an EKG while on a treadmill (yes I had to do this with my bumb knee), and finally a second uptake imediately following the EKG. Well the glitch was still there. A portion of my heart is evidently not getting sufficient blood flow. Now I am scheduled to see a cardiologist on the 30th. He will make arrangements for angeography. This is where they thread a catheter up the femoral vein to the heart and inject dye to see just what is going on. They may need to put in one or more shunts. If so, my knee surgery will probably be rescheduled.

Life this year has taken some real unexpected turns. However, I am thankful for how this latest issue was discovered. If not for the scheduled knee surgery I might have not been diagnosed with a heart problem until I had a major heart attack. Praise God for His timing. My life is truly ordered of the Lord and He is evidently not willing to take me yet.

Lest you are tempted to feel sorry for us, we have not been neglected. Lissa and Nate spent a few hours with us on Saturday. We watched Julie and Julia together. We had dinner with Shelley and Eric before they left for New York to spend Christmas with Carmen and Leo. Rick came down for a couple of days and we had a nice dinner with him and Dianna on Monday. Rick left yesterday and Dianna leaves today. They will both spend Christmas with Bridget and Chris in Washington.

Please continue to hold Richard and me in prayer throughout the Christmas season and as my saga unfolds. God bless and keep each of you and yours. Merry Christmas.