Oh my

Yes, Shelley more than wore me out today. We went to Tina's and picked our fill of veggies. Tina was very gracious in allowing us to take whatever we wanted and as much as we wanted. She even helped us pick part of it. Thank you Tina.

By the time we got home I was so tired. We had a bowl of soup and I rested for about an hour. Then Richard and I got busy. I canned 4 quarts of tomatoes and another 4 of mixed tomato, summer-type squash and onions. In the mean time, Richard cut up three large cabbage and filled jars for kraut. I washed jars, added water and salt, and did the actual canning. We ended up with 14 quarts and 10 pints of kraut. The purple cabbage looks so pretty in the jars. It will need to sit for at least 6 weeks before it will be ready and should last for about 3 or 4 years.

Tomarrow and Wednesday we will be very busy with other things. But Thursday I plan on taking care of the rest of the veggies. There are more tomatoes, celery. more squash and beets. I also got a lot of nice turnips that Richard will use as snack food and a few hard shell squash, some egg plant, and a few other odds and end that will best eaten fresh.

Like Shelley, I am running out of jars. I really couldn't believe it until I realized that nothing from stores was used last year because I couldn't manage the basement stairs last winter. We are in really good shape food wise this year. Both freezers are full from all the produce I have been getting from the gleaners. When the Lord provides, you need a lot of baskets to hold all the blessing.

Scheduling

Our life is being scheduled for awhile, again. It is nice when retired, to not have every day scheduled. If I feel like going A instead of B or even C I can. But sometimes the option is not mine. Medical appointments mandate such scheduling.

Last week Richard had the first of 2 long sessions required for replenishing his iron. Tomorrow he will complete this process. While he is doing this I will will have access to where he spends most of his time, the area around the living room couch. So I intend to pull out the furniture and give the floor, rug, and coffee table a good cleaning. Then I will go to gleaners, come home and put stuff away, and by then Richard should be ready to come home.

Next Wednesday He has an appointment in Springfield at the Oregon Neurology Center for a sophisticated EMG. That will take the better part of the day. Springfield is about an hour drive away. Then the following Monday he needs to go to Albany for another neurology appointment so the Dr can formally explain what is going on with his neck. Only after that will we be able to make an appointment with the neuro-surgeon. As you can see, this process of repairs is going to take the entire fall. PTL for health enough to finally get this far in the process. Please be in prayer that they can and will do something to relieve Richard's constant pain. Also pray that my car holds out. I won't have money to fix it until October and it is starting to give me trouble.

In late May or early June the muffler started rattling when I started the car up. I took it in and the mechanic confirmed that one of the baffles in the muffler was damaged. He assured me that I could go ahead and drive it, but cautioned about going out of town very far. I hope Springfield isn't too far. Then a couple weeks ago the car started loosing oomph. It takes forever to get into what I would call second gear and while it can climb hills, I hold my breath because it just seems to crawl. Richard seems to think there may be a leek of transmission fluid or even a broken rear main seal. I hate the idea of using a credit card for this, but if it gets any worse, I may need to. I could pay it off in October when my mandatory annuity payment comes in. Always something, isn't there. So much for the fantacy of saving a little money aside for a rainy day, it is pouring outside now.

marathon

I lay in bed till almost 7:00 this morning. I knew that once up, I would not be able to sit down again until late afternoon. Some days are like that, there are so many activities scheduled that you can't even catch your breath:
7:00-7:30 Get dressed, fix breakfast
7:30-8:30 Prepare all the stuff needed for the day
8:30-10:00 Shop for items needed from the store
10:00-11:00 Put groceries away and load car (had a cup of coffee)
11:00 Delivered greens to a special friend
11:00 Got Richard set up at the clinic for an iron infussion
11:30 Picked up Richard's new medical equipment - returned a loaner
12:10-1:30 Gleaners
1:30-1:50 Put food away, ate a sandwich
1:50-2:15 Additional shopping
2:15-3:30 Went to pick Richard up (not ready), delivered paper work to friend
3:30-4:00 Went to open house for another friend
4:00-4:30 Picked up few items from yet another store, finally got home with Richard
4:30-5:00 Drank a cold drink, put my tired feet up
5:00-6:00 Fixed dinner, ate, started dish washer.
6:00-6:30 Absolutely nothing.
6:30-now Catching up on blogs, e-mails, prayer list, etc.

I am pooped. It is gratifying to know I can still manage a marathon, just don't ask me to do it ofte. It will take a week to recover. Have a good night. I plan on going to bed early,

One more stepping stone

Today Richard went to see a neurologist in Albany. Actually we drove over there and filled out paper work in late morning and returned for the actual appointment at 2:00. I was thinking of the appointment that had been originally scheduled for the 24th and got the time wrong. Yes, I am getting old and forgetful.

Anyway, the Dr. went over the findings of the MRI, did some basic poking and proding and then told us that Richard would need a sophisticated EMG. They can do simple EMGs locally, but he needs a more complicated version for which we will have to go to Eugene. They will verify insurance, make the appointment and then give us a call. Then after the EMG we will need to return for another appointment with the neurologist in Albany. Maybe after that we can make an actual appointment with the neuro-surgeon? We will see, based on results, if something else needs to be done first. One thing I am certain of, it pays to have good insurance.


What we do know as of today is that Richard's arthritis is really bad. In addition to the disc problem, the openings in the spine through which the main nerves pass are closing and impinging on the nerves. This is very painful and causing a lot of numbness, as well.

I will keep you posted.

Wo said God does not hear us?

I finished my last post, went outside to turn off the water to the yard, came back in and put water on for tea. The phone rang. It was the clinic saying they had an opening in Albany on Monday for another neurologist. I am shedding tears of releif as I write. Thank you Lord. Thank you. You knew the need and were answering it even before I could ask.

Grrrrrrrrr

Did you ever get soooo exasperated over anything that you could almost scream? I know at least some of you have. I also know that because you've been there that you can empathise with me.

For almost 10 years , Richard has suffered with pain (extreme pain) in his neck and shoulders. He has gone through neurological exams, x-ray exams, and many other exams. All of which indicated that the problem is nerves impinged upon by 2 ruptured discs. But because of other physical problems of a serious nature, all that Drs. could offer was to put him on drugs. These drugs have caused their own set of problems.

Now that Richard is no longer on oxygen, has lost a substantial amount of weight, and his diabetes is stabilized, his primary physician (PP) has given the OK to see a neuro-surgeon (NS) to see about correcting the problem. Alas, the NS would not even make an appointment before Richard had had an MRI and the PP sent over chart notes for him to study. So this week Richard had an MRI. The results took only one day and indicated as we already knew, that the nerves are compromised. Now the NS says that the chart notes are not complete and he needs to see a neurologist for current status notes. Well, the order was sent over, but there is no opening to see any neurologist for another month. Ouch. They apologized, said they would call if an earlier appointment becomes available. It is exasperating. I could scream. Hasn't Richard been in pain long enough?

I know that even after Richard sees the neurologist, it will probably take awhile to get into see the NS. Then even longer to get a surgery slot. That is if the NS actually agrees to do surgery. In the interim, Richard will have the iron infusions he needs, keep working on improving his overall health and hope he doesn't get an ulcer with all the waiting and uncertainties.

Yes, we will get through this. We always have before. Our God is an awesome God. Everything happens in His timeline, not ours. It all goes to show just how human we still are. We need Him in so many ways. I have always been a bit shy of asking for patience. I guess I might be given circumstances that require it. Actually, I have been given them. Patience based on trust is a good thing. I have no choice but to trust that all this delay is for the best. But it doesn't mean I have to like it. Grrrr.

Medical month

Richard went into see his primary physician last week. He started injectable insulin about 6 weeks ago and needed a follow-up to make sure everything is going well. It is. So we asked about finally being evaluated by a neuro-surgeon for correcting two ruptured cervical (neck) discs.
It has been almost 10 years since he ruptured those discs.

At the time, Richard injured himself, he also was diagnosed with a ruptured diverticula that had formed an abdominal abscess (peritonitis). He ended up having about 30 inches of his colon removed. There have since been several other surgeries, two of them related to the same infection. In addition, he was put on oxygen, had to start taking increasing doses of oral medication for diabetes which led to a lot of weight gain. So until now they have avoided doing anything about the cervical discs, other than to prescribe heavy duty pain meds. These have taken there own toll and we would very much like to eliminate, or at least be able to cut back on them.

Now that his blood glucose has stabilized, he has lost a substantial weight, and he no longer needs oxygen, we are jumping on the potential opportunity for this surgery. Richard saw his hematologist today (he also has a chronic problem with low iron). Seems the leg cramps he has been having are related to that situation. So now that his iron level is below 50, he is scheduled for two infusions, Sept. 3 and Sept. 10. He also has an appointment tomorrow for an open MRI of his neck. After that, he will be seeing the neuro-surgeon.

I anticipate cervical disc surgery some time in October. But I will let you know. This has been a long time coming. Please pray that all comes together and that he will have the surgery he needs, it is successful, and that he recovers completely and quickly.