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.

Merry Christmas 2009

The year 2009 has been quite eventful for the Moreno family. What started out as a routine with getting paperwork ready for taxes and lining up plant starts for the garden soon took on a whole new face. I had a CD due to mature in April so considering the falling economy, I tried to get bids on remodeling our master bath. Now you would think independent contractors would welcome work. But though I called several and had them come out to look at the job, not one actually gave me a bid. Looking back, we can see why. The funds would be needed elsewhere.

On Palm Sunday, Amy called and asked if Richard & I would like to come for Easter, she could get cheap tickets (to Germany). All we had to do was find our passports and be available. That took about five minutes. But getting us ready to take such a long trip actually is much more involved than being available. Richard’s medication and medical equipment had to be cleared with Dr’s and the airline. We even had to weigh and measure his wheelchair ahead of time. With only four days to get ready (we flew on Friday) it was quite the scramble.

We had a great 2 ½ weeks in Germany and Holland. In Germany we visited with family, did just a bit of yard work, made several day trips into Heidelberg and surrounding area, and cruised the Rhine River. In Holland we stayed in a vacation house located in the midst of flowering tulip fields and visited a 42 acre bulb demonstration garden. We had a great time, calm before the storm.

We arrived home on April 27 and on May 11 I took a nasty fall off my front steps. I broke may right leg (actually smashed it). I spent a few days in the hospital and a week in a nursing home. The following four months were miserable. The Dr. would not allow ANY weight on that leg at all. In mid-August I could finally put weight on it, but could not drive for another five weeks. The very day I got permission to apply weight, Richard had surgery for a bowel obstruction and was in hospital for nine days. They went ahead and repaired a large hernia at the same time. We are both still recovering. But round three is looming on the horizon. I am scheduled for a complete knee replacement on January 5, 2010.

The garden we had planted before our trip produced some squash and tomatoes despite the lack of care. Most other plants did not fare as well. It is our hope that the summer of 2010 will tell a much different tale.
Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and our Lord Jesus be with you throughout the New Year.

Richard & Nancy Moreno

Countdown

I visited my orthopedic surgeon yesterday. All is going well with my leg. It is healing, the bone density filling in. It is also still a mess, with huge spurs digging into nerves and tendons. We wnt over the knee replacement procedure and what could be expected during and after surgery. We also talked about all the "things" that need to happen before surgery.

I need to have an MRI and x-rays of my entire right leg, hip to foot. I need lab work and an EKG. I need a chest x-ray and a pre-surgical physical with my family doctor. I am supposed to attend classes in living with a knee replacement and in how to manage taking a blood thinner to prevent post-surgical clotting. Then I need to see the orthopedic surgeon again about a week before the surgery.

In addition, Richard and I have appointments with the podiatrist and he has appointments with both our family doctor and a hemotologist with lab work before each. One busy December.

I will also need to put together easy to fix meals enough to get us through the first couple weeks after my surgery. I am getting a bit anxious to get it all over with.

The Lord IS Good

This past month has been eventful in the family. I am just coming off several weeks of intense physical theropy designed to both strengthen my leg and give it more flexability in preparation for a total knee replacement in January. Seems the joint was so destroyed that it has slipped several centimeters, so is limited to what can be done pre-surgery. But I am walking to a degree.

One of our daughters blew out the engine of her car and was feeling stranded for a couple weeks, but now she has wheels again.

One of our granddaughters wa sgiven news that her unborn child might have a serios genetic problem. She underwent several painful tests and while there may be problems, they are not as serious as they might have been and most likely correctable at birth.

Another granddaughter and her husband (as well as our daughter and son-in-law) are mourning the loss of their unborn child who had a very serious genetic problem. He died a previous October but is still loved by so many.

Our son lost his job of 20 years, but has secured a new position with the same employer. He will retain all seniority and benefits.

Another daughter faced having her daughter declared legally disabled and had to take formal action to keep her from becoming a ward of the state.

Richard had a series of tests done that at first allowed him to go completely off oxygen after 6 1/2 years, but indicated a potential heart problem. Yesterday we received word that although there is an abnormal beat, it is not irratic and no serious problem was found.

Praise God for His hand on all we are and all we do. He is definately in control. Glory to His name.

freedom

The Drs office called this afternoon and gave me permission to drive. Now I can only drive short distances for awhile, so won't be making a road trip for awhile yet. But I can drive to the store, to appointments, and to church. Not needing to rely on someone else for transportation is true freedon. I feel more excited than when I got my license at age 16. The Lord is good.

Of course this freedom will only last until January when I go in for a total knee replacement. Then the recovery process will start all over again. Hopefully it will be shorter.

Progress

It has been some time since I BLOGGED. Much has happened in the last few weeks. I am now getting at home physical theropy. It is helping, I can walk without my brace using only one crutch. But I am also really hurting from all the stretching and other exercises. How exiciting to be able to see progress after so long not allowed to put any weight on my leg.

Richard is home and healing. He has spent a short time on several afternoons doing some pruning in the overgrown front yard. It is nice to see him out there again.

Paul and Dianna have been working on our shop. They emptied out all the big stuff and done some repairs to the work bench and lighting. Next step will be to put everything back in an orderly fashion.

Paul is going through a series of medical exams in preparation for returning to the road. He is chomping at the bit and they need a boost in finances. Tomarrow will be the last exam. If all is weel, he is good to go.

Today our new gas fireplace was installed. It is really nice, puts out great heat, and the ambience is nice. Unfortunately the trim is being custom made and will not be available for several weeks. We didn't know that until the crew arrived. What a bummer.

What a week

This past week's events are the making of a novel. It started a week ago Saturday with a visit from my younger brother John, his wife, and two grandsons. We hadn't seen John in over two years. It was a nice time together. The kids are really well behaved and were eager to go camping with their grandpa. They left in an older ATV for the coast around 5:00 pm. All was well at the old homestead. Then on Sunday and Monday Richard just wasn't feeling well and he took a long naps. Tuesday, he was feverish and had an upset stomach. So I gave him something for both and they helped for awhile. But by Wednesday he was miserable and I noticed some discoloring in the area of his hernia. So as soon as Dianna got home from work I asked her to take he dad into the ER. I suspected a strangulated hernia or a bowel obstruction. He actually had both, an obstruction caused by the hernia. They admitted him and did corrective surgery on Thursday afternoon.

That same afternoon, I was given the OK to put weight on my healing leg. According to the Dr. weight at this stage will actually help complete the healing process. How is that for the Lord's timing? Richard had been my legs for the last three months.

On Friday our son-in-law Paul was placed on a surgery schedule for cleaning plaque from his carotid artery, our son Rich injured his back when he stopped at the coast on his way down here from Washington and the clean up at the house began. The huge dumpster was delivered to the driveway and Dianna, Shelley and Eric spent a couple hours loading debris. Then our granddaughter and her husband Chris got a ticket just 20 minutes from the house.

Saturday everyone, including Eric's niece Sarah, got an early start cleaning up a section of the yard that included the shed Rick tore down two weeks ago, a couple large plywood containers and of course the junk that was in them. Lissa, another granddaughter and Nate, her husband arrived a bit later and helped as well. Paul was the official photographer and cook for the group. Even the three great-grandchildren helped out after all the glass and nails had been removed. I'm told the place looks really good. But I'm not quite ready to check it out. I'm on crutches, the terrain is rough, and no one else is here should I fall.

Lots of bad things happened this week, but they are balanced with many good things. Richard is slowly improving, Paul had his surgery and all went well, and we had a mini family reunion. We even may have met a future member of the clan. Never a dull moment at the Moreno household.