AN ABERRANT WINTER 2012

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”. I believe this quote sums up our winter of 2012.

I felt as though we were wintering in Minnesota.  The weather was a little better than Rochester, MN, but the number of hospital and doctor visits had me thinking of the Mayo Clinic. Normally one doesn’t plan their vacation around medical issues, but this winter was just that. It started the first two weeks we were here. For some still unknown reason I was running a low grade fever each and every day. No other symptoms, just that dragged out feeling you get when running an elevated temperature. A doctor visit, an antibiotic, and things returned to normal after two weeks.

But the real medical focus was Mary Ellen. It started with mid-sternum pressure. But when Mary Ellen said she thought maybe she should see a doctor, I knew it must hurt more than she was letting on to me. When she first saw the internist, he immediately sent her to the ER at Baptist in Gulf Breeze.

This Tuesday will be her third and hopefully final hospitalization. The right leg femoral artery is the one in need of stents. Doctor Carter, who specializes in problematic leg blockage will be doing this surgery.

Until this month, the weather has been atypical as well. We’ve had several days where Elkhart, IN had higher temperatures than Navarre, FL. January and February were disappointing weather wise. One water line freeze and plenty of fog and moisture made for a few ‘cabin fever’ days. I don’t want to give the impression that winter 2012 was all about negatives. There were plenty of positives as well.

The crew that changed all four tires on our camper comes to mind at the top of the list. Jim Murdy, Jeff Bloss, and John Pratt handled most of the labor. They did a super job in record time with nary a vulgar word spoken. Jim also provided knowledge and the tools to help me construct a guttering system for my sewer line. I’m sure many of you are thinking, “didn’t you do anything”? Let me think about that one...I guess not!

I did manage to have a two day battle with an upset stomach that brought on nausea and unpredictable vomiting The most memorable sudden onset nausea occurred at Walgreens. I did manage to get out to the truck where I proceeded to puke on one of my tires!

I’m still trying to fully recover from what I assume is a pulled muscle in my back. I’d say I’m 87% cured. In the past it has usually taken a couple weeks and that’s just about what its been. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. 

Certainly in the realm of the atypical was a five day trip to Ohio for my sister's funeral in Akron. In my last blog I talked about the funeral, but I don't believe I mentioned that the wind and cold at the cemetery was very close to unbearable for the six of us who carried the coffin to her final resting place. 

We have had some memorable get togethers and will most likely have a few more. My total focus now is getting Mary Ellen “fixed” and back home. There’s probably a better word than “fixed”, but you get the idea.

We’re looking forward to 2013 and a reversal of fortunes. Say a prayer for my wonderful wife.

jim

Saint Paddy's Day

 

Shortly after my last blog, and one day before Mary Ellen’s leg surgery, my 93 year old sister died. We left for Ohio the next morning. We got back to Akron in  record time (for me) of two days. My niece, Mary, did a wonderful job of planning the funeral. Everything came off exactly as my sister would have wanted it.

Mary Ellen’s surgery has been rescheduled for this Wednesday, March 21^st at 1 p.m. The surgery is called an aorta gram with stent placement. The problem is in the right leg which is 90% blocked. If all goes as planned, she’ll stay overnight and be discharged Thursday morning.  Doctor Razek told her she will be a new woman and I’ll never be able to keep up with her. I think she’s looking forward to this. Maybe a little more than I’d like!

Last night the “bumpity bumpity gang” and friends held a carry in down at the newly erected ‘gazebo’. It doesn’t really look like a gazebo. I like to call it the ‘outer deck’. The outer deck is on the sand closer to Santa Rosa Sound. That would make the ‘inner deck’ the one attached to the pavilion. We had twenty four people and I think everyone had plenty to eat and drink. The ‘outer’ and ‘inner’ decks is my way of differentiating the two decks. Any of you who cares is certainly welcome to use this copyrighted nomenclature.

This evening about thirty of us met at the Cactus Flower restaurant to wish two of our camp workers well. Leon and Lillian are moving to Cherokee, NC. They will both be missed.  

Tomorrow is Saint Paddy’s day. We are planning on meeting some friends at the Beach Monkey on Navarre Beach on the Gulf. The Beach Monkey has a huge deck. Tomorrow they will have a DJ and I’m sure some unplanned entertainment. Should be a fun afternoon.

Happy Saint Patrick’s day.

CHANGING LANDSCAPE

 

Of late we’ve had a paucity of sunshine and a plethora of rain. On Saturday it rained for 18 hours straight. I had intended to complain about the lousy weather in Navarre this year (for all the good that would do), but after hearing about the 39 people who died due to a different kind of weather I decided my minor complaint paled by comparison. It reminded me of the quote, “I cried because I had no shoes, and then I met a man who had no feet”.

As you know, Mary Ellen is scheduled for surgery this Wednesday at Pensacola Baptist Hospital. We’re hoping she won’t have to cancel. The reason the aortagram is questionable at this time is the deteriorating condition of my 94 year old sister. She could die anytime in the next week or so. Of course nobody can predict these things with surety. Whenever her death occurs, we’ll be heading to Akron, Ohio for the funeral. If it happens before Wednesday, Mary Ellen will have to reschedule the surgery. If you’re so inclined, please say a prayer.

Sunday and today were lovely. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I guess the skies totally dryed after the 18 hours of rain. There was nothing left for the clouds to do except to rest.

I’m sure you’ve noticed that the letter “G” has made a curtain call. Actually it was far less dramatic. I bought an auxillary keyboard. To replace the keyboard on my MacBook would have cost $200 +. Since my MacBook is 4 years old I may buy a new one next year. In the meantime I’ll make do with a $20 keyboard.

jim

 

My laptop won’t type a “_”. Obviously, you don’t know what letter I’m talkin_ about, since my laptop won’t type it. Here’s a clue. It’s the letter after F and followed by H. Mary Ellen su__ested that I clean the key. Oops. She was thinkin_ of my IBM Selectric back in the sixties. I’ll probably take it to the “_eek” down the street. I have no idea what mi_ht cause such a malfunction. All of you are probably sittin_ there with “worms in your mouth”, a.k.a “with baited breath”, waitin_ to find out.

My new set of 4 tires are now on the Sunset Trail (S.T.) and ready to roll. They are a _oodyear heavy duty tire “D” rated. They looked so _ood that I _ot new black wheel covers for them. I have to thank 2 Jim’s and a Jeff for doin_ all the heavy liftin_. All I did was transport the tires from the _oodyear store. The way the “Pit Crew” did it was to jack up one side and remove the 2 old tires. I took them to the tire store where they mounted the new ones. When I arrived back the crew put these on the S.T. and moved the jack to the other side. The process was repeated and before you knew it I had 4 new tires on the S.T. The _oodyear store is only a mile up the road. The entire process took  just under two hours.

As for my brakes, I’d like you to ima_ine each and every part that is involved in stoppin_ your vehicle, and than ima_ine replacin all of these! Than, ima_ine what that mi_ht cost. Than ima_ine passin_ out. The rotors, pads, calipers and a bunch of other stuff had to be replaced.

In my last Blo_ I told you about Mary Ellen’s cardiac cath. It went so well she decided to have Dr. Razek do a little more ‘stentin’. That’s ri_ht, she’s _oin_ to have her ri_ht le_ fixed so she’s able to walk without pain for the first time in a couple years. She’ll have the Aorta_ram done this Wednesday the 7^th at Pensacola Baptist hospital. If all _oes accordin_ to plan she will stay overnite and be dischar_ed on the 8^th. Say a prayer that all _oes as well as it did on her last visit to Baptist Hospital. I’ll let you know.

jim