Home is a better place to rest

Jack realized a long time ago that home is a better place to rest. He doesn't have to listen to annoying visitors (not his); noisy cell phones ringing all the time (not his) and then his bed is bigger (his), however on Thursday they gave him a brand new hydraulic bed that adjusted in all the right places every time he shifted...I'm sure for patients that have long term care, this is great for not getting bed sores.
Anyway we are home now and things are a little quieter. Jack can rest as much as he likes and no one will be in to check his blood pressure, or give him some pain medication. We are just busy watching movies and getting caught up in the news that we missed out on this past week.
Life will be a big quieter this week as I will be returning to work and Jack will continue to rest. If I could just get him to finish up some of the things for my parents 50th Anniversary/70th Birthday's then I could accomplish a few more things. But I still have a couple more weeks so I should be done in time.
Thanks to all the friends and my family that have sent emails and best wishes to Jack - you truly are there in good times and bad times. I needed to see this as much as Jack did. We love all of you for being part of our lives and for brightening our days. God Bless All of You!!!!

Wed. April 23/08 - Update on Jack

Today was a tiring day for Jack. He had some discomfort to which morphine helped him out - which put him out - which was a good thing. Between all the doctors they decided that they would not attempt to put dye into his kidney as his welts & swelling were gone this morning, after being on benedryl all night. So this morning he had a x-ray of his kidney and then this afternoon they sent him for CT scan. We should hear something tomorrow from the surgeon.
Hospitals are tiring places to be with all the noise and comings & goings all kinds of people. But Jack has been receiving excellent care and Marshall even managed to come down to his room for a visit. Jack will probably be able to go home on Friday. God has truly been watching over him and blessing us with the best medical care, and for that we thank God for this.

Jack surgery update

Just a short note to say that the surgeon was able to get the kidney stone out of Jack's right kidney. However, when Jack was in the recovery room he took a bad reaction to either the drugs or dye that was injected into his kidney. Jack ended up being in recovery for four hours and had several doctors, nurses and anesthesiologists looking at him and taking pictures for a dermatologist to consider there options. When I left him tonight, they still had Jack on benelyn, iv and hooked up to several draining tubes. The surgeon suggested that they would like to proceed with his injection of dye into the kidney tomorrow afternoon, but with this outbreak of hives they won't be able to do that. Jack's spirits are really good and he would like to thank God for having many incredible doctors and nurses provide such good care. He also thanks God for so many good friends that have provided many prayers and best wishes. We both thank God for a successful surgery and pray that he will continue to recover and be back to his healthy self.

April Winter

This is Calgary when you get as much snow in one weekend as we had all during the winter months. I thought that I could hold off entering a blog until Jack has his surgery, but this has been unbelieveable. Last weekend Jack and I were sitting outside catching some great sunshine rays, and this weekend we were digging out our driveway. We even had to cancel out dinner downtown last night,as the roads were so bad. My car is very light and so you really feel the icy road conditions (that was Jack talking) as today I took my turn driving to church and as long as you don't drive to fast it was okay - still icy but okay.
The poor robins have been huddled together and near our garage door so that when you open or close the door, it seems they want to hop right into the garage. But the real sad thing is that there is nothing for them to eat. Last weekend we saw several robins eating the dried out berries on the neighbors tree. But this weekend, there is nothing for them.
So we are in the count down for surgery and last night we got a call from Marshall Hare who is having 2 differnt kinds of surgery. He asked if Jack got a room yet at the hospital, and when I explained that we won't know anything until Monday afternoon, Marshall said that he would put a word in for Jack and try and get Jack a bed in his room. Now that would be good for visiting and for both of them. However, this is not a hotel so I'm not sure how that works...but a good thought, thanks Marshal!
Well the 1st intermission is over in the hockey game and Calgary leads 1 to 0, so I must get back to cheering. The next blog should be when surgery is over...stay tuned!

Viva Las Vegas and Home Again

Well we had the new wheels and had to take a quick (and I mean quick) trip down to Vegas. We left around 1:00 pm on April 2nd and returned on Wed. April 9th at 7:30 pm (after a horrible 2 hour wait at customs - but that's another story). We put just shy of 4500 km on the new car and it handled like a charm..or at least that is what Jack said, as I only drove to the border and then I passed the wheel to him. We figured out many, many years ago that Jack is a better driver than navigator. This trip was for total relaxing and shopping at all our favorite places - Outlets, Cracker Barrel, Outlets and then the stores in Vegas. We even had the pleasure of finding out that Wayne & Joyce Holmgren would be in Vegas so we hooked up for a lovely supper at Cesar's with them. The weather was warm, the pool nice and cool and the malls just waiting for us to spend our near dollar investment.
Now driving home we kept a watchful eye on the weather reports and each day we missed out on the rain/snow that was originally forecast. Then last Thursday (already home) the major snow that we were to get on the road finally came through Calgary...great timing. Jack's health was fine but I picked up something and by late Thursday afternoon my voice was disappearing and by Friday 6:00 am, I could barely leave an audible message for my boss to say I couldn't come into the office. So today, Sunday, my voice is still not back fully but I need to get into the office as next Tuesday Jack has his kidney stone surgery and I will be off that complete week with him in the hospital. Good thing that I had 30 sick days in the bank to use.
I have three ladies and Breanne coming over on Wed evening to finish the mint bags and tonight I spent 3 hours just doing the thank you tags that need to be attached to the bags...boy won't I be an expert when my kids go to get married!
Well enough typing - it's time to get to the hockey game as the Flames just tied up 3 - 3 and there is some penalties coming to Calgary...nerve racking...till next time.