Jack - udate

Jack and I have been learning all about the Emergency systems at several hospitals in Calgary and we must say that every medical person has treated us with the most respect, knowledge and care - more than anyone could ask for. We even had the first physician that we saw at the Urgent Care Unit call us on Saturday, to ask why the hospital never admitted Jack...to which all I could say is that they were jam packed with people and no beds. However, Jack saw a liver specialist this morning, but unfortunately his body didn't want to accept the test that he was scheduled for and so we must return on Wed of this week for the same one. If that test is unsuccessful again, then they will put a wire in from the liver to the pancreas and see if they can get the dye to run in that way. And how ironic that the doctor's name is Dr. Love... Then on Friday, Jack will be getting into the Urologist for tests on his kidneys etc. We are grateful that some very fast acting physicians have made some phone calls to make sure that Jack is seen right away. We trust in the many prayers that are being offered for Jack and appreciate everyone calling and praying. I will update this once we have more information.

My Man Jack - Learns the System at ER

What a week it has been here in Calgary for us. Last week Jack hurt his back; we had our booster shots to go on a fabulous Mexican holiday and then it all fell a part. Jack started to show signs of his needle not agreeing with him - fever, chills, nauseau etc. but by Friday he was totally bedridden, fever running 100 - 104 chlls, sweats, sore back and not eating. His last meal was Saturday morning. Of course being a strong man he was adamant that he didn't want to go to any walk in clinic or the hospital..but after a terrible long weekend of sleeping on the couch and being very ill, I finally pursuaded him to go to the South end Emergency Clinic. Very good service and the nurses & doctor realized that Jack was quite sick and needed transfer by ambulance to the Rocky. So there we went and sat with several sets of paramedics while they all changed shifts. But Calgary was experiencing an overflow crisis and couldn't take care of all the walkins along with the left overs from the long weekend. And here we were caught in this. We have a real problem in our health care and folks we need to become more involved and get things changed.
Okay I'm off my soap box and need to report that after staying from Tuesday afternoon till Wednesday 4:00 am and then back to the hospital at 9:30 and staying until 8:30 pm this evening we are both glad to be home. Jack had a fantastic doctor that realized that his jaundice was real; his liver has some issues; his 2 cm kidney stone in his right kidney needs to be looked after and everything needs to be seen immediately by specialists. So Jack is now waiting for the appointments, after meeting with the liver specialist. He is on antibiotics and pain killers plus he is starting to feel hungry again so those are all good signs. Are trip is cancelled for now, but then again God didn't want us to get down to Mexico and have all these issues, now did he? God has been truly remarkable standing by us and carrying us through this ordeal. Just when I thought that he didn't care about us I realized that he did because if we would of gone to Mexico our insurance wouldn't of covered any of our medical expenses then where would we be? Plus, we wouldn't of had such great friends, neighbors and family phoning us to say that they are thinking and praying for us. And to this I add, AMEN - God is Truly Good! Thank you everyone for being there for us. We love all of you!

Freezing Cold

Wow - winter blew in with a vengeance. We got to -42 last night with a wind chill. I can't remember it being that cold in many, many years. We got some snow but not a whole bunch. My folks came for a visit on Friday and were unable to go up to Edmonton this morning, nor could they head back to Saskatoon. But being the retired folks that they are, they can hang around another day, eat left overs and just plain chill out and I mean chill out! We had all the kids here for dinner last night, so it was a great time having them visit and get there Grandparents all caught up in their daily lives. Ryan brought Lauren over for everyone to meet - a very nice girl. She is attending U of C and is pursuing a medical degree just like her mother. Her parents and brother now live in Houston, Texas. Lauren and Breanne's boyfriend, Marc reminisce about Montreal as Marc is from there and Lauren went to McGill University there last year. It seems like they have experienced a lot of the same places.

I took my parents and we drove down to Vulcan on Saturday. We visited with my great Aunt Bertha. She talked a lot about being the last of the Alain kids. It took me a while to figure that out, but she is right. My grandfather died a few years ago and so she is the last surviving sibling. I guess that we just take it for granted that all family members are from the same side of the family and in fact there not. However, we did have the best visit with her and she is looking great for being 88. Her mind is very sharp and she could look through pictures and know everyone in there. Norbert & Shirley don't get back to Vulcan until April, so perhaps Jack and I will have to go down and have visit with her sometime soon - maybe when it warms up some.

January is moving right along

Where has time gone? It seems like just last week when we were in Saskatoon and now it's the middle of January. I managed to go back to work for three days the first week and 2 days the second week and then my head cold(the same one that I suffered with in December) managed to come back with even worse symptoms - I lost my voice! I know that everyone is thinking, that Jack must of been happy, but believe me he wasn't. Just ask him! I was off work for three days last week and ended up taking a really strong antibiotic to kill off this viral infection. By Sunday I was back to my old self and feeling 100% better. I did accomplish a lot with working on my scrapbooking so that it is good. Plus we bought a fitness machine for me and I have really enjoyed working out on it. Jack is looking at getting a gym membership for him.
The kids are all fine - just don't see them much and so with mom & dad hopefully coming up at the end of January they should all be re-adjusting there schedules to come for dinner one of the nights. Jack needs to get his grandpa duties set up with one of Jaelyn's girls as we promised a special outing with one of the girls at a time. Time is the problem between theirs and ours but this is a priority. Life is interesting and we need to make time for these priorities and schedule them. Till next time!

January 2008 - Back to Work

Christmas is officially done for another year and what a good Christmas it was. Jack and I drove back to Saskatoon to meet a new granddaughter and visit with both sides of the family. With so many people to visit with we split our time between a hotel and a furnished apartment. It was the perfect way to go. Louella, Steph & boys were in from New Jersey and so we got to relive Christmas excitement with the boys...doesn't seem like that many years ago and my kids were that small. We visited with both my brothers and families plus my folks. We visited with Todd, Michelle, Ireland and new granddaughter, Peyton. Michelle and I had fun putting Peyton into a Christmas stocking & hat for some great pictures. Then on Boxing Day, we met with Darin, Donna & girls and Todd's family at Fudruckers for dinner. What an interesting time. It was nice to see all the kids and see how much they have grown since our last visit. Time goes by so quickly that we must visit the girls more often...a must to work them into our busy schedules.
Back at home and Jack has become my fix it man! He was busy over the last 2 days of vacation putting up new blinds and taking the old ones out to the dump. We can't believe that we waited so long to get these old dusty blinds replaced. The only downside is that the house is much darker at night time...so we might have to be like my parents and use a flash light if you travel through the house at night - especially in the winter months.
I started to go through pictures for Mom & Dad's album (50th Anniversary) and some of the pictures are hilarious. I even had Lou looking through her older pictures to send to me. She was laughing at some of them and remembering all the funny times. However we have all grown a little in the years gone by and I don't just mean the kids. The nice thing about doing this job is that I can determine which pictures get in and which don't...so siblings be nice to me or you might not see a nice picture of yourself!
Must get some work done - Happy New Year to all and may God bring you health & happiness for 2008.

Welcome - Granddaughter # 7 - Peyton Rae Ashby

Yes, it is true, Todd & Michelle had a beautiful daughter on Tuesday, Dec. 18 weighing in at 7lbs 7oz. They named her Peyton Rae and are expected to go home today from the hospital. Because we are going to Saskatoon for Christmas, Grandpa will be able to see first hand his newest beauty. We hear that Ireland is quite thrilled to have a sister.
Saskatoon will be our home for Christmas this year and my kids will celebrate when we come home on the 27th. It will be good to see all my siblings and nephews (those that will be there) and share some fun times from previous years.
Merry Christmas to all and have a blessed and safe holiday season.

My husbands Birthday

Yes today, Jack officially turns 61 - last year was the big 6-0. As Nicole always says - he sure doesn't look his age with very little gray hair. I think so too - must be all the good cooking (lol). Just wanted to say, Happy Birthday, Darling and all the best for another great year to come. Looking forward to a little R&R at some warm place with you. As usual, we have the Ministry Christmas Party this evening so sort of a big birthday party for him. I'm sure that all the kids will leave messages or send cards.
Then for parties we have my Christmas party out in Bragg Creek on Saturday and our Annual Small Group party at Zorn's on Sunday. Thanks to Gary & Barb for opening there home to host every year anywhere from 20 - 30 guests. This year we as a group are inviting non-Church of Christ folks to come and be our guests. I'm sure that it will be a fun event.
Lots has changed over the years, as this week marks 10 years that we have lived in our current home. Where has time gone. I know that when we moved it was probably as cold as it has been this past weekend...in the low -20's. The long range winter forecast is for deep freeze weather and lots of snow. BRRRRR.
Till the next blog - stay warm!