Friday, May 24, 2013

ON TOP OF EVERYTHING ELSE KELLY HAS A DIFFICULT TIME DEALING WITH HER MEDICINE’S SIDE EFFECTS

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OUR FRONT YARD FROG POND REALLY DOES HAVE FROGS IN IT
It appears Kelly's fever may have broke in the night. She woke up around 1 a.m. & her pyjamas were soaked in sweat. This morning she walked into the living room saying she was feeling a bIt better. Her breathing was easier & the pains in her chest weren't as bad. But after a short morning walk it also became clear she still had a ways to go before being out of the woods with all this. She still has her rasping cough & energy levels are remaining very low.  She was due to work the week-end & I think this is the first time in nearly 10 years she couldn’t make it.  Resting in her chair & on her bed she spent the whole day inside.  At the time of publishing this tonight she is not feeling well at all but we think it may be the side effects of the medicine she is taking.  I think these kinds of things always feel worse at night too.  Thanks to readers for all their best wishes these past weeks & I'm hopeful we’ll see Kelly’s health begin to turn around over the next few days.
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Being long distance property owners has it's problems. It's been nearly 2 months since leaving our Winter home base in Congress Arizona & because of the 2300 mile distance we just can't pop into the Jeep or Motorhome & slip on down to check on things. A neighbor kind of keeps an eye on our place & brings his sheep over to graze & keep the grass down but he's not an avid computer or camera person so it's rare to hear from him or see any photos of our property. The local electric company has been installing new meters in the area & we had already left by the time they installed ours. Apparently the meters are larger & the door panel covering our meter on the front of the house was just left laying on the porch by the electric company crew. Enter our good RVing friends Mike & Pat McFall who spend their winter months at NORTH RANCH just a few miles away. Pat & Mike have voluntarily dropped by our place from time to time to check on things & send us pictures of how our house & property are looking. Mike even went out of his way to put the door panel box back on our electric meter. So nice to have trusted friends who voluntarily go out of their way to help. A big thank you to Pat & Mike who are leaving within a day to begin the long drive back to Custer up there in the Black Hills of South Dakota where they will spend the summer months at their digs there before returning to North Ranch south of Congress in the Fall.

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HERE’S MIKE WORKING ON FIXING OUR ELECTRIC METER PANEL DOOR
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With a drive to a Clinton Accountant & a Seaforth Credit Union earlier this week Kelly was able to tie up the last few remaining loose ends of Uncle Harry's estate. A few small tax matters remaining but basically the estate has been settled. Aunt Jean was a big help when she was here last month so everything went very smoothly. And of course a big thank you to Uncle Harry himself for setting things up so well years ago before passing away last month. A few weeks ago I came across a photo of Uncle Harry I took about 4 years ago when he was living in an assisted living facility in Woodstock Ontario. I well remember taking the photo that day & had myself a little chuckle when I took it. Harry was always quite a dapper ladies man & when stationed in England during the WW2 I am sure he had girlfriends on both sides of the Atlantic. Not only an avid pool player, Uncle Harry was also a very serious card player & if you wanted to play cards with him you had better have some money in your pocket. Harry always played to win & losing was never an option. I couldn't help but think of this when I took the photo. In the photo below he is playing pool with a lady staff member at the Park Place care facility about 4 years ago.   Being is his usual charming self I’m sure Uncle Harry very much appreciated his pretty opponent whether she could play pool or not.  At the Ritz Villa where Harry passed away last month one of the Senior staff members told us Harry was always very well liked by the staff because he was always a Gentleman & treated all his care givers with respect.

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UNCLE HARRY WOULD HAVE TURNED 97 LAST WEEK
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Came across a line on GYPSY'S latest post left by commenter Dorrie Anne of DORRIE ANNE'S ADVENTURES. The last line in her comment jumped out at me & read, "Write down your thoughts. It really does help to get them out of your brain where you can see them"……. I hadn't thought of that before but it makes a whole lot of sense & goes a long way into explaining why writing is a form of feeling good for a lot of folks like myself. Seems one carries a jumble load of thoughts in one's brain which can easily become lost amidst the swirl of confusion reigning there at times. Sitting down & sorting through that swirling fog one is often able to pull something meaningful out of one’s head & transfer it to the written word on a computer screen. Or a piece of paper if you will.  Sitting looking at the unscrambled words one can formulate a clearer perspective of where one is & what one is actually thinking. Kind of like separating the wheat from the chaff. The wheat appears much clearer to one's reading eye than the swirling chaff blowing around in one's head. I think Dorrie Anne hit the nail on the head when she said in part, 'get them out of your brain where you can see them'. Yep, works for me alright. Well sometimes it does anyway.  Other times I just end up wandering around aimlessly in my own mind looking for a couple words to stick together………………….
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GROANER'S CORNER:)) Ever wonder what would happen if you got scared half to death….twice!!
Q: How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Only one, but the light bulb has to WANT to change.
There was a duck that went to a local store to buy Chapstick. The clerk asked if he would pay cash and the duck said, no, just put it on my bill.
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- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.


16 comments:

  1. You always do a wonderful job of expressing what's on your mind and in your heart, Al. Hope Kelly gets to feeling better soon!

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  2. Amen to what Jeannie and Eldy said!
    Sure do hope those meds kick in pretty soon, and that the side effects are minimal!

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  3. Our best wishes to Kelly and a full recovery!

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  4. I think for those of us who have not taken a lot of medicines in our lives are hit hard when we finally have to accept prescribed meds. I have always complained that doctors won't listen to me when I tell them I am very sensitive to drugs, and my offer to start out at half a dose and then work up to a full dose is usually refused. No, they say, start out at full and then we can reduce it. How dumb when you know it's not going to work. I will often just cut the pills in half myself for the first week, but I'm sure that Kelly needed the full dose at this time. I sure hope it works out and her system accepts it with no further problems.

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  5. Al, you and Pheebs keep it going and Kelly will be on the mend real sooooon...... Suggested a bowl of soup on the shout out ...... May be tasty ..... And keep the liquids flowing...... Feeling better all around will soon be coming to the Bayfield Bunch.... All the best, SallyB

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  6. Lots of good wishes to Kelly from down here in Warmland.

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  7. I'm a little behind in my blog reading. Just read about Kelly. Glad she finally got some help. Hoping all goes well. Prayers for her!!

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  8. You both are in my prayers and thoughts...

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  9. Sure hope Kelly feels better soon. It's no fun when your "want to" doesn't keep up with your "can do". I liked that quote form the comment made on Gypsy's blog. Good thought - I guess that's why I enjoy writing (most of the time!).

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  10. We are writing in the present for the future's history.

    Hope Kelly starts to feel better real soon.

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  11. Kelly get well soon.

    That comment about "get those words out of your brain and on paper where you can see them" is what I always wanted to say but never got them out of my brain.
    Awesome.

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  12. Great post Al...thanks for sharing so much of your brain with us! Beautiful bird photos today...the colors are so pretty and I love the bird hanging upside down for the orange juice!

    Hope Kelly is feeling better...and better....as the days roll on!

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  13. We hope Kelly is feeling a lot better very soon!
    Side effects from medications are such a pain - is it the sickness or is it the chemicals?!
    Great pics, Al!
    Kathy, Grant and Molly

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  14. The Orioles shots are beautiful, especially the one taking flight. Wishing the best for a speedy recovery for Kelly.

    We are recovering here as well. Moore, OK is a mess. Thousands of volunteers out today helping clean up and lending a shoulder to cry on or and ear to listen with.

    It's great to have friends like Mike and Pat McFall. What wonderful people.

    Take care and get that girl better, what a wonderful hubby you are.

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  15. A big hug to Kelly with our very best wishes to get better soon.

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  16. WOW! I wondered how/why I got nine hits from a blog I read only occasionally. Many thanks, Al, for the call out.

    First let me add my best wishes for Kelly's quick recovery. As we age, our vulnerability seems to loom so much larger. The "invincibility of youth" feeling is not as strong! I know I still have a lot to do - can't disappear just yet!

    I think it is especially important for people who are alone a lot of the time to write things down. When constantly in touch with other people, we tend to jabber on, and the thoughts and feelings pop out. I liken it to having a circular race course in the brain - if we don't stop for refreshment once in a while, we just go around and around, chasing the same thoughts.

    When DH was first diagnosed with the cancer, and during the year-long process of the transplant, there was a cadre of people that I knew cared about us, and I wrote an email to them nearly every day. This was before blogs were so prevalent, or I would have taken that path.

    It was good to come home, or to sit quietly in a corner of the hospital room, and pound out the activities of the day, and my thoughts.

    As it turned out, several folks contacted me to inquire about the process and progress of the disease, and I was able to pull up those missives to help them know what was in store for them.

    Today most of these people have websites that chronicle their journeys, and I am no longer in direct contact. Except one couple - waving to Sherry and David! ;-> We are still in contact, still comparing and supporting each other.

    Virtual hugs,

    Judie <-- Sierra Vista, Arizona
    http://dorrieanne.wordpress.com

    Today: Chocolate, Orange Peel and Strawberries

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