A VERY CLOSE CALL FOR KELLY LAST NIGHT AND SHE IS BACK IN LONDON'S UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

 4:33 IN THE MORNING

It was 4:03 a.m. when faintly, I heard my name being called.  It was Kelly in the washroom and she had just thrown up a lot of blood again.  Upon entering the washroom, her feeble words to me were, 'call an ambulance.  Prior to this she had had a sleepless night feeling sick with chest pains and leg cramps.  The ambulance was here 15 minutes later.  When they took her blood pressure I said to the lady paramedic that Kelly's blood pressure two days ago at the Goderich Hospital was 83 over 52.  The lady said, 'It's lower than that now'.  The ambulance, with Kelly in it, speedily headed for the Goderich Hospital.  It was 4:45 a.m. and my day was underway.......I called the Goderich Hospital at 9 this morning and she had already been transported to London's University Hospital.  Called University Hospital at 10:50 and they said she had just got there and was stable.  At 11:30 the phone rang and I recognized Kelly's cell phone number, but nobody on the other end.  I hung up and twenty seconds later it rang again but nobody there.  Then my cell phone rang but nobody there.  I quickly called Kelly's cell phone and a weak little voice answered in barely a whisper.  Kelly was in the Emergency room at University Hospital.  And, this was what she was able to tell me....After arriving at Emergency at Goderich's Hospital she threw up more blood and was immediately given 4 units of blood. (blood transfusion)  Her hemoglobin number had dropped to an alarming life threatening 47.  Normal is 120.  In other words, she was in critical condition.  She said Ornge Air Ambulance was contacted by the Goderich Hospital to fly her to London but Ornge Ambulance said it was too foggy for the helicopter to fly.  She doesn't remember much about the ground ambulance taking her to London this morning but she said when she arrived, there was a trauma team waiting for her.  I asked her what they did and she said she couldn't remember much.  Keep in mind as I'm talking to her that I can tell she is in a mild fog talking slowly and haltingly.  They gave her stronger morphine for the excruciating pain in her back caused by the compression fractures in her spine.  As we were talking she said she could hear people in the trauma unit discussing whether to send her to the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) or the eighth GI floor where she usually goes.  She said this was the worst sick time she has ever been in her life.  This was a very close call for Kelly.  She had a close call one other time last summer when ICU was also involved.

 A LOCAL FARMER TRANSPORTING WHAT I THINK MIGHT BE WATER TO A HERD OF SHEEP IN A NEARBY FIELD

I'VE NOTICED BEFORE HOW THIS DOG LOVES TO RACE ALONGSIDE THE FARMER'S ATV BETWEEN THE FARMERS TWO FARMS

 AND NOTICE WHO'S IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT....PHOTOS AREN'T THE BEST BECAUSE I TOOK THEM THROUGH MY DRIVER'S SIDE MIRROR AS THEY WERE COMING UP BEHIND ME

A short toot for Pheebs and I into Bayfield and back this morning.  Early this afternoon I got a hankerin for a Sub so I slipped into Bayfield and came home with a big 12" Canuck something or other.  Had all the fixins on it too.  Pheebs and I demolished it in about a minute.  It would have been a good weather day for getting a few things done outside but I couldn't seem to find even one ounce of energy anywhere.

 HEY, SOMEBODY TOOK A BITE OUT OF OUR SUB.....OKAY OKAY SO IT WAS ME

 PHEEBS IS TOTALLY FOCUSED ON HER SNACK AND YES, I MADE SURE THERE WERE NO ONIONS IN IT

GATOR JAWS

It was 4:50 this afternoon when I next heard from Kelly.  She was still in Emergency but her voice was clearer and stronger.  She said they have been having a lot of trouble getting blood out of her and her arms are so sore.  She hadn't had anything to eat because they were hoping to do an Endoscopy on her sometime this afternoon..........    Kelly called tonight at 8 with an update.  She has been moved to the 8th floor and they have her in a private room this time  Finally!!  There is still a 'No Visitors' restriction due to the Covid outbreak last week.  Her endoscopy is scheduled for in the morning.  One of the medical problems they are having with Kelly at the moment is that they can't get any blood out of her to check her hemoglobin level, etc.  A doctor even tried to put a picc line in her neck and that didn't work either but said they will try again in the morning.  Kelly still retains her positive attitude and her spirits are good despite all that has happened.  At the time of posting this tonight, it has been raining steadily for the past three hours..........

 EVER WONDERED WHAT A MODERN-DAY SEPTIC TANK LOOKS LIKE??  WELL, WONDER NO MORE

THE HOLE IN THE GROUND IS DONE SO THE TANK JUST NEEDS A COUPLE DOZEN BIG GUYS TO PUSH IT OVER AND INTO THE HOLE

Al's Music Box:)) Big Yellow Taxi is a song written, composed, and originally recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell in 1970, and originally released on her album Ladies of the Canyon. It only reached No. 67 in the US in 1970, but was later a bigger hit there for her in a live version released in 1974, which peaked at No. 24.  In 1996, speaking to journalist Robert Hilburn, Mitchell said this about writing the song:  I wrote 'Big Yellow Taxi' on my first trip to Hawaii. I took a taxi to the hotel and when I woke up the next morning, I threw back the curtains and saw these beautiful green mountains in the distance. Then, I looked down and there was a parking lot as far as the eye could see, and it broke my heart .... this blight on paradise. That's when I sat down and wrote the song.  The song is known for its environmental concern – "They paved paradise to put up a parking lot" and "Hey farmer, farmer, put away that DDT now" – and sentimental sound. The line "They took all the trees, and put 'em in a tree museum / And charged the people a dollar and a half just to see 'em" refers to Foster Botanical Garden in downtown Honolulu, which is a living museum of tropical plants, some rare and endangered.  In the song's final verse, the political gives way to the personal. Mitchell recounts the departure of her "old man" in the eponymous "big yellow taxi", which may refer to the old Metro Toronto Police patrol cars, which until 1986 were painted yellow.  In many covers the departed one may be interpreted as variously a boyfriend, a husband or a father. The literal interpretation is that he is walking out on the singer by taking a taxi; otherwise it is assumed he is being taken away by the authorities.  Mitchell's original recording was first released as a single and then, as stated above, included on her 1970 album Ladies of the Canyon. A later live version was released in 1974 on Miles of Aisles and reached No. 24 on the U.S. charts. Billboard regarded the live version as "more full of life" than any of the singles Mitchell released in a long time.  Cash Box called the live version "a great rendition of this excellent lyrical song."  In 1995, to coincide with the song's inclusion in the American sitcom /Friends, the song was re-released as a maxi-single with new remixes in a variety of styles. The song still receives significant airplay in Canada; in 2005, it was voted No. 9 on CBC's list of the top 50 essential Canadian tracks.  In 2007, Joni Mitchell released the album Shine, which includes a newly recorded, rearranged version of the song.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A wife woke in the middle of the night to find her husband missing from bed. She got out of bed and checked around the house. She heard sobbing from the basement. After turning on the light and descending the stairs, she found he husband curled up in the corner, of the basement,... crying like a baby. "Honey, what's wrong?", she asked, worried about what could hurt him so much. "Remember, 20 years ago, I got you pregnant and your father threatened me to either marry you or to go to jail?"  "Yes, of course," she replied.  "Well, I would have been released from jail this afternoon!"

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- I make Apocalypse jokes like there's no tomorrow.

Wife: 'What are you doing?'
Husband: Nothing.
Wife: 'Nothing...? You've been reading our marriage certificate for an hour.'
Husband: 'I was looking for the expiration date.

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While the family was sitting around the dinner table, Jennifer, 5, turned to her brother Andy, 3, and pointed to her dad. "That's not your real father," she said, startling the whole family.  "Yes, he is!" Andy replied.  "No, he's not," Jennifer insisted. "God is your heavenly father."
Then pointing at her dad, she said, "That's your homely father!"

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                           Al's Doggy World

                                    Meanings

{Quote} It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.                             

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IT TURNED OUT TO BE A QUIET DAY AND WE DIDN'T HAVE TO RUSH OFF TO ANY HOSPITALS

If I had bet money that I would have had to call an ambulance for Kelly in the night, I would have lost the bet.  She woke up this morning feeling a touch better than when she went to bed.  Although happy about that, and from past experience, we both know that her 'feeling better' is only temporary.  The results of Kelly's back X-ray have revealed that she has a new compression fracture in her spine at T-11.  That is in addition to her other fractures at L-4 and L-5.  The newest fracture is causing her a lot of pain but she was prescribed a low dose of morphine for that yesterday and that is helping somewhat.  By mid-morning I could tell she was losing ground.  A trip to the washroom confirmed that she was still bleeding.  Kelly called her doctor's office in London and spoke to someone who said they would pass Kelly's message on to Dr. Kahn.  Around noon, Kelly's liver liaison lady Amy called and talked with her.  Because Kelly has an Endoscopy procedure coming up this Friday morning anyway, Amy suggested Kelly stay put and if she has any more bleeding we should call an ambulance and go to the Goderich Hospital.  So, that is where we are at right.  Kelly hasn't thrown up any more blood since yesterday afternoon but she is feeling very weak and has spent most of her time in bed resting. Kelly's Nurse Practitioner in Goderich called around 4 p.m. and they talked over Kelly's medical condition, plans, and procedures.  Kelly at the moment is not only battling a serious liver disease but compression fractures in her spine, (Osteoporosis) and a Prolapse Condition which in part is probably causing her current bladder infection.  All of these things plus all of the medications she has to take have their own multitudes of nasty side effects.

It was a cold, wet, and depressingly gray November day here and I have spent most of the time in my sunroom recliner reading.  I didn't take a single photo all day and the few random pictures in this post are mine from my photo files.  At the time of posting this tonight, Kelly is feeling a little bit better and we're hoping she will have an uninterrupted good night's sleep.

Thank you to everyone for all your concerns, prayers, well wishes, advice, and kind words.  They go a long way on days like these..........

Al's Music Box:)) Tequila Sunrise is a song from 1973, written by Don Henley and Glenn Frey, and recorded by the Eagles. It was the first single from the band's second album, Desperado.  It peaked at number 64 on the Billboard Hot 100.  Glenn Frey and Don Henley did not write songs together for their debut album, Eagles, and after they had finished recording the album in London, they decided that they should collaborate. In the first week of their partnership, they wrote "Tequila Sunrise" and "Desperado".   According to Frey, the song was finished fairly quickly. He said he was lying on a couch playing the guitar, and came up with a guitar riff he described as "kinda Roy Orbison, kinda Mexican". He demonstrated it for Henley and said: "Maybe we should write something to this."  The title refers to a cocktail named Tequila Sunrise that was then popular. In the liner notes of 2003's The Very Best Of, Henley had this to say about the song:  I believe that was a Glenn title. I think he was ambivalent about it because he thought that it was a bit too obvious or too much of a cliche' because of the drink that was so popular then. I said, 'No - look at it from a different point of view. You've been drinking straight tequila all night and the sun is coming up!' It turned out to be a really great song.  According to Billboard, the theme of the song is "one man's efforts at survival and having to take 'a shot of courage."  Cash Box called it "a magnificent medium tempo tune certain to become a classic" that is "highlighted by some excellent vocal harmonies."  Record World called it a "beautiful folk rock item with the pedal steel country feel."  Henley said that Frey came up with changes for the bridge, and that "take another shot of courage" refers to tequila being known as "instant courage." He said: "We very much wanted to talk to the ladies, but we often didn’t have the nerve, so we’d drink a couple of shots and suddenly it was, "Howdy, ma’am."  There is a live version of this song (Live ABC 1973) in which Glenn Frey sings additional lyrics:  Guess I'll go to Mexico, down to where the pace of life is slow, there's no one there I know. It's another Tequila Sunrise, wondering if I'm growing wise or telling lies.  There is no information to confirm if this was impromptu, or if these are original lyrics they decided to leave off the original record. Ultimate Classic Rock critic Sterling Whitaker rated it as the Eagles 7th most underrated song, praising Bernie Leadon's guitar and mandolin playing and Frey's vocal performance.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( After years of wondering why he didn't look like his younger sister or brother, a young man finally got up the nerve to ask his mother if he was adopted.  "Yes, you were son," his mother said as she started to cry softly. "But it didn't work out and they brought you back."

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- What do a hurricane, a tornado, a fire and a divorce have in common?  They are four ways you can lose your house!

- We're having the same thing this year for Thanksgiving dinner as last year: Relatives!!
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Tim: I wish I had the money to buy an elephant.
Tom: What do you want with an elephant?
Tim: Nothing, I just want the money.

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A man drinks a shot of whiskey every night before bed.  After years of this the wife wants him to quit, so she gets 2 shot glasses, filling 1 with water the other with whiskey.  She gets him to the table with the glasses and has his bait box there too.  She says "I want you to see this." She puts a worm in the water it swims around. She puts a worm in the whiskey and the worm dies.  She says "so what do you have to say about this experiment?"  He says "If I drink whiskey I won't get worms"!!

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                           Al's Doggy World

                                 Meanings

Al's Art Gallery

AT THE TIME OF POSTING THIS TONIGHT KELLY IS JUST HOME FROM THE HOSPITAL AGAIN

 GODERICH'S ROTARY COVE

Thank heavens we had a sunny day because by the time the day was over we were going to need all the sunshine we could get.  A short drive into Bayfield and back for Pheebs and I.

BAYFIELD'S SOUTH PIER 

 POLE WALKERS ON THE SOUTH PIER AND A LONE FISHERMAN ON THE NORTH PIER

 A FISHERMAN READIES HIS GEAR

 BAYFIELD'S MAIN STREET

 A MORNING COFFEE CLATCH IN FRONT OF  SHOPBIKE COFFEE ROASTERS

Last summer with pain increasing in her back, Kelly had an X-ray and was diagnosed at that time with a compound fracture to some discs in her spine.  She has been bothered with back pain ever since and a few weeks ago it began to become increasingly painful.  This past week has been particularly bad and she's been having trouble getting out of bed and out of her chair.  In a lot of pain, she phoned her Nurse Practitioner first thing this morning and I later drove her to Goderich's Maitland Valley Health Clinic for an 11 a.m. appointment.  Feeling weak and wobbly I helped her into the waiting room.  From there I returned a library book she had to the Goderich Library and then whipped down to the harbor and out to Rotary Cove.  Had myself a quick walk on this beautiful November morning, took a few pics, and headed back to the Medical Center.  

 THIS IS HOW I LIKE TO SEE WAITING ROOMS.....EMPTY!!

 THE JOHN D LEITCH WESTBOUND OUT OF THE HARBOR AND DID YOU SEE THE TWO HARBOR SEALS

HEY WAIT A MINUTE......THOSE AREN'T HARBOR SEALS

THERE WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE WALKING ALONG THE BEACH AND BOARDWALK THIS MORNING

Twenty minutes later Kelly was ready to go, but we didn't go far.  Across from the Medical Center is the Goderich Hospital so I drove over there for an X-ray on her spine.  They couldn't fit her in right away and told us to come back at 4 p.m.  From there we went to A&W for a bite to eat and coffee.  Stopped at the Walmart Pharmacy and picked up two new prescriptions for Kelly.  One was a low-dose morphine for the bad pain in her back.  I dashed in, grabbed the meds and we made fast tracks for home.  Also, Kelly's abdomen is becoming quite extended again (ascites) and when she came out of the washroom this morning she said she is bleeding again.  She's been feeling very nauseous this morning and has kept a barf bag at her side that the Paramedics gave her a week ago tonight when they took her by ambulance to the Goderich Hospital and then London's University Hospital.  Some readers have asked how I'm doing and my answer is, 'Like Kelly, I'm rolling with the punches the best I can'.

WHO SAID DUCKS DON'T LIKE SURFING

 A MALE MALLARD DUCK

 THE JOHN D LEITCH IS HEADING SOUTH DOWN THE LAKE IN THE DIRECTION OF DETROIT AND WINDSOR

 TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THIS NICE MID NOVEMBER DAY

 THE ISABELLE G IS STILL AT THE GODERICH GRAIN TERMINAL LOADING GRAIN OR CORN

At 3:15 p.m. with Kelly not feeling well at all, we were on the road again heading back to Goderich for her 4 o'clock back X-ray.  About halfway there she started throwing up a lot of blood again.  Luckily, we had the paramedic vomit bag with us.  Arriving at the hospital, Kelly was insistent on getting her back X-ray first no matter what.  Luckily, the hospital's X-ray room is right across the hall from the Emergency department.  Kelly was very weak as I helped her into the X-ray department.  Getting on and off the X-ray table was very painful for her.  From X-ray I got her into the hall where a nurse noticed how weak Kelly was and quickly got her a wheelchair.  While she waited near the hospital's admission window in the chair I zipped back to the car and retrieved the bag of blood.  At the admission window when I held up the bag of blood for them to see, things went into overdrive and within 5 minutes despite nearly a dozen people in the waiting room, Kelly's name was called and I wheeled her through the door into the Emergency room.  Her blood pressure was 83 over 50.  By this point, Kelly's voice was barely a whisper when she spoke.  A few basic medical questions and the nurse person said for us to follow her.  She led us into a medical room whereupon we got Kelly onto a bed.  Within minutes two nurses were on each side of the bed with one drawing blood and the other inserting intravenous lines.  I could see the procedure was hurting her.  They also put a heart monitoring device on her.  Blood pressure again and it had come up to 104 over ??  The same lady from X-ray came in and helped Kelly back into the wheelchair.  She was taken away for about 10 minutes to have X-rays done on her abdomen which is very distended again.  I stayed with her about 40 minutes before we realized it wasn't likely she would be coming home and they were probably about to start intravenous drips.  It was more likely she would be transported to London's University Hospital again.  So with that, I headed home to quickly gather up things Kelly might need in London.  I hoped to get those things to her before his ambulance ride to London,  Her iPhone's charging cord, the iPhone Mini and cord, the morphine pills for her back she may need, etc. etc. and more etcs.  Her spirits were as good as could be expected but several times she remarked, 'What's the point of going through this all the time if nothing's going to work'............Update:: Kelly phoned at 7:20 tonight saying her hemoglobin numbers had dropped but not to a critical level.  Kelly told the doctor she did not want to go back to the London hospital so he gave her two options.  He could admit her for the night in Goderich or she could go home but he insisted she call her liver doctor (Dr. Kahn) in the morning!!  Kelly opted to come home despite not feeling well at all.  I headed for Goderich about 7:45 and picked her up in a wheelchair at the Emergency entrance and with the help of nurse, got her into the car.  She was so sick it was touch and go all the way home and she barely had enough strength left to get out of the car and up the steps.  In the house, she immediately headed for her bedroom and climbed under the covers.  She is still feeling very sick so I don't know if I'll have to call an ambulance for her later or not. Anyway, so that's where we're alright now at the time of posting this tonight at 10:17 ...................

 KELLY IN EMERGENCY LATE THIS AFTERNOON

Al's Music Box:)) Knocking On Heaven's Door is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, written for the soundtrack of the 1973 film Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. Released as a single two months after the film's premiere, it became a worldwide hit, reaching the Top 10 in several countries. The song became one of Dylan's most popular and most covered post-1960s compositions.  Described by Dylan biographer Clinton Heylin as "an exercise in splendid simplicity", the song features two short verses, the lyrics of which comment directly on the scene in the film for which it was written: the death of a frontier lawman (Slim Pickens) who refers to his wife (Katy Jurado) as "Mama".  It was ranked number 190 in 2004 by Rolling Stone magazine, in their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and number 192 in 2010.

 YUP, THAT'S OUR WHITE SUBARU YOU SEE

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A few one-liners today:

- Middle age is when you are warned to slow down by a doctor instead of a policeman.
- A clean desk is a sign of a cluttered desk drawer.
- Anything worth taking seriously is worth making fun of.
- Better to understand a little than to misunderstand a lot.
- To sit alone with my conscience will be judgment enough for me.
-When an escalator breaks... it instantly becomes stairs.
- When you get older, lack of pep is often mistaken for patience.
- The secret of success is to know something nobody else knows.
- What will today's younger generation tell their children they had to do "without"?
- If you're doing the speed limit, you're in the way.
- 18 out of 10 schizophrenics agree that
it's not an optical illusion. It just looks like one.
- Bumper Sticker: Excuse me for driving so closely in front of you.
- Today is the last day of your life..... so far.
- No man really becomes a fool until he stops asking questions.
- People never grow up; they just learn how to act in public.
- One half of the world will never understand the other half and it doesn't matter which half you're in.
- I've discovered the whole problem with the National Debt. Most of us work 5 days a week and the government spends 7.
- You'll notice that a turtle only makes progress when it sticks out its neck.
- No matter how bad it gets, I'm rich at the dollar store.
- The tongue must be heavy indeed because so few people can't hold it.
- The minute a man is convinced that he is interesting, he isn't.
- If you want to know more about paranoids, follow them around.
- Anything not nailed down is a cat toy.
- The reason Las Vegas is so crowded is that no one has the plane fare to leave.

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Teacher: If there are seven flies and I hit one with a ruler, how many are left? 

Little Johnny: Just the squashed one.

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Al's Doggy World

Meanings

{Quote} Most of the trouble in the world is caused by people wanting to be important.

Al's Art Gallery