Weekend Yard Work

The weekend temperatures rose to the low and mid 30º mark. The melting snow and dripping from the rooftop reminded me I had some outdoor work to finish.

 The Halloween decorations have been stranded because of the wrist sprain, the 15 pound weight limit, and temps too dang cold...until today.

The nine or so inches of snow gathered on the roof. It was time to get some of it off. I used the roof rake and pulled what was left off the roof.

I thought we paid Anthony's Tree Service to remove all those dead branches. Guess the crew missed one.

I got all the lawn furniture put away; five chairs, three tables, and three solid, heavy wood tables. The planter is still out there. Too heavy to move now. (The photo is from earlier in November.)



The following photos were taken on October 26th:

It was a beautiful October this year. Some of the perennials were still blooming and would have looked better, but we had put away the hoses for watering. A friend had emailed saying she had planted tulips. AH HA! Some spring flowers would be perfect in the backyard flower bed.

The ground was so hard, I had to use a spade and fork to dig up the soil!

 Yes, a color theme going on in the back yard. If just some of them make it through the winter, there will be some vivid color when we get back next spring.

I planted pink tulips in the other perennial bed. Now if the squirrels and rabbits just stay away...

November 20th

And what is so important about November 20th you ask? Well, that is the date we were given on June 23rd as our earliest 'leaving for AZ' date. We, Hubby and I, were sitting in the office of the internationally renowned ophthalmologist who had performed Hubby's Lasik surgery in 1999. His team had examined  Hubby's eyes and declared cataract surgery would indeed improve his vision. The surgery would be done in August (the earliest openings) and a final follow-up appointment would be necessary 90 days after the last surgery, November 20th. My jaw dropped and I said, "But we go south for the winter!" Hubby gave me a dirty look and told the doctor that would be fine. My attitude adjustment took a couple of days, but I did accept we would be spending Thanksgiving in SD and not AZ.

We made plans with the kids. I would cook a traditional Thanksgiving meal on Thursday (of next week) and we would celebrate Christmas on Friday or Saturday of the same weekend. We would leave for AZ the following week.

Little did I know...

Hubby had been complaining about his right hip off and on during the winter in AZ and most of the spring and summer. I suggested if hip replacement was necessary, this fall would be a good time to get it done as we would be here anyway. X-rays indicated it was bone-on-bone. It was time. Hubby had a good experience when his left hip was replaced in 2004. Surgery was scheduled for October 7th. All went well and Hubby would be 'cleared to drive' by the end of November when we could finally leave for the winter.

But SHIFT HAPPENS...

All that changed on September 16th when I had the thyroid ultra sound. Little did I know when 'suspicious nodules' were found, our departure date would no longer be the end of November.

It wasn't until I had my first meeting with the endocrinologist on October 31st, I realized the seriousness of those suspicious nodules. He shared a brief overview of what to expect and the timeline. I thought maybe we could leave for AZ after Christmas. The second meeting with him the following day clarified when we would be leaving for AZ. No attitude adjustment was necessary this time.

Today, November 20th, Hubby had his cataract follow-up appointment. We were expecting a minor procedure to improve the vision in his left eye as that eye is not at the clarity level either of us was expecting. No procedure today. That will be December 4th. (I wouldn't have gotten out of here in November anyway!)

Now there will be plenty of time for the broken leg to heal. The visit to the orthopedic doc earlier this week confirmed no-weight bearing until Christmas. All is healing well. There is no damage to the new prosthetic hip when Hubby fell and broke the femur. The 37 staples have been removed. He was wearing a compression wrap on his thigh and does not have to wear it anymore. I will continue to put on and peel off the lovely white TEDS (compression socks to prevent blood clots) until at least mid-December. (I had to wear them for 3 months; so will he!)

And to top it all off, winter arrived on November 10th with the first major snow fall and temperatures dropping from the 50s and 60s to the teens and low 20s. But we are adjusting to that too. I bought more appropriate winter gloves today. The little knit gloves just were not cutting it! There will be a heat wave this weekend when temps get above freezing. I might have to put the patio furniture and Halloween decorations in storage. I could not get things put away earlier this month as I had sprained my wrist and was not to lift more than 15 pounds after the surgeries. The wrist is much better and the lifting restriction is cancelled.

As for a departure date for AZ???? The earliest date will be January 21st.

It is what it is.

Shoes

Initially, when we talked about staying in SD until after Thanksgiving, due to hip replacement and cataract surgery touch-up/tweaking, I told Hubby I might have to go shoe shopping. A quick search uncovered the one pair of closed-toe, closed-heel shoes had been left in AZ. I wear them when we fly home to SD in January. I did not expect to need them before January in AZ this year.

So how many shoes does a woman need? If I found something comfortable, when I was working, I bought them in several colors. So did Hubby. He has shoes he bought before 2005 he has never worn. For certain, I needed more shoes when I was working than I need now in my retired life. The shoes I buy have always been more expensive because I used to wear a  10 AAA. I have a high instep, so not all brands fit well. Anytime I bought something less expensive, it soon became apparent it was a waste of money because the shoes did not fit right or feel right. Good shoes and a good fit are very important, especially after breaking my ankle in 2007.


When this stuff arrived last weekend,

my hiking books were the most practical, though not exactly what I wanted to be wearing to church or the weekend wedding we are hoping to attend.


I did a more thorough search of my shoe collection. I have gotten rid of some of the shoes I have collected. I do not have as many shoes as some of my AZ friends who shall remain nameless and who shop for shoes at EVERY opportunity. Some of these friends bring trailers to AZ to haul their shoes, or buy bumper storage containers to bring their additional shoes home in the spring.... Not really, but they do have WAY MORE SHOES than I.

This is what I have worn all summer. I love these shoes. Even now, I wear them around the house. Not too practical for 8 inches of snow and temps in the teens.

I  bought these on the August trip to the Black Hills. They are a little more practical for outdoor summer wear than the rubber sandals in the above photo. I was wearing these (no socks) in November, BS-before snow. Not very practical for the current weather conditions.

This is the "winter" shoe collection; open backs, closed toes. The two pair on the left are from my teaching days, more than 10 years old. The "dressy-to-me" black sandal heels were wedding shoes in 2006. The brown ones were bought after I retired, but again are close to 10 years old. They have not been worn much as you can still read the brand.

Point of all this is I am no longer comfortable wearing open-backed shoes when walking on ice. They were fine on carpet in a classroom. 

I recused these from the winter collection as I thought they were the most practical until I could go shopping. 

My new closed-toe, closed-heel shoes. Comfortable. Practical. Dressy enough. Shoes like everything else have gone up in price. $$$ for a pair of shoes! YIKES!

The sales woman wanted to know if I wanted to try on a winter boot. I told her I did not plan to be around that long. If boots are necessary, the hiking boots will do just fine. I am now set. Bring it on WINTER!

Hubby's Progress

When I met with the orthopedic surgeon at 9:47 that Thursday evening (10/30), he was as tired as I. I was stressing because I could not find my room key for the hotel. I had left the car in the emergency entrance parking lot and was now on the second floor, surgery waiting room, of a campus-sized hospital, and not totally confident I could find the van. I was stressing because I needed to get Hubby's phone and computer to him or his room yet that night as I was not sure when I would next see him. I wanted Hubby to have his phone, so my surgeon could talk to him after my surgery the next day. Needless to say, the post-surgery conference was not one of my most "with-it" conversations.

When the doc said non-weight bearing right leg for 2 months, my brain and mouth said "knee scooter?" He looked at me and repeated, NON-WEIGHT BEARING RIGHT LEG for TWO MONTHS, walker or crutches. But why can't he use a scooter? He took a deep breath and patiently explained how Hubby would be putting weight on his knee if he were to use a scooter. Finally, something clicked. OK. Non-weight bearing right leg for 2 months. Crutches or Walker. We'll deal with it.

For the next two days, any time I saw Hubby, he was in a wheel chair. He talked about his OT and PT regime two times each day, and the exercises he was doing on his own. He shared how he had purchased a walker and was getting along quite well. He had a plan for getting in and out of the house. (We have 3 steps at one door and 2 at the other door.) He felt he had everything under control.

I was not too concerned as we had dealt with my total non-weight bearing in 2007. I figured all the tricks we had learned and used that summer would come in handy when we got to our non-handicap friendly home. They have.

This was his location after the hip replacement surgery last month and will continue to be until we are told otherwise. I was just getting used to the idea of having the TV remote to myself when Hubby decided to take it back. This weekend he started using the couch as a second location. It is nice to have options.

On Friday we had our first outing, for doctor appointments. Hubby easily maneuvered the walker through the garage door and the one high step to get to the car. He went backwards, up that high step to get back in the house. Now that we have snow, it is a good plan. A neighbor helped install a handrail along the garage wall for another security measure.

Hubby's original plan was for a ramp; not very practical for a walker because of it's steep incline. Using the garage door wasn't part of our early planning either, but it works well.

We also bought a shower/tub extended bench. Taking a shower is easy and stress free. He shaves, when he shaves, seated at the kitchen table. That's OK as we don't eat at the kitchen table very often right now.

We plan to rent a wheel chair which will allow us to go to restaurants and a few other places. Hubby got pretty tired just walking from the elevator to the waiting room in the clinic on Friday. A wheel chair will give us a little freedom over the next two months...7 weeks now, 6 on Friday!

We had some company Friday evening.

Our DIL stopped by with Miss W and Mcbe. We thought it important for them to see us at home. Even Rocco got to visit. Is he sitting on the couch????

Listening to a story, sitting on G'pa's LEFT leg

Great G'Ma was also at our house for a visit last weekend

They were rather upset with me as the toy box was moved to the basement since their last visit. They went downstairs and played for a bit, but the living room was still the room of choice. I think the toy box is in the basement to stay. They'll adjust. 

So, Hubby is doing well. He does his exercises 3 times a day, is drinking water and feeling better now that he has discontinued the 'pain pills'. We see the local orthopedic surgeon next week; staples need to be removed. He won't be cooking meals anytime soon, but he can be left at home while I continue to take advantage of my meetings and friends. And life goes on...

Biopsy Saga, Part 3

I write and think best late at night, when the house is quiet and Hubby is in bed. My writing class 'students' know this to be true. The blog followers know as many posts appear after midnight. I have been thinking, pondering really, how I was going to write this one, part 3 of our saga. I certainly wasn't ready on Sunday, like I thought I would be. I was ready on Monday, but I am glad I waited until today, as I now have more information.

I have cancer. I never thought I would say those three words. I don't suppose anybody thinks they will. I especially did not think I would say them at age 64. Cancer is something that happens to other people. Cancer is something that happens to older people. But cancer does and can happen to anyone. It happened to me. I uttered, or muttered, "I have cancer" to friends who stopped by to check on us Monday morning. Until then, the words were rolling around in my head, but had not had the balls to actually come out, for anyone to hear. I was almost shocked when they did as I wasn't sure I was ready to hear them. If I hear them, then it must be true. If I said them, then I accept them; like a 12 step program...I have cancer.

The surgeon called this morning to say the pathology report came back for the left thyroid. It also had a cancerous nodule, less than 2 millimeters in size and much smaller (less than 2 centimeters) than the right side nodule. I am thankful he wanted to remove both sides last weekend.

The endocrinologist has called with the timeline for treatment. It certainly is a doable 7 week schedule. Paperwork will be coming, but for now, here is the simple time frame.

This week, take 1000mg of Tums, 3 times a day
Starting Friday, take a thyroid replacement pill
Dec. 3 begin iodine-free diet
Dec. 15th lab work and iodine (radioactive) treatment
Dec. 16th body scan 24 hrs. after radioactive treatment
In quarantine, in the basement of the house, for several days
Dec. 23rd follow-up body scan to check on any left-over cancer cells

It might be a wee bit more involved than I am making it sound, but gee...taking a pill, following a diet, 3 trips to Sioux Falls, and living in the basement for a few days...I can do that!

This is the website recommended by the endocrinologist: ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors' Association, Inc

Another site is from the Mayo Clinic 
and another  Thyroid Cancer: Facts on Staging, Treatments, and Prognosis

More information than you probably wanted, but one never knows when it might be useful. After all, I never expected to be looking at them...

Oh, and another selfie to show how good I look after two surgeries.

The surgeon said he put the incision in a 'natural' neck fold. He had several from which to choose! The only discomfort I have is from the tightening of the skin along the incision. It is beginning to 'itch' a bit. Unfortunately, the surgeon did not heed my request to tuck a little extra away, inside, since he was in that area. After I looked at the photo, I noticed all the chin hairs. See Judy...I have enough for both of us!

 Get your neck checked.

Hugs to you all!

Biopsy Saga, Part 2

I had thought about calling this saga "Shift Happens". On a flight between SD and AZ a flight attendant told us to be careful as we opened the overhead bins on our arrival because she said, "Shift Happens!" We all laughed as it applied to so many things, especially part 2 of this biopsy saga.

As most of you know, Hubby had a total right hip replacement on October 7th in Watertown. He was doing well, faithfully doing his exercises. At his appointment on the 20th he was given the OK to be out walking. The weather has been so very nice, we did walk and chose parts of the bike trail in Watertown because of its flat paved surface. He was using the cane and we were using common sense, not long walks, but enough to get some exercise and enjoy the warm fall temps.

We were also experiencing geocaching withdrawal. After our excursions across the state this summer, it was 'painful' to be sitting around knowing there were about 50 geocaches left to collect along the bike trail. We had saved searching for them knowing we would have hip surgery recovery time to do them. We would walk a bit, I would find the cache in the street signs or trees, keeping Hubby on the trail. We would collect 4 or 5 or a few more if we could drive and find parking nearby. This was going very well until Wednesday when I slipped on dry leaves along the river bank. I fell on my butt, stopping my fall with my left hand. I thought I had broken my wrist. (I got the d*** cache!) It was the last one for the day. We went home and I iced and elevated my wrist all evening. By Thursday morning I could barely move it. We went to the clinic. I had it x-rayed; just a severe sprain. A brace helped limit the movement and allowed me to 'baby' it.

Our plan was to drive to Sioux Falls on Thursday afternoon as I had to report for surgery at 5:30 AM Friday morning. We had a few geocaches we wanted to collect as we had the time. We were looking for one along the Sioux River, a short distance off the bike/walking path. We found the geocache, but it needed some maintenance so Curt was returning to the van when he slipped on dry leaves and went down, screaming. He had two walking sticks and was using them, but with the dry leaves and wet ground, they really did not help. He was also wearing his hiking boots, so it is not like he was careless. Shift Happens!

I called the ambulance. He was taken to the nearby hospital which just happened to be the one where I would be a patient the next day. X-rays showed he had broken the right femur just below the 'new' hip post. The hip is not damaged. Surgery was completed at 10:00 PM with a plate and 10 screws to keep the femur in place as the hip and leg heal.

The photo is NOT a Halloween joke. He is on second floor of the hospital and comes to see me on first floor in a wheel chair. It certainly isn't a situation either of us would want. Curt is non-weight bearing, right leg for 6 to 8 weeks. He is learning to use a walker and until he is more proficient using it on the stairs/steps, he will not be released. That could be Sunday or Monday. I am sure you will be surprised to read he knows the 'life story' of every staff member who comes into his room, and they know 'our story'. He is not in pain, but is looking for a full night of sleep in his own bed.

It is what it is and we will deal with it! 

I thought about titling this one the Dangers of Geocaching, but the pleasure and positive experiences have far out weighed the van & deer collision, the wrist sprain, or the broken leg. We will continue to geocache; but probably not until 2015.

There is a part 3 to the story; the biopsy saga ending. That will come tomorrow after Curt and I have met with my doctors.

I do not feel as bad as I look. I am not in any pain. I will be released tomorrow. I am also looking forward to a full night's sleep in my own bed.

We had company again this afternoon. Thank you Jerry & Linda for stopping and for lifting our spirits. Thank you Ryan & Hilary for the flowers and visit. (I did feel like H377 when you stopped.) And thank you, Miss W and Mcbe, for the hugs and kisses. Kisses fix almost any boo-boo.

It is what it is. It could always be worse.

Again, thanks to everyone for the prayers and well-wishes as we both are very appreciative of our wide community of friends. Hugs to you all...