There's No Place Like Home!

Ok, Ok, I realize my title is not very original but it fits more than anything else. :) Also, forewarning to those who are squeamish or do not like to see the names for bodily fluids because I will be mentioning these to some extent in this blog post.
A friend of mine reminded me(thanks Anita) that I had not posted any updates on David's illness/surgery for awhile so I figured I would take a few minutes and post something. I did send updates via email and Facebook almost daily for the 40 days he was in the hospital but it was just too much trouble to do those two and this blog, too. We got home on the 20th of Oct...Boy was it a long stay...I was tempted to apply for a change of address we were there so long. David and I had our ups and downs, mentally, while there but that's to be expected I guess. The surgery was a success and David probably will not require any further cancer treatments. The tumor was successfully removed and there is only a t-niny islet cell left, which his oncologist says will grow so slowly it may be years before it does anything. PRAISE GOD! Just imagine...a year ago July I was planning a funeral...now we have many years ahead to celebrate life and to hopefully impact others who need encouragement. We certainly have received plenty of that plus some. David still has a feeding tube through which he receives liquid nourishment. I also have to flush it w/100ml of water every 4 hours and if he needs any medication (hypertension, pain, nausea, etc) it must be crushed and mixed w/water and put into his feeding tube via syringe. He also still has a drain tube coming from his stomach from which yucky green bile comes out into a bag that I have to drain every so often. See, they removed his gall bladder and the bile duct was reattached to his stomach and it is suppose to pass on thru but since his stomach is still asleep it has to be drained or he will get sick and vomit. His doc says this tube has to be clamped off a few minutes per day to re-train his tummy to tolerate this vile bile and increase the time five minutes or so a day until he can tolerate it being clamped for 6 hours after which he could then have the tube removed. This could take a long time. I found out today that I will have to go back to work on 11/9 so I hope all this gets worked out before then.
David and I have learned a lot about each other the last month or so. Some of it not so good...LOL I found out that I can do some yucky stuff I never thought I could and that I can live on little sleep and less food. I lost about 10-15 lbs during this time but it didn't hurt me. :) David has lost about 18lbs but he is receiving all the nutrients he needs although he misses getting to place food in his mouth and chewing it. but he has learned he can tolerate lots of pain and nausea and to lose control of his life, basically. But we are home now and he has a little more freedom although he still has an IV pole and feeding pump and bag attached to him. He can be disconnected for a short time such as when he takes a shower or goes to church. We are sure looking forward to being back with our church family this Sunday. We have not been to church since before his surgery so we are looking forward to some spiritual recharging.
Well, I can see this is getting rather long so I better go for now. If you have any ?'s just ask
We are both off work and it will probably will be awhile before David will be able to work again but God has provided so far and I know we can do without a lot of things that we thought we needed. Thanks to everyone for your prayers, love, concern and support

That Doctor was Wrong afterall!

Hi there, everyone...it's been a long time since I blogged but battling Pancreatic Cancer is a fulltime job. Some of your may recall that when David was initially diagnosed the doctor told us it was inoperable....well, he was wrong but I am so glad he was. For the past year I've been battling the emotions that go along with being told you are going to lose the one you love... Fear, sadness, anger, numbness, doubts. But David's CT scans kept showing the tumor was shrinking until finally they said it had shrunken so much and the metastisis to the lymph nodes appeared to be gone that he might possible be a candidate for resection (surgery to remove the tumor) afterall. Bless his heart, when David heard that good news he just shook all over; so badly he couldn't stand up. we've since met with the surgeon, Dr. Scott Marotti in Little ROck, who says he can remove it...So we now have a date, Sept 10th, to have the Whipple procedure done. David's oncologist says the WHipple is the second worst surgery a person can undergo, so eventhough we are excited about the prospects of beating this cancer, we are also scared about the surgery and the long recovery it requires.
So...one week from tomorrow we'll know if he has a shot at beating, what some call The Unbeatable Cancer...but The Great Physician has made another diagnosis and we are so thankful.
I know, some of you may be thinking that if the tumor couldn't have been removed that we wouldn't be so thankful..True, but I would still have faith that God knows what He's doing.
All things work together for good, to them who love God, for those who are the called according to His purpose. (roughly paraphrased) but you get the idea...if you don't then pray that GOd will give you understanding and then find a God-believing pastor or friend to help you.

I hope to carry my laptop with me so I will try posting updates while David is in the hospital

My little kitty buddies

A couple of weeks ago we had a stray cat give birth to 8 kittens underneath our son's old Ford then she vanished! Don't know what happened to her but I could not sit by and let the little ones starve. So...I bought milk supplement and started feeding them with a medicine dropper. What a mess! Well, three of them died pretty quickly....I was only able to feed them in the morning and twice in the evening but they had to go all day without. I finally was down to 4 who seemed to be thriving...then one morning...gone! They were all gone... still don't know what happened to them. THey were a lot of trouble but I sure miss the little buggers. :((

God didn't give me feathers!

It's been almost a month since I've blogged but I had forgotten my password and also my laptop has been super slow lately so I just haven't bothered to try because it would have taken too long. Since my last blog posting my husband and I celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary and we celebrated by flying out to see our daughter and her husband in Abilene TX. I'd flown a few times before but only in small planes but David had never flown and he was excited about it. But...our plans didn't quite go smoothly. The day we were scheduled to leave we arrived at LR an hour ahead of time, went through security (not very helpful to newbies I might add) and then we're informed that DFW has been closed because of thunderstorms. We sat at LR for 4 hours before were were able to get a flight out. We finally got to DFW and there were people spread out everywhere, some who had been waiting all day for a flight (it was almost 2pm by this time) We finally left there at 7:30pm! It had taken us 12 hours to get out toAbilene, which was longer than if we had driven it! But, once we got there we enjoyed ourselves and the flight back was much smoother...well at least as far as time goes, the flight from DFW to LR was quite bumpy and I was thanking God for Dramamine by the time we got back to LR. Whew, was I ever glad to get home. God didn't give me feathers so i wasn't meant to fly! David loved it though.

Roses

Our kids gave me a climbing rose bush for Mother's Day several years ago and when our daughter moved to Germany I would always send her a picture of the first bloom of the season. I sent her one this year (she's in Abilene TX now)and I liked the picture so much I thought I might share it with y'all.

Purty ain't it?!! :))

STABLE

What comes to mind when you see or hear the word 'stable'? My first thought was a place you keep livestock, much like the place our Lord and Savior Jesus was born into. Secondly, I was reminded of something or someone you can depend on, reliable, or never-changing.
I went with my husband to see his oncologist last week and the doctor said "stable disease". No, he did not say it had shrunken anymore nor did he say it was gone. Stable. Folks, that was music to our ears. His cancer has been stable now for six months! In the world of cancer, that's a long time, let me tell you! He is still working fulltime and, but for a few chemo side effects, he is doing amazingly well...and with or without cancer, my husband is one of the most reliable, dependable guys you would ever want to know. I love him. he is an inspiration to me.
A few months ago I didn't think he would still be with me...but thankfully...he is.
Remember that baby in the stable? It's all because of him. :))

New Birdie and getting older

Hi y'all! It's been a few days since I blogged so I figured I better post something. I know y'all have been just sittin' on pins an' needles waiting for my news !LOL!

If you recall, in my last post, I mentioned I had seen a new type of sparrow on my last birdwatching outing. I have since found out it was a Swamp Sparrow. Big Deal, right? Well it was to me since it was a Lifer for me. To a diehard birder, a Lifer is a Big Deal! A Lifer simply means the first time you have seen that particular bird in your life. Most of us keep list and check off each species as we ID it. I'm not obsessed with keeping the list as some are but I do get a thrill out of checking off a new bird. I have attached a picture of the Swamp Sparrow just in case your interested. Oh, I almost forgot about the "Getting Older" part of my blog (How could I forget that! HA!) I found out today that I have Gout! I am now officially older! ;((

FYI: My doc just told me that I do not have gout after all. He took more blood to determine what it is but I haven't heard yet. Probably just ol' Arthur Itis

Sunshine, Boots, 'n' Birds

Hello everybodee! I vowed to myself that my next post would be a happy one...so today my post will be about the time I spent outdoors in the sunshine tromping through the woods. It was so beautiful Sunday afternoon that I put by rubber boots on (it's still a little damp in places), grabbed my camera, binoculars and some extra batteries and set off to find some lovely birdies. I saw several Ruby-crowned Kinglets, a Downy Woodpecker, some sparrows, a Brown Thrasher, and a Snipe. I took some pics and I may try attaching one to this post if I can figure it out. If I can't I know who to call "GINGER!" LOL!

Of course after I got back home there were the usual Cardinals, Titmice, Chickadees, Brown-headed Cowbirds (yuck), Chipping Sparrows, Juncos, and White-throated sparrows. Some of the sparrows I took pics of my little junket I will need some assistance with ID'ing so I will head off to WhatBird.com for some expert ID'ng assitance.

OK, I'm gonna try attaching a pic of a Great Blue Heron that I took a pic of on the way to town Saturday that was sitting in someones pond

What's a person to do?

Some of you know about my DH having pancreatic cancer. He has been working ever since his diagnosis, even when he was too sick to go in. You know, men need to feel needed, they need to work and be the breadwinner for the family. I always knew my guy was a hard worker but never more so until he became ill. He has been such an inspiration to me and my family. But it turns out this faithful dedication is not going to help him any when it comes to filing for disability. They look at his employment record and think "if he's able to work he's not disabled." There's also that little matter of needing health insurance to pay for chemo treatments, prescriptions, and doctor visits. Recently his ability to hold out to work a whole day has become more difficulty and it appears that he may have to stop sooner than he wants to. What is he to do in the meantime? How do we pay for everything we've worked so hard for all these years? I'm not sure how but we're about to find out.
I believe the Lord has a plan but I'm not liking it so far. Forgive me Lord but just saying what I feel.

THEY WON'T LET YOU SLEEP!

Had to take my DH to the hospital Monday night. His fever had spiked to almost 102 and his being a cancer patient we have to nip it in the bud ASAP. I called his oncologist who suggested we go straight to the ER for blood work and IV antibiotics. So we took a flying trip and they ended up admitting him for the IV antibiotics. The ER doc gave him 400mg of Motrin, which brought the fever down very quickly so by the time we got in a room at 11pm he was fever free. They put him in a room with 2 beds so I was able to use one of them but there was certainly no sleeping to be done! We were on the main hall, which is like Grand Central Station all night long. I know, it's not a hotel so what can you expect. David received great care and thankfully the antibiotics did the trick and he was released to come home last night on the condition that he stay home from work one more day. He willingly complied. My DH used to be really stubborn about stuff like that but I guess he's learning that sometimes you just have to slow down and take care of yourself. We both slept much better after we got home!
Thanks DMH for such great care.

Rainy Day Dreamin'

Been watching it ran all day and wondering what it's gonna be like tomorrow when we have to drive up to see my DH's oncologist. Hope it's not raining too hard. I don't like to drive in the rain.
I received an invitation from the Three Rivers Audubon Society to meet at Delta Rivers State Park in Pine Bluff and go birding with a group from Pulaski County but looks like the weather is not gonna be good for any birds except ducks! Quack Quack!
I don't enjoy being out in the rain but love to curl up inside under a blanket with a good book and a cup of hot cocoa or cappuccino and maybe drop off to sleep...ZZZZ, whoops, I snore! If I muster up enough energy to get up maybe I'll walk to the window and watch the birdies from inside where it's nice and dry. I know, I'm a wimp! LOL

At the speedway w/o Daddy

Last Fri/Sat nights were the first time I'd been back since Daddy died. Boy, was it tough. It felt so weird to stand in "our spot" without him next to me. My son Jason and nephew Brandon both were allowed to carry the flag during the anthem and then Sean Densmore (thanks Sean!) gave a beautiful tribute to Daddy then the boys raced around the track with engines roaring and I stood there pumpin' my fist and just a squallin'! Daddy has the best seat in the house now.

As that old hymn says "I'll Meet You In The Morning", Daddy.

Here is a picture of Daddy and Momma with Jason and his 2007 Hobby Stock Championship trophy.

Dunce, Death, Dancing

Thanks Ginger!! Boy, do I feel like a dunce! I tried for days to write a new post and just couldn't figure it out. I ended up sending Joe Burgess an email and he had Ginger call me. "Did you sign in?", says Ginger. Uh, no I didn't. Like I said, I really feel stupid but I'm in now!

This has been a sad week for me. My dear daddy died this past Saturday. 81 yrs old. He had been going down for awhile but we certainly didn't see this coming. Our lives...my life, will never be the same. He was a big fan of watching my son race on the local dirt track. The season will be starting soon and it just won't be the same without him there. He would stand at the fence and pump that fist and holler "Pour it to 'em, Pour it to 'em!" My nephew races too so now they both have an extra incentive to win this year. So, all street stock and cruiser cars, this is fair warning. The Wide Open Racing Team will be racing for Papaw this year!
Thank you God for taking him quickly and without suffering. Daddy is showing all the angels how to do the two-step and waltz now. I'll always miss you daddy and don't worry about momma...all us kids will take care of her.

Just the Beginning

Hello y'all, from Possum Valley AR! Actually, I'm not in PV at this very moment (I'm at work...SHHH!) but I can't wait to get to know everyone in this Blog World. I have no sage advice to offer just life experience, a sense of humor, and a desire to share life's ups and downs. Some of you may remember me from my days as Circuit Clerk in Drew County. I call that My Other Life. If you have any comments about your experiences with me during that time, good or bad, just let her rip! I can handle it. I was not very tough during my tenure there but have developed quite a tough skin since.
I have been married to my DH for over 32 years and together we raised two great kids whom we love very much and who turned out pretty good if I do say so myself.
I enjoy birdwatching, taking pictures of sunrises, sunsets, flowers, birds...just about anything that will let me, reading, taking long walks, and singing. Just don't ask me to sing in public! LOL
Well, maybe this is enough info to begin with. I blog ya later!