Mom's at home

Mom was thrilled to have been sent home from hospital early this morning. Don is on vacation this week so he was available and picked her up then spent the day watching over her...as well as running errands like drug pick up. A few nurses at the hospital were quite NASTY to mom. One in particular made some rude comments about mom's weight which of course upset mom greatly!!! She is MUCH better off at home where at least she will get the help when needed as well as encouragement( instead of harrassment) to do her exercises. I think those nasty nurses didn't realize just how incapitated mom was before surgery!! Shirl is on vacation for the rest of this week so Mom has two kids available IF needed and we plan to be around for her next week plus the grandkids are close by too....I'm sure mom will do just fine and recover nicely. She is already looking forward to being able to get back to her Y pool programs although that will likely be at least 6 weeks if not longer away. I'm sure each bit of independance she gains will be cause for personal celebration on her part.

rose

Our special rose is back in full bloom. Now if only we can manage to keep them alive through all this heat and lack of rain!!

Relay for life 2007

Bill just sent me a bunch of pictures taken at this year's relay for life event held in Ridgeway. Above you can see a good shot of the team. I heard that Rosilee arrived on site first and was busy setting up the tent for the night when the rain started pounding down from the skies. The downpour didn't last long and for the rest of the night the weather was much better. I also heard that the team raised around $3400 this year. GREAT JOB!!!!!! Click here to check for results from relay for life fundraising events including Fort Erie(Ridgeway).

SURGERY

I just spoke with Shirl by phone. She says mom came through surgery fine. There was a bit of drama....someone LOST mom's teeth!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She was telling Shirl and Terry that NO ONE would be allowed to come visit, etc. etc. but Shirl spoke to nurses and had them recheck in area of surgery and sure enough they found the missing choppers. When Shirl left for the night, mom was resting comfortably(right...enjoy tonight cause tommorrow the pain will set in!!!) but by the time she arrived at home, mom had called to say she was moved to another room. Who knows why??? Anyway, just thought I'd post for anyone concerned that so far mom is doing well. Tommorrow she is expected to be out of bed and trying to get the hang of working that new joint. She already has list of exercises from the therapist and a hospital walker is standing by ready for her. They don't want her to use her own yet as hers has wheels. That's about all I know at this point in time. I will post again after we visit this weekend.

HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN

We were called early this morning to inform us that Chris is going to Camp Borden this summer. Thanks for all the prayers sent to make this happen!!! Chris will be going July8-August18. Actually he may even ship out on July 7th if my memory from last year is correct. He will be taking "Cadet Adventure Leader Training". This is an advanced course which will allow him to apply to become a trainer for adventure portion of regular cadet camps once he has successfully completed the course. That will be his goal next year....maybe we will encourage him to try for Leader/helper or something like that....I'm sure they have the position just not sure of the title. Anyway...just had to share the GREAT news....Chris is going to camp!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday morning walks

Today, for the second week in a row, I joined the people from Elgin Nature Club on their Monday morning walk. I enjoy the company of the others (mostly female retirees) and I am learning from their wisdom which they freely share along the trails...pointing out various species of flowers and trees or listening for bird calls and identifying them too. Today I learned that a "bog" is a wetland area which was formed by glacial activity. A big identifying factor in separating regualr wetland and bog is that a bog is naturally acidic. The property owner located some naturally growing sphagnum in the bog and plucked a piece for us all to check out. Very much softer than most moss that can be found in many forested areas around here. We also had the pleasure of seeing a redtailed hawk's empty nest, but the hawk graced us with her presence by circling high above us and protesting loudly about our being there as we left the woods. I hope to continue being with the group for these short weekly hikes. I learn lots of interesting things and get some gentle exercise in areas which are not open to the public. Their frequent stops to check out things help ease the pain and stress of the walk. Definate win-win situation as long as the smog stays away and air quality allows me to get out for exercise.

NO WORD YET

We are anxiously awaiting word about Chris' status for camp Borden this summer. I can't imagine having him stay home for the entire summer that would just be too hard for all of us!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Actually I have informed Chris that if he does not get chosen for his six week training then he MUST get a local job. My reasons are multiple...first, he needs to earn some cash so he can have spending money and further his education in the value of a dollar....second, I refuse to fight with him all summer over his constant desire to do nothing but watch tv or lay down and look at magazine pictures.....and third, I deserve some peace and quiet while I continue my therapy. In past I have taken Chris with me to the Y and sometimes he swims and other time he "hangs out" while I do therapy but almost every time he has stress caused by his anxieties over other teenagers being around which cuts short my therapy time and I can not have that happen for the entire summer!! Last week while I was in pool, he wandered into the therapy office and was sticking his head into a treatment room chatting with another patient when I arrived back upstairs. I don't care if he has to go picking blueberries again ...HE WILL work somewhere! In anticipation of this we took his bike in to be repaired last week. Estimate for that was $100. Chris had trashed it a few times when he was angry that I was forcing him to be outside and get a bit of exercise. Some lessons are more expensive than others but since he has almost that much left from his birthday money, I'm sure this will be a lesson not soon forgotten. Of course he could still be accepted into Borden. We were told last year that often cadets are not informed until the day before they ship out...sorta like the regular army...all part of the training I guess.

LAUGHING GAS

Well we made it through yesterday with dental surgery for Chris!!! He now has a "hole in his head". When we arrived at hospital in morning the nurse helped us decide on laughing gas as opposed to actual sedation for his tooth extraction. The office uses a tv and vcr which is embedded into the ceiling to distract the patient as well. Chris chose his video and asked me to wait in other room as he says I make him nervous. What's with that????? Anyway no problem, I left him with doctor and nurse. About 45 mintues later the nurse asked me to rejoin them. They claimed Chris co operated very well. They had to use maximum dosage of laughing gas....maybe that is because of so many years of his ADHD medications giving him higher than normal drug tolerance???? Of course that made him feel very unstable and unwell afterward. When we finally made it to the car I drove slowly over to Linda's house(5 minutes from hospital) where Chris slept on her rec room couch for a few hours. He awoke refreshed and starving! After a quick soup stop at Tim's we made our way home and Chris decided he wanted to go to school. WOW! He also attended cadets last night and came home claiming to feel "better than ever". Of course the soft diet will have to continue for a few days until the hole starts to heal. He's not too happy about that but as consolation I will try to make favorites for him. So far just Mr. noodles and oatmeal but we will advance today to Kraft dinner!!