The Journey Ahead

Yesterday was Glenn's assessment for his cardiac rehab that starts next week!  We were both impressed with the overview of what he'll be doing the next 4 to 6 weeks during rehab.  And I'm certain Glenn will enjoy using all their gym equipment to start building his strength again - lots of weights and machines and he'll always be hooked up to a heart monitor as he starts doing the exercises!  Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings are his days to go so we'll be heading to the Springs a lot during the next few weeks!

After his assessment, we headed over to a sports store - my hiking boots (which were not very expensive to start with 4 years ago) had split at the bottom and were no longer feasible to wear!  So I bought myself a new pair of hiking boots AND a new backpack!

This time I got a nice pair of shoes - not a cheap pair!  And they should last a long time!!

And the backpack?  I was due for a new one - the last backpack I bought was the kind that attached to a rolling piece of luggage that I bought for my Europe trip back in the year 2000!  That backpack has been used for every trip that I have taken since then - so it's basically logged thousands of miles over the last 15 years!  It has served its' purpose but it is time to retire it and use my new one!

And where might you ask am I going since Glenn is only into week 3 at home from the hospital?  I'm going on a Mission Trip with daughter Jaime and granddaughter Rayna to Nicaragua  - a medical mission trip which has been planned for a year.  (more on that later)  So my new backpack will be put to good use on this next trip!

Covered In Velvet

Look who enjoys sleeping under part of our deck during the day!

It must be the COOL place to be as there are a number of spikes and doe that also rest under there!  You never know who you might see when you walk out to the deck!!

Family Camping #2

More Fun - More Pictures!!  The crew out at the property slept good - and the crew here at our house slept pretty good too!  Glenn decided he was ready to try the bed out again vs. the recliner - he makes it till about 4:00 each morning and then can't sleep so heads downstairs to watch TV! 

Luckily Robby had ordered us a new DVD player and router for the house - and after hooking it all up, he set us up on Netflex streaming!  Glenn is loving the fact that he has lots of documentaries to watch and a large choice of movies!!

We headed over late morning to the campers - the kids had fun playing on the rocks during the day and of course doing more fishing!!  And more eating!

 Gwyn was passed around from person to person - there was never a lack of people to hold her and she enjoyed the outdoors!

 Kylan and Evan were always smiling - they had tons of fun bringing firewood to the fire pit, sanding on a long wooden bench, fishing, and running around!

 I love this picture of Gary, Kylan and Evan - it was dusk and the lake was so peaceful!

 The kids are standing in front of the log bench that Brad made!  It makes for a cool seat!!

 Saturday morning Jaime, Jill and I walked over to the gazebo on the other side of the lake - what a cool place to have a picnic!

 Rayna and Ashley were busy fishing - check out that blue, blue sky!!

 Parker was fishing with his dad - didn't catch anything that morning but he still had fun!

 One last ATV ride before the camping trip was officially over!!

So even though Glenn and I didn't get to camp with the crew, everyone still had a great time!!  Yes, I'm missing camping and ATVing but it will just have to wait!

Family Camping

Our annual family camping trip was sure different this year! Knowing that Glenn and I wouldn't be camping with the family, we all agreed that the best spot this year would be Jaime and Brad's new property, located off of Twin Rocks Rd, 10 minutes from our house!

It was absolutely the perfect spot to be this year!!  Jaime and Brad have parked their camper there for the summer - Robby and Jill brought their pop-up camper down from Ft. Collins - and Jessi and Gary just decided to sleep at our house since they have the baby!  So it worked out well for all of us!  Glenn and I could easily drive over for a few hours and then head home so Glenn could rest a while and then go back over later than day!

Gwyn was passed around most of the day - she is such a little snuggler and smiles when you talk to her - so precious!!

 So I take a picture of these two and Evan has his tongue out so I tell him to smile so I can take another - I had NO IDEA that Kylan had stuck HIS tongue out when I took the 2nd picture!!

 We celebrated Aleah's 6th birthday since Papa and I hadn't given her gifts to her yet - she was excited to open presents and blow out a candle on a Hostess cupcake!!

 We also celebrated the girls' birthdays and my birthday!!  Even though Jaime was born in March, she gets her gift from me in July since I always get the 3 of them the same thing!!  For my birthday I received a rice cooker and a headlamp - can't wait to try BOTH of these out!!

 Rayna brought a friend with her so she had company during camping time - I can't believe this girl is 13 years old!!

 Papa did pretty well - he did get tired in the evenings but all in all he sure enjoyed seeing all of the grand kids and visiting with the guys!

 Jill brought sparklers for the kids!  They were lit up by the campfire pit and the kids loved them!!  Also s'mores were served!!  And that's Robby and Jill's camper in the picture!!

 This picture is looking down from the firepit - Brad and Jaime's camper is down there - it's a gorgeous view!!

 Parker is such a hoot!!  He would bring every rock he found to Papa and ask what kind of rock it was.  And during campfire time, he would bring every stick and pine cone he could find and ask Papa if he could throw it in!!  Don't you love his hair??

More fun and pictures to come!!

Birthday Wishes DO Come True!

Happy Birthday to daughter #2 - Jill - who turned 35 on Monday the 13th!  We didn't get to spend our birthdays together this year...............  But I was thrilled when Glenn texted me early that morning and said he was being released!!  That was ONE great birthday present!

Getting released from the hospital is always quite the ordeal!!  Luckily the RN went over the 50 page discharge instructions (well, maybe it wasn't QUITE that many pages) and my mind was spinning!!  Gosh, it sounded like I would be a full time nurse for the next 2 months!  And guess what - I AM!

We finally got out of there and Glenn was excited to breathe some fresh mountain air when we got home!!  I had gotten all of his medications filled at the hospital so we could head right home!

As we all know - THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME!!!

Jaime and Brad (who are still camping over at their property) came over late afternoon and fixed me a wonderful birthday dinner - Alice Springs Chicken, Baked Potatoes and Grilled Zucchini!!  It was delicious and Glenn was able to eat a few bites and said it tasted good!  His taste buds and appetite are not back to normal yet but I'm sure they will be soon!!

 Sleeping in a regular bed didn't work out so well - even though Glenn was so excited to be in his own bed!!  He just couldn't lay flat!!  So about 4:00am I got him downstairs to a recliner!  That seemed to work out better but I would have to get him out of it as it's too hard on his chest for him to do it!  He has a pillow that he has to hold against his chest every time he sits, gets up, coughs or sneezes!!

Tuesday night friends brought dinner over - gosh, I could get used to this!!  And they even brought me a cake for my birthday!!  It was delicious (or I should say, it IS delicious as we're still eating on it!)

Tuesday night Glenn did sleep in the recliner and he has learned how to get out of it but it's very hard so I decided today that he needed a motorized recliner!  I called Jaime and we headed down to American Furniture Warehouse - and by mid afternoon Glenn had a new recliner set up in the lower level!  And now I don't have to worry about him getting up by himself during the night!

His appetite continues to improve which is great!  He is walking more each day and spends an hour up at the new property, sitting in a lawn chair and supervising his helper!!  The biggest challenge Glenn will face is when he feels GREAT and still can't do anything!  Right now he has to depend on me for transportation so at least I have control of that for now!!

It will be an interesting next 2 months!

Where To Begin.............

At the beginning I guess.............

It started back in June when Glenn had a stress test and echo cardiogram done due to pressure he was feeling in his chest.  We met with the cardiologist on June 18th to discuss the results and found that Glenn needed a heart cauterization done to check an artery that the dr was concerned about.

On July 1st Glenn went in for the procedure - the cardiologist was hoping to put a stent in during the procedure but it wasn't to be.  Not long after the procedure we were informed that Glenn had 3 blocked arteries - one at 95%, one at 65% and one at 50% - but they were all in tricky places to put the stents so the dr couldn't do that - instead he informed us that Glenn needed bypass surgery!

To say that was a shock was an understatement! 

They did his pre-op while he was still in the hospital and scheduled his surgery for the next Wednesday.  He was to take it easy and not work at all - pretty tough for Glenn being in the middle of building the house.............

We went down on a Monday morning to meet the surgeon and found out then he was moved up to Tuesday for surgery - the surgeon was very nice, answered all of our questions and then it was home for one more nights' sleep!!  And a short night it was as he had to be in Co. Springs at 5:30am!

What a drive it was in the dark morning - the fog was horrible - some of the worst I have ever been in and as I was driving, couldn't see more than one stripe on the highway at a time!!  We virtually crawled along and finally it broke as we entered CO Springs.

Jaime met us at the hospital and after getting registered and prepped (interesting watching a male tech shave most of Glenn's body!!) they headed him off to surgery and we were in for a long, long wait!!

Luckily we had brought our phones and cords as we ended up playing each other at Trivia for hours!!  Glenn was in surgery for almost 5 hours - I was getting pretty impatient by the time I finally got the phone call that he was in ICU.

The surgeon talked to us when we arrived - said the triple bypass had gone smoothly and he had also done a "maze" to hopefully take care of Glenns' Afib problem that he's had for years!!  And then it was off to see Glenn in the ICU.

He was hooked to every tube imaginable - he was waking up and of course the tube was down his throat - he kept looking at me with hurt in his eyes and shaking his head no - I knew he wanted that tube removed but it was to be almost another hour before that happened.  Jaime and I went to grab some lunch as it was just too hard to watch Glenn with that tube down his throat - by the time we got back up, they removed it.

Glenn spent the first night in the ICU with round the clock nurses at his side - he was so thirsty but wasn't allowed to have even ice till evening.  I knew he was in good hands when I left him that night to start the hour long trip home - it had sure been a long day but I was so thankful that he had come through the surgery just fine.  I know I had many, many people praying for Glenn and I thank all of you for your prayers!

And so it was to be for the next 6 days...............a journey to the Springs early each  morning to spend the day sitting with Glenn!

Memorial Hospital has a great little snack shop and I was there each and every morning for my coffee!!  They made a great caramel mocha and I loved reading their "board" as I stood and waited for my coffee!

 Jill came on Wednesday to spend the day with me - she brought drawings that the kids had done and we hung them up on the wall so Glenn could see them!  That morning Glenn was moved out of ICU and into a double room - the guy next to him had 5 to 6 visitors all the time!  They were quiet and not bothersome but it's still tough to have another person in the same room - luckily Glenn made quick friends with his RN that day and she insisted that Glenn have a private room so by evening, that's where he was - his own room with a beautiful view of the park across the street and the mountains in the background!

 The nurses and techs were all so nice at the hospital - I got to know several of them and it was interesting to see who Glenn had for the day when I arrived.  Unfortunately he was nauseated most of his stay in the hospital which meant it was hard for him to eat much. 

Thursday Jessi, Gary and Gwyn came to visit - again there were more posters to hang from the kids and Jessi brought along pictures too to put on the wall!

I had brought pictures of Glenn's garden for him to see that day - it's looking great!!

 Glenn sure enjoyed seeing Gwyn and even holding her for a minute!!  What a cutie she is!!

 Because Glenn wasn't eating much at all, his sodium level dropped and the nurses told him he couldn't have any water - any FREE water that is!!  Free water means no water all by itself but he could have it mixed as a lemonade drink.  I laughed when I heard another heart patient in the hallway walking by with his tech as he said "Well that's a bummer - that guy has to pay for his water."

 Glenn's days were spent resting, walking at least 4 times a day, breathing through his "breathalyzer" machine as I called it and trying to eat a little to regain his strength! 

Friday Jaime, Brad and the kids stopped by.  Kylan had also wrote a note to Papa and Rayna had brought her favorite photo of her and Papa when she was a little girl!!

Friday was also Jessi's birthday!!  Happy Birthday to my baby who turned 34 years old!  Yikes - I'm feeling older and older!

I actually left the hospital early on Friday to have a massage - trust me, I needed it!!  Unfortunately my gal was running way behind so I had to wait almost an hour but it was well worth it!  Then it was a race home for a showing of the house so it ended up being a long, long day!

We had BOTH hoped that Glenn would get to come home on Saturday but that didn't happen - his sodium level was still too low and then his potassium dropped.  It wasn't one of his better days at all and he even ended up getting 2 pints of blood as his hemoglobin was low.

And then it was Sunday and we thought for sure he would come home but again, sodium level was too low!  But he felt SO much better on Sunday and looked like his normal self so that was a good indication that Monday would be the day!! 

4th of July

Happy Birthday to Aleah who turned 6 and Happy Anniversary to Robby and Jill who celebrated their 12th year together!!  It's pretty rare we ever to get spend the day with them - this year they were in Iowa so I'm sure they all celebrated with the Iowa bunch!!

Our 4th was pretty low key!!  In some respects I wish I was out camping and ATVing with Glenn but since the 4th fell on a Saturday, I know most camping places would have been taken!  Traffic was bad on Sunday evening................

But Jaime and Brad and the kids were camping on their property so we spent a lot of time together!!  Friday we were out there in the afternoon and Glenn caught this awesome trout in the pond!!

 Saturday the skies were pretty gray so they all ended up coming our way for the afternoon and part of the evening.  We played Mexican Train, watched a movie and had a yummy meal as they had brought elk steaks to grill and a broccoli salad and I added a fruit salad and corn on the cob - yummy!!  Kealy was camping with Rayna and she's always fun to have around!!

Sunday afternoon we went back to their property for a while and then back home to enjoy the fish with friends who came over that evening!  Sometimes the nice quiet 4th's are just what a person needs!!

Wedding and Family

To continue our Iowa trip, Saturday morning we headed to Charter Oak to see Aunt Nadine and Uncle Don.  Cousin Brent with his 2 kids, Micah and Zander, were also there!  Nadine had prepared a delicious brunch for us and we talked the morning away!!

 Don and Nadine are my godparents and have always held a special place in my heart!  Although I don't get to see them too often, it's always an enjoyable time when we do get together!

 Late afternoon we headed to Mapleton for Jeremy and Laci's reception.  Jeremy is my nephew and they were married in a private ceremony that afternoon.

 It's always nice to get a picture of the 4 of us siblings as it's not very often we're all together!!

 We enjoyed a great meal, drinks and lots of dancing!  And we saw many, many people from the Soldier/Moorhead/Whiting area that we knew so it was fun to catch up with them!

 Jeremy and Laci sure make a cute couple and their reception was wonderful!

 Sunday we headed to Glenn's moms place - and shortly after headed to Blue Lake for a picnic with Glenn's sisters.  Always fun to see them when we go back!

 This is a picture of a keel boat like the one Lewis and Clark used on their expedition.  There is a new huge building that we walked through with lots of neat exhibits and exploration tales.

 Then it was off to Neal and Jen's home that evening for a barbecue. Chance and Maggie were excited to see us although I didn't even get a picture of them!!  Todd, Leslie and Nedelle were also there so it was fun to see all 3 Iowa grand kids!!

 We spent the night at Lolly's and Glenn worked on a couple of projects before we headed back to the airport late Monday morning!

I always enjoy flying via Omaha - it's such a small airport and so nice to get around!  Plenty of time for a GOOD cup of coffee before boarding the plane and homeward bound!