Update

Rainy Sunday morning. Another day in the Waiting Mode. Time passes slowly but things are going to pick up starting tomorrow. I have Dr. appts four days next week. Tomorrow I have to get several documents signed by witnesses. Oregon is not California or Missouri. Have to have specific information in a certain format. In the afternoon I will see the pulmonologist. Tuesday is my Pre Op Day at the hospital. Wednesday I see my primary care physician. Thursday I see the cardiac surgeon. Next weekend will be my last at home for awhile.

I am trying to stay healthy but it is hard. So no visitors. Still and all I have managed to get the sniffles. Hoping it doesn't turn into a full blown cold. Today I am on the couch knitting little squares for an afghan and watching golf on TV. I spend pretty much all my time on the couch or in bed. I miss being out and about.

My goal after the surgery is to able to go to the State Fair with Ember in August and go to Disneyland for her 5th birthday in December. The kids are planning a trip to the Coast for Mother's Day. Lots to look forward to.

Neighbors from Hell

I have had some annoying neighbors, some irritating neighbors, some loud neighbors, some unpleasant neighbors, some argumentative neighbors, some helpless neighbors, some needy neighbors, but I have never...never...had neighbors like the ones next door. They are all of those adjectives plus some. They are selling their place and moving which should be good news except they have been doing it a box at a time since Christmas and I don't see any end to it. Right now they are having an "estate sale" even though they are not dead (just old). All manner of rusty junk is laid out in their carport as if someone would want it. I understand (although I have not been in there and have no intention of going) that all their furniture has price tags on the pieces. They are going into a retirement home. I wonder if the facility is prepared for their comings and goings.

I don't know what they do, but he leaves at 5:30 a.m. every day to do it. She comes and goes and comes and goes, always with much door slamming and gate banging. They have some obsession with stuff and are constantly transporting boxes to and fro. They take stuff out but then they bring other stuff back. A rotating hoard. Yesterday I asked them not to leave the radio blaring when they weren't there, but...they blew me off and told me my house walls were too thin.

Of course, this is a known evil and the next residents could be worse although at the moment I can't think how. Be careful what you wish for, you might get it.

Friday Night

The first night since February 6th that I have been alone. My collapse occurred late at night and now Family is worried that it could happen again. I have been home from thehospital all week but one or another kid stayed over with me. I think I am better. Perhaps the pneumonia has subsided. That was sapping my strength and my breath. I am on a journey now and I think this is a good place to document what is going on.

Today I made two appointments for next week. The first is on Tuesday evening when the Lifeline representative will come to my house to sign me up for one of those safety gizmos that summon help. Seems like overkill at this time, but Family thinks it is important. Mainly because I won't need my glasses to push the button.

The other is the test Dr. Hart (what a great name for a cardiologist!) wants me to have in order to determine what damage needs to be corrected by surgery. I will go to the Northwest Cardiovascular Institute at 07:30 Thursday morning. It's usually an all-day outpatient procedure BUT I might have to spend the night if they decide to put in a stent.

Then there will be a meeting with Dr. Hart, the Surgeon, Family and me to talk about the future. Surgery is scary and there is always risk. I am apprehensive but my choices are limited.

That is where things stand right now. Stay tuned...

Health Crisis

Monday, February 6th I went to the hospital in an ambulance after collapsing from lack of oxygen. Diagnosis was pneumonia but turns out there are complications. I stayed a week and came home Sunday the 12th. Still on oxygen and very weak and shaky. I see the cardiologist on the 16th. Where do we go from here? Probably heart valve replacement. I am apprehensive about my future. Thoughts and prayers are appreciated.

Have a HEALTHY New Year

January is check-up time. I get these little reminder postcards. It has been 100 years since your last appointment. Call now to schedule your next visit. Tra la. The whole sequence started in January 2009 when I had a series of tests. Since then I have been battling a number of health challenges which seem overwhelming when I list them. Identified in 2009 were problems with heart (leaky valves), lungs (COPD), bones (osteoporosis/scoliosis), & joints (arthritis). My eyes, hearing and teeth are doing okay.

So I might be getting new glasses today. I hate that part of the exam when they touch my eyeball. Yewww. But I wouldn't mind some new frames. Time for an updated look. I see older women with their frames from the 80's and I don't want to look like them. I got these frames in 2006. Times up.

Tomorrow I see my primary physician and start the chain of referrals and tests. Somehow, despite all the ailments, I feel pretty good and able to enjoy my life. I just keep chugging along with my paisley cane and my very expensive designer orthopedic shoes. But the medical folks want to keep tabs on me. So I go along and check in every January.

I will turn 75 later this year. It is hard to acknowledge old age and accept the physical limitations. My big fear is that I will lose my brain. It already has some holes in it. Which is one reason I have this Blog and I'm on Facebook and Twitter and Ravelry and Goodreads. Trying to keep current in the Electronic Century. I even bought a Kindle.If the body betrays me, I hope to still have my brain.

Winter's Wrath

As I sit here at my computer my house is rattling and shivering in the high wind that is sweeping down out of The Gorge. Portland metro area is being battered by a vicious winter storm. Tonight the prediction is for icy rain. We have had several days of snow and rain and flooding and traffic accidents and stalls and slides and cars and people swept away by rushing water. Houses in the hills have mudslides. Conditions at the Coast are dangerous and the mountain passes are impassable. Down into the Willamette Valley homes are lost to floods. Hundreds of big rigs are lined up at the entrance to The Gorge which is only three miles from here. Even with chains on they will have trouble navigating I-84. It is dangerous out there but thankfully it is the weekend and sensible people can stay safe.

This is the 4th day I have been voluntarily housebound. Warm and safe on my couch I have watched all the devastation on TV. And heard almost constant sirens coming from the nearby freeway. The creek down the road has flooded and my ingress and egress is limited if I wanted to go anywhere which I don't. I am high and dry here. Thanks to Amazon and my Kindle, I can order a book without leaving the comfort of my home. The power is still on so I have heat, my computer, and my coffee pot. The cell phone still works. If the power goes out, I can stay warm in my car which has a full tank of gas.

Some people have suffered devastating losses. My heart goes out to them. For some it is an Act of God and the weather. For others it is stupidity. Some of the rescue stories are hard to believe. People went camping! People tried to drive through four feet of standing water. People cleared all the brush off the hillside which then slid down on their neighbors below. A couple got lost in the grocery store parking lot and drove into the creek where their baby drowned. How do you live with something like that?

This is a night to go to bed early and plan to sleep in tomorrow morning. Grateful that I am warm and safe.

Weekend Weather

We have had some very unseasonal days so far this year. Beautiful sunrises every morning. Bright starry full moon nights. NO RAIN. Today the weather has shifted and rain is pouring down. Very gray and dreary and I am glad to be inside and warm and dry. This is the Oregon Winter I know. And hate. So depressing. I am a sunshine person and I have been transplanted to this soggy wet place. The only reason I stay is for my children and grandchildren. Family is everything. But frankly, it is a lot to put up with.

So the K's save me. Knitting and Kindle. Oh...and coffee. I am grateful that the newspaper is delivered right to my front porch. No getting wet involved in retrieving it. The mail is a different story. The bank of boxes is across the street and there is no way to get the mail without getting wet. Sometimes I struggle out and then there is nothing but junk mail. I used to get a handful of bills but now I do everything online. Paperless.

I will tell you...TV sucks on Saturday afternoon. And this week's movie from Netflix is for Ember. 101 Dalmations. One of her all-time favorites. I watch HGTV amd I do like Househunters International. Virtual travel. But tomorrow is Sunday and Masterpiece Theater. My favorite show this season is Downton Abbey. Something to look forward to.

My sweet little granddaughter will be here soon and she'll stay overnight. We'll make popcorn and wrap up in blankets on the couch and watch the movie. I enjoy these times we have together. She's old enough now for us to have real conversations. She has opinions! And a great sense of humor.

So Winter begins. Maybe snow tomorrow. Maybe not. Can't trust those forecasters.