For Laughs

We are back home after spending Christmas week in Idaho with Cowboy's family. We had a great time and I'll post about it later, with pictures. We are relaxing at 'Home Sweet Home' this morning. I am catching up on email and a few blogs that I enjoy.
I recently discovered KellyJean, a funny lady in Colorado (one of my favorite places in the world) and her blog is very appropriately named laughingalwayshelps.blogspot.com
She is having a contest of funny stories and hers are the best. She invites visitors, go and laugh.

It is good to be home!

Puppies Revisited

It was a quiet day at the Clinic today. Rainy, winter weather,kids off school, pre-holidays; a slower time in most vet clinics. The staff scheduled 2 hours for a lunch pizza party and Christmas gift exchange. All enjoyed.
I decided to share my last appointment of the day.



Remember these puppies from my post on November 1st? They were the cute results of an emergency C-section. Delivered eight pups and eight pups survived.


This lovely family came in tonight with the puppies for their exams and first vaccinations. What a room full of fun and energy.





These two little guys were just adorable! And more than willing to pose for pictures. A very good way to end my work day.....

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Thanks for the comments and good thoughts.
Last week I dropped Jerry off with friends daily while I worked. Kind of was like taking a kid to day care; leaving the house a half hour early, making sure he had all his meds, phone, warm clothes, trying to remember to pick him up after work, getting home late. It was good; he got to visit, I had the piece of mind knowing he was being watched over. He's doing well. So this week he is here, home on the ranch, on his own. He is not supposed to drive for another 3 weeks (at least), I have to drive him anywhere he needs or wants to go. This has turned out to be a very good thing... I am getting the driving instruction and critique that I must have somehow missed all these years of pretending to drive. It must just be my wonderful luck that kept me from tickets and accidents all of these unenlightened years! He is not to lift over 8 pounds. He is feeling feisty..... I have to be very clever about getting information. He bragged a bit about exercising with my 8# hand weights, I'll have to hide those now. I need a 'nanny cam'.
The news is on TV, bummer, they are showing the local ski resorts and snow and skiers. Dang. Snow skiing is such a passion of mine and I am most disappointed to be missing opening weeks. I am working at getting my injured leg in shape! We go to Idaho for Christmas week. The original plan was to go skiing with Jerry's son and grand kids. Now the plan is to sit in the lodge and drink alcohol while we watch the healthy folks ski. Yea
Three weeks later than originally planned... yesterday Jerry made an offer on the log house mentioned in a previous post. Another offer had just been made and now a counter-offer considered. We didn't hear back today so I am guessing that house has been sold. Our search will continue....
I just spellchecked (is that a verb?) I mistyped alcohol as alchol and one of the suggested corrections was 'asshole', how strange.... go ahead, try it yourself.
On that note....good night.

Sunday Peace

Home from the hospital for just over a week, and it has been a busy but good week. Another calm, peaceful Sunday here. The following pictures were taken last Sunday, today was much the same.




Remington leisurely lopes in to get his grain.

The hay seed in the field is just starting to grow. The 'Live Oaks' stay green all year. Snow capped mountains in the background. (ski tease)

My horse adores Jerry, all critters like him. This was 9 days post open-heart surgery.

Rock and Cheyenne madly race in at the breakfast call. (if I crop this picture, appears as wolf attack)

Most of the calves have been sold, a few small ones remain with their mommies. This one is the fuzziest. And he likes to taste his nasal discharges......

Home Sweet Home

We can see the storm clouds over the Sierra Nevada... which means... yep, we are home, and so thankful to be here. What was the first thing we did? Some of you will guess correctly. I drove up aong the pasture fence, called the horses, they trotted up and welcomed Jerry home. We came inside and were greeted by a colorful, cheerful banner, made by a dear friend. Jerry settled down in his recliner, fell asleep, and probably rested better than he has in over 10 days. I know I'll sleep well cuddled in our own bed again tonight.
This blog started out as a way to share the trips and pictures we take. Odd how it has become a journal of maladies.
It will be a winter of healing. I tossed my crutches away into the bed of my pick up truck about 3 days ago. Now I will concentrate on getting my squished leg back to normal. I doubt I will be able to ski this season.
Jerry has 6-8 weeks of no driving and then an additonal month of no physical labor. This will be tough on him. But he has such a positive outlook on life, he'll do fine.
We've talked some tonight on how very much we have to be thankful for.
And now I am going to drink a cup of tea and get ready to sleep in my very own bed.

From the Hospital

It has been 10 nights since Jerry's heart attack. Last night was our 9th night here at the Veteran's Hospital. Before surgery I just slept in his room, since surgery, they haven't let me stay with him all night, I've been staying in guest quarters that the military provides. I am lucky they have had a bed for me available each night (the veteran's come first) and it has saved us plenty and allows me to be close.
Jerry has had the urinary catheter removed and the chest drainage tubes were removed yesterday. The tube removal was planned for noon yesterday, and the plan was to give him pain meds about an hour before. At 10 am, one of the doctors came in, announced she had time to remove it, had a nurse help and yanked the thing out. It caused him MUCH pain for about 2 hours. I was furious! The nurse warned us that he would need pain meds for the procedure and warned us about some doctors that didn't seem to care. We thought we were a step ahead. I lose all respect for a doctor who doesn't care about patients any further than the procedure at hand. That actually was the first negative experience we've had here.
Jerry is doing well. Good appetite. Blood work coming back in acceptable ranges. Doing plenty of walking. Bored and wanting to go home. We are hoping he will be discharged tomorrow.
I spend most of the day in the room with him. Neither of us are TV watchers, there's not much else to do here, so we flick through the channels making negative comments and wondering how TV programming got so bad. Discovery channel has some good stuff. Animal planet is sometimes OK, the rest... 'thumbs down'.
Remember as kids in 4-H or scouts, we went to 'old folks' homes for Christmas programs? Well let me tell you those programs are valued! Last night I was on the receiving end. The hospital had its' annual Christmas Craft Fair for the veterans and dependents here. WOW. Jerry is a prisoner of the ICU but encouraged me to get out. They had very nice box dinners to hand out, I ate. The large hospital auditorium was filled with tables for various groups and their craft projects. There were lots of patients in wheel chairs having a great time and a few of us wives too. What an appreciated break and it was most fun being entertained by the enthusiastic kids helping. There were scouts, Church groups, civic groups, ladies clubs, etc. I made a small Christmas tree, an ornament, leather worked a key ring, wood burned a picture frame, and decorated a Christmas stocking. Tooked them all up to the room and gave Jerry an early Christmas. He almost cried, I just love that man, he didn't even make fun of the elementary-age-art appearance of the stocking, just insisted I hang it on his wall. We have not been together long enough for him to know that I lack artistic abilities, but I don't think he cares....
Time now for me to get a cup of coffee and go up to ICU and ask Jerry what he has planned for the day....
My love to you all.

Update

Jerry is recovering as expected. Today was a painful one and he slept much more than yesterday. His sons and I visited him less to allow him more uninterrupted sleep. He is dealing well with the pain and the temporary loss of independence and is stubborn about accepting all of our offers to help, which is quite healthy I believe. His grandchildren were able to call him today which brought huge smiles to his face. He spent most of the day in the hospital recliner, he is much more comfortable sleeping there than on the bed. I just want to get us both home.

The 'boys' leave tomorrow, early; I'll drive them to the airport at 5 a.m. Their flights are about 2 hours apart. I will miss their help, their support, and their goofy-funny-friendly antics! The nurses and everyone loves them. I wish they were staying longer.

This hospital is the most nurturing place I have ever experienced. I have met and been touched by incredible veterans of all ages and stages of health here. One day I will share some of those stories.

Last night I slept my first good sleep since last Monday night. Tonight I am restless. I was up and in the ICU by 5:30 am, I should be tired. I miss home, I hate seeing Jerry so painful, everything seems so abnormal and 'out of whack'. We will be here at least another week we are being told. I am so grateful and thankful that everything has been as it has been, he is alive and his heart has been repaired.

Tomorrow one of his best friends and wife will visit. He will like that. Jerry has many 'best friends', people like him and he likes people. He's a very social animal. Unlike myself and my need for regular times of solitude. Have I mentioned that I just want to get us home? ;-)

Please would all of you expand your prayers and include all of the veterans and families?

Peace.