Going Home

I told Pat this evening that I wanted the lyrics of this song. So she got them for me, and also showed me this video. I told her I want this song for my funeral.

Friday, March 13, 2009

As of today, I now have a Last Will and Testament and a Trust. It was expensive, but undoubtedly worth it. On top of that, our drive to the attorney's office let me enjoy a beautiful, sunny, spring-like day.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

I've been home now for about 10 days. Which means I have been walking down and back up the stairs once a day every day during that time. When I was at The Berkshire, I only did stairs once or twice a week. If that! This week or next week, we will see if I can do the stairs twice a day!!

I also walk to the bathroom and back by myself (using a walker) during the day. I wasn't doing that at The Berkshire either.

I have two young men, Tom the physical therapist and Andy the occupational therapist, who each come to visit a couple times every week to direct my exercises. Medicare pays 100% of their visits for the first month or so (I think).

All in all, I think I am doing pretty darn good, considering!!!

Monday, February 9, 2009

Surprise!!

I am home! Paul and Pat came to retrieve me at 1 PM this afternoon. However, it was a surprise for the Berkshire staff, too. So it took them all afternoon to "take care of the paper work." We finally got home at 6 PM. Home health care will begin tomorrow, they say. A physical therapist is supposed to come 3 days a week.

Miss Kitty was so happy to see me. And I was happy to see her, too.

Friday, January 30,2009

Today I did the stairs at therapy just a nice as you please! I went down the steps while holding onto the railing with only one hand, and then went back up without any assistance, just like a normal person!!

So, Tim (the physical therapist) says that maybe I can go home in "a week or two"!! That would be before Valentine's Day! He's somewhat hesitant, however. He thinks I am still too weak.

Besides climbing stairs, I just need to learn how to get out of bed without assistance, and into and out of the bathroom without assistance.

Saturday, January 17, 2008

I have now been here at The Berkshire for six weeks. I did the stairs twice this week (at MY request). And I am getting proud of my arm muscles (from my physical therapy exercises). Only a couple of the women who were here when I first arrived in December are still here. After Rosemary goes home, I will be the one who's been here the longest, I think. (She arrived in October, so her ninety days maximum stay are soon up. )

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

On Christmas day, I had several visitors: Paul and Pat came at noon and ate lunch with me. Then in the afternoon, Melissa and her family came. While they were still here, Dara showed up with her family. And then in the evening, Jenny and her family came and sang a Christmas song. On Saturday the 27th, Chris and his family dropped by. I was in bed, but I got up and showed them how I could walk with the walker. It was so nice to have so many visitors.

So, I am still here at The Berkshire. I did six stairs down, and six stairs up yesterday. But today, after I went down, I was too weak to go back up, so Tim had to boost me. Pat told me not to be depressed about it, and I said, "Why not?" And she said, "Because the power of positive thinking really does work. I think I can. I think I can," she said, referring to the Little Engine That Could. I didn't say anything because I couldn't think of anything nice to say back.

Thursday, December 18 2008

Yesterday at The Berkshire, where I am undergoing physical therapy, the heads of staff met in my room to discuss goals and expectations. Some of the goals I will have to reach before going home include being able to navigate stairs and get into and out of bed without assistance. They projected that I would probably need to stay here another 3 to 5 weeks in order to accomplish those goals. They also expressed their opinion that I am doing well so far.

Tomorrow I will be transported to the surgeon’s office for a follow up examination of my hip replacement surgery. A hospital transport van will pick me up in my wheelchair around 11 a.m. and drive me to Dr. Smith’s office in Provo, and then back to The Berkshire. The weather report indicates we will be driving in some rather challenging wintry, snowy conditions. I hope it doesn’t turn out to be too much of an “adventure”!

Paul and Pat originally thought I might be home for Christmas, but that was a bit optimistic, to say the least. Now it looks like I might not be home until mid-January. I will be sad to miss out on the family gatherings on Christmas Day, but it is for the best. Nevertheless, I sincerely hope that everyone has a Merry Christmas!

Tuesday December 2, 2008

The bad news is that I broke my left hip on Sunday, November 30 at noon. Oddly enough, I didn't know it was broken, so I was still walking around (a little) until late Sunday evening. But, by midnight, I could no longer put weight on my left foot at all. It was a long hard night.

The funny news is that five very handsome, strapping, young men (2 paramedics, 2 firemen and a police officer) all came crowding into my little bedroom Monday morning to "rescue" me and take me to the hospital. I heard them coming -- their sirens, you know. I think they must like that part best of all. All this commotion caused a sensation in the neighborhood. Jenny came during the excitement and asked me if I wanted her "to contact the bishop" [inside joke--LOL].

The good news is that my surgeon is supposed to be the best bone surgeon around. The surgery is scheduled for about 5 p.m. today. I will be getting a hip replacement (rather than a "repair"). The reason the surgery wasn't done yesterday was the surgeon didn't have the necessary "parts" nor his special surgical team.

So, wish me luck. And offer a little prayer that the surgeon will do his best.

Friday, November 21, 2008

I went to Fantastic Sam's this morning. Naomi cut and styled my hair. So I feel like a new woman! I was lucky today because there were hardly any other customers. I didn't have to wait at all. Usually there is a lineup waiting for Naomi.

When I got back home about an hour and a half later, little Eva (14 months old) came toddling over to me with her arms outstretched. She wanted me to pick her up, the little charmer, but I couldn't because she is quite a chunk for a little girl. (I can barely pick up "Missy Kitty" who weighs only 7.5 pounds)

Later on, Mary Dollahite phoned to ask me to make visiting teaching appointments for us with Suzy D. (the Stake RS President) and Kathy K. So, I have an assignment that I will need to take care of real soon. This week and month sure have flown by!

Now back to watching TV . . . . . . .

Thursday, November 13, 2008

This morning after my monthly visit to Dr. Mathews, my rheumatologist, Pat took me to KMart to see if we could find me a pair of slip-on shoes for Church.

This adventure was NOT a Cinderella Story. (Unless, of course, I am one of the Ugly Stepsisters! LOL) I think I tried on every shoe possible. And none of them fit decently. Part of the problem was I didn't have any nylons to use while I tried them on (I was wearing regular socks--makes a difference!).

I did, however, end up bringing one pair home, but I may have to return them. The last time (two years ago) we went shopping for shoes, we went to several stores on the same day. Now, however, I can only endure one shopping adventure at a time. "Shop til I drop" takes me only about 20 minutes!!

Monday, November 10, 2008

This ‘n’ that:

I talked to my son Bob on the phone last week after he emailed to say that Kelly had suffered a stroke. Kelly had been splitting firewood when it occurred. He was immediately taken to the hospital where a CT scan revealed the presence of a blood clot in his brain. He was released from the hospital a couple of days later. He currently has difficulty naming some things, has a lop-sided smile, and will need therapy. But he is expected to fully recover.

I also talked at length to my daughter Anne on the phone on Sunday. It’s nice to get caught up on the news. She said that Linda’s boy, Zach, seems to be improving. (See Blog posted, Sept. 11, 2008.)

I read the novel, Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner, last Thursday and Friday. This book is the current selection of our Relief Society Book Club. I knew that I had read the book previously, but could not remember much about it. So, it was good to reread it. The Book Club’s selection last month was To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee. I first read that book when it was originally published back in the 1960s. I was glad to reread it, too, because there was a lot more to it than I had remembered.

Friday, October 31, 2008

I performed my civic and patriotic duty today--I completed my absentee ballot, and Pat took it to the County Clerk's office in Provo for me. So, lets all celebrate Freedom and America! (I hope you like this video. You will need to first turn off the playlist songs at the bottom of the page so that you can hear the music on this video.)

Monday, October 27, 2008

Things are back to normal again. Paul and Pat went on a short cruise last week (they left here on Monday morning and arrived back on Friday evening). So, I was on my own, more or less, during that time. Except that Jenny came to visit every day to check up on me, and Jenny's kids came to play with Miss Kitty and to talk to me. Of course, I was also hooked up to Rescue Alert in case I fell. And there was an additional monitor in my room. The refrigerator was stocked, and I had a standing invitation to dinner at Jenny's house. So, Miss Kitty and I survived quite nicely thank you very much!

We had another birthday party here yesterday evening. It was Joshua's fourth birthday. So, Melissa's family, Jenny's family, and Jeremy's mother joined Dara and her family here at 6 PM for cupcakes. It was such lovely weather here yesterday, too. I got to Church and back via my wheelchair. It was so nice to be outside and enjoy the perfect temperatures and bright blue sky. We noticed that there is just a little snow remaining on Timpanogos from the snowstorms of a couple of weeks ago. The good weather is supposed to last into November. Here's hoping it lasts a very long time.

Wednesday October 8, 2008

Last month when I went to see Dr. Mathews (my rheumatologist), he decided to test my B12 levels because I said I was tired. When I told him I had been taking B12 supplements for a month or so, he said B12 taken by mouth doesn't work for people older than 60 because they don't digest it properly. Old people have to take B12 by injection, he opined.

Well, he sure was wrong on that one! Yesterday when I went back for my monthly checkup, the nurse practitioner said my B12 levels were very high!!! She was actually a little concerned because too much B12 can damage your liver, she said. But, I just thought it was so funny how wrong Mathews was about my taking oral B12!

After I got home from the doctor, I tripped and fell in my room, landing on my knees. I yelled for Pat to come and help me. Luckily, Paul heard me and he and Pat picked me up. Pat wanted to know why I hadn't pushed my alarm button. I told her I didn't want to answer all the questions the "rescue alert" people would ask. So, now my knee hurts (along with my pride).

"Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!"

Thursday October 2, 2008

Yesterday, I went to visit Dr. Hillam (my general practitioner) to get my blood pressure medication renewed and faxed to Medco. He also took a blood sample for some tests to check my kidney function. He said my last blood test had a total cholesterol of 150. He was impressed with that and said it was better than his (he's young)! He told me I should go to a physical therapist to get some muscle strength back. But I said no. So he said I should exercise in my chair doing leg lifts and doing weight-lifting with light weights. And Pat said that I should start using my walker to "take a spin" around the circle in the neighborhood. I think that all this talk about exercise makes me tired. I said I would start going down to get my own breakfast. (I've not done that since before I got pneumonia in June.) This morning, however, my head felt funny, so Pat brought up my pills and breakfast for me again. Maybe tomorrow.

Today, I filled out an application for an absentee ballot and mailed it off to the county clerk. Pat had checked online to see if I was actually registered to vote, and I was. She also found the absentee ballot application online and printed it off for me. It's so nice to have things so easy because of the internet!

Sunday September 28, 2008

Yesterday Pat and I went out to eat dinner at "Mimi's" in Orem with three of my grand-daughters: Dara, Melissa, and Jennifer. We planned on having this "girls' only" outing, after which most of us would go to the annual Relief Society Broadcast at the Stake Center. I had chicken gumbo soup, a salad, and a giant-sized Honey-Wheat Muffin. Everyone had something different and unique. We were there for at least an hour, and I was stuffed.

We stopped back at the house prior to the Broadcast and two of us opted out of going to the Stake Center afterall. I was one of the ones who decided I'd had enough "outing." I actually watched the broadcast on TV as a rebroadcast 2 hours later. More comfy and relaxing at home. President Uchtdorf was the First Presidency speaker; he talked about his cooking fried eggs and burning toast; he admonished us to be compassionate.

Monday September 22, 2008

During this past week, three of my great-grandchildren celebrated their birthdays: Eva Card (age1), Caleb Hyde (age 5) and Jacob Hyde (age 3).



The first celebration was for Eva here in Orem at Pat's house on last Monday evening (15th).

Eva takes a dainty taste of her cupcake.

And then, a double celebration took place in Salt Lake City at Christopher's house for Jacob's and Caleb's birthdays yesterday, Sunday evening.

Blowing out the candes on the cute dragon cake made by Tammy.



Two birthday boys and the Great-Grandma.

I sat on the back porch at Chris' house in one of the rocking chairs while the party swirled all around me. [It was sort of like the party in "Where the Wild Things Are" when Max said, "Let the wild rumpus start!!" LOL]

I had a cupcake and ice cream--and got hypothermia from eating all that ice cream (and from the cool of the evening). Don't worry: I warmed up in the car on the way home.

Wednesday September 17, 2008

Not to be morbid or anything . . . .

Yesterday, Ralph O.--a funeral planner, came at the appointed time to give us some information and answer questions.

Some of the information he gave us had to do with the high cost of dying these days. It turns out that if I died today it would cost more than $6000.00 to have a modest, simplified, yet dignified burial. I was surprised. The average cost, he said, runs in the vicinity of $7500 to $8500. And the costs keep rising every year. In just a few more years, the average cost will be $10,000.

One of our concerns was how my body would be transported from Orem to St. George. I was a bit shocked when he said one of the options was Paul could load the casket onto the back of a pick-up truck and drive it down there himself! (That's too weird for me! Too weird for Paul too.) To have the St. George mortuary drive up to retrieve me, would today cost about $750.00. It would cost more than that to have the local mortuary drive me down there.

So anyway, I picked out a casket that I liked. It is white with brass colored trim and a pale pink liner. Do you like it?

I named those who would be potential pall-bearers (Grandsons, Robert Klar, Chris & David Hyde, Kelly & Robert Holmberg, and Great-grandson, Drew Nakai). Honorary pall-bearers would be my son Bob, and sons-in-law Brent and Paul.

I named those who might speak (Paul, Anne, Bob, Linda, Dara). Of course, I can change my mind about any of those things. What would YOU like to do? Musical selections and prayers still need to be figured out, too. The hardest decision was music for the services. I like so many of the hymns that I couldn't decide. I know I have granddaughters who sing, that would be nice. So, I still have things to work on.

Don't worry, I am not "planning" on dying any time soon. Paul says I am going to live to be 100. Nevertheless, this pre-planning will be my gift to my children when I die.

Saturday September 13, 2008

Today I had a big day: I went to the Utah State Fair up in Salt Lake City. We left Orem around 11 a.m. and got there around noon. It was a lovely sunny day with perfect temperatures. For Fair food, I ate a foot-long hot dog!

We briefly saw Robert Payne with his four kids (Elena, Jordan, Thomas, and Eliza) who were basically done with the fair when we found them. Dara took the following photo of me and Paul at the Little Farm Hands attraction that she and Jeremy took Joshua and Eva to see:

Then we watched Dara and Jeremy take their two kids down the giant yellow slide. While we were there watching, this next photo was taken:

The children with me are my great-grandchildren, Ethan, Drew, Baylie, and Cammie Nakai (Jennifer and Andy's kids).

Next, we looked through the lovely Home Arts Exhibits, the Floriculture entries, and the Photography display. By then, everyone was tired, so we left and met up at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi for ice cream. I had a big scoop of strawberry ice cream with strawberry sauce on top. We arrived home right around 4:20. Pat asked me if I was "worn out." I replied, "Worn out??? I'm DONE IN!!! (I don't know why--all I did was sit!)"

Thursday September 11, 2008

Yesterday afternoon, Danny and Linda and Zach [The Irvings--Linda is Anne's daughter] stopped by here on their way home to Elmo (down by Price, Utah). They had gone to Salt Lake in the morning to take Zach to Primary Children's Hospital. Eleven-year-old Zach has been suffering from painful swollen knee joints among a number of problems. He is unable to walk without terrible pain. His iron level in his blood is extremely low. He is pale and has been losing a lot of weight. The people at the hospital took blood samples for more testing, but had little to offer in the way of a diagnosis. Linda just recently began giving him lactic acid to aid in digestion seeing as how he is so malnourished now. The lactic acid seems to be helping a little bit.

Today I looked in one of my RN training textbooks, and Zach's symptoms seem to point to pernicious anemia.

Monday September 8, 2008

I finished the Joseph Smith Biography yesterday, and started on Ghost Soldiers (a true story of the Bataan Death March prisoners of war and their subsequent rescue).

Meanwhile I am having seasonal allergies: sneezing, etc.

Thursday September 4, 2008

I went to see Dr. Mathews, my rheumatologist, this morning. I have to go there every month. So, I also could tell a few tales about dealing with doctors, nurses, and desk girls who can be so aggravating. Dr. Mathews is probably one of the most arrogant men on the planet. He gets really huffy if you express an opinion contrary to his. Today he was wearing a medium blue dress shirt with a pink striped tie. It seemed such an odd combination. I wondered if he thought he looked fashionable. I didn't say anything--I was much too polite to draw attention his attire.

When it came time to make my next appointment (5 weeks away in October), there were no openings unless I wanted to come at 7:45 in the morning. I'm barely functioning at that hour. I usually don't get up until 8 a.m. or later. This was the first time I've had trouble scheduling an appointment.

Later on, when Pat got my prescriptions filled at WalMart, apparently Dr. Mathews had not written the prescription clearly, and the pharmacist gave us only one vial of Methotrexate instead of the usual two. So Pat had to drive back to WalMart to see what the deal was. The pharmacist was embarrassed, and ended up giving Pat her money back, so that I got my MTX for free! The Pharmacist said the refund was to pay for her gasoline!

Meanwhile, I am on page 527 of Joseph Smith, Rough Stone Rolling. I will probably finish the book today or tomorrow.

Monday September 1, 2008

Labor Day. This morning before 9 a.m. Jennifer and her family departed to return to Beaumont. Everyone trooped up to my room, gave me a hug, said goodbye, and promised to come back real soon. After they were gone, "Miss Kitty" was running around the house looking for the kids, and seemed irritated that they were gone!

It got so chilly in the house this morning that I finally closed my window and had to put a sweater on! And there's even a bit of snow on the top of "Y Mountain"!

Saturday August 30, 2008

I went to Fantastic Sam's yesterday and got my hair cut and styled by my favorite stylist, Naomi. It had gotten quite frizzy from the last perm I got in July. So I feel much better now.

Jenny and Andy and kids arrived on Thursday evening for the Labor Day weekend. Today there will be a cookout here later on this afternoon with Chris and family, Dara and family, and Melissa and family gathering (about 20 people in all). I hope it doesn't get too hot or too windy.

I am a little more than midway through the biography, Joseph Smith, Rough Stone Rolling. The actual text is about 600 pages long. I am learning things I never knew before.

Tuesday August 26

Yesterday I started reading Richard Bushman's book on the Prophet Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling. I read for several hours, then fall asleep for a short nap. Then watch TV to get my blood moving again...

Monday August 25, 2008

This morning when Pat was giving me my MTX injection, I remembered the time when I was working for Dr. Rudolph; that the doctor gave an old man an injection into his vein. As he was doing it, I noticed that there was an air bubble in the syringe, but I didn't say anything. Several minutes later, the man died. Dr. Rudolph tried to restart his heart, pounding on his chest, but it didn't work. I stood there helplessly watching....

Around noon, I remembered that it was my sister Margy's birthday today. I tried to phone her several times but the phone was busy. I finally got through around 5:30 PM our time. We talked for about half an hour. Margy said she didn't go to her granddaughter's wedding in Logan a couple of weeks ago. I told her about my adventures going to California and back in July. I asked her if she had the internet so she could read my blog, but she said she didn't know how to do it, but maybe when Suzette came to visit her she could help her to learn how.

Sunday August 24

Watched the Tabernacle Choir Broadcast this morning; got dressed for Church. Today we drove to Church in the van. The previous three weeks I rode in the wheelchair to Church with Grandson Drew Nakai pushing the chair on the 3rd and 10th and with Pat pushing it on the 17th. Today, she said it was too hot, so we drove instead. It was a missionary farewell today. Made me cry.

When we got home at 4:15 p.m. I could hardly slide off the van seat: Too much sitting!! (Church was 1 PM to 4 PM.) Had tuna sandwiches and grapes for supper.

Saturday

This morning Pat crept into my room while I was still asleep at 8:15 a.m. and left my breakfast tray for me. I was awakened shortly thereafter because of all the voices downstairs in the kitchen. It was another "Waffle-Side" (sort of like a Fireside, only different) for the Ward youth. That started at 8:30 and went until about 10:30 during which time I crept around upstairs so as not to make any noise.

Pat came up after that to change the sheets on my bed. After my shower, Pat put my hair in curlers for me. The cat came up and sat on my lap for awhile and then slept on my bed. Throughout the day I have continued to watch the Olympics (not too much exciting going on); so, what is Michael Phelps doing in London? I know they are talking about the next Olympics four years from now maybe being in England. I wonder if I'll still be around to see it? If I live another 4 years, I'll be 90 years old!

Rings and Things

Continuing to watch the Beijing Olympics. I have been watching the Olympics every day since the opening ceremonies began on August 8th. I turn on the TV at 8 or 9 a.m. and turn it off at 11 p.m. I am DEDICATED!

I think I am gaining weight. My rings aren't loose like they were.

Photos: Summer 2007

May: roses for the birthday girl: 85 years old!


Albuquerque for Audrey's baby blessing, Memorial Day weekend.



With feet in 4 states (Four Corners)--with wind blowing like crazy!


At Thomas' baptism, August 11, 2007. Jordan in background.

On a September morning, with newborn Eva Card--youngest great-granddaughter.