Nov. 18-24, 2018 Surgeries for Dh's eyes, Migraines, and Dd sick

Nov. 18-24, 2018 

Surgeries for Dh's eyes, Migraines, and Dd sick

 Hello Friends!

Friday Dh stopped by Immediate Care to find out what was going on with his head--he was seeing flashes and having head pain and headaches.  He thought it was a cold, then, he thought it was a reaction to the cold medicine, then he thought it was a migraine, then he thought it was his new glasses, then he thought it was his blood pressure....three weeks later after trying everything he could to fix the problem he *finally* decided to heed my advise and go to the doctor!  Before taking Dd down to Indiana for Thanksgiving and nine days of hunting, he stopped by the Immediate Care place to check it out.    The doctor said he had a Detached Retina and needed to see a specialist that day!  (Friday)  The specialist scheduled him to have his cataract removed on Monday so it would make it easier for him to have his retina fixed on Tuesday.  It was a long weekend and a long week.  

Dr. Gindzin: Ophthalmologist

A new doctor performed the cataract surgery, we only saw him on Monday, before and after the surgery.  It was Dr. Gindzin we say on Friday night and who performed the Detached Retina on Tuesday.  Wednesday we went back in to see Dr. Gindzin to see how the well the surgery turned out.  It felt like the whole week was spent in medical buildings!  Dh has to keep his head down, can't really sleep or walk or see!  He is trying to learn how to live with his head down, but it is hard.  It is hard having to get him dressed, tie his shoes, and all sorts of little things that are tedious to mention.  Each day after the surgery, Dh improved a little bit.  The follow-up appointment on Wednesday went well.  The surgeries both went really well and the prognosis has improved so much!  Dh will be keeping his eye and his vision should return.  Dh is doing a great job keeping his head down 24/7 and the doctor can tell by how the eye is healing.  

Eye Drops:

I have to put eye drops in Dh's eyes 4x per day, three different kinds of drops, with at least 5 minutes between drops.  He needs a lot of care and time each day.  

Job:

Dh contacted his work after the surgeries to let them know what is going on.  He didn't want to tell them the news until he had a better idea of what we were looking at.  Dr. Gindzin said IF Dh had caught the retinal tear sooner it would have been an easy fix; but he didn't know and took weeks before going to the doctor which turned this into a major deal..  The paperwork we received from Dr. Gindzin said Dh would be recovering until FEB. 20th, 2019.  So, this isn't a quick fix kind of problem.

Thanksgiving:

Since Dh and Dd were supposed to be in Indiana, and I was planning on being alone, I hadn't planned anything for turkey day.  Dd and I made a run to the store and bought two chickens to bake.  I made one of those Salt Bakes--- where you encase a whole chicken in boxes of Kosher salt mixed with egg whites to form a hard shell to bake your chicken in while in the oven.  The recipes always say the chicken won't taste salty; but every time we've done this recipe our chicken is salty; tender and salty.  I also made a Herb chicken, using LOTS of herbs from our summer garden.  Thanksgiving was very different this year, as we usually order lobster with Giz and Grampy.

Judy:

You never know who is going to shine in your moment of need.  For us, Judy D., from our church, really made a huge effort to send love and care to us during our time of need.  Do you know she offered us a turkey for our thanksgiving?!!!  When I told her I'd never baked a turkey and so figured I better stick to just having chicken she offered me cooked turkey!  She said she had already cooked it and would love to share some with us!  Isn't that just incredible?!  She texted us a number of times this week to just check in and encourage us.  We really were so impressed at the extent of her love and care during our hour of need.  It was just really, really nice.

Migraines:

Last week was 4 of 7 days, this week was 5 of 7 days of migraines.  This has really been a hard month---as my tardy blog posts can attest!  So far the Botox shots haven't made any improvements in my pain/migraine management.

Dd went to the Movies:

While I was on the sofa with a migraine, Dd met with Lexi to go to the movies!  They saw Wreck-It Ralph together.  Afterward, they went to dinner and got to chat and catch up with each other.

Garden:

We had a break in the weather this week.  While checking on my clear plastic hoop houses I noticed some big rips.  Believe it or not, I got out my needle and thread and sewed up the holes.  It isn't easy to sew plastic in the rain...slick on slick!

Visit:

Doris and Charles A. showed up at our house on Saturday with some soup and biscuits.  What a dose of humility!  Our house was very messy and they had to step over boots to get in our front door!!  But, it was so kind of them to come and support Dh.  When we first started attending our church, it was this lovely couple that first invited us over for lunch at their house.  Doris is the heart of our church---so loving and welcoming!  Thankful.

Christmas Box:
I've been working on the Christmas box for my nephews this week.  Throughout the year I pick up good books, the past two weeks I've been writing and drawing on the inside of each book.  My brother said the boys like having me pick which boy gets which book and I write their name inside.  I'm wrapping each book so they will have more fun unwrapping the books.  I'm hoping to mail them out soon so I can send them Media Mail; which is cheaper!

Academic Progress:

Bible:

Church, Sunday School, and Youth Program

Word of Life Bible Study on her own each day.

Volunteering:

No volunteering this week

Grace Classes:

No classes this week

Next Week:

We have a new appt. with Dr. Gindzin to see how Dh is healing.

Dd's Grace classes start back up.

Lots of snow in the forecast!  Hoping December will bring some much-needed sunshine.

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