day 565 after transplant

 

Hello to everyone!

We celebrated Palm Sunday(also known as Holy Week) today. Pastor Steve had a very good message today reminding us what Jesus went through this coming week. He was about to be denied,beaten and nailed to a cross for our sins. This was not an easy thing for Him to do but He loves us so much. Did we deserve such a gift or more important what can we do to give God the glory?

Now, for my week, in one word BUSY! I took Rodney’s mother to UVA for eye check up. She is doing better and the doctor is hoping to remove her stitch this Friday. She felt that she is ready to go back to her apartment. She has a neighbor come in to put her eye drops in. I kept Audrey three days this week. She will soon be crawling and then the fun begins.

Thursday Rodney and I both went to the dermatologist. I had a precancerous place on my lip blasted and Rodney had two places on his arm blasted (this is from too much time in the sun on the Air Force flight line). It is very important to take precautions when out in the sun.

Saturday Rodney spent most of the day outside working in the yard and flower beds. It just about drove me nuts that I could not be out there with him. I stayed inside and did laundry, some cleaning and cooking. Rodney really abused himself and he could hardly make it in the house. I was afraid that he would really feel it the next morning but today he did ok. That old arthritis is really kicking butt. 

Monday I go to the dentist for a cleaning and Tuesday I take Rodney’s mother to the dentist – she broke off a tooth (when it rains, it pours). I have some sewing that I need to do and I will keep Audrey a couple of days. On Friday I take Rodney’s mother to UVA and hope to get back by noon so we can leave for NC for Easter week-end. We are looking forward to getting away for the week-end and spending some time with the kids.

I pray that you will have a wonderful Easter and remember that it is not about the Easter Bunny or hiding eggs.

Love to all,

Gloria  

day 558 after transplant

 

Happy Spring to ALL !

Spring is finally here and the weather has been absolutely BEAUTIFUL! This is my time of year.

Sorry that I did not blog last night but I had a very busy weekend and I was so tired last night that I couldn’t think clear enough to blog!

Tuesday I took Rodney’s mother back to UVA for her weekly eye check. She is progressing but not as fast as she wants to. She is still on a lot of drops and she is just not able to put them in herself. So it looks like she will be with us for a while. The doctor is hoping that she will be ready to have the stitch removed in two weeks and then we will see if she can have the other eye worked on or if she will have to have the same eye worked on again. Our prayer is that she will be ready to move on.

Wednesday we kept Audrey and the weather was so nice that we took her on a stroller ride. She sure does enjoy being outside.

Thursday was a big day. Had to be at MCV at 10:30. I had my blood work done and chest x-ray and saw the doctor before I had my bone marrow biopsy. The procedure usually takes about 20 minutes but this time it took about an hour because the doctor hit a soft spot in the bone and needed to find a harder place. I was glad when she said that she was done! She really did a good job. I won’t know the final results until I go back next month. The nurse brought me a copy of the results of my blood work and she was so excited to be able to tell me that they were wonderful. Thanks be to God. We ate a late lunch at Strawberry Street Cafe (a place that Ryan and Jennifer had eaten at last week and they recommended it). It was a really nice place. They have a bath tub salad bar.

Friday was a busy day with keeping Audrey and getting ready for Scott, Beth and kids (and dog) coming in. They got home in time for dinner and we had a good evening at home. One of the exciting things that happened on Friday was that I got a call from Laura at MCV telling me that the final results of my CT scan and pulmonary test that I had last month came back good. I do not have to take the antibiotic med now or use the inhaler! That is some good news.

Saturday we kept Audrey while Ryan and Jennifer decorated the church and we took all the grandkids on a stroller walk and then to the park. It was a beautiful day. Ramona and Bill(Rodney’s sister) was here for dinner. It was a good evening with all of us together.

Sunday was the big day for Audrey. She was so cute in her gown- will soon have pictures to put on the blog. She was as good as gold. Scott, Beth and kids left for home. Rodney and I said, “Ok, it’s boring now, what do we do now?”  It has been a good but very busy week. The next few months is not going to be any better – I have a lot of doctor appointments. I will get them done one at a time.

Have a good week and I will blog again soon.

Love,

Gloria   

day 551 after transplant

 

Greetings to everyone.

Another week is over and it was a very busy one and this week will be be just as busy. The week started out rather cool and by mid week it was nice and I could get out and walk. What a wonderful feeling to be able to walk the subdivision again – I took Audrey out for stroller rides – she loved being outside.

Monday I worked most of the day on Audrey’s christening gown. I hope that Jennifer will like it and that it fits Audrey. I made the gown, slip, bonnet and shoes. I am sure that there will be a lot of pictures taken. I will put some on my blog.

Tuesday I took Rodney’s mother back to UVA for an eye check up. We were hoping that the doctor would take her off her ointment medicine (instead he increased it to 4 times a day instead of 3 times a day!) and stop her pill but she is still on that. We go back on Tuesday. Pray for improvement, I know that it has been hard for her to be away from home and to have all these drops put in her eyes. She thinks that she is a burden on us but we are glad that we are able to help her.It has been a real challenge to keep up with the schedule for all of her drops. I keep telling her that we will deal with this one day at a time. I pray that the surgery will be successful and that she will regain her sight in her left eye soon.

Wednesday and Thursday I kept Audrey. She has “Mamaw-itis”, she wouldn’t let me out of her sight. She is really starting to get a little personality. It is such a pleasure to keep her and to see her learn new things everyday.

Saturday morning we left really early for Martinsburg, WV to the Veterans hospital. Rodney had an appointment with a dietitian. We are hoping that if he would lose a little weight it would help the pain in his hip and leg. I know that it will be a hard thing for him but pray for him. It is hard to see him in pain when he walks. It poured rain all day. We went on to Hagerstown, MD to the outlet mall to get some hard to find walking shoes for Rodney. We got home in time to give his mother her eye drops and to reset our clocks! It was a good day together.

Today it was still raining. We went to church and to visit Aunt Louise. We fixed lunch at home and then went to Wal-Mart to get a walk in (not a good day to walk outside). We stopped by to see our friends Denny and Pam. Pam was one of my wonderful caregivers when I was in Richmond after my transplant.

This is going to be a busy week ahead. Tuesday it is back to UVA for Rodney’s mother and Thursday it is off to MCV for my 18 month bone marrow biopsy (yes, it has been 1 1/2 years since my transplant)!!!!! I would appreciate your prayers at 11:00 that the biopsy will be painless and that the results will show that I am still ALL donor.

I am so grateful to God for my donor wherever she is and for the opportunity to serve Him in the way that He wants. I have said all along that God has a plan for me and I want to be obedient to His plan. I can not begin to list the blessings that I have received and I do not feel that I am deserving of these blessings.

I pray for a good week for all of you and I continue to thank you for your support and prayers.

God Bless,

Gloria

day 543 after transplant

 

Hello to everyone!

Well, this week has been a little more spring like – cold at night but in the high 40’s and 50’s during the day. I love it! Our front yard looks like spring and our back yard still looks like winter (still covered with snow).

Busy week with Rodney’s mother still here with us. We made two trips to UVA this week ( one planned and one unscheduled). She still has 13 eye drops everyday. It starts at 6 am and doesn’t stop until 10:30 pm.

I did get to keep Audrey on Wednesday and Friday. She is cutting teeth and had an ear infection on Friday. She was still in good spirits but she has “Mamaw-itis”. She wouldn’t let me get out of her sight.

I am still working on her baptism gown- I am working on the sleeves. It is going slower than I expected but I can only work on it at small bursts. I am hoping to get it done this week and then get ready for Scott, Beth and the kids to come in on the 19th.

I got my first Hepatitis B shot. I am scheduled for the second one the end of March. My shots are moving right along now.

Now for a little sad news, Wednesday Ryan and Jennifer made a very hard decision and they had Harley put down. They are taking this pretty hard, especially Ryan, so I ask that you say a prayer of healing for them. They gave Harley 3 wonderful years full of love, more than she would have had if they had not adopted her.

Yesterday we did spent the afternoon working in the basement, woodworking and picture framing. It really felt good to be down there again.

That just about does it for the week. Remember to smile and give someone a hug.

Love,

Gloria

day 536 after transplant

 

Hello to everyone!  Hope that all of you had a super week, full of exciting events. It is almost March and I hate to say this but it is still very cold here and they are calling for snow Tuesday evening into Wednesday. We still have snow from December 18 – we haven’t seen our yard since then!  I can hardly wait until spring gets here with the warm weather.

Monday I took Helen (Rodney’s mother) to UVA (Charlottesville – an hour away) for her eye surgery. She has been fighting glaucoma for years. We had to be there at 11 and we didn’t get home until 5. I was really glad to get back home because they called for snow and I didn’t want to drive over Afton Mountain in the snow. Her surgery was more complex than the doctor had anticipated. He is a perfectionist which is very good and he took his time to get every thing just the way he wanted it She could not stay by herself for the first 24 hours, so she stayed with us.

Tuesday we went back to UVA for post surgery check and her eye pressure was really high. He put her on three different eye drops in addition to her regular three.She has a total of 15 different times to put drops in her eyes, starting at 6:30 am and stops at 10:30 pm.There is no way that she could get these drops done correctly so she is home with us until we are comfortable with her being able to do her drops correctly. The nurse said that the drops are just as important as the surgery.

Wednesday back to UVA and the pressure was a little higher! More meds. and back to UVA on Thursday and again on Friday! Good news the pressure was down to a good number but we are off to UVA on Tuesday to see if the pressure is staying down.

I have said that God has a plan for me and I guess this is part of the plan. I don’t know where she would be if I was still working. I am so glad that I am available to be here for her.

That pretty well sums up my week. We did get to keep Audrey some this week. She has learned how to wave bye-bye! I also got a little time to work on Audrey’s baptism gown. I hope to get it done this week.

I got a call from MCV this week telling me that I am ready for my hepatitis A shots!  I also am scheduled for a 18 month bone marrow biopsy on the 18th of March.It is so hard to believe that it has been one and half years since my transplant The journey has been so amazing and I know that God is still in control.

I hope that you will have a good week and I will blog next week. God bless.

Love,

Gloria

day 529 after transplant

 

Hello to everyone. I know that it has been a long time since I have blogged. It has really been a crazy and busy week. I am so glad to be back to normal!

Last Sunday after church Rodney and I left for Richmond because I had an appointment at MCV Monday morning at 8 am. They called for more snow and so we felt that it would be a good idea to spend the night before. It was a good trip down. We had time to go see the clerks at Candlewood Suites and to go up on the 10th floor to visit with some of the nurses that took such good care of me when I had my transplant. My beautiful “fish bowl” room was vacant was to be filled with a child on Monday morning. We rode around Richmond until it was time to go back to the Hospitality House for the night.

Monday morning we got to the hospital for my 8:00 CT scan. They were on schedule but could not do the test until they got my orders – finally at 9:15 I got my test done. Next to the clinic for my check up and my blood work. I got my first hepatitis B shot. Next month they may start my hepatitis A shots. Moving right along! All tests came back really good. I asked if my pulmonary test and doctor visit could be bumped up so we could get back across the mountain before the snow. They were very accommodating and got me through very quickly. The pulmonary test was better than the last one and I still believe it was the tech that messed up the last test. As we left Richmond it was raining and as we got half way home we got into snow and freezing rain. By the time we got to Afton Mountain it was really foggy on top but on this side (home side) the sun came out! It was really cold but thank goodness we didn’t get the storm that they were calling for.

On Tuesday I took Rodney’s mother to Charlottesville to see an eye specialist because she has been fighting glacoma for years. She has lost some vision and she needs surgery, which is scheduled for tomorrow morning. I will be taking her and then she will be coming back to stay with us for at least one night.

I did get to keep Audrey on Wednesday and Friday and she is so good. Se learns new things every time I keep her.

Saturday Rodney and I hosted our Sunday School Class Hearts Party. It was a lot of fun and it was so good to be able to do this again . We had 21 people and a lot of good food and fellowship.

One last thing before I close. I have some very sad news to report. On my January 26th blog I put pictures of me with a former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher, Jim Bibby. I learned today that he died on Tuesday. Please pray for his family. His wife is a very charming lady.

I will try to get back on schedule and blog next Sunday. All of you have a wonderful week.

Love,

Gloria

day 515 after transplant

Hello to everyone – YES, I am still alive. I am just lazy I guess!

The COLD weather is still here and it is doesn’t look like it is going away anytime soon. Last Saturday it snowed all day and church was closed (that doesn’t happen very often). The kids did not go to school the entire week. Friday morning it started to snow again and it did not stop until Saturday night – 18 to 24 inches later.The snow was absolutely beautiful clinging to the trees. We woke up to –3 degrees this morning,that’s right I did say –3! Again church was cancelled. Guess what, we are not done yet, they are calling for more snow on Tuesday and then a possibility for more this weekend. Spring where are you?

I am really hoping that it does not snow on Tuesday.  I am scheduled to go to MCV for a big day. I go to the clinic, CT scan, pulmonary test and see the pulmonary doctor. We will have to leave early and get home late. I told Rodney that we should pack a bag just incase we may have to stay for the night. I really don’t want to miss this day because it took Sharon a long time to get this scheduled for the same day. She understands that we travel a good distance and we need to get as much done in one day as we can.

I was really touched this week. I received a very special comment on my last blog. It was from a lady in Augusta, GA and her dad is scheduled to have a transplant this Wednesday. She said that she felt that God led her to my blog! God is awesome! I would appreciate it if all of you would say a pray for this family on Wednesday that he will get along well with his transplant. When I hear from her again I will keep you all informed.

There is also a lady in the Charlottesville area that I have been emailing. She is also facing a transplant. I hope that my blog and email has been a comfort to her. God has been so good to me that I would like to help out other people that is about to go on their “journey of Hope”.

Today we went out to get some pictures of the snow. Below is an example. Enjoy!

 

There are two cars buried in the snow in the picture above, can you see them? They will be there until spring!

Take care and I will try to do better next week in blogging. Remember your sweetheart on Valentines Day!

Love to all, Gloria