Sad News.... :(

My Dad and Brother in 2008

Hey Ya'll,

This has been a post long coming....and I want to apologize for not posting in so long.  But so much has been happening here!!

1st off, my Dad passed away on February 8th of Lung Cancer.  He fought a long and painful battle, but decided to stop Therapy about a month before he passed.  Our family misses him so much, but knowing that he is no longer in such constant pain helps with the grief.  Per his request, we had him cremated, and buried along side his parents whom he loved dearly, and missed so much the last 13 years of his life.  We have not had a service for him yet, he requested that we wait for at least a month and just hold a Memorial for him.  Thus giving family members from out of State the opportunity to make plans to attend.

My Mom is holding up as good as can be expected.  They were married for just under 57 years.  So she is grieving but is also glad that he is no longer suffering.  However, now her own suffering is showing even more.  Her own Medical issues have escalated.  And now it seems that we are to add Alzheimer's to the list as well.  She has not been in to the Doctor and diagnosed with it, but I have felt for some time now, that she was at least in the early stages of it.  And now the symptoms are much worse, and more of the family has noticed it as well.  I spoke with her this morning and she has another bad Cold.  I tried to get her to go to the Doctor, but she says it isn't serious.  But I could barely understand her, and with her already having COPD, and almost constant problems with either a Cold, Bronchitis or Pneumonia, I am definitely concerned about her.

As for me....well, much has been happening with me too.  First off, Walt is planning on trying to get work out of the Country (like Saudi Arabia), and I don't want to live out of the Country, especially now that my Mom could also be passing away soon too.  So I have moved into an apartment, while Walt stays in the RV (so no one will mess with it).  So for the last couple of months, I have been packing/unpacking now!!  Plus having to search for furniture, etc.  But I am in the apartment (a nice big 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom unit on the ground floor that is handicapped accessible).  Thank god, as I couldn't do stairs now.

Walt is going in for Back Surgery on Tuesday (3/26), then will stay with me at the apartment for at least a week and a half, if not longer. 

Then on Wednesday (4/24), I will be having Back Surgery too!!  We are both having Lumbar Laminectomy's done.  His will only be on L4-5, mine will be on L3-S1.  But Dr Lynch (who did my Cervical Fusion), doesn't believe that either of us needs a Fusion....which is good, because a Fusion could mean that we need further Surgery in the future as the Fusion causes stress on the Vertebrate above and below the Fusion, whereas, the Laminectomy just releases pressure on the Nerves, etc, and unless the Arthritis causes further Bone Spurs to regrow, and cause trouble during our lifetime, we won't need further Surgery, at least not on the same Vertebrate.

I may also be having some Surgery on my right Hip this year.  I went in for a Hip MRI with Contrast on Friday (which in itself was an experience!  The Injection of the Contrast took almost as long as the MRI did), so I should find out soon what the Orthopedic Surgeon thinks.  So far, he thinks that he can end my pain without doing a complete Hip replacement.  He is hopeful that he can just go in and get rid of the Arthritic Bone Spurs, etc for now.

I also had my Blood Work done on Friday for my follow up to my Gastric Bypass.  This will be my first set of Blood Work since Surgery.  Now get this, I did the Blood draw at 2 pm.  By 7:45 pm, the Lab had called my Doctor and reported that my Potassium levels were at a Critical Level!!  And she in turn had called me in a prescription for Potassium, and called me at home to tell me!!  Just 2 months ago, my Potassium level showed that I was low, at 3.4, where 3.5 was considered the low end of what is acceptable, so now I am at a Critical level??  She didn't tell me what the level actually was.  So I am to call my Primary Care Physician tomorrow, to make an appointment with her, and to get Labs redone in 2 weeks to see if the Potassium medication is working.  And because the Potassium pills are apparently very large, I am prescribed liquid to take 2 times a day!!  Yuck!  But....the consequences of not taking it, is great.  So I am taking it, no matter how distasteful it is!

Anyway, this is not all that has been happening, but I won't go into any more detail.  I just wanted to let you know that I am still alive and well, and doing relatively fine. 

Oh, by the way....I am now down to 169.2!!  Woo Hoo!!  I have about 30 more pounds to lose.  I am not losing as fast as I would like to, but as the saying goes, the closer you are to goal, the harder it is to lose!!  LOL

Till next time....

Aloha My Friends