THE ELEPHANT WAVED HIS EARS (WHAT HAS NOT BEEN EATEN)

He has cooled our temperatures to the high eighties.  That, my friends is so much better than than one hundred four and one hundred eleven.  Believe me!  The lower temperatures and partly cloudy skies have been marvelous.  

In other ways, that darned cat elephant keeps trying to trip up John.  He has had a few tests ordered by our physician and every one of them presents a challenge.

The first test was a bone scan.  John has osteoporosis.  We knew that.  When I married him, he was just under six feet.  Then he was five feet, eight inches!  Then this test determined that he has lost, yet, another inch.  I had a feeling that he had because he seemed closer to me when we would stand and talk.

Then a blood test revealed that he is just at the demarcation line indicating diabetes. grrrrr.  On Monday, we went to his first counseling session regarding diet, testing his blood sugar, and exercise.  

Monday evening, he reported to the lab for a sleep study.  And you guessed it, John has sleep apnea.  Since he has been home from the hospital, I seem to hear every change in his breathing, often just making sure that he is still breathing.  I decided that he did have sleep apnea and told his physician who ordered the test.  

During the test, they woke him up and placed him on a cpap machine.  cpap stands for continuing pressure air pressure.  It is a quiet machine that makes sure the patient breathes properly.  John said that when he awoke, he felt better than he had in "who knows how long."  

So now, we are going to have a cpap machine and the machine to check John's blood thickness since he is also on a blood thinner.

Me?  Wellll, I'm on an anti anxiety medication.  I wonder why? hehehe  To help the stress and since we are finally off a heavily traveled country road, I have started walking again. 

As soon as it cooled down a bit, I purchased a good pair of walking / hiking shoes and Oliver, Olivia and I 

have hit the trails here at Brown County State Park.  

The kids and I took a walk after dinner which was a wee later than normal.  We started out on the park road, went to the nature center and there found a Discovery Interpretive Trail.  It was a short trail, but up and down the hills and ravines.  The walk to the nature center and the trail added up to be a good workout for me.  

On my way back another walker said that a very young fox had just crossed the path and maybe I would see it or at least hear it.  I was unable to do either.  The only wildlife I have seen so far is squirrels and an unidentified bird that I could not get the camera out fast enough to take a picture.  

Not much exciting to report, but life is what it is.  I'm off to fix dinner!

God bless y'all

  

ELEPHANT? THERE'S AN ELEPHANT IN THE HOUSE?

Well, that elephant had better look for another place to live............ as of Saturday morning WE HAVE ACCEPTED AN OFFER!!!!!  The house is not officially sold, but the paperwork is in progress!  We unofficially consider it sold.  


The buyer is the one that shot us such a low ball.  They finally threw in the towel, made us another offer and it was within five thousand of what we wanted....so we accepted their offer.  


A year ago, we had said we would be very happy if we could get what they offered, but this year we set our sights 5K higher.   Silly me / us..... 


It took two months and two days from listing to accepting their offer.  Who said this is a bad time to sell a house?  Karen in the Woods sold her house in about a week less time than we sold ours.  Answered prayer all around.  Why am I always astounded when things like this happens?  God is faithful, what else can I say?

Last week was full of physical therapy and doctor visits.   He is walking on the treadmill and learning how to breathe.

Are we having fun yet? 

He works on strength in his legs.  Pretty soon he is going to be able to leap tall buildings!

John with his "coaches"

I even worked out on the machine next to him.  I need the exercise too.  Sitting, reading a book while he is working out just does not seem right, does it?  

It's mandatory and in the rule book 

Don't tell anyone, but that recumbent bike is not fun.  Next time I am going to get on the regular bike.  I'm just too short for the recumbent.  I have not done these machines since my knee replacements and it really felt good to be at it again.  


 It seems that John is right on the line between diabetes and not.  His physician is sending him/us to meet with a dietitian and a nurse for "training."  I look at this as a perfect opportunity to re-learn how to shop, cook and eat the healthful way.  


I need to loose weight.  I have lost twenty-five pounds by using Zija and as a result of John's struggles.  I still need to get rid of more pounds.  


John's weight loss while he was in intensive care and at the long (short for him) term adult rehab hospital brought his weight down to where it should be.  But his doctor said if they did a body mass test, he would have too much fat and not enough muscle.  Guess where the fat is? So he needs to loose his middle and gain muscle.  I probably could do some of the same, but shave the weight also.  


Friday was vet day for our cat Noah.  When John came home from the rehab hospital, he and his buddy, Noah reunited and John mentioned that Noah had mats behind his ears.  


We were so busy running to doctor appointments and physical therapy that I gave Noah's mats no thought until last Thursday.  I called the vet and asked if she could take a look at them since I was unable to cut the mats out without cutting flesh.  


Friday, we went to Hillview Veterinary Clinic.  Noah has been a patient from the day Hillview opened and feels that he has the run of the clinic and hospital since he would stay there when John and I were at llama shows. 


This time Noah knew there was a big problem and decided to take up residence under John's chair.  Finally, he came out and let vet Jennifer look at his "bumps" behind his ears. 

 Jennifer began to remove the mats, but then the skin came off too.  It was not a pretty sight.  But soon Noah was "fixed up"  and sported a new neck band that remained around his neck until yesterday.  Today, he is looking as handsome as any twelve year old cat.  


Today, Oliver and Olivia went to the spa.  They were so neglected while John was sick.  Olivia got a drastic hair cut.  Oliver lost some hair, but not much.  He is much easier to comb out and does not mat like Olivia.  


I think that is the last of the problems that resulted from John's "adventure."  


And this is the last paragraph of a too long blog.  


Thanks for stopping in to read my ramblings.  God bless you and your travels or activities.