General update

Things are slowing down a little around here. Daddy went back to both of his dermatologists a couple of weeks ago. The surgeon added a different cream for his nose, because the other one hadn’t reacted as well as he had hoped. He has already finished with this new cream, and it has REALLY reacted this time! The doctor wants it to heal up for about 6 weeks before we go back and he schedules his Mohs surgery. He looks terrible right now, but it really hasn’t irritated him much…which is great. The other dermatologist told him to use the original cream on a couple of other places on his face to see if it will heal them up instead of having to freeze them. We won’t go back to see him until after he is finished with his Mohs surgery, so that gives us a reprieve from both of them for awhile.

He also saw the pain management PA last week, as a follow up from his injections. The steroids caused his blood sugar to really spike, so we don’t want to do those again! They want to watch him for another month and see how his pain level is and what happens with his blood sugar. They may go in and cauterize those nerves, which would provide pain relief for 6-18 months. Or Daddy may decide that he can live with the pain, since he can mostly control it using Tylenol.

We saw his primary care doctor yesterday. He is still trying to get Daddy’s blood sugar under control, although it is doing better now that the steroids are wearing off. Daddy is also having a lot of swelling in his legs, which they are trying to improve. We go back in a couple of weeks to allow the doctor to check on that and see the results of some more bloodwork that he ordered. Thursday, I take Daddy for a echocardiogram to see what his heart looks like. He had been diagnosed by his previous primary care doctor with CHF, but it was based solely on bloodwork. This doctor wants to get a look at his heart function to see what kind of shape it is in.

Dennis and I are changing to Daddy’s primary care doctor. I talked to them yesterday when I was there with Daddy and got the paperwork to fill out and scheduled an appointment for both of us to get established with him. Our old doctor is retiring and we aren’t very happy with the doctor that is taking over his practice. Plus this will simplify things…working with just one doctor for all of us!

Saturday before last, we spent the day at Sheila’s apartment. She had a couple of jobs for Dennis to do to help her get ready for Nam – rhymes with ham. (She has decided to leave Nam as his first name and make Josiah his middle name. Since he is almost 4 years old, it would be harder for him to adjust to being called a different name than he’s used to.) He also took measurements to build a bench seat that will be set in front of the fireplace. Us girls went shopping, looking for material to make a cushion to go on top of it. We also did some fun shopping (I found a cute toy) and bought some clothes from Kids to Kids. It was a great day!

Then this past Saturday, Sheila and I went to Bellamy’s first birthday party. Poor thing was SO tired by the time the party started, but she did great. She was much more interested in running around the community center in her walker, chasing the other kids and trying to escape, than in presents. She did enjoy the icing on her cake though! After the party, Sheila and I went over to Kay’s to visit for a couple of hours. I knew Dennis would be tied up most of the day in a men’s study, so I wasn’t in a big hurry to go home.

I went to court on my remaining CASA case this morning, and it has been extended for 6 more months. I had really hoped it would be over before Nam comes home, but that ruined that! I will try to remain on the case after we start keeping Nam, but it will not be easy. At least Dennis will be available to keep him if I have to leave for visits or meetings or court. I’m still planning on taking some time off when this case is finalized.

Sunday is our monthly potluck and singing. Layne/Heather and Jamie/Renee have been trading off hosting it every month. They will both be in Vian this weekend, so Dennis and I decided to have it here this time. Our house is still not what you’d call company ready, but we do have room for the smaller crowd that we’re expecting. We aren’t having an out-of-town speaker this time, so it will just be us locals minus the 2 families who will be in Oklahoma. I don’t think anyone in our group will have a problem with our bare concrete floors or disheveled den (where we are storing the china cabinet and work supplies). It has been a long time since we’ve had anyone other than family over, with all of the upheaval from our remodel. We are both ready to change that!

I had my 6 month checkup with my cardiologist yesterday. Everything is good, except I’ve had a chronic cough that we think may be caused from my BP medication. The doctor wanted me to quit taking it for a week to see if I could tell a difference. If so, then we’ll change the type of medicine that I’m taking. He hates to change it without good cause, since it is doing a great job of controlling my BP now. I go back next Wednesday to see what we are going to need to do.

Dennis hasn’t been working on the house much lately. He got the large cabinet installed over the freezer, but that’s all. He installed shelves for Daddy and Bobbie in their apartment, and he’s been working on a project for the grandsons. It is also time for him to get his deer stands and feeders ready for bow season in October, so he’s been working on that quite a bit. He brought his stand and feeder that he had in Spur back home to use at his local hunting spots. He doesn’t plan on hunting back out at the farm anymore. He’s never killed a deer out there, and it is too far to drive to try to maintain his equipment (the wind out there kept blowing things over and tearing them up!). I doubt much will get done on the house until after deer season. The fall is Dennis’ time to enjoy his favorite recreation…and he really needs a break from the house!

Our vacation is now less than one month away, Lord willing!  Whoo-hooo! I am looking forward to turning my phone off and spending 8 days having fun with no responsibilities!

Well, I guess that’s about all for now. Take care, all!