Doctors, taxes, back roads then a little chaos.

Our last day of our Hill Country Trip (3/25) David sent me a picture of Momma Cow #8 with her new baby. Don't you just love Baby calves.

We both thought Hailey #6 would have hers first. She is so big and her udders look about to explode.  She better hurry or they just might.

David and I went to the Giddings Nursey in of course Giddings to check out their plants and roses.  We came home with a fun red and white rose, a Peggy Martin Climber and a petite red rose for Pamela's planter.

All so pretty and healthy.

Before going on the Mother Daughter trip I had a doctors appointment so I could get the surgical release, get a chest x-ray and bloodwork ordered to get my knee replacement surgery on 4/26 but while there I mentioned how much it hurt when I cough, sneeze, hiccup or laugh in my back and side. When I first hurt it David put some CBD lotion on and could feel a hard knot. Doctor felt it too but she didn't think anything was broken but they could  x-ray the rib area too just to see what was going on.   Well surprise surprise.... the x-ray results came back with a note from the doctor saying I had actually fractured 2 of my left ribs. Really! How does someone fracture their ribs by bending over and twisting while pulling weeds?! Obviously I can. Leave it to me.   A bum right knee and fractured left ribs.  I'm doing good. Anyone know how long it takes for ribs to heal?  

David got the results of his nuclear stress test and EKG saying he was going to be scheduled for a heart cath on 4/7 and most likely they'd put a new stent in for the one he got back in 2008. 

For April Fool's Day we convinced ourselves it was cool enough for a fire on the patio. The fire got hot but it was actually just cool enough to enjoy if you didn't sit too close.

It was pretty.

Finally on Monday 4/3 our last cow, Hailey #6 had her baby calf.

It was so cute and fluffy. Maybe she can get some udder relief. Poor thing

 Later all three of the calves were curled up together but when I stopped to take the picture they scampered off but this one hid behind the tree. LOL

On Tuesday 4/4 we had to take our tax paperwork to the accountant in Temple. It was quick and painless. Let's just hope when she's done it will still be painless.  LOL   We left there , ended up in Granger, found something to eat, shopped in an antique mall and then we took off on some back roads to see what we could see..  And we saw lots of beautiful property, bluebonnets, windmill, old farm equipment and a pretty catholic church.  It was a very fun and relaxing day.

The bluebonnets just went on forever. Gorgeous.. My picture doesn't do it justice.

 

The church looks so stately with it's steeples and all the windows. They just needed some stained glass to finish it off. I guess they didn't ask me. LOL

After our backroad adventures that night we were watching TV when the dogs started barking like crazy in the back yard. David hollered at me to grab my phone and come outside.  I couldn't believe it, 3 tiny baby bunnies were next to the fence and Bruno and Sadie wanted them real bad.  I went in the house out through the garage to go save the baby bunnies.  I walked right up to them and they never moved. I picked each one up and moved them to the other side of the garden where the dogs couldn't see them.  They were so sweet.  And yes we know they will get in the garden but we can share. 

     

Wednesday 4/5 I had to go do bloodwork. Yahoo. Couldn't wait says no one.  I thought I was gonna walk out a quart low. She kept filling those test tubes.  Like 8 of them.  Good news is that when the results came back it was all in the normal range. Well the A1c was a little high but it keeps coming down. 72 pound weight loss is working.  Doc was happy with the new trend. I am too!  When I got home I had to do a zoom class for Joint replacement. That was fun. Not. Around 5:30 or so they say all dental work should done at minimum 30 days prior to surgery... Wait What?!!  I have a teeth cleaning in the morning in Houston.  Doctors office and Dentist office are closed now...... Crap.  While Driving to Houston I called the surgeon to finally get confirmation that I could not get my teeth cleaned. Luckily the hygienist is a cousin by marriage and I had texted her directly the night before that she may only be doing David's teeth and why.  Fun Fun. They at least got x-ray's of my teeth. 

That same evening I got a call from Joe saying he had to call an ambulance for my Mom. She had fallen out of the bar stool in the kitchen and he couldn't get her up.  He has been looking for an assisted living facility for her but he couldn't decide. The hospital is going to to help him decide because it's getting too much for him. Plus he's getting ready to get a pacemaker and he'll need eye surgery after the pacemaker is done. Yep the last 10 days have been crazy. I keep telling Joe I'll help the best I can but I'm limited in lifting because of my ribs and knee so he needs to get some in home health care because I'm dealing with my health and David. Plus the fact that I'm leaving town on the 16th

Now back to David. Friday 4/7 we went in the hospital for David's heart cath.  They did indeed go in and found the old stent was restricted and the artery was 90% blocked. They put in a balloon to expand the 2008 stent and inserted a new medicated stent. When David came back in the room he was not feeling well and was in a lot of pain.  He had reflux and his chest was hurting.  They started off thinking it was all the plavix they had given him and other meds but after giving him something for the reflux and then nitro under his tongue, plus ran a new EKG and they rushed him back to the OR. Okay things just got real scary for both of us. But before they rushed him out he got real sick. They told him to turn his head to the right and they were coming with bag.  I'm like umm I'm on his right so hurry up with that bag.  Nurse Becky made it just in time. The nurses that prepped him and the OR nurses were all GREAT.  Pamela was working upstairs and Nurse Chad kept her informed and me of what was happening.  They all kept making sure I was okay.  I wasn't gonna be okay until David was back in the room.  Finally they brought him back and it was the David I knew. He was wise cracking and made the nurses laugh.  Apparently the 600mg of Plavix  they shot him full of hadn't started working fast enough and a blood clot was trying to form in the new stent. They took care of it and he is on his way to recovery.  They had plugged the incision they made in the right groin area and couldn't go back in there and had to go back in on the left groin area.  He was pretty swollen until Sunday and he's still very black and purple all the way across between incisions.

He had to stay Friday (4/7) night and this is one time he didn't complain. He was too tired and sore to complain. I helped him escape Saturday by around 11 am.   

I'm not sure Joe fully understood the severity of the situation with David. To top it off Joe's surgery that was supposed to be on the Monday the 10th got rescheduled when I'm not in town. Things couldn't get more complicated.

Now let me tell you a funny part of David's excitement. When they first wheeled him into the OR the nurses and maybe the doctor were talking about getting dirt. David perked up and goes "Dirt".  How much and where did you get it?  LOL So they're talking a few yards. David goes I got y'all beat. I had like 1000+ yards trucked in to fill the furrows left by the tree farm that was on the property.  Oh Lordy this man and dirt.  The OR nurse Clayton came in to check on David after the 2nd go around and they talked about dirt and rocks again.  Pamela came down to check on her Daddy and looked at me like why are they talking about dirt and rocks. I just laughed and go "It's your dad"

Baylor Scott & White cardiology took great care of my man. And he kept them laughing. 

I get home around 8:30 and unload some groceries I picked up from the curbside after leaving David to rest at the hospital. Around 11 pm I'm getting ready for bed when I hear the cows bellowing. I knew that sound and it meant a calf wasn't where it was supposed to be.  I look out the front window and see a calf standing at the stairs by the front porch. Awesome and I'm by myself. I get my shoes back and I think to grab Bruno's loop leash to maybe use on the calf. After sloshing through water puddles in the yard and trying not to fall I got my chance. About 12:15 "Little Shit" was distracted by all the cows at the fence and I slipped the leash around it's neck. That's when the fun began but first I was gonna take the opportunity to pet this little fluff. Then I took two steps and tugged. Little Shit (her new name) would tug and dug in her hooves. It was two steps at a time. Once though she darted past me and I thought NO NO NO I don't want to fall and be drug around. I didn't fall. I didn't hurt my knee and my fractured ribs survived. LOL I got her to the gate to the pasture but trying to get her in and keep the cows behind the gate was another challenge but I won.  David would have been proud of me. Yeehaw cowgirls.

Monday 4/10, I went and spent some time with Mom. I had to tell her who I was and she goes "Really"

They had put a food tray there but she couldn't feed herself so I asked if she'd like something to eat and she said yeah. I got her to finish off  1 1/2 Jell-O cups and most of the mashed taters.  Her teeth don't fit her mouth these days so eating the cubed up chicken wasn't gonna happen. And I got her to drink about a 1/2 cup of iced tea.  I needed to head home since it was a 2 - 2 1/2 hour drive so I told her goodbye and that I'd come back and see her again soon. I bought her a soft pink bunny at the gift shop to keep her company until then.    I was almost home when Joe called to say they were transferring Mom to a short term care facility down the road around 7pm and it was 6:50 when he called.  

I have my pre-surgery consult on Friday 4/14 and then I'm going out of town on a quilt retreat that was booked last year. There's no refunds now.  I've been trying to coordinate with venue owner on some details around all the chaos.  The owner said she was having issues with her father in laws health and I told her I feel her pain.  I've got her trumped with the chaos around here. 

David is feeling pretty good today (4/11). He even went outside a couple times to get the mail and inspect the yard. 

Repeat ...You have to keep smiling. You have to keep smiling.

Until next blog post.... At some point you just have to let go of what you thought should happen and live in what is happening