February 2010

February

It was with mixed emotions that I left Bob in Atlanta yesterday and headed to Indianapolis to work. However, I’ve talked to him several times and he is doing well!  I’m not sure I was doing very well when it took me about 2 hours to go from Murfreesboro TN to Nashville this morning!  Patience is a virtue I’m not sure I had during that time! But what other choice did I have?

Bob is out of the hospital now .. I’ll catch up with him on Monday morning when we head back to Tampa.  He is doing better but will have to monitor the heart condition fairly closely. Thanks for your prayers!

Bob is doing much better tonight – he sounds much stronger and said he had made great improvement since last night.  Thanks so much for your prayers!

Well, I’m in Indianapolis and evidently we are going to be visited by a large snow storm – or a large storm with snow – or ice pellets first and then snow! I have no idea for sure except that we are to have 5-7 inches before early Saturday morning. Ugh! Take me home!

Slow down, curve ahead – that is life right now. Bob will be having open heart surgery probably within a week or so.  The cardiologist feels this is the best course of treatment – Bob had hesitated hoping to wait a little while but agrees that it should be done now rather than wait.  Thank you for your continued prayers.

Winter fix – check!  Snow fix – check!  Getting stuck at least one time – check!!

Bob is scheduled to go to the hospital tomorrow – he thinks he will have open heart surgery on Wednesday – will post updates as often as I can!  Thanks for your prayers for a successful surgery!! The surgical team is the same one who operated on a close friend of Bob’s a year ago. He has done extremely well and told Bob he won’t believe the difference in his energy level.

Bob will be talking with the cardiovascular surgeon later on this afternoon and will know then what time the surgery will be.  Thanks for your prayers.

No word on surgery time – a waiting game!! Lots of pre-op stuff but not a definite time.

If you watched American Idol tonight and saw Ellen comment to someone about not wearing shoes – that was Kasi!

Happy Anniversary to Roxanne and Chris!

Bob’s heart surgery is scheduled for 7:30 tomorrow morning.  Appreciate your prayers! He is not apprehensive – just anxious to get it done!

So blessed by our family – our four daughters, sons-in-law, grandsons and granddaughters have all talked to Bob yesterday and today!! What a blessing to have such a loving family!! My brothers, Mark and Thad and Mark’s wife, Shelley, are with him now.  Bob is not anxious about the surgery – trusting in our heavenly Father! Confirmed by the surgeon to be at 7:30 tomorrow.

Talked to Bob’s nurse in VICU, Atlanta Medical Center. He was back in that unit at 2:15pm and is stable.  Thanks for your prayers. I will be talking to his evening nurse in a couple hours and will have a further update.

Talked to Bob’s day nurse and she said he is doing well.  Sitting up in a chair (not sure if he’s been back in bed since early this morning.)  Thanks for your prayers!

Talked to Bob’s nurse this evening. He was sleeping, doing well and his nurse was expecting him to be moved out of VICU tomorrow.  So grateful that my brothers, Mark and Thad, Mark’s wife, Shelley, and my nephew, Jonathan, were able to see him today.  Tomorrow morning, Bob’s sister, Linda, and her husband, Tom, will be visiting. Susan and Tim are planning to visit as well!  We are blessed!

Bob is continuing to do well .. thank you for your prayers! He will be moved out of ICU as soon as a bed is available.

Bob is out of VICU and in a private room!  He is doing well, sounds raspy, of course, but is anxious for a good night’s sleep without all the “bells and whistles” of ICU! Thanks for your prayers!

Happy Valentines Day to a very special man to whom I’ve been married for the past 41-1/2 years! I am blessed!!

While Bob is recuperating, I am in the Pittsburg area working .. and wow, is there a lot of snow here!! Wish I could be with him but as they say, “you gotta make hay while the sun shines..”  Then again, I don’t think that’s appropriate for this time of year with all this snow .. !

Please pray for Bob tonight – he’s had a couple rough days although the doctors say this is normal. But it isn’t making him any less miserable. He needs to eat more and get some sleep!! So I guess that is my prayer request --- that he can get a good night’s sleep and eat more to gain strength!

Thank you for your prayers!  They worked!  When I called Bob this morning, he said, “I feel like a new man compared to yesterday!”  I told him I sent out a prayer request and he said before I told him what I requested, “I need sleep and I slept more than I have in a very long time.”  They are getting him up to walk today, too .. he sounded so much better and was so appreciative of your prayers!

I guess I must have had too much on my mind – went to put concealer on my eyelids and couldn’t figure out why the menthol smell – then realized I had just used chapstick!! You can’t make this crazy stuff up!!

Bob is doing better – sleeping better, eating .. continuing to improve!

Bob is doing much better – sounds like his old self (whatever that means!)  Thanks for your prayers!

Finishing up in PA tomorrow early evening and heading westward!!

Have been fortunate on this trip to central PA. .While there has been snow around, we have not had to drive in it! PTL!  Snowy roads and me – we are not a good mix for sure!! We’ll see how the last five hours go today!! Spent the night in Clarion, PA.

As Rachel and I were riding along today, we listened to “The Alpha and Omega” being sung by the Gaither Vocal Band and yes, I had the volume turned way up. Sure love that song but better pay better attention while driving and listening. Halfway through, I realized I was driving 85mph!!

Too funny – I told Bob we should get him set up on Facebook and figured I would help him .. imagine my surprise when I got a friend request from him last night! He found that very amusing!

RJ (who is almost 7) called me today and said, “I think it’s been a year since I saw you!”  He thinks I should come home soon.

From my friend, Marilyn Darnell: have sad news .. I just got a call that my sister, Dorcas, whom many of you know, was killed in a car accident tonight in Knoxville TN.  Please pray for my dad – this will be very hard on him as they were very close and he is very week.  Maybe God will choose to take him home soon also, he told me the last time I saw him that he wants to go.  Thanks for your prayers.

Okay, so I finally got hooked on Scrabble by my friend, Cheri! Bob is doing much better but we’ve got him in on the Scrabble game, too.

Had a neat experience last night – went to Cracker Barrel with my mother-in-law, sisters-in-law and their husbands and ran into an old friend, Donna Pannell.  The interesting part – we both live in the Tampa Bay area so we were a long ways from home! (About 1,000 miles)  Our daughters became friends when the girls were about 10 or 1 years old and are still very close.

I am posting Dorcas Cook’s obituary in a note. Thank you for your prayers for Marilyn and her family.

Okay, y’all can laugh with me! I spent the night in Bowling Green on my way to Atlanta. I was so excited I was leaving early until I realized I was in the central time zone. I set the alarm on my cell phone which changed to that time zone. Picked up my watch and oops .. I was leaving later than I planned! Leave it to me!