Haaapppy New Year!
We just wanted to wish you all a happy, healthy and safe new year. We will try to keep you updated on John's follow-up appointments. We go back to Chicago Wednesday to see the vocal cord doctor and the eye doctor. The next week we see two eye doctors from St. Louis.
I go back to work on Monday and that is going to be very difficult. John and I have had so much time together we will really miss each other. He is improving daily and doing so well. He walked and played two holes of golf yesterday. One of his goals before the end of the year was to play nine holes--not quite nine, but still pretty darn good for all he's been through. He is just so thankful and feels God has blessed him so much.
Sometimes we have no idea how much and how many people care until something like this happens. We are so thankful and touched to know that so many people are thinking about us, praying for us and giving us their support. We hope that we can somehow bless you as you have blessed us. Thank you again for being such wonderful friends, family members and prayer warriors. We really don't know how we would have gotten through this without all of you. God has blessed us in so many ways including putting all of you in our lives. We hope each and everyone of you have a blessed 2010; we are planning to. Thanks again.
Love,
John and Cathy
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Happy Sunday Morning
Hello all,
Well, Christmas is over once again. Where does the time go? We had a great Christmas with our family. Bucky and Melody came home on Thursday and they are staying until tomorrow. We have really enjoyed them. We spent yesterday with them and Cejae and Adam. We went to my brother's house yesterday afternoon and spent time with his family as well. We had a really nice visit and it's always fun to see kids at Christmas.
John and I went to church on Christmas morning and that was a very sweet service. We went to church this morning also, but John's eye is coming unsewn so I brought him home before Sunday School. He has it taped now, but we don't really know quite what to do because we are not scheduled to see the opthalmologist again until January 6. He doesn't know whether to keep it taped or let it open or what. We may try to call Dr. Yoo tomorrow and see what he recommends.
I hope this finds all of you healthy, happy and having the warm afterglow of a blessed Christmas. We are so blessed to have a warm home, a loving family, a love for each other and the blessings of God. We wish the same for you and your families this year.
Love you,
John, Cathy and Family
Well, Christmas is over once again. Where does the time go? We had a great Christmas with our family. Bucky and Melody came home on Thursday and they are staying until tomorrow. We have really enjoyed them. We spent yesterday with them and Cejae and Adam. We went to my brother's house yesterday afternoon and spent time with his family as well. We had a really nice visit and it's always fun to see kids at Christmas.
John and I went to church on Christmas morning and that was a very sweet service. We went to church this morning also, but John's eye is coming unsewn so I brought him home before Sunday School. He has it taped now, but we don't really know quite what to do because we are not scheduled to see the opthalmologist again until January 6. He doesn't know whether to keep it taped or let it open or what. We may try to call Dr. Yoo tomorrow and see what he recommends.
I hope this finds all of you healthy, happy and having the warm afterglow of a blessed Christmas. We are so blessed to have a warm home, a loving family, a love for each other and the blessings of God. We wish the same for you and your families this year.
Love you,
John, Cathy and Family
Sunday, December 20, 2009
"I Can't Sweep"
Good (early) morning all,
Today's title comes from when my niece Hannah was small and spent the night with us. We were trying to get her to go to sleep and she was roaming around the living room holding out her hands and saying, "I can't sweep," which was quite precious. Anyway, needless to say I am up early blogging because I, too, "can't sweep." I am either taking a cold or have a sinus infection so my right head (right side of my head) is totally stopped up, I can't breathe and I woke myself up snoring, so here I am blogging.
John and I didn't sleep very well in the hotel Friday night either. I believe the snoring was perhaps a problem again. We were on the road by 7:00 yesterday morning. There was about 2-3 inches of snow on the ground, but driving was not difficult. It snowed on us a good part of the way home, but we were home safely by noon or a little after. He did sleep about an hour on the way home.
John's eye looks quite good; a little swollen from the procedure, but I think that will go down soon. God has apparently given both of us this wonderful gift of healing, and we are so thankful for that. His scar from the brain tumor surgery looks great; there is no swelling around it or around the ear where they added the fatty tissue.
I know I probably say this too often, but he has such a great attitude. On the way home from church last week I said, "You are just glad to be alive, aren't you?" And he said, "Yeah, I like people." He seems to have this whole new lease on life and looks at things and people in a whole different light. We were awake early one other morning last week and he said, "Would you care if I prayed?" Now what do you think I said? It was the sweetest, sincerest, most touching prayer I had ever heard. (Yeah, yeah, yeah . . . of course I'm crying.)
We are so blessed and grateful and loved. And we can't say enough how grateful we are for everything and everyone.
My wish for this Christmas season is that each of you would have the peace of God in your hearts. And in this commercialized, chaotic season that we can find enough silence and solitude to appreciate the true meaning of Christmas: the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Thank you all again for your prayers, gifts, cards, caring, and all that you do.
Love and Peace,
John and Cathy
Today's title comes from when my niece Hannah was small and spent the night with us. We were trying to get her to go to sleep and she was roaming around the living room holding out her hands and saying, "I can't sweep," which was quite precious. Anyway, needless to say I am up early blogging because I, too, "can't sweep." I am either taking a cold or have a sinus infection so my right head (right side of my head) is totally stopped up, I can't breathe and I woke myself up snoring, so here I am blogging.
John and I didn't sleep very well in the hotel Friday night either. I believe the snoring was perhaps a problem again. We were on the road by 7:00 yesterday morning. There was about 2-3 inches of snow on the ground, but driving was not difficult. It snowed on us a good part of the way home, but we were home safely by noon or a little after. He did sleep about an hour on the way home.
John's eye looks quite good; a little swollen from the procedure, but I think that will go down soon. God has apparently given both of us this wonderful gift of healing, and we are so thankful for that. His scar from the brain tumor surgery looks great; there is no swelling around it or around the ear where they added the fatty tissue.
I know I probably say this too often, but he has such a great attitude. On the way home from church last week I said, "You are just glad to be alive, aren't you?" And he said, "Yeah, I like people." He seems to have this whole new lease on life and looks at things and people in a whole different light. We were awake early one other morning last week and he said, "Would you care if I prayed?" Now what do you think I said? It was the sweetest, sincerest, most touching prayer I had ever heard. (Yeah, yeah, yeah . . . of course I'm crying.)
We are so blessed and grateful and loved. And we can't say enough how grateful we are for everything and everyone.
My wish for this Christmas season is that each of you would have the peace of God in your hearts. And in this commercialized, chaotic season that we can find enough silence and solitude to appreciate the true meaning of Christmas: the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Thank you all again for your prayers, gifts, cards, caring, and all that you do.
Love and Peace,
John and Cathy
Friday, December 18, 2009
Friday Frenzy
Good evening everyone,
We are still in Chicago this Friday evening. John's appointment was at 1:30, but Dr. Yoo wanted to sew his eye shut again, only this time the stitches are on the inside instead of on the outside, so there shouldn't be any chance of it coming unstitched. But Dr. Yoo was very busy so he couldn't even start the procedure until about 4:00. It was probably about 4:45 by the time we got out of there and traffic was already horrendous (similar to McLeansboro on a Friday night). So we are staying at our favorite hotel yet again; thank God it is close to the hospital. I also think my road rage frightens John a little. That's just sad, isn't it?
Anyway, the good news is we will get a good night's sleep and head back home early in the morning, fresh and calm. We should be back home by noon or close thereto.
We had a very nice time at Bucky and Melody's the days we were there. They cooked a nice dinner for us on Wednesday night and we just hung out together. Yesterday we met Bucky for lunch downtown and then went back to their house for the afternoon. Our good friend Barbara met us for dinner last night in Evanston. It was a very nice time. We so appreciate our family and friends. I hope you don't get tired of hearing how much we appreciate all of you, but we really, really do. This ordeal would have been much more difficult to handle without the support of our family, friends and our faith in God. I don't know how people get through without all of these.
Well, John has gone down to the workout room here in the hotel to ride the bike, so I better go check on him. Notice that I am not riding the bike, just going to check on him.
Love you all and have a great evening.
John and Cathy
We are still in Chicago this Friday evening. John's appointment was at 1:30, but Dr. Yoo wanted to sew his eye shut again, only this time the stitches are on the inside instead of on the outside, so there shouldn't be any chance of it coming unstitched. But Dr. Yoo was very busy so he couldn't even start the procedure until about 4:00. It was probably about 4:45 by the time we got out of there and traffic was already horrendous (similar to McLeansboro on a Friday night). So we are staying at our favorite hotel yet again; thank God it is close to the hospital. I also think my road rage frightens John a little. That's just sad, isn't it?
Anyway, the good news is we will get a good night's sleep and head back home early in the morning, fresh and calm. We should be back home by noon or close thereto.
We had a very nice time at Bucky and Melody's the days we were there. They cooked a nice dinner for us on Wednesday night and we just hung out together. Yesterday we met Bucky for lunch downtown and then went back to their house for the afternoon. Our good friend Barbara met us for dinner last night in Evanston. It was a very nice time. We so appreciate our family and friends. I hope you don't get tired of hearing how much we appreciate all of you, but we really, really do. This ordeal would have been much more difficult to handle without the support of our family, friends and our faith in God. I don't know how people get through without all of these.
Well, John has gone down to the workout room here in the hotel to ride the bike, so I better go check on him. Notice that I am not riding the bike, just going to check on him.
Love you all and have a great evening.
John and Cathy
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
We're Ba-aack . . . in Chicago
Hello all,
Whoo! What a trip! We decided to take a new route today--not a great idea. First of all, we got totally turned around and then when we were finally going the right direction, there was unbelievable traffic and stoplights every 30 feet (slight exaggeration) and we went right by the Midway Airport. Needless to say, we were a little late for our appointment (only about 20 minutes), but they had told us we could only be 30 minutes late or we would have to reschedule. John was a tad bid anxious (ha!) when we finally arrived.
Yesterday, John's tarsorraphy (eye sewn shut) came undone and he had taped his eye shut again. So we really didn't know how it was going to go, but it was all good. His eye is pretty much healed up and the blood vessels are better as well. Praise God! Since the eye had come undone we asked if we could see Dr. Yoo on Friday instead of coming back next week. So we have an appointment on Friday to see him so, hopefully, we don't have to return next week.
I do think we are going to try to find someone closer to home though, because we drove six hours for a 15-minute appointment. Please don't misunderstand, we are so thankful his eye is better, but if we have to continue seeing an ocularplastics surgeon on a regular basis, it would be much easier to see someone closer to home, even if it's St. Louis.
Anyway, we made it to Bucky's safe again and we are so thankful for that. We have an appointment with Dr. Yoo on Friday at 1:30 and we will probably head home after that.
Thank you all again for continuing to follow the blog and for all that you do. We went to the Christmas Program at church on Sunday evening and it was phenomenal! The food was good, the program was such a good time, they all did such a good job and the setting was terrific. It really felt as if you were entering a 1950's diner. What a great time we had! We went to both services of church Sunday morning. I often say John is going to run for office the way he works a room. He just loves life and people, even more so than before the surgery I think. God has blessed him with such a great outlook on life and attitude toward everything. We are so grateful. And thank you all for continuing to support us and pray for us. I have to admit I had a bid of road rage today, so I will have to confess to my Sunday School class this week.
Love to all and thanks again for all you do.
John and Cathy
Whoo! What a trip! We decided to take a new route today--not a great idea. First of all, we got totally turned around and then when we were finally going the right direction, there was unbelievable traffic and stoplights every 30 feet (slight exaggeration) and we went right by the Midway Airport. Needless to say, we were a little late for our appointment (only about 20 minutes), but they had told us we could only be 30 minutes late or we would have to reschedule. John was a tad bid anxious (ha!) when we finally arrived.
Yesterday, John's tarsorraphy (eye sewn shut) came undone and he had taped his eye shut again. So we really didn't know how it was going to go, but it was all good. His eye is pretty much healed up and the blood vessels are better as well. Praise God! Since the eye had come undone we asked if we could see Dr. Yoo on Friday instead of coming back next week. So we have an appointment on Friday to see him so, hopefully, we don't have to return next week.
I do think we are going to try to find someone closer to home though, because we drove six hours for a 15-minute appointment. Please don't misunderstand, we are so thankful his eye is better, but if we have to continue seeing an ocularplastics surgeon on a regular basis, it would be much easier to see someone closer to home, even if it's St. Louis.
Anyway, we made it to Bucky's safe again and we are so thankful for that. We have an appointment with Dr. Yoo on Friday at 1:30 and we will probably head home after that.
Thank you all again for continuing to follow the blog and for all that you do. We went to the Christmas Program at church on Sunday evening and it was phenomenal! The food was good, the program was such a good time, they all did such a good job and the setting was terrific. It really felt as if you were entering a 1950's diner. What a great time we had! We went to both services of church Sunday morning. I often say John is going to run for office the way he works a room. He just loves life and people, even more so than before the surgery I think. God has blessed him with such a great outlook on life and attitude toward everything. We are so grateful. And thank you all for continuing to support us and pray for us. I have to admit I had a bid of road rage today, so I will have to confess to my Sunday School class this week.
Love to all and thanks again for all you do.
John and Cathy
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Lazy Saturday at Home
Good morning everyone,
We are home once again and so glad to be here. Home is such a wonderful place to be no matter how big or small. And we are so grateful to be back.
John's eye is much improved but still sewn shut. The abrasion began at 4.5 x 2 millimeters and is now down to 1 x 1. We have to return to Chicago again for an appointment on Wednesday and then again the next week we think. I think John wants to continue with Dr. Yoo if we can at all because he knows he's in good hands. He is eventually going to have to have a gold weight put in his eyelid, but Dr. Yoo said that it can be taken out again if the eye improves dramatically. No one has ever told him the procedure could be reversed; he has always been led to believe it is permanent. We go back next week to see Dr. Lin who is the corneal specialist; Dr. Yoo is the ocularplastics specialist. They are so proactive at Loyola, very caring and know John's history which are all reasons why he would like to continue with them. There may be a time when we have to go someplace else, but I think if we can at all, we will continue with them.
Well, that's today's update. We again feel so blessed to be back home safely with family and friends. We are so looking forward to the Christmas program at church tomorrow night. John loves going to church and visiting with everyone. God has been so good to us. We hope that somehow we are as much a blessing to you as you all have been to us. We are so thankful for all of you and so grateful for all God has done and continues to do in our lives.
Love,
John and Cathy
We are home once again and so glad to be here. Home is such a wonderful place to be no matter how big or small. And we are so grateful to be back.
John's eye is much improved but still sewn shut. The abrasion began at 4.5 x 2 millimeters and is now down to 1 x 1. We have to return to Chicago again for an appointment on Wednesday and then again the next week we think. I think John wants to continue with Dr. Yoo if we can at all because he knows he's in good hands. He is eventually going to have to have a gold weight put in his eyelid, but Dr. Yoo said that it can be taken out again if the eye improves dramatically. No one has ever told him the procedure could be reversed; he has always been led to believe it is permanent. We go back next week to see Dr. Lin who is the corneal specialist; Dr. Yoo is the ocularplastics specialist. They are so proactive at Loyola, very caring and know John's history which are all reasons why he would like to continue with them. There may be a time when we have to go someplace else, but I think if we can at all, we will continue with them.
Well, that's today's update. We again feel so blessed to be back home safely with family and friends. We are so looking forward to the Christmas program at church tomorrow night. John loves going to church and visiting with everyone. God has been so good to us. We hope that somehow we are as much a blessing to you as you all have been to us. We are so thankful for all of you and so grateful for all God has done and continues to do in our lives.
Love,
John and Cathy
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Frozen Thursday
Hello all,
Well, when I went to start the car this morning the thermometer registered 1 and I think with the wind chill it was about 23 below--COLD! But I had parked our car right by the hotel so the building stopped most of the snow and I didn't have to scrape and it started right up so, all in all, a good morning.
We arrived at the doctor's office about 10:10 and got called in about 10:40. They dilated John's eyes so they could look at the retina. Dr. De Alba thought the retina looked good, but could not figure out why the blood vessels are growing to the iris (John was right). He asked if John had had a stroke or had ever had an ultrasound of his carotid artery. John told him he'd had a brain tumor, but no one had ever said he'd had a stroke. Anyway he sent us over to have an ultrasound of the carotid artery. The technician doing the ultrasound said there was a little plaque, but nothing stopping the blood flow, so I don't guess we know anymore than we did, at least about that.
They opened the eye to look at the retina and Dr Hsue said the abrasion looked better today; it was smaller so I guess sewing the eye shut is again working. We see Dr. Yoo again tomorrow and we may know more then.
We are at Bucky and Melody's tonight and we will probably head home after our doctor's appointment tomorrow, but the doctor doesn't get there until 12:45 which is what time our appointment is. We discussed staying up here but John doesn't want to miss the Christmas program at church. He loves seeing and talking to people.
I can't tell a huge difference in his voice just yet. It seems deeper, but I think when he's tired it is still not strong. We will see if, over time, it improves more.
Stay warm and thanks for continuing to think about us and pray for us.
Love,
John and Cathy
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Winter Wonderland (sorta)
Howdy all,
Well, the weather is still not great and is supposed to get BITTER cold. John went to his eye appointment and it wasn't great. He has another corneal abrasion and some blood vessels growing on some part of his eye. They can't figure out why that is happening. The abrasion is because the eye doesn't close, but they have no idea about the other. They sewed his eye shut again and we are supposed to put antibiotic ointment in it four times a day. He goes to see a retina specialist tomorrow and then goes back to see Dr. Yoo again on Friday. Dr. Yoo said we could then come home on Friday if everything looks as if it's going in the right direction, but he wants to see us again probably around Wednesday of next week. Dr. Yoo said we could try to find another doctor closer to us, but I don't know if John wants to do that or not since these doctors know his history and seem to want to stay on top of things. So we'll see how it all goes. Just pray that the eye will begin to heal again and they will know what avenue to take next.
We will hopefully see you all again soon.
Happy Winter!
John and Cathy
Well, the weather is still not great and is supposed to get BITTER cold. John went to his eye appointment and it wasn't great. He has another corneal abrasion and some blood vessels growing on some part of his eye. They can't figure out why that is happening. The abrasion is because the eye doesn't close, but they have no idea about the other. They sewed his eye shut again and we are supposed to put antibiotic ointment in it four times a day. He goes to see a retina specialist tomorrow and then goes back to see Dr. Yoo again on Friday. Dr. Yoo said we could then come home on Friday if everything looks as if it's going in the right direction, but he wants to see us again probably around Wednesday of next week. Dr. Yoo said we could try to find another doctor closer to us, but I don't know if John wants to do that or not since these doctors know his history and seem to want to stay on top of things. So we'll see how it all goes. Just pray that the eye will begin to heal again and they will know what avenue to take next.
We will hopefully see you all again soon.
Happy Winter!
John and Cathy
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
"The Weather Outside is Frightful . . ."
Hi all,
We are in Chicago again (I think there's a song with that title, or at least there should be). The weather cooperated all the way up. It had snowed, but we didn't have to travel in any. Now tonight is an entirely different story. We got a hotel because my sister-in-law had told us it was supposed to snow ten inches. And we thought a hotel reservation was a good idea, just in case. I really didn't want to have to fight traffic and weather and, thank God, we did. It is snowing huge snowflakes and blowing about 20 miles an hour and "we're living it up in the Hotel Holiday Inn Express." Not quite the same words as the Eagles song, but close.
John his vocal cord procedure done today and we believe it was a huge success. The doctor said it wasn't a perfect procedure in his eyes, but he thought he got enough of the substance into the deep tissue of the vocal cord to make a difference. He isn't sure whether the raspiness of John's voice will be satisfactory to John or not and if it isn't, he can do a surgery and change things. John and I both believe it will be fine. It is already much stronger and not so breathy and his choking is much improved and that is only in the first five hours. His granuola (polyp-like thing) has also improved and is about half the size it was last time he was here. We are so pleased. As we were leaving the office John shouted, "Bye Doc." And the doctor yelled back, "Show-off." John continues to have a positive attitude and is really quite funny. We have to return again in four weeks for a follow-up visit. Now if the eye appointment goes as well tomorrow with the eye doctor, we will be thrilled. We are thrilled anyway. God has been so good to us and we can't praise Him or give Him glory enough. Thank you all again for continuing to pray for us.
We will try to update you tomorrow about the eye appointment.
We hope and pray Van's doctor's appointment goes well tomorrow and they know more what to do.
Love to all,
John and Cathy
We are in Chicago again (I think there's a song with that title, or at least there should be). The weather cooperated all the way up. It had snowed, but we didn't have to travel in any. Now tonight is an entirely different story. We got a hotel because my sister-in-law had told us it was supposed to snow ten inches. And we thought a hotel reservation was a good idea, just in case. I really didn't want to have to fight traffic and weather and, thank God, we did. It is snowing huge snowflakes and blowing about 20 miles an hour and "we're living it up in the Hotel Holiday Inn Express." Not quite the same words as the Eagles song, but close.
John his vocal cord procedure done today and we believe it was a huge success. The doctor said it wasn't a perfect procedure in his eyes, but he thought he got enough of the substance into the deep tissue of the vocal cord to make a difference. He isn't sure whether the raspiness of John's voice will be satisfactory to John or not and if it isn't, he can do a surgery and change things. John and I both believe it will be fine. It is already much stronger and not so breathy and his choking is much improved and that is only in the first five hours. His granuola (polyp-like thing) has also improved and is about half the size it was last time he was here. We are so pleased. As we were leaving the office John shouted, "Bye Doc." And the doctor yelled back, "Show-off." John continues to have a positive attitude and is really quite funny. We have to return again in four weeks for a follow-up visit. Now if the eye appointment goes as well tomorrow with the eye doctor, we will be thrilled. We are thrilled anyway. God has been so good to us and we can't praise Him or give Him glory enough. Thank you all again for continuing to pray for us.
We will try to update you tomorrow about the eye appointment.
We hope and pray Van's doctor's appointment goes well tomorrow and they know more what to do.
Love to all,
John and Cathy
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Sunny Saturday
Good sunny morning all,
I love sunshine! I know I am to be joyous in all things including gray days, but I have to admit I really struggle with that. But anyway, today is beautiful so I don't have to fret.
We really appreciate all of you still following the blog. It has been a wonderful tool and, oftentimes, a great outlet. We went back to the eye doctor yesterday and he said that a portion of the cornea has flaked off. His eye is extremely fragile and I guess when I took the contact off to clean it, a portion of his cornea flaked off with it. Ugh! So we are now taping it shut, but the doctor showed me a great way to do it. I actually (almost) did it right this morning. We goop it up good with an antibiotic ointment, then put some gauze over the lid, then tape the gauze down. The trick is to pull the bottom of his face up because it naturally pulls down with the paralysis. He sort of has a taped smile like the Joker. He takes it all in stride and still remains positive. God bless him! He is willing to do whatever they suggest when we go to see Dr. Yoo again on Wednesday.
We had a great time visiting with everyone at work. It was SO nice to see everyone and everyone was so glad to see us! It was really, really nice. I think my boss Buster has had a difficult time, but I'm sure he has handled it all very well. God bless him too! Again, what a blessing it has been to be able to stay at home with John, especially with his eye the way it is. One of my co-workers, Elizabeth Bailey-Smith, sells Silpada jewelry also and had a party in my name and gave us the commission. What a lovely, thoughtful, kind gesture and we appreciate it so much. I also received jewelry for Christmas from my co-workers, so I won all the way around. Another co-worker, Therese Melena, gave us money as well. John and I are just so blessed to have such wonderful, caring people in our lives It is a great feeling to be so loved; thank you all so much.
Today we are going to spend some time with Cejae and maybe take a little road trip (like going to Chicago is not one). Well, again, thanks for following. Charlotte, no promises about parking spaces.
John and I are so glad to hear Dan Dare is home and that Mickey Owen's procedure went well. God is good!
Love to all,
John and Cathy
I love sunshine! I know I am to be joyous in all things including gray days, but I have to admit I really struggle with that. But anyway, today is beautiful so I don't have to fret.
We really appreciate all of you still following the blog. It has been a wonderful tool and, oftentimes, a great outlet. We went back to the eye doctor yesterday and he said that a portion of the cornea has flaked off. His eye is extremely fragile and I guess when I took the contact off to clean it, a portion of his cornea flaked off with it. Ugh! So we are now taping it shut, but the doctor showed me a great way to do it. I actually (almost) did it right this morning. We goop it up good with an antibiotic ointment, then put some gauze over the lid, then tape the gauze down. The trick is to pull the bottom of his face up because it naturally pulls down with the paralysis. He sort of has a taped smile like the Joker. He takes it all in stride and still remains positive. God bless him! He is willing to do whatever they suggest when we go to see Dr. Yoo again on Wednesday.
We had a great time visiting with everyone at work. It was SO nice to see everyone and everyone was so glad to see us! It was really, really nice. I think my boss Buster has had a difficult time, but I'm sure he has handled it all very well. God bless him too! Again, what a blessing it has been to be able to stay at home with John, especially with his eye the way it is. One of my co-workers, Elizabeth Bailey-Smith, sells Silpada jewelry also and had a party in my name and gave us the commission. What a lovely, thoughtful, kind gesture and we appreciate it so much. I also received jewelry for Christmas from my co-workers, so I won all the way around. Another co-worker, Therese Melena, gave us money as well. John and I are just so blessed to have such wonderful, caring people in our lives It is a great feeling to be so loved; thank you all so much.
Today we are going to spend some time with Cejae and maybe take a little road trip (like going to Chicago is not one). Well, again, thanks for following. Charlotte, no promises about parking spaces.
John and I are so glad to hear Dan Dare is home and that Mickey Owen's procedure went well. God is good!
Love to all,
John and Cathy
Friday, December 4, 2009
Frantic (Maybe) Friday
Hello all,
I love it that people are still keeping up with the blog. I haven't been so faithful about writing since we are home, but it has been, and continues to be, a great way to keep in touch with people. I'm not a Facebooker or Twitterer (fun word), but I have really enjoyed this blog. I'm a little like Cejae in that I enjoy all of the followers and reading their comments. Thanks again, Michele.
John was sick Monday pretty much all day and night. I was at Huck's at 4:30 Tuesday morning buying Immodium if that tells you anything. I don't know whether antibiotics wiped his system out of all of the good bacteria or if he had some bug, but it was not pleasant for him whatever it was. He didn't feel well most of Tuesday either, but was sort of on the mend on Wednesday.
His eye continues to bother him. It's sort of frustrating because one doctor says one thing and another doctor says something else. It was getting better but then his contact went bad. We are going to try to get a replacement today. Until then, he has to keep it taped shut which I know is annoying and bothersome, but also throws his balance off. We see the opthalmologist in Chicago again on Wednesday of next week. By the way, you have no idea how long it took me to spell opthalmologist correctly.
Our kids got us a new computer for Christmas and Santa delivered it right to the back door. That Santa; he's a great old guy. It is so nice; we will probably fight over it. Thank you kids! It really is nice, and FAST!
We have a busy day today. We have to see if we can get a new contact for John's eye and then we are going to take lunch to Rend Lake and visit a bit. I haven't seen most of my co-workers since October 6. I really am missing them and I miss work. I really do enjoy my job and after being at a place for 26 years, it is a huge part of my life. The people I work with are such a great group and John and I are really excited about seeing everyone. He really enjoys going places when he feels good. Now he may just sit in the car or sleep in a parking lot, but he still enjoys going. He has therapy at 2:00 today, so we are sort of on a tight schedule.
We have this great, new Handicapped sticker. Johns says I am way more excited about it than he is. We had to go to Walmart the other day and every handicapped person in southern Illinois was there. I still had to park in the back 40 and looked like a drowned rat by the time I got back to the car. He stayed in the car, which was good, because I couldn't park any closer than I did. Anyway, loving the handicapped sticker; I will try not to abuse it.
John continues to improve. We had to buy a new battery for his car and he was able to hook it up. We fought over who was going to carry it. I won, but only because I'm a little faster. He is so independent and strong-willed which is really great. It would be terrible if he didn't want to improve or get stronger.
We have doctors' appointments in Chicago again on Tuesday and Wednesday. He has the vocal cord procedure scheduled for Tuesday, and an MRI. We may not come home until Thursday; we will see how everything goes.
Thanks for continuing to pray for us. There are so many out there that need our prayers: Jason Vaupel, Mickey Owen, Natalie Melton, Dan Dare, Gene Braden. And those are just the ones I'm aware of. But, again, thank you for being such a great support to us. We really don't know what we'd do without you.
Love to all,
John, Cathy and Family
I love it that people are still keeping up with the blog. I haven't been so faithful about writing since we are home, but it has been, and continues to be, a great way to keep in touch with people. I'm not a Facebooker or Twitterer (fun word), but I have really enjoyed this blog. I'm a little like Cejae in that I enjoy all of the followers and reading their comments. Thanks again, Michele.
John was sick Monday pretty much all day and night. I was at Huck's at 4:30 Tuesday morning buying Immodium if that tells you anything. I don't know whether antibiotics wiped his system out of all of the good bacteria or if he had some bug, but it was not pleasant for him whatever it was. He didn't feel well most of Tuesday either, but was sort of on the mend on Wednesday.
His eye continues to bother him. It's sort of frustrating because one doctor says one thing and another doctor says something else. It was getting better but then his contact went bad. We are going to try to get a replacement today. Until then, he has to keep it taped shut which I know is annoying and bothersome, but also throws his balance off. We see the opthalmologist in Chicago again on Wednesday of next week. By the way, you have no idea how long it took me to spell opthalmologist correctly.
Our kids got us a new computer for Christmas and Santa delivered it right to the back door. That Santa; he's a great old guy. It is so nice; we will probably fight over it. Thank you kids! It really is nice, and FAST!
We have a busy day today. We have to see if we can get a new contact for John's eye and then we are going to take lunch to Rend Lake and visit a bit. I haven't seen most of my co-workers since October 6. I really am missing them and I miss work. I really do enjoy my job and after being at a place for 26 years, it is a huge part of my life. The people I work with are such a great group and John and I are really excited about seeing everyone. He really enjoys going places when he feels good. Now he may just sit in the car or sleep in a parking lot, but he still enjoys going. He has therapy at 2:00 today, so we are sort of on a tight schedule.
We have this great, new Handicapped sticker. Johns says I am way more excited about it than he is. We had to go to Walmart the other day and every handicapped person in southern Illinois was there. I still had to park in the back 40 and looked like a drowned rat by the time I got back to the car. He stayed in the car, which was good, because I couldn't park any closer than I did. Anyway, loving the handicapped sticker; I will try not to abuse it.
John continues to improve. We had to buy a new battery for his car and he was able to hook it up. We fought over who was going to carry it. I won, but only because I'm a little faster. He is so independent and strong-willed which is really great. It would be terrible if he didn't want to improve or get stronger.
We have doctors' appointments in Chicago again on Tuesday and Wednesday. He has the vocal cord procedure scheduled for Tuesday, and an MRI. We may not come home until Thursday; we will see how everything goes.
Thanks for continuing to pray for us. There are so many out there that need our prayers: Jason Vaupel, Mickey Owen, Natalie Melton, Dan Dare, Gene Braden. And those are just the ones I'm aware of. But, again, thank you for being such a great support to us. We really don't know what we'd do without you.
Love to all,
John, Cathy and Family
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