Black Boogers and Green Fingernails

Black Boogers and Green Fingernails

Today is Monday April 13th, Happy Birthday Jean.
Doug is still in room 114 at Lewisville Medical Center.
He was doing better Thursday & Friday but Saturday he started getting weak again. Jean came and spent the night with me Friday.
Jean and her kids came in from Monroe for Easter.
They dropped Jean off at the hospital so they could visit with Doug, then go on to Lisa’s in Southlake.
Jean & I got “permission” from Doug to leave the hospital early.
We went home and Viki came over and we all had some wine.
Viki left and we had some more wine and played Wii…..we had a great time.
Some of y’all think I am a neat freak….while Jean was at the house I don’t think I saw my counter top or the top of the bed….she travels with a lot of stuff J Sorry Jean J
Saturday Doug’s folks sat with Doug at the hospital and when his buddy Skip visited he got recruited to take Doug for his physical therapy walk around…so I could stay home and get needed stuff done.
Jean & I did yard work and straightened up the garage.
We mowed, weed eated, put the plants out & watered them, picked up fallen limbs, pulled weeds….my gardening glove fingers wore out so my fingernails ended up bright weed green.
We worked hard…my arms are still sore.
Jean says I let her take a break around 2 to eat.
Well we didn’t get started until sometime between 11 & noon.
Jean took the opportunity to sleep late and I took the morning completing and faxing legal info stuff to the Allstate lawyers concerning Doug’s lawsuit related to the accident he had August 10th
I figured how to make copies and send faxes on the printer Daddy got for us.
We also learned you can’t make copies when kitty Tufa is sitting on the document feed. He was just sitting on top of the printer watching the blank paper feed into the machine.
We almost couldn’t get the mower started.
Jean knows some stuff….she twisted the spark plug cover and that did it.
She also lowered the mower to its lowest setting…..my yard is scalped…..she says well you won’t have to mow for awhile.
We got cleaned up and Jean ran to Walmart and Chilis. Mary joined us for Chilis take out supper.
Then they decided to make cookies and fudge….in my kitchen…..It was funny….they don’t think I have a clue when it comes to cooking but I had to find all the stuff they needed….even a veggie peeler…..and I didn’t think I had one…..but there were 3 in the top drawer!
Ok you need to peel & shred carrots to make carrot cake cookies J
They left around 8 and still had time to do more shopping on their way to Lisa’s.
They called me and told me someone’s cows were out on Turbeville lane, but the police were already there.
How neat would that have been….well I found these stray cows in my yard so I decided to keep them…..maybe next time.
I need cows…..first I need fencing….then I need cows.
Now that the land is cleared we can get the property surveys out, find the corner pins and HIRE someone to build some fences.
How did the land get cleared you might ask?
Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the big fire.
Y’all have probably heard about the wild fires in North Texas. Well when I got home from the hospital Thursday around 11 pm I had phone messages…..1 your barn is not in danger the wind is blowing the fire away from it……2 your barn is in imminent danger….these were around 3 & 4 pm.
We had heard there were fires up in Montague county but didn’t even think they would be on our property! I called neighbor Virginia at 11 and she reassured me the building and trailer were OK.
When I woke up the next morning I was a little fuzzy…I know there was something else besides Doug, the lawsuit etc…. that I was supposed to be worried about…..took me a cup of tea then I remembered…..the fires !!!!
Well the barn & Avion travel trailer didn’t burn…..pretty much everything else did.
I went to check on things Friday.
There were still active fires burning and smoldering.
I had to wait for fire trucks and equipment for awhile before I was allowed to proceed on Dye Mound road.
There were helicopters dropping water on the fires.
It is sad and neat and exiting at the same time.
I drove around the black moonscape and took some pictures….forgot once and started driving with the truck window down…..my hair and clothes got full of ashes….the truck still has a dusting of ash inside….I washed the outside off….but when you breath in black ashes well you get black boogers….gross….
Large trees are still OK, but places that were once impenetrable briar and scrub are now clear.
The entire top of the hill and the whole north side are black.
I really won’t have to mow much out there for a while.
Some folks pay to have property cleared with a controlled burn….Mother Nature did ours for us.
The big oak tree over the kittycat sacred piles of rocks graveyard was spared. Down by the tank I found a burned turtle.
I did a few country chores, no mousies in the building or the trailer.
I visited the neighbors. They are picking up the mail for us. Jim says all our mailboxes were knocked down last week, he put mine back up.
Jim just got a new dozer last week and he used it to help control the fires….he dozed a vegetation free fire brake around the barn and trailer…thank you, thank you, thank you…..
Virginia suggests she & I need dozer driving lessons in case something comes up when Jim is not available.
Then I headed back to the hospital….I had to wait again as smoke and fire equipment blocked the road so I went the long way around.

Easter Sunday was busy.
I went to Wanda’s for the Graff family get together.
Ate a great breakfast and made a plate to take to Doug & watched the kids hunt Easter eggs.
Went to the hospital and spent some time with Doug.
We did two laps around the nurses’ station, but Doug is again very weak and out of breath.
Then I went to the Mee family get together.
Then back to the hospital.
In spite of how bad all the following sounds Doug is alert but weak & sleepy. He is eating and completed the income taxes today.
Doug is having heart issues…..his heart rate is fluctuating…..and setting off alarms in telemetry when the rate drops too low.
He had fever and he just doesn’t feel good at all.
I need to talk to the cardiologist….the nurses & the doctor on call are suggesting Doug needs a pacemaker. In addition I think without saying the exact words they are hinting that Doug may not be getting the care & attention he needs here….”he is in a hospital….why don’t they do something about his symptoms along the lines of finding out what is causing them instead of just treating them and doing the “let’s wait & see””
So now I am really freaking out……I have requested to meet the cardiologist…..I have written a letter to the Dallas Myeloma support group asking for advice…..
The next step is to get in touch with the oncologists at medical city who did his stem cell transplant to get a “second opinion” to see if they think I should move him over to them?????? But they are part of the same Texas Oncology group…..Do I need to go out of the group???? I don’t know what to do.
I am not going to “jump” today but it is 5 pm and we have not seen the cardio doc…..and I need to see what Doug’s doc says this evening….there has been some indication today that something was said on our behalf to the doc last night or early this morning…..or Doug’s vitals and the tele reports and nurses notes have caused increased concern and action.
That’s all for now.
Keep in touch.
Love,
Nancy