Short & Sweet

I talked to Aunt Lou tonight. She was crocheting a baby blanket. She went to PT again today and then Bingo this afternoon. Blake and Jimmy came and called bingo today. She said all the old women really enjoy them. She said she was kind of lonesome tonight so she was glad I called. Ann Marie has called her twice today.

cw

Update from Cindy

I talked to Aunt Lou today shortly after 4pm. She was very tired from a very busy day. After breakfast, she went to PT, then OT. Then she had lunch in the dining room. Then they weighed her. The beautician saw her and took her to wash, etc. her hair. She had just returned to her room and it was almost time for supper. They do keep her busy. She received three pieces of mail while we were talking. Keep it coming.

A few days ago she told Nita that an Elvis impersonator had come to the facility to perform. He kissed her on the cheek and she said she was never washing that cheek again. She really enjoyed his entertainment.

cw

Foot Update

Aunt Lou had another check up with the foot doctor today. He said it's looking good. If the healing continues to go well, the vacuum will come off in two weeks and she can start bearing weight. Yea! Keep praying that things continue to move in the right direction.

Don't forget to call and keep sending those emails! I'm sure she's missing her daily visits with Ann.

That's all for now...me and both kids are sick...happy anniverary to me!

-Wendy

Help! I'm Sick!

So, as is par for the course, the Boy has brought me a bug home from school. He was sick all weekend and missed school for two days this week. Never mind that I begged him not to give me his germs before my surgery...but I digress.

We all had our flu shot and it seems that this is a dialed-down version of the flu, which we can NOT afford for Aunt Lou to get. I try to see her every single day and since I'm going to be away from her till I'm over this AND I'll be away from her for at least a week next week (my surg. is Mon. am), I'm begging for a rallying of the troops.

If you have a free moment, day or night, please call her or email her. I have her email set to where it doesn't go off in the middle of the night so even if you only have time between 3 and 5 in the morning, like I usually do, she won't be disturbed till morning. Please help her feel the love while I'm down. I don't want her to get down and impede her recovery while I am.

I know I can count on all of you because you've all been so great so far. Many thanks from both of us in advance,

Ann-Marie & Aunt Lou

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

So Aunt Lou apparently was a little down or bitchy, however you choose to perceive it, Sunday. She griped about her food being cold and about no one coming to visit her, although she had just had a great Valentine's visit from Mike, Cindy, Nita, Blaine and me. I received phone calls.

Aunt Lou is doing great. She may have had a "moment" when some spoke with her. I mention this because when I called her on it today, she didn't recall anything wrong with yesterday. In case none of you know because she's all our matriarch, she is also human and prone to bitchiness once in a while. That's a side of her we've never seen before but she's recovering from drama so she gets to bitch.

Today, I saw her in the afternoon because that's when she's usually the most bored. She was happy as a lark and was playing bingo when I arrived. She won within three calls of me sitting beside her. She said that when they redid her foot wrap today it looks like it's continuing to shrink and look better every time she sees it.

I mentioned that she had told many that her food was always cold. She said sarcastically, "Well honey, do you think I'm the only one in this place who has cold eggs in the morning?" If she has cold food in the evening it's because her room is about 50 miles away from the dining room. We laughed about how even if you stay in a nice but big hotel, your room service is cold when it gets to you. I suggested that if she didn't want cold food, she should go to the DINING ROOM like she should do for dinner anyway. She laughed and agreed.

I don't know how to put this delicately, mainly because I'm not good at putting things delicately, but we practiced getting her in and out of the potty today. You know, these are things that you have to work back up to when you've been down as long as she has. She's really GREAT at it! A BIG shout out to her rehab girls; they're doing a fantastic job! She told me to put my foot in a certain place and used it as a stopper for her good foot and she did everything else herself. That's a VERY big deal and a very big improvement from when I was lifting her up and down to do anything! Sorry for the graphic nature of my description for the squeamish.

She's getting increasingly excited about her upcoming birthday party and said that she was especially excited about her dad's bbq sauce being there. We agreed that with a piece of Mrs. Baird's bread, you can use the bbq sauce as a soup and just drink it!

We caught up on everything, hung up her new cards that had come in the mail and she was in a great mood. The moral of the story is that if she's cranky when she talks to you, don't panic. She just has regular human moments like we all do. It's hard to think on those terms when you're clinging to her as our matriarch of the family, I know from personal experience. She's such a blessing every minute I get to spend with her. I hope the rest of you are getting to spend some quality time with her via these blog posts and are also being blessed.

Everyone is doing great on cards and emails. Her printer goes off regularly, which is exactly how she likes it and she gets mail almost every day. Keep 'em coming!

Big thanks to EVERYONE. Your love and support makes all the difference in her recovery and we're all on the right track to make it happen. It seems like forever ago but it was just a couple of months ago when she was seriously saying that she didn't think she was going to live and had no reason to do so. You ALL have made the difference in her life! Thanks for keeping the faith!

Ann-Marie

The Super Gold Star

I give Ann-Marie the gold star for writing all of these blogs! I only copy and paste them so it's really not that hard. She's the one who takes the pictures, spends everyday with Aunt Lou, and takes the time to update all of us. So, thanks!

-Wendy

She's Famous!

Mike, Cindy and Nita came down today and treated Aunt Lou to El Chico's in the family dining room at the nsg. home. Big gold stars to you!

Meanwhile, Happy Valentine's Day to you all from Aunt Lou! Y'all have been doing such a great job of sending her cards and emails lately. She hangs up every card in her room and has a stack of emails that she shows everyone and reads over and over. Big gold stars to you all!

Specifically gold stars to Jethro (Jeff to those of you who are not his sister) and Nicole sent a very sweet Valentine card complete with a heart box of candy. She was especially fond of that!

And to Hilly who sent the sweetest card with a butterfly picture that she has hanging in her room. Also to Hilly, Aunt Lou says you are the best caller of the bunch and she's just going to have to keep you. Yea!

Blakeley, she says, sends the sweetest emails along with pictures. She loves getting them!

And now to why she's famous...she made the front page of the Valentine's Day edition of the Hood County News! Way to go Sonja for the idea and to Blake for having the connection to get it in there with a priority. You all have copies of the paper coming your way from your respective parents, who just happened to be in town today when it came out.

Now is also a good time to say that Aunt Lou got to see and read the blog yesterday. She was so touched by how much everyone loved her and also how much our big ol' family loves each other, stays close no matter what and binds together in times of trouble. For those of you who don't yet realize what a blessing that is, let me tell you from experience; there's no other word to describe it. It is a true blessing to have such a close knit family who loves you no matter how bone-headed you may be at any given time in your life and who loves you no matter what happens, no matter if you're sick or well, if you make good decisions or bad ones, no matter what.

Having that said, on to the party news! Aunt Lou and I have discussed and we are definitely having her birthday party here at our house on her birthday, which is Sunday, March 22nd, 2009. We're having BBQ for lunch, per her request, and she wants to see EVERYONE and wants all the old family standy favorites, no matter how chaotic (Yikes!). May you bring your friends, whomever they may be? Of course you may. Once you have all our crazy family in one spot, it's not going to add to the chaos to have a few more. We're pretty nutty all by ourselves!

As I'll be recovering from my surgery and still sucking swampwater to some degree, Blake has offered to make all the meat, which I never help with anyway. Everyone else, get together and work it out so that we have all the family favorites represented there.

Whew! I think that's all the news from the sticks! BIG thanks and a big gold star to Wendy, who keeps up with all of this blogging business. We'll see what this next week brings!

Ann-Marie

Our Official Gold Star

There are lots of "gold stars" being given out these days! Thanks to Jeff for finding our official gold star!

-Wendy, the blog editor ;-)

Woo-Hoo, Aunt Lou!

Aunt Lou called this afternoon and a reporter from the paper has already been out to interview her and Etta Mae. They were both so excited! They sent along the pictures of them together 64 years ago and the reporter said she'd scan them in and bring them back. Aunt Lou said that she looked like that would be okay. I told her that it was just fine because we know where to find her and the pictures. She said she figured that. Whadda you know, real celebrities! The paper comes out on Wednesday and Saturday. As soon as we see their story, we'll get copies for all of you. We're hoping that it'll be there on Saturday. Aunt Lou said that the whole nursing home is just a buzzing about their story and everyone is so excited. We are, too. A double big gold star for Sonja for coming up with the idea and another gold star for Blake who had the connection and got it in the paper so quickly. Aunt Lou and Etta Mae are having so much fun!

Ann-Marie

Room Buddies

Today at Aunt Lou's, I took pictures of pictures that Aunt Lou had of her and Etta Mae. Jimmy had brought up an old photo album for Aunt Lou to peruse and it just happened by chance to be the book that had pictures of Aunt Lou and Etta Mae. 64 years ago. Wow! They both told me about how they have been having long talks and are so happy that they found each other again. I told the social worker their story and half the staff already knew about it from Etta Mae and Aunt Lou. If she wasn't a celebrity before, she certainly is now!

Big thanks to Sonja for suggesting that we contact the paper. I'm not smart enough to think of things like that! Blake goes to Rotary Club with the owner of the paper. He emailed the guy last night about the story. We'll keep you posted and send y'all copies if it gets in.

Movin' On Up!

Aunt Lou is learning to stand up and hop on one foot in therapy right now. We took pictures today for everyone to see how impressive she is. The therapist kept on telling her, "you're leaning back too much". Aunt Lou informed her that she hasn't had good balance since she had that stroke a while ago and the therapist said that they were going to teach her how to walk properly so that she didn't wobble and fall so much. YEA! What a good idea!

Also today, she graduated into regular shoes again. She's been wearing socks with skids on the bottom since her first surgery and today her therapist told her that she's not there to lounge but to get back to normal and it was time to wear shoes. We put a regular shoe on her good foot and a shoe like you have if you break something for her hurtey foot. She said they felt strange since it's been so long but she was excited nonetheless.

Gold Stars

Her printer is up and running. She's already received some emails from y'all. She said to send along a gold star for Wendy who mentioned in her email how many times she's called and didn't get her on the phone. She enjoyed your email!

Also a gold star to Mike and Cindy for sending pictures that Caleb and Ethan did. We put them up in her room today.

Keep the mail coming, she loves it!

Ann-Marie

Comments!!!

Ok people! I'm going to give you instructions on how to leave a comment. Several of you have wanted to comment but get confused on how. You don't need to create a profile. Just click on the comment button, choose "anonymous" and write a comment. Make sure to include your name at the bottom of your comment so we know who it is. Easy enough?

Also, I'd like to give myself a gold star for calling effort. I called Aunt Lou 3 times last week and she never answered. I'm beginning to think she's call-blocking me!

-Wendy

You'll Never Believe!

Aunt Lou got a new roommate Saturday night. Aunt Lou asked her name. She said "Etta". Aunt Lou said that she used to know an Etta and as they got to talking, they figured out that they knew each other. Etta Mae Stevenson (now Moore) rented a room as a 17 year old girl from Mommomie and Papa in their house on Main Street in Vernon. Aunt Lou said that she was working but not married yet so that would put her at between 17 and 19 at the time. You'll have to call Aunt Lou for more details but they were both so tickled to meet one another again.

I met Etta today and she told me about how sweet Mommomie was to her and how she let Etta know before she ever moved in that if there was a storm, they were going down in the cellar and that was part of the deal of living there. Etta said that she remembered Mommomie telling her that she had been frightened by a big storm as a child and that she'd been worried by them ever since. She also said that Aunt Lou told her at the time that if she thought she didn't want to go in the cellar, she would when she saw Mommomie throwing a fit about the storm.

Etta is now married, her husband is still alive and on a walker and they live in the house next door to the clubhouse in De Cordova (my old neighborhood). Small, SMALL world! Now if you are a neigh-sayer and think that God doesn't move in mysterious ways, how do you explain THAT one?!? At the very least, it proves that Aunt Lou is in the perfect place with me here in the sticks. :-)

Ann-Marie

Aunt Lou's First Outing

I had a million errands and didn't know where I was going to fit in my visit with Aunt Lou today so I just picked her up and carried her with me on my errands. We had such a good time! We stopped at Sonic first, where she ordered a vanilla Coke. She said she hasn't had a coke since she's been out of her surgery and it tasted wonderful to her. We jawed about everything in the world while we drove from place to place. Blaine had a dr. appt. (everything's fine, fyi) today so we picked him up from school and dropped him at his doc appt. We went all over town. She had the best time getting out and seeing anything besides nursing home walls.

We're practicing for her birthday trip. We had a spotter from the nursing home help get her in and out of the car and we didn't get her out anywhere. For a first outing, it went pretty well, physically. She seemed a lot stronger even than I thought she would be getting in and out of the car. The girl helping her get in kept getting in her way and Aunt Lou told her, "I know how to do it!" Soon, we hope to graduate from just driving around to getting out of the car, getting in and out of a bathroom at my house, etc. Lots of practicing ahead and lots of hurdles to go over but she's really on the right road.

Along the right road lines, she had her bandage changed today and she said it was the first time that it looked drastically improved to her. She was excited and has decided that she's on the mend for sure toe-wise.

That's all from the sticks. Blog-wise, it would sure be encouraging for all of us and great for me if any of you blogged about Aunt Lou, even if you just had a five second phone conversation with her. I'd especially be interested if she mentions that she needs something. You know, it takes a village to help Aunt Lou remember things!

Love to all of you!

Ann-Marie

A Visit With the Beans

The Bean’s went up for a visit and on our way back home we stopped by to visit with Aunt Lou. Grant had made her a “Happy Book” in his Social Studies class using clippings from magazines. He really enjoys crafting … hum, wonder where he gets that from?! All three boys colored her a picture. Asa said he used lots of colors to cheer her up. They are so sweet.

She looked great and really seemed to enjoy the visit with everyone. Zane was all over the place so Boomer took him and Asa back to the van early. Grant and I stayed behind to visit a little longer. Grant talked to her for quite a while. She listened so intently and I enjoyed watching the two of them together. As I sat there looking at her I saw the young woman I remember from when I was Grant’s age. So vibrant and joyful, bright and beautiful.

Before we left, she had to show Grant her Valentine dog. We all enjoyed her toy and got a good laugh for the road. I don’t remember who she said got her that, but it’s perfect for her!

Love,
Sonja, Boomer, Grant, Asa and Zane

More Bingo Fun!

We had a great time today playing bingo. Last week we had 11 play and this week we had 15. It's catching on quickly! We sent along some pics from our game. There's one of her picking her cards. She won the first game and then didn't win again, just like last week. We played all sorts of crazy games, which is what Aunt Lou likes to do. We played four corners, make an "X" and today we played in a Z pattern. That one was hard to grasp, even for me, but they all rose to the challenge. Blake had a great time calling and was inspired to photocopy a bingo card so that he could more easily show them even more crazy patterns for next week. As Vannah, I gave away smaller prizes of valentine candy this week to everyone for just showing up. Are we bribing them? Maybe ;)

I also sent a pic of Aunt Lou crossing her legs while she was playing bingo. Why is that important, Blaine says? Because she's not really supposed to do it and she's really great about NOT doing it until she gets interested in something else and forgets. It's great to forget your troubles for a while. Oh and speaking of things she's not supposed to do, yes, that's another vanilla shake. It's not killing her so it's okay.

Aunt Nita gets the gold star today for sending Aunt Lou another card. She thought the words especially sweet and thoughtful and she loves cards. Keep 'em coming!

That's it from the sticks. Talk to y'all soon!

Gold Star Retraction

It was actually Mike & Cindy who sent the blog posts from Wendy and Nicole. Nita sent the care packages. Just FYI. :-) So way to go...they get a gold star!

Bingo!

Aunt Lou had a MUCH better time today at the dr's and they said that it's still progressing well. The nurse put a patch of numbing stuff on it before she cleaned it this time so she said she didn't feel a thing and, consequently, is in a much better humor. Thanks to everyone for your prayers.

She's aware of our blog and thinks it's a neat idea. Having that said, she has sent along her own picks for gold stars. Yes she is completely spoiled rotten and here are her winners:

A big gold star to the Five Bean Salad for going to visit her this weekend, complete with pics from the kids. We've had a lot of good talks about that.

Also, a gold star to Blake and Blaine for going to see her and bringing her Girl Scout cookies while I was out of pocket on Monday. She said they were very sweet and didn't fight or anything!

Nita Jean gets a gold star for sending her another package with bloggy looking pictures of Wendy's and Nicole's kids/blogs. I didn't get a good look at all of it yet but Aunt Lou has read it through and through more than once.

Only HALF a gold star for Jimmy for bringing her a table for her room...but then forgetting the nuts and bolts to put it together. See? I told you she was spoiled!

She went to physical therapy today and we took silly pictures for y'all in there. You can see how much she's suffering with her vanilla shake from Sonic making faces at the camera! The peg board exercise looks pretty silly but they make it difficult by strapping weights around her wrists. She has to fill the board with the pegs and then take them all out again.

On the calendar you can see Aunt Lou's bingo. That was really fun! Blake did the calling because you all know how much he loves to announce things. It was right up his alley! And he said I could be Vannah White and pass out cards and prizes since I was the "skirt".

We introduced ourselves in bingo and pointed her out as our aunt. Then at the end of the game, I pointed her out again and announced that she said she hadn't met a single person since she arrived. Well now she's met a bunch of people. We even found her a lively table to sit with at meals and she's having a grand time. She is quite the celebrity with the staff and the residents!

We talked today about having a party for her birthday. She said she was too old to have birthday parties. I told her that a bunch of us wanted to have a party this year because she nearly croaked while she was in the hospital. She said she didn't remember that part of her stay. I informed her that we all DID remember it, it was scary and we want to celebrate the fact that she DIDN'T croak.

Although she said that she's not dying now after all unless she just drops dead, she's glad to have the party and tenatively wants BBQ. Her birthday falls on a Sunday this year, it's 6 1/2 weeks away so she, her therapist and I made a goal of getting her strong enough to be able to handle the party situation by then. We'll have to keep you posted on that front. No, of course I haven't asked Jimmy yet. Jimmy is it okay?

She has requested that y'all send her mail. Cards and stuff. She loves getting mail. I told her it wouldn't kill her to send out some of her own.

She's eating all the time, cleaning her plate at every meal and snacking in between times on all sorts of things. She's staying at 133lbs and is feeling great.

I'm so glad the doc appointment is over! She is very busy with a book Jimmy brought her that she just can't put down, tomorrow is bingo and Friday is her hair appointment and we sail again unscathed through another week of recovery here in the sticks!

Love to all,

Ann-Marie

Prayer Request

Please pray for Aunt Lou tomorrow (Wed) morning as she has to go back to the toe surgeon. Last time she went, they carved all around her hurtey place. She came back in pain, scared, angry and distraught. It continues to heal well; it looks better every time she sees it, which is on Mon-Wed-Fri so I'm really hoping for an easier doc appt. tomorrow.

I'll let you know how it goes.
Ann-Marie

Seeing Kiddos

I call her every morning, she seems to be doing good. She was very excited Sunday afternoon when Sonja & Boomer & Boys came by to see her on their way home, & bring her pictures the boys had made/colored. She said that just made her day. She hadn't see them or the boys since Xmas, so she was very pleased & delighted.


Love,
Aunt Nita