Rain moved in some time Friday afternoon and continued through early this morning. The Cross Plains Bluegrass Festival, which was scheduled to be at the new stage at Kilgore Park, had to move indoors at East Robertson High School. Even then most people stayed home. I went out this morning to check on things and dumped five inches of water out of the rain gauge that had collected since Friday. I know there are parts of the country that need rain, but we have water standing everywhere you look.
I'm departing from my normal format again since it has been an uneventful week for us outside of news about Mom's upcoming surgery. The boys took the TCAP test last week. Jenna completed a research paper and is working on other projects coming due at the end of the school year. On a sad note, Miss Cat is a casualty of the highway. Tagalong has assumed the role of protecting and caring for the kittens. The only thing he can't do is nurse them.
Mom's surgery is set for next week. The news we've gotten is not good. Of the six tissue samples taken in the biopsy four were malignant. The surgeon told Mom she will lose over half of her upper teeth and that he will need to dig too deeply for there to be enough bone left to support implants or dentures. Mom also talked to one lady who had the same procedure. She needed to hear about the experience, but it has not been easy news to digest. I have to admire her for doing her best to stay as positive as possible. The road ahead for my mother is neither easy nor pretty. Please keep her in your prayers.
Joe
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Riding Shotgun
It seems like the landscape changed from brown to green overnight. All the trees have been pushing out new leaves since I wrote last. Spring is here and nature is waking up from its winter nap.
One thing I have seen this year which is new to me are fields of canola. I've been seeing several fields full of bright yellow flowers but didn't know what it was until I asked Will Ed. He told me this was a risky crop for this area and that some farmers tried it a few years ago only to have a cold November that froze the crop out. I hope the crop does well this year. There are a couple of fields along my route to work which are spectacular.
HEALTH UPDATE. Mom had quite a busy week. She visited the orthopedic surgeon on Tuesday and learned that her ankle is continuing to heal nicely, there are no blood clots to be concerned about, and that she should be able to leave the boot behind by the end of the month.
Mom's biopsy was on Thursday. The surgeon took six tissue samples. We won't hear the results from that until Tuesday or Wednesday, but as far as the procedure itself Mom did really well. She did not have any adverse affects from the anesthesia nor has she experienced any pain in her gums, only soreness. We don't know what lies ahead but at least this hurdle was easily cleared.
LEARNER'S PERMIT. I knew this day was coming. I even wrote about it a few weeks ago. But it was still a bit of a shock to see Vicki riding in the passenger's seat while Jenna was driving in Springfield on Friday.
Jenna's birthday was actually on Thursday and Vicki took her to the driver testing center to get her permit but that turned out to be a disappointment. We knew she had to have a letter from the school saying she is a student in good standing for the license but we did not know this was required for the permit. So, the permit had to wait until Friday. Now we are riding in fear of every mailbox we pass. Actually, she is doing quite well considering her only driving experience has been on the dirt roads back on the farm.
After getting the permit Jenna and Vicki celebrated by having a girl's night out to Opry Mills Mall where Jenna got her ears pierced. Jenna had her ears pierced back on her tenth birthday. This was something she had been looking forward to for a long time but it did not turn out so well. The hole in one earlobe wound up splitting out and she let the piercing in both ears grow back together and has never been interested in having this redone until now.
HIKING. If you aren't familiar with scouting, all troops attempt to have one weekend outing a month. Our troop is no different, though we do make an exception for December. This month's trip was a day hike in Montgomery Bell State Park. Ben saved his money and bought himself a camel pack so he could take in yesterday's seven mile hike.
I think Ben enjoyed this trip. When we were all eating supper I asked him to share at least three things he enjoyed about the trip and he actually answered with more than one sentence. Some of the skills the boys practiced on this hike were wildlife identification (trees, animal tracks, etc.) and navigating with a map and compass.
ANYBODY WANT A KITTEN? Our kittens are growing…and eating. One of the bolder ones is starting to venture off the porch and explore a few feet away. What's really funny is to see Miss Cat, Tagalong, and the four kittens all sleeping in a big ball in the corner of the porch. We've gotten several cute pictures. Nate has even entered one he took in the art fair at school. We'll see how he does with that.
Joe
One thing I have seen this year which is new to me are fields of canola. I've been seeing several fields full of bright yellow flowers but didn't know what it was until I asked Will Ed. He told me this was a risky crop for this area and that some farmers tried it a few years ago only to have a cold November that froze the crop out. I hope the crop does well this year. There are a couple of fields along my route to work which are spectacular.
HEALTH UPDATE. Mom had quite a busy week. She visited the orthopedic surgeon on Tuesday and learned that her ankle is continuing to heal nicely, there are no blood clots to be concerned about, and that she should be able to leave the boot behind by the end of the month.
Mom's biopsy was on Thursday. The surgeon took six tissue samples. We won't hear the results from that until Tuesday or Wednesday, but as far as the procedure itself Mom did really well. She did not have any adverse affects from the anesthesia nor has she experienced any pain in her gums, only soreness. We don't know what lies ahead but at least this hurdle was easily cleared.
LEARNER'S PERMIT. I knew this day was coming. I even wrote about it a few weeks ago. But it was still a bit of a shock to see Vicki riding in the passenger's seat while Jenna was driving in Springfield on Friday.
Jenna's birthday was actually on Thursday and Vicki took her to the driver testing center to get her permit but that turned out to be a disappointment. We knew she had to have a letter from the school saying she is a student in good standing for the license but we did not know this was required for the permit. So, the permit had to wait until Friday. Now we are riding in fear of every mailbox we pass. Actually, she is doing quite well considering her only driving experience has been on the dirt roads back on the farm.
After getting the permit Jenna and Vicki celebrated by having a girl's night out to Opry Mills Mall where Jenna got her ears pierced. Jenna had her ears pierced back on her tenth birthday. This was something she had been looking forward to for a long time but it did not turn out so well. The hole in one earlobe wound up splitting out and she let the piercing in both ears grow back together and has never been interested in having this redone until now.
HIKING. If you aren't familiar with scouting, all troops attempt to have one weekend outing a month. Our troop is no different, though we do make an exception for December. This month's trip was a day hike in Montgomery Bell State Park. Ben saved his money and bought himself a camel pack so he could take in yesterday's seven mile hike.
I think Ben enjoyed this trip. When we were all eating supper I asked him to share at least three things he enjoyed about the trip and he actually answered with more than one sentence. Some of the skills the boys practiced on this hike were wildlife identification (trees, animal tracks, etc.) and navigating with a map and compass.
ANYBODY WANT A KITTEN? Our kittens are growing…and eating. One of the bolder ones is starting to venture off the porch and explore a few feet away. What's really funny is to see Miss Cat, Tagalong, and the four kittens all sleeping in a big ball in the corner of the porch. We've gotten several cute pictures. Nate has even entered one he took in the art fair at school. We'll see how he does with that.
Joe
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Health Challenges
I think it is time to discuss some challenges our family is facing with Mom's health. It's not that any of this is a secret to relatives or those of you who live locally, but the time is right to catch the rest of you up.
To begin, Mom's ankle is healing nicely. The orthopedic surgeon has been keeping a close eye on this and has been pleased with her progress, and we are seeing her walking improve each week. For example, we went out to eat at Cracker Barrel last night and Mom used the walker the whole time as she did when we went out on Sunday. She returns for a four week checkup on Tuesday. We’re hoping she can chunk the boot by the end of the month.
As inconvenient as a broken ankle is Mom’s real challenge has been her left knee which had been giving her trouble for some time before she fell. You may recall that Mom had her right knee replaced back in 2005. Unfortunately it was her right ankle that she broke last month forcing the already bad left knee to take more punishment. I think anyone who has had any sort of knee issues knows that it doesn’t matter how strong your leg is, if you’re having problems in that joint it’s just hard to push off or up with that leg. The last time Mom went in for an ankle check she asked the doctor to x-ray her left knee. He confirmed our suspicions when he said, “Yep, it looks just as bad has the right one did before I replaced it.” So, we may be looking at another replacement down the road.
Mom does have another issue of more immediate concern. Back in the fall Mom went to her dentist complaining of a sore in her top gum. To make a long story short, she has now been referred up to a third specialist with a diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma in her mouth. The two major causes for this type of mouth cancer are regular use of tobacco or alcohol. This really stinks because Mom falls within that really small group of people who have never done either of this things but simply get the cancer due to plain bad luck as far as we know now. (When the doctor asked to verify with Mom that she had never consumed alcohol I wanted to break in and say, “Here sits a woman who changed grocery stores when the store she regularly shopped at first began stocking beer.”)
Mom had been in for a biopsy two doctors ago. This proved to be hard to read though it eventually came back positive for cancer. (She was getting ready to go learn this news the morning she fell and broke her ankle.) On Wednesday we went to see a head and neck cancer surgeon at Vanderbilt. When he had done a visual exam he found several points of interest he wanted to explore before deciding on a course of action. So, the next step is to go in next week for another biopsy where multiple tissue samples will be taken allowing him to map out what’s going on in Mom’s mouth. We do know that Mom will be facing some invasive oral surgery in the next three or four weeks but the doctor, while trying to prepare Mom for some bad things to come, dodged all questions about specifics until he can read the results from next week’s biopsy.
Please keep Mom in your prayers. She is facing some tough times ahead.
Joe
To begin, Mom's ankle is healing nicely. The orthopedic surgeon has been keeping a close eye on this and has been pleased with her progress, and we are seeing her walking improve each week. For example, we went out to eat at Cracker Barrel last night and Mom used the walker the whole time as she did when we went out on Sunday. She returns for a four week checkup on Tuesday. We’re hoping she can chunk the boot by the end of the month.
As inconvenient as a broken ankle is Mom’s real challenge has been her left knee which had been giving her trouble for some time before she fell. You may recall that Mom had her right knee replaced back in 2005. Unfortunately it was her right ankle that she broke last month forcing the already bad left knee to take more punishment. I think anyone who has had any sort of knee issues knows that it doesn’t matter how strong your leg is, if you’re having problems in that joint it’s just hard to push off or up with that leg. The last time Mom went in for an ankle check she asked the doctor to x-ray her left knee. He confirmed our suspicions when he said, “Yep, it looks just as bad has the right one did before I replaced it.” So, we may be looking at another replacement down the road.
Mom does have another issue of more immediate concern. Back in the fall Mom went to her dentist complaining of a sore in her top gum. To make a long story short, she has now been referred up to a third specialist with a diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma in her mouth. The two major causes for this type of mouth cancer are regular use of tobacco or alcohol. This really stinks because Mom falls within that really small group of people who have never done either of this things but simply get the cancer due to plain bad luck as far as we know now. (When the doctor asked to verify with Mom that she had never consumed alcohol I wanted to break in and say, “Here sits a woman who changed grocery stores when the store she regularly shopped at first began stocking beer.”)
Mom had been in for a biopsy two doctors ago. This proved to be hard to read though it eventually came back positive for cancer. (She was getting ready to go learn this news the morning she fell and broke her ankle.) On Wednesday we went to see a head and neck cancer surgeon at Vanderbilt. When he had done a visual exam he found several points of interest he wanted to explore before deciding on a course of action. So, the next step is to go in next week for another biopsy where multiple tissue samples will be taken allowing him to map out what’s going on in Mom’s mouth. We do know that Mom will be facing some invasive oral surgery in the next three or four weeks but the doctor, while trying to prepare Mom for some bad things to come, dodged all questions about specifics until he can read the results from next week’s biopsy.
Please keep Mom in your prayers. She is facing some tough times ahead.
Joe
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
It's Mowing Season
It is now starting to look and feel like spring. I'm sure we'll have a few cold snaps in the coming weeks but the pear and peach trees are blooming which means other trees and bushes won't be far behind. I mowed the yard today. Thus begins a weekly ritual that will last for the next 8-9 months.
PROGRESS. Mom is making good progress with the walker, and as long as she can avoid low chairs she can do pretty well.
We spent the day at her house Saturday. The kids borrowed Kenny's Gator and put in several hours picking up limbs from her yard. I stayed out of their way and cleaned up the garage a bit as well as the freezer. The freezer hadn't been touched in almost three years and it was a bit discouraging to see the amount of expired and freezer burned food I tossed out.
Mom went back to church Sunday and even taught her Sunday School class. After church we all went out to the 109 Diner in Portland for lunch. I think Mom enjoyed being out of the house.
APRIL FOOLS. I don’t think I’ve written since April Fool’s Day. Kenny called Mom up early that morning and told her the school bus had broken down in front of her house and the all the kids were in her yard. She wised up after a few minutes. As for me, I had to drive out to one of our schools to install a computer. As I was leaving I decided to call Vicki and tell her that I had dropped my keys into a storm drain with no possible way to retrieve them so I was locked out of my truck and stranded. Vicki did not fall for this but one of the ladies I work with sure did.
CONVENTIONS. Jenna got to spend three nights at Opryland Hotel last week. She left school on Monday for the Beta Club convention. When that was over she and several other students checked out but remained in the lobby for the next group from school to arrive for the FCCLA convention. (For those of you who have been out of the high school loop for a while you would know the FCCLA as the Future Homemakers of America or FHA.) This convention earned Jenna a third night away.
Vicki went to Nashville on Thursday to drive Jenna and several other girls back home. The group took some time to go shopping at Opry Mills Mall before heading back.
AMBITIONS. Jenna has been telling me for months that she wants to have a garden this year and replant our strawberry patch. Steve Freeland was kind enough to drive his tractor over and break ground for us this evening. Now to get in there with a tiller and plant some veggies. Steve broke a lot of ground so Jenna will have her hands full this summer.
PRE-WASH. Nate is typical of most ten year old boys in that he is a messy eater. We frequently tell him he needs to wipe his mouth and have learned to specify that he should use a napkin. For his latest trick he likes to announce the "pre-wash" and then commences licking all around his mouth as far as his tongue can reach. I think he likes to embarrass us with this behavior now. What he hasn't thought about is that one of these days he will bring a cute girl home to visit and I will enjoy telling her all these stories. I feel she should know what she's getting into, don't you?
KITTENS. I have written about our cats before. We had three, but Dusty, our gray cat, met his fate on the centerline of the highway during spring break. We still have Miss Cat, Dusty’s mom, and Tagalong, the one that stowed away in my truck from Mom’s house.
I had noticed Miss Cat getting really large back in February and when I mentioned my suspicions that she was pregnant but Vicki thought it was too early in the season for cats to be having kittens. Well, it turns out that I was right. Miss Cat moved her four kittens under our back porch and we saw them this morning. We’ve gotten a good look at two of them, a gray one and a solid black one. Ben even crawled under the porch and held one.
Joe
PROGRESS. Mom is making good progress with the walker, and as long as she can avoid low chairs she can do pretty well.
We spent the day at her house Saturday. The kids borrowed Kenny's Gator and put in several hours picking up limbs from her yard. I stayed out of their way and cleaned up the garage a bit as well as the freezer. The freezer hadn't been touched in almost three years and it was a bit discouraging to see the amount of expired and freezer burned food I tossed out.
Mom went back to church Sunday and even taught her Sunday School class. After church we all went out to the 109 Diner in Portland for lunch. I think Mom enjoyed being out of the house.
APRIL FOOLS. I don’t think I’ve written since April Fool’s Day. Kenny called Mom up early that morning and told her the school bus had broken down in front of her house and the all the kids were in her yard. She wised up after a few minutes. As for me, I had to drive out to one of our schools to install a computer. As I was leaving I decided to call Vicki and tell her that I had dropped my keys into a storm drain with no possible way to retrieve them so I was locked out of my truck and stranded. Vicki did not fall for this but one of the ladies I work with sure did.
CONVENTIONS. Jenna got to spend three nights at Opryland Hotel last week. She left school on Monday for the Beta Club convention. When that was over she and several other students checked out but remained in the lobby for the next group from school to arrive for the FCCLA convention. (For those of you who have been out of the high school loop for a while you would know the FCCLA as the Future Homemakers of America or FHA.) This convention earned Jenna a third night away.
Vicki went to Nashville on Thursday to drive Jenna and several other girls back home. The group took some time to go shopping at Opry Mills Mall before heading back.
AMBITIONS. Jenna has been telling me for months that she wants to have a garden this year and replant our strawberry patch. Steve Freeland was kind enough to drive his tractor over and break ground for us this evening. Now to get in there with a tiller and plant some veggies. Steve broke a lot of ground so Jenna will have her hands full this summer.
PRE-WASH. Nate is typical of most ten year old boys in that he is a messy eater. We frequently tell him he needs to wipe his mouth and have learned to specify that he should use a napkin. For his latest trick he likes to announce the "pre-wash" and then commences licking all around his mouth as far as his tongue can reach. I think he likes to embarrass us with this behavior now. What he hasn't thought about is that one of these days he will bring a cute girl home to visit and I will enjoy telling her all these stories. I feel she should know what she's getting into, don't you?
KITTENS. I have written about our cats before. We had three, but Dusty, our gray cat, met his fate on the centerline of the highway during spring break. We still have Miss Cat, Dusty’s mom, and Tagalong, the one that stowed away in my truck from Mom’s house.
I had noticed Miss Cat getting really large back in February and when I mentioned my suspicions that she was pregnant but Vicki thought it was too early in the season for cats to be having kittens. Well, it turns out that I was right. Miss Cat moved her four kittens under our back porch and we saw them this morning. We’ve gotten a good look at two of them, a gray one and a solid black one. Ben even crawled under the porch and held one.
Joe
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