Journaling February 2017

~ Journaling February

Lots of ‘firsts’ happened this month for us and family.  Hopefully I haven’t missed anything.

Greg & I are surviving our first kidney transplant.  I keep thinking back to the days when doctors talked about a kidney transplant for Greg.  Now it’s been almost 2 months since surgery, January 4^th.  I am doing really good and in fact I painted this last week and probably did a little too much.  It’s hard to think that I need to take it easy yet when I feel good.  The incision is a reminder though and so is the tingling and tenderness when I’ve done too much.  I’m heading back to work early March.  I will miss being at home.  My mom was a home body and I think I inherited the feeling from her.  Greg is doing so much better.  There’s a lot of meds that he has to take but the transplant team watches over his blood work twice a week and call if anything needs to be changed with the meds or his diet.  They can tell if he’s drinking enough water so I don’t need to nag about that anymore. We’re looking forward to walking a lot more when the weather turns to spring. 

 Craig had a new birthday.  Can’t believe how fast they are growing!  We are so proud of Craig and he couldn’t have chosen a better husband.  It’s a joy to see him working at the yoga studio and to join Dragon Boating again this year.  Craig and Luke often come for tea, they love to babysit their new nephew and they are always there when we need something.  Hoping all the best to Craig and Luke this year!

Dad spent his first Valentine’s Day alone.  I can’t imagine what any of this is like for him.  Well, that’s not true.  I know how I feel when Greg goes away on a trip or when he was in the hospital.  That was a lonely feeling.  So, to realize that this person is not around at all anymore to have coffee with or eat with, must be a very lonely feeling.  One that many elderly people feel.  So, I’m hoping he stays busy with his music and that he soon takes part in more and more activities.

Greg’s mom is living in Airdrie.  We visited her last night in her rented suite in Airdrie.  She is waiting for her condo to be completed, hopefully end of March.  Things really change sometimes.  It was hard for her to move away from the condo her and Lewis lived in, in Calgary.  But she is a strong lady and travels and drives with confidence.  It will be a good year having her close to us.  She says she can walk to our place and I believe she sure will!

Milo’s first tooth appeared.  We had brunch together last weekend and Milo was sporting a new front tooth.  It’s like one day it just popped out.  I think we still need to remind ourselves that this is real and that he is here to stay with us.  He is such a happy little guy and when he smiles, we all smile and act a little younger.  We’re looking forward to summer and I still need to buy a little wagon for him and train Gunner to pull it.

Milo’s first trip to Disney with Mom & Dad was a success!  Apparently he was just a little gem the whole time.  That’s not hard to believe.  Mom & Dad took lots of photos and they had a great time celebrating vacation time with Milo. 

Meeka’s been gone 1 year this month. He was such a good dog and we miss him.  We are often reminded of the things he did when we look and watch Gunner today.  Meeka was a great friend for Greg and such a companion for him at home.  It was heartbreaking for Greg to see him get sick so fast and leave us.  

Well, I hope this journal doesn’t sound too hasty but alas, It sort of was. 

The end of the month sneaks up so fast and then I scramble for news.

Have a good day and till next month . . . but in between, hopefully I'll have some home renovations to show you or something crafty.

~ Bonny

Home Renovation on 'Catch-all'

So finally I got around the painting the big elephant we saw 

every time we entered our home and came up the stairs.  

There is so much varnish on all the oak in this house! 

This is a picture of what we faced when we moved in.  

Orange and green walls and browns and green in bedrooms.

The story behind doing this project is simple…this wall will not be around for long (fingers crossed).  We plan to remove this shelving unit along with the mirrored closet.  This will deepen this space and open up into the kitchen.  The header that is open to the ceiling will be removed half way up exposing the kitchen all along that big wall.  This way it will have a much more open concept, without showing all the mess in the kitchen after I cook.  If you catch it in the picture, you’ll see the ‘oak’ cupboards/storage wall (another elephant) just inside the kitchen that will also be removed.  We will replace this with proper cupboards on the other side of kitchen and add an island. 

You can't really see in these pictures, but where I painted the dark blue, there are slight imperfections in the coverage.  
Note to self again: just because Chalk Paint can be used over varnished items, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t sand it.  The paint covered lovely but I should have sanded my little heart out to make it velvety smooth and then applied the coats of wax.  Because of the thick, bumpy coats of varnish, I think it affected the final look.  Oh well, it works for now, and it looks so much better.  

The next plan is to paint the gold trim around the mirror.  I’ve covered it in black duct tape and then I’ll use chalk paint to cover.  The rest of the wall will be the same as the shelving unit.

Well, time is precious and I need to finish this wall before any other big projects can start!

Bonny

Post Kidney Swap

It's already 2 weeks ago this day that we arrived out of surgery!

Wow! To us it seems like 3 weeks.

2016 ended very sad with the passing of my mom on New Year's Eve.

Her funeral is this Saturday the 21st.

From my Journal

Jan. 2 ~

Greg and I did some running around with errands.  We only had today to do them and originally I had so many things on my list like recycling because I just wanted things to be clean when we got home from the hospital.  All these things did not happen. 

The previous day we gathered at my sister’s home.  Mom passed away Dec. 31 at 10:59 with dad, Brenda and April with her.  I was a bit upset with myself for going home earlier that evening after spending the previous 2 days with her.  It was very hard to decide.  If only I had known.  Mom could have held on for several days but I knew that Greg needed rest for the upcoming surgery. 

We did the errands we had time for and what was the most important.  There was a time when dad said to us, “You have to go ahead with the surgery”.  We did have a moment when we thought about cancelling after mom passed.

It was a strange day.  I went from crying to anxiousness.  It wasn’t fair really.  I needed to mourn my mom and I needed to do this surgery for Greg.  Otherwise the date for surgery could be months away again.  Mom’s funeral would take place after we were home and feeling a bit better.

In the afternoon, my niece April, moved in to help take care of our dog while we were gone.  She sent photos to us in the hospital.  They got along just fine.  Such a relief.

Jan. 3 ~

We were to call the hospital admittance number at 10 a.m.  Greg called and a very pleasant voice answered.  She knew exactly who we both were.  That was nice to hear.  She’d call us back when our rooms were ready.  It was a busy morning discharging patients.  Our kids arrived in the morning and visited with us until we had to leave. 

At 1:00 Greg called again.  They had only 1 room ready.  We reminded the nurse that we were 45 min – 1 hr away so she said we could come in.  We left around 1:30 with Crystal and Milo.  Mick had to work that day.  Luke & Craig followed.  I was pretty calm now.  This was happening and we were on our way.

After admittance and our tags were on, we went to Unit 37, the transplant unit.  Here we were led to Greg’s room where I waited till my room was ready.  Finally they told me to follow to my room.  It was a private room and huge!  Greg was just a little jealous.  It worked out so good having a larger room with the kids visiting because they brought Milo every time and it was so good to see and hear him too.

We took turns doing our EKG tests lying on Greg’s bed and then we were taken for X-Rays.  By the time we got back to our rooms our supper was cold.  I don’t even remember what it was but we gobbled that up in a hurry. 

The kids had supper in the hospital and left shortly after that.  Tomorrow they said they’d be back at 6:00 a.m. and see us before going into surgery.  Our kids were such a blessing!  I told them I wanted them to tell me when dad was back in recovery tomorrow.

That evening went a bit slow after they left.  Greg and I sat together and watched TV and talked.  Before long it was time for a sleepy pill.

Jan. 4 ~

It was still dark in my room when I heard the kids enter my room.  This was the day.  Greg was only 2 rooms down and it wasn’t long before Craig said they were taking Greg down first.  I guess whatever Porter is free and gets instructions first.  I got out of bed and met Greg in the hallway.  I’m so glad the kids were there.  I don’t know if the porter would have taken Greg down before I got to kiss him.  I think the nurses knew but I can’t remember.  Craig went down to pre-op with Greg.  This is all a blur to me and I wish I could remember it more clearly.  It wasn’t more than a few minutes and it was my turn to be wheeled down to pre-op.  Crystal went down with me.  Luke and Mick stayed back in our rooms with Milo.

So, there we both lay on our beds looking at each other in the pre-op area. They tried to move us closer but the area was too restricted.  It seemed to take a while but I watched the surgeons going back and forth.  The anesthesiologist visited me first and went thru some procedures and questions.  I watched as another anesthesiologist went to Greg and did the same thing.  But I knew this was a very hard time for Greg.  His experience with being intubated went so wrong when he was in Winnipeg and the nightmares it caused him were terrifying.  He told the anesthesiologist of this experience and was told it would not happen again and he was in good hands.  I was so thankful and knew he would be ok.  Later I learned that as soon as Greg was in the OR, he was put to sleep immediately so he didn’t have any chance to be anxious.

When it was time to go into the OR for me, I walked over the Greg and kissed him.  I’m sure I said I’d see him soon, I don’t remember.  I walked to the washroom and then into the OR with the nurse.  It’s definitely not like Grey’s Anatomy in the OR.  I lay on the table and truthfully you’re told it’s going to be cold but I don’t remember it being that cold.  Several people bustled about and one nurse by my side was very kind.  I stretched out my arms and they did their thing.  Then the anesthesiologist asked if I was ready for my red wine.  I said I sure was.  That’s all I remember till I was in the recovery room.

I felt like a cement slab.  The heaviness I felt was over powering and I didn’t move.  At around 2:00 p.m. I heard Greg being wheeled into the recovery room.  So weird.  They said his name but I just couldn’t lift my head to see for myself.  I saw the clock on the wall and knew it was either 1:50 or 2:10.  At some point the sun shone so bright on my face from somewhere in that room.  It felt so good.  I think it was God saying he was there and everything was good.  I had prayed a lot the days leading up to the surgery.  You just don’t know what God’s plans are for you.  I was hoping we were on the same page and that He had a plan for us.  I sometimes just said “Jesus” because I had no words anymore.  After 2 ½ years, he knew my heart and what we both wanted.  Plus, we had a new grandson to see grow up.

Soon, I was being wheeled to my room, groggy and heavy lidded.  I remember the kids there and Milo talking.  At one point, Crystal shushed him but I said, “He’s ok”.  Greg’s mom and sister came to see me but visiting was very limited yet. 

I remember the kids telling me that Greg was in recovery and then in his room.  I told them the night before that I needed them to tell me this.  He came to my room the next day and stood at my door.  I got out of bed and met him there but that's all I could handle.  He was doing so good!  He was walking very good.  The surgeons were very happy with how the surgery went and they were very happy with Greg's results.  My little kidney was a trooper!

We left the hospital on the 9th together and are now recuperating just fine at home.  There are reminders each day to take it slow.  We are resting and watching TV, taking very short walks (2 exactly) when the weather permits and eating pretty good.

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.  I must go now and sit on the couch and see what delights await on TV. 

 Walking to the Sun Room. 

Visiting with Milo

My private room before they moved me

 My second room.  Nice view though

 Greg chillin'

 Greg's view of Sarcee Trail

Going home