FIFTY FIVE AND STILL ALIVE...HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAPA

PAPA AND TOLEDO CITY POLICE CHIEF DON DENISON ON WILL'S NEW BACK DECK...IF WE CAN KEEP PAPA OUT OF 'TROUBLE' ....HE'LL PROBABLY LIVE TO BE AN OLD GUY, SO HERE'S A GUY WHO CAN HELP ME DO JUST THAT ...DON'T YA THINK?


As most of you know, it's been a harrowing couple of weeks around here.

It started when the kids were up and Papa was playing "paintball" with them. He complained of "chest pains" and the next day he spent the day in the emergency room hooked up to the machines to read his heart...then spent the night in ICU so they could closely monitor him. The next day it appeared that he had torn something in his chest wall and they sent him home with directions to rest and relax and take it easy until he had a heart "stress test" which was slated for Last Monday.

He went in to take the stress test alone as I was trying to catch up on my books for a lot of things...and close the sale on the Lot at Nye Beach. In the afternoon I received a phone call from his Doctor (Harris) saying that Allen had been getting 'set up' for the stress test when he 'flatlined' several times. I think the Doctor called it 'an event'. The Doctor said that he wanted Allen to see a Heart Specialist in Corvallis.

At first I didn't 'get it' and asked the Doctor if I should make an appointment to go over there and should I make it for tomorrow or what? Anyway, the Doctor then explained that Allen's heart stopped beating for a 3.5 second interval, then a 6.50 second interval and then beat once in 10 seconds...so he was calling for an Ambulance right then to take Allen to the Samaritan Hospital in Corvallis on an emergency basis and that he would be leaving as soon as an ambulance could be arranged to take him the 50 miles to Corvallis to see the Heart Specialist waiting there for him.

With Allen's truck in the shop...awaiting the decision to fix it or total it...the only other car we have (the Hummer) was sitting in the parking lot at the Doctor's office...so our friend Rhonda (who takes care of Faye two afternoons a week) drove me into Newport to get my car so I could follow the ambulance to Corvallis which would be carrying Allen.

I was pretty shook up and shocked at this sudden turn of events, and my barely functioning brain went into 'high gear' to plan all the logistics this new 'happening' in our lives would call for.

Wendy volunteered to take Aunt Faye to her sister Opals for a week or so I could concentrate on Allen's needs without being worried about Aunt Faye's needs...so shortly after they loaded Allen into the ambulance and took off for a world unknown, I was in pursuit to see what the Specialist would say we needed to do to fix this problem...or maybe worse...that the problem could not be fixed?

MUCH THANKS FOR WENDY AND WILLIAM FOR ALL THE

'EXTRA MILE' RUNNING FOR US!

Just knowing that Wendy and William would help us carry whatever load was coming our way really helped to make things a lot less stressful...

Anyway, by the time I got to the Hospital, Allen was already comfy cozy into ICU with several outstanding nurses and the Doctor at hand...he had a temporary pace maker hooked up through a small operation in the groin area...and was scheduled for emergency surgery the next morning. The good news is that his arteries are clear, and his blood pressure awesome...and except for his heart 'stopping' when it wanted to..his heart is in pretty good shape.

The Doctor felt that this stoppage might have been going on for a long time, and then Allen and I recalled all the 'passing out' incidents and near misses he experienced over the years and nodded in agreement. The Doctor explained that in these cases, and before pacemakers, someone would just go out to work in the garden and the heart would stop beating and they would pass out...and die. He said that as long as the heart 'started itself back up' then there was no problem, but sooner or later...it wouldn't kick itself in gear and that would be sudden death...so a pace maker is the answer to the problem Allen has.

It was hard to take for both of us, but also a relief because at least now we knew what was 'wrong' and how to fix it. The Doctor said that once Allen recovers from the surgery and gets used to working with his 'pacemaker', he is going to feel a lot better than he has for a long time. That will be great...and it was just a 'fluke' that his heart acted up when it did under controlled conditions...in a medical setting...so when they say, "Thank the Lord for small Blessings", we think this is a small blessing that has turned into a 'really big one'.

After surgery, he was allowed to come home the next day provided he didn't move his left arm to the side or above his shoulder, so he's been wearing a 'sling' to keep the arm in place. This gives the two feeds from his pacemaker a chance to heal into the heart muscle and for the pacemaker itself to heal into it's little holding pouch inside his chest. Being 'one armed' is not to Allen's liking since he can't drive, can't pick up anything, and pretty much is handicapped at the moment. It will take about six weeks for him to fully recover, and knowing my husband...that is going to be a LONG SIX WEEKS...for BOTH OF US.

Today, he goes to see the Specialist for a follow up appointment...but some things play havoc with a pacemaker...like using a chain saw (one of Allen's favorite toys around the ranch)...and bending over running engines (as in car or motorcycle)...and certain other restraints...so Allen will be asking about these things today.

It was nice to get a call from my cousin Sharon's husband, John, yesterday as he has a pacemaker himself, and just had a replacement put in after ten years of service! Talking to John was pretty encouraging and reassuring...and I didn't even know John had a pace maker all these years...so his sharing information with us about the long term effects of this protocol was a God send. It looks like once Allen recovers, he will begin feeling better than ever...and the color in his face is already better.

I know that about six months Allen irritates me so much...I would just like to kill him (figure of speech only), but thinking about losing him is just a thought I can't entertain without starting to bawl at just the thought of it. I guess we just don't realize how important someone is to us until we face the inevitable fact that sooner or later...one of us is going to check out of here and the other one will have to go on alone.

That concept makes me shudder since we have been through thick and thin for almost 18 years now...and he is my best friend in the whole world...with some good close seconds...and we know each other better than anyone on earth. So while I want to 'kill him' here and there during this journey, I surely don't want God 'taking' him from me anytime soon. It looks like the pacemaker is going to do the trick on that score...but Allen just turned "55" yesterday (May 8th) and that seems awfully young to me to to be falling apart...especially since I have recently turned 60 and have had no major problems at all. Then again, he's a man and they aren't expected to weather life as well as women anyway.

WHEN YOU HAVE A HOSTESS WITH THE MOSTEST

LIKE THIS TO ENTERTAIN YOU, 'CHECKING OUT' IS

NOT AN OPTION!

We had a small birthday celebration at Will and Wendy's last night with a barbeque and our friends the Denison's...who are pretty much like family since Rhonda works with Aunt Faye and Carson works with Allen and William.

Currently, Allen and Carson were working on a little 'sow's ear' house we are 'fixing up' to sell...and now Will and Carson are working on it alone because Allen can't...to get it finished and ready for show and sell. It's a starter house or entry investment property, so it will market a lot faster than some of our other real estate inventory.

WE CALL HIM 'PIGLET', BUT HE'S REALLY 'CARSON' AND THANKS TO HIS HELP...AND WILLIAMS HELP...OUR PROJECTS AND RANCH CAN GO ON EVEN WITH SOME 'BUMPS' IN THE ROAD WE'VE HAD RECENTLY...THANKS!

The kids called to wish Allen happy birthday, along with 'red' Aunt Faye...and lot's of people have given well wishes and concern for his recent troubles as well. I appreciate all that show of caring because it is easy for Allen to think of himself as a burden and worth-less when he finds some physical limitation in himself. He's gone into pretty deep depressions at times when he is helpless...like when he 'passed out' and shattered his leg...so the calls and encouragement always works
wonders for his self esteem during these tough times.

Thanks for your caring and concerns, cards and calls...and I am glad that Allen has made it to FIFTY FIVE and is STILL ALIVE! I hear that if we make it past the 50's we are pretty good to go until our 80's...so I am hoping that is true for us..as long as we are perking around and the brain works relatively well.

EMILY IS LEADING THE BAND TO SING...

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAPA", AND MANY, MANY MORE!