Recovery

Brother and I are both well and we had a little outing today to celebrate.  Mom and Dad are fine. They were just here for the festivities. A shout out to my wonderful hubby for being the logistics coordinator and main support person who kept everyone else sane and healthy during this past week.

Post surgery - 1 week   (9 staples and a hole in the head later)

Didn't think it was possible for me to be more wired than normal but I am. Parathyroid hormone levels dropped from a whopping 177 to 22 in one hour during surgery. This is a good thing although I did not sleep for 48 hours straight then I crashed for 17. When I said I was feeling good it was because the anesthesia had not worn off. Day two and three I felt like I had been beaten half to death about the head, neck and abdomen during surgery. Good news is that right now I am totally off pain meds. Mom and dad came up for the afternoon with with a pot roast. A couple of angels also made us a huge pan of enchiladas on Friday and we also had an anniversary celebration after all thanks to T & R. Nurse Andrew got Bob up and about for a clean up and walk on Thursday once I got home. First time Bob had been out since surgery. He can walk again but boy does he have a headache. Elisha was here at some point. What a pair Bob and I make. Stitch and Staple is what Andrew calls us. He has been a great nurse and in between he's finished some projects and the yard looks spectacular. Thanks to everyone who has called and sent messages and texts Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend and keep in your prayers the many who need a whole lot more help than we do.

Yard and Garden

Andrew made me some flower boxes for the shed windows out of reclaimed wood (found floating in Lake Huron a couple summers ago). We've also got a pair of nesting cardinals. Overall the yard is stunning and as a gift to Andrew I had it officially certified as a National Wildlife Certified Habitat  An usual colored Luna moth showed up one evening and everything else is just amazing

Iris

Lilac Haven

 Prairie Garden (early spring)

Brood comb making in progress

Colombine 

Green Dragon

  

Virginia bluebells

Wild Indigo

Sunset

Side garden

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Heirloom poppies

Yellow bud

Rhododendron 

Red bud

Wild ginger

Ohio buckeye

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Luna moth

Lily of the Valley-original rootstock from my grandma.

Daisy's magnolia

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Sunshine Daydream Rose

My new Sunshine Daydream yellow rose that Andrew planted for our 16th anniversary.

The first rose to win AARS honors with no-spray cultivation, this stunning grandiflora offers waves of bloom. Each flowering stem bears up to eight 3½-inch blooms of soft butter-yellow that matures to a rich shade of cream over time. Superb disease resistance keeps the glossy dark green foliage healthy-2012

Surgery

My surgery was today.  It was scheduled for noon. I think we started at 1 and were done by 2:30. The nurse rousted me about and told me to get moving so they could get me out. That was about 4 ish based on my perception being as though I was still in a drug induced stupor. I do know it is a 20 minute drive from the hospital to home and we got home at 5 pm. Not very pretty but worth the effort. My parathyroid hormone level dropped from 177 to 22 during surgery. Normal range = 2.0-89.0. I was off the chart.

Brain Surgery

My brother had brain surgery today. His condition, probably 20 years in the making was recently discovered and we just met with the surgeon on the 14th so they moved this along quickly. He is doing fine and is expected to make a full recovery with no additional medication needed. Please keep him in your prayers. He had the best neurosurgeon at OSU medical hospital.

A Moment to Relax

The calm before the storm of upcoming medical issues.  Out to Battelle Darby for an afternoon of relaxation before the upcoming week of surgeries....

Howard T with recommended reading for me

Woodland warriors

Showy orchis

Knotty Pine Times

Fun time catching up with my very good high school friend Ron who I met for dinner on his way though Columbus from Dewey Beach Delaware to visit our home town in south central Ohio. Haven't seen each other for 20 years.  Feel compelled to mention that his rustic home in the great state of Delaware is called the Knotty Pine and he is a collector of all things Knotty Pine. Of course he went home with a tee shirt and a case of glassware that he bought from them.