Life Turns a Corner

"Out of the blue" on Saturday morning (the 11th) the thought came to me that I should quit my full-time job so I could care for both my aging mother and George, who we can see will be an invalid for some unknown length of time while he recovers from his PE (pulmonary embolisms). By the end of that day, George, Mother, and I had agreed on the change. Talk about a sudden change of course! Life turned a corner, and it didn't even warn me with a turn signal.

Mother will be 92 in April. We have a trip to Georgia planned for her birthday, to visit Alice's family. Mother has lived in her own apartment for over 2 years in a senior retirement community. She has helpers who come in, morning and evening, to help her dress, bathe, do laundry, etc. Lately it's become evident that she needs someone available all the time, but she simply will not consider going to an assisted living home.

With George disabled, I am overloaded -- I can't manage an outside job and take care of my family and home too. I have resigned from CBS as of the end of March, which is the print deadline for the 23 courses we're publishing this year. The publishing team is working hard to make the deadline, so I'll stay and finish up that big project. Though I really love my job, I am at peace about quitting -- this is the right thing to do.

George's Journey to Health: How it Started

It's time for me to start up this blog again. I've had a job -- Senior Editor for Adult Curriculum at Community Bible Study -- that keeps me glued to a computer all day long, writing and editing, so when I get home, I don't do much writing. However, now that we need a platform to keep people informed on the newest challenge in our lives, I'll be blogging more often.

George spent 3 days in St. Francis hospital in early February, being treated for pulmonary emboli (blood clots) in his left lung. He had been getting weaker and finding it more difficult to breathe since January 14th, when he experienced an extremely sharp pain in his left side that wouldn't go away. After a few days of him yelling out every time he moved, we went to see the Physician's Assistant he usually sees at our doctor's office. She decided that he had pulled a muscle, and prescribed some medicine. It was on a Friday evening 3 weeks later that we finally decided he should go to the ER. They discovered multiple blood clots in his lung and the oxygen level in his blood was 81 -- extremely low. He was admitted and began treatment to thin his blood so he wouldn't produce more clots and to dissolve the ones in his lung. It is taking a long time for his lung to recover from the damage, and he can't go without oxygen. He's tethered by a 40-foot tube to a nifty little machine that makes oxygen, day and night.

Georgia's Scooter

Here's our little Georgia on her new birthday scooter.

This last week has been taken up with surprise surgery for Madeline, who had her gallbladder removed. Everything went very well.

We had two days of unseasonal, sub-freezing weather. Icey fog coated everything with a thick layer of ice. The sun came out today and melted the ice. Now we can get back to Fall for a few weeks -- we hope!

Last Day of September

Summer is waning. We should have a beautiful day today with intense Fall sunlight and slight breezes with teasing hints of the cold to come. Tomorrow we move into October, when cold weather begins to dominate. Right on time, a new cold front is supposed to reach down into the state. The colors of turning trees and shrubs are striking down here (at a mere 6,000 ft.) where the Great Plains hit the Rockies, but are even more beautiful as they wash across the mountains. This photo was taken near Leadville last week.

November 5th is the day that Christopher (Kit) leaves his army post in Germany, released from active duty. He'll be home for the holidays. He hasn't made any decisions on where he'll go to college, but that's the plan. He probably just wants to enjoy his freedom for a while -- and I know he wants to enjoy being in the U.S. too. He's seen how much that means during his time in Iraq and Europe.

Our youngest granddaughter, Georgia, had her 6th birthday on August 29th, and George had his 67th one month later. What an interesting perspective one achieves with age -- looking back at one generation still represented before us (my mother), seeing where our generation has arrived at, and looking at the lives of our grown children and their young children. Though we all grew up in the same country, our cultural experiences are so very different!

Daniel returned to San Francisco from Southeast Asia in August. He has spent much of his time trying to figure out and put together all the required paperwork for Tien's visa. It looks now as though she won't be here until 2010 -- early in the year, we hope. We have enjoyed getting to know her a little from afar, and we think she's delightful.

Engagement Party

In Vietnam, the engagement party is evidently a huge affair. Both families are usually involved, but in this case we just "participated" from afar. Daniel and Tien had a big studio photo session with them in various outfits, including traditional Vietnamese dress. Tien was gorgeous in every one, and they look very happy together. The party was held on July 14th at a big restaurant with lots of food and lots of people Daniel didn't know. He also didn't understand the ceremonies he participated in. Lots of photos were taken, and video too. We're looking forward to viewing those.

They've been working on getting Tien a fiancee visa, which will take 3-6 months, they're told. Daniel may return to the U.S. during that wait, or he may stay in Vietnam. They plan to come to Colorado and have George perform their wedding in a lovely outdoor setting. We are certainly looking forward to having Tien as a daughter-in-law!

Big, Big News!

In June, Daniel totally surprised us by calling from Vietnam to say he'd asked Tien to marry him. He and Tien have corresponded via Internet and letters for 8 years, but we knew nothing of her till he went and stayed a week with her family near Saigon. Daniel left Saigon to travel around Vietnam, but that didn't last long; he flew back to Tien and proposed. We are very pleased and happy for them.

Christopher (Kit) was home from Iraq for most of June, and Wendy came from Alaska for a week-long visit. Kit had some remarkably good fishing, and we all spent a night in a large suite overlooking the river at the Breckenridge Marriott. The whole state is lush green from all the thunderstorms that have rolled through. Kit will return to his base in Germany and be out of the army in just four months!

I (Madeline) broke my arm about mid-June (distal radius fracture) and had a metal plate inserted in my wrist to repair it.

Travelers

Both of our boys have traveled half way around the world in recent weeks. Christopher (Kit) is home on leave from Germany--a month of free time after spending 14 months in Iraq as an army medic. 

Daniel headed off across the Pacific Ocean to Vietnam, where he's been visiting his Internet friend Tien and sightseeing in Saigon, Hanoi, and Ha Long Bay.

Julie and Jon have taken their 4 girls to Louisiana, a yearly trek to see Jon's grandparents. They paddle around the bayous, swim, play games in the cool of the evening, and stay in the shade during the heat of the day.

George and I are busy at our usual jobs, plus enjoying Christopher's presence at home. We're planning a trip into the mountains soon.

My mother has nice, predictable, peaceful days in her downstairs apartment.

We're all glad to have lots of moisture and greenery, but we'd like it to get warmer, since it is June already.

Our 2 cats, Smash and Punkin, keep us entertained. Actually, our grey cat is named Smudge, but George keeps saying "Smash, er, Smush, or whoever you are!" so we sometimes call her Smash.