The last few months have been eventful. Inky (the fitful octopod) was starting to get the best of me. Some of you know I was diagnosed with a heart arrhythmia that slowed me down. Good news was, I was put on the list to have a cardiac ablation that could possibly cure the condition. I was pumped (har-har….heart humor!) for the opportunity to have my heart worked on by the good doctors at Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia in Austin, Texas.
I wanted Inky gone from my chest cavity!
While I was waiting for the surgery, the Texan came down with a nasty strep infection in his right knee. This required two surgeries to ‘clean the knee out’ and two hospital stays where he was given massive doses of antibiotics. I administered IV antibiotics at home to him for 4 weeks. It’s the Texan’s story, and I won’t go into all the gory details. We became intimately acquainted with the spectrum of walking aids.
We discovered the handiness of getting around in a wheelchair.
The Texan graduated to this walking device very quickly and stayed on it the longest.
The beloved walker. I could hear him coming from miles away. The Texan required a walker for super-tall people. The grands loved pushing it around.
We had a trip to Florida planned to meet with our Dallas family, and generally hang out with the grands. I told the Texan I didn’t think he should go. The distances were simply too great for him to cover with his walker. He would be exhausted just trying to make it to dinner! Sprout #3 had that predicament totally covered. When we arrived in Florida, we had this zippy mode of transportation waiting for us.
Ah….the scooter! We were pretending to be sad about it, but this little thing saved our bacon. The Texan loved it, and it let him conserve his energy.
After the Florida trip, we flew to Austin for my surgery. As we traveled around the hospital for tests and doctor’s visits, the Texan used the wheelchair because of the long distances we needed to travel. Most of the doctors/nurses addressed him as the patient. He had to explain numerous times he was my caretaker.
My surgery went very well, and our family in Austin rallied and saved our lives.
Nothing better than a narcotic-laced selfie…..except maybe my narcotic-laced texting. Look how serene I looked! The general anesthesia was the best sleep I’d gotten in 6 weeks.
After the surgery, I was instructed not to lift anything. This made trying to get to the airport with our suitcases and a wheelchair-person daunting for me. I shouldn’t have worried. God provided a way to every difficulty we encountered. Our family has been heroic. We are blessed.
That’s where we are today, people. Both of us recovering. Have I mentioned the Texan has graduated to a cane? I’m very proud of him! This entire episode serves as a reminder that God really does provide a way. He sends people to help out at the most opportune moments. No worrying required.