Back to Work

I returned to work this past week. Only half of the office is really back to work. Oh well. I have fewer distractions at work so I guess that is good.

Deb went to see Dr. Martin. She suggested that she get some therapy to help her get in a better place. Deb has not been very happy since her diagnosis. Hopefully, she will return to her happy self.

I had a very frustrating day on Wednesday. It seemed everything that I tried to get done did not get done. Things did not work right at all. Then when I got in the car to go home, the rear driver side tire was flat. UGH! To top it all off, I could not get one lug nut loose no matter what I tried. Thankfully, Spencer Salvesen from the Holt Arena maintenance staff was still at work, and he got a breaker bar to get the nut loosened. I had even ended work at the right time and was looking forward to a nice relaxing evening at home. NOT TO BE! When we got the tire fixed, they said that the tire had a piece of bone in it. I must have ran over a dead animal on the road at some time.

Angie has become a full-blown teenager. She decided she wanted to go to her friend's house. She never really asked to go--just told us. It was a little frustrating since Mom wanted her to mow her lawn. We told Angie she needed to do it since she had told her grandmother that she would, but it was more important to be with her friends. To think, the teenage years are just beginning!

Saturday, Angie and I went to Logan to look at some cars. There was not much there. At Murdock Buick GMC we test drove a Mitsubishi. It was a nice car but too small for us. After the test drive, we just got into our car and drove off without talking to the sales lady who let us go on a test drive. She came running out to us when she saw us leave, but I just drove on. Angie laughed about me leaving.

Lynn and Leisha invited us to attend Sacrament Meeting with them on Father's Day. So, we went to the "Webb Canyon Branch" with their family. It was fun. Afterwards, we had brunch then visited. It was a good Father's Day.

Busy Week

It was a very busy week. It seemed like all we did was doctor appointments!

Deb had her staples removed. She was really nervous about it. I kept telling her it would not be too bad. After it was over, she said it was a lot more worse than I had lead on. At least they are out and her wound can heal completely.

Thursday was a very busy day! In the morning, Deb had her C-PAP set up. The gal that replaced me when I left the Regional Special Education Office came to help Deb set up her C-PAP. She said that after the state closed the office, she worked for some time in other positions within the College of Education while also getting a degree. After she graduated, she got her job with Lincare setting up C-PAPs and other things. In any event, Deb started using her machine. She was really nervous trying to get to sleep but she did WAY better than me on her first night. Not only her first night, but her first week. I really struggled keeping the mask on, and she has done great.

In the afternoon, Angie and I went to Pocatello. Angie had an appointment with Dr. David Donaldson with Pocatello Ear, Nose, and Throat. During her physical last fall, she had some earwax buildup so we finally got around to getting it cleaned out. After the exam, the doctor told us that Angie has some large membranes in her throat and said that she had juvenile sleep disorder. Essentially, she has the youth version of sleep apnea. He told her to get a nasal spray to use for a month to see if it helps get the membranes to normal size. The doctor also said that her tonsils were larger than normal and may need to be taken care of in the future. After the ENT appointment, we went to the eye doctor. Angie's eyes have gotten a little worse so she got a new prescription.

While we were in Poky, Lilli had her appointment with Doug Gallup of Family Services. She said it went well, and Deb said that the counselor said that he felt Lilli had progressed as much as she can. He suggested that she may want some more counseling when she resumes school next fall.

On Friday, I took Angie and Lilli to their appointment of neurofeedback with Bret Judd. On the way home, we dropped off Lilli at her friend's house in Arimo so that she can stay overnight. Later, I took Angie to the Suttons for a party.

Truly, it was a busy week!

Start of Summer

This past week, Deb and I celebrated our 18th Wedding Anniversary. Since Deb is somewhat laid up, I cooked dinner at home then we went to Connie and Bill's and played games. It was a lot of fun. Usually, we try to go out, but with Deb not at 100%, it was better that we did not--other than going to Connie and Bill's.

Later in the week, we went to Lynn and Leisha's while Angie went to Katanya's birthday celebration at Outer Limits and then up Webb Canyon. It was also good to get some games played with those wonderful people!

The car went kaput before Deb had her surgery. We found out that it will be about $2,000 to get the car fixed. UGH! We are in search of a new car. UGH!

Two wonderful women left this world for the spirit world this past week. The first was Harriet Roberts, formerly of Swan Lake. When I was a teenager, I worked for her husband mainly moving pipe. I then helped them move to Rupert from Swan Lake. The other was Barbara Wisner. Again, she will be missed. She was such a friendly, loving person. When Shawn Henderson and I went to Las Vegas in September of 2001, we went to Logandale to go to church with her. She seemed to be proud that I came to be with her. I sure wish this COVID-19 stuff was gone. I would have gone to both funerals.

Memorial Day

We started the week with Memorial Day. At first, Deb wanted to go to the Clifton Cemetery and be with her siblings at her parents' graveside. However, Deb did not feel good at all, so we stayed home. Connie and Bill along with Lynn and Leisha stopped at the house after they had visited the Clifton Cemetery. It was good to see them, and it lifted Deb's spirits. Connie brought us a lasagne to eat when we needed something to eat.

We have wonderful ward members. Each day, a member has brought us a meal. Not only brought us a meal but a very delicious meal. Becky Sorensen and Shannon Sutorius brought us meals on last Sunday. Then, in order, we have had meals brought to us by Charissa Shurtz, LaRue Higbee, Lisa Austin, Morgan Bell (a member of the Downey 1st Ward but a great friend), LaDene Fly, Shannon Sutorius (again), and Darlene Downs.

I went to work on Friday. It was good to sit at the desk and work. After work, I met the girls. They drove the Excursion that we borrowed from Lynn and Leisha. I had driven the pickup to work. They had their counseling appointment. After going to the appointment we got some Frosties from Wendy's. While waiting for the girls to arrive, I dropped off Angie's bicycle to get the flat tires fixed. On the way home, we dropped the Excursion off at the Browers.

We had our at-home Sacrament Meeting today. It is awesome to be with the family.

Post Surgery

It has been quite the week. As it began, I could not wait for it to be over. Now, we are at the end. Thankfully!

Deb and I left home on Thursday morning at about 3:15. At about 5:25 we arrived at the University of Utah Hospital. I hugged Deb, and she walked in. I hated leaving her. I wanted so badly to be with her.

After I dropped her off, I went into the parking garage. Deb had told me that she was going to call me when the doctor came to visit her before her operation so I did not want to miss that call driving to Shauna's. She called at about 7 am, so I could have made it to Shauna's. I was able to get a short nap in which helped.

The doctor said that he would have a nurse call at the beginning, during, and at the end of the surgery. The doctor also said that the surgery would take about four hours.

As promised, I received a call from the nurse. Deb did well during the surgery, then after the surgery, I got a call from the assistant surgeon. He said that Deb did really well and the surgery went a little better than expected. He said that Deb would call as soon as she woke up from the anesthesia which would be about an hour. Right then, I wanted to be with Deb. I did not want to wait for a call. I wanted to see her in her recovery room, but, alas, I could not. I had to wait.

It was a big relief when the doctor said Deb was doing great, but she never did call. Late in the afternoon, I called to find out why she had not called. The nurse checked up on her and said that she was still sleeping. As I thought about it, Deb has always had a hard time waking up from anesthesia so then I knew it would be some time before she called.

She called me the next morning. She thought it was still Thursday. She did not believe me that it was Friday. Man, did it feel good to hear her voice. We then did a video call and saw each other for the first time in over 24 hours. Deb looked good--well, as good as can be expected after brain surgery.

We came home today. Deb called at about 9 am to say that she was being released. By the time I got packed and to the hospital and Deb was fully discharged, it was 1:30 pm before we left for home. The ride home seemed long. I wanted to get home to get Deb comfortable. As we were driving home, Becky Sorensen called and said she had supper for us so we stopped and picked that up when we got to Downey.

It is good to have this week over. Now on to recovery!

Mother's Day

Today, we celebrated moms. It is the day we set aside to celebrate those women who not only bring us into the world, but those that teach us.

Yesterday, we went to Mom's and celebrated with her. We cooked hamburgers and visited with her. It was a nice visit.

Today, we did our at-home Sacrament Meeting. Afterwards, we had dinner featuring steak, shrimp, and corn-on-the-cob.

During this week, Angie went to get her driver's license. She passed the skills test with flying colors. On the written test, she could only miss 6 and she got 7 incorrect. She now has to wait three days to try again.

We had a little excitement in the valley. A man got off the interstate and Virginia then holed up in a barn. A SWAT team was called in to get the man who did eventually surrender peacefully. The situation brought up a lot of memories of the Fuhriman murders some 25 years ago!

Angie and Lilli had therapy appointments on Friday. We did some shopping afterwards. Appointments and shopping are the only things that get us out of the house.

COVID-19 Continues

It was another boring week at home. I did work at home, Deb and the girls did school at home. It will be wonderful when life gets back to normal!

Deb did her at-home sleep apnea study. We will hear results sometime next week.

On Saturday, we went to Mom's house. We learned while there that Kristi's dear friend, Stacey Blanchard Rodriguez, had passed away after losing her battle with cancer. While also at Mom's we watch A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood starring Tom Hanks. It is the story of Fred Rogers, and it was a great movie. What this world needs are more Fred Rogers!