Surgery Eve.....

That day when you try to get everything cleaned, the laundry done, and groceries in the shelves because you know that you won't being doing that stuff much for a few weeks. That was our Wednesday, August 13th...I actually did the food things on Tuesday and we did want to fit one more temple visit before I was down so that was set for Wednesday......

So we headed to the temple to do sealings in the morning which is always a special treat.  When we came outside, this car was parked next to ours....I had to get photos for the Hello Kitty fans in the family--

That is a serious commitment to a brand--not what I would expect to see...anywhere!  Someone loves Hello Kitty!

Gary was serving in the temple on Wednesday in the late shift, so we invited Wayne Volk to come over in the afternoon along with his wife, Kaye, so that he and Gary could give me another blessing for this specific surgery.  I was actually more nervous about this surgery for some reason.  Probably due in part to the fact that unexpected things have been popping up lately and I was a bit "gun shy" as they say.  And the fact that I haven't had a surgery where they actually "cut into me" and planned hospital stay since 1992 when I had a hysterectomy.  I was only 37 then and I am now 70....a big difference! And the whole idea of a "bypass surgery" even when it is the leg artery and not a heart---which would be so much more scary for sure.  We had such a good visit with the Volks.  It was one of those moments when you knew it was right to be sharing this time and conversation with them and for them to be a part of this blessing.  I don't remember much about the blessing although the doctor and his skills being enhanced was mentioned, but I do remember feeling comforted and that was the desire of my heart.  I didn't want to feel nervous about something I needed to have done.  

August 13th is a special day because it is Jena's friend, Emily Ehlen's birthday. So after we got the house cleaned and after the blessing, we stopped off at her house for Jena to drop off a card and a gift for her.  It was fun because one of their young adult volunteers with Wonderwood was visiting from Florida so Jena got to see her and meet her new baby.  Old friends are some of the best blessings in life----

I had finished all of the household tasks that I thought I wanted done before my surgery, except for mopping my wood floors.  I had decided to wait until the evening to finish that final task. Then about 7:30 Jessica called and asked if they could all spend the night.  Their power had been out for a few hours by then due to a fire north of them about 5 miles--no power means no AC which isn't fun in the August summer in Utah. Of course, we were happy to have them come.  We got a bed put together downstairs for the grownups and put sleeping bags on the family room floor for the grandkids.  And I got one last unexpected but happy grandchildren fix before my surgery----Jessica shared this photo--

The only thing better than reading to 5 grandchildren is reading to 10 of them!!! Love them so much! My kitchen floor didn't (and still hasn't) gotten mopped, but there are way more important things than a mopped floor.  Reading to grandchildren is one of those things.  :)

We had to leave about 6:30 in the morning to make it to our appointment at McKay Dee so we didn't see them in the morning, but it worked out that they spent some time with Jena until about noon which was great for us because we don't like her hanging out all day alone.  So it was a win win and their power was on when they got home.

And that is how the day before surgery went.  It was pretty perfect.

Jena at RISE

Tuesday, August 12, Jena started attending RISE a day program for people with disabilities.  I just felt like she needs more interactions and opportunities in life and we can't wait until she finds a job to start framing out the rest of her life.  She was so excited.  She didn't want me to forget to do the "First Day" photos to share with her siblings.

She came home happy and excited to go again next week so a good start.

Is it really what I want?  Not really, but feels like the best of our current options with good flexibility when she is still looking for a job. Right now she is going once a week on Tuesdays except for the upcoming week when she will go twice so she can participate in their cooking activity on Thursday.

Elder Jensen's Mission Homecoming

 On Sunday, August 10th, we headed up to Burley, Idaho, to welcome Elder Amos Jensen home from his mission in Arkansas.  He spent the first three transfers or so in Ft. Smith and we loved being there to watch him change from a new missionary to a powerful one.  It was great to be there and to spend time also with his family.  Having children who were adopted connected us immediately with his parents.

An unexpected bonus was spending time with some of our other young missionaries as well--

Elder Smith, Elder Miller, Elder Jensen and Elder Rojos.

We saw the Burley Temple on our drive to Elder Jensen's home after his awesome talk in Church. So we went back to get pictures..  They will have their open house and dedication this fall.

I texted Sister Collins our group photo from Elder Jensen's house and she sent me two photos of the open house they attended on that same Sunday.  20 missionaries had come home that week from the Arkansas Bentonville Mission and many spoke the same Sunday.

The Collins with more young missionaries we love

And we just heard last night that another set of missionaries from the ABM are getting married--Elder Keller who served with us many transfers is marrying Sister Oaklee Martinez who we didn't know--fun stuff.

It was a fun Sunday to renew connections and remember the joy of missionary service.

Finally, A Temple Visit...

morning walks at Jensen Pond, a trip to Lagoon, and unpacking boxes of toys in the downstairs game room.  Signs of "normal" life around here. It was so nice to feel well enough to do some regular things.  It felt so great even with a leg which doesn't like to walk much.

Lagoon

Their music show

Gary and Jena did Rattlesnake Rapids

Gary and Jena have gone to Lagoon a few times this year, but this was my first time.  I hope to be able to make it back for Frightmares in the fall.

I started walking at Jensen Pond last Thursday--and on Saturday I was able to walk about 40 minutes which felt like a major accomplishment.  

The cattails were in "bloom" along the path.  I love cattails.  In some ponds down the hill from where I grew up there were always lots of them in the fall.  In 9th grade I did a project about them for my Environmental Science class which included the different ways local people used them historical.  I love that they are included in the Syracuse Temple as part of the design.

They aren't the prettiest plant, but I still love them.  They remind me of Richland and also Syracuse!

And finally un packing some toys in the basement--

Nice to accomplish something especially when I know that I will be back in a recovery mode after Thursday.  Goal this week:  Clean the house!

And the Doctor Visits...

continued.  I feel truly "older" now.  I think I have/had 8 appointments (doctor/dentist) this month and that doesn't count whatever is added after I have surgery on Thursday. More on that in a minute.

Monday, I saw a specialist about the gall stones which were found in every CT scan for the kidney stone.  The urologist office especially felt it was important to have it checked out.  So I met with a Dr. Jordan who was an interesting character.  He told me that I will probably "die and go to heaven with my gall stones."  The gall bladder looked fine except for the stones and lots of people have stones and never have any trouble with them.  He reviewed the symptoms with me and gave me his card and said to call him if they ever become problematic and he would be happy to remove the gall bladder. So, good news and checked!

Tuesday I saw the PA at the urologist and they said everything was looking good--no infection or blood in my urine.  I go back tomorrow to find the results of the stone and possible things to prevent another one of that type growing again.

Wednesday, Gary and I met with my vascular surgeon (who wants to have a vascular surgeon? If you need one, you would want one, I guess---like having a urologist!) We discussed options and it happened that he could fit me in this Thursday or we could do it in October after our vacations/family wedding. We decided to go ahead and have surgery on Thursday and move into the healing part of this whole experience.  I have already been mostly in "sick" mode this summer so I guess I will finish the summer that way This is a bypass surgery to go around the blockage of "cement" in my artery.  He decided to use an artificial tubing for the bypass which for my particular repair works "just as good as" using a vein.  He said that I had many good veins he could use, but this allows for a simpler surgery and recovery and also keeps my veins for any future needs.  Once a bypass is done, I have to be watched the rest of my life to make sure that it is working properly. They usually do, but for some people they might fail after a year or after 10, there is no way to predict.  So I guess I really do now have "my" vascular surgeon on my regular yearly or however often they require. Fortunately, I have felt very comfortable with the staff at the clinic as well as the doctor so that is good.  This surgery is about 2 hours long and I will have about a 2 day stay in the hospital and then PT and recovery 3-12 weeks. You will be hearing more about this, I am sure.

Also on Wednesday, I had a follow up with "my" hematologist as well. He was excited to learn about the two kidneys/2 ureters situation and told me that I was just a fun mix of genetic oddities.  I haven't told him that I don't smell.  Our family doctor in Hong Kong told me that made me "even more interesting!"  Doctors find odd things interesting. Anyway, even though my white blood cell issue is a benign condition usually, he feels they need to track it every three months along with some other tracers in the blood to make sure that it stays in my "normal" low range and doesn't drop back into the severe low like it was at the beginning of the year. So for the next few years, I will see him once or twice a year and do blood tests with his office every three months. Learning new things about my body and how it works (or doesn't work) every appointment.

And that was a wrap for last week's visits.....no photos although Dr. Schlieder did show me the pictures of my artery and the blockage and drew me a nice picture of the artery and why they couldn't place a stent.  Fun stuff! And these are minor things compared to what so many people have to deal with every day!

"Footloose"- Hale Theate

Since we had to reschedule our time to see "Twelve Angry Men", we are getting a lot of practice making the trip down to Sandy, Utah, for Hale Theatre productions. This past Monday, we saw "Footloose" which I have actually never seen.  At first I wasn't sure I would like it, but as the story progressed and the characters grew, I liked it more and more.  The music and dancing was amazing, like usual.  Jena loved it.

Of course, no photos are allowed during the show, so these were taken before it started.  As always, the scenery and the stage changes were amazing!  It is well worth attending a show or two in the round Hale Center Theatre.

We actually took these photos with the props after we saw "Twelve Angry Men."  "Footloose" hadn't gotten out yet, so we were able to get a photo with no waiting!

Tomorrow night, we make one more trip down to Hale Theatre to attend a concert for the group- Gentri.  Something different---

When we were at the theatre last week, I just remember feeling so grateful that my parents shared their love of theatre with me, that Gary (and Jena) share that love, and that we were able to share so many seasons of Hale Theatre with Gary's parents. None of those moments were wasted.

Will there be theatre and shows in Heaven?

Painting the Basement

On Thursday, July 24th, I was sitting on my recliner in the usual heating pad pose and Gary was lying on the bed in pain from a muscle pull in his lower back and we were really feeling like we were getting old--

when I got a text from our contractor.  We had asked for them to do some repairs and painting for us downstairs and he had said it would likely be in September or October which was fine for us.  I just wanted it done before our Christmas party in December. Anyway, he had an unexpected break in their schedule the following week and wondered if they could come and do the work and painting.  We said yes, but then laughed at ourselves.  We were both not well and getting the basement ready was going to take some energy over the next few days.  We still had lots of boxes not unpacked yet and cleaning and organizing the areas where we had unpacked.

In between the two of us--walking wounding--we got it done (although we did forget to clean out the water bottles from the small fridge and move it.).

And now we have a freshly painted game room, hallway, and bathroom and we can actually move into those areas and finally get rid of our boxes!  The grandkids will be so excited to finally have a place to play with grandma's toys again.  It has been five years for them.

Getting ready

Carlos working on the trim

The painting is done except maybe a few touch ups and the hanging of some doors and other things.  Probably no one will really notice, but this is a slightly lighter and "minter" color of green.  It is actually on the same "color strip" as the green in our master bathroom, but a shade lighter.  I like it.  I read that green was a good "social"color, so perfect for our game room.

toy closet--all green this time

They will finish up tomorrow and then we can start slowly moving things back into place and maybe finally feel "moved back in."

So at least, we "accomplished" something during July...well, Gary has accomplished a lot.  Even with his back being in pain, he continues to work on things around the house, do family history work, and serve at the temple. We are hoping to do a session this coming week--that will be a first since this kidney stone sage started.

Twelve Angry Men (Hale Theatre)

 I have already mentioned that I spent most of the month sitting in our recliner with a heating pad.

We did take the chance to go to the Hale Theatre to see Twelve Angry Men.  It is a jury room drama which was excellent.  They did a great job casting the parts.  It was one that gave you things to think about.  We had had to change our tickets because of the kidney stone adventure in Washington, but I was glad we made it.

I have never been on a jury and probably won't at my age now.  But it made me want to have that experience.  I should have put it on my bucket list long ago.

The Angiogram (July 31)

As I mentioned, this appointment had been set about 5 weeks ago.  The plan was to go in, take pictures of the blockage they had found in my upper left leg and hopefully stent it (he assured me that this stent would not cause the problems I experienced with ureter stents--although back when we had the conversation, I was speaking of my problems years ago, never dreaming I would be dealing with them again within a week.)

Wednesday evening (the night before), I got very sick again from the pain in my kidney and spent time throwing up.  I was debating if I needed to go to the ER, because vomiting was one of the symptoms to be concerned about.  Adding to the complications were we had to be at the McKay Dee Hospital at 6:00 am.  I was worried about getting there, but also what was happening with my kidney and trying not to wake up Gary so he would be able to drive us wherever we ended up going.  After about 3 hours, the pain subsided about 1:30 am and I was able to get a bit of sleep. It wasn't the best start for the day's procedure, but I was glad that I didn't have to cancel it.

Pretty smiley for 6:30 am

And this is what Gary sent the kids.  He is getting fancy with his smartphone.  They loved it, of course.

After the surgery, they covered me with this blowup blanket which is filled with warm air--a newer version of the heated blanket.  It is super nice but looks a bit funny.

The surgery was set for about 1 1/2 hours, but after 20 minutes or so, the doctor finished the angiogram and ended the procedure.  The blockage was 100% which wasn't what we were expecting and it was also located near a junction off the main artery which didn't allow for a stent to be placed in it.  That means that the only treatment options are : 1- to continue to walk through the pain and in a year or so, it should improve because of new blood vessels being added around the blockage; or 2- do a by pass surgery which requires taking a piece of vein and rerouting the blood around the blockage.  That doesn't sound fun at all, especially as I google that surgery and the recovery times (3 to 6 or 12 weeks, depending on what you read.)  I have't talked to the doctor, but he told Gary that it would probably be set for September.  My September is pretty busy and I am not sure how this will fit in.  We will meet with the doctor on Wednesday to discuss options.

So the unexpected and the complications keep happening, but it is and has been true that I have felt a peace about it with both the stone and now my leg.  And in the moments when I feel picked on or discouraged, I remember the sweet promises of peace from my Heavenly Father uttered by that missionary in Washington and I have found that peace each time I have asked.

It is not a kidney stone---but this too will pass!

And I found out today that Kaye Volk has the same things in both of her legs (and also in her heart) and has been struggling with pain in walking for awhile. We are never left alone. It was good to talk to her about it although hers is much worse and more intense than my situation is.

The Sage of the Kidney Stone

On October 12, 2014, I wrote a blog post, entitled "How many days can one kidney stone ruin?"  At that point, I said 14 days, although back then, the adventure did continue throughout October down through Thanksgiving as it turned out that I had a second kidney stone which took its sweet time passing as well and a kidney infection which took a while to clear up.  And just to top it off, I got very sick a few days before Thanksgiving that year and ended up back at the urologist's office to doublecheck the kidney/bladder and to get IV solutions to deal with some viral infection.  In that case, 2 kidney stones impacted several weeks of life.

This experience has been different from that one, but this one kidney stone has kept me "down and out" for the month of July.

As you know, we returned early from our trip for the postponed lithotripsy which was set for July 16--finally.  The goal was to break up the stone and to allow it to pass though and out of my body.  We did the procedure at the Holy Cross Davis Hospital (the old Davis Hospital).  It went fine and it was the easiest and fastest that I have ever come out of general anesthetic.  The doctor chose to leave both stents in because it wasn't totally clear which tube might catch the debris and he wanted to protect both ureters. Fine, but I was counting down the days until those would be removed.  That was set for July 29.  That would mean that the stents were in place for a month. Yuck!

We have a family thread and so it means that we send pictures to "share" with our kids.  So they have gotten a few from hospitals this month....They can't say we don't keep them informed.

After the lithotripsy on the 16th

I continued to feel miserable, like a constant bladder infection plus a tender back.  As part of the treatment, my urologist sent me to a PT to do a treatment to help encourage the debris from remaining in the lower kidney.  It involved using a small handheld massage gun to pound on your back as you lie in different positions.  After doing it at the office, we try it at home.  Both times, it left my lower back feeling super painful.  I wasn't sure if that meant it was working or not working, but I decided that the pain was a sign that it wasn't the right thing so we didn't do it again.   

So, I read books, took naps, and ordered groceries from WalMart to keep everyone fed (so helpful).  That is really all I did.  Back in 2014, I was in my first year of graduate school so I did spend lots of time studying which felt a bit more productive than just reading spy novels, historical fiction, and non-fiction books.  Again, heating pads and ice packs are my friends and our bedroom recliner my safe spot.

On the evening of the 28th as I was preparing to fall asleep and thinking about the stents being removed the next morning, I had a quiet whisper of a thought--don't get too set on that outcome. Not something that I had considered up to that point, but I acknowledged to myself and to God that I would be okay with whatever happened---but of course, why wouldn't they be taking out the stents?

Tuesday morning, I did the required CT scan and then headed to the urologist's office.  The medical assistant set me up in the procedure room including preparing my bladder for the stent removal.  She told me that the doctor would be about 15 minutes as he was finishing up another case.  No worries--I had a book to read. About 10 minutes later she came in and apologized.  Dr. Reynolds needs to see you because your kidney stone has not moved or changed over the past 2 weeks. He needs to talk to you about next steps. (Side note: I had been straining my urine for the past 2 weeks and I was mostly getting a white powdery substance and blood clots. I had hoped that the stone had been blasted into this sandy stuff, but no such luck.  I knew that I hadn't passed any thing "peddle-like.") I got dressed and headed to one of his exam room. The option was surgery the next day to try to go into the kidney and pull the stone out.  And likely, the stents would remain for at least another 2 weeks---because as he said, "that is kind of how this kidney stone as gone for you."

That caught me off guard, but I was grateful for that small feeling the night before about not counting on the stents being removed.

What added to the "fun" of it all, I already had a angiogram scheduled at McKay Dee Hospital to treat the blockage in my left leg for Thursday morning. That appointment had been made 5 weeks ago, long before the kidney stone started causing problems. Dr. Reynolds was okay with the back to back procedures and as I reached out to Dr. Schlieder's office, they also gave the okay.  Easy for them to say--and despite the weirdness of it all, we decided better to get things taken care of and into the recovery phase for both the kidney and my leg. Might as well rest and recover from two things rather than just one!

Gary assisted by Craig Pessetto gave me a sweet blessing Tuesday night (although Gary reminded me that the promises from the young missionaries back in Washington still also applied) and I felt comfortable that things would proceed safely and the way that they should go.

Wednesday morning, we were back at the Holy Cross Davis Hospital for the kidney stone removal.  Things went smoothly, he was able to remove it, AND the best news was that he decided to remove both stents since he felt that there wasn't any concern about further debris damaging the tubes.  That resulted almost immediately in relief for my bladder.  YAY! Recovery went well and we headed home by 1:00.

Gary has been a great support to me over the
past month and has spent a lot of time in
hospital chairs.

After surgery--no stents!!

And although I have had some serious bouts of pain and passing blood clots, overall, I have felt much better.  The pain is mostly in my kidney area and it helped by Tylenol and heat or ice. Probably just another week or so as the kidney recovers from the impact of the stone and from its removal.

So it is true as predicted--this too will pass!!! Even if it takes over a month, four different medications, two stents, and three surgeries!!!

Sister Wassmer and Sister Burnsides

We were able to get home on Tuesday around noon, so I could head over and have the repeat urine test to make sure I was good for surgery the next day.  Thankfully that came back clear enough and surgery was set for the next morning.....

One benefit of coming home early is we were able to attend the wedding reception for one of our favorite missionaries --Sister Wassmer.  We had thought we would miss it and had made a plan to go up to Byron, Wyoming the following week to surprise her at that reception.  With the surgery, we knew that was off the table, so we were glad to slip down to Layton to her first reception.  They had gotten married that morning in the Layton Temple.  We were excited to run into Sister Burnsides, another favorite missionary who was her companion in Ft. Smith.

Us with Sister Jocelyn Burnsides

I thought I had taken a picture of Sister Wassmer and her husband but I guess I didn't.  We got to meet her parents which was fun because they had heard about Jena and the Halls in Ft. Smith and we were able to share our love of their daughter.