A Flowerful Weekend!

Hello, Everybody!

The time just seems to fly by. It is hard to believe that we are already in the last half of April. Ellen went back to her home on Sunday. Oh, my, Sharon already misses her. She will continue to come early each morning to help Sharon get dressed and ready for the day of therapy, doctors' appointments, etc.



This first picture was taken of us on Easter Sunday morning. It was great to be able to go to church and see all of the little kids dressed up in their Easter clothes. Church was packed. Standing room only--as usual.

The weather was beautiful this weekend. Our cold weather is just about over. We each bought a Hibiscus tree! (Like we needed another Hibiscus plant!) Sam's Club had them. We love the woven trunks and for the price, we couldn't pass them up. We were able to transplant them into bigger pots.

Now, for a few pictures of our "babies" that we pampered in the greenhouse all winter long. The geraniums flourished!!

These are two cabbage plants that were in three inch pots when we first got them. Neither of us has ever grown a cabbage before. If we are able to have a couple of nice heads, we'll bring the cole-slaw for dinner!!

This week is Secretary's Week. Ellen tries to do something different for the office ladies every year. They are such a wonderful group to work with. We found beautiful petunias in vibrant colors. Here's Ellen getting the plants all "dressed up".

Here are the finished products. They are ready to be delivered to four very special ladies!!

Until next time. . . . . .. .....

It's Poker Time!

Hello, Everybody!



Happy Easter Weekend to you! Sharon took her camera outside this morning to take a picture of her Red Hot Pokers! The gardener cut them way back this year, so there aren't as many as usual.

The Alstromeria are in full bloom! Spring time in El Paso always brings such beautiful flowers. Our summers are so hot, that many times the plants aren't as pretty in July and August.

We will be leaving for church soon. Easter Sunday Mass is also a "Dodge Car" game on the parking lot. After all these years, Ellen pretty much has it figured out. We go in her car, because it is smaller than Sharon's. We arrive at church before the 8:30 Mass is over. We sit at the back of the lot, and as people begin leaving, we slowly creep closer to the front door. Before you know it, a space opens up and we scoot right in! Perhaps it sounds more like "Cat and Mouse" than "Dodge Cars"!! Wish us luck!!

We hope your Easter is a joyous and wonderful day!

Until next time. . . . .

Happy Easter!

Hello, Everybody!



Last week, we told you about Sharon's PIC line. This is what it looks like after Ellen has hooked her up to the IV antibiotic. Pretty soon, it will be taken out, we hope.

It is hard to believe that Easter is upon us. Ellen found some beautiful Easter lilies at Lowe's, and she brought two of them home. She couldn't decide which one she wanted to buy, so she got both of them!! They really are pretty.

We love the smell of Easter lilies. Both the den and the kitchen smell like Spring!

Ellen gets out of school at noon, today. We are going to go out to lunch at one of our favorite places -- Thyme Matters. The last time we were there was when Nichole was here in November!! That seems impossible, but when you think about it, Sharon's surgery was Feb. 18th. We haven't gone out much since then.

We hope everyone has a wonderful Easter weekend. We won't be going on any Easter Egg Hunts, but will celebrate this joyous holiday!

Until next time. . . . .

PIC Lines!

Hello, Everybody!
This has been a very busy week. In our last post, we told you that Sharon had an appointment with an Infectious Diseases doctor. He was not happy with how her arm looked. He felt that after ten days of antibiotics, the cellulitis should be cleared. Arrangements were made by the doctor's office, and later that afternoon when Ellen got home from school, we were on our way to the hospital! We went directly to the Infusion Center where a PIC line was inserted. This is like an IV, but a much thinner catheter and about ten inches in length. Then they gave her the first dose of the antibiotic. She is to have ten days of IV antibiotics, and then will return to the doctor. So, now besides the physical therapist coming to the house three times a week, we now have the infusion nurse coming on a daily basis!! Yesterday, she showed Ellen the procedure for administering the antibiotics. Beginning Saturday, Ellen will be doing this little procedure for the remaining days. Ellen learned a new medical term. The nurse uses what she calls the "SASH" method. That stands for Saline, Antibiotic, Saline, and Heparin. Here is a picture of the tools of the trade. Since Sharon's left shoulder is compromised with the surgery, the IV was put in her right arm. Sharon is doing quite well, considering she has to be careful with the PIC line.

The therapist continues to push her harder and harder with every visit. It makes for a great deal of soreness and pain later in the day. Sharon is handling it all quite well. Some days she feels good enough to get on her stationary bike and go ten miles!! Ellen would collapse before she hit mile #1!!

We will keep you updated!

Until next time. . . . .

A Little Bit of This and That!

Hello, Everybody!

Wow! It is almost impossible to believe that it has been ten days since we posted. Things are going along just fine. Sharon continues healing; albeit, a slow process. A couple of times the therapist has really worked her, and it hurt bad the next couple of days. (If you remember, we called therapists the terrorists when Ellen had her knee replacement surgery.) Sharon is ready to call hers a terrorist. Actually, she is a very nice lady, but she hurts Sharon sometimes.

On Monday, Sharon is going to yet another doctor--an infectious disease doctor. Dr. Heydemann, her surgeon is referring her because he doesn't like how her arm looks. Even after a round of antibiotics, her arm still has a clumping of redness from the cellulitis. We will let you know.

Today, we went to church again. It is the hardest thing to keep well-meaning wonderful people from hugging too tightly, and hitting her shoulder. Oh, well, today wasn't too bad.

Ellen made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. Yum, Yum!
We talked to Sharon's daughter in Nevada. They have had bad weather like other parts of the country. We are ready for Spring here in El Paso.

Ellen's son, Joe, has a birthday coming up this next week. It will be his 28th. We will write more about that later this week.

Tomorrow is Monday, already! The weeks are flying by so quickly. We hope you all have a good Monday and a happy week!

Until next time. . . . . .

Some Kind of Fruit Basket!

Hello, Everybody!

Yesterday afternoon, the doorbell rang and there stood this man with this enormous fruit basket! It was huge, and full of grapefruits, oranges, limes, red apples, green apples, pears, plums,red grapes, green grapes, bananas, and one very large pineapple with a kiwi stuck right on top. It was a beauty to behold. Somebody had lots of fun putting this basket together.

It was just too pretty to not show you.

We had a good day. Ellen made the most delicious green chicken enchiladas for dinner tonight. We went to the beauty shop to get our hair fixed, and now we feel like a million bucks again. Sharon's therapist came today and did calculations and calibrations to see just how much progress she has made in one month. That's right. Can you believe that the surgery has been a month ago?

Spring break is almost over for Ellen. You know how she has spent it----taking care of Sharon. Sharon is very grateful, too.

Until next time. . . . . . . . . . .

Church, Lunch, Shopping, and Neuchatel!

Hello, Everybody!



We hope you had a good weekend. We did. On Sunday morning, we got Sharon into some "church" clothes, and headed off to church. It was Ellen's mission to make certain that no one hit Sharon in or on her shoulder. She was mostly successful in that mission. There was this dear little old lady who is 90 years old. She is such a sweetheart that we didn't have the heart to tell her to be careful.

After church, we decided to go to lunch. After all, we had Sharon all dressed up. We headed to Applebee's. Then we ran over to the Mall and went to Dillard's. They were having their Clinique gift with purchase. We just couldn't pass it up. By this time Sharon was ready for a nap.

Ellen's mail brought a wonderful surprise from Switzerland! Remember our friends the Marchiondos? They sent us a box of fantastic chocolate from Neuchatel. Oh, my! The chocolate just melts in your mouth. They really taste delicious with a glass of Chardonnay! (Hee, hee!) The card was addressed to Nursie Pooh and Mrs. Peeps. We couldn't resist taking a picture.

The chocolate also tasted delicious with a small glass of white Port!

Thank you, Marchiondos! We miss you, and love reading your blog.

Sharon is getting better with each passing day. She did have a small set back this week. We ended up going to the doctor on Monday because of some redness on her arm just above the elbow. The doctor prescribed an antibiotic. He thinks it is cellulitis. The medication seems to be helping.

Until next time. . . . . . . . .

And She Wonders Why She Hurts!

Hello, Everybody!

It seems that as each passing day comes and goes, more bruises surface. Sharon's whole arm on the back side is one big bruise. Is it any wonder that she hurts? Isn't her skin a lovely shade of yellow?

All of the "waffle skin" you see is from the wrap that connects to the ice machine. We put it on fairly tight, otherwise it slips down.

One day, she searched the Web for live surgeries just like she had. Here is what she found, but we warn you: Don't watch if you go weak at the sight of blood!

It was fascinating to Sharon, and it certainly explains why she has all of those bruises. (We hope this link works.)

http://www.or-live.com/distributors/nlm-flash/bio_1745/rnh.cfm?id=644

Enjoy!!

Until next time. . . . .

Sunday, Shopping, Snoozing!

Hello, Everybody!

We thought we would update a little bit on Sharon's new shoulder. She continues to make progress, and is beginning to try things that maybe she shouldn't try. Ellen did get her out of the house today. Yesterday, she tried on clothes just to see if she could get into them. She really wanted to go to church this morning, but it just wasn't meant to be. By the time that we got her dressed, it was after eleven o'clock. Ellen put her in the car, and we went to Target. We figured that there wouldn't be that many people there because most would be in church. Sure enough, the store was not crowded at all.

The father of a former student of Sharon's came over to us in Target. His son is one of Sharon's all time favorites. It was nice to visit for a few minutes. After we came home and had lunch, Sharon was ready for a nap. She got comfy and all situated in her chair and proceeded to doze off. Ellen left to go get her car washed and then went to her house to catch up on a few things.

We also ran into Mary, one of our teachers at Polk. She was with her daughter-in-law and granddaughter. They, along with Mary's son and grandson, just arrived in El Paso yesterday. They have moved here. Come tomorrow, the little girl will be a "Polkster". Welcome!!

Our plants in the greenhouse were in need of some attention. Ellen brought her gardening tools down and went to work. The plants have been cleaned of dead buds and flowers and have been thoroughly watered. Just like any other room in the house, the time comes for a little rearranging!

This is the final week of school before Spring Break! Everyone is looking forward to having a whole week off! It makes facing Monday a little bit easier!

Until next time. . . . .

EXCELLENT !

Hello, Everybody!

That is what the doctor kept saying, "Excellent, excellent, excellent!" That is music to our ears. He was extremely happy about the progress Sharon has made. The only real pain that she has is way down deep where the new joint meets the old bone! Wow! We had a staple pulling party at the doctor's office yesterday. Sharon was a little apprehensive about having them removed, but they just popped out--one right after the other. Remarkable!
In some places, you can just barely see where the skin was cut.

Isn't that fantastic? We got a new prescription for pain, and a renewed prescription for continued home therapy. We will see what next week brings! We are both elated about how well she is doing.

The old saying, "Slow and steady wins the race!" is not exactly Sharon's philosophy on life. She is more of a "Let's hurry up and get this all over with" kind of person. We are compromising somewhere in between these adages! The health care part of Ellen knows that some things will just take time. We are managing quite well and before we know it, this little episode will be part of the past. Welcome to the weekend! Have a good one!

Until next time. . . . .