AN ANGEL NAMED JOHN

And ~~~~ other items after Mickey's discharge from the hospital on Thursday, January 22nd.   

 Angels come in all different kinds and sizes - and our angel, who came to our aid upon Mickey's discharge after 14 days in the hospital, came in the form of this wonderful, fairly new church friend John.  The fact that John is an RN - well, you can see this was a God connection.  John came over every morning around 8:30 or 9 and changed Mickey's bandage where the drainage tube had been. On a couple of occasions, when the drainage was excessively heavy, he even came back a second time that evening.

I was so nervous about this situation and I literally do not know how Mickey or I could have handled those 6 days without his care, love, attention & help. We can NEVER thank John enough for truly being the hands, feet and heart of Jesus for us.

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 John, his wife Heidi, and 11 year old daughter Addy-Johe visited Mickey in the hospital on Sunday, the 18th, and brought these adorable little plastic pipes for Mickey to practice and strengthen his lungs and breathing.  Marc & Aric joined us for dinner on Sunday, the 25th, and after dinner we ALL joined Mickey and competed in blowing the pipes and sustaining the little balls in the air.  I did the worst!!!!

On Monday, the 26th, Mickey dressed in REAL clothing like he wears, for the first time, and we ventured out to begin our daily Walking Program by making a short trip to Wal-Mart.  

I need to, and will do a post about the entire medical journey Mickey began on October 13, 2014 at a later date but could not wait to give John Gummel the thanks, praise and recognition he deserves. 

WE WIN

Yesterday was "one of those days".

One of those TESTS!!!

Mickey began to get ill on Wednesday evening so we didn't go to church. Thursday he slept most all the day on the couch. When he got up Friday morning he was so weak he could hardly walk from the bed to the kitchen. I wanted to take him to the VA hospital in Muskogee but he kept saying, "No." Finally, he felt so badly and felt like he was going to faint, and he said I better call 911. I called our faithful son, Marc, and then called 911. About 9 a.m. the ambulance came and took Mickey. Marc arrived, just as they were pulling out, and we followed the ambulance.

Just before I left the house I called our Pastor, and put a prayer appeal on FB. After calling 911 and the ambulance, I knew I had to get all our prayer warriors praying!!!!

At the hospital, they took 3 x-rays (2 chest & 1 abdomen), did an EKG, and took lots of blood. They ruled out the heart, which was our main concern since some of the symptoms had been like those prior to his bi-pass heart surgery 18 months ago. It was determined he had a virus and was dehydrated.

They wanted to check him into the hospital and keep him overnight but he was insistent he wanted to come home. Our church, Coweta Assembly, has been working hard on a drama presentation, CHOICES, and Friday was the first of 4 performances. Mickey had worked on the sets, and stayed for the dress rehearsal, Monday from 9 a.m. until 11:30 p.m. He was determined; I was going to be acting out my role in the production, and he was going to be there to see it because our family was scheduled to come. We were back home by 1:30 and began attempting to get him to drink lots of water and Pedielight.

The presentation began at 6. I had to be at the church by 5. Marc picked Mickey up as he and his new family came from Owasso. ALL of our family was in attendance: me in the play, Mickey in the audience with our 2 daughters, 1 son, 3 in-loves, 2 grand-daughters, 4 grand-sons, and 1 boy friend. 15 of us all together. The only one missing was our son, David, in San Francisco.

We felt, from the beginning, this was a satanic attack and ploy to keep the above from taking place..........he did not win..........we won....we ALWAYS win because

"Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." I John 4:4

If you read this blog and are within 35-50 miles of Coweta please come and see this presentation. You will not be sorry!!! It will be presented again tonight, Saturday, at 6 p.m. and then Easter Sunday at 10:45 a.m. & 6 p.m. Hope to see you there!!!!

YES, WE WON

&

WE WIN!!!!!!

SHOW & TELL #3 - Turquoise Watch Band & MORE

Happy Friday to everyone. Since it is Friday it's time for me to participate in Show & Tell at Kelli's. Always a fun time of sharing my treasures and viewing the treasures and special things that others have to share. Go to Kelli's and sign up on Mr. Linkey and join the fun.

Last week I showed you a very old turquoise bracelet that had belonged to me mother.

Here are 3 different views of my Turquoise Watch Band

You can see it is made up of sterling silver, 4 larger size turquoise nuggets and then turquoise, coral & onyx inlay.

I treasure this watch band because it was a gift. When we lived in Albuquerque during the 1980's I was executive secretary to the president and owner of Bi*g O T1*res. He actually lived in Denver and commuted by his private plane to Albuquerque 3 days a week. He owned several of the stores in NM & Texas and there were also franchise stores. We had a monthly sales meeting and luncheon of all the owner's & dealers. I also talked to all these owner's and dealers when they would call to speak to the president.

I gave my 2 week notice that I was terminating. The next routine monthly meeting, which was to be my last, I was presented with this lovely gift from all the owner's & dealers. It was a TOTAL shock that brought tears to my eyes. I never expected to receive anything.

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Now for the best thing of all to share!!!!! As many of you know my husband had open double bi-pass heart surgery on October 9th last year.

Yesterday we went to Oklahoma City VA Hospital for his check-up.

THEY ARE RELEASING HIM!!!!

His recovery is complete thanks to the Drs., Surgeons, Nurses and most of all, JESUS. He does not have to return to OKC for anything further. He will only see his primary care physician here in Tulsa.

HALLELUJAH!!!

WEEKLY WEIGH IN & MEET A FRIEND OF MINE

You can see I got my little "Lady Bug" back on my weight ticker again!!! And I lost a pound this week and now am back up to 8 of those terrible pounds gone. We have got to get back to our daily walking. It's such a slow process to make up ground and re-establish GOOD habits but I am determined to keep on, keeping on. So on my good, bad or indifferent scale thank goodness I at least get to post GOOD!!!!!!

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A friend of mine, and a sister-in-Christ, has started a blog and written her first post.

I hope many of you will drop by and greet Kelli at Sweet Nothings. Leave her a comment and tell her Penless sent you :o)

You will not be disappointed! Kelli is a prayer warrior through and through. She & her husband, Kevin, are a blessing to our Church body and to Mickey & I personally.

Welcome Kelli!!!!

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Speaking of prayer......we are headed back to Oklahoma City again tomorrow (Tuesday) for the long awaited Echo Cardiogram. We are expecting a good report!!!

A GREAT END & A NEW BEGINNING

A Great End to 2008

Not quite 3 months ago Mickey had double bi-pass heart surgery.

The healing process seemed long and was not easy but look at him now!!!

Remember the dead tree in our back yard that needed to be cut down and Mickey couldn't do the job because of the surgery? Then the Lord just laid that tree down for us with a wind burst!! Go here to see and read the post, It All Fell Down. Well, our neighbor friend, Wayne, came down and he and Mickey got it cut into logs. I didn't get any pictures of that :o( Here Mickey is picking up logs, loading them in the wheelbarrow and wheeling them to the wood stack.

A few days later he has pulled out the refrigerator and is blowing out the dust from the coils and motor with his air compressor.

For a man who is use to being busy and doing many projects the hardest part of his recovery was having to "sit and take it easy."

Yes, it's a great end to the year 2008 to see my man up and happy being busy!
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Now for another great end & a new beginning.

Meet Deann, a lovely, young, single mother of 3 boys.

We were honored to meet Deann, New Years Eve, when we all went to dinner with our son, Marc.

They are looking forward to the New Year to build on that friendship.

A New Beginning


(Click on pictures to enlarge)

A beautiful sunset I captured from our back patio a few days ago.

A display of the beauty that life holds for all of us in this New Year - 2009!!!

MICKEY UPDATE

We made the 130 mile trip back to Oklahoma City VA on October 31st for Mickey's

follow-up on his double bi-pass heart surgery. We left the house around 6 a.m. and were there by 8:30. First to the lab for blood work, then to EKG , and then for an x-ray of the heart. We also had an appointment with the Heart Rehab person who we were suppose to see before he was ever released from the hospital but since he was discharged on Columbus Day which was a holiday we didn't get it. We were happy to learn that the care and things we had been doing the past 3 weeks were correct :o) !!!After these tests were done he had a 10:30 appointment with the Heart surgeon.

Here he is with the adorable PCA, Bethany, who was the first person to talk to us on our first visit, back on September 12th, about having the surgery and was the person today who read all the reports and examined him.

Everything was perfect!!! The picture of his heart is perfect, his EKG read just as they wanted it to, his lungs are clear & healthy, and his blood work was all good, except the kidney was a little high but nothing that concerned them.
This isn't a very good picture, due to the sun glare, but this shows him leaving with his newly repaired heart and a clean bill of health. HALLELUJAH

Yesterday he had an appointment with his Primary Care Physician here in Tulsa. Another GOOD report. All is well. The only thing now is for the healing to continue and for him to build back his strength.

This is Mickey as we began his first outside walk. We were to start walking at 5 minutes a day and gradually add to it each day until he is walking at least 30 minutes. Yesterday we walked 14 minutes. We are adding a minute or 2 a day. The weather here has been delightful and making it very easy for us. As it gets too cold we will begin going to Wal-M*mart to walk.

Thanks again to all who prayed for us, and especially with us, during this path. We are only 2 days shy of it being one month since his surgery.

JESUS is our healer...and He uses Doctors and He supplied us with the very best!

A MICKEY UPDATE & THIS & THAT

I had made the prayer group on Hearts in "1" Accord aware that Mickey was having a few post operative issues but did not post about it here on Penless at the time. We had to make yet another run to an emergency room last Wednesday night at 8 p.m. The lower incision on his leg, where they took out the vein for the bi-pass, began a slow bled that we could not stop. When we called EMC they felt it might need a stitch and suggested the emergency room. Turned out it was a "seep hole", a WHAT!!!!, that had been left for just this purpose. But it was also a little inflamed so they did 2 cultures on it and put him on a 5 day doze of antibiotics. The culture was to take 3 days, and as of my writing this we have not heard the result of that.

He has also been having a lot of stomach problems, not wanting to eat, not being able to sleep, etc. Anyway, as of today we seem to have gotten things under control and he is doing better beginning late yesterday afternoon.

Let me tell you.........I am not good at this Nurse Susan job. I am far too apprehensive in the fact I do not understand what to do or what is truly going on. I have complete and total faith in God, it's just ME I doubt.

Our House of Prayer meets on Friday nights less than a mile from our home and we were able to make it over there for about 30 minutes so that they could actually lay-hand on and prayer for Mickey. It was such a blessed time.

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Marc had bought this cap for his dad at the VA Hospital for him to wear home the day he left the hospital. It reads "Korean Veteran". Since Marc did not have to come to help bring his dad home I got home with it without Mickey seeing it and waited until Marc came to the house to give it to his Dad.

Just a sweet picture of Aric that same evening.

A picture of Oksana texting on her phone and grandpa before the surgery.


A picture of Mickey on a little walk we try and take some days.

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I am so upset with myself. Our beautiful and lovely granddaughter, Jessica, was over to see her granddad post surgery. We don't get to see a lot of Jessica because seems like she is always working whenever we have a family get together. I did not get a picture of her. grrrrrr makes me so angry. She is doing great in her college classes, all A's and one B in English Composition plus working at Ou*t Ba*ck St*eak Hou*se so she is plenty busy and we are very proud of her!!!!

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When Dave & Suzette came over last Sunday to visit Mickey they rode Dave's new motorcycle so I had to get these pictures of it and them.


They finally agreed to pose but said, "We look awful"! No, they look like motorcycle riders and our kids.

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Last, but by no means least.......I had a telephone call from Barbara, Ramblings From An English Garden, all the way from England. Barbara had called me once before, soon after I began blogging. It was such a pleasant surprise and we had a nice visit. I just love hearing her English accent!!!! Thanks again, Barbara, for brightening my day. This call came soon after our night time trip to the hospital. She had no idea about it......but God did!!!!

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Pray and vote!!!!!

Sorry to my international readers for so much about our voting in this important election but we are at a very critical juncture in this country. It will be over in 9 more days and I'll be back to some other posts so please bare with me.

THE HEART OF THE MATTER - Family and Friends

This picture of Mickey was taken just as we were leaving our home in Coweta to go to Oklahoma City for his Double Bi-pass Heart Surgery the next day.

A RECAP OF THE SURGERY & HOSPITAL STAY

October 8, Wednesday - We headed for Oklahoma City and checked into our motel room. Shortly after our daughters, Suzette & Jacque arrived. Next came our son, Marc, and granddaughter, Oksana, and grandson, Aric. We had gotten 2 rooms, Mickey, Marc, Aric & I shared one room, and Suzette, Jacque, & Oksana shared a room.

Last came our dear wonderful friends, Don & Barbara. You know what good friends they truly are when they travel over 100 miles, and pay for a motel room, so that they can be there to support Mickey & me!!

After getting all settled in we went to Ch*ilis to eat. The following were taken as we were deciding on what we wanted to eat.

Barbara & Don

Aric with Aunt Jacque
Marc, Mickey & I

Oksana with Aunt Suzette

We had a wonderful, fun time, delicious food and a great waiter.

Mickey slept really well!!!! Marc & I hardly slept. We were so glad Mickey could, and did sleep. I think he was just so relieved that the surgery had been moved up and was going to get done and over with.

October 9, Thursday - We arose really early because Mickey had to be at the VA Hospital by 6 a.m. It was decided that only Marc & I would accompany him at that hour and the others would come over later because only 2 of us could go into the check-in portion of the procedure with Mickey. After Mickey had gotten into the famous hospital gown and his clothing was placed in bags for us to take with us, the assisting Physician, Dr. Sand*erw*ich, came in and talked to the 3 of us. He described in detail the upcoming procedure and the time frame that we could expect (4 to 6 hours) . About 6:30 they came to take Mickey to the surgical prep area and Marc & I had to kiss him good-bye and retreat to the general 7th floor waiting room.

Our wonderful Pastor Gary and his wife, Paula, came all the way from Coweta!! Because of being a Pastor they were allowed to go in and spend some time with Mickey, visit and pray for him. These were the last people that Mickey saw. How blessed we are to have a Pastor of a large church who would do that!!!!

One of the nurses was wonderful to call out to the waiting room several times during the procedure. They called right after 8:15 to tell me the cut of the breast bone had been made and the surgery was beginning. Then they called once to tell me everything was going well and no problems. Then they called to tell me the surgery had been completed by Dr. Trot*ter and the Dr. Sand-er-wich was closing him up. This was around noon. They also said to wait about 25-30 minutes and 2 of us could go to the SICU waiting room and the Dr. would come out and talk to us personally.

Here are Marc, Barbara & Don as they waited in the general waiting area. I wish I'd had the presence of mind to take a picture of all the others, Pastor Gary & Paula, Suzette, Jacque, Oksana & Aric but I didn't. I'm thankful to at least have this picture.

Marc & I waited until 12:30 and moved to that area. This was the longest time of waiting. After what seemed a long time another Dr., who we had not seen, or meet, came out and spoke with us telling us everything had gone well and that Dr. Trot*ter would be out shortly to talk to us. After what seemed like forever Dr. Trot*ter did come out and explained exactly what they had done and that it had been a very routine, easy & successful surgery. He told us to continue to wait in the SICU area and they would call us when we could go in and see him.

We waited.....and waited. Everyone, even the booklet I had been given, tried to tell me to be prepared for how awful he would look, very pale, etc. Finally, and I can't even remember the time for sure, the phone call came and Marc & I walked into the first room on the right in SICU of the 7th floor of the VA hospital. He was totally out but he looked WONDERFUL. Marc & I looked at each other and mouthed "he looks great!".

Next Pastor Gary then went in and Paula visited with Marc & I. Pastor Gary came out saying how wonderful he looked!! Then Don went in to see him, again saying how great he looked. He was still totally sedated as the 4 of us saw him.

Suzette, Jacque & Oksana decided they wanted to wait until the following day, when he was awake to see him. Aric was too young to go into the SICU room.

At one point another nurse came into the room and asked if I was his wife. When I said, "Yes", she said I had a long distance call from South Africa. WHAT!!!! It was Retha, one of the bloggers on Hearts In "1" Accord Prayer Blog. What an unexpected blessing and what a sweet, gentle voice Retha has. This call was both exciting and very soothing to me. Thank you again Retha.

Marc & I continued to wait in the SICU waiting room and then saw him after he was gaining conciousness. The nurse suggested the best thing for us to do was go back to the motel and get some rest and return the next morning. We decided to go ahead & leave.

All of us, Don, Barbara, Marc, Oksana, Aric, Suzette, Jacque & I went to Red Rob*in for dinner. We all ate WAY too much and Aric & I even shared a malt. We were just all so relieved the surgery was over and that he is doing well.

After dinner Don & Barbara headed back to Tulsa, as so did Suzette & Jacque as Jacque had to work Friday. They had all checked out of the motel earlier and had moved Oksana to our room.

Mickey has wonderful nurses the entire stay, but the main nurse assigned to him was a male nurse named Arvin. We came to fall in love with Arvin and he was such a help to us.

October 10, Friday - When Marc & I walked in that morning he was sitting up in bed eating breakfast!!! We spent basically the entire day at the hospital. Suzette, Jacque & Oksana all came later to see him. A couple from our church, fairly new friends who live in our neighborhood, Kathy & David came from Coweta to see him. I was totally shocked and blown away when they walked into that SICU waiting room!!! Later that evening, after we had left and gone to the motel, yet another couple from our church, John & Phyllis came to see him. Mickey told me of their visit when I got there Saturday morning. What a wonderful Church the Lord has placed us in and what a wonderful Church family we have.

Mickey asked me to bring the booklet "Going for Heart Surgery...what you need to know" to the hospital so he could have the Dr. actually draw, on the heart picture in the book, where his 2 heart bi-passes had been made.

Marc, the kids & I stayed pretty late at the hospital and on our way back to the motel we stopped at Gr*and*ys to eat Chicken Fried Steak.

October 11, Saturday - When I walk into Mickey's room this morning he ask for the booklet.......I had forgotten it :o( I did get it there the next day!!! Another morning of Marc, Oksana, Aric & I being together and spending time visiting Mickey. Still just 2 of us at a time in his room. Marc had planned to stay until Sunday but since Mickey was doing so extremely well I told him to go on home which he did. He is going to come back, when Mickey is released to go home.

Marc & the grands had barely left when Don and Barbara came again. They visited awhile with Mickey. This is the first time Barbara had seen Mickey post surgery. Barbara had massive heart surgery a few years ago so she knows what it is like. After visiting they took me to dinner at The Ele*phant Bar. It is one of their favorite restaurants and they have closed the one in Tulsa. After lunch, they took me back to the hospital and they returned to Tulsa. WONDERFUL friends!!!!

I stayed with Mickey until almost dark and went back to the motel room by myself that night but slept very well. They have been having Mickey walk and I actually got to walk with him and Arvin as they made their way around the SICU ward and even a little way in the hall. Oh my, walking by the other rooms where there were such desperately ill patients almost broke our hearts.

Arvan let me stay in the room the entire time today. No waiting off and on in the waiting room. Just before I leave Mickey asks me to bring him his shaving kit so he can shave and clean up a bit more.

October 12, Sunday - I arrive at the hospital at 8 a.m. The first thing Mickey says is "Did you bring my shaving kit?" No, I forgot. Oh my, he is going to give up on me about remembering his requests. Really very unlike me but two days in a row I have forgotten!!! The nurse got him a razor, shaving cream, everything he needed to shave.

Suzette & Dave arrived, from Tulsa, about 11 and visited for about an hour. Then they took me out to a wonderful Italian cafe we had seen near our motel. It was soooo nice. We'll have to go back there again on one of these trips we'll be making to OKC. After lunch they dropped me off at the hospital and they went back home to Tulsa. I stayed at the hospital until just before dark and went back to my room alone again. I called Marc that night and said it looks like they may be letting Dad come home Tuesday or Wednesday, but he is doing so well there is no need for you to come over. I have no concern at all about getting him home. One of my main concerns in the beginning was getting him the 130 miles back to Tulsa post surgery.

October 13, Monday - I Arrive at the hospital at 7 a.m. Dr. Trot*ter comes in. Ask's Mickey, "How are you feeling?" Mickey says, "Great!" Dr. T says, "Do you want to go home?" Mickey says, "You better believe I do." Dr. T says, "Get out of here." They proceed with the removal of the final tube and all the preparations for him to leave. I ran back and checked out of the motel. They order all his take home meds, which I pick up at the pharmacy area after I get back, and we are out of there by 10:30 a.m.!!!

Now, for one of the fun blessings that The Lord always seems to give us, no matter what situations we find ourselves in..........

If any of you know anything about Heart Surgery one of the main "recovery" items is a pillow. The patient holds the pillow against their chest incission and especially if there is any pain, or they have to cough. Mickey & I always take our pillows when we travel. We had had them on the trip to Flagstaff, but the day I home I washed the pillow slips and when we left for OKC the next day we forgot our pillows.

When Barbara left the hospital in Tulsa, after her heart surgery, they had given her a heart shaped pillow. I had asked Arvan the day before if they would give us a pillow for him to make the trip home with. You sure didn't want him strapped into a seat belt in the car without a pillow on his chest. Arvin said, "A woman's group use to make those to give the patients but I haven't seen any of them lately." So we are so happy he is going home.......but we have no pillow. It was Columbus day and everything at the VA hospital closes on the week-end and holidays, like the cafeteria, the gift shop. etc.

I said to Arvan, "What am I going to do about a pillow? I don't have one and I have to have a pillow for that 110 mile trip to Coweta." Arvan says, "We'll let you have a pillow, in fact I'll get you a box to put it in as you walk out of the hospital." Then he says, "Better yet, go steal one from the motel room!" I said, "I'm not stealing a pillow from anyone!" Now the young Dr. San*der*wich, who was very serious and didn't ever say a lot, was taking the last tube out of Mickey while this conversation was going on. At this point, he turned around, laughing and said, "Oh, you're not going to steal a pillow." So Mickey is the proud owner of a very soft blue pillow, with a white pillow slip that is stamped, "Property of - VA Medical Center - Oklahoma City, OK - March, 2004".

At 10:30 we pulled out of the parking lot of the VA Hospital, and Mickey had his pillow!!! We were HOME by 12:30.

Here he is hugging that infamour pillow!!

Here he is wearing his wounds.

I have to end by saying........we have a wonderful opinion of the hospitals and medical services in this United States. We were in 3 different hospitals, in 3 different states, within 6 days. We had nothing but the most perfessional, kind, wonderful care and service imaginable. Especially the VA hospital. I NEVER had the slightest concern that Mickey would have wonderful, good care and be made whole. The entire staff were wonderful and the care superb.

I am, and will be, eternally grateful to GOD for the FAMILY, FRIENDS and PROFESSIONALS he surrounded us with during this entire 10 days from Flagstaff, to Grants, to Oklahoma City and home.

More tomorrow on how our time at home has gone.

THE TRIP TO CELEBRATE #6 - What happened next

Post #5 of this trip ended with me taking Mickey to the emergency room at Flagstaff

Medical Center at 9 p.m. on the night of our 50th Wedding Anniversary......after a wonderful day of remembering and retracing.

Mickey started getting really sick about 7:30 and it wasn't until 9 that he finally agreed that yes, I should get him to the hospital. I love my husband dearly, but like most men he can be very stubborn and head strong!!

When we walked into the emergency room the waiting room was about 3/4 full but when I told them the situation they rushed us right in and past everyone else. When they took his blood pressure it was 212. He was shivering and his stomach was upset. It wasn't until I heard him tell the Doctors and nurses that I learned he had 3 little pains in the heart area. Around midnight they are going to move him into an ICU room and I am told to go back to the motel & try and get some rest. By this time they had already contacted the Oklahoma City VA Hospital and all his information had been faxed to them. How wonderful our modern day systems are!

I am in a strange city, by myself at midnight, and I lost my way trying to get back to the motel. Flagstaff is divided by a railroad track between north & south and somehow I got over the railroad track and ended up on the south side of I40 and the motel was just off of I40 on the north . It was so dark, and so lonely but I just kept praying and saying, "Lord, you've got to help me find my way." He did and at 12:30 I got back to the motel.

The next morning when I arrived at the hospital at 7 they talked to us about having the surgery there in Flagstaff or going on home to Oklahoma. Mickey did not want to have the surgery that far from home and I was very concerned as to how I would get him home, on that long a road trip, post surgery. The Doctor said it was a risk either way. We opted to start to Oklahoma. I was eager to get on the road, so I could make as many miles as possible before dark. They were adamant they would not release him until they had completed 3 blood tests, spaced over a period of time, to be sure he had not had a slight heart attack and that no heart damage had occurred.

He was still shivering and having stomach pain. They were baffled as to why this was occurring. As they were preparing to release him I asked the nurse if there was not something they could give him for the upset stomach. She called the Doctor and they administered a shot, which helped immediately, and had me go to a pharmacy for a prescription for some pills. The third blood test came back showing no heart attack or damage and he was finally released at 1:55 p.m.

It was 318 miles to Albuquerque and we decided that was too far to try and drive. I do not do well, with my eye sight, driving at night. We decided to go to Gallup, N.M. and spend the night there. We got to Gallup at 5:30 and Mickey was feeling better, as we were dropping from the 7000' altitude to about 6000'. It had been raining off and on on us ever since we left Flagstaff but we decided to go ahead and drive 60 more miles into Grants, N.M. We were trying to get as close to home as possible.

Now I have to share with you the most wonderful experience the Lord gave us during this horrendous time. As we were driving from Gallup to Grants we saw a Rainbow. We commented on it and were happy to see it. Then it disappeared. Shortly it reappeared and this time there was another faint double rainbow to the left. We talked about how God brought the rainbow back to us. Then suddenly the second, fainter one, disappeared and the brightest, widest rainbow either Mickey & I have ever seen in our entire lives appeared before us. It lasted and lasted and it looked like we were going to drive right into it. Then suddenly the full bright arc appeared across the sky. Mickey & I knew this was God's way of telling us we were safe, and we were going to make it home. This all started around 5:30 and ended at 6:49. We were so struck by it that Mickey wrote down the times. I cannot tell you what a blessing this experience was to us!!!

We arrived in Grants at 7:30 and check into the motel. Mickey is so-so. I call Marc & report how far we have gotten and leave for a few minutes to run to the Walmart, right near the motel, to get us some milk and cereal to eat and I had already gotten some bananas and a large muffin that day. Mickey takes just a few bites and starts getting sick again. I do not even think Grants has a hospital but I call the front desk at 8:10 and ask if they have an emergency service. She asks me if I don't want the hospital, to come to the front desk and she will draw me a map how to get there. Thank goodness both Flagstaff and Grants were small towns!!! I return to the room and put Mickey into the car and immediately head for the emergency room. Again we get excellent care and attention.

At 10 o'clock I return to the motel to try and get some sleep. I am near exhaustion. I slept until 4 a.m. 6 hours YEAH!! I called the hospital and am told the cardiologist will not be in until 9 a.m. He is resting and they are beginning the series of the 3 blood tests, like they had done in Flagstaff, to see if there is any heart damage.

6:20 our wonderful son, Marc, called to tell me he was booking a flight to Albuquerque, NM to meet us which would arrive at 1:00 p.m. I just had to drive the 90 miles to get us there. I kept reminding the hospital that I needed to leave to make the drive to Albuquerque to pick up our son but again the hospital was adamant about not letting us leave until the last of the 3 blood tests had been completed. He got a good report of no heart damage and we pulled out of the Cibola General Hospital parking lot at 11:25.

At 1:01 we were sitting in a parking lane waiting for Marc at the Albuquerque Sunport. He called just a few minutes later to say he had landed. We picked him up at 1:09. Now this had to be God again, putting this all together for us as only He can and does.

I must tell you.......I was never so happy as I was when Marc climbed behind the drivers seat of our HHR Chevy and I was able to climb in the back seat and know that I had additional help and we were, for sure on our way home!!!

We drove hard and steady. Stopped only to fuel up and grab a soda and snack. Marc & my plan initially was to drive straight to emergency at the VA Hospital in Oklahoma City. We arrived in OKC and Mickey wanted to just keep on for home. He was feeling pretty good now that we were down to below 1000' altitude. We decided to check into a motel in OKC which we did at 10:40. We were all exhausted and slept well.

When we awoke we told Mickey we were going to VA to report to them which we did at 7 a.m. They decided to move Mickey's pre-scheduled surgery date of October 16th up one week to October 9th. They went ahead and did all the pre-surgery tests while we were there and we were finished by 1:50 and got HOME at 3:45. I don't know if I have ever been so glad to be home. It was nice to have the one day to get some business taken care of and sleep in our own bed before returning to OKC and the VA Hospital on Wednesday night, in preparation for Mickey's 6 a.m. appointment for double bi-pass surgery

I have to admit that during this entire episode I was afraid and terrified in the natural (flesh) but I had total, complete peace in my Spirit that we were going to make it and that Mickey was going to be okay. The rainbow God sent us and the timing of making the flight connection of Marc flying to Albuquerque from Tulsa, via Dallas, and our driving from Grants to Albuquerque and making almost instant connection just was a God Thing.

Praise to our God and Savior, Jesus!!!!!

"Update #2"

Just a short update to let you know we are home!!!!!! :o) Mickey had the surgery Thursday (10-9) morning (8:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. - 3 hours) and he was released from the hospital this morning (10-13) at 10:30. That is 1 hour short of 96 hours, or 4 days. It took us 2 hours to drive the 130+ miles home and we arrived by 12:30.

All the Doctors and nurses said he did better than most patients 20-30 years younger!!! We know who get's the credit.....our wonderful Lord & Savior....first and then Mickey because he had such a positive attitude and was so co-operative to do anything and everything they asked or wanted him to do. He literally was doing little leg and chest lifts the 2nd day!!!!

Naturally, we are tired, worn out and just plain exhausted. It's been a whirlwind 14 days since we left September 30th on our "celebration". I have LOTS to share and I will be doing so in the coming days.

Mostly, thank you for all your prayer support and the wonderful comments. It blessed out heart to come in today and read them. We both had "peace that passeth understanding" even in the worst moments and we KNEW we were being upheld by the prayers of many around the world.

A special "thanks" to Leigh Ann for posting the update for me. I had set this up with her before we left on our trip, long before I knew just how much we were going to be dealing with. Another special "thanks" to Retha for caring enough to call me from South Africa right after the surgery. You blessed my socks off Retha. What a wonderful, kind thing to do.

We are the most blessed 50 years and 9 days married couple in the world!!! We are throughly convinced of that. The love that has been bestowed on us is overwhelming. We appreciate each and every one of you, and especially your prayers for us.

THE CURRENT - THE TRIP - THE GOOD - THE BAD

We are home for less than 24 hours and Mickey's double bi-pass heart surgery has been moved up to October 9th at 6 a.m. (tomorrow) Please pray for him and this surgery which is to last 4-6 hours.

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A brief recap

As you know Mickey and I left on September 30th to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary on October 4th. We headed to Flagstaff, Arizona where we were married and Grand Canyon where we spent our wedding night.

We drove the first day to Albuquerque to visit my forever friend, Joan & her husband, Jim for 3 days. I had set up a luncheon meeting with Kitty, At Home With Kitty. You can read about it on her blog. I will post my side when all this is over.

On Friday, October 3rd, we drove to Flagstaff, Arizona where we had married 50 years ago. I had contacted Brenda, It's All Good, to meet with her. You can read about this meeting on her blog. I will post my side when all this is over.

On Saturday, October 4th, we had spent the day celebrating our 50th at the very place where it all began in 1958. We had a wonderful day. I will post all about this later.

Then we went to Grand Canyon where we had spent our wedding night.

I had to take Mickey to the emergency ward at Flagstaff hospital about 9 p.m. that night. We had our choice to stay and have the bi-pass done in Flagstaff or get him home for the scheduled 10-16 surgery in Oklahoma City. Neither of us wanted to be isolated in Flagstaff alone so we opted to make the journey home. He was released from the hospital at 1:55 on Sunday, 10-5, and we began the 1000 mile trip home.

I drove until 7:30 p.m. when we stopped at Grants, New Mexico for the night. Mickey had said he was feeling okay during this 5 1/2 hour drive. We checked into the motel and almost immediately, when he tried to lay down, he began having trouble again and I took him to the emergency at Cibola Hospital. They then moved him into ICU and watched him all night.

Our wonderful son, Marc, made arrangements to fly into Albuquerque, and was to arrive at 1:00 p.m. (10-6) and either I was to be there to pick him up, or he would rent-a-car and drive to Grants. The hospital decided he was stable enough for us to make the 85 mile trip to Albuquerque and released him at 11:30. I pulled up at the Albuquerque airport at 12:59......his plane was on time......and Marc was behind the drivers seat, with Mickey still in the passenger seat, and me safe and very relieved in the back seat at 1:09 and we began the L-O-N-G drive home.

Mickey seemed to do better as we got out of the high altitudes of 7000' - 6000' - & 5000'. We reached Oklahoma City and checked into a motel at 10:40 p.m. We had planned to drive to the VA Hospital in OKC but Mickey was feeling so much better and he did not want to do that. Marc & I decided we would check into the motel and take him to the hospital the next morning.

At 9 a.m. yesterday, 10-7, we took him to the VA Hospital. They moved the surgery to Thursday, 10-9, at 6 a.m. They did all the necessary pre-opt tests and let us come back to Tulsa. He had a very good night of rest and comfort in his own bed, in his own home.

We are heading back to OKC today around 2 and check into the motel. He will have the surgery in the morning at 6 a.m. Marc, Oksana, Aric, Suzette & Jacque will all come and join us in OKC this evening at the motel around 6. One of them will be staying with me at all times. I cannot tell you how wonderful it is for Mickey & I to have the great children we have, and especially our son, Marc, who always seems to come to our aid. Remember the story here when he showed up, just in time!!!

I know this is rambling and disconnected but I've tried to give you a run-down of our past 4 horrendous days and mostly ask that all my wonderful friends, who are prayer warriors and believers as we are, to pray. I will get word out as soon as possible when the surgery is complete.

We know who's we are.

We know who holds us in the palm of His hand.

We know in whom we put our trust and our faith.

JESUS our LORD & Savior.

A BUSY, HECTIC WEEK & MEDICAL UPDATE

We had our two grandchildren all week as their dad was in Minneapolis on a business trip. We love having the grands stay with us and they really are a joy and no trouble but the down side is all the time we have to spend in the driving them to and from school. We live 25 miles from their home and schools. Aric has to be at school at 7:40 a.m. and picked up by 2:40 p.m. Oksana has to be at school by 8:10 a.m. and picked up by 3:10 p.m. So we spend literally 1 1/2 to 2 hours twice a day on this task. 4 hours out of the day is a big hunk!!!!



Monday night was our monthly Bee Club meeting.



Then on Tuesday Mickey and Brody burned all the tree branches and damage from our ice storm last December. That will be a separate post!!!



Wednesday Mickey's bee keeper mentor came over to check-out Mickey's bees. Mickey was afraid maybe he had beetles & moths in his hive. Ronnie said his hive looks great.



Wednesday I had a dentist appointment for teeth cleaning that had been made 4 months earlier. As I said it was a very busy, hectic week.


This was also the week to clean their house on Thursday so we left home at 7 a.m. and didn't get back until 4 p.m.


Then Friday was Mickey's appointment in Oklahoma City at the VA hospital with a consultation with the heart surgeon. We left home at 7 dropped Aric off at school, dropped Oksana off at a friends house who lives near the school and headed to OKC. His appointment was at 10 a.m. and we arrived at 9:30 which was perfect. We left the hospital by 11:30, stopped mid-way on our drive back to Tulsa at a McD's for a bite of lunch and were back in Tulsa by 1:30 in time to get the kids.


Marc called and said he was going to make it in by 4 so just wait at the house and we'd all go out to dinner. Then he treated us to a delicious meal at Charleston's. Mickey had prime rib and I had baked chicken. It was good and fun for the 5 of us to sit down and relax and visit over a wonderful meal. Marc's company had arranged for them to attend a Twins baseball game one night so he brought all of us home a Twins souvenir. He got himself a ball cap, Oksana a T-shirt, Aric a small bat, and us a little Twins bear.

Now for the medical report. We had a really good consultation with first the PAC nurse who was very informative and actually took a piece of paper and drew out, for Mickey to see and better understand, the placement of the blockages in the arteries of his heart. Then we waited a little for the Dr. to come in. He was really great. He began by saying "Whether you have surgery is your decision. Not hers (pointing to me), not mine, but yours."

Mickey had been told he had two blocked arteries and a damaged valve. The Dr. began by saying, based on the reports and the 50% damage to the valve, he did not think the risk was great enough to replace the valve. GOOD NEWS!! Thank you Jesus. The valve replacement is a much more serious operation and procedure. One of the arteries has 75% blockage and the other 50% blockage. Mickey had always said, and felt, he had no chest pain but in discussing with the Dr. some pressure he gets in the diaphragm area is really chest pain!!! We talked about his age being 75 (76 in November) and the life expectancy. The Dr. said "If you were 90 years old that would be a factor. At 76 it is not that much of a factor to consider." Mickey asked if he had to make a decision right then and the Dr. said no. We thanked him and left.


When we got to the car I asked him what his thoughts were and what he was considering and he said, "I don't know......I need to give it some more thought". Mickey is not one to make quick decisions so I figured he'd take a week or so. I told him "I won't bug you about it. When you decide you let me know." Just before we got to the 1/2 way mark of the turnpike he said "This is what I am going to do. I am going to have the surgery but I'm going to call them and tell them I don't want to have it until after October 15th."


We will celebrate our 50th anniversary on October 4th and my dear, sweet, adoring husband then proceeded to tell me about a trip he had planned for us to celebrate our anniversary!!!! I had no idea....,,,,in fact I had just told friends I was glad we had "celebrated" our anniversary with 2 other occasions this year since, with this heart issue, we were not going to try and do anything special on our actual anniversary.


Okay.....what & where will be a surprise. Tune-in after we return in October :o)


It is a very big relief to have this decision making behind us. When Mickey was first diagnosed with heart disease in early spring his initial reaction was "I am not going to have surgery." He has really had these 5 months to talk to people, check into things further, and just plain think & pray about it. We are both so thankful that he was not faced with an emergency type situation and decision.

We know we are in God's hands and care. We also believe we have an "appointed time" to meet our God. God knows that moment, we do not.......but we know our God. We are at peace with Him and Mickey's decision.