MARCH 2024

Well, gang, it's been an interesting 3 days.
Wednesday morning, I got up not feeling quite right. As the next hour or two went by, it wasn't getting any better. I called my neighbor to take me to the ER. Yep. Heart attack. The local hospital did the immediate care, then "packaged" me up to be taken to Ft. Wayne. Got to Ft. Wayne, was taken instantly to the heart cath lab, where two stents were placed, with one more to be done later. Got to be a guest of the hospital for two nights while they decided what to do with me. Long story short, all is well. NO heart damage at all!
I came home with a laundry list of preventative meds.
Grateful for excellent care, a cousin who came to pick me up, and a neighbor who is fixing dinner for us.
Glad to be home and well.

ELLEN:
Oh, dear......I am glad that turned out so well, but YIKES! What a scare! I am glad you went to the ER. Wish we lived closer, I'd bring you a lunch or something..... Now take care and get well!

Thanks, Ark. I appreciate your thoughts. I THINK this recovery is going to be fairly easy. In fact, with those two (eventually 3) arteries cleared, I'll probably feel better than before. They are going to prescribe some rehab for a few weeks. I know that will be a good thing. I'm not good at self-motivation, but I'm good at following directions.

ELLEN: Oh goodness...praying for you. Thank God you didn't have any heart damage. What a scare..

Here I thought March would be a better month and already it's up to a rip roaring start. My freind Bev was admitted to the hospital with congestive heart failure, another friend Dottie was admitted to the hospital after an ambulance ride to the ER. Dot passed out and wrecked her car last Sunday. She passed out again at home. Bev will be having a heart cath and maybe open heart surgery on Monday.

I'm actually speechless lately dealing with all these nightmares. I've been living at the hospitals. Took my son back to the ER a couple of times. He seems to be doing OK, started his heart PT on Thursday. He is allowed to drive now. Thank God...driving him around was worse than driving George around.

Last Saturday my SUV decided she should add to the fun. After my visit with dear freind Ashley, Cat (my SUV) decided not to start. Had her jumped and got her home and then NOTHING. wouldn't accept a jump, had to have her towed to the garage. Thank God it was just the battery...she is home...and I don't have to drive George's baby truck...

Hang in there everyone...that's all we can do.
Praying for all my dear friends.

ELLEN glad to hear that you listened to your body and went to the ER to have it checked out.

We are having super early spring weather. My miniature daffodils, bluebells and crocus are all blooming. My Iris and regular daffodils all have good starts and a few buds on a few of the daffodils. The horses are starting to shed, but not by the handfuls yet. Instead, they are drinking a lot of water everyday. Thankfully I can leave the hose outside for now instead of having to drain it out and haul it back inside every time I use it.

I have lots of tulip leaves showing now. I even saw one little crocus. I have no idea where that came from; I didn't plant it. But, I like it.
The trees are just beginning to look fuzzy with a hint of pink. Spring is getting closer.

TRUDY
Wow. What stress for you and George! I hope all your friends and relatives get well soon.


ELLEN:
How are you feeling? Can you tell any difference? When will you get the other stint? Hope you are feeling great!

INDYAPP:
Strange winter. It has been very springlike here, too. My tulips have long leaves and there are daffodils blooming. No forsythias yet, though. Donnie heard peeper frogs today down at the creek. Unfortunately, my hearing loss is such that I can't hear them...sadly.
Daisy and Trinket are shedding buckets of hair. I need to scrape them off. Ivan and Areion aren't shedding much yet, but their hair is shorter anyway. Cactus never sheds until July.

GRAYMARE:
Been missing you!! How are you doing?


Donnie got a shot in his knee today. He said the needle looked like a #2 pencil. Hopefully this will get him through the summer and he gets his knee replaced in the fall. He is starting on the exercises he needs to do to strengthen his legs before the surgery now.

Ark, at the moment, the results are mixed. I feel fine, other than being rather tired. I think I might be allergic to one of the new meds. It makes me cough. A lot. I HATE coughing. All that will get sorted out eventually. The third stent will be done this Thursday as an outpatient procedure.
I'm not sure exactly when rehab will start after that. Probably a couple of weeks.

Have you had your hearing checked with the intent of getting hearing aids? Please don't hesitate to do that. It will improve your life and those of the people around you.
One cousin got the latest and greatest version of hearing aids. It has made a huge difference for him. Not only can he hear, they have Bluetooth connection and he can answer phone calls and listen to radio with them. He is so happy he can hear the birds again.

Ark, did you find a replacement plate?

ELLEN:
You were right, there are a bunch of matching dishes on eBay, but I haven't ordered one yet.

I have an appointment to have my ears checked in early April. I am not sure I want to buy their hearing aids, though. The lowest price is $2000. I can get a lot of over the counter ones for that. But it will tell me where my hearing loss is and I may be able to use the info I get to adjust the ones I do buy. Did I tell you I lost one at the Grand Canyon?


I am glad you are feeling better, ELLEN. I went through several heart medications while they were trying to figure out my racing heart episodes. Some made me very sick, some kept my heart from beating very fast even when I needed it to, and I think fatigue has been issue with most of them. It's been a strange balancing act, but right now I am mostly okay. I did just hear from my cardiologist that my appointment in June has been cancelled due to a lack of a provider. Great. So now I have to find another one.

It has been incredibly windy, and rainy some days. The wind last night was really bad. We've been picking up stuff that blew out of places we thought were protected. The wind finally slowed down this evening. It was cold last night, too.

We have to take Daisy and Areion to Va Tech for hoofy trims on Wednesday. Both are incredibly dirty and muddy and shedding. Tuesday it is supposed to get up to 63 degrees, so we are going to try to give them a bath. It won't be fun. We'll keep them in the arena until they dry, then cover them in their flysheets overnight to try to keep them clean for Wednesday. Every time we take them to have trims in the last 6 months, they have managed to look like dirty paints. Kinda embarrassing.... The joys of light colored horses.

Ark, I was just thinking about what my cousin's ear guy told him. He said that Sam's Club is a good place to get hearing aids at a better price.
Later, he found out that the VA would supply them since he was in the Army.

With a bit of adventure, I did get another stent implanted. I think I'll be better now.

ELLEN:
 Hopefully that will be the last stint you will need.  Glad the procedure is over and hope you are feeling better!


Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Happy Spring! It was official last night. The trees are budding and flowers are coming up. That's a good sign.

    Happy Spring!    

That's a cute photo, right down to the glitter on the feet.

Been a long time since I've posted, I know. No crocuses here! Or, if there are, they're hidden deep beneath the foot of snow we got this week. And, as my neighbor put it today, it was a "disgusting" snow! Six inches of heavy wet followed by a thick sheet of ice followed by another six inches of heavy wet. I stepped out on my deck to feed the birds and cracked through on one foot but not on the other, pitching forward and almost upended and convinced for more than a moment that
I might end up found stuck in that position not before June...

But I'm snug inside and life continues.

ELLEN Alarming to hear about ER trips and stents. You were smart to get to the ER fast. And what good news it is to hear that the problem was no worse, and that stents are doing the job.

I had a similar experience last month, with perhaps an even better ending. The ER could find nothing wrong after I finally called 911 after worrying for days about a pain in the region of my heart that seemed to be getting worse. They seemed to think it was a muscle or tendon or ligament pull, and I decided, if that was true, it was because I have to carry oxygen tanks around on my back now!  Well, pffft! As with ARK, a cure for one problem that breeds others.

Going to read up more on y'all and get back later...

Hi Beech. It's good to see you here.
Thank goodness you didn't have a heart problem.

It seems that stuff starts happening to us as we get older. (Old) LOL

BEECH!
 That was a scary moment.  I do not envy you your snow, although would enjoy the isolation on most days.  I think Donnie and I are basically  hermits at heart.   I am very glad you didn't get stuck outside in that icy snow.  How is the woodworking biz?  

ELLEN:
 So you are feeling better with your new stint?  Did the lake ever freeze enough for folks to walk on it this year?  The worst of the weather has gone north of us several times.  We got barely any snow this year, although had some cold days.  

 Donnie did finally get the new toilet installed in his bathroom.  It sat in a box in our kitchen for at least 2 months.  Such glamorous people we are.   Anyway,  we hauled the old one off to the dump yesterday.  Apparently no one wants used toilets, so we tossed it in a huge dumpster there.  Now if we could just get a half dozen other jobs finished.  Here he is rolling out the old and getting ready to roll in the new.  



The temps are going back up today,  61 degrees or so, and sunny!!  If I can muster some energy, I hope to ride Ivan a few minutes this afternoon.  The boy is getting fatter...as is his rider.  We need to work it off.  Energy is the big problem for me.  I am not sure if it is  heart meds or Covid residuals, but I don't have a lot of energy lately.  Am I getting old?   Nah......

Ark, I just saw my cardiologist and then my GP. Both seem to think I'm doing pretty well. I start cardiac rehab on the 8th.

The energy level does seem to drop a notch with each year of age. I truly admire those who can keep doing stuff.

ELLEN:
I am glad you are doing well!!


Pretty day here. We are trying to catch up on some outside projects, do some spring cleaning, and get ready for a quick trip to see the solar eclipse next weekend. Too much to do!

Our next door neighbor just got another mare, a pretty chestnut who is about 4 years old. So our neighborhood has gone from just our 5 equines to 4 more next door and 4 across the street. We've become a little equestrian neighborhood.

I did get in a little ride on Ivan a couple of days ago. He has been so good about these infrequent rides and still behaving himself. I do appreciate him!

HAPPY EASTER

HE IS RISEN!!!!! HALLELUJAH

Have a Blessed Easter Day everyone...

HAPPY EASTER!!!!