I know we should not be glad a part of our life is over, but 2008 was not exactly what I would call a banner year. I think we were under Murphy's law most of it. You know, if it can go wrong, it will. It all started in February when Joe was admitted to the hospital with what turned out to be a diseased gall bladder, no stones, just a bad organ. What would normally take only a couple of days in the hospital turned into eight. Before the blame gall bladder could be removed (laproscoptically) they had to pump him full of antibiotics to get some of the infection down. Finally, we got home and two weeks later he had to go in for a post-op visit with his regular doc. While there Joe asked him to check a spot on his leg. Guess what!! Back to the hospital and emergency surgery on Saturday morning for a staph infection. Then if that wasn't enough he came home with 7 day a week home health care. That went on for the first week. Then his nurse had the doctor order a wound vac thingy and she only had to come 3 times a week, but that went on for six weeks. Finally, we were over all the diseases and infections.
Then summer began and things were not much better. As anyone who knows us probably know that we have a son that is bipolar and as are about 75% of all bipolar people, he is also an addict. And if you have never had or have never known of anyone that has this terrible disease, you have no idea what a life it can produce and believe me it is not good. Anyway, he totally lost it this year and around the latter part of July, for reasons too long to go into, he was incarcerated in Tuscaloosa for 50 days and then went to Montgomery for some treatments. All was going well there until a misunderstanding resulted in him and four other men being discharged early. He was back here for two days and has since been in Walker County jail. There again that is much too long to go into the details. And believe me when I tell you that Walker County jail has to be the most terrible place in all 67 counties. But I will not go into that either. A jail of this sort is definitely not where a person with bipolar (or anything else) needs to be. It appears we may be making progress to get him out shortly. Oh, did I mention that the legal system moves at the speed of a dead turtle? And that is on a good day.
Well, we managed to get through the holidays best as we could. Of course, it just isn't the same when any of the family isn't around. Thanksgiving was spent eating out, just the two of us. We spent Vest Christmas in Hartselle as we have for several years. When Trina married John, we got a bargain in that we got another family. John's family is so wonderful to include us every year. It really means a lot to us. They feel like "real" family. But as far as Christmas day, we stayed home and once again ate out together. Then just as we thought we were seeing the end of '08 Joe has one last doctor's visit. Do you want to guess what the doctor told him? Yeah. Back to the hospital. It seems he had blood clots on his lung. So for New Years Eve, he drank his IV and the pups and I sat up until 2009 got here and then bedded down. He got out on the 4th or 5th. Then on the 19th he had to go to Princeton for an arteriogram and wound up having a stent put in so he spent another night in the hospital. For a man that had only been in the hospital once in his life (1955 for an appendectomy) he has made up for lost time. This was his fifth stay in about the last two years. I sure hope he has caught up.
2009 is here and I am most definitely looking for better times. I am going to try to get more organized, especially my sewing room. And I have got to stop buying more sewing projects until I get caught up. I have heard that God will not take you until you get all your projects completed. If that is the case, I will be here A LOOOOOG TIME.
We had our first fellowship meal at church for this year. We will have three more. This is something we have been doing for several years. I don't know why we do it this time of the year, but it seems to work well. Lasagna was on the menu tonight and it was good. Next week is chicken casserole. Yummy.
Have a good Thursday people.
2 comments:
You and Dad stay just as busy as you can because I want you two to hang around for a LOOOONNNNGGGGG TIME!
You have a new follower in Karen, so you need to make sure you're posting more. :)
Wow...what a year and I feel your pain....Trina knows my saga...lets just say in 2005 my parents came to stay with us for 4 weeks...while my dad recouperated from a serious bout with pneumonia...they are still with us....and we have now been through COPD, prostate cancer, pneumonia twice more...a stroke and the beginnings of altzeimers(my mom), a pacemaker (which resulted in the erasure of his short term memory function), two stints in the heart....and now lung cancer finished off 2008 and began 2009 for us....and to top it all off....my favorite aunt(who should have been my mom)....was also diagnosed with stage three cancer about the time my dad was. I have to find humor in some of this....or I would sit down and be miserable. Poor Trina hears the saga....alot. Have a good weekend....and I will keep you and Joe both in my prayers.
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