It Was AWESOME!!! Big Thanks to Georgia!!!

(Right: Larry watching ZZ Top perform)
10:42AM -- The concert was great! Our seats were directly in front of the staging area...the accoustics in the arena were perfect, even when you felt the floor rumble beneath your feet. LOL! I even checked my cell phone a few times because the vibration felt as if it was ringing. (my cell always stays on vibrate) Anyway, Rodney Atkins was the opening act; followed by Brooks & Dunn; and then ZZ Top took over and just absolutely rocked the house!!! Those guys are just so attuned to each other after 35 years, they're amazing! Unlike soooo many bands out there that work the entire stage, ZZ Top does their famous in-sync steps and just commands attention. I warned Larry that when they did Sharp Dressed Man, I would most likely embarrass him. That's my all time favorite song by ZZ Top!
Brooks and Dunn were great. They did a lot of their top hits. None of them played for more than a hour and 15 minutes...give or take a few. Rodney Atkins was great too! He's been to Cattle Annie's in the past year once or twice, I think. We got home around 12:30ish. It was a long day for Larry, but he so enjoyed it. I even caught him smiling and rocking to the beat in his chair a few times.

11:42AM -- Larry just woke up about 30 minutes ago. Nauseated and pain. Gave him meds for both and also changed his patch. The attendents/staff at the arena were very helpful and accommodating. They made sure I could get our van next to the curb/sidewalk so Larry would be able to easily slide into the seat from his wheelchair. They personally directed us through traffic to take the easiest access outlet. We came home with a few souvenirs. Definitely not least of all a ZZ Top necklace (which will "illegal or not" hang from our rearview mirror in the van) and a t-shirt! Above and to the right is the necklace and front of the t-shirt. Brooks and Dunn are in the pic below:

Note: Last night after getting home, I was taking care of Larry's needs and was standing in front of him while he sat on the side of the bed. Someone lightly laid a hand on my upper shoulder blade, so I turned expecting to see one of my boys (Richard or Chris). No one was there!!! I told Larry about it and he said it may have been a Guardian Angel. It didn't scare me. Actually, I was pretty calm...accepting. (Not the first time it's happened to me, but it has been quite a few years since the last time.) No, I'm not on drugs. I don't even do my prescribed meds on a regular basis. However, I DO believe in angels, God and the Holy Spirit.

DON'T FORGET: YOU CAN CLICK ON THE PICTURES FOR A FULL SIZE VIEW!

It's the day before....

06:46PM -- Larry is looking forward to his concert tomorrow evening in Charlottesville. We have pretty much decided that if ZZ Top performs first, we will listen to a few songs by Brooks & Dunn and then leave to return home. We'll leave here between 3:30 and 4:30PM tomorrow afternoon. Okay...now as for how he is doing. His ending B/P today at dialysis was 159/71 and his beginning weight was 91.5 kilos. He's having problems with being able to move his leg, but I help him there. I'm also having to help him get onto his sliding board and in and out of the van now. He's getting weaker, but I'm sure that is because his appetite is way down. I make him drink at least one Ensure each morning, but told him if he didn't start eating more during the day, I would give him an Ensure at least 3 times a day. Yesterday, he only ate half of a Hardee's Frisco Burger and a medium Hardee's Strawberry Banana Smoothie Shake. He drank tea and water, but ate nothing else...all day. Larry is also having problems with the breakdown of a sore on the heel of his right foot. I'm now changing the bandage daily...washing it with sterile wound cleanser; applying silverdine and/or aquacel ag; and covering it with a 4x4 gauze pad and then wrapping it. It looked better this morning, but still has a way to go. He's also got a skin abraision of some type (perhaps from the pullups he wears) that is tender to the touch. I've been applying silverdine and/or protective ointment to it daily after washing the area. He hasn't been nauseated today, however he did ask for Dilaudid this morning. I also changed the pain patch.

Just a quick note...

07:57PM -- Things are relatively quiet here. Larry is dealing with nausea today. He went to dialysis and dialyzed 3½ hours yesterday. Ending B/P was 175/80...not bad for him. His beginning weight was 91.5 kilos, so we lowered his target weight to 89.5 kilos from 90 kilos. This means he's still losing weight. His apettite is still waning. Things are either too sweet or too salty. I know this is related to his taste buds, because the comments are from foods he used to eat without such a complaint. Could be the meds doing it also. His pain has been lower today and he hasn't had to take anything extra, which means the pain patch was enough. He's passing small amounts of blood clots but nothing substantial. He's weaker. I'm having to help him get onto his sliding board to move from the bed to the wheelchair. Then, I also have to help him move his right leg (i.e., moving it on the bed or picking it up to get it in the van). However, he's still looking forward to Sunday and the ZZ Top concert! My only concern is getting him into the car AFTER the concert and then into the house. Perhaps he'll sleep on the ride home...rested enough and gotten some of his strength back from the exertion of the ride up there and the excitement during the show.

Just want to send our thoughts and prayers to all who have been sick in the family...Alyce, Ernestine, and Sue. Glad to hear everyone is getting along better and will soon be fully recovered!

This has been the weekend from hell.

05:54PM -- Oh, Larry's been doing well...or, at least nothing more than is the norm as of late. As for me...stress and nerves almost did me in. I finally took a "chill pill"...my strongest one and I was better after a few hours. Poor Lyn...she thought it was her at first until she noticed I was short with Larry and everyone else in the house. Larry dialyzed for 3 hours on Saturday. Lyn got here about mid-morning on Saturday. Larry is weak and needs a little extra help now getting in and out of his wheelchair and into the van. We (our neighbor) raised the height of the sidewalk ramp so Larry could get in the van without as much strain. He's just begun to take Prilosec every day as he's been complaining with heartburn. He hasn't taken a lot of Dilaudid but at least 8ml/day. Nausea seems to be the biggest problem right now. He takes meds for that as well.

I haven't been here for a few days to post anything because when I shut my puter down Friday night just to reboot, it gave me a system error. With my nerves/stress so bad, I just couldn't make myself sit here and fix it. I'm still working on getting it back up to where it was pre-crash. Gawd, I hate it when my puter goes on the fritz! More later....

WHEN YOUR HUT'S ON FIRE!!!!

03:47PM -- I got this in an email from a friend and realized how much truth there is to it. So, I decided to share it here with each of you. God is at work no matter what life throws at us.

WHEN YOUR HUT'S ON FIRE!!!!
The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him. Every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements and to store his few possessions.

One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky. He felt the worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger. He cried out, 'God! How could you do this to me?'

Early the next day, he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the island! It had come to rescue him!

'How did you know I was here?' asked the weary man of his rescuers.

'We saw your smoke signal,' they replied.

The Moral of This Story: It's easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of our pain and suffering. Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground. It just may be a smoke signal that summons the Grace of God.

It's Stopped Raining, but Still Cloudy...

10:33AM -- Larry is still sleeping, although I'm going in to wake him as soon as I post this to the blog. Not much in the way of news here. He slept most of the night. Thank God! I think he turned the TV off around midnight or 1-ish. I'll take him to dialysis around 12:15PM today and then I have an appointment to put new tires all the way around on the van at 2:30PM. I'll write more as soon as I get the chance. I'll be sure to post on whether or not he needed the transfusion today. I'll change his pain patch (Fentanyl 100 mcg/h) this morning as well.

He didn't eat a lot for dinner last night. He had the Zuppa Toscana (sausage soup) with 2 garlic breadsticks. A salad came with it, but he didn't eat it. He's not a bread person -- or at least he hasn't been in the past -- but he ate both of them. More later...

11:10AM -- Dialysis called. Larry's CBC (hemaglobin) was up from Saturday at 10.1 to 10.3, so he doesn't need the transfusion. That's good news. So, he's not going to dialysis today. He'll go this Saturday. (Sorry Lyn...lol) He needed a nausea med as soon as I woke him. (I can tell by the way he moves his mouth and face, whether or not he needs one now.) Haven't changed his patch yet, but I'm waiting for him to eat breakfast which consists of a bowl of Cheerios with Splenda and 2% milk; coffee; and Sunny D.

Haven't gotten the tickets and parking permit for the concert next weekend. Maybe today. Be back later...

01:46PM -- Still haven't gotten the tickets yet. Larry only ate about half of his cereal and drank almost all the Sunny D and a few sips of his coffee. Not much. But, he just got up and is on his computer. Still has a little pain, but I just changed his pain patch. He also took a dose of his Dilaudid around 11-ish and that's kicked in, so he should be okay for a while. I know...I know...Famous last words.

Not sure what happened...

11:11AM -- Yesterday, Larry felt lousy all day until last night (after another dose of Dilaudid, a nausea med, and possibly a 1 hour nap), he felt somewhat better. Well, somewhere around midnight, he wants to get up and go play Mah-Jong on his computer. Okay...no biggie. However, by 1:00AM, he was still playing. I have someone coming in today to repair the buttons on the water/ice dispenser on the frig, and I told him I needed to go to bed. He said he would have the boys help him to the bedroom when they get in (around 2:30AM). I made sure he didn't need anything, and I went to bed. Well...at 6:35AM, he isn't in bed. I flew out of bed thinking the worse, of course, and found him STILL playing Mah-Jong! I went back to bed once I knew he was okay, but couldn't sleep. Ended up getting up around 7:45AM. He didn't go to bed until almost 9:30 this morning. I gave him his morning meds and did all of his eyedrops. He's now sleeping. Strange...just strange.

Guess I'll see how the day goes. I had to reschedule getting the car inspected this morning to Friday morning, because I really need to get the ice dispenser fixed. Larry loves his crushed ice. More later...

By the way....IT'S FINALLY RAINING HERE!!! YAY!

02:12PM -- Larry is awake and nauseated, so he took a nausea pill. He hasn't asked for pain med...yet.

Geezum...the temp is dropping...down to 58º now.

11:07PM -- Larry has taken several short naps this afternoon/evening. He's sitting on the bed watching television and munching on a few oatmeal raisin cookies with a small glass of milk. He's doing okay and hasn't asked for pain or nausea meds recently. I'm getting ready to go to bed myself. It's still raining and we have had flash flood warnings most of the day. We so needed this rain. The temperature is holding at 60º. Larry stays cold, so I've had to turn on the heat and shut all the windows. Heard from Lynell today...she is planning to come visit with us this weekend. Tomorrow is dialysis day, and he may need a transfusion if his hemaglobin has continued to drop. They said if it was down in the 9 range they would give him blood. He also has new hours: Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from 12:30PM to 4:45PM. He generally only goes 2 days a week now, skipping Saturdays...especially if there is family coming in. Okay...I'm out of here. Will try to update here tomorrow!