Health Issues

I've hesitated doing this post hoping that after seeing a couple specialists I would have better news to report. Most of my life I have been blessed with great health. My growing up years were very healthy, missing school very rarely. Of course I had the usual childhood diseases for that generation - measles, mumps, chicken pox, whooping cough and managed to sail through them. Four years ago I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, and a little later with high blood pressure. not too surprisingly because my mom has them But, my doctors were happy that I was very controlled and seemed very healthy. I remember my family doctor praising me and saying she wished all her patients with diabetes were as healthy and well controlled.

Thanksgiving Eve I ended up in the hospital for an appendectomy. It was a quick surgery and recovery. Imagine my surprise when Mark told me the next day that when they did the CT scan and surgery they noticed that I had cirrhsis of the liver. After quite a few tests and a biopsy it was determined that I have the kind that is a mystery to the doctors. They don't know what causes it. It is called NASH. Often people who have this have the metabolic syndrome, but not all. Usually they are overweight, but not all. After seeing a couple of specialists they have essentially told me there is no treatment or medication to cure it. The scary thing about diabetes and liver diseases is they affect every part of your body.

But, I was am in a research program through Virginia Mason Hospital and the University of Washington Hospital. Which means I will be followed every 6 months and monitored. The liver specialist from Virginia Mason did change a couple of my medications, added Vitamin E supplements and told me to exercise 45-60 minutes a day. So that is what I am doing. So far the only symptom I have is fatigue. (What is interesting about this is that because of the diabetic medication I have had my liver enzymes tested every 6 months for the last 4 years and have yet to show any abnormal levels. So if I hadn't had appendicitis I still would not know to this day that I have this disease).

The up side to this is that I have joined a fitness center and am swimming at least 45 minutes a day (well 5 days a week). I love swimming - always have and now I have an excuse to do it every day. I am also working with a trainer in weight training. He is very nice and very encouraging.

For Father's Day, I got Mark the Wii game and his children chipped in and got the Wii Fitness so we are both enjoying that. So I am now exercising a lot more than I ever have and I actually enjoy it.

The fitness center is part of a hospital and the time of day I go they have lots of elderly people in the exercise rooms and the swimming pool. I have seen women with canes and a man with a walker come in and get in the pool on a regular basis. One elderly man I swim with is a good swimmer. He uses a paddle board and can swim faster than I just using his legs that I can using arms and legs. They inspire me and I hope I can be just as active and cheerful when I need a cane and walker.

My goal is to gradually lose weight (even though a new medication I am on causes weight gain), and to increase my endurance and muscles strength and try to slow down damage to the liver. I want to postpone a liver transplant as long as I can.

Oh, I forgot to tell you that I am on a diet that decreases saturated fats, but increases protein which I have been doing-sort of-but now I am more strict. So I eat a lot of chicken, fish, cottage cheese and low fat string cheese for protein.

So that is my health news. I won't continually dwell on it or bore you with a lot of detail. But, I think it is worth mentioning from time to time for my posterity who unfortunately may inherit some of these diseases.

I am not feeling sorry for myself yet. Maybe when I deteriorate to the point where I am helpless. But for now I plan to just move forward, listen to my doctors and change my lifestyle to a more healthy one and trust the Lord knows what is best for me.

Wish me luck!

Welcome to grandchild #13, little Allie

Here she is, Alexandria Stringham, or Allie as she is called. She was born May 29, 2009 around 3:30 pm, Renton, Washington. She weighed 8 lbs. 11 oz and was 19.5 inches long. Of James and Jamie's 3 kids she looks the most like the Stringham side. The other two have strong Argo genes - which are beautiful, by the way. Unfortunately, I was at home sick and unable to babysit the other two or help in any way. Jamie updated her Twitter account (which transferred to her facebook account) before, during and after the birth. How wonderful of her! I sat by my laptop morning and afternoon.

Isn't she beautiful!


Ryan and Emily seem pretty excited about having a baby sister. When I called James yesterday he put me on speaker phone so I could talk to them. Ryan said she was little, but when I tried to talk to Emily about her, she started talking about fruit rollups. Made me chuckle! They were excited for us to see Allie, leading us right to her, showing us her blankie and bottle nipples.

We got to take James and the kids out to Red Robin for dinner which is always a treat for Gma and Gpa. Jamie's mom "Grammy" stayed with Jamie and Allie and we brought Jamie back dinner.

We're feeling very blessed!

Hello, Again

It's spring and our little birdies are back!


This year we were prepared. Mark bought me a little bird house for her little nest and to protect our hanging plants. Here they would be safe from my constant watering and necessary disturbing of their nest. Last year the plant didn't do so well and I accidentally knocked it over and two eggs fell out while I trying to water around the bird nest. Those two little birdies never made it.

Mother's Day gift from my children! If you were a bird which home would you choose?


Hello, again!


So we hope these will help keep the roots watered and lessen my moving the leaves, etc. to get it watered thoroughly. Hopefully, this year the plant and the birdies can live together.

Monthly Visits

This week I made my usual visits to see Jerry and Mom and Dad. Unfortunately, I could not take mom and dad to see Jerry because they have an infection among some the the residents that dad doesn't need to catch. So this is how Jerry was when I first entered Rocky Bay. He had just had some physical therapy to keep him limber and strong enough to help with his own mobilization. He continues to have some silent strokes and it has changed him a lot. He no longer winks, blows kisses, talks or stands alone. He hardly responded when I talked to him. After a few minutes of talking, I asked if he ever thought about his mom and dad. That got him to open his eyes and look at me. After that, a little puppy they bring in for the residents caught his eye and and he followed him with his eyes. A couple of the staff talked to me and said how much they miss the old Jerry. He was such a flirt and they all loved that about him along with his friendliness, cooperative nature and joy in all the activities they have. One of the ladies got a little emotional. The lady sitting near him and holding his hand is Marianne. She is one of the residents there and she and Jerry have become great friends. She is a sweetheart and as you can see loves necklaces and hairbands. I asked her if he ever talks to her and she says, "yes, in the mornings, a little".



Rose has hired a caregiver to come in and help with mom and dad. Her name is Adeline and mom and dad seem very comfortable with her. Carrie Ann helped find her for Rose. It is no longer safe to leave them alone even for a short time. Besides helping to feed dad, help him to the bathroom, she does little physical therapy things with him. Dad seemed easier to move this week. Mom seems to have adopted a couple of "anxiety" areas. One of those is the checkbook and the other is the medication. It's typical of Alzheimer's patients to tend to focus and worry about certain things the more it progresses. Mom will always ask me to sit and play some piano duets with her. This time I noticed that she forgot her part often. She would tell me that she is used to playing the other part. But when we switched she couldn't play it at all. It's sad for me to see her lose her ability to do some of the things she loves. She was also proud of the cards she got for Mother's Day.

I remember Nancy Reagan sayng about President Reagan that Alzheimer's is a "long good-bye". They slowly change into someone you don't know. That makes me sad. So for the time being, I plan to enjoy what she is now and deal with the rest later.

Pennsylvania

Thanks to Jason and Jenn's generous Mother's Day gift we were able to go to Lancaster, Pennsylvania to vist with their family for a week. We got to spend the week just being with and doing what they do on a day-to-day basis. This is the best for us, but I think we wore out Jenn. They were so sweet to us and those two girls made Grandpa and I feel very loved. Here are some photos of what we got to do with them.

Jenni being a little princess. She has several of these dresses and a few dance outfits that she wanted to wear every day.


Jaylee being a little tomboy. She found a little birds nest with some eggs in it and we all had to come and see it.


Jenni stayed close to Grandpa most of the time and here they are waiting for the hayride to begin.


Here we are on the hay wagon. The hayride took us out to a bunny field where they had hidden Easter eggs amongst a cute little bunny garden. We had two more Easter egg hunts so they were not hurting for candy. One of the egg hunts, though, was for money. Jenni made a real haul and Jaylee didn't do so bad either. Talk about generous neighbors!



Coloring the eggs!


Ready for church! Darling matching outfits!


We were invited to the Liounis' home (Jenn's parents) for Easter Dinner. Here are the grandparents with grandchildren they share! (Well, except for Morgan who is so cute we would claim her if we could)


Socializing after dinner. It seems we have many common political views and enjoy our discussions. We got together with them one more time for ice cream social.




We spent a day at the Philadelphia Zoo which was lots of fun. Here are Jenni and Jaylee posing for Grandpa.


In the middle of the zoo they have a children's area which consists of lots of climbable objects. There is a treehouse which you can climb (via little paths), which is fun, but easy to lose a child in there. Here they are sitting inside a flower petal.


Petting zoo - Jaylee feeding a goat.


Jenni brushing a goat.


The week before we came was Grandparent's Day at school, so Jenn arranged for Mark and I to go and eat lunch with Jaylee at school. So cute and Jaylee was bubbily and pleased! They sure can make us feel loved!


We were able to attend their gymnastics (and Jenni's dance) classes. That was so fun and a couple of times I was off my seat cheering, when they accomplished certain difficult moves. Jenni doing the splits.


Jaylee doing a combination of jump, sit, stand and move into a cartwheel onto the next mat. She is good!

So as usual, our visits were fun, busy, and the best memories grandparents could ask for. Jason and Jenn know how to make us feel at home and have done a great job raising two lively, beautiful, kind and loving girls! Thanks to you both!!

Fun with Grandkids!

Saturday Mark and I watched Ryan, Emily, Jenna and Catie while Brian, Mary, James and Jamie went on a double date. It was fun, but we sometimes wonder how we raised 5 kids.

Jenna and Ryan are just learning how to play checkers.


First on the agenda was a trip to McDonald's playland to feed them and wear them out a little!



But since they still had lots of energy we took them to Garrison Creek Park. Here Emily was too frightened to cross the swinging bridge on her own. Catie offered her a hand!


Voila! And that's what friends are for!


Ryan giving Jenna some advice on how to hit a birdie over the net! Jenna never quite got the hang of it!

Follow the leader!


I wanted to get a group picture mainly so we could gather them all together just before getting them in the car! It was a bigger job than I thought so I bribed them with jelly beans!


But, as soon as the photo was over they scattered and Mark took off after them. He grabbed Jenna and Emily first since they were the leaders of this little escapade!

When we got home we had 4 very tired little tykes and two exhausted grandparents, but most important some fun memories!

Busy Weekend!

Saturday evening we were invited to my brother Ed and sister-in-law Barb's place for a family dinner. I had not seen their new condo overlooking the Puget Sound near the Edmonds/Kingstons ferry. I had heard a lot about it and I was not disappointed! The view is exquisite! She had invited brothers and sisters and parents for dinner. Here are some pictures of the event:

Their beautiful home!

Ed getting everyone's attention~

My parents!


Ed being the entertainment for the evening!

Me, Amy, Linda, Patty, Jan, Mark, Barb, Robert and Ed

Daytime view from their windows!

Sunday I went to Olympia to care for my parents while Rose and John were out of town on a business trip. It's always a big job and a big pleasure to be there with them. Mom pretty much knows how to care for my dad and just needs a few reminders once in awhile and of course a lot of help mobilizing him. Mom loves to talk about the past and about all her kids do for them.

Mom feeding dad his "yummy" soft foods!

We all chuckled that my mom has 13 children, 68 grandchildren, and 88 great-grandchildren, yet she has more pictures of President Bush in their room than any other person. She worked for the Republican Party in Bonney Lake for many years and headed up a lot of caucuses. So they continue send her lots of mail which often includes a picture of Bush, Bush and his wife, Bush and Cheney and Bush and John McCain - and of course each manila envelope contains a donation slip. She is proud of her service there and enjoyed it very much!


Several years ago my dad told his Bishop that he needed his own personal parking spot at the church. So one Christmas Bishop Wagner got dad this sign and hung it above Dad's carport. When they moved in with Rose and John they brought it with them and now it has a special spot right above the toilet in their master bath. I thought about taking a picture of him there, but decided he needs to be able to retain some dignity in his later years.

It was fun to be there with them. Amy came down and spent time with us. We took a trip out to Rocky Bay to see Jerry. Jerry didn't really respond verbally to us at first. When Amy asked him if she could give him a big kiss on his cheek, he opened his eyes wide and gave a half a smile. It is getting harder for him to process what we say to him and then it takes a long time for him to respond. He did say "good-bye" to us which touched our hearts. It was lots of fun chatting with Kristina and her husband, LeGrand and with Megan. What fun girls! And Amy was an angel keeping Lyla (Kristina and LeGrand's beautiful little baby girl) happy and content.

It was a fun weekend, but I was happy to come home to Mark, but sad to see that he was sick with all the crud going around.

I've been tagged!

I was tagged by Mary. Thanks, I needed something to blog about!

"Go to your Pictures folder, go to the 6th folder, choose the 6th picture and then tag 6 people."

Okay, I have a lot clipart in my Picture folders so I also modified the search a little and opened my Kodak pictures folder and went from there.



Maria and Tommy had come over to vist. I think she came over to show me her new hairstyle! I took her picture in my newly decorated bedroom -- a big thanks to all my children. You can see the date on the picture because I hadn't learned how to remove that function from the camera, yet.

I tag Jenn, Maria, Becca, Nana Mendenhall, Bonnie Cox, and Lili Grover. Sorry if some of you have already been tagged!

Jerry

Just as an update! Jerry hasn't bounced back totally since his hospitalization in mid-December. A couple of times when Mom, Dad and I visited him he was totally drowsy. He couldn't focus on dominoes at all. They wondered if maybe he was in pain and gave him pain meds which helped some. He has failed his last two swallow studies. I went with him to a GI specialists who has recommended a J-peg feeding to the abdomen. Dad and I agreed to have this done, since he has been losing some weight and hasn't been focusing on eating either (very unusual for Jerry). We haven't heard when that will be done, yet. Probably soon. He also fell while doing PT therapy at a table. He was putting clothes pins on a board. One fell on the floor and he reached down to get it and fell, breaking his collar bone. So he is on Vicodin for that, has his right arm in a sling to restrict movement and surprisingly he was a lot more alert and focused when I visited him at his doctor's appointment. He got a little flirty, so I'm guessing he's feeling pretty good on the Vicodin, but still unfocused. He has another appointment the end of this month for a neurological checkup to see if there is anything going on there. They continue to take him out in the community for activities which he really enjoys. He loves getting cards in the mail.

Grandpa and Grandma Lee and Tweety

It's not a mockingbird, but I don't know any song about parakeets. And this is one of the many songs my mom used to sing to us.

Rose and John bought mom and dad a parakeet for Christmas. His name is Tweety and he has become fast friends with mom. He chirps at her a lot, especially, if she leaves the room or falls asleep.



When she goes over to the cage, he cocks his head to one side, is very calm and acts like he's listening to every word she is saying. Mom sometimes will whistle to him and he will sing/chirp right back to her. I think they are the best of friends!

Now, when Rose goes over there he starts flapping his wings and flying around the cage in a panic. She thinks Tweety must hate her. But, maybe he is partial to white hair. He was nice to me when I was playing around with him. (P.S. - I don't know what the little circle is on the side of Rose's head - must have been something on my camera lense)

My mom still takes good care of my dad. She insits on ironing his clothes before he gets dressed, even if he never leaves the house. I thought the pants were fine - I wouldn't have even put them through the touch up cycle on my dryer.

And when I was going to take his picture, she insisted that she comb his hair first. (I tried just running my hands through his hair, just to straighten it a little, but she was right behind me with a comb.)

Mom told dad to smile. The Parkinson's gives him the "mask-like" affect, but if you look carefully you can see a hint of a smile. Dad is so much stronger now. He is easier to get up and around and seems to have his appetite back. I wasn't so sure he was going to bounce back this well when I last saw him in the hospital! I'm sure we can thank Rose for her great care and mom for being his best friend, nurturing him and giving him a good reason for wanting to stay on this earth!

Lemonade Award

"When life hands you lemons, make lemonade!"





A big thanks to Jaime for my very first blogging award! I think most people who read my blog know her since only family members read my blog and she is family. So everyone knows that she is the most consistent blog commenter around and it is always positive, encouraging and much appreciated. Now answering this award has caused my old brain to learn new things - like putting in links to other blogs. This is was a real challenge and I give thanks to Becca for showing me how to do it and of course Jaime for giving me the opportunity.

First of all here are the rules for this award:

1. put the logo on your blog or post

2. nominate at least 10 blogs which show great attitude or gratitude

3. be sure to link your nominees with your post

4. let them know they received the award by leaving a comment on their most
recent post

5. share the love and link this post to the person that gave you the award.


Now it is my turn to pass this award on to others. I only chose six people to honor (because a lot of others I thought of have already been given this award). I wish I were as talented as others at expressing myself in writing, but here goes:

1. Amy - she is my youngest sister. I honor her for something about which she never blogs. Nearly 2/1/2 years ago she helped me find an assisted living place for my Aunt Judy, near Judy's children in Arizona, so they could be more involved in her life. It took a lot of work, but she did it quickly and efficiently. But, that is not all. She continues to be Judy's health/financial/social advocate. She takes her to medical appointments when needed, pays her bills, and takes her to visit relatives when able and buys her clothes and personal items. Judy has Alzheimer's, diabetes, and other health complications. Whenever I apologize that she ended up having all these responsibilities (instead of Judy's children) she brushes it off and tells me it is good for her to help others. And when I get negative she sees the positive. So a big thanks to Amy for handling all this quietly and with grace.

2. Pauline - she is my daughters' (Maria) mother-in-law. I appreciate her the most for the many times she has flown here from Salt Lake City to visit, but mostly to help Maria during her 3 miserable pregnancies. When she was here she worked her fingers to the bone, keeping the family life going smoothly. She would go shopping and fill the cupboards with lots of food, do mounds and mounds of laundry, play with the kids, and did everything she could think of to help find ways to encourage Maria to keep food down (none of which worked well). Maria, truly, could not move without gagging, much less cook dinner and care for her kids and the house. After each were born she was back again to help. I so enjoyed the times we both got together with the kids. It was fun and we were the goofiest grandma's around. This she did while she has her own medical issues and is still dealing with them at this moment. Thanks Pauline for all this!

3. Maria - she is my daughter (and I probably shouldn't brag about my own kids) and has had many trials with her pregnancies and newborn babies. (All her babies had/have severe colic and allergies. Through it all she manages to keep a sense of humor and can makes us all laugh about her problems. Many of us would have become bitter and a hermit. I can't honor Maria without mentioning Eric. He is the best at taking over a lot of home responsibilites during the hard times. Yesterday, when for some reason we were talking about how hard it would be for her if something happened to Eric, she said she would totally lose it. "I can't even handle it well when he gets home late for work", was her reply. So Maria, I don't know if your sense of humor helps you much, but it sure makes life more pleasant for the rest of us.

4. Jamie - she is my daughter-in-law (I told you most of my blogging friends are family). Her blog makes me chuckle. She is not into a lot of "fluff", but tells it like it is. She has a dry sense of humor and that fits in well with our family. Her husband, James (our son), has OCD and some social anxiety which often can be very stressful, for him and for her. But I appreciate her seeing the positive in him, too and picking up the slack in other areas. James may keep the house unusually neat, tidy and organized, but she has a steadying influence on him and is his anchor. Jamie, we don't say it often enough but, you are much appreciated!

5. Debbie Till - she is a very good friend, but does not blog. In fact she does not actually have a computer, but uses her son's whenever she has a need. Debbie is one of those people who has a knack at nurturing others. She worries about me, tells me to slow down, and really listens to me. We can share our real feelings (positve and negative) and never feel embarrassed. Our relationship doesn't require a lot of tip-toeing around or walking on eggshells with each other. She and her husband are the most frugal people around. If you want to learn how to stay out of debt, she is your example. Thanks for being there for me Debbie! Now I will have to go over to her house and get her on this website to show her this award.


6. Melissa - I met Melissa first through Becca who is her neighbor. Then we became blogging friends. She has the most upbeat, humorous and positive blog. I love her perspective about things that would normally throw someone else for a loop. I also love all her comments to others and my blog. She can put into words just exactly what I feel, but she does it in such a clever and more interesting way. Her comments are always accepting and understanding. I love that my grandkids have her kids for friends. And next time I have to plan an fun party, I'm enlisting her help. Her party ideas are always most unique. Thanks Melissa, and I consider you family!!!

Update on Great Grandpa Lee

It turns out he did not have pneumonia. Instead he had a condition (atelectasis) where the aveoli in his lungs (which exchange carbon dixode for oxygen) had collapsed. This can be caused because he is not as ambulatory as before. The Parkinson's makes it harder for him to breathe in deeply as before. So they sent him home with a spirometer (to blow the ball up to a designated spot). We're hoping they will give him some PT to help his stiff muscles, a nutrtionist to give ideas of altered foods that he will not choke on, and hopefully an increase in his Parkinson's medication.

When I talked to Rose on the phone I could hear mom in the background and she was very excited - talking and laughing!

Rose really has her hands full, but she is still cheerful as ever.

A Little Bit of a Scare!

Dad was admitted to the hospital early Monday morning for weakness, nausea and pneumonia. Mom came later in the day and that made him happy.

Granddaughter, Jenny, came to visit with a froggy balloon! That perked him up.

Myron and Sue came to vist with an autographed copy of their son (Arthurs') first published book. ("Partners Again") Myron read the first few pages and had mom laughing out loud. It is a book geared to 10-12 year old boys.

Both catching a little catnap! He's was stable when I left this evening. They won't release him until his oxygen levels are normal and his vomiting/aspiration his resolved. A big thanks to Myron and Sue. Ed, Mary Jane and Carrie Anne who have offered to stay with him for a periods of time so Rose could take a much needed break!

It's always scary when someone his age gets pneumonia, but with Parkinsons' disease it makes it even more worrisome. It's hard to see him become more and more dependent on others to care for him. This is the man who always took care of us and worked such long days, and for a greater part of his life he probably averaged only about 4-5 hours of sleep a night to be able to accomplish that.