Saturday, November 22, 2008

For Mikey

Hey, Mikey,
we made it to the Gaither Concert last night. It was so good! Wish you and Colleen could've been with us.
The Mr n Mrs Gaither are looking a little tired and acting a little slower, but Kevin and Rory are still making funny stuff and the GVB was good even without Guy. Sometimes Jason Crabb joined the GVB but they sang with Signature Sound a lot and that made it so good!!

Sheri Easter was there; said she gets one more round of chemo then is thru. Janet and her sister too have been declared cancer free. Russ Taff belted out a few songs as well, and Linda Randal did "God on the Mountain". Love that one!
No Ben Speer. Don't know where he was.

Hope you're doing well at home now, Mikey! Keep your spirits up and work hard to be independent once again... giving orders as the Landlady.
enjoy this greeting!!

Saturday, November 01, 2008

Sisters n Friends

A salute to Mikey!!

I took this video at the end of French King bridge over the Connecticut River in Mass. It shows our 2 nurse friends and my twin. We get goofy a lot when we are together. Laughing releases endorphins, gives that feel-great feeling even when the old body is going to hell in a handbasket and playing tricks on the nervous system... giving the sensory nerves all kinds of signals to cause painful sensations; giving the motor neurons time off to cause weakness and fatigue in various body parts. Laughing is good for the body and soul, and that's what happened on our NE vac. We laughed a lot. The post-polio symptoms kicked in for me on occasion but being able to get horizontal and rest, and take the pain med when I needed to at night gave relief. My nurse friend with MS is not so lucky to knock out her symptoms as readily. Unfortunatley, she is in a hosptial again to receive IV meds, let her body recover in its own slow time so that she can walk again and go home. It may mean rehab time again. But, in her cannot-turn-it-off RN way, she ends up encouraging other patients, TEACHING REHAB STAFF HOW TO HELP THEIR PATIENTS BETTER, and being an example to her family and friends to never give up. She always comes out of the hosptial or rehab with funny stories to tell, teaching moments to relate, and tales of fellow patients she helped encourage. In spite of lingering symptoms, she will overcome and endure! She knows that JESUS is especially fond of her (reference The Shack... a wonderful book) and that Good News (the Gospel of Christ) gives health to the bones. Poverbs 15:30.
I guess the ol Emerald blood gives a sense of the ridiculous in life and the ability to make a joke out of it... which we did every day... a handicapped motel room with no curb cut for entry, a referral to a wonderful breakfast place which turned out to have 2 dozen stairs straight up to the entrance door and no elevator... The Californios inability to understand and respond intelligently to a nice Boston "eye-'ow-R-ya?". Lots to laugh about inspite of life's challenges. it was a great 2 weeks with our sister-friends.
We are with you, Mikey, in love and prayers for a speedy recovery.