Always In Our Hearts....

  Two months before Ted's  Acute Myeloid Leukemia diagnoses.. During a walk ,after lunch with my daughter Kathy. 

 Eleven days before, getting tested at Ted's heart doctor's, to see why he was feeling so weak.  Sent to Riverview in Noblesville for heart cath. That is where they took his first bone biopsy to check for leukemia. The results sent to Dr. Birhiray. 

 After two big chemo treatments at the Saint Vincent hospital on 86th street in Indianapolis. Those chemo treatments, were given by doctor Birhiray, a great oncology doctor. Ted received a bone marrow transplant  by doctor Tandra, shown here, at the Indiana Blood Marrow Transplant  clinic group, in the Franciscan hospital on Emerson avenue in Indianapolis. Then many maintenance chemo treatments , after the transplant. 

 Always giving us the victory sign for how he was going to beat this cancer. 

Through the whole battle he fought. 

Giving his all and then some. 

 Even when you could tell it was wearing him out, he fought.

 My sweet loving Ted had many things happening all at once, more than his weaken body could take.  God took him to heaven on the 10th of March.  No more pain,  tests,  hospitals, or doctors.  Ted's pain was gone and ours began. Heartache is so real . Longing can be in every fiber of your being.

   Thank you dear friends for all the prayers, well wishes and cards. I am taking a break for now.  I will return.  Bless all of you. XO
 

Please Send Prayers....

 Please pray for my Teddy. His cancer has come back and he will be getting the strong chemo again.  I need many prayers for him. Think kind thoughts or wishes for him if you don't pray. He is the kindest man I know.  Thank you . XO
 

The Snows Did Melt....

 We had pretty sunset ,even in winter. 

 Plenty of snow drifts, hard to get around. But who goes anywhere , any more. 

I was pretty tired of all this snow and the woes that come with it. The freezing temperatures was the worse part.  But three days of 40 -50 degree days has helped melt it . It is almost all gone. I say "hooray"

   The latest  on my Ted...he is in a holding pattern at the very room where he received his bone marrow transplant, at the Franciscan hospital., on May 2019,  He went to see the IBMT drs yesterday. He was to see them on the 5th, but was in IU Heath  at that time. Then on the 16th , the big snow storm came and so yesterday was the new appointment . Once they took his blood labs and saw how low his counts were they kept him. He had a plasma transfusion . This morning they did the bone biopsy on him.  Praying for some kind of answers . Spoke with him this afternoon and he seemed stronger  than he has in 2 months.  Faith is keeping me hoping for help in getting Ted back on his feet. I am asking for your prayers dear friends. Thank you for wishes of good health and prayers.  XO

 

It Sure Is Winter ....

 The weather here has been truly every kind of winter condition. Snow, ice, sleet, and plenty of wind.  Cold freezing temperature also.  Just when I was hoping for an early spring .

  This is just one of the snows . It has snowed more and more coming. That arctic cold is coming our way also. Kind of hard to stay warm at times. 

   I will give you an up date on Ted. He is still at his son's house. Going to doctors  and having Physical Therapy.  He saw the eye specialist on Monday and was taken off some of the meds and the eye drops were lowered.  The shingles in his eye make him have really bad pain at times. He has found that ice packs help with that somewhat .  A couple of Tylenols also.

   He has been getting some PT and says it wears him out but makes him feel he is doing something to get better. We get to talk and text all we want, or  as much as he can do . Today Ted goes to the pulmonologist. This will be an important appointment.  We need to know more.  Ted is still on the nebulizer and the oxygen. His oxygen level is lower, which is promising.  

   My children and grands have been helping me .  I am so grateful for my family and friends.  I want to ask you, my blog family , to keep Ted in your prayers. We are so very thankful for the good wishes and prayers.  You are in ours. Be safe. XO

Day By Day...

 I thought I better try to up date all of you.....even though I do not know much more than last time.  I have spoken to nurses and doctors at the hospital where Ted has been since the 12th.  Ted was given high doses of medicine for the shingles, which may or may not have cost his numbers to become so low. He  was given high flow of oxygen also. 

   Last week the lung dr at the hospital did a bronchoscopy  on Ted. They did not find anything. Started saying he may have some fibrosis...yet they want him to see another lung specialist, when he is ever released from the hospital. ??? In the mean time his cancer dr wanted a bone biopsy...but his counts were so low he could not have one, for fear of bleeding. Since that happened, he was  barely able to talk long on the phone. 

  This week the hospital has been allowing one visitor a day.  You have to gear up and absolutely be safe. Ted's son Heath has been to visit . It must have been just what Ted needed, because he has had two good days in a row. Heath set Ted up to face time with me and Angie came out to help me. My gosh Ted and I are dinosaurs, don't have the right phones or stuff to do that on our own.  But the face time was a great help to all of us. Lots of tears and smiles. Ted and I didn't have to talk, we just looked at each other, almost like we did not know what a phone was.  Heath said he could tell we didn't need to talk, just needed to see each other.  So I will be going to spend a bit of time with Ted. His catheter was removed and his oxygen was lowered too. He seems more alert. 

  Thank you to all who send well wishes and prayers, kind thoughts. You are all so wonderful. I am sorry I have not responded to comments at times....it's just been a depressing time for me without Ted here at home.  I want to think that things are starting to look up. I thank God for giving us these good days.  Take care, wear your masks, get those shots. XO
 

An Update...

 On Friday the 8th , Ted seemed to be getting a cold...yes, on top of his pneumonia.  His eye was watering and his nose dripping. I used warm damp compresses on his eye and gave him tylenols, and used eye drops.  I asked if he needed to go to ER. He said no. (Always says no)  Saturday Angie picked up his meds at the CVS and she asked, " don't you think you need to go to ER? " Ted said no again. Pretty much the same thing on Sunday, only now he was not wanting to eat much.  So I tell him, you are going to ER or you are seeing the dr. tomorrow. So he says he will call the dr on Monday. 

   We call and they make a virtual appt for this morning.  But yesterday I saw some rash on Ted's forehead and some blisters, so I tell him I think he has shingles. I look some things up on line and then I know he has shingles. I tell him we need to call the bone marrow clinic. They returned our call and told Ted to get to ER. 

  I called my daughter Angie and she comes to take Ted to ER. Tells me to stay home I can't go as they will not let me in the hospital . I tell her, I have to put my coat on to help you get Ted in the car, he is a weak person right now. Sure enough, his legs about folded when he was getting in her car. 

   Later,  I call the hospital, they say Ted may go to Indianapolis , so an eye specialist can check his left eye as they think the shingles are in his eye.  I wait for calls. I call the hospital. They say Ted has been taken to Indy. I get no calls from either hospital. So this morning I call Ted. He is going thru tests and would call me back. No calls. You can't go to the hospital , you will not get any calls from the hospital staff, I am angry. Why? Just one staffer could give a short call.  So when they ask for a review, I plan on giving them one. I try to be kind and nice and understanding....but I am ready to snap. 

  All I know is Ted has shingles, I diagnosed that myself. One dr said he was low on sodium and was drinking too much water, after Ted told him he drank 3 -16 ounce bottles of water a day and a coffee. Now I say pneumonia needs lots of liquids, plus the steroids, he had for helping take care of pneumonia,  helped bring on the shingles. What do we do? 

 So today, Ted is in the Indy hospital, going thru tests and treatments. I do not know when he will be released. to come home , or how long he will be there. You would think for what it cost to go to the hospital a person would be entitled to a bit of information.  Sorry I just have to vent. 

  Please send up some prayers for Ted. Thank you so much. XO
 

Give Me Light....

 We have this dusk to dawn light  at the shop. It's been going on and off at the oddest times. I think t's sensor is going bad. This is one of the things that Ted has always taken care of, so now what.  It comes on at dusk, goes off and boy does it seem dark here then. It's off maybe 10 to 15 minutes than comes back on.  I will have to see if one of the son in laws can fix it for me. 

   You can't see the weather vane in this shot. It's a running horse pattern. When Ted and I got the vane we were at the Covered Bridge Festival in Park county.  Ted had a golfer pattern  picked out and ask me what I thought. I said, "No it just doesn't seem right. So he picks a fish. Then I had to say, "No, what one of these that I like..do you like?" LOL.  It was either a rooster or the horse. LOL.

 We have caught some bits of sun at sunset time. Not much more , but at least it isn't snowing.  I think we are to have some mostly sunny days this coming week. Hooray.

   Ted is not much better. We have an appointment in a week for him to see the lung doctors. I am thankful it's at the Hospital that diagnosed Ted's cancer two years ago. They have a pulmonary clinic there. Praying he gets some good reports. 

  Hope all of you are safe and well.  Wear your masks for your loved ones. XO
 

Looking Back .....

 It's been a long time since Ted has been able to make something in his woodworking shop.  This is a bread box he made  We still use it. 

He has made many trays. Each child and all my sisters have one. We used to make Christmas gifts for the families. 

He made these cutting boards. I am not sure anyone cuts on them. I have seen them used for holding candles and decor. 

Salt and pepper grinders in a little carrying  tray.  All the girls use these. 

Here are some of his decorative bowls and vases. A trinket dish. 

 He made these decorative birdhouses for me.  I keep them inside as decorations. 

We all love these paper towels holders. They sit upright and do not take up much room. 

Ted never liked to waste hardwoods. So he makes trivets with the scraps. 

Can not begin to tell you how many of these trinket dishes Ted has made and given away. 

One year he made everyone a Lazy Susan for their tables.  He got this idea when we visited Shipshewana, in northern Indiana. The Amish area. Salt and pepper go in the small rounds spots, sugar packets in the squares.  A candle in the center . 
   I pray one day in this new year, that Ted can get back to his shop to make anything. Even if it's is just fire starters. That is another thing he gives any family member with a fireplace. 

  Ted is having a tough time. No energy. Has to have the oxygen on.  I know that pneumonia is a hard thing to get over . He has a phone visit with his dr this coming week. I hope we can learn something about what to expect.  He is doing the breathing treatments faithfully.  Please pray for my Teddy. He is such a good person. 

  I am praying we all can have some peace and lots of good health this year. Take care of yourselves . Wishing you all well. XO

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