bob59's Journal

Well everyone I am still around just not on here much lately with all I have to do so I will try and update so you know what is happening.

As you all know my brother Lee has been in the hospital since his stroke in February. He is still there in ICU but doing some better. His Medicaid finally got approved and all we are waiting for is a bed to open up in an acute care nursing home. He is still on the respirator, can’t speak and has little use of his hands and feet. This all should start to improve once he is in the care facility and gets more therapy.

My older brother Jack has been in and out of the hospital since Thanksgiving with heart trouble. He das severe COPD and has been on Oxygen for about 5 years now, he has had 4 stints put in, open heart surgery, and most recently was carotid surgery. He has a pace maker and just got out of the hospital for the carotid surgery the end of April and went back in on the 4th of May with congestive heart failure and pneumonia. He just got home the first of this week, the doctors told him he would continue having heart attacks and strokes and any one of them could be fatal.

The first part of March my niece (Shannon Marie) who has had numerous health problems all her life was diagnosed with stage 4 cancers and it is just a matter of time before it takes her. She spent a month in the hospital and just got home the 2nd of May and had to go back on the 3rd. The last I heard was on the 13th and she was still in the hospital with pneumonia so her kemo treatments had to be put on hold.

My mother has been in a nursing home for a couple of years now and in very poor health. She passed Away on the 4th of May at the age of 89 so I was gone the first week of May helping with her arrangements. Her funeral was on the 7th and she left quite a legacy with her family. She raised all her brothers and sisters starting when she was 9 years old. She raised 11 children of her own, had 40 grandchildren ranging in age from 4 year to 54 year old, 37 great grandchildren and 13 great great grandchildren. Prior to going into the nursing home she was active in her church and ran their community closet, she was active in the local quilter’s guild and an active member of the police auxiliary. Everyone who knew her referred to her as Mama or granny.

So you can see I have had my hands full and not much time to do other things. The biggest question for us now is which funeral will be next. We have 2 family members that will not last the rest of this year and possibly 3.

As for Johnny and I we are doing OK. I had to go to my doctor on Thursday because my COPD acted up and I was out of med’s, they gave me new med’s and I am better now. I can’t walk far now without getting short of breath but I will be getting my parking permit on Monday.

Johnny had to have a bunch of caps on his teeth on April 3rd because of cavities. He is very proud of his silver caps and calls them his super teeth. He took his Grandma’s passing very well, when he saw her in the funeral home he touched her hand and said “Now you can go to Gods house and not hurt anymore”. He has done well in school since Christmas and doesn’t want it to end next week.

Well that is all for now, it is still hard for me to talk or write about all that is happening.