Sunday, February 10, 2008

We're back and we're better!

Well, hopefully. The trip of just 100 miles was long and tiring for mama. We were really excited by the clinic there. They did lots of x rays and when we saw the doctor (who by the way was 14)....j/k....the older I get, the younger they look, he was very nice and took a lot of time explaining things to us. Mama has severe arthritis that has completely taken all the cartilege from her shoulders. When she moves you can hear bone on bone. Very painful! He injected her right shoulder and put her on an arthritis medication that we hope and pray will help with the pain and therefore, make her more mobile. She does feel better.....still in pain, but better. We stayed at my sister's and enjoyed being there with her and her husband and got to see her granddaughter and granddaughter's new puppy, Daisy Mae!

Here's Maggie with her big dog!





Here's Poppy holding Daisy...he's not so crazy about dogs. But he was being a good sport!





Bobbi holding Daisy Mae.....she likes dogs even less! You'll do anything for your grandchildren!




We did get in a good visit and supper. Mama wanted me to sleep with her so after Sister and I watched The Jane Austin Book Club, I went back to sleep with her. Not sure if I mentioned she also has bladder problems, we were up several times during the nite.....the last time I was standing over her bleary eyed and not really awake and she looked at her watch and said well it's 6 a.m. I looked my haggardly self at her and said don't even think about getting up. So we slept peacefully until 8, then got up. We had lunch at Panera bread before loading up to go home.

God was good to us, we got there safely and back home safely.

On a completely other note, our daddy would have been 88 today. He died very suddenly May 2, 1996....six months after Russell and I married. So in the providence of God I had more time for mama. Daddy was the hub of the wheel that is our family and we were the spokes. In both family's, everyone turned to daddy for advice.

Daddy died when he was 76, he still worked 6 days a week and church on Sunday. He didn't have hobbies, just work. He had to work to support 6 children! He had a good sense of humor, although sometimes a bit dry. One funny memory I remember is that after my Grandmother died and we had all gotten together at our family home, most every one had gone on home.......daddy sat down by mama, patted her on the knee and said "Well, I guess we're orphans now." It has always been our way to try and lighten up bad situations.....

Daddy would pick up strangers looking for a handout and take them to a motel, pay for the room, and leave them there. He always helped people. He could be gruff, he didn't hug much, didn't tell us he loved us much, but we knew. We always knew.

I'm glad to be home, "there's no place like home, there's no place like home!"

5 comments:

Tonja said...

Glad your trip turned out well. Hope the shots and the meds will help. Sometimes it takes a while for them to kick in. I know how painfully it can be.

A sweet tribute to your father.

Cathy said...

Did you just feel the need to make me cry this morning. The weird thing is that when Mom died, I told my hubby that now he was an orphan.....and he said, no, I have your Mama and Daddy.........that coming from someone else who is, at the least, not very sentimental. Thanks for sharing the pix, they were actually pretty good.

Leslie: said...

I'm so glad the doctor was able to find some meds for "Mama." We don't want our loved ones to ever be in pain! I take meds for osteoarthritis and when I had to NOT take them for a week prior to a particular test for something else, I quickly found out how much they do work! And what a lovely tribute to "Daddy."

He Knows My Name said...

hi nancy, glad you had a safe trip. i recently had a customer in the store tell me she had "gel" shots in her knees. she said they came in a series and helped her alot (just passing it on). i have it in my family and my shoulders wake me up at night. i really need to get them looked at.

your dad sounds like a great guy. that generation really had things to get through unlike i have ever seen and i so love hearing about that generation. i think they can cope so much better than our generation. my dad too, just work, that was his hobby.

daisy mae is such a cutie pie. did i ask you for some sunshine cause we are now in the deep freeze :) have a good week. ~janel

nancygrayce said...

I wish I could send the sunshine we have today! It is so beautiful out....makes me want to work in the yard! j/k