Good Morning everyone!

We've had a decent week, started out busy and ended busy, with a normal in between. 

The baby shower was a bust...the guest of honor was not there! She had gone to the baby's daddy's house and, even though they promised to bring her home and had the money for gas, at the time the shower was supposed to start she sent a text saying that they wouldn't bring her back! The only attendees at the shower were me and Emily, Kayden and Kiyann, and Ryan's step-mom Julie. None of the family on Amanda's side came. It was sad and disappointing in that regard. But, the kids got to see their daddy and play with the kitten and we ate cake anyway. Emily and I both wanted to bring our gifts back with us until we could give them to her in person, but we didn't. I don't know if she's seen them yet or not.

Monday we set off about 10 in the morning to see the eclipse. Surprisingly traffic was very light. I had checked the Missouri traffic map and it showed normal traffic until it got to the split into Illinois and farther north. So, we decided to play it by ear. We were able to get within about 10 miles of the Mississippi river. For folks who have travelled this road, we were able to get to Boomland. There is a McDonald's there, so we ate lunch just as the eclipse was starting and then moved the car to the truck parking lot (which was relatively empty) to watch. We didn't get totality, but got about 99%. It was rather eerie, the light changed, the birds settled and got quiet, the cicadas started chirping and all the street lights came on. We could see into McDonalds when we couldn't before. Kiyann was amazed. It seemed like every 5 seconds she would say "It moved!". Bill had a hard time watching it because his neck doesn't have much mobility and it was hard for him to keep looking up. When it started to get light again, we went over to Boomland for a potty break and let the kids get a snack, although we had plenty of food in the car. We also gassed up for the ride home. Traffic was a little heavier on the way home once we got onto I55 again from people who had gone on toward St. Louis and Cape Girardeau. Brianna came through part of that area later in the evening and it was at a standstill in places.

We were back in school mode Tuesday and she somehow managed to get her work done in less time than it was supposed to take. Her grades are decent for the first 2 weeks of school, so she's at least reading the material. 

I had not gotten the prescription for Bill's quarterly labs, so I called Stephanie and she said she would fax it to the lab so off we went yesterday morning. Since they are fasting labs we went early. They had not gotten the fax, but they took care of calling her and getting it. They also had to call back to clarify something so had to wait longer and then had trouble getting any blood. This happened when they were trying get labs when he was sick last week. Usually there are no problems with his veins, it's always been mine that give problems. But, we were finally on our way a little after 10. A stop at IHOP for breakfast and then a quick stop at the mall to get my ring inspected and we were home by noon. Tiring, but at least everything is done.

Today the cat has to go to the vet and I'm taking her in just a little bit. I think I'm leaving Bill at home, it he will stay. It's always very busy on Saturday and they are only there until 12 so sometimes it's standing room only. She won't be happy because it's for another allergy shot.

We have nothing planned now until November as far as medical goes, unless something else pops up. Bill is coughing more again, but the weather has changed yet again, so I'm just keeping an eye on him. He may get a breathing treatment this afternoon.

See you in a week!

Decided to post tonight instead of in the morning. I don't think anything will change between now and then except we will go to sleep.

We made it through the first week of school at the Have Homeschool Academy! Actually McKenna did much better than I expected she would. She didn't have to be prodded to keep working and she got most of her hours in. She lacks about 2 hours and she can do those over the week-end. By Arkansas law they have to attend 30 hours per week.

Bill did quite well with the extra commotion. I can tell he's feeling much better, although he did more coughing today than he had. But, the weather was so strange this week, it's not surprising. I've been stuffier the last couple of days too. It's supposed to rain through the night and then clear off by afternoon.

Tomorrow is the baby shower. I still have to wrap everything but since Kenna isn't here tomorrow the dining room table will be available. I'm leaving Bill alone, but that will give me an out to leave the shower. It doesn't start until 4 and it's about an hour each way. I'll need to head back to make sure I'm home before pill time. I'd like to be home before dark, but don't know if that will happen. We went out to eat tonight to a place I knew we'd bring some home, so he now has supper for tomorrow and I don't have to worry about him trying to cook something.

We're heading off to view the eclipse Monday. I don't know how far north we will go, it will depend on how heavy the traffic will be. We're going to get 90% coverage here so we won't have to go too far to get almost total coverage. We have our glasses and I'll use this weekend to make sure we have plenty of water and sandwiches and snacks in case we are delayed on the road. I did find out that this will count as an education outing for McKenna so she will get credit for the hours we spend watching.

That's been the rest of our week after the Dr. appointment Tuesday. We'll get back on to our regular posting schedule now, I hope! See you all next week. Remember, if you're going to watch the eclipse, make sure your eyes are protected!

The pneumonia crisis is over! We moved his appointment from yesterday to today since the weather was awful in the morning. It was also the first day of school for McKenna and since she is doing online school at our house most of the time, I really didn't want to leave her alone.

After waiting for 2 hours past appointment time, she said that he was moving air nicely again and his white count had gone back to normal. She just advised that if he started wheezing again or coughing more or having trouble breathing to use a breathing treatment to see if that fixed it, and if not to come back to see her.

The weather is really awful now. It rained most of the morning and was so very humid today that it was hard for anyone to breathe, let alone someone with problems. It's supposed to be more of the same tomorrow, so he will probably stay in.

We didn't do too much last week, just normal stuff. Kiyann and I went shopping Sunday for baby shower gifts for Tori. Since Kiyann is going to be an aunt, I let her pick out a couple of outfits to be from her. The shower is Saturday afternoon. I think Kayden is going to go too so that he can hang out with Ryan. I'm not sure if Bill will go or not. I'll just have to make sure he's got something for supper since the shower is not until 4 and it's an hour drive there and back and I don't know what all they have planned. Of course I can always leave if necessary.

Kenna is doing pretty well with her online classes. She has to do 6 hours a day of school work. That is a state requirement. So we have to log how much time she has to spend in each class. This week is a little different than what it normally will be, but they wanted the kids to be able to navigate the site before they really get into it. I've noticed she does better listening to music as she reads and she does better in the mornings than the afternoons. So, we'll get things adjusted as far as schedules go.

We found out when we're going to Florida. We have to be there the Monday after Thanksgiving. It was either then or the 8th of December. So, we opted for the early one. We checked with Don and Shirley and it was good for them, so we're going to visit them for Thanksgiving and then go on to Jacksonville. I know that traffic will be horrible, travelling on Tuesday and Wednesday before the holiday, but that length of visit is just about right for all of us. It will be more driving, and coming home we're taking a different route because of hotel availability, but I'll have time to rest after we get home.

So, you've gotten updated on all of the doings. I'm tired today. The cat was restless all day yesterday and started again about 3:30 this morning. I finally got up about 6 and she was still pacing and meowing and wouldn't settle down anywhere. Before getting Kenna started I vacuumed and then after she settled in I started laundry. The cat finally settled down in the afternoon and slept most of the time we were gone, but has paced again this evening. I don't know if it's this weather or if she's detecting the earthquakes that have been happening in northern Tennessee. They have been small and we haven't felt them, but something is bothering her. She can't be in heat since she's been spayed, so I'm stumped. Maybe she'll sleep better tonight!

Hope the rest of your week is good!

After another long wait at the Dr, Bill is doing better. The wheeze is mostly gone, but his white count was up today. That leads the nurse to suspect that it was pneumonia that was brewing. I also remembered that he had done some choking and when I mentioned it to her, she said that explained it better than getting it out somewhere. He probably aspirated some.

She's added another antibiotic and wants him to continue the breathing treatments, at least twice a day. If not that, she wants him to use one of the spirometer things hospitals give out to use to keep from getting pneumonia while in the hospital. We have several of those so I'm going to pull one of those out.

As long as he's doing better by Thursday, he can start using his treadmill again, but for only 30 minutes max. He goes back next Monday to see if his white count is back down. She didn't do a chest x-ray today and she said it wouldn't make a difference in treatment since his white count was up. So, the x-rays Friday showed a haziness in the lower lobes and his white count was normal. We were really lucky that we caught it when we did, since his body hadn't even had time to start fighting it yet.

He does feel better and is not coughing near as much, so I know he's on the mend. I'm not sure that I'll update this Saturday since he goes back to the dr. on Monday, but who knows. If there is nothing new on here then, I will update after the Dr. on Monday.

Have a good week!

All good things must come to an end. We haven't had a good week. We went to Kiyann's birthday party Saturday afternoon, and early Monday morning, I woke up with diarrhea. I wasn't nauseous, just felt all over lousy. Luckily, Bill was fine and I was wracking my brain trying to figure what I had eaten that he hadn't, and we had eaten the same things, all 3 meals. I felt better Tuesday and by Tuesday afternoon felt absolutely fine, as if nothing had happened. I talked to Mistie that afternoon and she said she and her mother had both done the same thing. They were thinking it might have been all the sugar icing on the birthday cake. There was a lot of it, but Bill's piece had more than mine, so go figure.

Wednesday was Bill's appointment with the pulmonologist. She heard a little congestion and a slight wheeze but wasn't real concerned, just said to keep an eye on it and that if he coughed anything up to look at it for color. She also wants him to start taking 1/2 a Zyrtek to see if that will help with his nasal drip. We started that last night and it helped through the night, but didn't last for the 24 hours so he may need the full dose. We'll give it a few days.

We also talked about the problems with the oxygen the last 2 trips we've made and she's going to get us set up to rent the portable concentrators. I told her I had tried to get one before we went to Florida the last time and she just looked at me and said "But I haven't called them". She was going to get them going on it immediately since we go back to Florida in November. So, we shall see. I did find one that can handle the flow that he is on, and the purchase cost ranges from $2000 to $6000. The difference is just who it is purchased from. The weekly rental rate is $500 and $70/day. We're actually considering purchasing it since we know we will use it more than just the 2 trips to Florida and the rentals would really add up. We will probably try the rental first to see how it works out.

Thursday night Bill was short of breath after he walked to the bedroom and he had been coughing even more and had to use his rescue inhaler. He also had to use it this morning and was winded walking into the kitchen. I told him I thought he needed to have a chest x-ray to make sure there wasn't anything brewing, so off to the dr. we went this morning. Sure enough, there was some haziness at the bottom of his lungs. Right now the diagnosis is bronchitis since we caught it very early. Connie (the nurse practitioner) said his wheeze was not slight now. So, antibiotics and steroids for a few days and started breathing treatments again. I could tell Bill didn't feel real well this afternoon. He was pale and his lips were nearly colorless, but after supper he looked a little better. He's now had one dose of prednisone and 2 doses of the antibiotic and 2 breathing treatments. He's already gone to bed and I may follow before long. He goes back to the dr. on Monday morning to see if things look any better.

He choked a couple of times this week, which is something we have to watch for since he was on the vent and had the trach so long. Those muscles forget to work at times. I'm thinking that one of those times he may have aspirated whatever it was a little which was causing the problem. 

So, this was not how I wanted to celebrate my birthday. We had planned to go to Jonesboro to get my diamonds inspected and then have dinner out. They have so many more nice places than here. But, I think we're going to wait until he's all clear. Connie told him no exercising until she sees him again to see how his breathing is.

I'll throw in an extra post after he sees the dr. on Monday to let you know how things are going. Until Monday...