Dackel Princess

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. We’ve reached edition number 315 here in the Wednesday Hodgepodge. So tell us, what were you doing at 3:15 yesterday? Is that typical? On a scale of 1-10 (with 1 being low and 10 being high) what’s your energy level usually like at 3:15 PM?

My energy level is terrible at that time of day. I really have a sinking spell. I try to sit down with a cup of hot tea (even in the summer) and either some fruit of a cookie, and catch my breath. Occasionally I kick back and take a short nap. Today at 3:15 I was catching my breath after a long day of appointments and grocery shopping.

2. A Frisbee, a tantrum, a towel, a party, a punch, or a curve-ball…which have you most recently thrown or had thrown at/for you? Elaborate.

I think the Curve-ball. It seems that 2017 has been one giant Curve-ball. Between my surgery, infection and recovery, and Jack’s amputation, I think it is safe to say that nothing has gone the way I thought it would in 2017!

3. What are three things that would help you right now. Tell us how or why.

You know, I have been blessed to have people around me that love me. And these same people also remind me to stay positive. As long as I can do that, that is all I need! I know I am supposed to write three things, but seriously, remaining positive is all I need!

4. Do you think you’re strong? Why or why not? What makes you strong?

I never thought I was strong at all. In fact, I have always thought I was sort of an emotional mess. But when I look back over my life, I realize that I am one strong woman. I have faced tremendous adversity, and yet I am here. I have a good life and I am happy. I believe what has given me strength, is my belief in God. I truly believe in prayer, in God’s grace and my ability to handle almost everything with love and prayer.

5. Do you enjoy reading historical fiction? What’s your favorite book set sometime in the past?

I really enjoyed the books I have read about the Civil War. There were so many very strong men and women during that time. Abraham Lincoln, General Ulysses Grant, Joshua Chamberlain, Clara Barton, William Sherman, and Florence Nightingale. There are many more, but these are the ones that I have actually read their biographies.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I went grocery shopping on Tuesday and they had Lobster for $5.99 a pound! Guess what we had for dinner! I love Lobster, but refuse to pay $10.00 a pound!

Happy Birthday, Melodie!

Growing up I was very lucky to have a big sister who took care of me. She loved me, nurtured me, and made sure my needs were met. And she was just 5 and a half years older than me.

Yet, all my life, she has been there for me, as a sister, substitute mother, and best friend. How lucky I am!

So today, on her birthday, I want to make sure you all know what a wonderful sister I have and how much I wish her a very Happy Birthday!!!

Mel's Birthday from Dackel Princess Maribeth on Vimeo.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Growing up, were you close to your grandparents? Tell us one or two specific things you remember about them.

Yes. I was a lot more close to my mother’s parent’s and actually lived with them in my teen years. My grandmother, Mary, was from an English background. What I remember most about her was our tea parties every afternoon. We would talk, over tea and cookies, and there was no problem that couldn’t be solved over tea! I loved talking to her, and missed her so much when I married and moved away. And then, of course, when she died. I still think about her often.

My grandfather, Frederick (Mary’s husband) was all German. He arrived here in 1906 at the age of nine years old. That’s when he met my grandmother, who was friends with his sister, Kätchen. Mary was teaching Kätchen to speak English, and Frederick learned too. Papa said he decided early on, that he loved Mary and someday he would marry her. And they did, and remained married until Mary died at the age of 86. Papa followed Grandma 8 months later. He had no will to live without his beloved Mary.

2. What’s an item you were attached to as a child? What happened to it?

When I was very small, I would spend time at my grandparent’s home in Brighton, Massachusetts. Grandma would leave out the wooden Noah’s Ark that Papa brought with him from Germany. It was all hand carved and I loved the little animals, as well as Noah and his family. I played with it for hours and hours. When Grandma and Papa died, I was given the Noah’s Ark. I have it to this day and it remains something very special to me!

3. When you look out your window, do you see the forest or the trees (literally and figuratively)? Explain. I see the lake and the trees. I live in the lakes region of New Hampshire. I’m on a hill above the lake, and so I have that lovely view. But around the lake, and around my yard we have beautiful trees. 4. Do you like sour candies? Which of the ‘sour’ foods listed below would you say is your favorite? I do not like sour candies. My favorite are butterscotch hard candies. grapefruit, Yes Greek yogurt, Yes tart cherries, Yes lemons, Yes limes, Yes sauerkraut, Yes buttermilk, Only for cooking or kumquats No Have you ever eaten a kumquat? Yes What’s your favorite dish containing one of the sour foods on the list? I guess Sauerkraut is a favorite because I love hot Pastrami Reuben Sandwiches with Sauerkraut. YUM!

5. July 1st marked the mid point of 2017. In fifteen words or less, tell us how it’s going so far.

Hahahahaha! Let’s see. It certainly has been challenging. After simple surgery I got an infection and that was a three month event, with the added thrill of home treatment with IV therapy. Then Jack got the infection in his toe, which did not respond to antibiotics, and after a month of treatment his toe was amputated. We’re both still recuperating, but both of us are doing so much better.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Right now we are in a holding pattern for Jack and his foot. We did get the bone pathology report, which showed clear margins with the infected bone, and this is all good. He still has stitches in, and will for another week and a half, but the drain is out. The strangest thing, Jack reports, is that he still feels his missing toe. I call it his phantom toe. It’s gone, but his brain has not forgotten it.

Maribeth At Three

Growing up I was pretty much of a Tom-boy. I loved to climb trees, ride bikes, play in the dirt with Tonka Trucks and run around our neighborhood like a little street urchin.

I remember the day my mother had enough of trying to keep my hair snarl free, and she took her sheers and chopped off my hair into a very short pixie cut! (See, I was ahead of my time!)

But Grandma and Dad both didn’t like it, and so my hair was left to grow out.

Just before my fourth birthday, I was supposed to be a flower girl in a wedding, instead I got appendicitis! I was rushed to Falmouth Hospital and operated on.

I remember waking up in the night with terrible stomach pain! I made my way into my parent’s bedroom and I remember being laid on their bed. My legs were tight to my chest. When Dad tried to pull them down, they snapped up so fast I think I might even have hit him!

Off we drove to the hospital and my Dad drove the wrong way and ended up going to the Community Theater! Eventually we made it, and Dr. Wessling removed my appendix.

All I remember about all of that was, he was nice and the ether smelled terrible!

I remember looking through the bars of my hospital cot to watch “Captain Kangaroo” and “Bozo the Clown”. I think I was in the hospital for a week.

My sister was not allowed to come up. She was beside herself with worry! So, my parents thought it was wrong to keep us apart and they snuck her up to pediatrics so Melodie could see me.

I was given all sorts of presents while I was in the hospital. I think Digger the Dog was my favorite.

The only problem was, that by the time my birthday rolled around, I’d gotten all the gifts.

I remember coming home and going up the stairs to my room when I slipped on the steps and fell. I cried out to my mother, “Oh no! I’m bleeding!”

My poor mother came running, thinking my stitches had ruptured, only to find I had cut my finger!

Somehow Mom managed to make a party for my birthday a few weeks later in November. And magically, there were presents for me too.

All this from the earliest memories in my mind. I do admit to fact checking one part, but everything else was accurate.

Amazing what a three and a half year old can remember!

The Friday Five…Plus 1

This week I am calling the Friday Five, the Friday Five Plus One. Simply because I cannot fit everything in to just 5 statements. So, here goes!

This week I am focusing on the last two weeks. So much has been happening, that the first two weeks of this month have gone by in a flash. When I am not running around trying to dot all my I’s and cross all my T’s, I am catching a nap or going to bed before nine o’clock on the evening. Here is a quick run down.

It all started a month ago when Jack said he needed me to doctor his toe. The big toe on his right foot was quite simply a bloody mess. Since he is an Agent Orange Survivor with Diabetes, I knew it was a big problem, probably before he did. He phoned the Veteran’s Hospital and the race began.
He was on antibiotics, but nothing got better. I was the keeper of the toe, changing the dressings and watching it. In reality, I was watching it become more infected and worsen. Looking back, I should have demanded a Vascular Surgeon look at it. Next time…(and yes, there probably will be a next time!)
Two weeks later, Jack was not feeling well. We packed a suitcase for him, and headed to the VA in Manchester, to their Emergency Department. They took one look at his toe and off he went, via ambulance, to the White River Junction Veteran’s hospital, where, three days later they removed all of his toe. Thankfully, since Jack has no feeling in his feet, he had no pain. Otherwise, we were told, this would have been an extremely painful operation. They started him on two IV antibiotics, and then waited and hoped that the pathology report would show which bacteria was inside the toe, and also that the bone pathology would show that they got all the infected bone.
They sent us home last week on Thursday. At that time they gave Jack a 50/50 chance of not needing more surgery to remove more of the bone. He came home with a slew of medical products for me to use to keep his foot clean, and antibiotics (two of them) in tablet form, to treat both the infection and any possible bone infection he might have left.
So, the last week he has had to sit with his foot elevated, and basically do nothing. That is very hard for my husband, who is a very active person. However, I think it’s been a tad easier, because he still has not felt well. I make his meals, clean his wound and then nap and go to bed early, because exhaustion seems to take on a life of it’s own.
Now here is your bonus this week. Yesterday, the Nurse Practitioner had the pathology reports on the toe that they removed. She told us that it showed that they had gotten all of the infection with wide margins in the bone.
They did take a small amount of healthy bone, but this is okay. It means after one month of antibiotics, Jack should be healed.
He will still need monthly care of his feet, and hopefully, this will keep him from losing any more of his foot. But there is no guarantee.

On a more serious note, I just want to say here and now, that Agent Orange was used so indiscriminately, that so many of our soldiers have been permanently damaged. Seeing the toll it has taken on Jack, I am just appalled! So I say to all the men and women of our military who have fought for our country, God Bless you, and Thank You!

Family Recovery

It’s nice to have Jack home, where I can care for him, feed him and watch over him. Add to that, the fact that I no longer am driving two and a half hours a day, and we just about have a perfect situation.

Jack is sleeping quite a bit. I think this is a good thing, as his body needs a chance to fight the infection that he still has, as well as get over the surgery he had.

I would think that the body reacts badly when it loses part of itself. Even though Jack feels nothing in his feet, no pain, due to his Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy, I imagine that the body itself knows that something was done.

I am Jack’s chief nurse. Once a day I clean the toe-less area and bandage it up. The first time I saw it, I was shocked. It looked odd to see his foot with no big toe. But now I am used to it, and I think once it is healed, well, it will be rather beautiful! After all, it looks far better than the infected toe that they removed.

I’m insistent that he eat three meals a day. Even if they are small ones. This means, I also eat three meals a day, which is good for me. Both of us have little to no appetite, and have lost weight.

I have been joking with Jack, telling him we should take that Princess Cruise to Hawaii in the Autumn. It’s 15 days. From Los Angeles, four days to Hawaii. Then four days cruising around the Islands, then four days to Mexico, and one day back to LA. Jack says that 8 Sea Days would be terrible! What would we do?

Hmmm! Well, we would sleep late. We would lie in the sun and swim in the pool. We would eat lovely meals. We would drink champagne. We would see a different act in the theater every night. And for those 15 days, we would be alone! Quiet, loving and alone.

He is not convinced! But I am still working on him.

Arnie is intrigued with the tennis balls on Jack’s walker. Arnie loves to chew and destroy tennis balls and we actually had to spray on bitter apple to keep Arnie from eating them. Now Arnie lies under the walker, guarding it!

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Jack Comes Home

After Breakfast:

Jack is still in the hospital awaiting more surgery. Whether he has more of his toe/foot removed, or they just simply close the wound, we don’t know. It seems the two services here at the hospital can’t decide.

We are frustrated. Jack wants to get out and come home and I am looking forward to not having to drive two and a half hours each day! But, there is no place I would rather be than at my husband’s side.

After Lunch:

Well, Jack is being discharged! They decided to leave the drain in for a week before doing a final closing when we return.

I will be trained to dress the foot and be his at home nurse. Actually I am not worried too much about doing this, as I took care of his toe before he lost it.

I’m slightly nervous about them sending him home because I am not completely comfortable with them leaving the infected bone in his foot! I voiced my concern about this to them, but they tell me that the dual antibiotics will keep the infection from spreading. I felt that no one was really listening to me. I pray this will all turn out well.

After Supper:

Jack is home, sitting in his recliner, with his laptop on his lap and he is sound asleep. Finally, he is relaxed and resting!

The 4th of July

I continue to drive back and forth across the State of New Hampshire to be with my Jack. It’s just over an hour each way, and the first few days I did this, I didn’t feel too bad. But today, oh wow, was I tired!

Of course there is no place else I would be right now than at Jack’s side. He is going through something that no one should ever have to go through.

On Tuesday he got to see what was left of his toe. Quite frankly, there is nothing left of his toe. They didn’t necessarily lie to him, but there is no half toe. It is completely gone.

There was a sadness in his voice as he told me about seeing it. And later I shared his sadness when we were told that he will need at least one more surgery on the toe.

We were also told that he may need a PICC Line, and at home IV antibiotics. Does that sound familiar? And here is the even stranger part, they are talking about using the same two antibiotics that I was given.

We both feel a bit shell shocked, and we hope that this will be over soon. However, I am starting to feel that Jack’s recovery from his infection will take as long as, if not longer, than mine.

My friends asked me to dinner tonight and it was the first normal, wonderful and delicious meal that I have eaten, since Jack got sick. I am so grateful.

I hope you all had a Happy 4th of July!

Jackie Nine & A Half

On Monday morning, around seven o’clock, I got a call from Jack telling me that surgery was scheduled for noontime. The Vascular Surgeons had been in and determined that the best way to contain the infection, which is Osteomyelitis, was to amputate part to most of his right big toe.

I raced to shower, dress, and call my friend about walking the dogs, and I was out the door by 8:15!

It took me just about an hour to get there, and get to Jack’s room. Where his Nurse was preparing him for the surgery. His Nurse, stopped to talk to me as well, and all I can say is…what a nice man!

Jack and I talked until they came for him at eleven o’clock, almost an hour earlier than scheduled for his surgery. I walked down to the pro-operative area, and waited with him while Anesthesia came to speak to him. Jack does not do well with general anesthesia, and I wanted to stress this to them. Well the Anesthesiologist couldn’t have been nicer and she switched his drug mixture, which in the end, was perfect for him.

Surgery lasted well over an hour and I texted with my step son the entire time. I was so grateful to him, because he really helped me to stay calm and to relax. Love you Jon!

Finally they came to get me and bring me to recovery, and there Jack was sitting up, wide awake and with slightly less than half his right big toe. His foot was wrapped up in thick bandages and a compression bandage on top.

But best of all, Jack was smiling. He was happy that it was just half the toe and not the entire toe, or the toe and foot! Since he has almost no feeling in his foot, the pain was minimal.

Jack’s only complaint was that he was hungry! But when we arrived back in his room, not only did he have lunch waiting, but he had two roommates!

I got him settled, made sure he was eating his lunch before I headed home. As I got ready to leave, I gave him a big hug and kiss, and whispered in his ear, “Just remember, I love you, Jackie nine and a half toes!”

I’d had only 3 hours of sleep on Sunday night, (a slight panic attack) and I needed rest. I played with the dogs, got them fed, and at 9:30 last night I climbed into bed with the dogs and I slept until six o’clock this morning.

Today I am off to see him again. They mentioned that they may release him by the end of the week, so once I find out when, I need to do a big grocery shopping.

So that was my day yesterday, and now it’s time to drink my coffee, and then get ready to hit the road. Thank you for all your prayers!

My Husband, Jack

So much has been going on the last few days. I have hardly had a chance to sit, sleep, let alone write. But tonight, I have the time, and the inclination to sit and write.

Jack, my husband was admitted to the hospital on Friday with a severe infection caused by his diabetes. It started in his toe, and spread into his foot and up his leg. His body wasn’t fighting the infection, so he had no fever at all. Oddly enough, his temperature was only 97 degrees (F).

They took him by ambulance to the Veteran’s Hospital in Vermont, where they began treating him with two strong IV antibiotics.

Meanwhile, I’ve been driving back and forth (an hour each way) and I have tried to keep the house running, the dogs cared for, and at the same time made sure that Jack has what he needs at the hospital to be comfortable.

Today his 18 year old cell phone died and so on my way over, I had to stop at Verizon and get him a new one. He did not want a Smart Phone, but just a simple flip phone like the one he has had. Here is the miracle. They actually still make them.

Once I got to his room, I set about adding a few of his contacts, and showing him how to use it, which is basically how the old one worked. Score one for me! He was so happy and when I glanced at his face, he looked a bit better.

The last few days travels have not been uneventful. Yesterday on my return home I was two cars in back of a compact car that suddenly went off the road and hit a tree going 40 miles an hour! The airbags deployed, noses were bloodied, but all five young people walked away with only bruises. The car was totaled. I saw it happen and pulled into a parking lot and called 9-11 and got police and fire on scene in under 4 minutes. The police arriving in under 2 minutes. I felt quite shook up witnessing this, and I guess it made me think of my own accident all those years ago.

The dogs are a tad confused with Jack gone. Arnie lies on the floor by the bedroom door waiting for his Daddy. And when the door gets opened, his little heart breaks when his Daddy is not there.

My friends have been wonderful. They have helped me with the dogs, listened to me, and one friend is going to help with our lawn. I need to line up help with the fruit trees, and possibly get someone to help me with the cleaning.

I guess I am trying to put everything in order so I don’t feel so overwhelmed.

The prognosis for Jack’s toe, foot and leg are still unclear. For now he will be in the hospital until the infections are under control.

But I’m here, and I will write when I can.