The Linda Report

Had a wonderful Sunday! Went to Mass!

I've been praying the Liturgy of the Hours, saying many prayers and receiving the Eucharist each week from our good friend Nancy D-W. and it is sustaining, and I am appreciative, but still...


Last night I was so excited to be going to Mass. It was great to see people and be welcomed back to Mass, but it was even greater to be with the People. I had no idea that I so missed Him in His people, to be a part of the Body of Christ. What awesome power is there.

I closed my eyes and heard the voices in song, and felt the Holy Spirit alive in that room. It was wonderful. A few tears escaped - brief, joyful tears of gratitude and I don't think I've ever had a bigger smile on my face when I said AMEN when receiving the Lord in the Blessed Eucharist.

It's easy to take the Mass for granted. The readings, the priest, the prayers, the songs we've probably heard a thousand times, the surface things. Try as I might I can fall into the same trap of routine and forget the awesomeness.

But being grateful to be a part of that experience, opening the heart up to it at a deeper level - truly being present to the redemptive act of love going on and not allowing myself to be hampered by the surface things then WOW! It's like, and I can't remember who said this, but it wasn't me

My deepest thanks to John and Begs for my transport to and from and for the visit in the car. See you at Mass!

"The Patient"

* Note to Begs and John - don't worry I've just had a lot of time to think, but didn't explain my philosophy, well at all. To use Hal's words "There she goes being Jesuitical again."

Joyous Easter greetings!

I've been enjoying getting to visit with friends- Ronda D. brought us a great dinner and a basketfull of actvities. I am truly hooked on the electroic Yatzee and you're right Ronda, that 20 Questions thing is just plain freaky. Mary M. M. sent the Lourdes DVD it was inspiring. Janice B. and I had a great time on Holy Thursday catching up. I got to see the de Give's with my favorite Notre Dame student : ) on Good Friday night. Elizabeth G. hung out for a thoroughly delightful time with me and Miss Chloe and we went to dye Easter Eggs at the G. household - with The G 6. Binks came Easter Sunday with a Honey Baked ham and some of our ethnic heritage foods pirogi and Ukrainian Kielbasa - rock on Binks! We cooked together and had a grand time. The "Easter Bunny" dropped a basket off at the house Easter Monday to spread the Good News that Jesus Christ is Risen - Alleluia! I shared that cheer with the ladies at Dr. G's office- they are awesome.

Went to see Dr. G for our weekly incision check Tuesday of this week. The top is healing very well and just is steri stripped for this week again to get it through it's final stage - excellent!

The bottom one isn't working out as well, it is healthy and "pink" and no "slough" a "D" instead of an "O", but apparently not where you would hope it would be now or rather it still is open and we'd like it not to be. Dr. G will continue to see me weekly, but is also sending me to...get ready for it... an Infectious Disease Specialist - Yikes! We go April 2nd - Really they handle wound care and hopefully will be able to give us some new direction to get the bottom of this incision healing more quickly. The title just creeps me out - Infectious Disease Specialist at the Infectious Disease Center. As Snoopy would say - "Blech!"

All that being said means I'm not coming back to work the first week of April as we planned. Dr. G won't clear me to go back, understandably, until I'm healed up - so prayers for healthy incision healing are very appreciated. Also for patience, as I'm feeling well and am beginning to have some major cabin fever.

So what am I doing to keep myself busy? I am finding more and more projects that I can complete and am rotating them so that I don't go stir crazy with the same things. I'm able to cook now, so long as someone else in the house lifts or bends for me. I really enjoy baking and haven't had the time since working at SPX so I've baked cookies, breads, recipes I've wanted to try from my multitudinous cook books and recipe files. Jeff is a happy boy! He's been taking them to work with him too. Now that it's the Easter season, I'll be sending some to SPX soon.

I've made 26 rosaries from Good Friday to Easter Monday. Waiting for my connection to score me some more beads and them I'm off again. Am working on a throw, and an afghan - made a caplet for Dr. G. , finished the all from ribbon shawl for Elizabeth. Need to get started on a baby blanket for the Talbots.

I am going through many carousels of slides - yes slides and organizing them to scan onto the computer - thanks B. I'll have some of them up as I get them on.

I've chosen the paint colors for our bedroom, and the music/prayer/conservatory.

I have long nails again for the first time since college.

I've read countless books from many genres.

Also and most importantly I pray the Liturgy of the Hours daily and stop during the day and just "be" with the Lord. Both Nancy D -W thank you for bringing me Holy Communion each week, and my nurse, Shirley mentioned that God must want something for or from me or something during this time. If it's patience - this may take awhile. It was nice knowing you all : )

Seriously, I know this is an opportunity for Grace. Every part of our lives even the unpleasant parts are Grace-filled.

I'm also so very blessed, more importantly, SPX is very blessed to have the people we do at the parish, full time, part time, and stewardship (volunteer) keeping everything on task and moving at this very demanding time of year. We are truly a parish family and team and it gives me a renewed desire to work on getting more people to feel that too. It's a great feeling of joy to hear that as each event happens it was successful - life giving.

I've met a number of new friends and I've said it so many times and will probably remember this the most from this experience - the love and prayers from everyone is overwhelming and very humbling. Thank you.

Keep praying and I'd love to hear from you, visits are good, emails, phone calls and you never know what I'll be baking that day ; )

Joyous Easter!

-"The Patient"

P.S.
I want to squelch a couple of rumors that have come to me:

1. I do not have diabetes. 2. My being out has nothing to do with a gastric by-pass.

I got sprung today for the first non post-op related outing! YES!

Beth G came screaming by in her hot rod Honda : ) and whisked me to Kaiteur!- Just had to be the first place I went. It was like returning to Cheers. The welcome there is so sincere, and the welcome back even warmer if possible. Moose and Erin where a breath of fresh air as always. He's made it such a great community hang out. Had the specialty of the day a Truffle Latte - fully leaded and with all the good stuff! It was great. Thank you Beth for a splendid first adventure!


Before he left for the office, our favorite Sports Editor asked with a smile on his face, "was that you and Beth I heard this morning screaming like teenagers who got their father's convertible for the day"? I said with an even bigger smile "Yes it was"! He was more nervous than he tried to let on when I told him I was going out today, but God love him, he was happy for me. I know how I felt when he started going out after his surgery, and he didn't faint at the doctor's office. I've been told before, that that man is a saint. He really is the best. Course I'm kind of partial : )

Received the Wednesday call from Bego - aka Maria J. and laughed with her about the saga of teaching in the trenches. My grandmother, a teacher for over 40 years always said, "True teachers are born not made, you can't help teach what you are." Here's to one of the best - Maria J.

Nurse D and I had a great spiritual discussion today while she changed my bandages. Being able to talk about God with the medical professionals who have worked with me is something that has touched me about this experience. There is Grace everywhere, you just have to keep yourself open to it. Like a sponge with it's pores open, you just soak it in. I'm just sayn'. She is encouraged by the way the bottom incision looks, which makes me encouraged. Every day is a day towards being healed and back.

Back to the memoirs of Julia Dent Grant

Peace,
"The Patient"

If yesterday's visit was compared to a hockey game - I had two goals, but missed the Hat Trick.

Dr. G changed the dressing procedure to see how it goes. She has ordered the top of the incision to be steri stripped or rather she cleaned and steri stripped and said not to let anyone touch it until she sees it next Tuesday. Check Chief. The culture came back this week as negative so I am off the antibiotic trail or my sister says "You don't have the funk! - excellent." She shoots and scores Linda 1 Incisions 0

Although I'm still not cleared to drive yet, Jeff still is tooling around in my car so if it's out and about it's not me, I am allowed to have friends pick me up to go out for an hour or two so long as I don't over do it. I have to say the cabin fever is beginning to set in so that was joyful news. Slap shot off the post and it's good!Linda 2 - Incisions 0

The bottom incision is looking healthy and is shallow, she gets the shot off. But it is still rather wide, so it gets the daily dressing changes still. It's just going to take some time to heal, no good, it's deflected at the last minute. Linda wins 2-0 but no hat trick today folks. Still 2-0 gets you a win in a hockey game and is all to the good... I know I need to get out of the house.

So to try to keep myself distracted, I was trying to get to a large box of already developed photos today to start some scrap booking which I realized I couldn't move. There was a ray of light though because I came across a couple of boxes of religious items. When my grandmothers passed away my aunts, maternal and fraternal decided I should "Get all this religious stuff" at the time I was thinking, so I'm the one who gets to figure out how to get rid of the pieces of broken rosaries huh? O.K.

I started going through and found some pretty neat things. There are some beautiful and sentimental rosaries, some items for the SPX treasure box and other interesting items which will be displayed in the prayer room here. Specifically there were some class three and possibly a class two relics, some housed in crucifixes and some chaplets - Sts. Ann, Jude and Our Lady of Sorrow. There was a two sided picture frame that belonged to my great grandmother with a picture of my great grandfather young and handsome and on the other side the Little Flower St. Therese of Jesus with a class three relic. There were various prayer books and if anyone reads French a stations of the cross in that language. Barb - we have a larger booklet on the Infant of Prague, maybe we'll figure out by he gets dressed the way he does.

I asked my mother to review the items with me and it was like touching the past to know that these family members I feel I know from all the stories shared with me or knew only briefly when I was very young, actually touched, and prayed with these items. There's something about knowing that I have my faith today because of these people and their lives of faith that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. Also interesting getting to know more about them by their devotions to particular saints or titles of the Blessed Mother.

Other things that give me the warm fuzzies - each day I receive a card or phone call and appreciate so much all the prayers and gestures of love that I receive from my here and now "family"- : )

God Bless -
"The Patient"

Barb R. made a cameo appearance Friday bringing a fish sandwich from the new Lenten staple - Wendy's. If you haven't had one yet, I'd say theirs is better than McDonald's. We had a very enjoyable visit. I'm realizing not oddly, that I 'm not so much in a hurry to get back to the work of working, but to the people. It's a great blessing to work with someone who is also your friend, or at SPX to work with people who are my friends and family.



I received word Friday that the dressing changes were going down to one a day. Yeah. I will take that as progress. Nurse D. continues to be happy with the top of the incision, but the bottom is still being stubborn. There is something called "slough", dead cells which need to be removed she says for it to heal properly. Nurse D. said to ask the doctor to numb the area and cut it out...right! Option B? Yes - the Drs. de G. came by Saturday, more below, Dr. Elizabeth said that Dr. G could silver nitrate it. It hurts, but that's what she's been doing so at least it's familiar pain. Sad, I know.



Our favorite Sports Editor was covering, I can't remember if it was baseball, soccer or golf or some combination thereof. With all the bad weather and cancellations I can't keep track. He's a wizard just for being able to keep it all together!



Saturday

The de Give film studios Inc. moved their operation to our house to have me make a video cameo for the last RCIC class on Holy Week. Getting up in front of a group of people and speaking off the cuff, no problem. But in front of one small video camera - it's humbling. I've read recently from the writings of St. Teresa of Avila, the Interior Castle, that to move deeper into the mansions of the soul i.e. closer to God we have to be humbled, many times for some of us - me. Lately, it looks like I'm making my move!



Or course like any other time or really most of the time now, I started praying for the Spirit to give me enlightenment to say something that would speak to the children, what He wanted them to be given. Here's what he gave me:



This coming Holy Week is special and it's important to be a part of it. It's about the sights, smells, sounds, way things - words, make us feel. It's not just listening to stories of our faith, it's about being a part of something so big the world couldn't contain it. That as in John 3:16-17 " God so loved the world that he gave his his only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world...that the world might be saved through him.



This is our holiest of weeks tells us that we are part of something so wonderful, so amazing, this Love to save us from death, that opened up the gates on the road to heaven to be with God the Father, the Son, the Spirit, all the angels and saints forever.



But its up to us to see, to hear, to listen, to smell, to touch, to come and be a part of sing, to kneel to stand not like robots, but like babies. Have you every watched a baby and seen the way they take in the whole world with their eyes? That's what we need to do this week. Holy week ends Lent and on Holy Thursday at sundown, we begin our three holiest of days, the Triduum. Holy Thursday at sundown to Good Friday at sundown Day one, Good Friday at sundown to Holy Saturday at sundown, Day two, Holy Saturday at sundown to Easter Sunday at sundown, Day Three.


We come to feast at the Last Supper on Holy Thursday. We come to grieve, to be sad at the Stations and show our respect at the Veneration of the Cross on Good Friday. There is no Mass anywhere in the world in Good Friday. We come to Stations knowing that our sins nailed Jesus to that cross and he choose to feel all the pain and agony for us, for all of us. So we come Friday night to venerate, to honor to respect and kiss this device of torture and death because Jesus chose his fate because he loved us so much. He would rather die than live without us without you in paradise. At the close of Good Friday, all the lights go out in the church, and the Blessed Sacrament is removed from our presence and we are alone to grieve and wait by Jesus in the tomb.

Good Friday in my house growing up and today is a day of no TV, no video games, no reading for fun, no music and lots of quiet. It's a day to think about how much God loves us and to ask ourselves how much do we love him?

Holy Saturday is likewise a quiet day around the house, but with an anticipation for what is to come, we get the house for family and guests, prepare special food. Easter Sunday is full of celebration and joy. At church everything is white and gold and fresh, the songs are rich, full, and vibrant. And so are our souls, because we know that Jesus is risen from the dead! He has broken the hold of death on our souls and we can now be with him in paradise. It's is a great day! Listen, smell, hear, touch, taste, don't miss a minute!

"The Patient"

...Well pretty much everybody, the six women in the office area let out a collective "gasp" before the doctor could be heard calling "Mobilize people!" They thought I was having a seizure. (It's me, "The Patient"! Hi! : ) They did fine work.

Last thing I knew I was standing at the counter waiting to here about the details of the home health care set up for the next day. My head got a "swimmy" feeling and before I could get out the words that I needed to sit down, my body did it for me! The next thing I heard was "stay down, it'll be O.K." and felt was gentle pressure on my shoulder. I thought "What do you mean 'stay down'? I'm standing up. Of course I'm O.K."

When I opened my eyes I couldn't believe it I'm flat on my back with a very strong pain coming to focus on the back of my head. Dr. G and Nurse T kneeling over me with calm but alert looks on their faces asking questions, taking my blood pressure and reassuring me. And poor Jeff with a controlled shock face staring down at me. I realized what happened and couldn't believe it!

They took great care and the ambulance took me to the ER - ran all sorts of tests, and I was fine. Dr. G called ahead and set up things with the E.R. and everything blood, EKG, CT of the brain and who knows what else, looked good. It ended up I had an episode of - syncope from benign causes " not a reason to worry"- a fainting spell - or "the vapors" if you're Mr. Hal.

Turns out a lot of things can make that happen. But what the E.R. doctor surmised is that going from the high level of activity with work and consistent exercise prior to surgery and the last couple of weeks especially last week of no activity my vasovagal nerves or vasomotor system had kicked in and took me down.

Thank goodness it happened at the doctor's office and no where else and I wasn't seriously hurt and I don't think I'll need a physical for a good while : ) Sadly I did scared a number of people, especially Jeff. I got a good case of whip lash - yes go ahead and laugh and felt really embarrassed for causing so much drama, although grateful it's just something that happens and nothing else was wrong.

The home health care nurses - who have turned out to be fantastic - are coming to check the incision and change the dressings twice a day and I see Dr. G on Monday. Nurse D. today said it looked better from even this morning and there wasn't much drainage. That did me a lot of good. It's frustrating to wait to heal, especially when it's not healing like it could.

I'll probably be doing the bulk of the updates from now on as our favorite Sports Editor has no time to blog. He's up to his ears in spring sports and more at work, and his unaccustomedness to the usual domestic duties and of course the dramatic medical visits don't help free up his time.

I've used up about most of my hour of allotted sitting at the computer time. Jeff's being very careful with what I am allowed and not allowed to do. So, I'm going to go relax in the big, comfy chair with a very thoughtful gift from Begs, filled with music and words to sooth.

Thank you for all the prayers, cards, gifts and visits. It has truly been humbling to be on the receiving end of so much love. I miss you all very much. Just give a call - if you want to come by. I promise I'll tell you if it's too much.

"The Patient"

At least that's what Howard Cosell might have said if he'd been there Monday at Dr. G's office.

Our favorite patient had an interesting day Monday to say the least.

It all started with a trip to Dr. G's office because the Steri-strips covering the bottom of the incision had come off and she was having some drainage.

Dr. G. decided to take a new approach packing the top and bottom of the incision and giving her a new prescription for a different antibiotic. Her office was going to set up a home health care nurse to visit daily.

And that's where the fun began.

I stepped outside in the waiting room while our favorite patient was waiting inside to get everything set up.

And then boom! Well actually, it was more like a thud in the waiting room.

I was already heading for the door back into the office when they nurse came to get me. Our favorite patient got dizzy, fainted and went down like a tree in the forest, which, of course, scared

Our favorite patient spent the day just resting and relaxing. She did some reading, a couple of amateur sleuth novels while reclining in the Man Room or lying in bed.
Linda M. stopped by and brought some vegetarian lasagna for dinner. I haven't had any yet, but I hear it's quite scrumptious.
Our favorite patient received a fruit basket from Aunt Debbie and Uncle Skip, all the way from Cecil, Pa. Thanks guys, now I don't have to buy as much fruit when I go to the store Saturday.
I left for work around 2 p.m. and didn't return home until about 1 a.m., but the patient appears to be doing just fine.
So that's pretty much it for today.
Now, moving onto the comments left on the blog by my mother and my niece. Notice, I spelled niece correctly that time.
No, I have not gotten soft living in the South. Ninety-nine percent of the people were bundled up like Eskimos. They looked like they were going on an expedition with Admiral Byrd to the South Pole. I, however, was not dressed for a trip to Antarctica. My fingers got stiff because I could not wear thick gloves and keep score of the game at the same time.
As for the comments by my niece about my spelling, you're right I did misspell several words. But let me pass on a little piece of advice. My spelling and grammar are only correct when I'm getting paid for it or getting a grade for it. I was tired and didn't use the spell check. Big deal. When you crank out a couple thousand words or more a day for a living, you can take such liberties.