Where Have I Been ... What's Happened in My Life ... Sit Down, I'll Tell You

 

Gloria Faye Brown Bates/aka Granny Gee/@GeeGranny on Twitter

Where to begin ... where have I been? I'll try to explain ... so much has been forgotten in the big shuffle of Life. By Gloria Faye Brown Bates/aka Granny Gee

Good morning ... it's been quite some time since I've written.  So much has been going on in my life ... I don't know where to begin.

Stroke ... congestive heart failure ... later fluid back around his heart ... pacemaker ... 2 heart stents ... bleeding out from heart catherization when the sheath was pulled out of his thigh ... he went through hell while they had to put pressure on his thigh for 1 hour, and 20 minutes.  The pain was so bad ... he had to be given morphine.  Prostate surgery and complications ... he still has a 9-10 mm kidney stone that was knocked deep into his right kidney they couldn't get.  Pneumonia ... then, a cold.  Hemorrhaging from his nose losing so much blood he had to be given blood.  Last but, not least, he is also, having problems with his eyes, eyesight.

Since January 2016, Skip has been in the hospital 4 times ... very, very ill.  Not only that, he had a pacemaker put in ... then, 2 heart stents ... later, his right kidney began to fail ... he had an uretheral stent put in until surgery.  Skip had ongoing problems from this surgery until ... believe it or not ... he had the awful nose-bleed.  It corrected itself.  We were so grateful.

Last but, not least ... Skip had an epic nosebleed.  He was hemorrhaging from an artery in his nose.  I kept trying to stop it with towels, wash clothes ... this nosebleed never slacked up.

Later at the hospital, I was told we'd never been able to stop this nosebleed.  Skip's blood count went from 13.9 down to 7 from that bleed.  He had to be given blood.

To give you an idea of how many towels, wash clothes I used before getting Skip dressed to leave the house for the hospital ... I was throwing them into the washing machine with bleach water.  Later, when all was washed, dried ... I folded 14 towels, and 32 wash clothes, and several changes of clothes, a robe ... where I was trying to get Skip ready to go out of the house.

This was a nosebleed I'd never seen in my life ... blood continually poured out of his nose.  Thankfully, I know just to call 911, now.

During all this, some time in between ... when we thought Skip was going to be alright ... I went ahead into the hospital for my surgery that had been scheduled some time ago.

Things began happening to Skip again ... my surgery was forgotten. I never rested ... I couldn't.  I was driving 80 mile trips to the hospital since January until recently ... I had to ask for help publicly from my friends to afford the gas ... tires, oil change.  I am forever grateful to the ones who cared enough to make all better for me.  I was very afraid, I had no family to turn to.  My family I grew up with, loved and was close to ... have all died.  

Each time Skip was out of the hospital, we ended up with 2-3 appointments in some days, including some of mine in between. We never had a chance to stay home to rest, let Skip recover. Thankfully, our appointments have slowed down to 1-2 a week, now.

As of today, May 6, 2016 ... I'm happy to say that yesterday and this morning ... is our first times to say Skip is doing much better.  I pray for many months, years of Skip being much better.  I've never seen anyone survive so many life-threatening things, one after the other.  4 times, the doctors said he came close to death. 

As for myself, my surgery ... I never gave in to the pain I was feeling, nor how weak I was ... I meant to get to the hospital each day (80 mile trips), and when I got there, I had to walk 'forever' to get to his rooms in the hospital.  I never remembered my surgery until the past several days.  We were here at home ... and I was became aware of pain, wondered why.  I remembered ... I had had surgery!  Amazing!  You see what my priority was ... my world who is my husband, Skip, and our two Pups (Kissy and Camie) ... they come first in my life.  They are all I have in this world that are mine ... my family.

As for my surgery, I'll write about that more at different times to share it.  It is a life-changing surgery that even this early has made a major change in my life.  A positive, major change.

My mind never forgot you all ... I just couldn't get to here to write. I am sure you understand.  I hope I'm back now, to begin writing once again.  I have missed you.

Thank you to the ones who helped me when all of this was going on, and with getting the tires for the pickup, and the oil-change. What in the world would I have done without you?  I'm forever thankful, grateful to you.  Love, Gloria