So so sunday

Dear Friends and Family,

Late blog today, sort of been busy, am scheduled out to see properties tomorrow and tuesday, lots of driving to get them seen, they stretch from San Jose to Ceres. We go where the work is.

Nan has had a less than idea day. We have moved to a 24 hour pain control system using 20 mg of oxycontin twice a day and it seems like Nan is not yet adjusted to it. As I remember it takes a few days to get used to. She started the day with nausea and ended it the same. She had a very long nap, 4 + hours this afternoon and woke feeling strange and with some pretty sharp back pain toward one side. She has had a bit of rice, a bit of toast, a biscuit with apple butter this morning, some gatoraide, a lot of water, cranberry juice with lime and her trusty 1500 ml of TPN. Now we double check to make sure it is working. We have changed her dressing and the wound continues to look good.

Dana has almost single handedly painted the entire living and dining rooms. She finally persuaded me to do some cutting of the edges but the top of the ladder two stories up is no fun, took me awhile to get used to it, not fun at all. The color is great but the rooms look like a bomb went off right now, better when we get more paint on and things back in place. Dana is pretty amazing, she just keeps making good things to try to tempt Nan to eat and Nan gives them a try, the biscuits she made this morning were amazingly good, made from scratch and excellent tasting.

Tomorrow Nan sees two visiting nurses here at the house and hopes to get in to see her favorite doctor, Mr Makkur who practices in Tracy. He is a good guy and will listen and helps solve problems. Because we have Dana here I can go work and attempt to generate some income which is badly needed. We heard from the treasurer of the Tracy SDA church that some funds are on their way, the timing is perfect since I am out of money to pay upcoming bills. Some payment for appraisals has continued to come in so we are going to squeak by. I shudder to think of where we would be without the help of family and friends. Nan and I talk constantly about how much we appreciate the generosity of so many including family members in Texas. A large gift is reported to have come from Texas and we send our thanks, in fact we thank everyone for every dollar. We are trying to live carefully and have cancelled the newspaper, the bottled water, the bug guy who seemed to spray the air every month. We get medical bills in the mail almost every day, the bits and pieces that are left over after the insurance pays the bulk of the amounts. Still those little pieces end up being many hundreds of dollars per month.

We are grateful to return to routines we have known for years, it was a joy to mow the lawn this morning, to find the edger and cut the edges clean, a joy to have a paint brush in my hands even if I was many feet above the tile floor, I think I used to be more comfortable than I am now. I live in a world where Nan and I are both very careful trying to avoid more disaster, I drive slower, look again when at intersections, we try to make sure Nan does not fall or trip, so having me at the top of the ladder is outside the norm for our careful behavior. Today it got exciting when the ladder began to creep down the wall with the feet moving slowly across the tile, yikes! That time it came to rest against a wall nearby which stopped its sliding. Tomorrow I am going to give the VW another try hoping it won't die at some crucial place or intersection. First I drive to San Jose which is about 1 and 1/2 hours, then to Oakland, then to another Oakland address to see if things we called for in the report have been fixed, then head to Antioch for a final relocation appraisal at 4 pm and then home. It will be a 200 mile day and should pay pretty well in about 2 months when the companies finally decide to sent a check. Still on the books is better than not at all.

I continue to think that something is not right internally for Nan. Constant nausea and pain is not the norm and not what we expected at this point. Please pray tonight or in the morning when you read this that something can happen to heal Nan from the constant nausea and pain. Sometimes I see her almost break under the stress and strain of managing 4 backs, an open incision, a TPN food line which is always connected. She cannot shower or take a bath, too many open areas on her body, she cannot do even a normal shampoo. All of this gets to her sometimes. Please pray that God will grant her peace and continued courage.

We are so thankful for family and all they have done to help, kind words, phone calls, emails they really do help Nan get through the day and help her feel connected.

We send our love,

tim and nan and dana