Thursday, August 16, 2012

Let the tests begin!

Almost a month since I posted. Good gravy! So much has happened that I really do not know where to begin.
I have been working away on my Christmas projects...wait... I mean project. I have only gotten to one so far. I have all the blocks done, squared up and ready to sew. I hope to have it all done and show it to you by the end of the month, if all goes as planned.
Last week we took a trip to way northern Minnesota. It is so far north my husband calls it "No Where". Gilbert, MN to be exact. We were visiting friends we met 4 years ago in Louisanna. They camp host at Fountainebleau State Park. Our friendship has bloomed over the years. Anyway, Jessie is also a quilter. What do quilters do? Well, if the MN Quilt Shop Hop is on, we go hopping. We only got to 6 shops but we enjoyed every one of them. We got our bags of goodies at the shops and giggled our way through the shops, ooohing and ahhhhing all the way. How I wish I would not have forgotten my camera. I also met Jessie's neighbor that is a longarmer. Janette is 78, looks 45, and has more energy than a 16 year old. We had an awesome quilt show at her home. She must have shown us over 50 quilts she has made. She even had a pile of quilts on a bed so we got a private quilt turning. Her work is truely awesome. When I grow up I want to be just like her.
We had a lovely time with our friends.
On our way home we decided to stop and spend the night in Ashland , WI.. They have a campground located right on Lake Superior. We had a splendid view of the lake and a gorgeous sunset. Then the fun began. We decided to go out for dinner and decided on a pizza. Sounds normal...right? So, we found a pizza place, ordered, got our drinks and then my world started to go to heck. As we were waiting, my husband turned to me to point something out and when he spoke it was slurred and his face was falling into his chest. I got the waitress's attention asked for directions to the hospital, canceled our order and got him out and into the car. By the time we were in the car he was alright. Face normal, speech normal and he felt fine. We talked for awhile. He did not want to go to a hospital out of town. I drove us around for awhile talking to him. All seemed fine. We got something to eat at a different pizza place and went back to the RV. He was alright the rest of the evening. In the morning we headed directly home. He had a doctors appointment on Tuesday so he wanted to wait till then to see a doctor. MEN! So, On Tuesday we see the doctor. Let me tell you, when you tell your doctor what happened, things move really fast. He had Mel scheduled for an MRI and a Carotid Artery Doppler the next morning. After the dopler was done we were told to go to our doctors office as he was waiting for us. As I suspected, Mel had a "mini stroke". They do not show up on MRI's. The doppler showed that he had normal build up in his right carotid artery and over a 90% blockage in his left! He needed surgery. They did an EKG right away while they scheduled an appointment with the surgeon. The gal making the appointment came back and told us next Wednesday. The doctor said NO! ASAP! Tomorrow!. The surgeon was out of the office so our doctor said he will call him and have him  contact you. At 9am this morning we got a call to come "right now". Now it gets interesting. Yes, he needs the surgery BUT........ before he will do the surgery he needs to be sure Mel has no other blockages. ( ie: heart, abdomen ) So the scheduling frenzie started. CT Scans, Ultrasounds, stress test, abdominal aortic ultrasound and it goes on. So starting early Friday morning (tomorrow) the test will begin and continue through till next Tuesday. If it all comes back good to go surgery will be next Friday. Otherwise, as the surgeon said, other measures will have to be taken before he can operate. The next week is going to be quite stressful to say the least. Please pray for him.
Hugs
Oh! I want to Thank  everyone for the birthday wishes. I had a great day.
Also, I am planning a giveaway as soon as things settle down here. Stay tuned! I think you are going to love it.