Those 70ish Girls

Kip is recovering nicely from his heart attack and surgery. He only has to be really careful for a week and then the doctor said he can pretty much do anything within reason. He plans to haul rocks…seriously. Our whole front yard is fixing to become filled with various sizes, shapes, and colors of rock. Right now it looks like a putt putt golf course, but that will be changing, soon. The idea is that we’re hoping a long RV trip is in the cards for us this year and we want a yard that’s close to maintenance free.

The night life changed everything…see slide show of Kip’s before

It seems like medical emergencies like going into labor or having a heart attack often happen at night. Kip woke me up at 2:30 Friday morning and told me he thought I should take him to the emergency room. We got dressed, told the dogs we would be right back, and headed for the very nice emergency room in Gun Barrel City. I drove.

Kip: You should put your bright lights on.

Kip: Why are you turning that way.

Me: This is how you get to the emergency room.

Kip: Oh…Don’t your windshield wipers go any faster?

At the Emergency Room..

Doctor after reading the EKG: Sir, you’re having a heart attack. We’re going to stabilize you and send you to Tyler.

Kip looking at me: So are you just going to drive me?

Doctor: No! Unfortunately, the helicopter isn’t flying because of the weather. The ambulance is on the way.

Three days and two stents later, (that is the correct spelling), Kip got released. As I said before, the doctor told him to take it very easy for a week. With the arteries no longer clogged, more blood would be rushing into his heart and it wasn’t a good idea to exert himself for a while.

On the way to Tyler, Kip asked the EMT if the roof was leaking because his face was all wet. Kip had just had skin cancers taken off his nose and neck and the stitches had just been removed two days before. They had given him a blood thinner in the emergency room and blood started spurting from where the stitches had been. The EMT said he had never seen anything like it. They eventually had to put the stitches back in.

When he was being released, Kip told the doctor that he thoroughly understood his instructions. No activity for a week and if all goes well, cardiac rehab after that.

When we got home he took a nap, which was good. And then he got up.

Kip: The grass needs mowed. I’ll have to do that tomorrow.

Our very nice neighbor mowed the front yard yesterday. I mowed the backyard today while Kip instructed me. He said to make three rounds one way, and then go the other way for three rounds. “The grass clippings won’t pile up so much,” he said.

He told me I didn’t have to trim because the trimmer was too heavy for me to lug around. I decided to trim where I couldn’t get the mower with clippers, but my back was about to give out on me so I bagged the grass trimmed about halfway around, and called it a day. Kip told me it looked good. (My mowing days could be over.)

A little while later, He said he was going out to the garage to look for something. After about thirty minutes, I went to check on him. He was still looking and getting frustrated so I said I would help. I asked him when he had last seen this little bag of end pieces. He thought for a minute and then said it will be two years in October. We never did find it.

The bottom line is that I’m not a very good nurse. I’m also not a very good patient. Kip is an excellent nurse but a little bit less than stellar patient.

It’s all good. I only have to be a nurse for five more days.

No more lobster…

We would both like to thank everyone for the prayers, calls, cards and well wishes. It is the most amazing thing to be blessed with family and friends who are truly there for you.

We are filled with gratitude.