White Shoes...Permitted!

Has it REALLY been since July 18th that I've posted on my blog???? Oh my!! I guess I could come up with some really good excuses, but I figure I'd just save my time to post about what's been going on in our life since I last posted.

The main thing (which I despise), has been that I've been in and out of the hospital twice. I was admitted about three weeks ago and had a nice 10 day stay with my hospital friends. I had been feeling yucky for about a week or so before I was admitted...starting running high fevers...got a bit delirious (according to my husband & siblings :) )...had a terrible sore throat, earaches & cough...continuous nausea & vomiting...but the last straw that had us calling 911 was that my blood pressure bottomed out to around 80/40. Now, I know you're thinking, "You dummy, why didn't you go to the doctor before it got this bad?" Well, those of you who know me well know that I can, at times, be a bit stubborn...and I just DID NOT want to go to the hospital AGAIN!! So, with every passing day I would tell myself, "If I'm not better tomorrow, I'll call the doctor." And those "one day at a time" promises turned into getting really, really sick.

So, after much cajoling from my sweet sister who happened to stop by and visit me, we called 911 to come and take me to the hospital ER. Turns out I had walking pneumonia and was slapped in the ICU for 4-5 days. I was in a total of 10 days and got to come home.

I had a week of recovering and Dale had his annual male bonding trip planned. We thought I was doing better enough for him to go ahead and go on his hunting trip to Idaho, so Gentry and I stayed with mom and dad while Dale was gone. BUT...apparently the pneumonia wasn't done with me! :)

So, this past Wednesday I went BACK to the ER via ambulance because my BP had gone from 162/113 to 82/46 within an hour's time. I started having severe chest pain and trouble breathing, so off I was carted again and this time my liver decided to act up. My enzymes went sky high and kept climbing for two days. Apparently if you have a really high BP that goes low really quickly, your organs get deprived of oxygen and they go into shock. So, I went into liver shock. I was placed again in a step-down ICU and hooked up to all kinds of monitors, having a battery of blood tests done to try and figure out what was going on. When they listened to my lungs they told me I still had some lingering effects of the pneumonia and put me back on the antibiotics for that as well.

With each day my liver enzymes started coming down and by yesterday I was begging to be discharged home and they finally let me come home. My enzymes were still elevated, but told me I could go home with the promise of getting labwork done to check the levels within a week.

So.......I am home and so glad to be back in my own comfy bed! I am weak and still in some chest pain from the lingering pneumonia, but I'm grateful and thankful that I didn't have to spend the holiday today trying to enjoy the hospital food!!

My sweet sister had a Labor Day get together at her house for our family today and I was DELIGHTED to be able to go...even though I was in my pajamas curled up on the couch all day or on the front porch watching everyone fish from the lake. We had such a great day today.

My heart is always full and I'm always a little emotional after I get to spend time with all of my family being together. My brother, Jared, has recently moved to Florida for a new job and I've missed him so much. But he flew in this weekend to surprise his wife and he got to be there with us today. It was SOOOOOO good to see him!!

The highlight of the day was when my baby boy caught the biggest fish of the day! Everyone brought their fishing poles to fish out of the lake that Charles and Christy has there in front of their beautiful country home. So, my little Gent-man would not be left out of the fun. So, we packed up his tackle box and $19.00 Superman fishing pole and he had a blast. Christy and I were sitting in the "Texas Room" catching up and all of a sudden someone comes and hollers at the window, "Y'all come out here quick!!" And Gentry had pulled in a HUGE catfish with his little, cheap fishing pole. It was over a foot long. Dale said he kept "trash talking" saying, "I'm catchin' a big one!...Here it comes...Get on my line, big fish!!...and no one was really paying attention to him. Then, all of a sudden Dale looks and sees that Gentry's about to lose his pole trying to reel it in, so he goes over there to help him...and my baby blue pulled in the biggest fish of the day!!!! I was so proud of him and he was squealin' and jumping up and down saying, "I caught the big one, I caught the big one!!" I didn't have my camera there today, but there were lots of other cameras clickin' so as soon as I get some I'll post them on here.

I got to talk to one of my favorite people in the whole world today too...my Uncle Ken. It was so good to hear his deep, soft, southern voice telling me he'd been thinking about me and praying for me. He is so special to me and plays a HUGE role in the reason that I still am living for God today. He never wants to take the credit when I've told him that over the years, but he and I both know those talks we had when I was a floundering teenager trying to decide what to do with my life changed the course of my life and the decisions I made consequently. I love him dearly and was glad I got to talk with him today.

What else??? Oh the food!!! How could I forget!! My brother-in-law, Charles fired up the grill for us today and we had what he called a "Gourmet Country Meal"...and boy did it EVER hit the spot. Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, Broccoli-Rice Casserole, Mac & Cheese, Baked Beans, Potato Salad, Cole Slaw, Party Potatoes (yummy, Christine!), Brownies, & Yellow Fudge Marble Cake w/ Milk Chocolate Frosting!! And did I mention that "gourmet country" was 5-star in my book! :) Thanks everyone!

We put candles in the cake to celebrate the birthdays we missed this year- Jared, Dale, Christine & Charles...we're sorry for the "community cake", y'all, but by September we're worn out! :) I guess next year we won't celebrate the early birthdays so that we'll have enough energy for you mid-year peeps! :)

Well, my honey is making some chicken nuggets and fries for a late night snack, so I'm gonna wrap this up for now. Dale, Gentry and I are headed down to mom and dad's "crunchy" house tomorrow to spend the day with mom and dad. That's what Gentry calls mom and dad's house they have in "the holler". He calls their house in Belleville "the city house"...and their retirement home "the crunchy house" (he means country house). So, I'm gonna load up the car with pillows and blankets and ride down and spend the day relaxing with my sweet mama!

Thanks to EVERYONE who's been sending thoughts and prayers my way over the past weeks. I cannot begin to say how much it means to me. I hope to stay in better touch than I have over the past 6 weeks. Keep in touch, everyone! :)

Love always - Mel

P.S. Funny Gentry Story -

Dale was going to church yesterday morning with Gentry and the moon was still in the sky. Gentry, being the son of an avid outdoorsman & hunter, pulled out his imaginary rifle and "shoots the moon". He then tells Dale very matter-of-factly, "I just shot Jesus' house." Dale's eyes get big and he replies back, "Gentry! Did you shoot Jesus???!!!" And Gentry replies back, "No, but he jumped off!"