Christmas Present

As I've mentioned in a previous post, I've had a hard time not being able to do the things I used to with the decreasing strength in my arms.  Well not being able to do crafty things has been particularly hard since I enjoyed it so much.  Last week I ran across something on the internet which I thought might work so I spent two days watching different videos on You Tube to see what was involved before deciding to buy something that I'd only get depressed over if it didn't work.

A few days afterwards, Eric asked me what I wanted for Christmas so I told him what I had been looking at.  I called JoAnn's and they had just one left so he went out and got it for me.  Of course, I had to start playing with it right away so it didn't make it under the Christmas tree!!  This is what I got Martha Stewart Crafts Lion Brand Yarn Knit & Weave Loom Kit.

I'm thrilled (and I do mean thrilled) to say that at the very least I can handle a small loom configuration.  In three afternoon/evenings I created this scarf while laying in bed and watching TV! It's about 5 ft long.

I know it might not mean much to anyone else, but it means the world to me!!

Girl's Vaca

Back at the end of June, two friends of mine from WA came to FL for different reasons. While they were here, the three of us girls took a little two day vaca down to St. Petersburg. Apollo was the only male allowed to tag along on the trip. As I told Michelle and Sue, I can't remember the last time I was away on a trip without a family member present to help take care of me. It was a welcome change of pace for a few days which we all enjoyed.

We left my house on Sunday morning. Thinking we were in no hurry and wanted to enjoy the trip, we decided to take what we thought would be the scenic coastal route 19. Well it may go down the Gulf coast, but you sure can't see the water while you're driving down it. No big deal though as the traffic was minimal and the drive was really nice. Along the way Sue pulled over to a roadside stand and bought some peaches. I've never been a huge peach fan, but I have to admit that those were probably the best peaches I have ever had. They were so juicy and yummy!!

We stopped in Tarpon Springs to have a late lunch/early dinner and discovered a large Greek population and what must be the natural sponge capital of the US. We ate at one of the Greek restaurants. We sat outside on the water where we could see the boats. It was quite pretty. After we ate, we walked around the water/tourist area and poked around in a few of the shops before getting back on the road to St. Petersburg. Try as she might, Sue did not manage to find Sponge Bob amongst the people of Tarpon Springs.

We stayed at the Sirata Beach Resort And Conference Center. It was an absolutely beautiful hotel and the room was great too! There was a bedroom that had two queen size beds for Michelle and Sue and a pullout queen size sofa couch in the living room/kichenette area for me. The sofa bed was really quite comfortable. In both the bedroom and living room area there were floor to ceiling sliding glass doors out onto the balaconies with plenty of room for wheelchair access. The bathroom was also quite large and had plenty of room to maneuver my wheelchair or Hoyer lift. I do believe that Michelle now has a true understanding of why I and those who take care of me prefer hardwood flooring to carpeting when one has to use a Hoyer lift!! :-)

The first night we went down to Rum Runner's, one of the two beachside bars at the hotel, and had a few drinks, some snacks, and a very relaxing time just sitting around listening to the band and talking. Here are some pictures from the hotel.

This is our hotel taken from the beach.

These are pictures Sue took while walking on the beach at the hotel in the early morning hours when the rest of us lazy people were still sleeping.

The next day we ate brunch at the hotel and then decided that there had to be at least one coffee shop somewhere in the area so we set off to look for it. We found a wonderful little shop called Steam. It was a family run place and come to find out they were from Kirkland, WA which probably explains why we were able to get a decent cup of coffee. The place offered food made fresh right there on the little grill. It smelled so good, we promised to come back. The friendly people at Steam told us about Ft. Desoto Park since we said we were looking for a good beach to go to so off we went in search of adventures for the day.

Ft. DeSoto Park turned out to be a great place to go with multiple beaches to go to. We were searching for North Beach since that was one of the places our friends at Steam had recommended. While following the signs to North Beach, we found a doggie beach and dog park so we stopped there to give Apollo a good time. He was so happy to see water that he could just run into again instead of our pool at home that scares him. What a happy boy!!! I believe it was while trying to get to the doggie beach area that I got stuck in some sand that Sue and Michelle could not get me out of.  Thankfully there were a few nice guys around who helped pull me out and get me back on solid ground.

After that, we got back in the van and went to North Beach so Michelle and Sue could do some swimming. I couldn't get all the way down to the beach, but I could get close enough to watch them go swimming and lounging in my poolchair float that we brought along on the trip. Apollo and I just kicked back under the trees and relaxed for a few hours.

Michelle really looks excited to be at the beach, huh?

Sue lounging in the poolchair float.

After we left the beach, we went back to Steam for dinner. The food was absolutely delicious! Then it was back to the hotel. We went down to Harry's Beach Bar this time. While we were there, a storm looked to be blowing in and everyone left the beach and pools. We just sat at the table enjoying ourselves, and the clouds blew over with no rain but it did bring a much appreciated breeze!

Here we are at Harry's Beachside Bar.

Tuesday morning we packed up the van and checked out of the hotel. We went back to Steam for breakfast and back to Ft. DeSoto Park before heading home. When we got to North Beach this time, we found a barrier free trail (sidewalk) down to the beach and an area that was hard packed enough for me to get my wheelchair out by the water. Apollo got another little swim time since there was absolutely no one on the beach down there before we headed back up to the area where Michelle and Sue could go swimming. This time, we also found the concession stand area so that is where Apollo and I stayed under the covered area there to wait and relax.

Apollo playing at the beach.

This is where I got to go down by the water via the barrier free sidewalk.

Sue and Apollo on the beach.

Then it was time to head back to the real world so we all got in the car and headed home. They had been calling for rain the whole time we were down in St. Petersburg, but we never got any until we were about halfway home which is fine with me!

Pool Time

Well on Memorial Day Sarah and Michelle came over and we went in the pool. I did fine, but my legs just kept wanting to float out from under me so I had to hold on to Michelle the whole time in order to stay upright. That was nice being in the pool, but not so much fun having to cling to someone the whole time so I only stayed in for about 30 to 45 minutes.

This past weekend, I went out and bought me a floating recliner/chair. Michelle had today off of work so she came over with Sarah again for more pool time. Below are some pictures of today's time in the pool. I had a MUCH better time floating around on my own. It was very comfortable, and I was in there for about 4 hours!!

Oh and believe it or not, Apollo actually came swimming today. We had to pull him off the steps, but once in there, he was actually swimming around and not heading straight back to the steps to get out. When I held on to the handle on his life vest, he would swim around and take me around the pool. It was great fun!!

One Day at a Time

I'm really feeling sad today. As many of you know, my husband Eric had a heart attack back in August of last year. As a result of that, he lost about 50% of his heart function. His heart doctor was hoping that some of the function might return, but it has not. For that reason, he referred him to the transplant team at the University of Florida Shands hospital. At this point, it is more of a preliminary action not an immediately necessary one.

We spoke with the doctor at Shands on Tuesday. Basically he said that Eric would have to be admitted to the hospital to undergo a battery of tests to see if he would even qualify to be on the transplant list. He also told us that the antirejection drugs that Eric would have to take as a heart transplant recipient would surely put on dialysis because of his already reduced kidney function. For that reason, if he makes the transplant list it will be for both a healthy heart and kidney.

All that is enough to absorb for this week, but then yesterday we found out that his right foot has a MRSA infection. After changing the bandages on his foot last night, he also found a new wound on his left foot. He immediately went to the doctor this morning when they opened. The doctor cleaned out the wound and did a culture to see if it is also MRSA. It is likely that it is. Currently, he is still scheduled to go into Shands for his transplant tests on May 9th, but we'll have to see how this infection thing goes.

So, it's been a rough week for both of us. Eric keeps apologizing for physically "falling apart", and it just makes me sad. I keep telling him that all we can do is take one day at a time. I really try not to worry and leave it with God, but that doesn't mean I'm not sad. I'm asking that anyone who reads this keeps both Eric and I in your prayers.

First Attempt

OK I know that both Eric and my Momma tried to tell me that water was still to cold to go swimming despite how warm it is outside, but I just had to try it anyway. As silly as it seems, it was depressing me not to get to at least try my new lift. This is as far as I got before I couldn't take any more of the coldness!!

Pool Lift Installation

Thanks to our tax refund, some wonderful people I used to work with at NASA, and my incredibly generous family, my new pool lift was installed on Friday, April 1st...no joke...it really happened!! Anyway, it has to sit for a day or two to allow the concrete to fully harden, but I see a few pool parties with friends and family coming my way very soon!

Thanks again to everyone who contributed. I am truly blessed, and I love you all more than you will ever know! Stay tuned for more pictures!!

Setting up the drilling machine.

Drilling the hole.

Piece removed from the hole.

The hole.

Inserted anchor attached to temporary pole.

Leveling and cementing the anchor.

All done cementing and leveling.

Unpacking the lift.

Unpacking the lift.

Sometimes You Just Have to Roll with the Punches

Boy it's just been one of them days.  Early this morning around 3 a.m. Eric started feeling bad.  Well last time he had a heart attack that started out with him all of a sudden being sick to his stomach.  So he decided he'd rather be safe than sorry and wanted to go to the emergency room.  I was OK with that, but you have to know the people in my life can't stand the thought of me at home alone.  Here it is now 4 a.m. and I'm trying to call Sarah, the lady who helps me.  Problem is she sleeps with ear plugs in so she didn't hear the phone.  Next option?  Call Mom.  So that's what I did.  I had Eric put the dogs in the bedroom with me, shut the door, sent him off to the emergency room and waited for Mom to arrive...she lives about an hour away from us.

Trust me when I say that no one will EVER break into my house without me knowing it.  Around 5:30 a.m. Mom put the key in the door and the dogs were off the bed and boucing around at the bedroom door waiting for her.  Shortly after that, we heard from Eric.  They have admitted him to the hospital though they say he did not have a heart attack.  They are thinking he just had some fluid build up and need to adjust his meds accordingly.  That was good news!

Sarah got here around 9:30 and Mom went home for the day only to return later tonight so Sarah can go home.  I talked to Eric around 11:00 a.m. and he needed supplies to change his insulin pump.  So much to Sarah's dismay, I once again had her put the dogs in the bedroom with me and sent her off to the hospital with Eric's supplies.  Finally, I was going to get a little sleep!  Two hours later, I was woken up with Eric calling me asking if I had talked to Sarah.  Heck no...I felt like I had just fallen asleep.  Well apparently her car broke down on the way home from the hospital.  This is one of those times that I think God must have a sense of humor.  I just felt quite amused that all the people who don't want me to be alone at home are not getting what they want.  OK I'm sorry Sarah's car broke down, but I was honestly laying here chuckling.  A few hours later and Sarah got back at the house with me and the over exuberated dogs waiting for her to open the door to the bedroom.  The car had been towed, and Sarah's partner had brought her back to me.

Like the title of the post says, sometimes you just have to roll with the punches!