Denise Bechdolt

Update on Finley

2011-10-13T07:29:00.000-07:00

Our little Grandson Finley, 2 months old. He is growing so fast!

I love this picture

Daddy thinks Finley is awesome!

Udate From our house

2011-05-21T18:21:00.000-07:00

The theme was around sewing.

Went to a tea in Redding Calif. to honor Paula Downs 90th birthday, what a pretty day!

Clint surfing, Luke, Ben, Clint, Mindy and Mike all tried it out. We had rainy cool weather but they all wanted to experience it anyway, this is the one real nice day we had while there in March.

Mindy celebrated her birthday while we were all togethter. She and Ben are expecting their first child, but you can't tell it in this picture.

Summer 2010

2010-07-27T07:29:00.000-07:00

Well the summer is passing all too quickly. Hard to believe our convention will be here in three weeks and after that the summer usually is pretty much over. We have not had any big trips this summer, I went to Ohio for 5 days, that is a very pretty place. Anyway where I was in Ray, Ohio but it was hot and muggy. So I don't really have a desire to move there. We are in a drought here in Klamath Falls. So things are looking pretty dry. I am not sure if I will have a job at the school this fall, still no word.

Duck Hunting in Klamath

2009-10-11T20:00:00.000-07:00

2009-06-11T15:59:00.000-07:00

I love this picture and wanted to share it with any who are keeping up with my blog that I have sadly neglected! ha

Summer Dreams

2008-12-20T18:30:00.000-08:00

It's been so cold, I am dreaming of summer!! I used to love winter, another malady of aging I guess.

TY and Caleb

2008-12-20T18:27:00.000-08:00

I had a few youngins over to make some cookies we had fun.

Brother's

2008-12-20T18:23:00.000-08:00

Chuck and Erich,

Mike and Denise

2008-12-20T18:20:00.000-08:00

Were getting old! But can still hike.

Barbara and Chuck

2008-12-20T18:18:00.000-08:00

Sitting on a rock with a beautiful view and warm air in November!!

2008-12-20T18:13:00.000-08:00

Lot's of helping hands made light the work. Dad and Annette making fruit salad.

Beautiful Lake Tahoe

2008-12-20T18:09:00.000-08:00

Our family went to Lake Tahoe for Thanksgiving. We had beautiful weather for the most part. Rained the first day we were there. This is a group of them that hiked up above the lake.

2008-11-14T20:33:00.000-08:00

These are shots of Hearst castle, quite a sight! Amazing what man will spend his time and money on.

This is the entrance to the main house.

These young men are Clints apartment mates! The girl is Danella and she lives in another apartment with some other girls in the same complex. From left to right the boys are Ted Foster, Clint, Darren Anderson and Britton Anderson.

Clint and I at the Divito's they are very kind to us all and let me stay there while I was visiting

November

2008-11-14T20:29:00.000-08:00

Well I spent four days at Newport Oregon, was great. I love being on the coast at least once a year. The ocean is amazing, makes you put things in perspective, we really are just dots on this earth.

Still no camera, but my buds are supposed to send me some pictures via email so maybe I can post some soon.

My Dad got married today, he married our old time friend Annette Roberts. At this time they plan to be at Dad's home for a while , depending on things they may sell it and then go and sell her house and then move who knows where??? Time will tell.

We all plan to be together at Thanksgiving time up at Lake Tahoe. So looking forward to that.

2008-09-28T16:22:00.000-07:00

Look who was hanging out in our back yard, before deer season began. I am pretty sure they are all in someone elses freezer now. Was fun to see them though.

August 30,2008

2008-08-30T13:28:00.000-07:00

Well we still do not have a camera. So no pictures, we have numerous times said...."oh I wish we had a camera" but so far we have not wanted to spend the money.

All is going fine here. Still have grieving days for my Mom, today is one of them. It is easier than at first so like they say time heals.

We went to Saginaw 1 and were the cooks helpers again. It is fun to do, and gets easier every year as well. Was scary at first when we started, but things go smoother each year as we all know what we are doing (I think!) We miss about three meetings at the convention. So we went to Parma and the weekend of #2 to make up for that.

Our next two weekends are planned, Weddings!! Seems all our kids peers are either getting married or having babies, there were so many babies at convention this year! No Grandkids for us yet, but we are not in a hurry. I just adopt everyone elses!! ha.

Well I will stop before this gets really boring....

2008-07-18T14:00:00.000-07:00

Dianna and Brooks
Frank and Cheryl

Uncle Wayne and Weston

The Great and Not so Great Grandmas!! ha, With little Lila

More Reunion Pictures

2008-07-18T13:56:00.000-07:00

Lila

Camilla

William

2008 Grow Ramey Fam. Reunion

2008-07-18T13:48:00.000-07:00

These are pictures of Willow Lake, the little boy is Myra and Scooters little boy Scott.
So serene in the evenings and it was warm enough to swim in the evening too.
One of the numerous "camp dogs" His name is Harley, but his nick name is Hardly a dog. or something like that.
One of the meals, we did not starve that is for sure.

Marlene and I Kaya-tubing.

Family Reunion

2008-07-18T13:42:00.001-07:00

This was at the family reunion last weekend. The weather was great. I will post more pictures soon.

Pictures

2008-07-18T13:35:00.000-07:00

Well we have no camera right now, Mike was hiking up a mountain and dropped the camera off a 40 foot cliff! It was very mutilated. So no pictures for a while. I can show a picture of the mountain it was dropped off of.

Remember my pansies??

2008-06-25T09:48:00.001-07:00

Remember the picture of the pansies I took. Well the deer ate them down to nothing!! Anyone for a deer steak?

A new addition to our Meeting!

2008-06-25T09:43:00.000-07:00

Little Claire, Russ and Alesha Earnests new baby. She is precious.

Joke's on me!

2008-06-02T18:10:00.000-07:00

Ha Ha, I called the Hollyhocks, Hollylocks. I honestly could not remember the correct name. I knew that did not sound right, but I could not think of anything else so that is what I wrote. Maybe I was getting it mixed up with Goldilocks. I walked and did water aerobics today. I am very tired. Plus grocery shopping....so bed will feel good when I hit it. Unfortunately I still have to cook dinner.

My flower gardens

2008-06-02T11:29:00.000-07:00

Chives blooming. For some reason most of my flowers are purple! I think I will have other colors later.

Lupine.

Irises and hollylocks
More hollylocks

My half wine barrel full of impatients.

2008-06-02T11:08:00.000-07:00

Hammaker Mountain.
My lilacs and an old wheelbarrow.

Pansies on my porch.

Come take a walk with me

2008-06-02T10:58:00.001-07:00

These are some views I enjoy on my morning walks. I walked 70 minutes this morning.
The Klamath River

My naughty dog after she rolled in a dead skunk! Luckily it was pretty dried out so it was not hugely stinky.
Wildlife tree, there is a nest of starlings in here, I could hear them. That is the mama or daddy not sure which.

Month of May almost Gone!

2008-05-21T17:07:00.001-07:00

These deer were enjoying the soft thick grass on the last warm day we had! IT is now only 50* again! I was enjoying the sun so much. I mean the warmth, we still have the sun.

Well it is spring convention time. Dad and my sis left today to go to Mt. Ranch 2. Next week Mike and I hope to go to Walla Walla convention. Hard to believe it is that time of year again. Soon the summer will be gone and we will be going to Fall conventions. Seems strange that we go to two now. When I was growing up we only went to one a year. It is nice to start the summer and end the summer with one though.

Dad is doing better. He still gets very lonely and has some "teary" days, but they aren't quite as over whelming for him as they were. I seem to cry each day at some time or another. Just takes one memory to set me off. I have always dreaded losing my parents and it is as dreadful as I imagined, but also getting easier for me as the days go by.

Our "young men" are all busy, doing well or seem to be anyway. Clint is hoping to head for San Luis Obispo in August. He will start school there. He hopes to get a degree in Construction Management. Then his income should be more steady and sure, than trying to be on his own. All for now.

2008-04-21T14:35:00.000-07:00

Our house this winter, we have had a long cold winter. I missed a lot of it, since I was in California for a good 6 weeks. But it is still cold!

It's been a while since I posted anything!

2008-04-21T14:29:00.001-07:00

This is a new recipe I tried out of the Good Housekeeping magazine. And if you can believe it, I did not eat nary a bite!
Gave it away is why! Ha had you wondering for a minute huh! I need to make one for here, so we can try it.

I'm getting ready for the summer! Found this sun visor today. I wear them almost continuously in the summer. Help with my eye health and skin health too.

Brief report

2008-02-19T11:13:00.000-08:00

Hello,
I have been without a computer for days, I am having withdrawals!! Not really.

I am still with my Dad, he is trying to adjust, but he has to rethink his whole life at this point. He and Mom really didn't have any thing big planned, just living with each other and the comfort and companionship of one another. With a trip here and there. So things seem pretty bleak and lonely for him right now. I had lots of plans in my head too......of how maybe we could all take trips together when Mike retired and have some more fun times. We still can with Dad, just have to adjust our thinking and only time will help with that. I am not sure how long I will be here, Luke is trying to make arrangements so he can come and stay with Dad for a while, he will try and get a job in this area, as he needs to keep busy as well. Someone shared this with me today, and it seemed very special, so thought I would share it with you all:

I am standing upon the seashore,
A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean...
An object of strength and beauty I watch her until she is only a white cloud where the sea and sky mingle

Then someone at my side say, "There- she's gone!"

Gone? Gone where?
Gone from my sight, that's all.
She is just as complete as when she left my side, and just as able to bear her precious freight to the place of her destination. Her diminished appearance is in me-not her her.
And at the very moment when someone says...."there she is gone!" other voices shout with gladness, "Here she comes!"

That is death. Death is only a horizon, and a horizon is just the limit of our sight.....

Feb. 9th - Saturday

2008-02-09T13:50:00.000-08:00

Denise asked me to share with everyone some details as Barabara and her make arrangements.
The funeral will be at the Colusa Fairgrounds at 1:00pm on Tuesday, Feb. 12th. At this time there will be the service at 1:00pm, then a graveside service, then a potluck after the graveside at the fairgrounds.

Directions: Take HWY 20 exit off of I-5. Go east about 6-7 miles to Colusa. Just as you come into Colusa, the fairgrounds will be on your right, south side of the road. The funeral will be behind the main office building; Attwood Building.

In lieu of flowers, Joe and family have asked that donations be sent to:
The Sharing Place
5105 F. Street
Sacramento, California 95819

It is a small apartment complex adjacent to the hospital where family members are allowed to stay when loved ones are in the hospital for extended care. Denise and Joe lived at the place for about 3+ weeks.

Some of Mildred's family have driven from Texas to be with Joe and family. Connie and Troy just arrived after driving 23 hours straight. Aunt Bernice (sister), Aunt Geneva (sister), and Uncle Larry(brother-in-law) arrived safely. Jarrod (nephew son) arrived safely from Colorado. Bunch more also coming from Texas.

Again, thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers and meals and care and love and everything this past month. We want to thank the workers; Kara, Karen, Jeff, Mike, Shirley, and Tiffany who have been by our side day after day. Mildred loved the workers and was very comforted knowing they were nearby not only during this trying time, but always; providing strength and comfort and hope.

One last thought. Jeff shared with us near the end that we are really "only one breath away from eternity." As we watched Grammy stuggled for each breath, it really is true; some think in weeks, some think in years, some think in months, but really; we are just one breath away from eternity.

Mike

Friday Morning - Feb. 8th.

2008-02-08T08:19:00.001-08:00

Mom passed away around 6:00pm last night. No plans have been confirmed regarding the funeral service as of this morning. We are in Woodland this morning and will be in Colusa tonight probably. Thanks for all the support. Our different Ministers were there during the day. During one occasion, Karen asked all of us what we all remembered about Mildred and Papa Joe said, "She was not the best in math, or spelling, or science, but she taught me about love and how to love." What a beautiful testimony of someone's life.

We will be in contact

Love Mike

Feb. 7

2008-02-07T16:05:00.000-08:00

Today mom went onto palative care around 12:30 or so this afternoon. Which means they have taken her off all medications, oxygen, and monitors. The doctors will do nothing more except keep her comfortable. They are giving her morphine for pain to keep her comfortable. She has been declining fairly steady since starting palative care and started breathing very laboured around 2:30 or 3 and is very hard to rouse. Her heart still seems to be strong so she is fighting to live although the end seems to be drawing near. Most of the family is here standing by and waiting.

Tuesday

2008-02-05T14:21:00.000-08:00

Mom is very tired and weak today. She is having to have some platelets transfused into her. Her platelets were 25 this morning. I think they should be up in the 90's. When they are low it is more danger of her bleeding. So they are buffing her up, that is what the Doctor said.

The Doctor also confirmed that she has cirrhosis. We were 98% sure she did have that but no one had really said it out right. The rest of her life she will be having to have platelet tranfusions, paracentesis, diuretics and lactolose. If she gets strong and stable enough she will be able to be discharged from the hospital, and she can get these treatments on an out patient basis. Eventually these medicines and proceedures will cease to work and then the end will come. We do not know the time frame or how long she has. But the doctor this morning said there is nothing more that can be done, other than what they are doing. Has been a sad morning around here. Mom has gotten stronger this past week, so we have hopes she can keep progressing. Her body seems to need something different everyday. Yesterday, it was potassium, because of the diuretic. Today platelets, the days before that her abdomen needed drained. So we take it one day at a time. Thanks for you comments thoughts and prayers. We appreciate each and every one of you.

Monday Morning

2008-02-04T11:15:00.000-08:00

Good Morning
Mom is very tired right now, all her therapists showed up one right after another. She tried to talk the PT out of doing his thing, but we both said, "nice try" poor thing, but it has to be done or she will not get better at all.

They are making sounds of moving her out of ICU so that is a positive step. She will be in a private room and still be monitored. They need these rooms for the critically ill.

We meet with a social worker to day. We are anxious about what happens next after she gets stronger, where she will have to go for her treatments. She has cirrhosis, so that is not curable, even if she does not have cancer, it is almost as bad from what I have read of it. The only cure is a transplant. And I do not know if she is a candidate for that or would want to do it if she was. I tried to talk to her a little about it this morning, she just closed her eyes, she is still too weak to deal with anything serious. We really do not know all we need to know, so we are on a mission to find out what we need to know, so we can make some inteligent decisions! if that is possible! ha.

Mom still does not have her vocal chords back yet, seems to take a long time. So we still have try and hear her whispers. She is getting changed from pureed foods to soft cooked chopped up stuff, I wish they would let us chop it after it gets here, but they probably won't, she has not been able to handle the textures of the pureed stuff. She really has very little appetite. A symptom of her illness also, and nasuea at times too. Also a symptom of her illness.

Saturday

2008-02-02T11:06:00.000-08:00

Good Morning

The paracentesis was done this morning. They pulled 2 and a half litres out of her. It is the color of light urine. It came out very fast. She is sleeping right now. The Doctor will have the fluid tested by pathology, they can test for cancer. He said that it can build up fluid again because she has cihrosis of the liver. So I am hoping it won't but if it does, it seems it is not that hard to get off . We will hope she will have some relief from the pressure for now anyway. The results of the test will not be back until Tues. or Weds. The pathologist do not work on the weekend.

Friday

2008-02-01T17:31:00.000-08:00

Well sorry I have not had time to put this up today yet.

We have found out today that mom has fluid in her abdomen cavity. That is not normal, you should have no fluid or very little in your cavity. So they are going to pull it off with a needle, but so far they have been unable to find a Doctor available that knows how to do the proceedure. I looked this up on line and it is probably caused by her liver. One thing i read was that they can test the fluid and determine if she has cancer, so I am hoping they will do the test. The proceedure is called paracentesis if you would like to look it up. There are some things that can happen if the Doc does not know what he is doing, so glad they are trying to find an expert. One thing that can happen if they pull a lot of fluid at once is her blood pressure can go low. They also have be careful not to perforate any other organs, like the bladder and the intestines.

Mom is quite a bit stronger and if it was not for the pain in her abdomen from the stretching and crowding she would be feeling fairly well I think. She is still real weak, and can't speak out yet.

Thursday

2008-01-31T09:27:00.000-08:00

Yay, Mom's ammonia level is down to 23 again, so can breathe a sigh of relief on that one. She is very sleepy this morning. I think they have given her too much pain meds, the Doc was not real happy when he could not get her awake enough to talk to her. So she will probably not get as much today. The GI Doc finally came in last night. He said she needs to move around and eat to get rid of the extra fluid in her abdomen, that is what is causing discomfort for mom, so once again we are in a viscious cycle. We are going to have get tough. Or Mom is. She can't eat and move is she is over medicated.

Dad and Barb and i are taking turns being with her. Dad is sleeping right now, and Barb is at work so I am on duty, but since she is sleeping I am doing this.

As far as her liver goes, they will do an MRI when she is back out of the hospital. We are anxious to get that figured out, it seems she should be recieving treatment for what is wrong. But we are not the experts. So one day at a time.

Wednesday

2008-01-30T07:42:00.000-08:00

Thought I would get in a few words while Mom is still asleep this morning. Haven't really talked to her yet. She was very sleepy and tired last night, but Dad said she still did not sleep through the night. Dad has been staying in the room with her. I'm not sure how long he can keep it up. he can sleep through a lot of stuff, he can't hear real good so that helps.

Mom's ammonia level was back up a little yesterday, so they had to treat her for that again. hope it goes down quickly. It does seem to make her a little confused at times.
The nurses here are all amazed at how quickly she is coming out of it though. She has walked an hour a day for quite a few years, so her body is strong. Her voice is still out of commision. She has to whisper and it is hard to understand what she is saying. She is so tired she does not always repeat it. She gets a little stronger each day. Today she is supposed to have two physical therapy sessions. Their goal is to get her sitting up. They will have her sit in a chair as soon as they can. She will be able to swallow things better sitting up. So far she is not ingesting very much stuff, I think they will test her swallowing ability again today. All for now.

Monday

2008-01-28T17:12:00.000-08:00

Sorry so long to get on here. Mom is so anxious for us to stay with her. She worries if we aren't close. And also she coughs and gags on her phlegm , so need to suction her. She is still so weak she can't use her hands. She has not really slept since she woke, so we are going the opposite! I asked the nurse if this is normal. And three nurses said in unison....oh yes it is called ICU psychosis. They said it will get better when they start Physical Therapy. She is still very clear in her mind. My cold is miserable to day, decided to run away with my nose and I have been sneezing like crazy, not fun with a mask on. But hopefully it will run itself out. The doctor said this morning that she has a heart murmur. He thinks it might be from all the fluid she has had in her body, but they will do an ekg eventually to check it. She choked during her swallow test so no foods or drinks yet, she can eat ice chips but she is not too interested yet. I think her throat is very sore. She cannot talk either. even an whisper hurts her. So need time to heal.

Sunday Morning

2008-01-27T13:23:00.000-08:00

I Don't even know how to begin. Mom is awake, her brain seems fine. She responded to us when we came in this morning. Then they started the proceedure to remove her breathing tube. Seemed to be an extra long wait!! We did not go to meeting as we were helping to keep her from pulling the tube out her self. She was so good, and being as patient as she could be. The first thing she mouthed to us (she can't make sound yet) was "sing" she wanted us to sing to her. Barbara had gotten here by then, we called her as soon as we knew. Try singing and crying at the same time, I'm sure we sounded very wavery! Dad was so happy he cried and I cried when we first came into the room, had to say, it's ok Mom we are just soooo happy that is why we are crying. We know that she has a long recovery ahead, but just knowing she is here mentally is such a relief. Thank you all so much for your prayers and love and help. We will be having to be careful not to wear her out. I am in the waiting room right now, so she can sleep. Dad is in there with her.

Saturday Morning

2008-01-26T09:32:00.001-08:00

Well it seems a little brighter this morning. Mom has her eyes open a little and seems to respond by turning her head when you talk to her. She is very weak, and only opens her eyes for a little while. She still does not respond to a command, so they cannot take her off the ventilator until she can. The Doc said yesterday that her lungs are all wet from all the fluid they had to pump into her. So they have to be very sure she is ready to be weaned off the ventilator. It does gag her once in a while. So we are more hopeful she is coming out of it today. We are so thankful for all the care we have been shown by friends and family Thank you Thank you Thank you.

Friday Afternoon

2008-01-25T17:14:00.000-08:00

Not much to report this afternoon, Mom is moving her head again, and every once in a while she tenses up her arms and legs. I think I have finally understood what has been going on. They have kept her sedated.....which you are probably saying DUH! But what I mean is, I still don't really know what I mean LOL oh brother. I feel more hopeful she will wake up. Today they have her sedated, but not as deep, and when and if they get her ready to remove the tube, they will quit the sedation all together. She has been so still and limp, that I have not felt she was even really alive.

Friday

2008-01-25T10:10:00.000-08:00

New morning. Still unable to get the feeding tube down. At this point they will feed her intravenously. We hope that the swelling will go down on the veins. We really don't know all the info yet have to talk to the Doctor. The plan for the next four days is to get her awake and responding. If that does not happen, then we will be looking at other options. Her kidneys are not shutting down, sorry if there was any confusion, they are not normal.....but that could be from all the extra fluid she has, they took two gallons of fluid off her body yesterday with diuretics and that can make her kidneys have some problems. We are holding up fine. Have lots of wonderful freinds feeding us, and bringing us cheer. All for this morning.

Afternoon

2008-01-24T16:24:00.000-08:00

The procedure to check Mom's varices, went fine. The Doctor said it looks fine and he fixed a few more areas. For those that don't remember that is where she bled in her esopahgus. But.....seems there is always one huh? Anyway, the lovely Doctor removed the feeding tube and did not put it back in. So now the nurse is having a difficult time getting it back in. More blood, more uncomfortableness etc etc. It really is probably just as well she does not know what is going on. They were supposed to try and get her off the sedation this afternoon and take her off the ventilator if they can, but with all this going on she is on higher oxygen and higher meds. So probably not happening today. I want her as comfortable as possible. So we all must be patient. Dad just came back in here, the nurse can't get it down there, so they will have to do it with an xray. all for now. D

1/24/2008

2008-01-24T11:30:00.000-08:00

We have a new development this morning. Mom has developed MRSA in her sputum, which if I understand right means she has staph in her system. That is the antibiotic resistant kind. We now have to wear gowns and gloves while in the room. And I have to wear a mask since I seem to be getting a cold. Also they are now saying that she has some renal failure. That means her kidneys are being compromised. This is all typical happenings for some one in critical care. So I guess that is why everyone that works here are not too upset. Lily said, (she is a friend who trained as a Doctor, and is in the ministry now) That some pull through and some don't. It will take time to tell. Today at noon she is to have a check into her esophagus to see if the bleeding areas have healed up and if there are any more danger spots. Then after the procedure they say they will be more aggressive in getting her awake. I am just taking that one day at a time, as I cannot know what happens next and don't want to speculate too much. We appreciate all your emails, and comments, I do not know how to respond to the comments so if you can email me it would be better. My email is denisebechdolt@msn.com if you don't know it. I will let you know what happens after her procedure today.

1/23/2008

2008-01-23T09:15:00.000-08:00

Good Morning everyone, Mom is still exactly as she has been for over a week as far as responding to outward stimulation. Her ammonia levels are very close to the normal range this morning, 34, 32 is in the normal range. The Doctor did tell us a few days ago that it could take 36 hours for her to respond after she is in the normal range, so we are not panicking this morning anyway. Mom is fighting an infection, maybe two, lung and urinary. So we are just waiting like we have been. The doctor has not come in yet this morning. Tomorrow will be her proceedure to check where she was bleeding. All for now. D

Afternoon

2008-01-22T17:55:00.001-08:00

Mom had her breathing tube changed to day and her brochial tubes cleaned out. The Doctor thinks she is developing pneumonia. So they have started her on two more antibiotics. She still has not become aware of anything. She survived both proceedures with flying colors. I got her hair washed a little today. The GI Dr. is here right now. He is checking to see of all her pipes are working right. Well he said the liver is doing its job fairly well for what all she has gone through. He plans to come on Thursday and recheck her esophagus to make sure he has all the veins clipped off that need clipped off. All for now D

1/23/2008

2008-01-22T11:57:00.000-08:00

I have been offline for two days. But now have a computer again.

From some questions I have been getting (sorry I can't respond to all) It seems I have not explained things too well here.

The reason Mom was bleeding from her esophagus is because she has something wrong with her liver. We were in the process of finding out what was wrong and she actually was scheduled for a biopsy the day after all of this happened. Dialysis will not work to help get her ammonia down. Which brings me to......her level is 54 today, still have 20 to go.

Today the Doctor may have to replace her breathing tube. And he is thinking of going into lungs and doing what he calls a bronchial scope to clean them out. She has thick mucus in there. They are not saying it is pneumonia, yet anyway.

Mom's blood sugars are high, but it is from stress, she is on insulin now. They are still giving her enemas every eight hours and that is what they are doing to get the ammonia level down. There is a medicine called lactolos, I am not sure of the spelling but it is what is cleaning her bowels to remove the ammonia.

I can't say she is out of danger yet, but the numbers are getting better. We found out yesterday that if she woke up she would probably be out of head, the ammonia level makes it that way. So that is why she gets so agitated when they quit giving her so much pain meds and sedatives. Plus all the tubes etc must be very painful and uncomfortable. It is good she has been oblivious.

Today I tried to clean up her hair, it was so matted, we haven't felt safe enough to try till now. I may try to wash it in a bucket tomorrow as I only got the preliminary off. She was on her way to dread locks!! At times I thought oh I should just cut it off. But she would be so unhappy if I did.

1/20/2008

2008-01-20T08:47:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Mom became very agitated. Her blood pressure went up to 200/82 and her heart rate went to 169 p/m So she is sedated once again. Her ammonia levels are still high actually went up today, from 87 to 103. The normal is 17-32. Anyway it is better to have her calm and comfortable she looked so miserable. Until the ammonia levels come down there will be no further investigation. ie; no neurological tests She gets xrays every morning to watch for pnemonia, and they are feeding her off and on. They doubled up on the medicine to flush the ammonia out of her blood system. So we are just here waiting and hoping she can pull through. If not, we are confident God will take care of her and us. Love Denise

1/19/2008

2008-01-19T08:06:00.000-08:00

Well this morning brings little change. Mom is still just moving her head, a leg now and then and her arm will rise a bit sometimes. It is so sad to see her like this. The awful swelling that was around her head and neck is going down, but her hands and feet are still swollen. We are supposing that her ammonia level is still high and this is why she is not awake. But I have fears it is more than that. I am trying to keep my hope up....but also want to be ready for her to go if this is what this means. Dad and Mike and I have a place to stay in a sharing House here by the hospital which makes it very convenient. It is $20 a night. My sister lives about 25 miles from here so she and her family go home every night. All for today. love Denise

Second Addition

2008-01-18T15:13:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we had a scare, we thought mom was bleeding into her brain. Thank goodness she was not. She has a high level of amonia in her system from all the blood she swallowed and also from her liver not functioning at 100%

As of today at 4:00pm, she is still not responding to us. She is moving a little today, her head and her leg every once in a while. I am anxious and worried if she ever will respond again, but trying to keep up hope that this too will pass. I have so much I want to tell her. I'll try and keep this updated.

My MOM

2008-01-18T11:46:00.000-08:00

My brother in law Chuck came up with the idea of putting a daily update on this blog site about my Mom. She is at the Sutter Memorial Hospital. In Sacramento. She has been here since early Tues. morning. Monday night 1/14 she and dad were getting ready for bed, and she went to the bathroom and felt like she was going to throw up. Well she did, and it was blood, she called Dad and he came and she said, I think It's ok, just help me to bed, I probably just broke a small vessel or something. Well Dad put his arm around her, and they started out. She then fainted and then more blood came up out of her mouth. Dad said I better call an ambulance, she said, oh you can drive me....and then more blood came out and she said do what you think you need to.

Well they went to Colusa hospital emergency room, and they did what they could to stop the blood and thought that maybe they had it stopped but felt she needed to be sent to an ICU room. This ICU here at Sutter Memorial was the closest room available in the area, it is about an hour and twenty minute drive from colusa. It was foggy so they could not life flight her, so ambulance again. By the time they got here Mom had almost bled out, Dad thought she was dead. So they filled her back up with blood, a total of 13 units by the time they finally got it full again. Then a Doctor GI Specialist, said I can as a last resort, go down her esophagus with a scope and see what is happening. So ok, if they thought she was not compromised in her brain, yes we want you to do it. He found 9 veins in her esophagus bleeding. He either cauterized, or rubber banded them and stopped the bleeding. Oh forgot she was put on a ventilator, so then she could not communicate any more. Before she was unable to talk she was being the strong one, and telling everyone not to worry about her.

For the first two days they have kept her sedated, and she has had her eyes shut, and does not respond to any voice. Yesterday we had high hopes because they said they were going to wake her up and wean her from the breathing tube. Well hour after hour passed and she did not wake up. So in the afternoon, finally a Doctor came, and he said we better check for brain bleeding. We were all devastated. So once again, wait, two hours later we get the results, hooray, no brain bleeding. Her amonia levels are too high, that is why she is not responding, so they put her on medication to get it under control. The amonia level may be high because of all the blood she had in her stomach.

101 year old friend Velma

2007-11-13T05:09:00.000-08:00

We had the privilege of meeting one of our older friends here
The other people in the picture besides me are the folks that have been
good to pick us up and take us to meetings. Simon, Karen and Addie Bell. Simon is from Australia, Karen from Canada, Addie is the only American citizin in her family! Her Sis and Bro were both born in other countries. Velma just turned 101, she worked in Social Security when it was first established. She is still very alert, knows more about current events than I do! Amazing lady.

Look at the red so gorgeous

2007-11-13T05:05:00.000-08:00

Back Part of John's house

2007-11-13T05:04:00.000-08:00

It is surrounded by beautiful trees.

Home where we had Meetings

2007-11-13T05:03:00.000-08:00

The Gentleman on the right is the man who owns the house, his name is John Manning.

Some dear Friends

2007-11-13T05:02:00.000-08:00

Here are a few people we have been having fellowship with on Sundays.

Shenandoah National Park

2007-11-13T04:59:00.000-08:00

We were so disappointed when we started out, we could hardly see anything but things got better. There was even snow in the higher areas.

Notice the fog

2007-11-13T04:58:00.000-08:00

Denise, holding colorful limb

2007-11-13T04:57:00.000-08:00

Leaf Collection, some beautiful colors

2007-11-13T04:56:00.001-08:00

Mike next to a straight Oak tree

2007-11-13T04:56:00.000-08:00

Whose that peeking out of the Forest?

2007-11-13T04:55:00.000-08:00

Carpet of Fall Colors

2007-11-13T04:54:00.000-08:00

More color, cold foggy day

2007-11-13T04:53:00.000-08:00

Almost looks like fire

2007-11-13T04:52:00.000-08:00

Mike with some of our collection

2007-11-13T04:51:00.000-08:00

Valley coming out of Park

2007-11-13T04:50:00.000-08:00

Shenandoah National Park

2007-11-13T04:49:00.000-08:00

Mike's office

2007-11-02T15:56:00.000-07:00

Lighter colored building
is Mike's downtown office.

Art work in capital dome.

2007-11-02T15:55:00.000-07:00

Thomas J. paid the artist to make
his hands look the biggest in the painting
to signify he had the biggest part in writing the constitution
look at his right foot, he is stepping on the other mans
foot, he also asked the artist to paint it that way.
He had quite a sense of humor!

Pilgrims arriving to America

2007-11-02T15:53:00.000-07:00

Painting runs around dome

2007-11-02T15:39:00.000-07:00

The first artist to start painting this
fell off the scaffolding and died a month later.
Took two other artists over a 50 year time period to finish
depicts the history of america.

This is a painting, but looks like a carving

2007-11-02T15:37:00.001-07:00

Top of the Capitol Cieling

2007-11-02T15:37:00.000-07:00

Bureau Of Engraving and Printing

2007-11-02T14:45:00.000-07:00

1 million $ in Ten's

2007-11-02T14:44:00.000-07:00

Saw lots of money being made!
The whole place smelled like money
:0)

2007-11-02T14:43:00.001-07:00

Old Catholic Church

2007-11-02T14:43:00.000-07:00

Your car awaits, My Lady

2007-11-02T14:42:00.000-07:00

FBI Building

2007-11-02T14:32:00.000-07:00

Felt like an akward building
standing directly under that overhang

Sign on house Pres. L died in

2007-11-02T14:31:00.000-07:00

The Ford Theater was
closed for renovations, so we did
not see the inside of the theater

Ford Theater Where Pres. L shot

2007-11-02T14:30:00.000-07:00

House Pres. Lincoln died in

2007-11-02T14:29:00.000-07:00

Construction behind our apartment

2007-11-02T07:57:00.000-07:00

What a muddy mess after all the rain here! These guys are really noisy, can't have my windows or door open during the working hours.

Beautiful day for a bike ride.

2007-10-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

Denise by the Potomac.

2007-10-23T05:59:00.000-07:00

When we first got on our bikes, I thought this bike feels funny. But I tried to ride it. The pedals kept hitting the front wheel and it felt all imbalanced. I just thought at first maybe I am getting too old to ride a bike any more. I finally told Mike to stop and we looked at it, the front wheel was on backwards!! Had to go back and get it fixed.

2007-10-23T05:56:00.001-07:00

Ronald Reagan Airport

2007-10-23T05:56:00.000-07:00

We rode bikes out to here.
It felt like the airplanes were right over you!

TJ Himself

2007-10-23T05:55:00.000-07:00

Pillars against the sky.

2007-10-23T05:54:00.000-07:00

This was just so pretty.
It was inside the Thomas Jefferson
memorial.

Thomas Jefferson Memorial

2007-10-23T05:53:00.000-07:00

Mike and his bike.

2007-10-23T05:52:00.000-07:00

The Capitol

2007-10-23T05:51:00.000-07:00

President Bush's helicopter.

2007-10-23T05:50:00.000-07:00

We watched this land on the White House property

Some Fall Colors on our bike tour.

2007-10-23T05:49:00.000-07:00

Subway tunnel.

2007-10-23T05:48:00.000-07:00

It gets really hot and airless down here.

View of the construction out back.

2007-10-23T05:47:00.000-07:00