Sunday, May 20, 2018

Dear Kids,
         A week from today is Dad’s birthday, and Dallin’s, too.  There will be a birthday celebration/dinner here at our house at 5 pm.  Donna is planning the dinner, so you can call her for a food assignment.  If you need an idea for a present for Dad, you call or text me.   It’s supposed to be warm here that day, with only a 10% chance of rain, so we can have a lot of fun outside.  Be there or be square!
         Our medical adventures go on and on.  Dad’s neck bleeds every day, but just a little bit, and it’s old blood.  We saw his doctor on Wednesday, and he wasn’t at all concerned.  He said this could go on for a long time, but it’s very upsetting for Dad.  For me, too, because he’s ruined three garment tops, and I have to wash them every day. If he wears them over and over, he won’t ruin any more.  Dad thought Tina would be interested in his gooey neck, since she’s a jungle cat way down deep, but she doesn’t like old blood.
         I’m still the same. I saw my doctor on Wednesday, and he said my incision is starting to heal, but I can’t feel any difference.  If anything, it hurts more than ever.  He said that’s just part of the healing process, which made no sense at all to me.  The pharmacy is balking now at refilling my ultram prescription, so I have to get my doctor to prescribe it differently, and see if that will help.  I wish there were more to my life than constant pain.  I’m able to do a few minor projects, but I can’t play the piano, because it hurts me so much to sit.  It hurts to stand, too, although I can walk around a little bit.  So everything I can do lying down, I do.  But it’s a boring life. The worst thing is that it’s beautiful spring weather outside, and I can’t go out and work in the yard.
         But there are good things.  Jana McGettigan and Cami Cook came to visit me on Thursday, and they entertained me wonderfully with their news of the outside world.  Our old neighborhood chapel at Bangerter and 4100 South is going to be demolished to make way for a traffic overpass at that intersection.  Where can they possibly build a new church around there?  Maybe John is right, that we’ll all be going to a 2-hour Sunday block soon, and they can fit four wards in each building.  That way, they won’t have to build so many chapels.
         Another good thing is that people from our ward have been bringing us food and goodies. This week we got chocolate frosted cookies and cin-a-bons.  There are other invalids in our ward, but we’re probably the only home that has two of them, so we get a lot of attention.
         So life is good.  I love you all!  Mom