ON THE ROAD TO RECOVERY

Tuesday, December 20 – Warning…there are photos in this blog of Marsha's surgery. Hopefully they won't gross any of you out!

Marsha's surgery on Friday went very well. Hopefully, this will correct the problems that were beginning to affect her vision. She had to have both upper and lower lids corrected increasing the expose to the eye. Dr. Shah told her that after all the swelling goes down, her lids will be even. She should have 100% of her field of vision back. To say the least, she is thrilled! The surgery took a little over a hour and a half. Our sister-in-law, Chris, took Marsha to the hospital and brought her home. Chris works in recovery at one of the local hospitals and was able to ask the doctor all the right questions. Nice to have a nurse in the family!

This is what she looked like when she first arrived home. She looks terrible but HAD NO PAIN AT ALL!

She has to put cold compresses/frozen peas on her eyes every 20 min. on and 20 min. off. Her eyes were so swollen, and the stitches were very tight. These caused some discomfort, but no pain. She didn't take any Vicodin the first day. What a miracle.

One of the biggest challenges is sleeping. She must keep her head erect. No lying down or on her side. Her back is hurting from just sitting in the same position. She has to try to sleep in this position for at least a week.

This is one day after surgery.

On Sunday morning, she woke up to more swelling than she thought her face could take. Our daughter, Kelly, and Marsha's dad thought she might need to go to the emergency room. Before they did that, Marsha decided to do at least two rounds of compresses and her frozen peas. After the second 20 min., some of the swelling in the left eye started to go down. It continued to go down the rest of the day. It was the third day after surgery, and usually that is the worst day for her.

It is now Tuesday, and she is feeling much much better. Sleep is not coming easily to her. She does doze off and on all day. She isn't allowed to put any more ice on her eyes. Nature has to take over from here. She doesn't like it, but she isn't permitted to go to the gym or do any strenuous work for a couple of weeks. She has a follow-up appointment next Tuesday before flying back to Houston on Wednesday.

The latest picture. Getting better slowly.

Thanks so much for your prayers, best wishes and love. It surely helped with the surgery!

HAPPY HANUKKAH to all our dear Jewish friends!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

 

MOTOR HOME MAINTENANCE

Thursday, December 15 – Paul had RV Mobile Lube of Houston out to the Elks Lodge RV Park this morning at 8 a.m. to change the motorhome oil, filter, and lubrication.

We've had this company before and you can read all about it HERE. We are very happy with their service and recommend them to anyone looking to have service done while in the Houston area.

While greasing of the chassis, the fellow looks everything over underneath the vehicle.

He found two items he called Paul's attention to that need further investigation. A minor one consisting of a wheel weight that is coming loose on the inside of a front tire. These are placed there when the tires are balanced. We were unable to remove it or hammer it back in place. The tire will have to be deflated for this and that's a job for a tire repair facility.

The other area needing attention is a little more serious. The last couple times we traveled, we noticed a propane smell when braking. We thought we had a propane leak and Paul sprayed soapy water on the lines but was unable to find a leak. He then searched on line and found a fellow that said to look for an oil leak dripping on the brakes. Sure enough, the service technician found it today. The seal on the front left tire bearing is leaking.

We filled the reservoir with bearing lube and will have to get this taken care of in the very near future.

We'll either find a front-end/suspension shop here in the Houston area to repair it or wait till we are in Mission, TX, to have the work completed. Paul knows what to watch and how to add additional oil if need.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

GOINGS ON IN TEXAS AND OHIO

Saturday, December 10 – Marsha is flying home to Ohio this morning for the holidays. With winter in full effect.....there could be SNOW in Ohio......so, Paul chose to hang out in Houston until Marsha returns.

Actually, Marsha has two reasons for returning to Ohio. Not only will she be sharing Christmas with her dad, brothers and sister and two daughters, but she will also be having eye surgery. As mentioned in a previous post, when we were in Ohio this fall for visits and doctor appointments, the doctor decided that her drooping eyelids were now affecting her vision. Unfortunately, insurance approval took time so surgery was scheduled to coincide with her holiday visit. She will be going “under the knife” on December 16, so keep her in your prayers.

This morning, Marsha will be flying out of Bush International Airport and arriving in Akron/Canton Airport later this afternoon. The plane was right on time.

What a GREAT day to fly!

OH NO…the GREAT day didn't last long. This is what it looked like when she was approaching Chicago…YUCK!

Chicago is beautiful from the air.

But good-old Ohio pulled through…clear skies, no snow.

Our daughter, Kelly, will be there to greet her. Carrie will fly to Ohio later in the month to join the family for Christmas. It should be a very enjoyable Christmas for the gals!

On Friday, we exchanged Christmas gifts. Marsha won't post her picture because she is too self-conscience about her eyes. But Paul is a gamer. He finally asked and received a gift from Marsha that the kids and Marsha have been bugging him about…A BIKE HELMET!!!

He had to check out how well it would protect his head.

 

Tuesday, December 13 – We recently received a recall notice for our new Honda CRV. It involves a needed computer adjustment necessary for improved fuel economy. We are currently getting about 25 mpg so any improvement would be a bonus. Called Gillman Honda, located about a mile from the Elks Lodge where we are parked, and they were able to get me in the first thing this morning. Paul will wait around the dealership while adjustments are completed.

The Service Recall only took about 30 minutes and Paul was on his way. He really liked the way this dealership service area was arranged. Drive-up entry where the information is written up.

They have a nice waiting room with coffee and free popcorn and newspapers, and a large window over-looking the service area so you can watch the progress and servicing of your vehicle.

Our car is on the right in the forefront.

They also do a free multipoint inspection and have a free exterior car wash. Nice!

Back in Ohio…Marsha is busy visiting family, friends, baking cookies and shopping. She did all her pretesting on Tuesday. EKG, blood work, blood pressure, etc. all came back good. She won't know what time surgery will be until Thursday. She does know she needs to be there two hours before the surgery. The surgery takes about two and a half hours and recovery about two. Our sister-in-law, Chris, will take her and pick her up. This way if the weather is bad Marsha's dad doesn't have to drive. The nurse made the strangest request. She told Marsha to purchase two bags of frozen peas. She explained that the package of peas would conform to the shape of her eyes much better than an ice pack. She is all set and really looking forward to getting her eyes done.

This will probably be our last post until she is feeling better. So until then, we wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY HANUKKAH.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!