The Help

Once we were home, Bob, being male, immediately started trying to figure out how he could get back to work.  He owns a vending company, which means he fills drink and snack machines, and his routes take him to Raleigh, Durham, Research Triangle Park, and surrounding areas.  If the machines are allowed to run empty, he loses money and increases the risk of vandals breaking into the machines.  An empty machine signals lots of money in the box.
Anyway, in order to prevent Bob from doing too much, Ellen, his oldest daughter, organized friends and family to help Bob on his routes.  Since he couldn't lift any more than 8 pounds at a time for 2 weeks, that meant lifing 12-packs of soda wasn't allowed.  Bob came home on Wednesday, rested on Thursday, and was out for the first time on Friday with Billy, his son-in-law, who took the afternoon off so he could help.  Kristen, Bob's daughter, also came over, and the help they gave us was amazing.  Billy went with Bob and did all the heavy work of the vending, and Kristen stayed at the house.  She vacuumed every room, and that was a big job since the house hadn't been vacuumed for 3 weeks.  The weekend before Bob's attack, I had gone to the Joyce Meyer convention in Winston-Salem from Thursday afternoon to Saturday afternoon, and when I got home, I worked in the yard with Bob.  After church on Sunday, we worked in the yard again, including spreading the last of the 20 cubic yards of mulch which we had worked to spread the prior weekend.  I had every intention of vacuuming the house Monday night, but spent it instead at the hospital with Bob, so by the time Kristen cleaned it, it was a mess -- leaf litter, pine needles, dirt, yard debris -- all of which came in on shoes, and CAT FUR!  I didn't know Kristen was going to clean, and when I came home and found my house vacuumed, I was so surprised and very grateful.  And after Kristen finished cleaning the house, she went outside and began pulling weeds in a bed that runs alongside the garage.  The weeds had gotten out of control last year due to my back surgery and recovery, and some of the landscape beds had been overrun with grass and weeds, ruling with an iron fist.  But Kristen dethroned many of them!
Later, when Billy and Bob came home, I fixed dinner, including T-bone steaks on the grill, and we had a wonderful time with just Billy and Kristen -- no kids, no other people, just one-on-one.  We are so thankful for the energy and time they gave to us and all the work they did.
On Saturday, my son Nathan came over and helped.  Bob doesn't usually work on Saturdays, but he wanted to get caught up on some of the work that he'd missed.  Monday's help was David, a friend from church; Tuesday's help was Jerry, a friend who sings in the chorus with Bob; Wednesday, Ellen, Bob's oldest daughter, took the day off to help; Jerry came back on Thursday; and Friday, Clay, a friend from church.  Thanks to everyone for giving so selflessly of your time and energy to Bob! 
Today is Saturday, and Bob has gone to Cary to sing in The General Assembly Chorus's Pretty in Pink Concert.  The GA is an all-male a capella babershop group, and the concert is to raise money for Pretty in Pink, a non-profit group here in North Carolina that provides free medical care for women with breast cancer who don't have insurance or when insurance doesn't cover the cost of treatment.  There's an afternoon perfomance at 2:00 and another this evening at 7:30.  Rehearsal is this morning, and Bob will be sitting down as much as possible to conserve his strength for the performances.  It will be a long day for him, but he really wants to be part of the concert.
The only residual physical ailment from his stent procedure is the bruise that resulted from the catheter placement in the vein in Bob's groin.  He has a massive bruise which has migrated down his leg, almost to his knee, and across his abdomen, and it causes him a lot of pain, especially when he gets up after sitting or resting.  Eventually, the bruise will dissipate, and so will the discomfort.
So we're now getting back to "normal," but we have a fresh, profound understanding that life is fragile and we have only the moment we're in.  None of us know when we will breathe our last breath, when our hearts will beat their last beat, so we need to be ready to move on to our eternal home.  Hug your loved ones, speak kind, encouraging words, help unselfishly, give abundantly, and serve and love God.  Winning the lottery doesn't matter; having nice cars in a huge house doesn't matter; taking expensive vacations doesn't matter; none of these things have value in God's sight.  Live each day as if it were your last, living for God while preparing to meet Him, for everyone will stand before Him one day.

Home Again

Hospitals are notoriously easy to get into but difficult to leave!  That was the case with Bob's hospitalization.  He was given the green light to go home before 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 21, but it was 2:25 p.m. when we left the hospital.
But the day was not wasted.  Bob's nurse for the day, Courtney, introduced herself to him and warned him the process could take several hours.  Before I arrived that day, Courtney had seen a book which I had taken to Bob for him to read during his stay, "America's Providential History."  Bob explained a little about the book to her, and she was very interested in it because she had homeschooled her children prior to moving to North Carolina from Pennsylvania about 6 months earlier, and her young boys love history. 
During the ensuing hours, she came into Bob's room frequently and told us how things were progressing.  Mostly, we were waiting for everyone to sign off on his discharge papers and for the pharmacy to fill his prescription for his free month of heart medication.  Since Bob wasn't the only one being discharged, he had to "wait in line," so to speak.  Anyway, we could tell from the way Courtney spoke and the things which she spoke about that she was a Christian, and I wondered if she'd found a home church since her move from Pennsylvania.  I know that finding a new church home is one of the most difficult things when a person moves.  So I asked her, "Have you found a church home yet?"
"Yes, we're going to Durham to King's Park."
Together, Bob and I exclaimed, "That's our church!"
Courtney and her husband had been attending for about 2 months!  God is amazing, isn't He?!  We got Courtney's e-mail address from her and informed her that we could connect her to people her age in the church, as well as others who homeschool.  She was so grateful, and we were so excited that she attended our church.  You might wonder why we'd never seen her -- well, King's Park seats about 2100 people, although it isn't full on Sundays, and it's difficult to find people you know, not to mention noticing people you don't know! 
Lunch time arrived at the hospital and we were still there.  Again, I was blessed with a meal on a tray.  Later, Bob got dressed and ready to leave, and after Courtney explained everything to us as she handed Bob his medication (we later got 3 more prescriptions filled at the pharmacy close to our house), Bob walked out of the hospital!  We thought he'd have to be wheeled out, but they allowed him to walk!  It was amazing to see him do that so soon after his heart attack.
He was so happy to be home; he's been resting and working some, but only light work.  I can testify to the fact that he's not been doing any heavy work or straining himself.  We e-mailed Courtney later in the week and told her where we usually sit every Sunday in church, and after the service, she found us and introduced us to her husband.  "You look so good!" she exclaimed as she gave Bob a hug.  It turned out that the people we were sitting next to were involved in homeschooling, so Courtney and her husband got to meet them right then.
Our friends pretty much swarmed Bob at that point, including two of our pastors and elders, who laid hands on him and prayed for him.  Many people were surprised to see Bob in church in the first place!
We realize that God's hand was on Bob the entire time.  Stents do not work on everyone.  An attorney at the office where I work had open heart surgery to perform a quadrupal bypass the Friday after Bob's attack because stents would not work for him.  He will not be back to work for weeks.  We're so grateful that the stents fixed Bob's problems. 
Looking back, we can see that the blockages in Bob's heart were building up over a long period of time.  Even last summer he was out of breath when he'd do heavy work and would often sit down to rest, his face flushed as he struggled to breathe deeply.  Even though Bob is fit and trim, his genetics couldn't be controlled, and the plaque that built up over time finally caused a very significant, sudden problem.  But God was still in control!

"Amanda's Hope"

As an aside from the stressful event of last week, my book, "Amanda's Hope - A Choice for Life", which started me on this blogging journey, is available and can now be purchased at http://www.westbowpress.com/.  Simply type the book title in the search box to find it.  It's available in e-book, paperback, and hard cover. 
I don't have a huge reader base on this blog by a long shot, but any help you can give me in spreading the word about the book's availability will be hugely appreciated!  Please spread on Facebook or similar sites to friends, family, and your home churches.  I don't consider it a coincidence that my husband's heart attack happened as soon as this book was printed, nor the fact that I've almost been involved in two car accidents.  Please read my old blogs to get the gist of the story -- I don't want to give it away.  And thanks in advance for your support! 
I'll finish my husband's story soon.  He's doing extremely well, for which we're very grateful. 

Hospital Stay

Once in the room, Bob was talking animatedly and asking when he could go home from the hospital! When he actually understood that he had to stay 1 or 2 nights, he realized the seriousness of his condition. 
Family was gathered round.  Bob didn't get any rest, that's for sure.  He kept asking for food and lifting his head as he spoke, but he was supposed to lay flat until the cath that had been placed in his vein in his groin was removed, and that couldn't happen until his blood count (whatever they were counting) was below 170.  At 7:30 p.m. it was down to 175, so they couldn't remove it yet.  This had to do with clotting of his blood so he wouldn't bleed profusely once the cath was removed. 
Around that time, I had to retrieve my car from the valet service that had parked it for me when I followed the ambulance to the hospital.  As I was walking to get it and park it so I knew where it was, Bob's mother called on his phone, which I had with me.  I assured her he was doing well and that I would have him call her once I got back to the room, which I did.  He re-assured his mother he was fine and that everything was going to be okay.  She was so glad to hear his voice!
Eventually, family filtered out as night approached.  Kristen, Bob's youngest daughter, and her hsuband Billy were still there when Bob's blood count finally dropped down to 136 the next time it was checked, and the cath could be removed.  With that process on the horizon, Kristen and Billy went home.  I think shortly afterward a small meal was brought to Bob, the first food he'd had since the morning.  I was not allowed to stay during the cath removal procedure, so I went to the small waiting room down the hall and called my sisters, one in Florida and the other in Kansas, to let them know what had happened.  By the time my calls were complete, I was able to be with Bob again. 
The removal involved pressing down very hard on Bob's body as the cath was pulled out so bleeding was stopped, and this was done for about 10 minutes.  Afterward, a compression bandage was applied, which was long, went in a crosswise fashion, and had a huge wad of gauze under it.  This kept more pressure on the vein.  (Bob developed a huge, black bruise from this procedure due to the blood thinning drugs he'd been given.)  Bob had to continue lying flat for 4 more hours.  I finally left the hospital at 10:30 pm, exhausted but relieved that he was going to be fine.
Bob later told me that he didn't get much sleep all night as he was awakened by nurses constantly checking his blood pressure and the air mattress inflating and deflating on a regular basis.  Billy and Drew, 2 of Bob's son-in-laws, had driven to the ER where he'd initially received treatment and drove his van back to the house; they then retrieved some personal items for Bob, including his CPAP machine for his sleep apnea.  Even though he had this during the night, there was too much activity for him to get much sleep.  He was finally able to get up and use the restroom at 1:30 a.m.
I got little sleep as well as there were thunderstorms pounding our area in the wee hours of the morning.  I got up at 6:30 a.m. and started laundry; I responded to numerous e-mails; I paid bills on-line; I called people.  I packed Bob an overnight bag and some reading material.  I finally returned to the hospital around 11 a.m., still exhausted.
The day was uneventful, thank goodness.  More people came to visit, and we enjoyed their company.  Bob received numerous calls on his cell phone from friends in his chorus and from our church.  I ate lunch with him -- extra trays blessed me with a great meal!  WakeMed, your meals are very good!  I was impressed with the quality and quantity of the food.  Bob ate every bit on his plate; he was hungry!  Evening came, and with it more visitors.  Bob was able to get up and walk around and use the restroom.  It was amazing to see him do that so soon after the heart attack.
I left the hospital around 8:30 p.m.; I was afraid I'd fall asleep while driving, I was so tired.  As soon as I headed home on I-40, I saw lightning in the distance, and I drove right toward the storm.  The streaks of lightning in the sky were awesome, shooting from east to west and to the ground in brilliant flashes.  Thankfully, I arrived home about 2 minutes before another deluge began.  At least the thunder wasn't so loud that it kept me awake when I collapsed into bed, getting less than 6 hours of sleep after responding to e-mails again.
In the morning, I hurried off to the hospital anticipating that Bob would be discharged.  His doctors had already been to see him when I arrived around 9 a.m., and he was allowed to go home, but that process took all day!
Again, this will have to be continued -- too much to write about in one sitting! 
This was a day the Lord made -- He makes every day, and we are to rejoice and be glad in it! 

Sudden Turn of Events

Monday, March 19, 2012, started out to be a usual day but did not end that way. 
I called my husband, Bob, during my lunch break, something I don't usually do, and he sounded very tired, but I knew he WAS tired so didn't think much of it.  I returned to work after lunch and then received a phone call from Bob at 2:45 p.m.  I don't remember what he said initially, but I knew something wasn't right and asked him if he was feeling okay.  He responded, "No!  Call 9-1-1!"
"Are you serious?" I asked.
"Yes!  I need you to call 9-1-1!"
"Where are you?" Bob owns a vending business and travels around locally, restocking the machines.  He had gone to work as usual that morning, but I had no idea where he was when he called.
"I"m on Miami!" he gasped.  "Oh, God, it hurts!  Please make it stop hurting!"
"What hurts?"
"My chest!  It feels like an elephant is sitting on my chest!  I can't breathe!"  Bob's voice was stressed and he gasped for air. 
"You're driving in the van?"
"Yes, I'm going home!  Call 9-1-1!"
"You should call; you know where you are!"
"I'm going home; have them meet me there!  I'm turning on Lumley now!"
Once he told me that, I knew where he was, and the thought came to me that he should get himself to the new WakeMed Healthplex Center 2-3 miles from our house.  I could tell Bob was frantic, and I was helpless.  "Okay, Bob, don't go home!  Try to get yourself to that new ER facility at the end of TW Alexander!"
"Okay, but it hurts!  I can't breathe!"
I spent the next few minutes trying to calm Bob down as I kept talking to him as he drove.  Every 30 seconds I asked him where he was, and when he had to stop at the stoplight to cross Rt. 70, I was wondering if he'd make it.  I wasn't thinking a heart attack, but I knew that something was seriously wrong. 
"This light is so long!" Bob exclaimed.  "Change, please change!"
After the light changed, Bob found the entrance to the ER facility, and once he parked the van, I told him I was on my way and hung up.  It took me about 15 minutes to arrive.
When I got there, the waiting room was empty.  Since the place is new, few people know it's there.  (When it opened, I had jokingly told Bob that it would be a good place to go if we ever had an emergency since it was so close to our house.)  I was immediately taken back and saw a doctor who told me that Bob was going to be okay and that he suffered a heart attack.  I couldn't believe it!  Heart attack?!  Sure, he's 64, but he's not overweight, is active and strong, doesn't smoke or drink, and doesn't have high blood pressure or high cholesterol!  Heart attack?! 
The doctor explained that Bob was going to be transferred by ambulance to WakeMed Raleigh Heart Center, where the blockages in his heart would be cleared and stents inserted.  When I got to see Bob, he was sitting up on a gurney with IVs in him and sensors and wires all over his chest.  He was awake and appearing rather stunned, but otherwise handling things well. 
Within ten minutes, the ambulance arrived.  He was loaded in and whisked off while I waited for driving directions to get to where I needed to go.  When I stepped outside, I heard an ambulance siren in the distance; I later learned it was his.
I arrived at the Heart Center about 35 minutes later, had my car parked with a valet service, and was told where to go.  Once in the waiting room, I made a phone call to one of Bob's daughters and asked her to pass on the information to the others.  I called my daughter and son and friends in church.  Family soon arrived, for which I was very grateful.  With each new family member's arrival, I had to tell the story again of how Bob drove himself to the ER. 
I can't even remember what time the doctor came out, but the news was good.  Bob had 3 blockages in his heart - one 85%, another 90%, and still another at 99% blocked, which of course was the one that had triggered the event.  Stents had been placed in the arteries after the blockage had been cleared, and everything looked good.  Bob came through the procedure well.
About 15 minutes later, Bob was being wheeled through the hall, and we went to his room, arriving before he did.  One of the first things he asked was when he could go home.
I'll continue this in another blog, hopefully tomorrow, but we are so very thankful to God for his provision through this event.

Monday, March 19

Normal days can suddenly turn in any direction, and Monday was a most traumatic day.  My husband, Bob, suffered a heart attack.  Even now I can hear your collective gasps as you read this, but rest assured, he is at home and is well on his way to a full recovery.
God is good, and we're so very thankful to Him that He did not call Bob home Monday.  I'll go into detail in a few days -- needless to say, I've been overwhelmed -- and give you the particulars on this defining event, but in the meantime, please keep both of us in your prayers as we move forward.

Mulch, Mulch, and More Mulch!

Spring has arrived early in North Carolina, not that we had much of a winter!  Only one snowfall, which was so light it accumulated only on the grass, and no drastically cold temperatures made it one of the mildest winters on record.  But SPRING has arrived!  The Bradford pear trees are in full bloom, and although they are strikingly beautiful draped in white flowers, their fragrance is quite awful.  We have nine of these popular trees along the edges of our yard, so it's not exactly pleasant to be outside right now.  The temperatures have been soaring into the mid 80's, way above normal for this time of year, but we'll take it!
Our gardens were mostly neglected last year due to my back injury and surgery, so we have undertaken to spread pine bark mulch on them.  Last Friday we had 20 cubic yards of mulch delivered, and it filled almost all of the driveway.  That's one whole dumptruck full of mulch!  Bob had a friend come over and help spread it on Saturday, and it was a grueling process.  Weeds had to be pulled first.  The mulch had to be shoveled into a wheelbarrow and then dumped and spread.  We worked about six hours Saturday and spread about 2/3 of the mulch.  We worked another three hours Sunday afternoon.  Bob's friend came on Monday when I was at work and wheelbarrowed most of the remaining mulch to the perennial gardens, but in the process covered low-lying branches, weeds, and plants.  That evening and the next, I had to uncover what shouldn't have been covered and pull the weeds that had gotten buried, as well as pull off mulch that had been dumped too deep.
With that done, Bob and I attacked the perennial garden on our back slope last evening, hacking away and removing dandelions and other weeds.  The bed is now ready to be mulched.  Bob is going to order another 20 cubic yards of mulch for spreading this weekend.  This second truckload should complete the row of azaleas along the side of the yard, the perennial garden on the slope, and the shade garden we're trying to establish. 
Mulch holds in moisture and keeps out weeds, but if the weeds aren't pulled first, they simply grow through the mulch -- unless it's a foot deep.  Weeds remind me of sin in our lives -- they grow where they're not wanted and set down deep roots unless we get rid of them while they're small.  There's always a lesson to be learned from nature; God's lessons are everywhere.  We simply need to open our eyes to the wisdom He has incorporated into his creation.   

Time with Benny

All of us know that we are uniquely and individually created, and with 5 grandsons under the age of 4 in our family, that fact is profoundly clear.  My son's middle son, Benny, got to stay with us, one-on-one, last Saturday for several hours.  His older brother, Niland, had a birthday party to attend close to our house, so they came for a visit first, and when Nate and Niland left for the party, Benny stayed.
Benny is 2 years 7 months old and quite conversant, although sometimes difficult to understand, as is often the case with someone that age.  I didn't know if he'd stay by himself since he'd never done that before and he's very attached to his brother.  But he stayed, and we had so much fun!  It was a sunny but chilly day, so we bundled up and went outside.  I told him I wanted to show him my flowers, so we walked to the back of the deck to see the daffodils. 
"What color are they, Benny?" I asked.  Benny knows his colors well, so I knew he'd answer correctly.
"Yellow."  Benny paused before continuing.  "I don't like yellow."
Aghast, I exclaimed, "But I like yellow!  It's my favorite color!"
Without missing a beat, Benny replied, "It's not my favorite color."  Now where did he get such a strong opinion?  I laughed.
"What's your favorite color?"

"Green."  I chuckled and took his hand as we headed off on our walk.
Upon our return, we spent time playing with PlayDoh.  The last time Benny had played with the stuff, he thought it was something to eat or put in his nose, but not this time.  I rolled long strands of orange 'carrots', and Benny cut them with a pair of child scissors.  Never tiring of the experience, we did it again and again.  We made funny noses and funny fingers, doing battle with each other and talking funny.  We cut sharks from flattened doh and attacked each other.  Changing to green-colored doh, I rolled green beans -- and they looked so real!  Benny gathered them in his hands and smashed them together.
Papa took over while I got dinner in the oven.  We watched a video.  We petted Delilah, who laid her ears back and looked at me as if saying, "The kid touches me, and I'm outta here!"  Oddly enough, Benny simply watched me pet her.  We played with toy dinosaurs; the biggest one was Benny's favorite.  He'd taken it on our walk and had chased me with it.  I was bitten by that dinosaur many times! 
We were back in the PlayDoh when daddy and Niland showed up.  Benny eagerly told them all he'd done, and I complained that Benny did not appreciate the color of my daffodils.
One-on-one with Benny; no competition from other children!  It was so much fun!  Now we need to do it with each of our grandchildren. 
Just as we desire to spend time with our grandkids, our Heavenly Father desires to spend time with us.  That's the only way we'll get to know Him.