We're Seeing the Dentist a Little Too Regularly

Don's extraction site continued to give him trouble through the weekend and all day yesterday. He was not supposed to be seen by the dentist until tomorrow but I called and asked if he could see him sooner which, of course, he could. In defense of our dentist, he did graciously offer to see Don on Sunday, but Don refused his offer...he'd rather suffer. So today, in a deluge of rain like we haven't seen in months, we set out for the appointment. The diagnosis...dry socket. The dentist packed it with something "hairy", put a covering over the hairy stuff, and voila...Don is himself. For the first time since last week, he's comfortable, and pleasant!!! When we left the office the streets were terribly flooded, so much so that cars were stalled all over the place. The trusty Suburban got us through in no time. Don has another appointment for a recheck on Friday, hopefully that will be the end of that.

Need a Laugh?

While talking to Don about having problems with his tooth it reminded me of his sister having her tooth pulled this summer and coming directly over to visit us at the condo after leaving the dentist's office. She began to tell us the story of her experience when I stopped her and made a video because she was being very animated about the whole ordeal and we were getting a good laugh. The video picks up after she told us that for whatever reason, her husband had really aggravated her prior to leaving the house to go to the dentist, and due to his aggravating ways she had high blood pressure when she arrived at the dentist. This is the same sister that got us into trouble at Scared Heart Hospital when Don was admitted there recently, she had people in the waiting room laughing that were not even with us...we got a little too rowdy and we were chastised by the nurses. She can really embellish a story. Click here to watch.

Soupy Kind of Week

Don continues to have trouble with his tooth and he is mostly miserable. He has a few hours each day that he is not complaining but, as for the rest of the time...it's enough to make a grown womam cry!! I made vegetable soup this week after he had his tooth pulled and then today he mentioned that we had a lot of potatoes and reminded me how much he likes potato soup. He was holding a glass of ice on his cheek while he was talking about the potatoes and there is only one word to describe him...PATHETIC! Needless to say, I made the soup.

I spoke to the dentist and he offered to take a look at Don today but Don said, "No way am I going to make that man come out on a Sunday, I'll wait until my appointment on Wednesday." So...I guess I'll have a few more days of misery. I hope I have enough soup.

Another Visitor

My sister called today and asked if we could watch her granddaughter, Emma, while they went to the wedding of a family friend. We were happy to have Emma as we really don't get to see her very often. I picked her up around 7:00 PM and we shopped a little before coming home. She picked out a Rudolph stuffed toy that sings and talks when you press his ear. His nose also lights up and flashes...we are thrilled that one will be going home with her! A lot of our great nieces and nephews have visited this week...I wish we could have had them all together!

Emma chatted up a storm in the car and told me that her Maw Maw Lisa gave her money to put in her pocket (which looked a lot like Tooties Rolls to me) and that her Maw Maw Diane did not like to go barefoot around the house!

Earlier today we picked up Don's picture from the camera store and I was able to mount it in the shadow box - so here is the finished product. He was 19 years old when this picture was taken and was an In-Flight Refueling Specialist, also known as a boom operator...refueling fighter jets while in flight.

Surprise Visit

This evening we got a phone call from Leon and Bette, they were in town and wanted to drop by and introduce us to their newest addition, Luke Patrick Vignes. In no time our house was filled with laughing, busy children. Luke slept quietly through all of the commotion.
The twins, Belle and Blair (7) and Lee (almost 5)

A Day Late

First, let me apologize for not writing yesterday about the outcome of Don's procedure. I was so exhausted after going to bed late and getting up at 4:00 in the morning to get to the hospital on time. Anyway, after doing the endoscopy and viewing Don's esophogus, Dr. Regenstein said everything looked so good he decided not to do anything! The bands were still in place and doing their job so he decided to let well enough alone. That was excellent news. We have a follow up appointment on October 14 where we will further discuss what all of this means. Don does have large gastric varicies which still remain in his stomach. Those are harder to treat than the esophogeal varicies but Dr. Regenstein did say we would talk about what could be done about those.

We are blessed with this latest good news and hope we continue on this path. Thanks to Debbie, Angie, and Hannah for coming to support us through this procedure. Thanks also to Crystal for visiting with Debbie and I in the waiting room and bringing us a delicious breakfast. Once again, we laughed way too loud and enjoyed ourselves a little too much while we waited for Don's test to be completed!

Support is in Place!

Don's sister Debbie, her daughter, Angie and granddaughter, Hannah arrived this afternoon around 5:00 PM to support Don and I through another endoscopy and rebanding of his varicies. Debbie can keep you laughing through almost any situation and I am so thankful that she is here. Don is still in quite a lot of pain from having his tooth pulled Tuesday so I hate that he has to go through this procedure again now. I am sure we will get through it just as we did last time and that he will do just fine. Stay tuned for an update!