SORRY THIS POST IS LATE --- WE HAD AN EIGHT HOUR POWER OUTAGE

    `Tuesday 6:30 a.m. - At 10:33 Monday night the phone rang and it was a nurse from the Clinton hospital to let me know that Kelly at that very moment was being readied to be transferred by ambulance to London's University Hospital.  She said Kelly was still suffering from nausea.  (probably because of blood still draining into her stomach)  Fortunately, I knew about the transfer before the nurse phoned because Kelly's daughter Sabra had phoned me earlier after she had called the Clinton Hospital to tell me Kelly was going to be transferred to London.  Kelly told me last night she was glad the ambulance had brought her to Clinton because she got to see a Doctor who immediately and he quickly got things rolling and arranged for her care.  Both Kelly and I agreed the Paramedics had done a great job and were very personable and caring as were the Clinton nursing staff including the Doctor. 

OUR MONDAY MORNING WALKING SPOT

 A BEAUTIFUL LATE JULY MORNING

 THE TOPS OF CORN STALKS ARE BEGINNING TO GROW THEIR TASSELS

 CORN COBS ARE GROWING

I have a stockpile of photos from the last couple days which I want to get caught up in this post before I get too far behind, so hang on.

 LOADING STRAW BALES ONTO A WAGON

The day dawned with another beautifully cool late July morning.  The first sunsplash alighted on our southeast facing window frame at 7:15 a.m.  With our living room patio door open beside my sleeping recliner, I awoke to the sweet sound of twittering birds in the nearby trees.  Always a nice way to start any day.

 SEEN IN OUR PARK THIS WEEK

Because I was awake early this morning it was an earlier start to the day for Pheebs and I.  Knowing Kelly would be busy with medical things and also knowing Kelly would be contacting me with a list of things to bring her later I didn't head off to London this morning. Instead, I decided to stay close to home and field any calls coming in.  Pheebs and I did however slip into Bayfield, fill Subie's gas tank, and take ourselves for a quick walk around the perimeter of a grassy area on the east side of the Bayfield Cemetery. 

 A TRACTOR TOWING TWO WAGONS ROLLS OUT INTO A FIELD TO BEGIN ANOTHER DAYS WORK

LOADING STRAW BALES

Home again I busied myself cleaning up the Subaru.  Vacuuming, glass, etc.  It kept me busy until about noon when the humidity ramped up enough to drive me inside.  There is a lot of of activity going on in our Park right now with a number of trees coming down and fiber optic cables going underground.  Lots of noise, various vehicles, and workers in orange vests everywhere.  

 OUR PARK WAS A BUSY PLACE THIS MORNING

 ALMOST LOOKS LIKE A TORNADO WENT THROUGH HERE

 THIS MACHINE NOT ONLY CUTS THE TREES DOWN BUT TRIMS OFF ALL THE BRANCHES AND THEN CUTS THE TREE TRUNK INTO MEASURED LENGTHS

 THIS IS A MULTI-FUNCTIONAL PIECE OF EQUIPMENT

 THE FELLOW DRIVING THIS MACHINE LOOKS LIKE HE JUST GOT OUT OF PUBLIC SCHOOL

 THE FELLOW IN THE BLUE SHIRT IS THE SOLE OPERATOR OF THE BIG TREE CUTTING MACHINE AND THE FELLOW IN THE CENTER IS ADAM, OUR PARK OWNER

Noon update:: Kelly called just before noon and just as Aunt Jean, her voice was weak and lacked that usual spark.  She is still feeling very sick despite additional anti-nausea medicines.  So here's what happened Monday night.  Kelly should have immediately received a blood transfusion in Clinton but the hospital there is not equipped to do that.  In hindsight, she should have been re-ambulanced to the Goderich hospital where they do blood transfusions.  When the University Hospital doctor came on board he immediately ordered her to be brought to London's University Hospital as soon as possible.  Looking at her low blood pressure, low hemoglobin level, etc. he deemed her condition critical so that meant ambulance lights and sirens all the way. (48miles)  Kelly said she could hear the ambulance siren going.  As soon as she reached London in critical condition with her hemoglobin level down to 51 they quickly gave her 3 units of blood in an effort to stabilize her, which they did.  Kelly said she threw up more blood and they had a critical care team there that stayed with her through the night monitoring and administering different things.  More IV lines, etc.  She underwent an endoscopy this morning that again found nothing.  This afternoon she was scheduled for a cat-scan and a colonoscopy is in the offing.  She said she is discouraged and has no appetite at all. (unusual for her) She left word at the nurse's desk that she does not want any visitors.  That's normal for Kelly.  She told me she didn't need anything from home and that she wasn't interested in that stuff anyway.  It seems Kelly and Aunt Jean are exactly in the same boat at exactly the same time. 

 A BUSY CREW THIS MORNING

6 P.M. Update:: Kelly called my cell phone with an update and I could tell right away by her stronger voice that she was feeling better.  Her sparkle was back.  Her endoscopy this morning showed nothing wrong in her esophagus or stomach (but she is still bleeding) and she didn't have the results of her afternoon cat scan yet.  After her morning endoscopy, she was able to eat a little something.  She said she had no appetite.  At 8 a.m. Wednesday morning she will undergo a colonoscopy.  She also said they have been keeping a very close eye on her with constant blood pressure readings, and hemoglobin testing.......Our power is finally back on and I am publishing this now at 3:20 a.m.

--------------------------------------------   

Al's Music Box:)) Over The Mountain Across The Sea by Bobby Vinton is a song written by Rex Garvin and was originally released by Johnnie & Joe in 1957.  Bobby Vinton released a cover of the song in 1963. 

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A light-haired woman and a redhead have a ranch. They have just lost their bull. The women need to buy another, but only have $500. The redhead tells her partner, "I will go to the market and see if I can find one for under that amount. If I can, I will send you a telegram." She goes to the market and finds a bull for $499. Having only one dollar left, she goes to the telegraph office and finds out that it costs one dollar per word. She is stumped on how to tell her partner to bring the truck and trailer. Finally, she tells the telegraph operator to send the word "comfortable." Skeptical, the operator asks, "How will she know to come with the trailer from just that word?" The redhead replies, "She reads slow: 'Come for ta bull.'"

------------------------------------------

You Might Be A Redneck If::

- Three quarters of the clothes you own have logos on them.
- Your grandfather always does the 'pull my finger' trick at the family reunion.
- When you leave your house, you are followed by federal agents of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms.
- You have a house that's mobile and five cars that aren't.
- Your gene pool doesn't have a "deep end."
- Your `huntin dawg' cost more than the truck you drive him around in.
- You have a Hefty bag for a convertible top.
- Your belt buckle weighs more than five pounds.

-----------------------------------------------

===================================

BY AMBULANCE TO THE HOSPITAL

Since coming home from London's University Hospital a week ago Kelly has not felt well and has steadily become weaker with each passing day.  Today was not a good day for her.  With hardly enough energy left to get out of her chair and fearing her hemoglobin numbers may be dropping I drove her to Goderichs Dyna-Care Lab for blood work.  She did not want to go to Emergency again so after Dynacare we came home.  Her condition continued to worsen to the point where I finally called for an ambulance.  The ambulance was here quickly and I'm glad it was.  Kelly didn't even have the strength to stand up.  Her blood pressure was way down so they right away started an IV line.  It was at this point she started throwing up a lot of blood.  I should mention, this all took place in our small bathroom.  They were finally able to get her strapped into a medical wheelchair in preparation for placing her on a stretcher outside.  At this point, I was able to help when the paramedics had me act as the IV tree.  Slowly, with one paramedic on either end of the chair and me carrying high the IV bag, we moved out of the small bathroom into the hall through the kitchen, out onto the porch, and down the steps.  It was here they placed Kelly on a stretcher and then into the ambulance.  By this time Kelly was feeling a touch better after having brought up the blood.  And, whatever was in the IV bag was helping.  Because of her low blood pressure, it was standard procedure to take her to the nearest hospital which in this case is in Clinton Ontario.

I went to the Clinton Hospital shortly after 6 p.m. tonight.  Kelly was still in Emerge.  She's feeling very sick and is having bad stomach pains, and said this is the sickest she has ever felt.  More IV lines had been started and her low blood pressure was 97 over 51.  Also, her hemoglobin level had dropped to 63 (it should not be below 70) which for her means she will have to undergo a blood transfusion or transfusions at some point,  I stayed a couple hours hoping they would know where she is going to be transferred to and when.  The Stratford Hospital was mentioned but they are hoping to get her to London as soon as possible.  The Nurse said she would phone later tonight when they knew for sure what they were going to do.  I could tell Kelly's positive attitude had slipped.

Also, I called Aunt Jean late this afternoon and she is not doing well either.  She is down to 93 pounds, is feeling very weak and tired, staying in her room, and sleeping a lot.  I could tell her always positive attitude was slipping as well.

It's been a difficult day.  I'll know more tomorrow.................     

TO SEE WHAT WE CAN SEE

 A LONE CROW FLYS OVER A RECENTLY CUT HAYFIELD

Last night being a beautiful summer's evening I had a hankerin' to take a drive out into the countryside to see if I could catch me a Moonrise.  I headed straightaway to Towerline Road where there happens to be a high hill.  I had checked beforehand on the Moonrise time and sure enough, the Moon was punctual.  But unlike the Moonrises in the clear and cool air Of Arizona, this Moon came up in an orange smoky haze and quickly disappeared into a low cloud cover.  I wasn't able to get a clear detailed Moon shot but I'll include a few pics I did get anyway.  No matter though, it was just nice getting out for an evening's summer drive. Oh, by the way, the Moon doesn't 'comes up'.  The Earth 'rotates down':))

 I AM ON A HILL LOOKING EAST TOWARD A STOP SIGN ON PARR LINE

I could already feel the humidity in the air when I woke up this morning so I knew it was going to be another predictable day.  Car ride in the morning followed by staying inside for the afternoon reading.  And, so it was.  

 IN OUR PARK THIS MORNING

ROADSIDE WILDFLOWERS

Pheebs and I headed out on our all too familiar country roads again this morning but despite the familiarity, we do always enjoy each other's company and love being outside each and every morning heading off somewhere to see what we can see.

 AN ODD LOOKING CLOUD IN A BLUE SKY SUNDAY MORNING

 A FEW WINDING ROADS THIS MORNING

A SUNDAY MORNING FARMER CUTTING HAY

 I HAVE ALWAYS LIKED THE LOOKS OF THIS FARMYARD

 A NICE ARRAY OF FLOWERS AT THIS FARM HOUSE

 A SWEEPING CORN FIELD

Our wanderings this morning took us southeast of Bayfield along a few of our favorite roads with a stop at one of our old walking places, The Linwood Wildlife Reserve area.  Strangely enough, there never seems to be any annoying Deer Flies or Mosquitoes here despite the trees, long grass, and farmer's crops.  It's an easy walk and it's not a long walk, so for we two older Senior dogs, it is always a nice pleasantly easy stroll through nature.

 APPLE LANE

 THE HEDGEROW WE WALK BESIDE AT LINWOOD HAS APPLE, PEAR, AND BERRY TREES IN IT

 I WONDER IF THESE BROWN APPLES ARE CHOCOLATE FLAVORED:))

WE DON'T SEE MANY PEAR TREES ANYMORE BUT THERE IS ONE IN THE HEDGEROW

 I SEE A BABY FACE APPLE HERE

 BERRIES, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT KIND

For the second day in a row, Kelly has come back after her morning Pheebs walk feeling dizzy and fatigued.  She has signs of internal bleeding again but is determined not to go back to the hospital and go through what she did a week ago, and the times before that.  Here is the stage her liver disease is at having to do with, Portal Hypertension.  Portal hypertension is one of the most serious complications of advanced liver disease. Scar tissue in your liver (cirrhosis) compresses the blood vessels running through it and reduces their blood flow. This affects many other organs throughout your body. It can cause serious internal bleeding and other problems.  How serious is portal hypertension?  The complications of portal hypertension can be life-threatening, especially internal bleeding. Not everyone will have these complications, but the risk increases as portal hypertension increases. The greater the pressure, the more enlarged your veins become and the more likely they are to rupture. Portal hypertension is the most common cause of hospitalization and death in people with cirrhosis.  Congestive Gastropathy.  Congestive gastropathy describes swollen and congested blood vessels in your stomach lining that are prone to rupture, causing frequent bruising and bleeding. It produces a mosaic-like pattern of lesions in your mucosa due to chronic wounding, and it can cause significant blood loss. It’s also called portal hypertensive gastropathy because portal hypertension is usually the cause. (Portal hypertension is most often a side effect of liver disease.)   

Al's Music Box:)) That Sunday That Summer is a swing ballad, written by Joe Sherman and George David Weiss and was the highest charting version by Nat King Cole. It was recorded on May 16, 1963 at Capitol Records in Los Angeles with a Ralph Carmichael arrangement. The song was released on August 31st of the same year.

 CORN STALKS ARE APPROACHING THE SIX-FOOT LEVEL (NO I AM NOWHERE NEAR SIX FOOT)

GROANER'S CORNER:(( While attending a Marriage seminar dealing with communication, Jack and his wife, Barb, listened to the instructor. “It is essential that husbands and wives know the things that are important to each other.” He addressed the man, “can you describe your wife’s favorite flower?” Jack leaned over, touched his wife’s arm gently and whispered, “Its Pillsbury isn’t it?”

- I took my cat’s meds by accident...Don’t ask meow.

Hospital regulations require a wheel chair for patients being discharged. However, while working as a student nurse, I found
one elderly gentleman already dressed and sitting on the bed with a suitcase at his feet, who insisted he didn't need my help to leave the hospital.  After a chat about rules being rules, he reluctantly let me wheel
him to the lift.  On the way down I asked him if his wife was meeting him.  'I don't know,' he said. 'She's still upstairs in the bathroom changing out of her hospital gown.'
----------------------------------

===================================