Life is really good in Okieland. Better than the day the season opened. Sam and I have been out all week, and the fish gods have smiled upon us. We've been catching them "good". Drag our butts out of bed early and head out to the lake. Thermos of coffee, cheese, crackers, and a beefstick to munch on, and we're in there! We have a 6 fish per person limit, and we do that by noon. Get home, clean "em, and chow down. Tonight was baked rainbow trout stuffed with pesto, onions, and lemon. Tos
Life is good in Okieland! Trout season opened on the first and we're going to make the most of it. Sam & I have been out the past couple days and they have been good. There's a local lake that is VERY accessible for wheelchair folks and we've had a great time!! The state stocks the place with trout, and they are easy to catch. We caught 12 today, all about 10", and came home for a heck of a dinner. These are just hatchery raised fish, not wild trout (which I couldn't even think about k
Merry Christmas to all! Life is good. I'm home for the week. Thought they'd call me out, but I don't have to go back until Tuesday.
Sam and I hit the stores hard and got all our shopping done in a few days. She really gets into it. She knows where to go and what we need to get. I could hammer it out in a few minutes at Bass Pro Shops, but there wouldn't be enough money left for anyone else.
Kids are home, so it's a full house again. We're not used to this much activity anymor
Got home on Saturday and have been busy ever since. I love it!! Went up to see the kids at college Sat afternoon. Took them out shopping. Poor starving students! They have finals this week. Good. Keeps them busy. Wait until you get out into the real world, kiddies!!!
On Sunday, Sam & I went Christmas tree hunting. Got one on the first try. We go to a tree farm and cut our own. Good thing the fields dried out. Pushing her around can be alot of work, especially when she can't
It's been a LOOOONNNNGGGGG couple weeks. After Germany I got sent to LA. Had to drive from LAX to San Diego to pick up a plane and run it up to LAX. Then work the trip from LAX to Toledo. From Toledo, they got me a rental car and I drove to Louisville. Deadhead on the company plane to Palm Beach, Fl the next night. We've been working for UPS from Palm Beach to Louisville and back every night for the past week. I'm BEAT! Have one more leg to go. Get up to Louisville @ midnight and then I
Got into Frankfurt last night and all is well. Called home and the kids got in OK, and my parents are there to take care of Thanksgiving.
We went out this afternoon and walked around town (Morbach). Not much in the way of turkey and stuff, but we did alright.
After dinner I went to a pub for a beer or two (or 3). Paid for 1. Don't really know why, but these folks kept buying my beers. I tried to pick up a few rounds, but they wouldn't let me. Ain't complaining, but I was kind
I've been off for a couple weeks since I got back from Peru. Started to wonder if I still had a job. But the call came. Gotta go to Frankfurt on Wed. Surprise!! I saw that coming a long way off.
Have all the food set up, shopping is done, stuff is ready to go. Kids will be home with Sam. My parents are stopping by on their way back from the Grand Canyon. No problem.
I hope I get to watch football over there, not "futboll". Should be a few places to get a beer in Germany!
Yesterday was three years from the day that changed our lives. Time flies, but I can't believe that it has gone that fast. I got the call in Tokyo and it took what seemed forever to get home. The weeks in ICU dragged by in slow motion. Advanced care was agonizingly slow. Inpatient therapy blew by so fast that we were out before I knew what to do. The appointments, therapy, meds, etc were hitting us faster than I could keep up. We went through more crap in a few months than I have ever do
Got back from Peru last Thursday. A 3 day trip became a week long due to some delays. I didn't mind because Lima is a really nice place. The hotel was 4 blocks from the beach, and in the middle of a busy area, with lots of stuff to do. Clean, safe, and comfortable. I hope I get to go back sometime. Brought the plane back to Toledo, OH, and found out about 3 trips to Ireland that were only for the weekend. They left on Fri and returned on Mon. Nice try. I begged for one of them, but it d
I'm writing from Lima, Peru. Got tagged for a trip to bring an airplane down for a maintenence check. It's really a tough job, but sombody's got to do it. We got here and were supposed to fly out on Friday. but the plane wasn't ready and we won't leave until Wed. There's 4 of us here and we've really been struggling. Havana rum, big Cuban cigars, Argentine steaks. Life is rough. Just got back from a Swiss restaraunt. Steak, veggies, beer. Is there anything else?? It's early spring down
Sam and I have stayed pretty busy this past month. Kids are off to college now, so we can do whatever we want when I'm home. We spent most of the time either fishing or camping in the first part of September. The heat finally broke and the days have been beautiful in OK. Took the tent to one of our local lakes on 8 Sep, just to get out of the house. No TV, computer, cell phone, radio, etc. Just us and the dogs. I don't think it gets any better than that. Fired up the grill and had corn,
That's pretty much the extent of my Spanish. Should have paid attention in school, might come in handy now.
My computer has been down for about a month, and I wanted to see how long I could go without it. It's truly amazing how much we use these things. It was getting on my nerves when I needed to check on something, or do something with my company and I wasn't able to do it.
Sam has done real well in the past few weeks. She's back in PT, and we have new exercises to work some di
It's 20 June, and I'm not even sure May even happened! Got back from Germany and Sam was approved for her AFO. That led to a few PT sessions, and the therapist felt that she was strong enough to return to PT. They were surprised that she had improved so much. I'm not a rocket scientist, but maybe the exercises she does every day might help. Just a thought. She is now going 3 times a week, and may soon be able to handle a walker.
We have been out fishing quite a few times, and the
Got to Philadelphia Mon night around 10, and planned a 10 AM departure to Newark to pick up the load. Stuff wasn't ready in Newark, and didn't leave for Frankfurt until around 4 PM. It was a 7 hour flight to Germany, and was uneventful. Good weather and a smooth ride. Caught a few hours sleep, wandered around the town (Morbach) a little. Nice, small town. It rained, so I didn't get far. Went to a local restaurant for dinner. Schnitzel and mushrooms. I love German food! We had an early d
Put in Sam's garden this past week. Not much, tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, and peas. Trying onions this year. Sure would like a little rain. :farmer:
Daughter was home for the weekend. Actually, she passed thru with enough time to drop off her laundry on her way to see her friends.
Got Sam's AFO sized up, but the insurance company is balking on the coverage. Here we go! Looks like a paper blizzard in the forecast.
Went fishing Fri, Sat, and Sun evenings for a few hours.
Sam had a mold of her foot and leg made to fit an AFO the other day. Need to go back and get a final fitting done next week. Went to the ENT Dr. because her throat is bothering her from where the trach tube was pulled. Couldn't do that all in one sitting. Made another appointment to have a look-see in her larynx, but we can't do that for another 2 weeks. Had an appointment with the neuro-opthomologist (sp?) but now we need to go to another eye Dr. to look at the muscles in her eyelids. Ho
Got back from Sicily on wed night, a couple days later than I expected. A few changes, but it was OK. I'll get to that in a moment.
Sam got back into therapy!!! Found out about that yesterday. Marie took her to a place to look into an AFO, our Dr. wrote out the prescription for it and the therapist, and we're back in business. It's with a PT we had before, so we're pretty happy. Sam works hard and has done alot since her last round of PT. Hope we can keep it going for awhile. We're
Gotta leave for the airport in about 20 minutes. I wasn't really expecting this trip when I left home, but thank God I got most of my normal stuff done before I left the house last week. Sam's doing good. We have a friend who takes care of her during the days when I'm away. I used to have the kids drive her to daycare, but this lady (who is a saint) now comes to the house and hangs out with her. She cooks, does her exercises, and takes her out from time to time. Kids get her up, do breakf
Would have started sooner, but I don't get much time work on these things. But here goes.
A little history: On 1 nov 03, my wife Sam, had a brainstem stroke, and wasn't expected to make it through the night. She was very lucky that my son was in the room when she began to get dizzy. He called 911 immediately, and saved her life. I was in Tokyo at the time, and it took about a day and a half to get home.
Two weeks ICU, 2 months advanced care, and another 3 in in-patient rehab,
