Happy Easter

Howdy Everyone! So ... update on our lives since I last blogged. We've had both bad and good news. First, Friday before last, March 14th, Mom (Karen) was admitted to the hospital after having had chest pains and shortness of breath for several weeks and a pacemaker was put in. She did really well and was released from the hospital on Friday, but then on Sunday, the 16th, she was having horrible pain in the middle of her chest, shoulders and chin so the doctor said to meet him at the ER. Dave and I went over there as well and after several tests, it was determined that she had 2 blood clots in her lungs. They may have come from the pacemaker surgery, but it's not really known. Luckily they saw what was wrong and were able to put her on some blood thinners. She finally left the hospital last Thursday, the 20th, and seems to be doing really well now overall. Praise God!!

In the midst of all this, I saw my doctor for some odd pain I've been having in my hip. My hip has been "giving out" if you will for the last year or so at odd times when I'm walking. But in the last 3 weeks, it has become more and more frequent and I also started having pain in my lower back. Probably caused by the odd limp I have when walking. So ... saw the doctor and based on the symptoms I gave, he guessed arthritis and possible hip replacement surgery. Wow! That was a shocker! So he sent me down to the x-ray lab and the tech told me he saw the joint out of the socket and very little cartilige left, but he'd let the doctor diagnose. I went to the orthopedic surgeon the next day (last Wednesday the 19th) and after another set of x-rays from right before my appointment, he said I had moderate to severe arthritis, very little cartilige left, bone spurs and will likely need a new hip. He ordered an MRI to confirm everyone's thoughts which I had this morning (March 24th) and I see him again Wednesday afternoon to discuss options. The cool thing is that if I do need the surgery, he and his partner are the only doctors in the state of Colorado and only 5 nationwide that do a minimally invasive procedure and I will have the surgery and be out of the hospital the next day and then trade in my cane 2 weeks later! How fortunate I am to have been referred to these guys!! I'll keep you posted on the final decisions made after Wednesday's appointment.

On to happier things ... Happy Easter! Ours was beautiful! Mom & Dad went to church with us and sat with Dave ... I somehow managed to stand with the choir and sing even with my pain. I wanted to repeat the performance on Sunday AM with the 3 services, but decided it was just too much. But Saturday night was terrific! Then Mom & Dad came back to our house for an Easter Eve dinner. And then yesterday, Easter, we went to Jen and Ralph's and watched the kiddos hunt their Easter eggs and open their Easter baskets. We had a wonderful brunch with French toast, turkey bacon, fruit salad, banana bread, and juices and coffee. It was great! And we had a wonderful time. Here are some pictures of the kids.

We then had our friends Liz & Geoff over for a traditional Easter dinner last night which was wonderful fun as well. What a great weekend!

Hope everyone else enjoyed the time with family and friends too. Talk to you again soon.