Thank Goodness for Two Year Olds.....

As I said in a previous post entry, a LOT has happened in the last month. I have heard often that God gives you only what you can handle....well, he sure piled it on us lately. But, having a two year-old in the house puts things into prospective very quickly and we all could learn something from a 'little person'.

I don't even remember when it was but sometime in March I got the flu. Yeah, so much for the flu shot!! It was NASTY!! It was a good 7-10 days of sweating that out but did come away 5 lbs. lighter (but a heck of a way to do it). Because of  Mr. Flu, we missed a visit from our good friends, Eric and Mary. We had reserved a condo here for their two-day stay. Wanted to show them the sights, take in a show, do some shopping but that all fell apart. Eric, who has heart problems certainly did not need to be around  the flu even though I was starting to recover. That's ok....there will be another time and besides, they don't live that far from us.

Also missed my trip to Georgia to visit my sister. We had planned on going to the Sewing Expo in Atlanta but after driving the few times around here, being light-headed from not feeling good, I decided that I just could not make the 3 hour trip there and back, especially alone. So, I will see Georgia some other time.....I mean, it ain't going anywhere!

Then Grandpa ended up in the hospital for 6 days. He collapsed at the doctor's office when I took him in because he had not been feeling well so they transported him to UT Medical Center in Knoxville, via ambulance. He was upset because they didn't use the blaring siren on the trip while I followed the ambulance shaking in my car. Yeah, I know.....could have smacked him! Anyways, he was diagnosed with heavy pneumonia and anemia which made sense since his skin color was yellow. His blood counts were all whacked out so they decided to admit him. Well, 4 units of blood, platelets, intravenous fluids and antibiotics he was able to come home but with the scary diagnosis of maybe a form of leukemia. Let me tell you......I felt like the rug had been ripped out from under me!  I mean, he is my world, my 'one and only', we have been together since we were 16. I didn't know which way to turn. Luckily, Shelly was here to keep me from losing it along with my sister and quilt club friends.

 

Grandpa was sent home on a chemo drug which could have caused his hair to fall out like other chemo drugs so we decided to beat it to the punch and just shave his head. Here he is before and after and actually, I like the after a lot better.........and look how 'rosey' he looks. Believe me...he DID NOT look this healthy when he arrived at the hospital and before he got all the transfusions.

 

However........we have had some great news. He had an appointment with the cancer specialist last Thursday and he does not feel that we are looking at leukemia, but is not sure what happened. He was very anemic and his blood counts were off the chart but the doctor feels that something else is going on. On Thursday, his blood counts were very close to normal so he was taken of the chemo drug for two weeks to see if the counts stay the same or go back up. So, we don't KNOW what went on and at this point are in the 'wait and see' mode. But, it was very good news. He says he has not felt this good in months so he had been sick for a while and whatever it was, his body just could not fight it any longer. I'm so glad I made him go to the after hours clinic that Sunday and we got him to the hospital where they could take care of him.

 

And, what did I learn from all of this?????  First, it scared the crap out of me and my outlook on life has changed dramatically. That's where Lexi comes in. Sometimes, you just need to back up and put what's important first and don't sweat the small stuff. We watch Lexi and see how she doesn't have a care in the world and it made us think....that's where we want to be! She is always happy (unless she is throwing a 'terrible two' temper tantrum) and loves her life. Two year-olds are amazing; especially, when they sense how you are feeling. Lexi proved that by coming up to me during all this, touched my cheek and said "I Wuv You". How can you NOT take a lesson from that? And, no more 'would of, could of, should of' for us. We are living for TODAY!

 

So, I think I got you caught up on everything goin on around here.....oh, except for Sparkles which I wrote about in an earlier post. Grandpa will miss her with spring and summer coming up. She was his 'shadow' when he was outside working in the yard. But, we had to do what was best for her too.

 

Talk to you all soon!