Happy Birthday Mom !

Today is mom’s 89th birthday. She hasn’t been feeling well lately. She has a lot of pain in her back and can’t stand for very long. Since we’ve been home, we’ve taken her to the doctor’s several times to try to get to the bottom of her pain and she has another appointment next week where they might fit her with a back brace. Her family doctor said that she has severe scoliosis of the spine and the vertebrae are twisting around and causing the pain. In a recent trip to the ER we found that she has an old compression fracture in her back so that probably isn’t helping either. Since we’ve gotten back to the area, we’ve taken over mowing her lawn for her. She has about an acre of grass to mow and bouncing around on the mower was not helping her back at all so we told her we’d do it for her.
My mom has always had a green thumb and loves the flowers that she has around her house. Linda and I weeded out the front bed and mulched it really well so that the weeds won’t be so bad for her, since she can’t bend over and work in them anymore. It’s tough to see her in so much pain and not know how we can help her. Tomorrow she is going to the casino with my sister and we’re going to have a surprise waiting for her when she gets back. We drove by this gardening place today and stopped to look around. They had this lily that has huge, dinner plate size blossoms on it and the greatest fragrance. We bought it and a purple butterfly bush to put in an empty spot that mom has right off the deck where she can see it. She hasn’t seen many of her flowers this summer, that are out in the yard, because she’s afraid to walk out there by herself…for fear of falling. This way she can see it from the deck as it blossoms and it is loaded with blossoms !
Mom thought that a new, adjustable bed, would help her get a good night’s sleep so she bought one and the guys delivered it and set it up. I think she’s spent maybe two nights in it since she got it. It’s too hard for her to get in it and get situated where she’s comfortable so she just spends her nights in her recliner. I hope that the doctor can figure out something for her this next week that will get rid of the pain and make it easier for her to get around.
Linda and I have been busy the last few weeks. We’ve trained two different teams since being home and they are now out, working jobs and doing great. One couple is originally from Pennsylvania and the other couple is from Texas. We love helping these teams get a great start on their new career with AGS and seeing them do well. We feel like proud parents that send their kids out into the world to make their way.

Today Linda had to help out at the Grand Canyon Marathon, working a water station at the first stop. I went along to help out. She volunteers with a group called Haven of Tioga County, which is a group for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. There were 600 runners signed up for today’s race but I don’t think they all showed up. Today it was a half marathon of 13.1 miles and tomorrow is a qualifying event for the Boston marathon with about 200 people running 26.2 miles. We had to get up at 4:30 and be in Wellsboro at 6:00 a.m. but we were all done by 8:00. It was a fun morning.

 

 I guess it’s been a while since I’ve put a post on the blog. The week of July 4th, we took the rig up to Seneca Falls for Linda’s family get together. It was great to see everyone…some I hadn’t seen some for over a year. Last summer I had gone to Terra Haute, for my organic gardening internship, and didn’t have a chance to see many of Linda’s family. The weather was really hot and humid the first few days we were there and then we got a break and the temps dropped back into the 70’s and was very comfortable.


Some of her relatives only come to visit once a year so it’s a special time for all of them to get together. Lots of great memories were made this summer…..
My scars keep healing and getting better. I rub some of the bee bar, that my brother gave me, on them each day to help to soften them. In the near future I’d like to go to a massage therapist and see if she can help the numbness and nerve pain. The pain has gotten much better but just the feel of material on my underarm sometimes is really irritating….just the feeling against my skin. I want to make sure that the tissue is really healed up well before I go but I think it would be beneficial. We are staying in Mansfield, at Bucktail Camping Resort, for a while so that we can be close to mom and help her with errands and appointments. She hasn’t driven since she fell at the end of May and has had frequent doctors appointments to try and get her pain under control. Life goes on and we’re rolling along, taking what comes. We’re thankful to have time with family and enjoy life.