Tag Archives: surgery

carpet…

21 Monday Jul 2025

Posted by in health, life, moments, nature, retirement, technology, Uncategorized, weather

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

this morning a memory came up reminding me that on this day thirteen years ago, I came home following a dual surgery just a few days before… as always, drugs were more trouble than they were useful for me… I had stopped taking everything the day following the surgery as pain is easier to deal with than the side effects of most drugs…

a friend had come and replaced the carpet on the front steps while I was in the hospital…

over the years it had taken a beating and just recently we removed that carpet…

it looks rather dreadful at the moment, but this coming weekend the plan is to install new carpeting so it looks good again…

can hardly wait, lol…

without…

18 Thursday Jul 2024

Posted by in family, health, life, loss, moments, retirement, Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

it was twelve years ago today that I had surgery for a hernia and a hysterectomy… it took a while to get organized as two different surgeons were required to work together so that both issues could be taken care of at the same time…

it was particularly difficult because it was the first time I went through a serious health issue without my beloved there to support and look after me…

thinking back to that time, I realize how far I have come and how well I am doing now…

I still miss him every single day…

Build-A-Bear…

10 Thursday Mar 2022

Posted by in business, family, health, life, loss, moments, nature, retirement, technology, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

this morning I watched a couple of bunnies on the deck looking for something to eat, so I tossed out a few carrots that I broke up for them…

I checked back a bit later and discovered one enjoying the treat…

reminded me of the bunny in the den… it is one of those Build-A-Bear animals that the boys and I had made when my beloved had his heart surgery…

the staff in the cardiology unit had recommended a pillow for him to hold against his chest when he coughed and we thought the bunny would be great… it worked well and he liked it;-)…

it wears scrubs, although a few pieces of the clothing have gone missing, lol…

it is a sweet reminder of a difficult, but special, time…

miles…

29 Saturday Jan 2022

Posted by in health, life, loss, moments, retirement, Uncategorized, weather

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

these days I get my steps walking the figure eight in the living and dining rooms…

I was wondering how many trips have been made around these two rooms…

they started when my beloved returned home from his heart surgery, and were short and slow as he regained his strength…

then there were the walks I took as I slowly regained my strength following my cancer surgery just months after he had gone… again, the steps were slow and difficult… took a long time before I could climb the stairs or go out onto the deck…

I walked on the treadmill in the basement before work since being diagnosed with diabetes… I overdid it for a while and my hips and knees can get a bit grumpy if I walk too fast, or too long, so I spend less time on it now…

during the cold weather over the last few years this has been my track… I find walking in the light is a positive encouragement to get the steps in…

how many miles has it been… maybe it is good that it is hardwood and not a carpet that might have ended up with a path in it, lol…

forty-two…

24 Saturday Jul 2021

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Facebook brought up some interesting memories on this day from the last number of years…

eleven years ago it was a mention of spending the night at the hospital and having a procedure the following day… it doesn’t say that would be the first of forty–two days that I spent in that same hospital…

ten years ago we were in Courtenay, BC learning how to cook octopus, as we gathered fresh shrimp for our supper…

nine years ago, I was home recovering from a big surgery unable to lift even a couple of pounds, with a friend staying over to look after me;-)…

four years ago, I was watching my grandson participate in his first rowing competition…

quite the variety, lol…

September…

30 Sunday Sep 2018

Posted by in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I’ve been thinking about September… it has been a good month for me… as a kid I always liked starting school… and as a parent I also enjoyed when the girls headed back to school….

I started with my current employment on September 30, 2009…

following an eight week time away with pancreatitis and gall bladder surgery, I returned to work on September 28, 2010…

after a second surgery and being away from work for ten weeks, I returned September 27, 2012…

hadn’t realized how close those dates were until Facebook reminded me of the above facts…

usually the weather is beautiful as the leaves slowly change colour… this year there’s been a lot more rain and temperatures have plummeted…

one of the things I miss is the fall drive that my beloved and I would often take to enjoy the colours…

happily for me the sun is peeking out of the clouds off and on today;-)…

classic…

24 Tuesday Jul 2018

Posted by in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, travel, Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

wondering if the reason I’ve been missing my beloved so much lately has to do with the social media reminders of how difficult Julys have been for me…

he was always there to look after me…

eight years ago today I had a procedure which gave me pancreatitis and kept me in hospital for six weeks… my beloved came everyday and often brought photos of the morning glories that were blooming that day… this was by far the most painful health experience of my life and I cannot imagine how I would have managed without him…

six years ago in July I had surgery for cancer and to repair a hernia… he wasn’t there to support me for that one…

but I also remember the wonderful trip we had in July of 2011 when we went to Courtenay to visit the kids… we saw hundreds of classic cars, walked among the huge redwoods, went up the chairlift on Mount Washington and lived to tell the tale… anyone who knows us would know how afraid of heights we both were, and I still am…

a glorious time…

so amongst the dark times there were also some great times…

really, how blessed have I been…

appetite…

18 Wednesday Jul 2018

Posted by in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

this morning I was reminded that six years ago today I had surgery to remove my uterus and repair a large hernia… just a few months after losing my beloved…

how my life has changed since then…

I did have cancer, but removing the whole thing meant no further treatment needed to happen, other than frequent checkups for the next five years…

for ten weeks I couldn’t lift anything… friends and family came by to do everything that needed to be done…

since then I have been well, although two years later I was diagnosed with diabetes… I’ve lost weight, been more active and changed my diet… thankfully I do not need to take any meds…

tonight, as I ate rice rolls that a colleague brought me, I was reminded of how little I ate during those first weeks… I had no appetite and a friend who came to stay with me worked very hard to find foods that would temp my taste buds, lol…

one of my fondest memories was the day I was able to walk out of the house and into the garden after being stuck inside on the main floor for over a week because I couldn’t manage stairs…

the garden is such a healing place…

deal…

10 Tuesday Apr 2018

Posted by in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

the recent problem with my knee has reminded me of some of the health issues I’ve overcome in the last ten years…

in 2010 I spent six weeks in hospital with pancreatitis and gall bladder surgery… during that time I was constantly throwing up – one of the things I most hate to do… I remember being so scared when we drove away from the hospital, wondering if I would ever feel better… at that time I still had a drainage tube in my side and felt nauseated all the time… but I had my beloved by my side as I slowly recovered…

in 2012 I spent 3 days in hospital when I had a combined hysterectomy and hernia repair… within eight hours of the surgery I had stopped taking any medications… the pain was easier to deal with than the crazy reactions I had to the drugs… this was just a few months after the loss of my beloved… I remember the drive home which was excruciating as we drove over potholes… I couldn’t lift anything for six weeks, had moved into the main floor bedroom and had friends come to stay to look after me… recovery was a slow painful process…

thinking of the events above has pointed out to me that this knee business is really not a big deal, lol…

sometimes looking back can help deal with the present…

what I have learned is that I need to take care of myself when I am not 100%…

sweetie…

08 Tuesday Aug 2017

Posted by in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

seven years ago today I had surgery to remove my gallbladder… I had already been in the hospital for five weeks with pancreatitis but they had to wait till I was a bit stronger… I do believe that was the most serious illness I’ve dealt with, and the sickest I have ever been…

we had been scheduled to go to BC but had to cancel that trip…

George would come to the hospital every day and he would take a picture of the morning glories which were blooming that day before he left home…

today’s picture reminds me of that sweet gift that he brought me each day…


we only had one pot filled with the morning glories and they had just started to bloom around that time…

every morning, as I hunt for the newest blooms, I think back to those days and how my beloved took those pictures for me…

he was a sweetie…