Hello 2012!
Published January 1, 2012 | 
The beginning of a new year and I remember when I was much younger and trying to visualize my life at the turn of the century! Here it is 2012!
We had a big Thanksgiving and Christmas with friends and family. Everyone came to our house and it was fun with all the little ones. Five little girls all under the age of 5 running and playing all through the house!
There were many significant changes to my life during 2011. I lost my dad in June, just a month after putting him in a nursing home. He was at Western Hills in Comanche for only 2 weeks and in Comanche County Medical Center for 2 weeks before he died of complications from a urinary tract infection. My mom is experiencing dementia and I brought her home to live with me which is an ongoing experience to say the least!
My brother, Quentin, and his wife, Susan, lost Susan’s mom, Virginia, in October of this year. Virginia was a very vibrant person who loved to travel and was very involved with her family. She became very ill in the late spring and early summer when she was diagnosed with Pulmonary Fibrosis. Virginia had just returned from a trip to Italy with my niece, Ann, Quentin and Susan’s youngest daughter. It was quite a shock for the entire family as none of us would have ever suspected that Virginia was ill with a terminal disease. I loved having her join our entire family for any occasion.
At the first of November JR was not feeling well and I rushed him to Denton Regional Hospital as soon as I got home from Virginia’s funeral. He had yet another abdominal aortic aneurysm and had an emergency surgery. We had to wait a couple of days before surgery as he takes Coumadin to thin his blood. This is his third aortic aneurysm after one AAA rupture and another thoracic aneurysm and aortic heart valve repair. As his heart surgeon says… “You just can’t kill him!” He’s like the Energizer Bunny…he just keeps going and going! Of course his surgery with a new doctor, as he had it done in Denton instead of Baylor, was a”JR moment” not soon to be forgotten…but that is a story for another time.
Then as a final blow to the year we lost Beth Renshaw in December. Beth is Kent’s ex-wife and stepmom to my kids. Beth was diagnosed with colon cancer about 2 ½ years ago and never got a break through several rounds of chemo and surgeries. She and Kent have two precious kids, Lee, their son who is 19 a freshman at De Pauw University, and daughter, Loranne, who is a sophomore in the Plano ISD. Beth was a 5th grade teacher and was named Plano ISD Elementary School Teacher of the Year in 2009. She was a very special person and teacher…much loved by all.
But with the sad challenges…there are many good things that have happened during the year!
I’m going to be a grandmother, or Mimi…as my grandkids call me…again. Amanda and Rob are expecting their second child in July. We are excited that Rob has a new job…but it is in North Dakota.
Jason and Michele built a new home in Prosper. It is beautiful and they are enjoying it with their girls. For Christmas they bought me a ticket to go with Michele to a Neil Sperry Workshop in January which should be fun.
I am adding Lee and Loranne to our immediate family…well they have always been a part of our extended family…they came with Beth to many gatherings…but I’m claiming them as my own…I just love these two kids! We all had a fun time on Thanksgiving weekend when Beth decided to have a party with many of her friends and family. We went out in the country near Denison to her friend’s place for hot dogs and birthday cake to celebrate Lee’s birthday. Then Lee and Loranne came to spend Christmas with us for our family Christmas.
Then to round out things around our house…in about 3 weeks I will be getting a new member of the family. My precious daughter, Jenna, bought me a Basset Hound puppy for Christmas. We had a Basset for 14 years and she was the delight of our family. It has been a little quiet at our house the past year without Hoopty. I’m thinking of names…Cupcake, Dumpling, or maybe Darlene…something appropriate for a female Basset Hound.
We are dog people…Jason has 2 Bassets…Noel and Samsonite (Sami) along with Michele’s dog, Becca. Amanda has Shasta, a feisty little Pomeranian mix. Jenna has her Doberman, Waylon, and her beagle mix, Bailey…we have Shadow, a Chow mix and Roscoe, a Basset mix. I will never forget the Christmas the kids brought all their dogs…if you can only imagine 7 dogs running through the house! How times have changed…now my kids bring their kids and we have 4 or 5 little kids running through the house laughing and screaming along with the barking dogs!
So… 2012 is off to an exciting start with many good things on the horizon!
An Early Morning Call
Published September 10, 2011 | 
Chapter 7
Mother spoke with Daddy for a several minutes after he called her back to his hospital room before we left Comanche for the trip home to my house near Decatur on Sunday afternoon. She didn’t want to leave but she was consoled to some degree by telling her that Daddy was in a nice place with people caring for him and the reality that he had not much concept of time. I assured her that we would visit again soon probably the next weekend.
During the previous weeks Western Hills and Comanche County Medical Center were so good to keep in close touch with me regarding Daddy. They called frequently to ask questions about him or to update me on his condition. That made it much easier to deal with being so far away.
After returning home to Decatur on Sunday I was awakened the following Friday morning by a phone call about 7:30 A.M. It was the hospital calling to say that Daddy was dying. We needed to come if we could get there in time. After quickly calling Bob and Kay to ask them to go since we were hours away I called both my brothers to let them know the situation. At 7:43 I called the hospital back to let them know that Bob was on his way. They told me that he was already there but that Daddy had died. His doctor was with him and had tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate him. They were not aware that I had signed a DNR the day he was admitted to Western Hills just in case of this sort of medical emergency.
This news was shocking since his nurses had told us he seemed to be getting better each day. I called Quentin and Ric to tell them the news. JR came into my bedroom to question why I was on the phone so early in the morning. After talking to him for a few minutes the next thing would be to break the news to Mother.
For quite some time I have considered how I would feel about losing my parents. They were both getting up in years and it was just a matter of time before I would be faced with this situation. It surprised me not feeling so emotional about his death but rather a sense of relief. He was not the person I knew lying in the hospital and nursing home and it was hard to see this always vibrant person in that condition.
The mental message I sent to him when we visited at Western Hills after that first week came to mind…that it was OK for him to go…he did not have to live in that physical and mental condition. At that point there was no need to prolong his life for our sake…there was no quality of life and I knew that he wouldn’t want to live under these circumstances. My dad had always been a person of great faith and that made it easier to let go knowing that he would be in a better place.
His own father lingered in a horrible situation after a massive stroke left him in a semi-comatose state for 9 long years. Daddy would not have wanted that for himself or his family after the experience with his own Dad.
Taking a deep breath…I went to Mother’s room and woke her by sitting on the edge of her bed explaining to her exactly what had taken place in the last 30 minutes and that Daddy had died. She was emotional but took the news fairly well although she questioned why his nurses had told us he seemed to be getting better. Assuring her he was not alone…Bob and his doctor were both there with him during his last moments. I’m sure it was somewhat comforting for her to know that his doctor had tried to resuscitate him…she was not aware that a DNR was in place.
She got up and dressed while I made a few calls to the funeral home handling his arrangements. Mother and Daddy decided years ago they wanted to be cremated. During the past couple of years JR had dealt with the deaths of his daughter and his ex-wife’s husband and I had made all the arrangements for their cremation. I was prepared and experienced to know what I needed to do for Daddy.
It dawned on me to call my friend June to let her know about the situation. Making the call and telling her the news while standing at the window in my sun room. Someone was turning in our driveway.
She said, “I’m almost to your house. I’ll be right there!”
JR had called her…I don’t know whether it was the fact that he unsure about his capability to deal with my dad’s death, anticipating the possibility of two emotional old women, or most likely the fact that he just couldn’t keep his mouth shut and had to call someone. But nonetheless…June was here and came in to hear all the details of the morning.
Pouring her a cup of coffee we sat around our breakfast table in the sun room discussing the situation. Mother came in a few minutes later to join us while JR poured her a cup of coffee. Even with the eventful morning I thought to ask if anyone wanted some breakfast. Not much deters our family when it comes to food and we usually manage to arrange any situation or occasion to include a meal.
JR mentioned that we had Lemon Filled Angel Food Cake in the refrigerator. June thought that sounded like a really good breakfast…so we all sat around the kitchen table eating cake before 9:00 A.M. hashing over the events of the morning and even laughed a little bit remembering funny stories about our family and Daddy. He would have loved it!
<Start at the beginning
Remembering my dad
to be continued…
