4th of July and Better Half is in Hospital

Today is Independence Day, the 4th of July and the Better Half is in St. Joseph's Hospital, Syracuse, NY, recovering from surgery. She had a section of large colon removed after a few years of problems with diverticulosis/ diverticulitis. 

This is the surgery waiting room at St. Joe's hospital in Syracuse, NY. It's and older part of the place and is visually interesting. 

She is doing well and  was up walking around 24 hours after the 7 hour surgery.

Tuesday July 2nd the operation was done by Dr. Dantu. 

Strawberry short cake at sister Sue's

I visited the Better Half in the hospital today and at 3:00 went to sister Sue's place in Utica area.Sister Carol was there as well as Sue's granddaughter E. We had grilled steak, salad, salt potatoes and strawberry short cake. It was all yummy. Headed home to Chaumont about 7:00, arrived at 9:00.

Doctor's Appointment Leads To Wheel Balancing

 Friday April 12th we had to take a drive to Syracuse for a doctors appointment for the Better Half.  We took the trip with her 2019 Kia Sorento. At 60 mph or so there was a vibration in the steering wheel. At 70+mph the vibration was distinct, pronounced. Past experience lead me to believe we had a bad tire or unbalanced wheel(s). So Monday the 15th I dropped the vehicle off to Cheney Tire in Watertown. They checked it out and found two wheels that were well out of balance. They rotated the tires, balanced the wheels and the bill came to $77.76 which I thought was reasonable.  Friday the 19th we leave on a road trip to the Outer Banks in North Carolina.

The bill for balancing and rotating the tires / wheels on our 2019 Kia Sorento

On another note Cheney tire was recently sold to Steve Shannon Tire and Auto Centers.The doctor visit was a consultation in regard to the Better Half's off and on again diverticulitis.

Health Items: Diverticulitis Flare Up, Spot Removed From Face

So Saturday, January 27, 2024 the Better Half was sick to her her stomach for most of the day. The next couple days eating was not agreeing with her. Then we remembered past event like this and thought it might be a flareup of diverticulisis. Dr. prescribed an antibiotic, did blood test. She wasn't improving so Tuesday Feb. 6 we went to Carthage Hospital emergency room. The place was empty so took her right in. 5 hours later she was transported to Wynn Hospital in Utica, NY. Some IV antibiotics for treatment, a cat scan and other stuff concluded it was diverticulitis. I drove her home Thursday evening, arriving around 7:30. 

Bandage on my face where spot was removed by dermatologist. I've had quite few spots removed from my face over the years. 

Today (Friday) I had a crusty spot on my right cheek removed at Northern Nurse Practitioners in Watertown. They sent it out to a lab to check for skin cancer.  Hopefully it's no more than an actinic keratosis. 

Weather today was mostly sunny with high temp of 58 degrees. Quite unbelievable really. May be a record high temp. After the spot removal I did some work on Clay St apartment house front porch. 

The evening sky at 5:30 today behind our house in Chaumont, NY

The Day Before Thanksgiving, November 21, 2018 (Better Half Goes to the Hospital)

Our plan for Thanksgiving was to cook an early turkey dinner, eat it, then go visit her daughter's families. We would start by making some of the side dishes the day before. Here is how the day went. I got up and had coffee with some guitar practice for bit an hour. I gather some kindling wood and get the wood stove fired up. I worked for a bit on a jigsaw puzzle Copely House. Then I get a call from brother R. He needs to work on his truck, changing the water pump, and would not be able to feed our mother lunch. "Can you go up there?", he asked. Of course I can, but that wasn't part of my plan for the day. (I don't tell him that) The Better Half and I go to visit my mother at Hospice of Jefferson County. We get there at noon and find the staff fed Mom lunch a little early. No problem. We try to initiate some conversation and just sit with her for an hour or so.

Jig saw puzzle in progress at our home in Chaumont, NY. 

while waiting for the stove fire to get going strong. I was also eating bologna sandwich.  At 10:00 I have a guitar lesson with a 9 year old boy at the

My mother and The Better Half at Hospice of Jefferson County, Watertown, NY.  iPhone 6 photo by Gary Walts

On the way home we stop at Dollar General story for a couple items we had forgotten to get earlier in the week. One of those items were Klondike Bars, those really delicious chocolate covered ice cream squares. Now let me back up a bit. The Better Half has had some problems for the last couple weeks with diverticulitis, an infection in her colon. She has had problems eating because most foods irritate her and cause her discomfort. Ice cream has been quite agreeable with her. We each have a Klondike Bar. Then she begins making stuffing for Thanksgiving. However, she has started feeling uncomfortable. I should note that she had also taken some Milk of Magnesia. She's not sure what is causing the discomfort.As she wrks in the kitchen it gets worse so she lies down to relax a bit. I start make a Cole Slaw for tomorrow. Then a I cut in half some acorn squashes and slather them maple syrup, salt & pepper, pop them in the oven. Next, I put some sweet potatoes into a pot of boiling water. Soon the Better Half says she thinks we nee to go to the emergency room. She is getting a serious diverticulitis attack. So off we go. My sweet potatoes are only half cooked. I drain them. We leave. At the hospital she has a number of tests, and different things and before you know it, it's 1:00am. She will be admitted to the hospital. By the time I get home it is 2:00am and all I've had to eat was that bologna sandwich back in the morning. I take care f a few things in the kitchen and hit the sack. What a long day it turned into.