In our earlier post, we stated we’d try to get a post in a week. Maybe more. According to how our day goes! Between radiation treatments, Barry’s doctors appointments and our energy levels; we are lucky to get anything posted. Have patience. I have taken pictures and written posts while sitting around the hospital. A lot of interesting things go on in local hospitals! Just wait……
Category Archives: church/bible
Church-related posts
Our August
- My dad was on Hospice Care and not doing well. He had a nasty cold and with me on chemotherapy, I could not go see him. My immune system was too low.
- The Eighth of August was the start of my nightmare month. While attempting to hook the computer to the television, Barry past out cold, hit his head on the front door and appeared to have a seizure. I could not get 911 fast enough. He was admitted from the ER with an arrhythmia.
- Two mornings later, I received a call from Barry letting me know they had moved him to ICU during the night and were now planning to transfer him to another hospital. No hospital employee ever contacted me.
- Once at the other hospital, he was admitted to their Cardiac Care Unit for close observation.
- Within 2 days. he was having a pacemaker put in.
- At my chemo treatment, it was discovered that I had a blood clot in axillary vein under my right arm. When I went in for my injection after chemo, the doctor felt I needed to go to the ER for evaluation. I was short of breath and had chest pain. At least I got to go to the ER at the hospital Barry was in. I was closer to him, although I couldn’t see him before or immediately after the pacemaker surgery. Our Pastor was the perfect substitute. He is such a gracious man.
- As it turned out, I had pneumonia, thank goodness the blood clot had not moved to my lungs.They wanted to admit me, but I wanted to be with Barry.
- A fever, 103, kept me home for a few days
- He was in bad shape and needed immediate heart surgery
- I could not get there fast enough. I spent the night before with him.
- I found out my dad passed away three hours before Barry’s surgery.
- Our Pastor and an Associate stayed with me during his surgery. They brought coffee and donuts.
- I was driven home, after we saw Barry was stable, by my pastor that night. My fever had popped it’s ugly head up again.
- Our Pastor and an Associate stayed with me during his surgery. They brought coffee and donuts. It stayed with me for the next week.
- Someone from the church, Jason W. and our nephew, Derrek checked on Barry for me while I was out of commission. I was actually chewing on the front door wanting to get to the hospital.
- Once my fever got out the door, I spent the next 4 days at the hospital and ended up being able to take my sweetheart home with me. 20 days after being admitted. I found out the surgery they did was a mercy surgery. Barry was close to death and almost died during the surgery.
- I spent the weekend attending the funeral for my dad.
- On the way home from the hospital, We stopped for gas. We have a diesel Jeep. The station we stopped at was making renovations and still had a diesel sticker on a now unleaded pump. Needless to say, I filled the Jeep with unleaded gas. We were stranded for 4 hours until a wrecker arrived. We arrived home at 11pm.
Is that enough to deal with or do you want more? This isn’t all. My poor pup was home taking care of mom and the house.
We would like to thank everyone that helped make it through this bad, bad month! We love you all!
Through the Grace of our Heavenly Father, we are both alive and kicking. Maybe a little grayer and a I know a lot tired. We are here! Thank you, Dear Lord!
Related articles
- DVT Treatment: Surgery for a Blood Clot (everydayhealth.com)
- Just How Serious Can a Blood Clot Be? (theblaze.com)
- HOSPICE – Dispelling The Myth (gskpulsevolunteers.com)
- Hospice and Palliative Care Joins National Programs to Reduce… (prweb.com)
- Would You Choose Hospice Care or In-Home Euthanasia for Your Pet? (petcarerx.com)
- Surface Behind Monitors (gearslutz.com)
Daily Prompt: Regrets, I’ve Had a Few
What’s your biggest regret? How would your life have been different if you’d made another decision?
Photographers, artists, poets: show us TURNING POINT.
If I had to choose my biggest regret would be my first marriage. When we met, I was head-over-hills in love and could not see a future as anything other than his wife.
I gave up going away to college to stay close to home and be near the man that had swept me off my feet. I even ignored my family to put him ahead of everything else. I left my younger sister and father out in the cold to focus on being a girlfriend and eventually his wife. I should have been around for the two of them, when mom packed up and took off.I missed that time with both of them. Time I can never get back
On the other hand, I was there for my older sister to help when she had the babies. I started a career I love. I am the woman I am toiday, because of the experiences I went through with my ex-husband. I love doing what I do today, because of him. Most importantly, I wouldn’t have been in the area to meet Barry after the divorce. In a sense, my ex lead me to my soul-mate.
I don’t think it is supposed to work that way. Regrets can be good things. They can lead you to a future you were not expecting or they can fill you with longing to change things that are no longer possibke to change.
In my book, don’t look back. Always keep your eyes forward and enjoy your life, You cannot change the past, why regret it?
Six Word Friday: Question
You should never question God’s plan!
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Absolute Worst Two Weeks Of My Life
The past five years were the beginning of our on-going nightmare. It has been one serious medical issue after another.
Two weeks ago, Barry was hooking the computer to the television for us to stream the evening service. Barry suddenly starts to fall straight backwards. I called out to him several times, without response. Barry takes a blood thinner, so he truly did not need a lump on his head.
When his head hit the wooden ledge on the front door, he started convulsing. He ended up on his right side, I checked him for injuries, covered him up with a blanket and got a pillow. After around three minutes, he started coming around. He was quite confused and wanting to know what happened. By this time, I had gotten mom and 911 had been called. They were incredibly slow. Apparently, the county EMS was hopping all night.
Once in the Emergency Room, they got things going. There was something going on with his heart. He had a strange arrhythmia that the hospital felt needed more attention, so he was admitted.
The next night, there was another episode opting a move to the ICU for better observation. I found out about the transfer when Barry called the next morning to say he was being trasferred to Saint Joseph’s Hospital within the next hour.
I got ready and headed to Atlanta, as quickly as I could. My sweetheart does not like hospitals and I knew he would not want to be alone. I stayed with Barry for two nights.
Then I had a chemo treatment and on Saturday, the injection to boost my white blood cells. The day of my chemo treatment, they discovered a blood clot under my right arm. I started the injections they ordered before chemo. The next day my right arm was acting up, so I requested to see the infusion center fellow doctor. Since starting the injections, shortness of breath occurred everytime I preformed a task or stood up to walk. I was concerned the clot had moved to my lung.
I was sent straight to the Emergency Room for evaluation. We chose to go to the hospital Barry was in. He was already downstairs having a pacemaker put in. Due to my injection, I was unable to see Barry before the procedure.
Our wonderful pastor made it just in time. Barry was thrilled to see him coming. While I was being evaluated, my sister went to check on Barry and let him know what was going on. He was worried. I tried to convince him I was fine, but do men ever really hear what their wives say?
I was released with a diagnosis of pneumonia. More drugs to take. Gotta love it! Kristie and I almost ran to his room. Kristie needed to get on the road soon. Not only does she have a husband and two boys, she had taken the role of chief caregiver to our father. Barry wanted me to stay, but I was running a fever. He had more test scheduled for the next day, he’d never know I was there or not.
We headed home and packed a bag. I was ready for the next day. My nephew was picking me up to drop me at the hospital for a few days. I wore a mask when I had the fever, and removed it when I did not. We met Barry’s surgeon that morning. They were scheduling his surgery for morning. During the night, I recieved a call that my father had passed away. After surgery, I would not be able to see him. He would be moved to CVICU and I would not be able to see him freely. His doctor told me to go home and come back when he is stable.
Barry had an abcess in his heart and the wall of his heart was erroding. They had to re-build a section of the heart to be able to get a valve in and they were unable to use the mechanical valve. A pig valve was placed. He has been in ICU for over 6 days and today, they finally got him off the venilator. He was up in a chair last time I spoke to the nurse. Such a huge improvement since last week. I was terrified of loosing him. I lost my father.
My blog post my be scattered, but I will get back to normal soon. Missed you all!
Jill
A Night I Wish Would Just Go Away| Another
After Barry’s stroke in 2011, I was praying that similiar episodes would be at least ten to fifteen plus years down the road. But as we all know, it is not our choice.
God’s plan guides the flow of our lives. We have knowledge of the plan’s existence, but we have no choice in the details or are we given choices of how our plan plays out. God knows. Only he has knowledge of our life plans.
Since 2010, Barry had an aortic valve replacement; a large territory, massive MCA; and now last night, a seizure has been added to the list. The etiology is currently unknown. Other than having every test in the book today, they can’t seem to figure it out. He has swelling on the side of the old stroke, but no other results.
Last night he was connecting the computer to the television, so that we could watch the live stream of our Wednesday night church service. We chose not to go last night because I had run a fever most of the day. He was standing at the computer, near the television when I realized he was falling backwards. I called out to him several times without a response.
I started calling for my mom to help. She called 911 to get an ambulance. He hit the front door, with the back of his head, and started shaking from head to toe. He was kicking his legs and flinging his arms. About five minutes into the seizure, he came out of it and started to talk. He didn’t know what had happened and wanted to know why he was in the floor.
When I wa able to check him out, he has a lump on the back, left side of his head about the size of a grapefruit. It is still swollen today, but getting tender. He is having a little pain in his left shin. They said they were going to do an ultrasound to make sure he isn’t forming a clot. He started getting back to normal, but I made him lie still until the ambulance arrived.
They checked him out, loaded him up and headed to the hospital. We’ve been here since nine o’clock last night. He rested well, I just want info on the problem! Wish us luck! An Associate Pastor came out from church. We had a nice visit. He has had a few calls from other church members.The Good Lord is with us, but please keep us in your prayers! Thanks to all of you for your continued support and kindness!
Jill B.
Writing Through Cancer | For the Week of August 4, 2013: Can It Get Any Worse?
Can it get any worse? Maybe so, but then again, maybe not. Hope keeps us moving ahead, one step at a time. Think of a times you were dealt bad news, your own or someone else’s? How did you first react? How did you get through a difficult period in your life? What helped? How did you find the strength—even hope—to cope and begin to heal? How did you find a way to reverse the course and bit by bit, make your life better?
When life decided I needed to make lemonade, someone had a truck load of lemons delivered and dumped them by garage door. I guess for easy access from the kitchen. God knows I have trouble walking, I guess he was just trying to help out.
Hope keeps you going, but the Lord above is raining that hope down on our situation. We need a good saturation of hope. Through our bible studies and attending church regularly, I think we are finally relaxing as issues occur and giving things to God.
Dealing with my diagnosis has becomes easier daily. I’m adapting the attitude. when
I am working on handing all my issues over to the Good Lord above. Currently Barry and I need all the help we can get. It seems like everyday day gets a little tougher.
If you follow our blog, you know our history, but what you do not know is that my mother lives with us. She has her separate living space, but has no boundaries. Mom is newly diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and the beginning stages of Lewy Body Dementia. If interested. to find out more about Lewy Body Dementia, follow the following link, http://www.lbda.org/
It was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. Leaving mom at a hospital to treat mental health issues. That’s my mommy! I’m supposed to take care of her. I cried the entire day we took her over to the hospital.
On top of managing chemotherapy for breast cancer, managing my mom’s care, making sure Barry is OK and assisting my sister when I can with my dad; Barry and I do what we can to help out at church. We are slowly working into volunteering more often, as my energy level rises. We are truly enjoying it.
My dad has been given an undetermined amount of time to live. He is suffering from heart, kidney and liver failure. He has moved into my younger sister’s extra room and monitored by hospice. If anyone needs help with anything, please let me know. Barry and I will see what we can do.
When we first found out about dad, it was the day I found out I have breast cancer. I didn’t know what to do or how to feel. Dealing with the two is a t of emotion to handle at once.
Talking with my sister’s and my blog has helped me pull through this mess. We are taking one day at a time, one problem at a time. We are all hoping daddy will surprise us all, and turn things around. Hope keeps us going, but knowing his salvation will bring peace to each of us.
On chemotherapy, I have not been able to aid my sisters as much as I would like to with dad. The brunt of his care has fallen on Sandy and Kristie. They both know I would be right there with them if I could, dad knows to. My daddy knows I love him. Barry lost his father at a young age. He is my rock, my strength as usual.
I’ll finish this up tomorrow. I’m pooped. Sweet dreams. Mom has gained a little weight. We need to take her dress shopping tomorrow. Could be interesting.
The daily prompts I write from each week come from the following blog by Sharon Bray:
http://writingthroughcancer.com/
Follow the link to her blog. She is incredible! Thank you, Sharon…..Jill Baynes
How to get from what if to so what? | Give it to God
My life is full of fear daily, my illness can pop up with a change at any moment, the good Lord helps me manage that fear. I have focused on what if this happens, what if that hapoens, I am learning to focus away from the pain and find something positive to focus on.
Giving my pain and issues over to the Lord has made my life so much simplier. I do not stress as much as I used to about the little things in life. Allbeit my health is not a little thing, but the Lord eases my anxiety.
Although I am almost through with my chemo treatments, with radiation coming up quickly, I find myself wondering what next? My counselor says it is time to let that go and get to the point of saying so what when something new happens. Get straight to handing things over to the Lord and get on with your life. Just handle it and don’t worry! I’m getting there, but I need a little more practice. God is still helping eith my coping skills.
Setting boundaries with family is another issue altogether. I have to pray about it a little more. Still looking for answers on how to handle that situation. Wish us luck!
My “EEeeeerrrrrry” Phone Call: God works in mysterious ways
A few years back, just before Barry and I married, I was enjoying my peaceful ride to work. I loved my time alone driving to work. I could crank the radio up or just have peace and quiet. Once I walked in the door at work, chaos always ensued.
I was sitting at a stop-light when my cell phone started ringing. It was a resident at the home I worked for. She wanted me to know that God had just spoken to her and said he was coming for her shortly. She requested that I call her family and get them to the home quickly, she wasn’t sure how much time she had and wanted to say good-bye. She requested I call the Hospice to get them to her bedside. She then told me to be quick and careful getting to the office, but she needed to hug my neck one last time.
When she hung up, I immediately called the home to get someone to lay eyes on her. After contacting my supervisor, I did everything she asked. I decided to contact her pastor, since he was local.
Everyone made it to the home for a wonderful good-bye. When I arrived, I headed straight for her room. I walked in, sat on the bed next to her. She sat up, wrapped her arms around me and kissed my cheek. She whispered, “Thank you” in my ear and fell back on her pillow. She was gone. Our Heavenly Father had her at His side.
Letting Things Go
Our natural instinct, when confronted with an uncomfortable situation, is to fight to defend yourself or someone else’s honor.
One of the hardest things on earth to do is admit when you are wrong. There are times when our judgement is impaired by medical, personal, financial or other issues beyond our control.
There are times in life when our mouths speak before it connects with our brains. Unnecessary hurtful things can come out at times like these. God wants us to be kind to one another, do good things for each other, he doesn’t want people arguing over childish, petty behavior.
Our televisions and radios are packed full of garbage. This gives our kids open reign over what is right and wrong. Unless, we as parents, have teach our children the difference, how are they supposed to know the difference?
As an adult, I’m doing my best to adopt a new policy. I do have medical issues, that can make me sound upset when I am not. I cannot control it. Barry and I work weekly on helping each other manage our learn to manage our new policy.
When I come across a difficult situation, I let it go! If I somone doesn’t understand what I am saying, I take a step back and say “Hold on a sec, I think that was taken the wrong way, let me repeat that”.
I have too many stressors in my life to let childish behavior get to me, I let it go and get on with my life. Having a medical condition does not give you an excuse to do ugly things and disrespect other people, just “LET IT GO!” Do what is right for you. Take care of yourself and let the little stuff go. You will feel a lot better.
Two Rights Attempting To Make A Left! 
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