The Year 2009 in Review

It has been so long since I blogged. Since tonight is New Year's Eve (and the New Year will be here in about 45 minutes) I thought I'd just do a synopsis for the year.

January: we celebrated our 34th anniversary and Travis' birthday.

February: I had my first-ever colonscopy! After getting sick from the stuff they make you drink I did fine ... cleared for 10 years! We went out and bought a Wii Fit the day of the colonoscopy. I also celebrated my last birthday in my 50s. Right after the colonscopy I got sick with the flu and couldn't believe how sick I was. Don's foot and leg started swelling and he ended up in the ER on Feb. 25th. They did a leg ultrasound and foot x-ray and couldn't find anything wrong.

March: Don's leg continued to swell. He found a doctor who did nothing but prescribe a huge water pill and potassium pill and sent him for an EKG and blood tests. The quack. He told him to wear a pressure stocking on that foot and leg.

April: Celebrated Lilly and Karina's birthdays. Enjoyed General Conference.
Don's foot and leg continued to swell. Found a podiatrist who ordered MRIs of the foot and leg. $350 later...they showed nothing. Jesse graduated from BYU Provo in Computer Science!!!! That was a big day! He gave me his Stole of Gratitude which I love and appreciate!

May: The end of school for the year! I was tired and looking forward to the summer off!

June: On June 2nd Don came home with a migraine. After four days of migraine/vision disturbance we went to the ER again. CT scan showed nothing...no tumor, MS, or stroke. They sent us home. Went to the eye doc the next day...eyes were fine...found a family doc who ordered an MRI...back to the ER on June 13th. MRI showed a stroke! Should have sued the ER! Had to miss Alexis' wedding due to the diagnosis..doc said to stay home.

July: Jesse drove us and his family down to Scottsdale to use our timeshare and see Christie and Travis. Had a wonderful week there and celebrated Jesse's 28th birthday while we were there! It was nice driving with Jesse and Karina and we got great grandparenting time in by sitting in the back seat with Lilly! Don looked funny with his pressure stocking on under his shorts! Found a neurologist to treat Don's stroke...Dr. Lucia Altimirano who moved here from Cherry Hill, my home town! Great lady! Don returned to work after vacation. He continued to have a lot of doctor's visits and we spent a ton of money on blood tests and copays.

August: Christie's 24th birthday...wish we could have spent it with her! School started up on the 12th. Excited for a new year of school. We noticed that Sox (our black cat) has lost a lot of weight. A visit to the vet doesn't yield any answers...only expensive blood tests would do that and we opt out. He's an old cat and probably has cancer. His appetitie is voracious, he uses the litter and loves to be around people more than when he was younger, so we think he's still enjoying life.

September: Don's foot/leg is still swelling. We celebrated his 56th birthday on Sept. 10th. I bought him Beatles Rockband and a new era of fun started! My friend Brittney passed away of cancer at the age of 29. Very sad for her family and for me. Rest in peace, Britt.

October: On the 2nd I had a car accident during which I hit a 15 year old pedestrian who ran out into the roadway against her red light. Luckily I wasn't driving fast but she was still thrown up on my hood and windshield. She was taken away by an ambulance but not hurt...tender mercies for sure. She was only bruised. I didn't get a ticket because it was unavoidable and some angel witnesses stopped and told the police. Lilly was Halloween crazy!

November: Don had another set of MRIs on his foot and ankle. Cost us another $350 or so. The podiatrist concluded that it's an old running injury which is just flaring up. He might have to live with this for the rest of his life. We had a nice Thanksgiving with just Jesse, Karina and Lilly. No extra company. It was peaceful and the food was yummy! Too bad I can't eat much when I prepare a big meal like that. No appetite...but leftovers are much appreciated!

December: We celebrate a quiet Christmas. Christmas Eve it was just Don and me. I made our traditional Cornish Game Hen dinner and we watched "White Christmas". On Christmas morning we went to Jesse and Karina's for breakfast and then they came back here for dinner. I didn't have a whole lot of Christmas spirit this year but it was fun to watch Lilly open her presents. As of today I have taken most of the Christmas stuff down in anticipation of a visit from Christie and Travis next week. They will be bringing their new little kitty with them...Zorro...hope Sox and Pinky are nice to him! Right after Christmas Don had to get a crown...another $320.

2009 was an expensive and frustrating year for us. I'm grateful though that we both had jobs and that Don's stroke wasn't worse. I'm grateful that we found good doctors through all of the trials. Don is so great and doesn't complain even though he has permanent vision loss. I'm grateful for his good attitude! Looking forward to 2010!