As it happens...

2011-11-23T14:21:00.000-08:00

"Rate Your Pain"

2010-05-13T08:50:00.000-07:00

Steve’s prostate biopsy on May 7 showed that he has cancer.*

We have met with the doctor to review options; this cancer is thankfully highly treatable. Surgery appears to be the best option and would happen in about 3 weeks, depending on surgeon’s schedule.

This is yet another chapter in our story of living in a broken world. We know God can be trusted. We know trust and terror coexist. We appreciate your prayers.

Thankfully, there is the relief of humor, as we have seen.

Steve is recovering from a nasty biopsy-related infection which found us in the ER Tuesday night, due to an elevated temp. Another symptom was extreme muscle stiffness so he could barely walk. So imagine the two of us making our entrance, me with a PD limp and Steve shuffling like Tim Conway’s The Old Man. I’m not sure if the guy with the wheel chair at the door knew who the patient was.

Our first ER experience (which was very good, by the way) reminded me of the comedy routine below by Brian Regan on the subjects of valet parking, moaning from the mystery patient in the next room (ours was a guy with three gunshot wounds, apparently none of which penetrated his lungs!), and “rating your pain”.

Steve rated his pain at 7 that night in the ER. Emotional pain? He says '5'.

*His Gleason score is 7, which is within the mid-range (4-7) when most prostate cancers are detectable.

An Easter Essay

2010-04-06T21:50:00.001-07:00

Blizzard on the Prairie

2009-12-09T21:44:00.000-08:00

Steve's flight from from Pittsburgh made it this morning but he had to get a hotel room in Des Moines, travel not a good idea, or possible with the drifting.

Noticing

2009-11-09T19:40:00.000-08:00

Sunrise the other day:

I did a photo shoot with Shannon and Jack last week.

October

2009-10-24T06:15:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful vacation in Wisconsin at a friend’s cabin the first two weeksofOctober, which happened to be the peak of fall color:

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While we were gone we had some guests at The Resort on the Hill Hermitage:

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Get your own

Fortuitously, also known as providentially, on the way back from Wisconsin, I ‘happened’ to find a Theracycle on Craigslist in….ST. PAUL!!!! I’d been looking for one—they are hard to come by (a new one is $6000), and research shows using it can reduce PD symptoms by over 30%. I took the handlebars off and made a desk over it- time flies when I can be online WHILE exercising.

I’ve noticed some oddities:

1. The other morning I awoke and did the thumb-to-forefinger open/close test fairly flawlessly for about 10 reps. This is the clinical test that nailed it that I had PD.

2. I typed 5 sentences with one mistake. This is what my typing looked like when I used to do it:

it weawssssdsd sseesdedetass.s sls vesyr frust.rastsjstssh.

There were no suggestions on spell-check.

3. Yesterday morning I awoke with the weirdest experience- I didn’t know where my arms had gone. Wait- they are up over my head! Impossible! I haven’t slept with them that way for years- the pain is excruciating to get them down (muscle stiffness) and I usually use my right arm to put my left arm back down since lefty doesn’t follow orders from headquarters too well.

This in spite of:

- the fact I’ve been ‘down’ with a hacking-up-a-lung ailment for two weeks now

- I have done at the most 25 minutes in 5 minute intervals spread out over a day

- for TWO days!!!

So, I’m encouraged. Stay tuned.

Labor Day

2009-09-15T17:42:00.001-07:00

2009-08-03T05:22:00.001-07:00

It was our 35th anniversary yesterday; celebration will be at Rod and Carla's cottage in a couple of weeks in South Haven.

Dylan is here for a week.

Laurie and Sean move Saturday.

2009-08-01T20:57:00.000-07:00

Gail Anne Louise Covington, born Wednesday, July 29 to Sean and Laurie. Gail was 21 inches long and weighed in at 9 lbs and 6oz.

2009-07-23T04:24:00.000-07:00

Even though the cooler weather here isn’t good for maturing soy beans, it’s been great for working outside (weeding, mowing, transplanting) and has become part of my ‘training’ program to increase my stamina.

We reconnected with Steve’s cousin Rod (and Carla) Muller over the weekend after 13? years!

The annual Kelderman reunion happened Saturday afternoon in Pella, 46 attending. I got a few pics.

Laurie and Sean are purchasing 9.3 A farmstead 5 minutes from here.

The move will likely happen mid-July. Laurie’s due date is Friday.

2009-07-13T20:08:00.000-07:00

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July is here

2009-07-02T04:49:00.000-07:00

The view this morning:

Our annual sister reunion happened mid-June:

Jack and Laurie as tw0-year-olds*:

While she was here, Julie and I decided to see how much he looks like Laurie wearing the dress Anne wore as flowergirl for Dave and Dianne's wedding 31 years ago:

But, let there be no mistake, Jack is all BOY:

*Laurie is in the center.

I am enjoying this week of wonderful weather, working outside, altho I tend to overdue it almost daily. Oh well,I just hydrate with a smoothie made in my new blender and take a nap. Speaking of which....

Romance Capital of Minnesota

2009-05-20T15:28:00.001-07:00

May 6 to 10

2009-05-10T19:56:00.000-07:00

Lou and I spend the afternoon at the Minnesota Arboretum.

Mother's Weekend at Anne and Dan's.

Livin' the Dream

2009-05-04T05:19:00.000-07:00

Since retiring from being a Granny Nanny last month due to Sean's new job as Mr. Mom (see link to his new blog above) I’m enjoying the life of a gadabout:

- Sun. pm to Tues. aft in Osky due to Dad’s heart arrhythmia episodes, where Dad and I agreed that decrepitude sucks; visited Cal and Diane

- Wed. and Thur. went along with Steve to Sioux City where Dianne picked me up. Saw the magnificent changes in their resort. A highlight was getting a haircut from Krista, first cut in 10, maybe 15 yrs!!!

- Fri. thru Sun. I was at a seminar in Schuyler, Ne.

- this week I’m off to Mn with Steve Wed. to Sun. (at Anne and Dan’s the weekend)

My PD symptoms worsened in early March; I am more clumsy, things take longer to do, I take more breaks. Steve has stepped up to the plate and started helping with stuff like folding laundry. My 6 month check-up is in July when my drugs will most likely be increased. I managed to get some transplanting done before our 3+” of rain a week ago.

I am participating in PD research courtesy of the Michael J. Fox Foundation via a $400 genotyping (from my saliva) kit for just $25.

This is some info from the website: https://www.23andme.com/pd/:

You can help us revolutionize the way Parkinson's research is conducted. Parkinson's is a complex disease with both genetic and environmental components. Just a few years ago, genes were thought to have little influence on Parkinson's disease. But now a growing number of Parkinson's-causing mutations are being discovered.

We currently provide four kinds of ancestry analysis. One, Maternal Ancestry, traces your maternal lineage back through time from you to your mother, her mother, and all the way to the mother of all humans. Paternal Ancestry does the same for your paternal* lineage, tracing from you back to the father of all fathers. A third, Ancestry Painting, tells you where in the world each stretch along each of your 22 autosomal pairs is likely to have come from. The last, Global Similarity, assesses your relatedness to 10 regions that include more than 50 populations worldwide, as measured by the similarity of your DNA to people from those groups.

FYI: Michael J. Fox, Adventures of an Incurable Optimist airs May 7 on ABC.

Today I hope to bask in the nice temps working on flowerbeds, gadding about the yard.

As it turns out, decrepitude's upside can be slowing down enough to enjoy the present moment.

Aaaaaahhhh.

Florida

2009-04-13T09:54:00.001-07:00

From florida4-09

March

2009-03-17T08:29:00.000-07:00

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood. 73 for today, they say.

Steve bought a large frame mountain bike on Craigslist and discovered the bike trail not far from here is black-topped. He’s gone regularly. I may try out his old bike.

I reconfigured this TV stand the other day using the unneeded shelf to make it taller.

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Steve and I go to a couples retreat in rural eastern Wisconsin this weekend at an eco bed and breakfast. Should be interesting- only us and one other couple, plus the facilitator and inn keepers.

Mum blooming in the living room.

Twelve days till Florida!

Close Call

2009-02-19T17:53:00.000-08:00

I was suddenly rendered extremely thankful last Friday afternoon.

While cautiously driving southbound on Interstate 35 Friday afternoon in heavily-falling snow, a northbound 15-ton, jack-knifing semi, careened sideways across the median towards me in the southbound lanes.

Time surreally stood still, giving me a good look at the nice shiny black tractor trailer as it bumpily skidded closer and closer in slow motion. (I learned later that the slow-motion thing is due to an adrenalin rush.)

There was a HUGE thud and I gasped.

Here’s a video that sort of gives my perspective, although it was daylight in my case.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1zceAos5L8

After the thud, the sudden darkness in the van and no visibility let me know I'd been hit by the mud the semi was skidding up on his way towards me.

I was able to keep control of the van, regain visibility, and discern that I and the car seemed to be intact. I decided not to stop since I knew there was traffic behind me and stopping or slowing might cause a pile-up.

As soon as I'd realized what had just happened, or almost happened, I had to call someone to tell them I was alive. I got hold of a rather bewildered son-in-law, Sean, who with Laurie and the boys, was on his way to Rochester on I-35 north, with no snow at all.

It was so slippery that by the time I finally got to our gravel road I barely made it up that first steep hill. Steve finally got home that evening and said the semi was still in the median (too dangerous to move it until it stopped snowing) and that he never would have guessed it was originally northbound, since it had swung completely around facing south. He saw no evidence of any vehicles the semi might've hit.

A couple days later I took this picture of the ruts, (from a conveniently placed Hwy. 5 exit overpass) curious about how close a call it had really been.

White arrow- where the semi left the road

Arrow- direction of mud skidded up on my van by his dual wheels

X- where the end of the (empty) trailer started out
Arc- where back of trailor may have traveled (into the area I'd recented vacated)
Arrow- direction the cab ended up facing

You can see the V-shaped rut- the jackknife (between the X and arrow). The ruts closer to the foreground are probably wrecker tracks.

I called the West Des Moines Police Department to get an accident report. They said there were so many accidents that afternoon, that most were only logged, not 'cased', so I don't know what happened to the semi or driver.

So, how close a call was it?

Close enough to be rendered extremely thankful.

February, Week One

2009-02-06T20:25:00.000-08:00

I had my 6 month Parkinson's check up with my neurologist last Thursday. She:

- doubled my dose of Requip XR, from 4mg to 8mg, mainly for my tremor (max. is 24mg- stimulates dopamine receptors in the brain to help relive the primary symptoms of PD, slowness of movement, tremor, and rigidity).

- accessed me at Stage 2 (w/o meds) of the 5 stages.
Stage One
----Signs and symptoms on one side only
----Symptoms mild
----Symptoms=2 0inconvenient but not disabling
----Usually presents with tremor of one limb
----Friends have noticed changes in posture, locomotion and facial expression
Stage Two
----Symptoms are bilateral
----Minimal disability
----Posture and gait affected
Stage Three
----Significant slowing of body movements
----Early impairment of equilibrium on walking or standing
----Generalized dysfunction that is moderately severe
Stage Four
----Severe symptoms
----Can still walk to a limited extent
----Rigidity and bradykinesia (slow movement)
----No longer able to live alo ne
----Tremor may be less than earlier stages
Stage Five
----Cachectic (physical wasting with loss of weight and muscle mass due to disease)
----Invalidism complete
----Cannot stand or walk
----Requires constant nursing care

I knew PD was progressing, but hearing it officially caused some unexpected grief. One source said on average, stages 2 and 3 last 13 years total. Of course this varies widely. Being proactive helps. Working out at the health club has made a huge difference. Thank you Jim and Leisha, Justin and Jarad for your inspiration.

The recent Frontline program had an amazing segment on research on PD and exercise.

Speaking of changes, I hadn't packed up The Covington Boys and gone to the women's group at church since last October- there being too many barriers for me to manage- the boys' coat zippers, hats, mittens, car seat buckles, loading and unloading them, walking the distance carrying a child and a diaper bag and holding the other's hand.

Tuesday morning I did, with surprising ease.

In other news...

Weight Loss

2009-02-04T16:26:00.000-08:00

www.my-calorie-counter.com The webs free Calorie Chart

Workin' Out

2009-01-29T05:50:00.000-08:00

PT Trista and me working out.

B-r-r-r....Slosh, Slosh, Slosh

2009-01-18T17:12:00.000-08:00

I got a surprise yesterday afternoon, when I went downstairs at 4:00. I heard an unfamiliar sound, like water running. It was. The sloshing began as I approached the big bedroom. The carpet was completely soaked.

I quickly closed the main water shut-off valve, strapped on my knee pads, got the shop vac and began ‘sucking it up'. About 2 hours and 75 gallons later things were well in hand. Steve had discovered where the break was (it had frozen- we don't know why), gone to Menards, and capped the line (which supplies the spigot on the patio). So I was able to take a hot bath which I needed after all that lifting.

We were so glad it happened while we were here!!! Otherwise the new living room would’ve been ankle deep.

On another note, I rearranged the living room upstairs one day last week. I eliminated some clutter and the rug. I wanted to be able to turn our chairs toward the sun to get the full benefit of our windows.

B-r-r-r-r

2009-01-17T10:01:00.000-08:00

It’s warming up in the neighborhood. That’s good cause we’ve been afflicted with some viral thing the last week or two. Steve has had a whispery voice, something like Dirty Harry, but with a hacking cough. It's not as sexy with the cough. I escaped the cough myself, but made up for it with buckets of snot, uh...mucous, which also isn't all that sexy either. Apparently.

So tonght while we coughed and blew, we watched Dirty Harry (1971) ask twice in the movie, "I know what you're thinking. Did he fire six shots or only five? Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I've kinda lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya punk?"

So to catch you up a bit:

We spent the week before the kids came for Christmas re-doing the steps and painting the big room downstairs.

We had our Christmas celebration Jan. 1-4 and really enjoyed having the cozy/large space downstairs.

Updates:
-Laurie and Sean moved back into their house Dec. 23; no prospects yet on buyers for their house; they are enjoying upgrades that were done this summer to get it ready to put on the market.

-Sean and Laurie expect the latest model Covington in July.

-Dan is enjoying his new job at Mayo in internal auditing.

-John was promoted to manager at his accounting firm.

-We joined Aspen Athletic Club and are using a personal trainer for a couple of months. We both really like Trista, she's a down-to-earth farm gal from Fargo. I love her cause she thought I was (get this) STRONG! I discovered my new drug increases the appetite and that may be why I’ve gained 8 pounds since August. Since Steve is an empathetic eater, he’s gained at least that too. Besides getting in shape I'm motivated by the fact that...

-Sister Lou and I hope to go back to Florida in late March or early April for $29 each way again.

Re-entry

2008-12-20T14:17:00.000-08:00

Well, it's a snowy, icy day in the neighborhood. I'm readjusting pretty well from the warmth of Florida to the warmth inside the resort on the hill.

After getting home Monday, I finally got over my jet lag, or whatever, on Thursday at 2:30pm (the day of the ice storm) and by 1:00am Friday, got 2 vans in the Covington storage facility, uh..., I mean the garage.

Our family will gather the weekend of January 2; we may be having a heat wave getting into double digits!

2008-12-10T19:14:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note from the beach....ahhhhhhhhhh.

We arrived at Jim and Leisha's in Sarasota Monday afternoon about 4:30pm. Tuesday and Wednesday we've spent at the beach enjoying 80 degree temps, as well as trying on exercise gear courtesy of Leisha's penchant for Goodwill bargains, and working out at the Y with Jim and Jared. I think Steve and I may have to join the Y soon which would definitely jump start my exercise regimen.

Tomorrow it's supposed to rain, so we'll be hanging out, trying to pet the two kitties, reading, drinking coffee and probably checking out Goodwill for ourselves. That's all for now.