The Calm Before the Storm

Hurricane Sandy is on the Way

Today I am feeling so much better; no stomach thing going on so far today. So, now I'm not sure if it was a virus I may have caught from Ross or if I really was having trouble coming off the meds. I slept so much yesterday and most of the night until almost 5 am. Then I decided to get up to have coffee and turn the TV on to check out what's happening with Hurricane Sandy. 

By this afternoon it seems like Jersey is closing down. Some shore areas are being evacuated, the Governor issued a state of emergency, schools are closed for at least the next two days. Even though I wouldn't have been going anyway, we didn't have church. We have so many people in the church that are in areas that need to be evacuated or people need time for storm preparation. They're saying that this will be worse than Hurricane Irene last Fall. we don't get flooding at our house, but all around us there is flooding. Our house is up on a little bit of a hill so we don't get water, but we can see the park right behind our house where the brook usually floods and becomes a huge flowing river/lake. The neighbors right down the street usually get flooded. With these storms we may or may not have power. Last year we still had power so we were able to help neighbors who lost power. So far it's not cold here, but we do use wood heat therefore we don't have to worry about the furnace.

before Bob blew the leaves out today

 

Bob and I went on a walk this morning down to the park and through the woods at the end of our street and back home. It's really not very far, but I was getting so hot, tired and a bit shaky....it was rest time for me. Bob Went outside and blew all the leaves out of the yard after doing it all last Saturday also.

The park behind our house

Andrea, Hilda & Isabel Roman

This afternoon our friend Hilda Roman and her girls stopped by to bring food. The girls were very curious about my incision and wanted to know if I had gotten their cards from The Children's Ministry. Bob spent some time looking through the box of cards to try and find their cards and they were laughing about all the cute cards.

Yesterday I had a lot of visitors, unfortunately I wasn't feeling too good so I don't think I was very good company, but I was so encouraged by the visits anyway. Maria Stefanelli brought us some really good Italian food. Then Boris, Marlene and Lili came by and brought me a beautiful bouquet of pink roses. Of course that cute little little Lili can put a smile on anybody's face. She was getting a big quick out of my Noah's Ark App on my iPad, dancing and making cute sounds. I woke up thinking about the flowers and remembered that Marlene put them in a vase in the kitchen. I brought the flowers out to the dining room so I could see them from the couch. 


Marlene & Lili Petrovsky




Gorgeous roses from The Petrovsky's

From Roxanne & Mallory Felder

Later on Saturday I also I got an edible arrangement delivered from Roxanne & Mallory Felder who use to live next door. I'm assuming that they heard about my surgery from Bea who lives across the street from me and still sees them often since I haven't seen them for so long. That was such a thoughtful surprise. We ended up starting to eat it before I remembered that I wanted a photo. I'm so thankful for all the kindness I feel showered with; it's been so encouraging and so uplifting to have a couple people drop by every day. My day ended with a visit from a friend I hadn't seen in over a year. Alma dropped by on her way home from work, she called out of the blue because another friend told her I just had surgery. This has all been so interesting.

My follow-up appointment is Tuesday, although with the storm coming I'm not counting on it happening. If there's flooding like Hurricane Irene I won't be able to get to New Brunswick. I think I'm a bit overdue for getting the staples out. Dr. Tyagi only has office hours on Tuesdays; I don't think I can take another week of having the staples. I may see if I can get them out at my primary doctor's office that is close by. By the time I finished writing this post around 5pm I am feeling just terrible again. So, I'm back to thinking it's the withdrawal from the meds. We'll see if I can get away without taking anything tonight. I got very sick to my stomach so I did take the anti-nausea medication. I am also having unusual nerve sensations in my neck, face, arm and thighs and some pretty intense stiffness/tightness/tension in my neck and back. I wouldn't exactly call it pain, but it's getting close to it. I really don't want to take the other meds unless I just can't bear it.