Another Surgery

In less than one year, Alan and I combined have undergone four surgeries - two for each of us. Last October, Alan had open heart surgery. The following March and May, I had my two hip replacement surgeries. Last week, Alan underwent nose surgery to open up his nasal passages so he can breathe easier through his nose.

Recovery has been difficult so far. Alan has not been able to get much sleep because he can't breath through his nose. Thankfully, he got the splints removed from inside of his nose yesterday so he can breathe much easier now. Looks like he is on the mend. His nose is swollen and it will take time for it to return to normal, but Alan is hoping for good final results to make it all worthwhile. One good thing is that he hasn't had any pain associated with the surgery. That's truly a great blessing.

In the hospital trying to wake up from the anesthesia after surgery.

His nose kept bleeding quite a bit so they devised this contraption to catch the dripping blood under his nose. This made him look pretty funny.

This picture was taken a couple of days after his surgery. You can see that his nose is quite swollen, but at least his nostrils are open. I thought he would look all black & blue afterward, but there is very little, if any, bruising. The body is an amazing thing.

I'm certainly hoping that this is the last surgery either of us will have to endure for a very long time. It's never easy to recover from surgery, especially for people of our age. We aren't getting any younger. 

Helping Out

 A few weeks ago, Alan and I drove to Ladera Ranch to help Cheryl and Parker with their two children while Cheryl underwent two hernia surgeries. We thought she was going to have laparoscopic surgery, but she ended up having open surgery so the recovery was two weeks instead of one week. I can't lie - it was a long two weeks, but we were so happy to be able to watch the kids during the day while Cheryl recovered. Parker took over after he got home from work by bathing the kids and getting them into bed a night.

Kessler was taking an ice bath when we arrived. I don't know how he was able to cope with the cold.

It became an almost daily routine for Alan to take Kessler to one of the nearby community pools and splash pads. Sometimes Wesley and I accompanied them.

It was too hot to play at the playgrounds much. Kessler, just barely three years old, was so good at swimming. He's not afraid of anything, so Alan had to really keep a good eye on him, especially when he wasn't wearing pool arm floats. 

Ninja Kessler having fun in their side yard.

Play time at "We Play Loud" - an indoor play place for children. Both kids had a great time.

Naptime! All that play wore Wesley out. 

Kessler loved sitting here on the fountain in their front yard singing  

Oh My Darlin' over and over again. He certainly loves an audience.

I think it was very difficult for Cheryl to watch her aging parents try to keep up with her two active children while she took it easy. She wasn't allowed to lift anything over 10 lbs. for two weeks. Since she was still nursing Wesley, we needed to bring her to Cheryl to be nursed several times per day. At least Wesley could comfortably sit on a pillow on Cheryl's lap and Cheryl could have some cuddle time with her darling baby. By the end of the two weeks, Cheryl was doing pretty well so we felt comfortable turning the reigns back over to her while we headed back to Utah to relax for a while. 

It was a delight to be able to get to know the kids so well and it was hard to leave them, but all good things have to come to an end. We are looking forward to having them come to Utah in December for Christmas.