A Very Sad Monday

Two very sad funerals today. The first one is Tim and Susie's Mother Shirley Swedine. We've never met her, but our hearts go out to her whole family and especially to Tim and Susie. Susie's Mom died in February, and it just seems like too much to deal with for one year.



Shirley E. Swedine
(September 12, 1930 - September 29, 2006)

Shirley E. Swedine - Age 76, of Owosso, went home to be with the Lord on Friday, September 29, 2006. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 AM Monday, October 2, 2006 from Grace Bible Church, 201 Michigan Avenue, Owosso, with Pastor Roger Rose officiating. Final rest will be at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens. Visitation will be 6 to 8 PM Saturday; 2-4 & 6-8 PM Sunday at Mowen Funeral Home. Mrs. Swedine will lay in state at the church on Monday from 9 AM until service time.

Mrs. Swedine was born September 12, 1930, in South Branch, Michigan, the daughter of James and Florence (Burr) Humphrey. She married Carl J. Swedine in South Branch on June 19, 1948. Mrs. Swedine was a homemaker and lived all her married life in Owosso. She was a graduate of Mio High School, Class of 1948. She was a member of Grace Bible Church of Owosso. She loved music and playing the piano. For a while, she also worked and played the piano in the youth groups and Sunday school. She liked to read and was a good golfer, bowler, loved to sew and do needle point. Mrs. Swedine loved tending her flower gardens, family get together's and making photo albums for all her children and grandchildren.

Survivors include: husband, Carl; children, Tim (Susan) Swedine, Kevin (Marion) Swedine, Melody Livingston, Eric Swedine, and Nancy (Jeff) Bateman; six grndchildren, Quincy, T.J., Erica, Ryan, Nicole and Nathan; four great grandchildren and two on the way; also, sisters, Marjorie DeVoe of Durand, Doris (Don) Mainprize of Higgins Lake and brother, James (Mae) Humphrey of Alabama; many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by six brothers and one sister.

Memorials are suggested to the Grace Bible Church of Owosso.
********************

The second is Pauline Brigham Lather, who was a classmate of mine since elementary school. We went to Union Street School and were together all the way through graduation from Central High. Pauline was an amazing woman with a strong will to
live. Suffering from leukemia, she underwent a bone marrow transplant provided by her son, who was a perfect match. She went through a lengthy recovery, and even got back on the bike path and became quite active again. Evidently leukemia is even tougher than we are. She was a wonderful person, and her husband Dave was also in our junior high and high school class - he was always so pleasant and kind. I know it's been a struggle for him for many months now. At least Pauline's struggle is over.

Lather, Pauline Yvonne
TRAVERSE CITY — Pauline Yvonne Lather, 71, died on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2006, in the arms of her husband and surrounded by her family, after a courageous battle with Leukemia.

She was born to Harvey Vernon and Eva Mae (Brighty) Brigham on April 25, 1935, in Grant Township, Grand Traverse County.

Pauline attended Union Street Grade School, graduated from Traverse City Central High School and Michigan State University.

She met the love of her life, David, in their junior year of high school; They were married by the Rev. Donn Doten at Central United Methodist Church on July 6, 1957.

She valued good health and an active life style. She enjoyed most outdoor sports, including sailing, skiing, cycling, roller blading, snowshoeing and hiking.

Pauline's greatest love was her family and many friends. She always saw the best in people. Pauline's faith was very strong, a faith she passed on to her children.

She was an active member of Central United Methodist Church, her Yokefellow Group, and was a Stephen Minister. She was office manager of Central United Methodist Church and retired as their bookkeeper-treasurer.

Pauline is survived by her husband, David; son, Brantley (Michelle) Lather of Midland; daughter, Lori (Jan) Hesprich of Traverse City; sister, Susan (Wallace) Tuttle of Traverse City; three grandchildren, Henry, Conrad and Sarah Lather of Midland; and mother-in-law, Leona Lather of Traverse City.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Vernon and Eva Mae Brigham.

In accordance with Pauline's wish, cremation has taken place. A memorial service will be held on Monday, Oct. 2, 2006, 11 a.m., at Central United Methodist Church in Traverse City. Visitation will begin one hour before the service. The Reverends John Ellinger, Tamara Williams and Dean Bailey will officiate. Inurnment of her cremains will be in the church columbarium.

Memorials may be directed to Central United Methodist Church or to the West 4 Oncology Unit at Munson Medical Center, Traverse City.

The family is being served by Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home; www.reynolds-jonkhoff.com.
Published in the Record-Eagle on 10/1/2006.

Hello Mother

After Dick got home from the Agency, we got into the car, did a couple of small errends, and went to visit Mother.

I was very nervous about walking up and down the ramp, but we did it - we did it and it wasn't that bad. I haven't taken any pain pills all day and there is no pain. I'm still walking very slowly with Dad's cane, but we did it. We visited with her for an hour and everything went well. She seems fine and we had a good talk. Then I came home and slept for two hours!

It was a beautiful drive around town. The trees and the hills are all in their fall colors and really quite imppressive. It's a warm wonderful, beautiful day.

Sunny Sunday

It feels like fall today. I think it's around 45 outside, and some of our leaves are turning.
I am continuing to improve - haven't taken any pain meds since yesterday afternoon. I still have a slight ache in my left calf, but hardly enough to mention. My left leg is considerable weakened, but my new hobby can be strengthening it.

Dick has gone off geocaching south of Kingsley. It looks like a nice series along the Manistee.

Next weekend Dick will be going down to the Mich-Mich. State game and staying at Sniders. Tom is flying in from San Diego to go also, and Peter is driving up from Cleveland. I think that Bill will probably go to the game with them, so they should have a great time. They plan to go to Steve Koss' famous tailgate party pre and post game. Jan is driving up here to stay with me for the weekend, so I won't be lonely and "overdo". It should be a great time for all of us.

Post Injection(s)

What a great morning. So far it's 10 a.m. and I've had no pain. At all...just a little achiness once in a while. I even took a shower and washed my hair with no pain. Are you listening? Whoop, whoop, whoop! Not since July 17th could I say that. So I'm clean and shiny and happy. And I'm planning to follow Dr. In-Jecto's advice and do nothing today and tomorrow. Monday should be a lot of fun.

Sharon sent great pictures of Kevin's wedding - everybody looked so happy. I can't do the picture part of my blog yet - my upstairs computer chair is bad for my back, and I can't upload the pictures on my laptop down here in the recliner - but next week I'll be able to put the pictures on the blog, and I'm excited.

On the more serious side of life, we heard yesterday that Tim and Susie have lost Tim's Mother, Shirley Swedine of Owosso. She has suffered ill health for quite a while - but it's always heartbreaking to lose your Mom, as a lot of you already know. Our sincere condolences to the whole family.

On the lighter side of life, Michigan held on long enough to beat Minnesota tonight. Minnesota made several serious but fruitless threats, and Michigan went home with the Little Brown Jug. This from mgoblue.com:

Henne Tosses Three TD Passes as Football Claims Jug
Chad Henne made sure the Little Brown Jug's stay in Minnesota lasted just one year as he threw three touchdown passes in the first half to help the No. 6-ranked Michigan football team to a 28-14 win Saturday night, Sept. 30, in Minneapolis. Henne connected with Adrian Arrington on scoring passes of 16 and 37 yards for a 14-0 Wolverines lead and later found Mario Manningham for a 41-yard hookup and a 21-7 halftime edge. Mike Hart rushed 31 times for 195 yards, and Kevin Grady added a short TD run.

Heavily favored MSU was beaten by hapless Illinois with a last second field goal in the rain on homecoming day. We are well acquainted with that feeling.

Dr. In-Jecto

Double your pleasure. Not one, but two lovely spinal injections. Dr. In-Jecto found the sciatic nerve all right - 3 times. What a thrill that was -3 times. It felt like being struck by lightning. OK, mild lightning, but still not at all pleasant. The second injection was not bad at all, except that I couldn't relax waiting for a repeat of injection #1. Oh well, it's over. The Doc says that by Monday I could try out for the Lions. I'm shopping for a uniform. I think I could be on special teams and keep the ball out of the end zone. How hard could that be?

Dick brought me roses yesterday -gorgeous yellow and pink roses. Best ever. Right now he's out geo-caching.

Sorry for the Blog-Lag

A couple of our wedding outfits if we had gone to the wedding. On the left you see our glorious evening casual ensembles. On the right is obviously the daytime casual. Can you tell that Jana is holding me up?
tsyle="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2370/443/320/HPIM0504.jpg" border="0" alt="" />

The poor blog has gone to pieces It doesn't react well to my pain meds. Maybe later, I'll fix it up. Maybe not.

Bye Bye Jay Bird

Jana's flight took off around noon. I'm so glad she came - we had a good time and she helped Dick take care of the crip (me).

Jan and Eileen stopped in shortly after. Jan brought the cutest plant in the cutest pot and I'm really enjoying it. It was great to see her and catch up on all of the news from California. It was fun to see Eileen - I always forget what a dynamo she is. She keeps things hoppin'.

Dick is still the world's best caretaker. Mother and I are trying to help him slow down a bit and just enjoy life. I'm as comfy as anybody could be, and so well taken care of and loved like Marmee in Little Women - remember?

Kevin's Wedding Day

Laurie, Dylan and Tom called from San Diego this morning. They were eating eggs for breakfast and getting ready to go to the San Diego Zoo. Kevin and Amy's wedding is later on this afternoon (see link above). More Later.

Meanwhile, back in Michigan:

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 6-ranked University of Michigan football team claimed a 27-13 victory in its Big Ten Conference opener against the Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday (Sept. 23) in front of 111,058 fans at Michigan Stadium. The Wolverines defense held the Badgers to six straight three-and-outs to begin the second half, and Michigan tallied four sacks and held the Big Ten's leading rusher, P.J. Hill, to 54 yards rushing on 20 carries.



Meanwhile, MSU looked terrific for most of their game. State had it won by the time I went to bed. I could have fainted the next morning when I saw that the final score was Notre Dame 40, MSU 37. Unbelievable.

I Know What Day It Is!

It's Wednesday! Aha! I'm on top of things now!

When I taught school every classroom was responsible for putting on a program each semester about something we were studying. One year it just so happened that we had the names of the days of the week for spelling words so off we went to do some pretty heavy duty second grade research on Freya, Woden, Thor,etc.

We divided into groups, made costumes, wrote poems and music, made signs
and came up with a pretty good show.

The point of all this is that the other day in some office I saw the secretaty write out an appt. for Wen., Sept. 21. Any one of those 2nd graders would have bopped her with Thor's hammer.

Dick and Galadriel pulled in around 9 p.m. complete with a big celebratory presentation box of champagne (checked, of course). Dick fixed some supper while I dozed in my chair. Wonderful to see her. She traveled in her morning brunch outfit (daytime casual), so she's one up on me and we haven't even started yet.

We both loved her business plan....sh..white collar spies are everywhere.

Dick is for Real

Monday - at least I know what day this is. Have to be proud of something. I'm proud of Dick, anyway. He went to the Agency first thing and helped people all morning, and then came home and helped me all afternoon.

What Day is This?

Dick went out to do errands this morning and accomplished a lot.

I'm feeling like somebody else today - can't seem to keep things straight in my head. Mom says I never called her yesterday. Some daughter she wound up with! I just feel like sleeping all the time.

Talked to Laurie this morning. They're excited about going to LegoLand with Tom on Friday. (see link above).

We're all wishing we could be together this weekend. I'm wishing I could visit Mom. Maybe roller skating to California would work. I'm wishing I could remember what day this is.
A couple of Dick's errands this morning involved office supplies for the upstairs computer room. When I finally get strong enough to visit Mother, I want to take her pictures from the terrific half of our summer. I was preparing the digital photo printer and picking out the pictures, ding ding ding ding - the picture printer ran out of paper. No paper in this drawer, that drawer, or the other drawer either. So I might as well begin working on a different project - Jana's birthday present. Computer is all warmed up, Epson is up and running. I finish a page and press Print. Holy moly, that's a strange noise. It appears that all of the inks have run out.

Labor Day Weekend

My pain meds were running low, so on Friday at 9 a.m. I ordered refills online. It didn't work - the pharmacy never got the order. It has worked before, but not this time.

I did have some meds. I have tons of darvocet, which makes me physically ill. I'm having a bit of a bad tummy anyway - last thing I want is more of that! I have tons of regular Tylenol. The recommended dosage doesn't come anywhere near what I need.

The pharmacy heard nothing on Friday or Sat. and of course the clinic is closed for the holiday weekend. So like the drowning man who clutches at the straw, I stupidly tried ordering refills online again, knowing full well that no human eyes would see it until Tuesday morning.

I have totally lost my appetite, but desparate for some darvocet (which must be taken with food) I asked Dick to fix me toast and eggs for breakfast. I took the darvocet, kept it down, and noticed some pain relief. I think I took a second dose after proper preparation, and again I had good results. But, I'm sorry to say, I just can't eat meals - makes me feel sick just thinking about it.

Dick found a bottle of tylenol 3 with codeine dated March, 1999. I'll admit to taking 2 of those, and they do seem to make me more relaxed. I'm keeping them around for times when sleep seems the best optiom.

Sat., Sun., Mon. with no pain meds. Hey, come on - we contribute to Doctors Without Borders! Where are they when we need them???

Hooray it's Tues! I'll have meds before noon! I called the clinic. I spoke to an actual person who asked all the right questions, and she promised to give my order ro Dr. Burke's nurse. Heavy sigh of relief. Right? This always works, right? We've never had a failure between the clinic and Rite Aid, right?

Well, we waited a proper length of time, and phoned the pharmacy to make sure that the prescriptions had been called in. No luck. So we waited another proper length of time and repeated the process. Rite Aid hasn't heard a thing.

We went for a little ride, with me stretched out in the back seat in my one comfortable position (which isn't as comfortable as it used to be way back when I had some vicodin.) We just happened to be in the vicinity of Rite Aid, so we went to
the drive-thru pharmacy pick-up. Even eye to eye, the man said he had nothing for us.

Back at home, I called the clinic to set up a consultation with Dr. Burke concerning my inability to get medication for my sciatica. They gave me an appt. for THURSDAY MORNING. (Pardon me for shouting.) Dick called the clinic at 3:51 p.m. to speak with Dr. Burke or his nurse, and was told that they had both left for the day.

So I was facing another night with no meds, plus I was really feeling sick with flu-like symptoms. It was not a good night. So I asked myself, WWLIWD? (What Would Laura Ingalls Wilder Do?)

This morning (Wed) Dick called the clinic at 8 a.m. to order the refills (4th time). He's really on the job now. He's planning to call someone every hour, either clinic or pharmacy, whoever's turn it is. So I have a good possibility of getting some pain relief today, right? Today's the day, right? I can't hear you..

As of 10 a.m., I have my meds, I have my meds, I have my meds, I have my meds. Nothing looks better than Dick walking into the room with a pill bottle in each hand!!

Dr. Burke put refills on each bottle - I'm so grateful. He is now the world's 5th best doctor. He'll just have to work his way back up to first.

I have my meds. Thanks, Dick

The Pizza Cart

There have been some wild and crazy drug induced dreams in the past month,believe me. They are so realistic that even after I wake up I think it's still going on.

I just woke up from a hotel pizza dream - I heard the announcement in our room (It was the Van Something Hotel) - very posh. "Steigers, your pizza is ready. Call such and such for delivery when you're ready". I was barely awake, so I just assumed that Dick would call.

I have no idea how much time passed, but eventually I realized that nothing was happening, so I began to wake up. As I looked around the hotel room, I saw that the list of hotel amenities was beautifully and skillfully woven into the lovely rug on the floor. It had phone numbers, shuttle buses, menus, etc. One of the pictures on the rug was a cute little pizza delivery cart.

I waited for Dick to do something, and it seemed to me that I was awake in real life at that point. Still nothing was happening, so I actually said out loud, "Dick, did you hear that?" No response. OK, by now I really was waking up, although I could still see the black and white rug. I said a little more quietly this tme, "Dick, are you in here?"

Well of course he wasn't - I think he's outside somewhere. I'm in here alone with my powerful pain relievers. Luckily, I'm not hungry, and the pizza would be cold by now anyway.
.

Not Today

There's an episode of "Everybody Loves Raymond" in which Ray's annoying mother Marie scolds him by saying, "Someday you'll turn around and I won't be here anymore." Ray quickly spins around, glares at her and says, "Not today."

Someday I'll get up in the morning and my leg won't hurt.

Out of Bed At Last !

Today, thanks to the steroids, I am back in the recliner, well-iced, and
feeling like I'm in paradise. I'm sitting in the sunshine with the door and
the window open, and it's almost like being out on the deck. I'm able to
walk around periodically, but still can't stand for long. I also can't sit,
which puzzles me because one would think that sitting would be the easiest
thing. Go figure. Before my relapse, I was able to ride around in the car
for as much as an hour and a half. Now I'm back to zilch.

Today I learned that it's a mistake to try to walk around right after taking pain meds. Not only do you topple over and scratch your nose, but you also anger your caretaker who works diligently every hour of every day to improve your condition and expects you to do the same and not to put yourself in peril. I'll have to get used to asking for more help. My fear is to become too demanding. It's a delicate balance because I'm beginninng fo feel more able to try to do things.

Today Dick went to visit Mother. I'm so glad - I want her to remember that she does have family out here somewhere. Hooray for Dick. He reports that he thinks she's beginning to suffer short term memory loss.

OK, Here's the Deal...

My physical therapy session last Thursday did me in. I'm literally worse than I was when the sciatica first flared up.

Still can't sit, because I seem to be unable to find an un-achy sitting position.

Still can't stand or walk without cane and pain. (The kind of pain that my Dad used to say, "Made ya moan, didn't it!", with a
cute, wicked grin. Sometimes you just have to wonder about football coaches.)

I'm spending all my time in bed, which sounds pretty enjoyable to most hard-working people, and really isn't too bad for the first eight or nine hours. I've been here since 5 p.m. on Thursday afternoon and it's now Monday at 10:30 a.m. You could say that it's the opposite of geo-caching.

My only comfy position in bed is lying on my right side with knees bent and ice packs on the left hip and thigh. Dick has a great icing system going, and so I'm the world's luckiest icee.

I've lost my appetite. I'm blaming it on all these high-powered pain-killers. They also sometimes make me physically ill and unusually sleepy.

Since I flunked physical therapy, Dr. Burke cancelled all of the PT appointments and came up with a new plan. Here's the deal:

1. First we'll re-run the steroid medrol pack. He has confidence it will take away the pain the way it did before. That starts today, and lasts for 5 or 6 days.

2. After the pain is gone, I'll have an EMG on Sept. 11 to determine nerve damage and muscle weakness.

3. If necessary, I have an appointment with a neuro-surgeon on Sept. 21 to check out my bulging disc.

Here's my soft, cuddly present for being sick. His name is Fleming Bearie Steiger. I'm beginning to feel slightly better this afternoon. Some might say it's due to the steroids, but I know it's because of Fleming and Dick.

Random Thoughts Since Thursday

[This is just an attempt by me to catalog my experiences so I won't forget the chronology.]


Sciatica is not such a big deal.

Mine began on July 17.

A little inflammation, a little discomfort, a little medication, a little rest, a little therapy, and voila! You're good to go.

I spent a lot of time in the recliner, where I could find a couple of truly comfortable positions, helped by either ice or the heating pad.

I also found a comfortable position in bed, which was almost totally pain free.

We followed directions to the letter.

I have kept track of every pill taken since July 17.

I haven't cooked a meal or cleaned the kitchen. I have been able to do laundry. I have trouble standing.

Before the first therapy appointment I was totally off all pain meds except Tylenol for 2 1/2 days!

I was walking slowly and with a limp, but hardly any pain.

I was feeling very proud of myself. (That's what goeth before a fall, you know.)

But when we got to the therapy part, we were blind-sided by something...who knows what.

After the first therapy session I was walking slowly, assisted by a cane.

When I got home I took some pain pills just because of the jostling of the clinician's evaluation.

After the second session, I couldn't walk or stand without the cane.

The pain was worse than anything I had felt since the onset.

It's too painful for me to sit or recline for any length of time.

I can find no comfy position in either the recliner or the bed.

Walking (with the cane) is horribly uncomfortable.

When I walk into the bathroom, if no one is around, I whimper like a 4 year old (not my usual style).

I called the clinic on Friday to explain my situation, and to ask for suggestions for something I could do to help myself.

Rest, they said. Rest and call back on Monday.

I wish I could find a position really conducive to rest.

So I've been in bed all day Friday and Saturday, with one more day to go.

We have seen no improvement, not even one small improvement.

There is constant discomfort despite the pain meds.

I have totally lost my appetite.

Dick has been very watchful and helpful. He's really good at keeping me iced.

He got me a beautiful teddy bear named Fleming.

We had thought that I was far along on the road to recovery.

What the hell happened?

Photographic Evidence of Traction

After getting some kind of a clinical dispensation, the tech was allowed to photograph the traction. Nobody had ever asked to be photographed before. I simply cannot imagine why (!). There's a harness around the midsection pulled very tight to keep the upper spine immobile. The hip harness is what pulls your spine toward the end of the table. The little machine at the end of the table is what provides the pull. It cycles between 40 pounds of pull and 100 pounds of pull. It cycles for 20 minutes.
The cord draped over my chest is a call button for the tech in case I should need her for anything. The little box on the wall is a kill switch in case the machine goes perquackey and starts pulling me like Westley in The Princess Bride.





The cord beyond my feet is what pulls on the harness. You actually can feel your spine stretching - it's a good feeling - a good stretch. After the traction, the clinician comes in and has you do exercises. The tricky part is not to hurt yourself. Today I felt hurt when she was finished. I went to visit Mother, and I shouldn't have done that. I should have just come right home. When I got here, I started in on pain meds again, and even some valium. I kind of resent have been marginally "re-injured", but maybe that's just the way it goes. I'm going to ask about it next time. I don't go back until Monday.

PT 2006

Physical Therapy has changed quite a bit in the past 25 years since the other time that I had sciatica.

First of all, this time the first encounter was longer. The whole visit took an hour and a half, with poor Dick sitting in the waiting room the whole time. The therapist spent about an hour doing an "evaluation", which means that I spent an hour walking up and down the hall 14,000 times for her, balancing on one leg after the other, pivoting, lying down on back, belly, right side, and left side while alternately raising my legs, bending, stretching, twisting in every position (Does this hurt? How about this?), standing on my head, waving my arms, and quacking like a duck.

The second part was a half hour of pelvic traction. The object of this is to "decompress" my spine. I also had cane practice. I'm not allowed to limp because limping negates the benefits of the traction. I have to use the cane just right so that my pelvis stays level. I use the cane at all times, even around the house.

The cane I use at home is the cane my Dad got when he graduated from the U of M. It has a block M on it, and under the M it says 3ED0, because he graduated with a degree in Education in 1930. The letters and numbers are in some kind of metal, but I don't know what it could be. Mother says I can't help but improve quickly using that cane!

I'll be going to PT three times a week for the next month. I think there will be pelvic traction each time. I hope we eventually get around to leg strengthening. I'm also trying some bed and chair exercises to counteract having been immobilized for the past month.

Today Dick did a lot of picking up and putting things away outside. He finished just before the rain started. Then we went to recycling, UPS, and Oleson's.

A Plan

I waited all day for a phone call from the Doctor. I kept checking the phone all day to see if there was a dial tone. We got 4 other calls, so I knew that the phone was working. Finally, I called the clinic yesterday afternoon 5 minutes before they closed. I very politely inquired as to when I might expect to hear the results of the test that I had 10 days ago. She very sweetly said that she would give Dr. Burke's nurse a reminder note, and that I could expect a call this morning. I guess all it took was that little kick in the pants!

Dr. Burke actually did phone me this morning. He called at 8:11 a.m. (Don't you love digital clocks?) The MRI showed a lot of arthritic changes in my spine, but he says that everybody over 60 has osteo-arthritis in their spine. It also showed several bulging discs in the lumbar region, but the trouble-making disc is L-4, which is bulging enough to pinch my sciatic nerve.

I'm starting physical therapy today at 3 o'clock. I'll do the PT for a month, and he says that by the time of the wedding I should be "moderately improved". I don't know what that means, but it doesn't sound too bad. If I'm not moderately improved in a month, then he says he would want to do some more tests.

A really good sign is that I haven't taken any pain meds except regular Tylenol for two days now. The pain is mostly gone, but walking is still difficult.

So, I have a Goal, a Plan, the Motivation, and a Cheerleader (Dick). I think I'll be good to go.