Go With the Flow - Take the Bad with the Good

---

We have missed our regular chats with all of you. Lulu is jumping (best she can) with joy. We hope your summer has been warm and wonderful. We don’t want this luscious season to end. However, we have already spotted some leaf color changes on our local trees….Noooooo. We all know what that means. Some of it good; some of not so good (bad). It does bring forth the vibrant and breath-taking colors of autumn: good. But we know the color that soon follows behind: WHITE. Snow: WHITE. And not the fantasy gal waiting for a big, fat kiss from her prince (That could be me, though…where are you, Prince Charming Cory?). Sometimes, a white snow fall can be beautiful…but if you have to get out in it…not so good (bad). But then, as in our case, we have our eagerly anticipated journey to Florida to escape all that and "laisse les bons temps rouler" (let the good times roll) --- Good for us. I’ll let you describe your own circumstance. We all strive to make the best of a bad situation and turn it into something good – somehow. Just have to go with the flow, right?

Our summer has been Good --- mostly. That’s where I shall be begin….with the part that doesn’t fall under “mostly”: the BAD part! It’s always better to end on a good note. Therefore, I have saved the best for the last. You just have to plow your way through this lengthy, disturbing, beginning epistle to get to it. So get comfy, relax and just hang in there….eventually my blog does come to an end. YAWN! ZZZzzzzzz - I promise.

From prior blogs, I think you can remember I have had a few BAD experiences with kidney stones. Not a lot….but even one is too much. It has only been in the last couple years. My first experience required a lithotripsy. That wasn't bad (I was knocked out) but afterwards; the Doctor said the stone was still there. NO WAY! I doubted his interpretation and think he read a previous x-ray. Anyway….I was fine until last Feb. in Florida and May of this year. Unyielding and severe pain claimed my good times & happy days….I must confess to you I deal very poorly with pain! A paper-cut just about does me in…OWWWW—faint. Within a week, each deadly, painful session passed as well as, I believe, did a kidney stone. I was a survivor. Whew. Pat on the back! Sometime in late June, I had symptoms of a bladder infection. I hope you are not offended with all this personal information but my story needs to be told. I called my regular Doctor and got an antibiotic. It didn't clear as quickly as I hoped so made the decision to see another urologist. This Doctor came with excellent recommendations but with a warning that he was rather brash. He is very good and says he is….kind of like Donald Trump. He sternly lectured me for not going to someone to CONFIRM it was stones during my several pain and suffering episodes. He didn't care to hear I was a nurse and knew some things (I do…like Donald Trump) ….he wanted FACTS, only FACTS! I was forced not to talk. Can you fathom this? By the time I had an appointment to see him, all my symptoms were gone. I was super fine. Not good enough for him…he had me get a KUB and a CAT Scan. He wanted FACTS. Then he did a Happy Dance around me because a kidney stone showed up on the Cat Scan at the juncture of my right ureter and bladder. He had his facts. Too big to pass, I needed it removed soon. Nooooo. This time I was scheduled for an ureteroscopy where he would go up through my bladder with a telescope and a laser (liking this pretty picture, huh?). The laser would blast the stone to smithereens. He would put a stent in my ureter to keep the ureter open because of swelling in the area. I would have discomfort and constant urgency to urinate (no other way to put it…could say "think I had to pee all the time", I suppose) while the stent was in for 2 weeks! NOOOOO. I think I would rather have hot pins in my eyes cause it would be quicker. He would attach a string to the stent and in 2 weeks, yank it out in the office. EEEEEEEEK. I do not do well with pain, ‘member? Now I was sick!!! Just thinking about it: no sleep, anxiousness, anguish, everything miserable. This was BAD. But wait – a moment of a possible, positive turning of the table happened. Several weeks prior to my scheduled torture, Cory found a tiny stone on our bathroom rug in front of the toilet. I had just used it (the commode). COULD IT BE? Oh, please God, let it be. We promptly took it to the Doctor’s office for analysis. I realized the likelihood it was probably just a dirt stone. However, I wanted to see the glass half full and hung onto a string of hope – not the string attached to the bad stent that was forthcoming. Just needing FACTS. No one called me so I finally called them. With some hemming and hawing, the nurse said it could not be analyzed, thus, it was not a human stone. What about an x-ray just in case (for facts)…not necessary I’m told. When I saw the Doctor (plus my own regular doctor) during the pre-op visits, I mentioned the stone….nope, nothing…no x-ray! Finally zero hour had arrived. We were told to show up at the hospital at 1:45 PM and the procedure would be at 3:00 PM. (I always pray that the multi-used instruments have been well cleaned and sterilized when not first on the schedule). In the morning, we went to our antique co-op to restock our booths. We have two booths now because we are really trying to get out of the business. It’s going pretty well. Finally, parched dry, weak and anxious, Cory got me to the hospital. Check-in went well. I asked the nurse about an x-ray to confirm the presence and location of the stone (just for facts) – NOPE …Dr. didn't order it! So, 3:00 came and went and I was still waiting for the noose to go around my neck. Cory hates being in hospitals and funeral homes so he was struggling like me. We were not a pretty picture, let me tell you. I finally had to ring my bell (and wanted to ring others, too) to find out what was going on. Oh, yeah – everything is running behind schedule and doctor probably won’t get to me for at least another 1 ½ hours! GROAN and MOAN. But what can you do – just go with the flow. Fortunately, I was near death by now (no sleep all night and major dehydration affects had kicked in – my mouth felt and smelled like an ancient, rotting, feces covered cotton boll) so I actually fell asleep on the cot. Cory just struggled….from smelling my breath?—probably. It’s like riding in the car, falling asleep and waking up to find out you are ALMOST there. By now, all I cared about was to ensure I had plenty of drugs to put me out and keep me that way. Finally, at 5:20 PM---at night --- I was wheeled down the corridor of death. The OR nurse was wonderful. Two laser technicians stood by, my doctor was somewhere, and the Anesthesiologist was excellent. I ended up with general anesthesia and wanted to know about intubation. He said now they just put in some instrument to keep my tongue in place and airway open….not a full intubation. It looked like a jigoondo hospital purchased airway, kind of like a misshapen, huge, thick plastic boomerang. He put me out quickly so I didn't experience that delightful insertion. I did have a sore throat for a few days after, though. Eventually I awoke in the recovery room. It was all over. WHEW! But what is this I am woozily hearing? I must be dreaming, not awake, stuporous, dead & in hell. The doctor was grinning over me, stating there was no stone!!!! He couldn't find any stone anywhere. He traveled up into my kidney, searching in every nook and cranny and nothing. WHAT????? NO STONE??!!! You have to be kidding -- joking -- pranking me...which is it, Doc.? Where was this monster size stone? Found on my bathroom rug…maybe????? I endured this pain and suffering for NOTHING!! This is bad, real bad! I should have been happy that I didn't have the torturous, agonizing stent but I couldn't move beyond the “no stone bit.” Kind of like having a baby but no baby comes out!!! Things moved quickly now to get me recovered and out of the hospital....oh, yeah. Cory and I traveled the distance home with our mouths hanging open (mine had improved from its prior condition somewhat)….just stunned and in shock. NO STONE …..What the hell??? Tell me the Facts, Doctor ….. Just the facts, now. I have an appointment with him in two weeks (when he was going to yank on that stent string and rip that painful stent out of my suffering body). I think the tables will be turned at this meeting. I shall remain professional but I want to the see the lab report on the analysis of my stone I submitted. I want to see the facts. I think they lost it or never sent it. I want an explanation for not ordering that confirmation x-ray that I kept requesting many times. Just the facts. Even my first urologist, who I lost faith in, did an x-ray prior to surgery. FACTS – he wants facts…while let me tell you---so do I! I can’t believe the bad experiences I have endured with these stupid kidney stones. I don’t know why they have popped up late in my life….I have no family history of any. Talk about a stone’s throw away….I certainly want to throw my stone away for good! Getting old is hell. Thus ends my BAD story of the summer. Let’s move on to the good things now. I've had my catharsis sharing it all with all of you. I hope you are not so exhausted you can’t continue reading. Please have sympathy for me…I love sympathy. Go take a much needed break if you need to now. I’ll wait. No urgency here at this end. That's for sure.....no stone, no stent, no urgency!!!! %!^(MISSING)$@(&^?

Yesterday, our daughter, Lory, and granddaughter, Sara, invited us to go along with them to Watkins Glen State Park Gorge. Lory had a bucket list of things she wanted to see and do this summer. This was the last on her list. It was magnificent. Oh, the glory of what nature has created. The plan was to ascend the gorge from the bottom and go as far as we could. Walking stick in hand, the journey began. Of course, once started…there was no turning back. We walked and climbed a million steps (actually 832) but it seemed like a million. We traveled on the trail closest to the water in this enormous gorge. It was 1 ½ miles long. Doesn't seem all that bad to the most of you….but I haven’t hiked and climbed like that since Chip died….3 years ago. We took a shuttle bus back to the car…hallelujah. It was a beautiful day and beautiful experience. And I am not the crippled lady I thought I would be today…a tad sore but not bad. I obviously could not have enjoyed this fun day had I had that cruel and nasty stent inside me. Thusly, it was GOOD!

We have had numerous visitations and gatherings this summer. Recently, we had the pleasure of two visits from dear friends. Sue & Les came here from Elmira, NY. It was so wonderful to see them again after many years of absence. Sue, and her husband, Del became our friends in 1962. We were all in Buffalo, going to college. Del and Cory became best friends quickly. There were three of us couples that traveled basically the same path with our lives in those years. What a path it was! Del & Sue, Pete & Donna and Cory & me. We met at college, developed close friendships, got married all around the same time (Cory was best man for Del & Sue), had babies all around the same time, had no money at this time, rented “unique” apartments in Buffalo and all hung out together….loving and enjoying each other’s company. We shared the good and bad times together but they really didn’t seem bad at the time…..young and in-love stuff, you know. It was good then. Del died 13 years ago…what a loss at such a young age. We all miss him terribly. Now, Sue has fortunately found a new man in her life, Les. We are so happy for them both. It was with such joy and happiness we shared while seeing Sue and meeting Les. They are so good.

A couple weekends later, another wonderful couple stopped by for a surprise visit. Judy (Rice) and Bill McKean. They had been in our vicinity cruising around in their spiffy sport car and decided to stop. We were thrilled to see them. Both of them went to school in Smethport, PA. with Cory. Judy went through every class year with him. Bill was a year ahead of them. After Cory and I were married, he took me back to Smethport to meet his friends. We also went to class reunions. It was Judy who was always so welcoming and kind to me:" the outsider". I shall never forget that. Donna Shelander was the other wonderful woman who also was my support person through all these gatherings. She always made sure I had her to talk and sit with…she was absolutely great. They are all good people. We are blessed. We also had some other famous visitors stop by this summer as you can see by our photos of them. They all wanted to be sure I told you "Hi" from each of them -- so "Hi" from Oprah and The Royals. Lulu passed out she was so beside herself being in the presence of these folks.

We had OUR family gathering in July. With busy schedules and distance apart, it is great when we can finally find the right time to all get together. Our son, Cory, and grandson, Shenen, came up from North Carolina. Tim & Conner came down from N. Chili. Kim and Haley came from Honeoye Falls and Lory and Sara (and Ryan & Jay) came from Scio, NY. Hallelujah – we are together again. That is so good. We had a couple things on the list to do when all together. First, we had them stroll through our house and select whatever items they wanted from our belongings for themselves or their children. We want to down size to sell the house or die….whichever comes first. It went smoothly….took @ 3 hours cause we have A LOT of stuff! And this was only the big stuff. I shall have to divvy up the smalls and pack them in boxes for each of them at some time soon. They took a few of the items with them. The rest, Cory made tags and attached them to each item with the respective child’s name on it. Sometime, they all will return and take away these items. Then, our next “pièce de résistance” was our old home movies. Cory and I had sorted and organized them the best we could. We, then, had all our home movies put on DVD’s for each child. Each got 8 videos approximately 2 hours long. I had two others done of my OWN home movies. And Lory got another where she had taken videos of Alan when he was a baby. We managed to watch four of the DVD’s….what memories, what laughs, what a great family…it was good! I bet all of you are dreaming, drooling and wishing you could have been with us so you could have watch the hours and hours of home movies. I have copies so anytime you want, just stop by. Of course, after the fact, I have found even more movies on VHS and Beta Tapes. So our work is not done. We shall do the same with these tapes. It will be good. Our time spent together went by far too quickly. They all stayed over except Lory – she lives close by. Our motor home provided extra sleeping facilities along with the two empty bedrooms upstairs. This gathering was beyond GOOD!

We have had numerous family birthday celebrations to attend. The end of April, Lory had us all down to their house after celebrating Ryan’s birthday at Applebee's. We met at Olive Garden in May for Tim’s birthday. Not everyone can always attend but those who do; we are thrilled to be together with any and all of them. My mother always loved these gatherings or trips…she said we traveled like the boat people – hordes of us together. We miss her presence so much. We went to the Texas Roadhouse in Rochester for Kim’s birthday. No one would ride the saddle until Kim paid Conner $5.00 to do it so the staff could sing to Kim. Lory and Jay had us down recently for Beer Can chicken (by Jay) for Al’s birthday. How times flies. He is 24 now….the oldest Grandson. It all has been so good.

Cory bought a golf cart to navigate around our property. I just love it. Of course, it does not benefit my health at all – the brief, walking exercise of hauling food stuff up to the wild critters in our back field has stopped. Now we cruise merrily along, with the breeze in our face, to get to the feeding station. My cholesterol has gone up because of the golf cart. RATS! I also use it to go over to visit my good friend, Mary Kay (she lives across the road). Early this year, she had her hip replaced and a bad case of shingles. That was bad. But with her strength and determination, she has rallied around and is recovering nicely. We have no way to haul this fun cart to Florida so maybe we might have to buy one down there and call it the Florida Fun Cart. That would be good.

Unexpectedly, we joined the Howard (NY) Historical Society. I thought we were just going to a chat session to share our Howard, NY experiences. After my father died in 1957, my mother and I moved from Massachusetts to Howard, NY …where we lived several years with my grandparents. Howard is located outside of Hornell, NY. It is a farming community. Many fond memories. Anyway, we became members of this group. We have two dates where we sit in their museum when it is open to the public. We participated in The Howard Home Days celebration. That was fun. We had a good time. Cory was parking attendant man and I sold raffle tickets for the beautiful quilt made by 3 of the ladies of Howard. They had various activities and entertainment. They had a $5.00 full Chicken Bar-B-Q that was to die for. That was good.

For over a year, Cory and I have endlessly and persistently tried to get a problem solved in our community of Shongo (where we live). It is for the benefit of all Shongo residents but mainly affects those living on and by this creek that flows through our hamlet. Over the many years, this creek has filled with tons of sediment and debris causing flooding onto our properties during heavy rains. We suffer property damage as well asmuch stress. The creek has to be dredged and the debris has to be removed. No ands, ifs or buts. In some places, one cannot even travel down the creek bed due to the overwhelming blockage from the debris. The sediment is so high you can walk from one side of the creek to the other and never step down! Getting the picture? We have written MANY letters to all of our elected and selected officials, including Governor Cuomo. We have held and attended many meetings about this problem. We have truly made this our purpose. We have run into constant “No’s” and never any solution that can reasonably be obtained. Until just recently! Two newspaper articles were published about funding obtained through Senator Catharine Young (always on my list) to dredge and clean two lakes in Allegany County (our county). It also stated some $$ for surrounding streams and creeks … BUT not mentioning our creek. My computer was hot, smoking and glowing by the time I finished my letter to all these many representatives we have been in contact with over this year. A few days later, we received an email from the head of Soil & Water Conservation stating that our creek would be included in the dredging and debris removal. Halleluiah. We have arranged a meeting at our house on Sept.9^th with the landowners of this creek and the head of Soil & Water to begin the process of permission and permits to get the job going. This is Good…very Good! However, until the job is done…we do not sit and hold our breaths. It has been like being up the creek without a paddle. Finally, maybe, someone is getting us that paddle needed to get this serious work down. We surely hope so. Our neighbors are depending upon us and we don’t want to disappoint them. The final solution to this problem can and will done (sooner or later) and that will be very good.

The annual Balloon Rally held in Wellsville was in July. This has become a major tourist attraction for Wellsville. It is a beautiful sight to see when those many hot air balloons lift off and float serenely across the sky. So awesome. We always hope that one will land on our property….it did one time years ago. There are so many pretty things to see in our areas. You just need to take the time to look for them. It is good.

I have already blogged about the other various experiences we had over the summer: the re-opening of the Pennsylvania Lumber Museum (good), attending the Johnny Cash (impersonator) show at the motorcycle, ATV, snowmobile, etc. shop (good), taking the tour of the Willard Mental Asylum on Seneca Lake (good time but bad tour), going to the Allentown (Buffalo) Art Festival and Canal Side in Buffalo (good), going to the Hess Tire Customer Appreciation Day (we bought RV tires) – (good), our daughter, Kim, had her pacemaker placement (bad that she needed it but a very good outcome).

I have decided from now on, I will not post my blogs onto Facebook. A bit too much personal information for the world to see and absorb. Do you think??? For our family & friends – well, that’s another story. It keeps my brain active and that is good. If you are already on my blog site mailing list, you are fine. If, however, you are not and want to see any of my future blogs, you need to email me your email address so I may add it to the list from my Travel blog site. OR, if you want off my mailing list, let me know that, too. This will be good.

So, friends and family, as I have shared this lengthy (do you think?) blog with you, I hope I haven’t bored you to death with all my blow by blow accounting and rambling jabber of our summer events…the good and the bad. Anytime, you know, you can take frequent rest spells through this maze of blabber (I bet your mind went straight to thinking about my bladder...right?). Glad we could get together again and sit a spell. Enjoy all your future adventures that lay ahead…may they all be good!!!

---

Photos

Family & Friends
Those are the folks who make everything that is Good!

Our 2 booths at Salamanca Antique Co-op Mall
Anything you want?

Domesday - Trying to be upbeat and brave
End of day and this is me! But worse.

Watkins Glen State Park
Beautiful place, Beautiful day

Welcome Friends!
Sue & Les
Judy & Bill

More visitors came by...
Hi Oprah...Hi Royals...thanks for your visits

Our Family Gathering
Best time. Wonderful Day filled with great memories

Our Family Gathering
Our children and some of the grandchildren.....we love them all so very much.

Birthday Celebrations
Ryan and Tim's

Birthday Celebrations
Kim's & Alan's

Golf Cart
Cory added a back seat!

Critters at our Feeding Station
Deer, fox, bear, raccoons and then there are others.

Creek Project in Shongo
It needs a lot of work!

Balloon Rally
Wellsville, NY

Pennsylvania Lumber Museum &
Johnny Cash show & Willard Mental Asylum Tour

Allentown Art Festival &
Outside Buffal Sabres Hockey Arena Rink & Buffalo Canal Side

Kim get her pacemaker
She's all good now

Lulu was always there ---
Thank you, one and all!