Ups & Downs

This last month and a half has definitely been full of ups and downs!  We have gone to some awesome football games watching grandson, Gage, and his team work their way to the state finals.  So exciting to see your grandkids having fun and excelling at something that they love! These football games culminated last night at Stillwater, Oklahoma with Gage's team, the Blanchard Lions, beating the, Kingfisher Yellowjackets, 28 to 21 to win the gold ball.  We are so proud of Gage and his team who worked so hard to make this happen, the last time was in 1979, so it was a very  long dry spell for them.  We did not get to go to the game because of the down side of the last few weeks.  I did get to watch it livestreaming on my computer, though!
Bob had an appointment to have an angiogram done the Wednesday after Thanksgiving due to the fact that he had been having chest discomfort most of the summer.  We went to that appointment in Oklahoma City expecting possibly stints and an overnight stay at the most.  When the doctor came in and told me after the test that all his major arteries were major blocked, I was totally shocked.  He said that we were looking at possibly 5 bypasses, and possibly a two week stay in the hospital.  We were not prepared for this situation at all.  For one thing it is a 100 mile drive back home to Fairview, bills needing to be paid, a house cat, Sissy, who we needed to make arrangements for care, Christmas just around the corner, shopping not done, etc.  I can drive in OKC, but do not like to, and it makes me very nervous, so there was that lurking in my mind on how to get back home and get the necessary things for an extended stay at the Oklahoma Heart Hospital, but the really big upside to all this is the support and prayers from family and friends that we had from the word go! The day of the angiogram when we found out the news, our pastor, Bro. David, friends, Galen and Sharon, Bob's boss, Bill, Bob's brother, C.A., our kids, Brad & Marshalene, Lawayne, Susan, and Sarah were all there to help Bob and I through this.  They all helped make the decisions needing to be made.  Then our friend and neighbor, Charlie, took over kitty duty at home, visiting and feeding her everyday that we were gone and just more or less  house sitting for us. Don't know what we would have done without her! The minute the news hit Facebook we had scores of friends praying for us all through the surgery and time in the hospital.  We totally believe that those prayers are what brought Bob through surgery just fine, (5 bypasses).  He was in ICU only 2 nights, and walked all the way from the ICU room to his regular room which was a long ways.  They said that he was ahead of schedule on how well he was doing, and by the 3rd day we were hearing rumors from the nurses that he might get to go home very soon.  On the 4th day, Bob's birthday,  the doctor came in and told Bob he probably would get to go home soon.  Bob told him it was his birthday, and he'd hoped to go home, and the doctor looked at him a minute then said "I think we can do that"!! Amazing a possible 2 week stay down to 4 days!  Only by the grace of God could all of this have worked out this way! Prayers, loving family and friends, blessings that cannot be bought.  What an awesome way to close out this year of ups and downs!!