Tuesday, October 18, 2005
JUNE 20TH TO AUGUST....1998
Have I ever mentioned how bull-headed I am? My boys have a clue but Becky sees it in action most of the time. One day I woke up to the fact that it was time to take over my own ship. Kind of a personal mutiny…..most of my life I tried to please everyone and go to great lengths to make sure everyone was happy with me.
When this mysterious pain showed up and wouldn’t go away, I decided to outlast it. Becky kept saying she thought I should go find out what the trouble was but I wasn’t having it. No sir. Once an Andersen gets their head on crooked it stays that way to prove we aren’t dominated.
Along with the pain and disability came other problems which I ignored. Each day I laboriously went about my tasks as my condition became more severe and showed no signs of leaving. The first part of July Becky and I drove to Shawnee and picked George up to go to Blair with us. I had wanted to visit my birthplace and relatives for some time and George and Becky went along with my invitation. Thankfully, George drove all the way. The three of us got mixed up on the signs around Omaha and found ourselves going across the Missouri River from Iowa into Nebraska………George managed to get us turned around and on the right road on north to Missouri Valley where we correctly crossed the bridge into Blair. We had a good laugh out of it, anyway.
We drove to my Aunt Phyllis and Uncle Roger’s home where we were greeted warmly. They have a pretty home and beautiful landscaping on the property of the old Stricklett home place. We sat on the deck and enjoyed a cool drink and caught up on family news. Aunt Phyllis had a delicious meal and later in the evening, Joy (their daughter) and her husband, Dan, came over to visit. They own grandma’s house and have renovated and redecorated in good taste to preserve the basic structure. Both are very talented and have improved the landscape remarkably.
We fell into bed and woke the next morning to the smell of coffee. Uncle Roger was doing the honors and made pancakes for breakfast. Later we took a tour of the town where I spent a lot of my young years…..I took pictures of the school where I, my mother and her siblings attended, the church, the Court House, the City Swimming Pool at the Park where I went every chance I got…..and we ended up at the cemetery, where the forbearer’s of the Stricklett family were buried. We went back to the house for lunch and then a tour of Joy’s garden….absolutely beautiful.
My cousin, Bruce, his children, then Aunt Sally and other cousins, Joyce, and Mark and family arrived. We had quite a small reunion going and then cousin Roger Phillip and family came, Julie, and Joy and Dan walked over. Uncle Roger went to the local Deli and picked up food enough for everyone and we ate picnic style in Joy and Dan’s patio garden. The evening was spent eating and laughing over old times and catching up on the new.
We had to leave the next day but Uncle Roger and Aunt Phyllis drove as far as Omaha with us where we met their son, Roger Phillip and family for dinner. It was a nice end to a perfect weekend and I will always cherish the visit and pictures I have to look back on. George drove on the trip back to Kansas City and once there we met friends of George and Becky’s at our favorite Shawnee Pizza Shop then convened to George’s where the fun continued. I gave up and went to bed…..I had been living on pain pills and was physically worn out after all we crammed into a few days.
By mid-July I was beginning to weaken on my stance of avoiding a doctor’s visit. I relented and at least made a phone call to his nurse. I told her of my two bouts with heat exhaustion earlier and made a convincing case because she volunteered that it “might” be symptomatic. I took that to mean I didn’t have anything serious going on. Later, John, Barb, L.J. and a friend of his, Roy, stopped overnight on their way to take the boys to basketball camp at KU. We had a good visit and got up early the next morning to get them on their way.
I threw in the towel and called for an appointment to see Dr. Powell. I was sick and tired of pain and other problems. When I told him what had been going on……..he immediately made an appointment for a Colonoscopy and didn’t give me a chance to talk him out of it. He had good support from Becky, who accompanied me. I was to drink four liters of “stuff” after fasting all day. I was not only hungry but drinking that amount of something that wasn’t exactly a dining experience took all the effort I could muster. Becky stayed with me till it was all gone….I suspect she thought I’d pour it down the drain.
Living 80-miles away from the hospital required getting up at 4:00a.m. to make my check-in time by 6:30. Becky drove and I tried not to think about how good a cup of coffee would taste. Once there, I was taken immediately to a small room and the experience began. I had always been the observer…..now I was the patient. I was going to have my day in the sun at long last. As I lay on the bed I looked at Becky who was sitting on the chair by my bed and said, “This is different…..me in bed and you on the chair…..” she gave me a look like, “yah….now you’re going to see how much fun all of this is”…….I didn’t like her look….this might not be that much fun.
In short order I was wheeled down the hall past flapping doors and found myself looking into the face of Dr. Miller standing over me. After a quick introduction he asked me to roll over on my side so I could be given a mild sedative. It was lights out, instantly. I woke up in the room with Becky waiting for me to come around so I could take juice and get dressed. I was feeling good about the whole experience….I didn’t know a thing and I was ready for breakfast.
Later I was given an all-clear but Becky Waggoner was found to have 10 spots on her lungs…….she wasn’t as fortunate. Our hearts went out to her and her family and to Jonathan. Sometimes things just don’t seem fair but it isn’t within our power to change them……..
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
When this mysterious pain showed up and wouldn’t go away, I decided to outlast it. Becky kept saying she thought I should go find out what the trouble was but I wasn’t having it. No sir. Once an Andersen gets their head on crooked it stays that way to prove we aren’t dominated.
Along with the pain and disability came other problems which I ignored. Each day I laboriously went about my tasks as my condition became more severe and showed no signs of leaving. The first part of July Becky and I drove to Shawnee and picked George up to go to Blair with us. I had wanted to visit my birthplace and relatives for some time and George and Becky went along with my invitation. Thankfully, George drove all the way. The three of us got mixed up on the signs around Omaha and found ourselves going across the Missouri River from Iowa into Nebraska………George managed to get us turned around and on the right road on north to Missouri Valley where we correctly crossed the bridge into Blair. We had a good laugh out of it, anyway.
We drove to my Aunt Phyllis and Uncle Roger’s home where we were greeted warmly. They have a pretty home and beautiful landscaping on the property of the old Stricklett home place. We sat on the deck and enjoyed a cool drink and caught up on family news. Aunt Phyllis had a delicious meal and later in the evening, Joy (their daughter) and her husband, Dan, came over to visit. They own grandma’s house and have renovated and redecorated in good taste to preserve the basic structure. Both are very talented and have improved the landscape remarkably.
We fell into bed and woke the next morning to the smell of coffee. Uncle Roger was doing the honors and made pancakes for breakfast. Later we took a tour of the town where I spent a lot of my young years…..I took pictures of the school where I, my mother and her siblings attended, the church, the Court House, the City Swimming Pool at the Park where I went every chance I got…..and we ended up at the cemetery, where the forbearer’s of the Stricklett family were buried. We went back to the house for lunch and then a tour of Joy’s garden….absolutely beautiful.
My cousin, Bruce, his children, then Aunt Sally and other cousins, Joyce, and Mark and family arrived. We had quite a small reunion going and then cousin Roger Phillip and family came, Julie, and Joy and Dan walked over. Uncle Roger went to the local Deli and picked up food enough for everyone and we ate picnic style in Joy and Dan’s patio garden. The evening was spent eating and laughing over old times and catching up on the new.
We had to leave the next day but Uncle Roger and Aunt Phyllis drove as far as Omaha with us where we met their son, Roger Phillip and family for dinner. It was a nice end to a perfect weekend and I will always cherish the visit and pictures I have to look back on. George drove on the trip back to Kansas City and once there we met friends of George and Becky’s at our favorite Shawnee Pizza Shop then convened to George’s where the fun continued. I gave up and went to bed…..I had been living on pain pills and was physically worn out after all we crammed into a few days.
By mid-July I was beginning to weaken on my stance of avoiding a doctor’s visit. I relented and at least made a phone call to his nurse. I told her of my two bouts with heat exhaustion earlier and made a convincing case because she volunteered that it “might” be symptomatic. I took that to mean I didn’t have anything serious going on. Later, John, Barb, L.J. and a friend of his, Roy, stopped overnight on their way to take the boys to basketball camp at KU. We had a good visit and got up early the next morning to get them on their way.
I threw in the towel and called for an appointment to see Dr. Powell. I was sick and tired of pain and other problems. When I told him what had been going on……..he immediately made an appointment for a Colonoscopy and didn’t give me a chance to talk him out of it. He had good support from Becky, who accompanied me. I was to drink four liters of “stuff” after fasting all day. I was not only hungry but drinking that amount of something that wasn’t exactly a dining experience took all the effort I could muster. Becky stayed with me till it was all gone….I suspect she thought I’d pour it down the drain.
Living 80-miles away from the hospital required getting up at 4:00a.m. to make my check-in time by 6:30. Becky drove and I tried not to think about how good a cup of coffee would taste. Once there, I was taken immediately to a small room and the experience began. I had always been the observer…..now I was the patient. I was going to have my day in the sun at long last. As I lay on the bed I looked at Becky who was sitting on the chair by my bed and said, “This is different…..me in bed and you on the chair…..” she gave me a look like, “yah….now you’re going to see how much fun all of this is”…….I didn’t like her look….this might not be that much fun.
In short order I was wheeled down the hall past flapping doors and found myself looking into the face of Dr. Miller standing over me. After a quick introduction he asked me to roll over on my side so I could be given a mild sedative. It was lights out, instantly. I woke up in the room with Becky waiting for me to come around so I could take juice and get dressed. I was feeling good about the whole experience….I didn’t know a thing and I was ready for breakfast.
Later I was given an all-clear but Becky Waggoner was found to have 10 spots on her lungs…….she wasn’t as fortunate. Our hearts went out to her and her family and to Jonathan. Sometimes things just don’t seem fair but it isn’t within our power to change them……..
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
