Ethan’s Journey

 I had trouble getting going this morning. I think I enjoyed my coffee a little too much! I sat around a little bit longer than normal. I was able to agree on a time next week with the nephrologist for Ethan. That will be priority. I might also ask to meet with a nutritionist that can guide me through the no healthy foods, healthy food diet. One that takes his potassium, medication dietary needs, complicated medical needs diets all into order. I think at this point water is the only safe option. Ha ha ha Avery showed up and did some work from home on the couch while I was doing my work as well. She had some lazy coworkers. They all missed her and planted themselves right next to her. After work, Paul and I skipped up to camp. We are embracing a fairly empty nest for now. It was a nice drive. I was able to work a little longer while Paul drove to shave off some work time tomorrow. It is going to be so hot out. Might as well spend it at the lake. I only have one on camera meeting tom...

We got Ethan’s blood work back. Grrrrr!  After some of my encouragement, Ethan has an ultrasound of his kidney next week to make sure things structurally look ok. I am hoping to meet with the nephrologist soon to see how we can stop his kidney from getting worse. He is holding steady for now, but each time is just a smidgeon worse. I don’t like that direction. He is doing all the right things. His blood pressure is good. He is at a healthy weight. He is active. His diet is the best he can do with his restrictions. Low protein, low potassium, low salt diet. Basically very little fruits, very little vegetables, very little meats, beans, nuts, protein…. But eat a “healthy” diet.  Sometimes he just gives up for a day. Then starts over. This is typically done out of frustration. The bright side is, these appointments are so much easier being close to home.  Ethan went grocery shopping with me today. It was the first time in years. I was of course thrilled. I know it doesn’t me...

 Happy Father’s Day to all the father’s old, new, in between, and passed away. A former coworker of mine lost her father yesterday morning. She is rightfully devastated. It just proves we never know when someone is going to pass away. Make the best of the moments you have. Share a smile, share kindness. Share laughs and make memories. Someday, the memories will be all you have.  I feel so bad for her. The Dad’s gone club is not a club you want to be a part of. I think of my dad often. I wonder what he would be like as he aged. I think he sticks with us and keeps us safe. Paul and I drove home this morning. When we arrived home, our screened in porch door was all busted up. The screen was torn through and there was dog food and bird seed strewn across the floor. We checked the cameras to find that our untidy, damage ridden thief was a raccoon. 🦝 He was kind of cute as he discovered that he hit the raccoon jackpot. DOG FOOD! We keep a bin out there with dog food located in it. ...

 I started the day very early. I woke up around 4 am with a trip to the bathroom. The days of my bladder being able to make it the whole way through the night are long over. I was trying to decide if I should just stay up or go back to sleep. The fresh air makes for good sleeping weather. I tried to go back to sleep. The next thing I knew it was 8:30. Wow! That never happens. I felt like part of the day was wasted. The days here are lazy and include a lot of outside time. I walked the dogs. I like walking them up here because they get to run off leash, smell all the smells, pee on things, and run full blast. Penny especially loves this. She runs full speed, chasing anything that moves.  Ferguson and Jiminy mostly stick close, stopping occasionally to smell something. I totally enjoy watching them. I enjoy the bobolink’s flying around and singing their song. I call them robot birds. To me they sound like robots. They are cute with their yellow heads. As I embrace aging, I enjoy...

 Being at camp is a simpler way of life. There really aren’t any rules besides what time the dogs eat.  There is no set schedule. No set times to eat (eat when you are hungry) and you can take the dogs on a walk as many times as you want. I did work today, but was still able to fit in those important things. We had a NASTY storm last night. I went to bed an about an hour later, I woke up to the buckets of rain pounding down on the roof of the camper. The wind was making the camper rock side to side and shaking it. The lightening dances across the sky in what seemed to be a never ending storm. The thunder was fading in and out pretty quick to the reverberating thunder. Another impressive storm! I watched it for a bit. Then I decided it was time for me to go back to sleep. I turned the main fan on and it drowned out the thunder. This morning I found my chair about 100 feet from where I left it. The dogs had a lot of walks today as well as myself. Another good day!

 The dogs and I had a healthy dose of sunshine, fresh air and quiet today. I sat in my chair over looking the lake. Jiminy sat in his chair too. Penny and Ferguson got their time out in the sun to nap as well. The dogs got to got one a few walks today, of leash. The went hog wild on the roads sniffing everything as well as urinating on what they could. They claim everything to be theirs with a few drops of urine. I am so glad the real world doesn’t run that way. I heard back from the Rescue Group. The Nard Dog will be arriving June 25 th. Yay! I have followed up with Ethan’s doctors for answers regarding his blood work. I am waiting on doctors to respond. I am pretty sure I am developing poison ivy on a few spots of my face. So that’s fun. What a wonderful gift from nature! I am glad tomorrow is Friday.

 I was so frustrated this morning. Ethan and I went to go get his blood drawn at the lab and our wait was 30 minutes or less, which is fantastic. They called his name and he went back. When he came out I asked him “did you do the urinalysis?”  I am not sure why I asked that. He replied “No”. Literally this is one of the more important tests they use to assess kidney function. Since his kidney function has been questionable since last fall, I was really hoping the results of this test would help me leverage pushing for more testing. I waiting in line to ask the medical team sitting behind the desk. They looked in Ethan’s file and let me know that all of his urinalysis tests that had been ordered were “used up”.  It’s not their fault. They can only run tests they have orders for. We were told that he had standing orders. Ugh! I was frustrated with this because we specifically went to the lab to get tests done to evaluate Ethan’s kidney function and one of the main tests tha...