Showing posts with label Sisters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sisters. Show all posts

Sunday, September 25, 2022

Aortic Stenosis and Health Update

Jeanne and Marilyn are so weird when I try to explain about my health.  I will shut up about it.  Dementia is a very sad thing and you have to accept that they can never reciprocate in any way.  Their life is about themselves.  I just read that Happiness is Good Health and a Bad Memory.  That is them.  Marilyn thinks she is healthy because she golfed all her life.  It probably was more healthy than working 16 hours a day as I often had to do.  Jeanne thinks she is healthy because she did everything right and I suppose that might be true also.  She does eat more than she needs though but except for being chubbier than Marilyn it does not seem to bother her.  She wants to be totally independent and not have me wash and change her sheets or do any washing for her and I guess since I am leaving that is best.  Marilyn is not aware of Jeanne's needs at all.  I guess they will be fine unless they need more attention than they get here but they do have plenty of children to help them and that is really good.  Jeanne still has a sharp mind about some things.  If I cannot think of the word I want she usually comes up with it.  And she can carry on quite a good conversation about many things.  Marilyn has stock comments that she makes all the time to impress that she knows something.  I find my memory is getting worse.  That is a worry.

But I learned something interesting watching two documentaries on You Tube.  If you get aortic stenosis after age 70 it is because of the placque in your arteries.  You will go into about three stages.  In the angina stage you have about 5 years of life remaining.  In the dizziness stage your life is down to 3 yrs.  But the final state could be an heart attack anytime.  Can't remember what that stage is.

So since I was not really having symptoms in 2020 when they were trying to do a TAVR on me I really did not need one.  I am currently having angina from time to time so I guess I am still going to live a little while.  I need to keep my blood pressure down.  I do that with medicine but I also need to stay away from incidents that raise my blood pressure.

I am also not to exert myself too much so I need to monitor how much physical work I do and indeed take take those naps when I need to.  The walking with Sadie is excellent and three times a day would not be too much.

I am still not sure why I sometimes have leg aches and other times I don't but I keep trying to eat healthy and not eat too much sugar.

Lately I have been having too much caffeine.  Better just to rest and watch a slow tv show.  I am finding there are some good oldies on You Tube but the sound is not as good.  At any rate with my roku etc I have plenty of good tv to watch without being on the main channels with commercials.

I am having my smoothies most days for breakfast which really made me feel good.  I put in the protein powder, berry fruit, pineapple, banana, yeast, chia seeds, spinach and sometimes dates or prunes and always have cranberry juice (half water) with it.

The medications I take are a baby aspirin, oxybutynin 5 mg(2), escitalopram 10 mg, rosuvastatin 10 mg,  lisinopril 20 mg.  But supplements I take are Biotin, 1200 Citracal, Citrucel tablets, Azo urinary tract health, Multivitamin, allergy pill in am, Benadryl at night.  Also Generic Flonase at night.  I also occasionally have to use nitro pill for angina.  All these medications are up to date and with these medications I can control my bladder, lowered cholesterol, kept aortic stenosis to moderate, lowered blood pressure and been allergy symptom free and do not have stuffed nose at night disrupting my sleep, thus avoiding costly sleep aid machines.  I have had occasional knotting in my legs again, very painful and only at night and the raising of my feet way high takes them away.  Not sure what would happen without my bed but I remember getting one on my way to Guam on the plane and had several people giving me advice on what to do.  I stood in the aisle and what one man told me actually worked. Now I cannot remember what it was.  Dr. Serry did check my legs and nothing too bad there.

 I also have a face wash and cream to keep rosacea and eczema under control.  I seldom eat potatoes or rice, occasional bread and waffle, tangerines, dates, salad, and the above smoothie besides veggies and protein chicken or beef at supper. along with occasional homemade soup.  I remain constipation and diarrhea free and have energy and can walk upright and without aid with Sadie.  I do not have aches and pains except for occasional wrist pain and neck pain from too long at the computer. and occasional leg pain.  I use hearing aids from Costco and love that for listening to books, etc.  I watch our ward sacrament meeting online and can hear everything much better than attending church.  And I have corrective glasses which should be checked this year.  They are special for keeping the double vision away. 

I feel the health care I have received this year has been exceptional as was the health care I received from Arch Health in Rancho Bernardo except I was not impressed with my cardiologist here,.  When I return to Carlsbad I have a Dr. Pham at Scripps Coastal who will be my internist and have not been assigned a cardiologist or dermatologist yet.  So new doctors again, I hope I like them.  I have not been to a neurologist since 2019.  Can't remember who switched me to an aspirin a day but doctors since have wanted to keep it that way.  I am considered to have heart failure as well as other problems which I feel are pretty much under control on the present medications.  Not too much, not too little.  The rest is up to me.  As Dr. Serry said, "Keep doing what you are doing and no TAVR needed yet."  Dr. Jones pretty much said the same thing and he wants to see me one more time before I leave so I leave with the prescriptions etc all filled and no 6 month echo till Nov or Dec needed.



Tuesday, September 13, 2022

All Anderson Sisters Together


 Carole is the youngest and will be 84 in November, I will be 90 in January, Marilyn will be 92 in April and Jeanne will be 94 in July, 2023 so we are old ladies, something we probably never imagined would happen.




It was kind of funny because we met at a familiar Mexican Restaurant but times had changed and we were the only ones to be waited on and everything took forever.  It appeared there was only one lady there to do everything!!!!

But the good part was we were able to talk, talk, talk and we heard some stories from each other we had not heard before so that was very fun.

Here is a picture from about 47 years ago. 




And from about 74 years ago.


The reason we met at that particular restaurant was to meet Carole's friend Nell from their teaching school days in San Diego in the 60s.


Carole's friend Alyce has been Carole's friend since second grade in Glendive and Carole had come down from Montana to visit her for a week and also see her sisters at Treeo.


Friends are forever.



Thursday, July 07, 2022

Carole at Silver Gate

Jon caught a great picture of Carole with Index Mountain and Pilot in the background.


 

Friday, July 01, 2022

Dementia Diary to the Rescue

 Marilyn's Calendar which I keep up for her.  Steven created it from a App called Dementia Diary.  A man had created it for his own Mom or Grandma.  Jeanne has one, too, and it really helps for them to stay in control of their life by knowing what is happening that day.  A tablet sits by their TV Screen and it shows just one day at a time and shows the events and moves down the tablet as things occur.




Monday, June 27, 2022

Sisters with Carole W.

Jeanne's daughter Carole and her friend visited Jeanne today and her friend took our picture together.




 

Steven to the Rescue

Marilyn also has a memory problem and writes umpteen notes to help.  For years Steven has a tablet on Jeannes TV Stand that tells her what to do at what time and helps keep her up on what is happening at Treeo, Dr Appts, Visits, entertainment.  It is a program he found in which a programmer developed it for his own mother or grandmother, not sure which.

Anyway it is called "Dementia Diary" and so Debbie gave the go ahead on buying a Table and Steven bought the best for the least at Walmart and set it up for Marilyn as well.  I will keep up and changes or additions for the day, week, etc.  

And I do it on my big IMAC so it is easy to see and work with.  Yea, thanks to Steven for his knowledge and willingness to help and thanks to me for being wise enough to get the IMAC so it is easier for me to be of help.


Tuesday, June 07, 2022

The Anderson Girls

In 1934 our Dad left Utah and began managing a Karl Johnson store in Glendive, Montana.  His brother Lorin was managing a Karl Johnson star in the neighboring town of Miles City and had secured the jobs for both of them.   They were department stores and the brothers would later buy them and rename them Andersons.

We followed by train in May and I was 15 months and the depression was raging.  We also had two older brothers Dick and Dave and Jeanne, Marilyn, and myself were always known as the Anderson Girls.  Carole would follow in 1938 as another Anderson Girl.

The first picture was taken across the street from the first house we rented, right near the big bridge, and this was a sweet little park.  Mom looks pretty classy in her Tam.  And we were all well dressed.

The next picture is taken at Treeo, a senior residential home, in Orem, Utah.  Jeanne has lived there about 8 years, I followed last year, and Marilyn joined us the first of June 2022.







 

Friday, December 31, 2021

A Christmas Memory by Carole Fuqua, 2021

 "In Eastern Montana, Glendive, winter nights were long but not boring.  Basketball games, Community Concerts, sledding under street lights and exciting radio programs.

I heard my first harp when I was in first grade, sitting on the first row of DCHS auditorium (without parents) eagerly looking up at the beautiful lady playing this etheral instrument.  She smiled at me and I was forever smitten by a harp. 

Great fun and memorable was to come home from sledding to find my Mom stirring up a batch of fudge.  You could use a candy thermometer to get it right or just drop a bit into a glass of cold water to see if the proper soft ball stage was reached.  It was now ready to remove from the fire (we cooked with gas), drop in the butter and vanilla and begin to beat it with a wooden spoon.

Mom wrapped a towel around the hot pan and propped it in the crook of her arm and began to beat.  Too much beating and it would turn to a crumbly mess.  Just enough and it would lose its gleam and be ready to  pour in a buttered dish.  When it was firm to the touch, it was cut into squares or sometimes rolled in a log (not too often on that one).  It was delicious and with a large family you didn't have a chance to overeat.  The pan and spoon was given to the yougest to lick, me.  Many times it was shared with brother Dick in the Navy or brother and sisters at college.

Some like nuts in it, some don't.  I liked either.  Enjoy and Merry Christmas!"

Carole Anderson Fuqua

Sunday, October 10, 2021

Three Sisters

Jeanne ready for Church


Janet ready for Church


Carole in Montana.





New Haircut by Theresa at Modifi


 

Saturday, August 07, 2021

Sister Carole and Some Friends

Carole with some of the ladies she worked with in Headstart in Glendive, Montana.  



 

Thursday, April 22, 2021

Carole and Janet

I am not exactly sure why Carole and I were exchanging pictures on this day but here they are.




 

Sunday, January 24, 2021

Carole in Hospital with Covid

They were together at Christmas and then for a birthday party for Len, who is deceased, and then Jon's family, Chris, Dave and Carole all came down wth the Covid.  I think Carole showed the symptoms last.  Dave had it bad cuz of his asthma. 

 They were tested last week and came back positive and Carole was told by her doctor it could get worse around the 8th or 9th day and she wanted her to come in for an infusion.  Carole somehow missed the call with the time and so missed it.

 She sounded terrible when I talked to her on Thursday and she got worse from there.  She said last night was really bad.  She went to ER around noon on Saturday the 24th and they have her on steroids, fluids, and nausea medicine and keeping her over night.  She said the nausea was the worst but she also has a horrible cough, whenever I talk to her. Her oxygen level was ok.  They wondered earlier if she had a way to measure that at home.

One of the things I was told was that if you have covid you should not get the vaccine until 90 days after recovery.  Yet today I read that a lady had covid in December and got the vaccine  this week and died so lots of rumors and there is not enough vaccine.

I have not been able to get an appointment yet and neither has Marilyn.  Jeanne had hers a few weeks ago.

Carole did not come home from the hospital until January 28th and she came home with oxygen tank and way to measure it.  It got down to 85 in the hospital, she is to keep it above 92.  She is also on blood thinner because of the heart flutter they detected and that helps to prevent strokes.  Someone is coming on Monday for two hours to give her help on how to take care of herself, etc.  

They think that Sage contacted the virus first from someone in school and she was quarantined and only attended about 4 days of school in January.


Monday, June 15, 2020

My Sister Carole

Carole sent a picture with her friend from Glendive.  Looking good!!!




 

Saturday, June 16, 2018

Carole

Carole sent a picture of her complexion after a month of using No. 7 Boots anti-aging serum!!!  Wow, I am going to get some.  It looks wonderful.  I told her she should send them a before and after picture and maybe they will pay her for an endorsement.


Friday, November 12, 2010

My Sister Carole has a Birthday.

Today my sister Carole is turning 72 (I think). She is such a special person, I just want to pay tribute to her (again possibly.

She was always the sparkler of the family, the one everyone always enjoyed being with, listening to, or being heard by. She is a great Mom, teacher, speaker, and just a wonderful human being.

One of Carole’s best qualities is her ability to listen. She is not only a good listener but then she always has something positive to say. She Is a nurturer, one who cares, I don’t think she likes to let anyone feel badly. When I need a kind and sympathetic ear, I always call Carole.

She can also be very wise and speak up when a sane voice needs to be heard.

Carole always had lots of friends, like Marilyn, she acquires friends easily.

I can’t remember a time when Carole hasn’t been there for me. During high school, she was a lot younger so I mostly remember her as being cute and funny and always having a pet that she loved. She was always tender to the animals.

I can’t remember why we were at college one time together. Maybe it was the summer before I went to teach in San Diego. Anyway I just remember coming home too late to get in the dorm and her hand was waving out the window to let me know she would let me in.  No scolding, just being there.

When I had my first baby, she was teaching in San Diego, and was always there for me as a baby sitter, companion, listener, helper.

Carole also likes to decorate and move things around to make them more interesting. I tend to get things one way and leave it there forever. A funny story is when they were staying with us for awhile in the 1980’s. Richard and I had gone out and when we came back she had rearranged all the living room furniture, and that was not easy. It was a big room with lots of heavy furniture. Richard was incredulous, that she would have the nerve to do that. I didn’t think too much about it, just glad she was interested in making it better.
She was always the creative one, the one who could do things with flowers and such, talent I never inherited.

Of course, she was not for paper work. How well I remember when she worked a day in our loan office for one day and as she sat there there and looked at the paperwork, she looked at me and just said, “I can’t do this, I’ll go crazy.” Or something like that.

Oh, yes, she and I are very different, very different in deed. But I am so glad she has always been there for me, to make me feel loved and capable, and share in my grief and joy. 

She and Len are at Lolo, Mt with son Hunter and his new bride Toni.

Carole, a wonderful sister. How blessed to have sisters in my life.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

A Sad Christmas for my sister Carole!

While looking for Family Histories to add to Linda's new Blog I found an article in a Larson Family newsletter from 1982. My sister Carole, who is six years younger than I, had written about "A Christmas I Remember". If I had known about this, I had certainly forgotten, and it could be that since I was a teenager at the time whose life revolved around my friends and current new boyfriend I may not have even been aware of it.

This is the story. I was a junior in high school. Carole would have been in 5th or 6th grade. While she was doing her early Christmas snooping she found a beautiful doll hidden underneath Mom's bed. She said, "It had real hair, eyes that open and shut and a very "fussy" white dress and bonnet. I was so excited as I knew it had to be for me, even though I was getting a little old myself.  Indeed it made for a memorable Christmas when the doll went to Janet (as "her last doll to sit upon her bed").

I always liked dolls and I remember this one well. I named her Becky Ann (after my boyfriend whose last name was Becker and my last name Anderson). On Christmas Eve I remember taking her with me to show my friends as my boyfriend and I went to meet them for Midnight Mass. She was a beautiful "last doll".

I called my sister Carole yesterday to ask her about this. I remember very well asking my mother for a doll that year as my "last doll" but Carole must have been unaware of this. She said when she saw it and just "knew" it was hers she began to ask for a doll from Mom just so Mom would know she really wanted it. Alas, we lived in a small town and when Mother realized she needed to get another doll, there was just "left overs" on the shelves and she could not replicate the beautiful doll she had purchased for me.

So here Carole was remembering that disappointing Christmas 30 years later!!! Not unlike my not getting the Shirley Temple doll I wanted for Christmas. I wonder if Mom knew about our Christmas disappointments???? It is hard to forget those kind of moments. So sorry, Carole, I never knew!

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Thoughts on Aging by my sister Carole



The following was written by my sister Carole and says so well the pitfalls of becoming an "old lady".
"Ode to my friends who are turning 70!!! I am in my 69th year. I and my friends who graduated from high school with me are turning 70. We consider ourselves the same young hip girls we were of the fifties..that is until I see a young hip girl of the 2008ths. (How do you stay that cute?).
I then realize I am not a young hip girl even though I did have eyelid surgery. The tops of my eyes look great but the bags and wrinkles underneath still give me away. Barbara Walters still looks young and hip. What does she know that I don’t…does money still do everything!!! Can TV hide the inevitable?
Clothes shopping is a nightmare. The clothes in the non-maternity section look like they should be in the maternity section and the maternity section looks very comfortable to me. What do I do? I wear my same old jeans with the slight stretch and the same old sweat shirt that feels so good.
Summer is coming. I get hot. Do I reveal the sagging arms with short sleeves…don’t even think about sleeveless! Or do I constrain myself to wear the timeless shirtwaist blouse that certainly defines my age. I never did look good in that style ,the puffy short sleeve always fitted my figure best but I don’t want to look like I am trying to be 16 again.
Hair…do I continue to dye or let the natural grey do the lighting for me? The girls on TV look great in their long shiny straight hair..mine just wants to frizz and I can’t seem to get out of the helmet look without lots of time in the bathroom. I no longer have 4 kinds of shampoo to choose from, I have 40. Do I want it thicker, shinier, straighter, curlier, streakier, moisturized, dryed out or just plain clean? Do I want it sticking out, messed up, sleeked down or shaved off? Do I need to glue it, spray it, wax it, sculpt it, or heaven forbid, perm it?
Shoes..I will be on my feet all day, thank goodness for Easy Spirit..but high heels, not for over two hours. I will not wear “grandma shoes” with the slight wedge and tie. I believe my dad, who sold shoes, called them oxfords…never! The ballerinas I so loved as a teen, just don’t quite do it anymore either. I did find some cute sandels, but oh, the price. We have 9 months of winter, not practical--oh,what the heck , I’ll wear thick socks.
Yes, I will fight old age. I will exfoliate, moisturize and serumize. I will eat right, walk and get my yearly exam..I will not have any more mammagrams, I had one. I will have my colonoscopy and keep my teeth in order. I have final expense insurance but I am dropping that and donating my body to science..being the practical person I am and wanting that body to keep on being of some use since I have nourished it so well, burying it just doesn’t seem right.
Very sincerely,
Carole Fuqua, a girl of the fifties, a grandma of the nineties but I just can’t say what I am of the 2008ths, someone else will have to call me an 'old lady'."

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Carole, My Sister, The Artesian

My sister Carole took the Keirsey test and WOW, they sure got this one right. Carole was born six years after me in our family of six children and from then on I was no longer 'Baby Anderson'.
She was the only blue eyed blonde in the group. She was also adorable, charming and everybody loved to love her.
She was the one who brought home every stray and always had her faithful dog by her side.
She was the one who always had lots of friends and fun going on in her life.
She was the one who was a cheer leader in high school.
She was the only one of us to dare ditch school for a day with her friends.
She was the one who had all her kindergarten parents and children at her wedding.
She was the one who stubbornly refused to accept the Dr's view of her son's destiny from his TBI.
She was the one who made us all laugh at our Mom's funeral as she talked so charmingly of our Mom.
She's the one who always has something positive to say about everybody.
She's the one who raised 6 very clever, very active, very independent, very creative, very talented, very athletic children, 5 boys and one daughter. Her neighbor worried about the children who always seemed to be getting into danger (she thought) but finally consoled herself with "they must have Mormon angels watching over them."
She's the one who is always ready to listen and boost up your morale.
She's the one who is always the optimist no matter what tragedy is in her life.
She's the one who can always tell a story you will want to listen to.
She even made Mom remember and smile when Mom was on her death bed.
She is the creative one who can make a beautiful bouquet or anything else look like a designer had created it.
Carole has definitely been the "fun one" in our family and the explanation point on the rather serious side the rest of us have.
I think Carole was the unplanned baby in the family but we are all glad she joined us with her upbeat nature and zest for living.

Meet Carole, The Artesian

Carole with Author Dr. Foster Cline of "Love and Logic", the Parenting Class Carole taught in Glendive for several years.

Artisans pride themselves on being unconventional, bold, and spontaneous.







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John Hardy Memorial Hike 2015

My Life So Far