Friday Fave Five - Time to give thanks

 

So much to be thankful for and I love that we can set this time aside to share with others. A few of us get together each Friday to share the blessings that have come our way. Come join us at Living to Tell the Story. And as always, thank you, Susanne for this opportunity.

1. Thanksgiving Day: It was just Mike and Steph and I, but it was certainly enough. Stephanie loves to cook Thanksgiving dinner and came over to my home to do it this year. She does herself proud every year even at a disadvantage of a smaller kitchen and smaller oven. It was all wonderful and we laughed and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. God is so good! The rest of my kiddos were spending the day with other family members in North Carolina and Florida.

2. Birthday: Today is my birthday and I'm celebrating another year. This year has had some challenges, but God has brought me through. I awoke this morning, trying to remember that age is only a number. What matters is how we grow and love and live our lives. Now on to another year!

3. Family: I am so thankful for family and friends who are nearby and mean so much to me. I could never live as a hermit. I need laughter and love around me!

4. Marco Polo: I don't know if any of you use this app. It's basically a way to send a video to someone for them to see later and save. My daughter sent one to me yesterday while at my Florida grandson's home for Thanksgiving. She, long with sweet Ava, my great granddaughter left me a sweet greeting and it made me smile. 

5. A warm home: I know many of you all are enduring some frosty temps and the low 30s may sound like spring to you. For me, who still has Floridian blood coursing through her veins, it's chilly. And, for the next few days, it will be in the 20s at night. I'm so thankful to hear the heater kick on and I can snuggle on the couch to read or watch TV. My prayers go out to those less fortunate and for those in NC who are still struggling with the aftermath of Helene.

BONUS: Lunch with Barbara on Tuesday. Always fun and we had a lot to catch up on.

God has been nudging me to begin a Gratitude Journal. I started one in the past, but didn't continue. One day a year just isn't enough to reflect on the blessings that come our way. As we begin the Advent season and begin to prepare to celebrate our Savior's birth, I hope to look beyond challenges and onto what God has blessed me with.

Have a lovely weekend!

Friday Fave Five - November 1

 

Here we are! November 1st and I can just feel the gearing up for the holidays. Already Walmart's Christmas section is packed, and Thanksgiving will be here before you know it. Time to sit back and take a breath and reflect on the things that bless our lives. Come join us along with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story!

~ A quiet week: I've not accomplished much this week and except for a follow-up doctor appointment, I've been able to rest and recoup. Naps, reading, knitting and generally pampering myself. 

~ Everything stable: My heart rate and rhythm are regular and stable. I'm doing well with the new medicine and my antibiotic is finished. I've been taking my blood pressure and pulse twice a day and all is looking good.

~ Follow up appointment with my primary doctor: All looks well, and blood was drawn. This is the first in a succession of appointments, I'm sure. I saw my doctor's NP for this appointment, and I really like her! I wish I could have my appointments with her all the time!

~ Friends checking in: I have family nearby who have been checking in with me and it's an added bonus to have friends who are doing the same. I've had emotional ups and downs this week and it's wonderful to ger that phone call or email.

~ Bible study in Revelation: This is, as many of you probably know, a very challenging book of the Bible. I've wanted to get into it for some time and I found a wonderful commentary by David Guzik that has really opened up the meaning. His commentaries can be found at Enduring Word and I highly recommend them!

I hope you are all looking forward to a wonderful fall month leading up to Thanksgiving. We do have so much to be thankful for, don't we?

Friday Fave Five - October 25, 2024

 

It's Friday and time to list the things we are thankful for. This week, I have some very specific ones. Come join us for this - every Friday and thanks to Susanne at Living to Tell the Story for hosting this. 

Tuesday (or I guess - Wednesday) at midnight, I found myself in the ER. I had a short run of irregular heart rhythm late afternoon on Tuesday - just 5 minutes duration and then it returned to normal. I first mentioned this last Friday and you can read about it here. Then at five minutes to 11 that evening, it began again and continued. I called my sweet, precious daughter in law and she came and took me to the ER. The irregular rhythm was still going on when I got there and I'm thankful for the triage nurse who got be into the back immediately. I did convert back to normal rhythm about an hour after I arrived, but I spent the day and into Wednesday night hooked up to all sorts of monitors and wires. All the things I used to have to do for patients was now being done to me - and it was humbling. I saw the hospital doctor and cardiologist, EKG technicians, nurses and those people who love to draw tubes of blood. It was a long day of waiting for a room to open up for me and for me to get some answers. My heart rhythm stayed regular and I felt fine - just concerned and, if I can admit this, a bit bored and frustrated. And it was scary to have patches put on me for a defibrillator sitting next to me in case the funky rhythm happened again. But thankfully, it didn't I was cleared by the cardiologist to go home Wednesday night if I wanted.....and I wanted! 

My spirit is humbled and my heart is full of gratitude right now.

1. A great hospital and team: The ER I went to is in a teaching hospital and one of the best I've seen or experienced. I'm so thankful for competent nurses who rushed me into the back after they took my preliminary vital signs. I'm thankful for their caring and expertise and humor and all the things that helped keep me calm. From the ER staff to the nurses up in the telemetry unit where I was eventually transferred, my heart is full and thankful.

2. I now have a diagnosis and a treatment: What I thought was atrial fibrillation is actually SVT - supraventricular tachycardia. Basically, my heart would suddenly begin racing and the impulses that tell the chambers of my heart what to do were erratic. At one time, I was told my pules reached 200 beats a minute. Not good! I have a new medicine now and a cardiologist. I may get a surgical procedure called an ablation in the future but we're going to see how the med works. Meanwhile, all is well and I'm feeling fine.

3. A precious daughter in law and son: My daughter in law quickly had me in the ER and stayed with me most of the night. Then she went home to get some sleep. She and my son were at the hospital at 9:30 that night to take me back home. She is bringing me some homemade tomato soup and some roast beef so that I can eat with a minimal amount of cooking. Meanwhile, I've been eating frozen things. I'm so thankful that I have family nearby for times just like this.

4. Home: I was so thankful to be back home with Apollo and able to sleep in my own bed. I had been at least 32 hours without any sleep and as I lay in bed I just thanked God for what He had done today. All the things you take for granted come sharply into focus when you have a serious problem. 

5. Old nursing skills awakened: This may seem like a strange thing to be thankful for. I've been retired from nursing since 2011 and a lot of things have been forgotten. But as things happened in the ER and IVs were hung, I could remember the 'whats and whys' of everything being done, I asked lots of questions. The staff were very good at explaining what they were doing but it was good that things also were familiar to me (albeit on the other end of the situation). As a former nurse, I was very aware of the danger I was in but at the same time I could watch what was going on and understand the rationale. Difficult to explain but in a way, it was very comforting. As a retired nurse, you tend to get jaded when it comes to your own health. I've always said that as a nurse you "diagnose yourself and then go to the doctor for a second opinion." I came out of all this a lot humbler and decided that I need to check my attitude at the door!

BONUS: And really the most important: I am so thankful to God for being with me the entire time and beyond. He gave me courage and peace during so much uncertainty. 

Here is a cute towel arrangement waiting for me when I reached the telemetry unit. I told the nurses it was like I was on a cruise!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I'm resting but comfortable and very thankful and blessed.