The Medical Marvel Tour

Our interstates always have safety messages. But the one today was a real "no kidding" one. That could be for any time of year. Plus, there are other things to watch out for.

It was 4 weeks ago today that my sister and a friend left her house to go to Saturday afternoon church service to celebrate Easter. Never realizing that that drive would change her live irrevocably. In some ways, the last 4 weeks have felt more like 4 months – at least. But thankfully, all of our prayers seem to be working.

Hubby and I smartly decided to do our "hospital rounds" over two days instead of one like I did last week. So we headed north after work yesterday.

We stopped for a delicious dinner at Milwaukee Burger Co. before going onto Rice Lake – our destination of the evening. This framed print was hanging in our hotel room. Really tempting to walk off with it for a birthday present for Carter, who collects license plates. 

But, we were law-abiding citizens, of course, when we headed up to Grantsburg hospital this morning.

My twin sister met us there so Mom got to visit with both of her babies. Even though Raylene found some reason to remind me she's 9 minutes younger. Ha.

Mom is looking 100% better than when I visited her last week. And, most importantly, she's feeling better. While we were there, she demonstrated how sharp her mind still is by beating both Jim and I in cards. And we were really, really trying! That made me feel good, though, that she still has her wits about her despite the trauma to some of her body.

But, for a strange flashback, one time when it was my turn at cards, she said, "Your turn, Reuben." That is something she hasn't called me since childhood. You can Google this, but there was a song that went like this:

Reuben, I have long been thinking,
What a good world this might be,
If the men were all transported
Far beyond the Northern Sea.

But she'd only sing the first two lines to me and we'd fill in the rest. I distinctly remember this one:

Mom: Reuben, Reuben, I've been thinking what a grand world this might be...
Me: If only one thing had been invented.
Mom: What's that?
Me: I don't know. It hasn't been invented yet!

Thank you, Mom, for bringing a long-lost memory to the surface! She was also forward-thinking today. She is improving so much, they could release her next week from the hospital unit to what they call the Continuous Care Center – in the same building. Like a nursing home, but we won't call it that. And she's OK with it because her recent fall, in her words, scared the "H-E-double toothpicks" out of her!

Just thanks for praying for my mom and her recovery!

From there, we headed to St. Paul to see Rachel. She's the one who was in disbelief that it had been 4 weeks since her accident and in some ways couldn't believe it was that long ago – and in other ways, it has felt like forever ago.

She was in good spirits today. Since she loves singing and listening to music, Jim had a great idea to stop and get her a blue-tooth speaker. She absolutely loves it! Hopefully one small thing to keep her mind off of the long road ahead. She was also grateful that next week she'll have her 7th ( I believe) and final (fingers crossed) surgery when they address her left shattered elbow and ankle and foot. 

Oh, what she's been through and what lies ahead.

After living through this excruciating 4 weeks, I firmly believe both her and Mom are medical miracles. And praise the Lord for that! 

And all your prayers of support. If you're willing to keep it up, we'd all appreciate it. It's working!! 

Doing My Rounds

Just like a doctor or nurse, I was doing my medical rounds today. About 525 miles in 12 hours.

Left at 8 a.m. and headed north and west to Grantsburg, Wisconsin. Thankfully I was fueled by a Taco John's breakfast burrito to concentrate on 4 hours of driving in the rain. Yuck. Thankfully I wasn't hypnotized watching the wipers. As far as I know, that is.

I walked into the Grantsburg hospital – where I haven't been for at least a decade – and walked up to the registration desk and said "I was born in this hospital but I have no idea where I'm going." Thankfully they pointed me in the right direction.

I just happened to pass by this little tribute to Dr. Hartzell, who delivered 6 of the 8 R's (including my twin and me). Our names probably should've been on the plaque!

Got to Mom's room and of course, was just not prepared to see her tiny, fragile frame in a hospital gown and oxygen tubes in her nose. But she wasn't acting as frail as she looked. Lunch was just delivered so we chatted while she was eating – and I made sure she ate some of her chocolate cake for dessert.

She had quite a tale about her fall and the many hours until they found her. She admits she was dreaming alot of it, but she still had the details in her head 6 days after the event. Since she still has her wits about her 100% she said she's convinced the night nurses to play cards with her.

"That first night, I beat her pretty good," she said. That's so my mom. And also why her 8 R's are pretty competitive!

Speaking of R's... I found out that the reason I was named Robyn was because her sister Violet liked the name and after having her own Roger, Ronda, and Renae, she couldn't use it. And, by mere coincidence, one of those R's showed up as I was leaving. 

Since Mom is 92, she'll likely be under observation for awhile, but she's definitely not ready to give up! Thank the Lord.

After a 2-hour visit with her, I headed for the Twin Cities. It was sort of like the Medical Triangle... Northwest to Grantsburg then southwest to St. Paul then east to Wisconsin Rapids.

In Rachel's 2 1/2 weeks, she received a lot of notes, cards, and gifts of support. Today I found her in a regular surgical care room instead of ICU. 

A friend of mine who went through a similar trauma said it was so important for Rachel and her caregivers to see her as she really was before the accident. And one of my co-workers gave me the BELIEVE sign to add to her collection. I love that people who've never met my sister still support her and pray for her even if you haven't met her.

THANK YOU!

I was able to visit her for about 2 hours since she's not in ICU and no one was awaiting their turn. She has been through so much and has so many surgeries, we just marveled at how God must have a plan for her. But let's not worry about figuring that out right now.

If you didn't know, the state capitol is within view of the hospital. Pretty cool.

When I left Regions, I had to deal with rush hour traffic but didn't want to drive in the dark. The way it was, the last 2 hours were that stupid "deer like to play in the street" hours. I braked so hard once – around tripodometer mile 488 – that everything in the back and front seat flew forward.

Grateful for a safe arrival home and precious time with family.

Hug your loved ones!!

Surprising Spring

Not sure where my mind was, but I was totally surprised to arrive at work today and realize we were a few short hours from a Winter Storm Warning. I forget that when I live in Wood County and work in Portage County, I get different alerts. But Wood County was added to the warning shortly after.

Needless to say, a month ago we were reveling in 72-degree FAKE spring temps and now we get the REAL stuff. For the record, I don't like the "real" Wisconsin spring!

Thankfully, my boss is understanding and let us go home to work while the flakes came down.

On my way home, I could see how the slushy, icy stuff was clinging to signs...

And the roads. Definitely clinging to those.

Oh and it was Election Day. Many of you know that! No opinion here, I promise. Just managed to get through the slushy parking lot and vote after work!

 

As for my flowers... Same view as yesterday. Snow in the background of Easter tulips like yesterday!

So it was nice to just sit home and watch the pretty flakes and not be driving anywhere. And price a few more garage sale items. You'll get that commercial tomorrow. Whether you want to or not.

As for my sister, she survived another surgery and is still stable. I thank all of you who've offered up prayers and positive support. This will be a long road, but I know each word up is helping her. Thanks!

P.S. I think the snow is easier to deal with right now because we know the pain/inconvience it causes is much more short-term!

We Need Easter Miracles

If you asked me 48 hours ago what an Easter miracle looked like, I'd say it was a cross between a winning Powerball ticket and at least 3 peanut butter eggs all to myself.

I've since changed my outlook.

Yesterday I was feeling super blessed after a nice lunch with longtime friends Tom and Toni in Waupaca and a visit with Jim's Uncle Richard as long as we were in the neighborhood. But that feeling changed when later in the afternoon while I was inside the carwash at Kwik Trip I got a text that my sister Rachel was in a serious car accident.

In a nutshell, she was driving her Taurus at left in the picture and heading west to go to church when the eastbound vehicle crossed the center line and hit her head-on. It took emergency crews an hour to extricate her and then airlift her to the Twin Cities. She was in surgery for an estimated 8 hours. Needless to say, she's got a lot of trauma to her body. 

Broken bones in left arm, hip and leg plus some ribs, her sternum and a few vertebrae. Then there's the damage (not sure if major or minor) to spleen etc in abdominal area. It sounds horrific but it is indeed an Easter miracle that she's alive.

It was a long night and long day today awaiting updates. We hosted Jim's family for Easter dinner so that was a nice break, so to speak. I'll probably get over to the cities this week, depending on surgeries and Rachel's ability/permissibility to have visitors. There's 5 other sisters and brother all within an hour or so of the hospital. Plus our mom.

When I talked to Mom tonight she was understandably out of sorts. If you can believe that at 92 years old and having 8 kids, this is the first traumatic experience. Apparently God has been performing Easter miracles all along and we just didn't realize it or appreciate it.

Thank you, God! And happy Easter to all! Hope you all had miracles to celebrate.

P.S. If you're the praying type, Rachel could sure use a few. Thanks!

It's a Fine Line

For as much as I watched the weather this weekend, I wasn't quite prepared for this return to winter. I guess I should've paid attention to that fine line (circled in red) where we live and where it magically divides between 1-3 inches and 3-6 inches.

I'm guessing we're on the north side of it!

Our first surprise was waking up to snow. We were concentrating on the actual 1 p.m. start of the storm advisory. But like those magic lines on the map, weather isn't always an exact science. So our morning plans changed. 

I had planned to go since at 9:30 church then book it home so Carter could borrow my car to drive down to a funeral / wake in Dubuque. Since it was already snowing, I stayed home and he hit the road by 8 a.m. so he could try to stay ahead of it. Thankfully he did and made it down there OK. And he'll just drive back up tomorrow after work. (Yay for remote jobs!)

As the afternoon went on, the snow wasn't accumulating a ton but icicles were forming – never a good sign.

And most of the time the snow was blowing sideways. Uff da. I can't imagine what my family up north – in that hot pink 10-15 inches bubble – is dealing with. We have spring break here in Wisconsin Rapids this week but I'm sure schools are closing everywhere!

The last look down the road before it got dark. Not that the visibility was super anyway.

The only good thing about being housebound for the day was that I had time to clean off my desk in my office, make a cheesy chicken dip in the crockpot, and price dozens of garage sale items. 

Oh and maybe watch a little basketball – despite my crumbling bracket.

Hope you stayed safe and are careful out there tomorrow! I'll let you know which side of that fine line we fell on.

Cold Turkey

It's the beginning of a new year. Time to quit all our bad habits – cold turkey. Pretty sure I am going to have to ease off my sugar addiction. There's still too many treats in the house. And at work. But I'll work on that.

For the record, not giving up caffeine. No point in that at all. My body actually requires it to function so let's pretend I have a doctor's excuse!

As for anything else, I'm a work in progress and since we're 3 days into the new year, there's not much progress to report.

So let's just concentrate on these cold turkeys invading our neighborhood...

In addition to icy roads and deer, it's just one more thing to look out for on my commute! Too bad neither one of those animals make New Year's resolutions to stay off the roads.

Be careful out there!

Now You Want a White New Year?

While we only got a touch of freezing rain overnight, the above-freezing temps took care of that before we hit the road before noon to take Carter down to the Platteville area.

It was like we hit a line on the interstate north of Madison and the rainy snowflakes were definitely sticking despite the warm temps.

By the time we were to his girlfriend's brother's place, this was our front grill. Ice, ice, baby! But the roads were mostly OK ( I can say that as I was the passenger and Jim seemed to handle it all fine.) When we headed back and were north of Portage, it was like it hadn't rained or snowed here at all.

And our driveway and front yard confirmed that.

Looking up, I think the moon was just trying to mess with us one more time before the end of the year. Hopefully, that's it. And thankfully, we all got where we needed to go today safely!

Be careful out there! 

Family Christmas Number One

It was a white family Christmas Up North today. Well, the 4-hour commute was a bit icy and dicey in many spots, that's for sure. 

Still, we made sure to take a longer route so we could stop and see Dad.

Got to the Siren Senior Center a bit after 1 p.m. Saw this sign right away and I'm not sure who brought it, but I'm sure it was appropriate!

Had time for a little Sequence before lunch. Mom's got her game face on, that's for sure!

I made a Peppermint Bark Trifle for dessert and it stayed intact for the drive!

Did I need to make dessert? Turns out, not really. But you can never have to many desserts. Can you?

Speaking of sweets, our sweet boy Carter did a video call so Grandma could see him and his aunts, uncles and cousins, too! Virtual hugs just have to do sometimes, I guess.

Lots of littles there today. Got to meet my new great-nephew Arlo, who's about 6 months old.

It took a minute for Kloey and Nils to share. Do most 17-month-olds share? Not really!

They just need more blocks! Then it was easy to share! Such cuties!

Speaking of cuties... had to get my annual selfie with the niece who made me an aunt! Love my Car-Car.

The "Best Dressed" award should got to my great-nephew Michael who came straight from a hockey game.

Looks like a cut-throat game of UNO!

I still maintain I'm one of the tallest aunts. It just doesn't look like that when I'm paired with these two!

My twin loved the blanket I crocheted for her! It was my Hallmark-movie-multi-tasking project!

And look what she found for me – a fox decoration and fox sox! Love them!

My great-niece Millie says "I'm the No. 1 Lego tower builder!"

Somebody had to get those Packers sunglasses (I got at the game) out of my house! I told Nell she couldn't wear them since she wears glasses. "I can make it work!" And she did.

Mom and her twinsies!

Lene and I trying to prove that we're LADIES! 

Mom and her 8 R's! Hopefully someone got one where we're all looking at the same camera AND smiling!

And some of us were smiling at the end of the day! We did have to resort to watching some of the Vikings-Raiders game on a phone. But it was worth it to see the final few minutes. With a final score of 3-0, it must not have been very pretty to watch on the big screen anyway!

Hubby and I got home safely at 10 p.m. Roads were much better on the drive home. I mean, that's my opinion as a passenger both ways. Thanks for driving, sweetie! 

And thanks for another great Christmas celebration, family! 🎄

Family Dinner, er Winner

When my oldest sister decided to move back to northern Wisconsin from Arizona, she wanted to be sure she saw family on a regular basis. So Rayna invited her siblings (and spouses if available) to join her the second Saturday of each month for a game day and dinner.

I missed the first one since we were getting cupboards installed that day, but made sure to get to this one.

I timed my 8 a.m. departure to be sure Hawkeye Dairy in Abbortsford would be open for ice cream for breakfast – my tradition when traveling Up North. And be sure I had an hour to spare browsing through Hobby Lobby in Rice Lake. 

Shortly after noon, I was at Rayna's new digs in the Siren area. A brand-new two-bedroom apartment. It looked so nice and is the perfect amount of space for her. 

Seven out of eight of us siblings were there today – and we got a little spoiled because Grandma RoAnn brought my great-niece Khloe and she was so cute and entertaining! 

Rayna was already in the Christmas mood with two twig trees decorated, music playing, and a nice Vikings fireplace if you caught the color change just right!

Grandma Ro and Khloe. Those dimples!!

Ron, Nell, and Romey. And don't ask me how I was holding my phone. Weird angles. This is when we started playing a card game and I went out with the hand up top (those 2 jokers) and felt confident.

But the queen of cards rules! Mom just kicked my butt today. First in Sequence and then in Crowns or whatever that game was called. She must know by now we all get our competitive streak from her! She's doing good, though, and it was great to see her. 

Great to see everyone! And enjoy a tasty dinner and dessert – thanks, Rayna!

On the drive home, it was dark and I was quite concerned about deer, especially after Jim texted me the picture of this buck he saw on his way to church this afternoon.

Wow. As luck (or not) would have it, I had snow and rain my whole drive back this evening so the bucks were snuggled at home with their new brides and such. 

Thank you, Lord, for lots of smiles and safe miles today!