Nice Surprise

Robyn my granddaughter came to visit us last Tuesday.  I haven't seen her for quite a while.  We have been trying to stop by her home in Mesquite but after shopping, doctor's etc. Frank is too tired and worn out.  So I was elated when Robyn called and wanted to come over to visit. 

Braxton has grown so much and is such a cutie pie. He looks a lot like Robyn when she was a baby.  I was able to hold him and play with him for a while, and give him some baby hugs.  He keeps Robyn busy keeping up with him.  Jamie and her daughter Sidney dropped by to visit too. We talked about how different boys and girls are from the very beginning.  Braxton is tough and likes to play rough, and his little voice is boy like.  So it was a fun filled afternoon talking and playing with Brax.  Hope we get to do it again soon.

UPDATE ON FRANK
Frank had a doctor's appointment with the Rheumatolgist last Friday.  After testing Frank, and asking questions the doctor thinks Frank has a condition called PMR.  To me it is similar to Fibromyalgia.  The doctor ordered blood work for Frank and he gave him a shot of cortisone right in his vein.  The bad part is the treatment and it is cortisone.  So Frank is taking a low dosage of it.  The doctor also had Frank go and have x-rays of his neck and shoulders. It was a long day.  Tomorrow is our follow up appointment so hopefully we will find out if it is PMR.  Frank jokes around and says he has PMS. 

My brother Allen is coming for a visit Saturday and I have invited my St. George cousins for dinner Sunday so they can visit with Allen and my family.  It should be fun.  I will update tomorrow when we get home from the doctor as to what the diagnosis is.  If it is PMR it can go away in time six months to a year. So in a way I am hoping that is what it is and not some permanent  immune disorder.

FRIDAY DOCTOR VISIT
The doctor visit for Frank went better than expected even for the doctor as he was surprised.  The blood work came back good and no more inflammation.  The doctor said that everything was good, but that sometimes PMR doesn't show up in blood work and he has to go by patients symptoms.  He is weaning Frank off from the cortisone pills and will see Frank back in two weeks.  Frank is feeling a lot better and acts a lot better.  The x-rays showed that he has bone spurs in his neck and arthritis, also he has a problem with his left shoulder can't think of the name of the problem.  The doctor said if it gets worse, Frank may want to consider surgery on his shoulder.  Frank shook his head NO! NO! more surgery.  The poor guy has been though enough surgeries.  I am hoping he will see less painful days in the future.  He has bone spurs and arthritis up and down his spine.  So will he ever be without pain, that is doubtful.  I just want it to be bearable. 

Family Visit - Grandson & My Brother

My Brother Allen had a job in Cedar City, UT last Thursday and he called me to see if we could meet him for dinner.  We decided on Red Lobster in St. George so he wouldn't have to travel so far as he had to go back to Salt Lake the same day. 

Lorri my cousin who lives in St. George met us at Red Lobster and had dinner with us.  It was a nice surprise for us all as I hadn't seen Lorri in a long time, and as far as that goes I hadn't seen Allen since the family reunion in Salt Lake.  We had a nice visit while eating dinner, and then we visited for another hour or so outside.  Allen wants to come down over the Memorial holiday weekend, and I have invited Lorri, her sister Penny and her husband, and Bret's family for dinner on the 27th.  Sherry won't be able to make it and is so disappointed, but she can't get off work on a holiday weekend.

Then on the following Friday evening, we met our Grandson Tony and his Dad Shane at Casa Blanca for dinner.  Tony just graduated from Idaho State and is going to work with his Dad for a while.

Newly College Graduate

Tony was able to visit his mom in Vegas for a couple of days.  Since he and his dad will be traveling all over the place.  It will be a long time before we see them again.  That made us feel a little sad. Tony and Shane dropped by on Sunday to visit one more time before hitting the road.

This is the rig Tony and his Dad are traveling in.  Shane is in the recyclable business of tractor trailers, and tires among other things.  He spends most of his time in Indianapolis as that is where his biggest hub is for his business. They were headed to California to pick up some trailers and tires and then they were headed for Indianapolis.  This rig is a lot longer than the picture shows.   


UPDATE ON FRANK
Frank has a doctor appointment with a specialist this Friday, and we are hoping to get to the bottom of what is going on with his health.  His shoulders are still hurting him, especially at night.  The doctor does blood work at his office so we won't have to go to a lab. I am hoping things will go a little faster on the diagnosis and getting some kind of help with the pain.  The cortisone shots only lasted a week or so.

Sierra's Birthday - Cinco de Mayo

Sierra's birthday was on May 5th, Cinco de Mayo.  It seems fitting that she loves Mexican food and we have gone over to Mesquite to Los Lupies for years to celebrate her birthday. We went over on Friday as Sierra had a cast party - Theatre Class on Thursday. I can't believe that she is 17 and will graduate from high school next year.

Bret and Laura went into Vegas and picked up Merritt so he could come out and celebrate with us.  He really doesn't like Los Lupies, so next year for his and Frank's birthday we will have to go to Vegas and go some place he likes in there.

We came back to my home, and Sierra had some cards, and a present to open.  Sierra had made a raspberry cheese pie and we were all too full to eat any of it.  I kept a piece for us and sent the rest home with Sierra.  I ate my piece the next day, and it was yummy.  Good job Sierra..  The grand parents, Bret and Laura all went in on an I Pod. (think that is what you call it) for Sierra.  She loves it and showed it off at dinner.

Frank watching Sierra model her new hats

UP-DATE ON FRANK

The referred Rheumatologist didn't call so I called their office and found out they don't accept our insurance.  Thanks for letting Dr. Gorman's office know that.  It seems that we really need to take things into our own hands.  I went on the Internet and looked up all the rheumatologist in Vegas and found one that had three good comments.  I called their office and found out that they accept our insurance.  I asked how soon could we get an appointment, and the receptionist said that we would have to be referred by our family doctor.  So yesterday, once again I called Dr. Gorman, no answer and his answer machine was full.  We drove to his office and found a sign on his door saying that he was out of the office for the day.  Murphy's Law - not there when we need him. 

Frank went to Dr. Gorman's office today with the information of the doctor we found, and asked them to send a referral to him.  So we will see how long it takes to get that done.  I will call the doctor in a couple of days if we don't hear from him.  In the mean time, Frank isn't doing too well, his wrist his hurting him again today, and for that matter he hurts all over and is exhausted.  We are anxious to get to the bottom of all of this. It seems to take forever to get into doctors especially specialist to get help and answers.

The Merritts Streak of Bad Luck

The past week hasn't been the best for us.  First of all we went to a high pressure sales presentation, and somehow was suckered into joining.  We thought it was a good thing and maybe it is, but Frank found some bad things that had been posted on the Internet about this private sales club.  It really was expensive to join, and we found out too late that we could have cancelled it within three business days.  That was the beginning of our bad luck streak.   We still have to go to an orientation to learn how to shop their catalogs, etc.  So we have decided to wait to make our opinion on it after we see how it all works.  Our promise to each other, NEVER, NEVER, AGAIN WILL WE GO TO SOMETHING LIKE THIS.  WE ARE SUCKERS!!!! 

A couple of weeks ago we had a Rainbow salesman come to our home and he was here for a few hours demonstrating the vacuum, and at the end the salesman of course started his course of trying to get us to buy, and one of the things he said is that we had to buy today and we couldn't buy later.  Well, we told him what we have told sales people before.  "We never buy anything on the spot and we like to talk about it and think about it for a couple of days."  I am thinking, "What happened with this promise we made a long time ago when we made a big mistake in buying a car."  So what do we do, end up breaking that promise and signed on the dotted line with Direct Buy.  I was sick to my stomach for a few days, and then decided you can't cry over spilt milk and we need to check it out before making our decision.  So we will see. I know that I would have hated the vacuum as I don't like canister vacuums and it would be way too much work setting it up with the water, and then having to clean it afterwards and making sure it is dry. I like things quick and easy

Then Monday afternoon, I received a phone call from the nurse in our doctor's office.  She said the extensive blood work that Dr. Gorman had done on Frank came back with a ANA positive results, meaning he has some kind of an auto-immune illness.  So of course I am thinking the worst especially after looking it up on the Internet.  The top listing in the test was Lupus, but after going on in the list, I saw that it can be drug related, and Frank has been on prescription pain pills for over three years.  So we are thinking that this may be the cause.  They are referring us to a specialist in Vegas, and we are waiting for them to call.  If they don't, I am going to call them and make the appointment.  I am sure they are checking out our insurance first before they call us. His symptoms are, bursitis in his shoulders, back of his legs hurting, neck pain had a swollen wrist, and constant fatigue.

The bad luck goes on.  We had a fun fishing trip planned with our young neighbors.  They were going to help us with our travel trailer getting it set up etc., and it was a testing trip to see how Frank handles the trailer, etc.  Frank had saved some money for the fuel as diesel is so expensive.  So today he is mowing the lawn, and our lawn mower decided to quit.  He had to buy a new one, and yes there went his savings for the trip. 

Then I received a $400 dollar dental bill on a crown that Frank had to have.  So need I say more?  I called Wendy and told her the situation and to cancel our reservation for our trailer spot.  Disappointment needless to say.  We haven't done anything fun for so long.  We also were going to go to Pocatello, ID for our grandson's graduation, and then stay in Salt Lake City and visit family and friends.  That is out of the question now too.  So I guess I am saying I am feeling a little picked on and more like dumped on.  I hope this streak of bad luck is over.

Too Tired to Post Lately

Well once again I have let some time fly by.  I have been too tired and stressed to even think about posting.  So I will try and catch up some.

EASTER WEEKEND 

Renee came out to Overton for the Easter weekend, and spent a couple of nights with Sherry.  I went to Sherry's to see Rozlynn and of course she was taking a nap when I got there.  When she woke up I took this cute picture of her peeking above her crib.

Mama playing with Roz

She woke up and gave me a big smile.

Grandma Sherry gave Rozlynn a couple of presents for Easter.  Rozlynn tore open a package and found a doll in it.  Also Sherry gave her a cute purple Easter dress.

On Easter Sunday Sherry, Renee, and Rozlynn came to my house to spend the day.  We had a barbecue steak lunch, and then went outside on the patio as Rozlynn loves to play outside.  She is still in that exploring stage.  Trying to eat rocks, looking at birds, and anything that catches her attention.  She is so precious and so much fun to play with.

Bret and Laura had invited Frank & I for Easter dinner, but I had to take a rain check and told Bret I would be over later to get a yummy turkey dinner plate for us. I did go over that evening after Sherry and Renee left and visited with Bret, Laura, and Sierra.  Laura made me a nice plate of food and gave me a bag of her delicious rolls.  We had a turkey dinner for lunch the next day, and we devoured the rolls in two days.  They are so good.

On Monday Renee hid Easter eggs in her yard, and Rozlynn had fun finding them.  So she did have a belated Easter egg hunt at home.