Sunday, June 7th, 2026: Happy 57th Anniversary to H&V, two temple dedications, lots of visitors, texts and phone calls, Dave & Terry bring the sacrament, Alex moves in w/ Sheri & Ian

 

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Temple #99

The first thing we try to do when I get here in the morning is to have prayer, read from the Book of Mormon, and do a section of "Come Follow Me." Many times we are interrupted and have to finish up later in the day. 

Ainsley, a muscular black man, is his nurse today. James's blood sugar was 294 but that was after eating oatmeal, a blueberry muffin and some orange juice for breakfast. Ainsley did not give James any insulin but waited a couple of hours and took his blood sugar again. This time it was normal. Before James ate his lunch I had him drink a protein shake. 

I bonded with Ainsley over colored pens. He had about seven different colored pens in his shirt pocket. I use a different colored pen for every day of the week when I write in my journal. We laughed about it together. Ainsley also put a heat patch on James's ribs to provide a little relief. 

David and Terry came to administer the sacrament to us. I am grateful for worthy brothers who can do this for us. In Vernon, the ward is fasting and praying for James's speedy recovery.

Lisa, one of James's case managers came in today and said he would need to go to rehab when he left the hospital. She gave me a two page list of choices. I chose number 1 on the list in Chandler, less than a mile from the hospital, and for second choice I chose one in Gilbert. Hopefully the one in Chandler has room for him. He is not liking the idea of going to a live-in facility but I told him I needed it.

I missed Dr. Watt and the trauma team today because I fell asleep and Ainsley didn't want to wake me up. Dr. Frances, a part of the trauma team, is trying to find James a regular room in the hospital now that he is off all of his IV's and his pneumonia is under control.

His oxygen needs are down to 4 liters instead of 70 when he first started. They are keeping the chest tube in because it is still draining. James has had no Dilaudid today, just Oxycodone and Roboxin. Roboxin is a muscle relaxer. 

Trina came for a visit this afternoon. James's blood sugar was 121 before lunch. For lunch he had turkey, potatoes w/ gravy, broccoli, apple crisp, and a protein shake. 

It was nice of Trina to come and visit. She and Ruby are getting ready to go to Oregon where Ruby has been invited to run in a race sponsored by Nike. Trina is also helping Lola get ready for girls camp, plus trying to get everything ready for their move out of their house. Trina brought some leftover cake from Lola's birthday party.

I got a call from Lynn Jones today. He actually called the hospital when he heard about James from Nancy VanVleet. Ainsley told me someone named Lynn Jones called and gave me his number so I could call him back. 

President Lynn Jones has a special place in our families' history in Chandler. He was our first bishop. He called me as Primary President of the Chandler 2nd ward. He was the first bishop to ask us to bring our scriptures to church with us. Kathy, his wife, was my first visiting teaching companion. We visited Mary Noel, Barbara Huish, and Jean Griffin. 

When President Jones became our stake president he was the one that called me, in the temple, to be the stake Relief Society President. Jared and Pres. Jones's nephew, Chris Carpenter bought Pres. Jones's optometry practice. He and Kathy have been a part of our lives for over 40 years. Now he is a sealer in the Gilbert temple and Kathy is the one that helped James rent clothes the last time we attended the Gilbert temple. They are dear, dear friends. 

President Jones said they wanted to come and visit James but they would wait until he was feeling a little better. That would be wonderful.

James had another chest x-ray. He is groaning with pain. Dr. Frances says to keep him on the Dilaudid a little longer. Ainsley has not given him any. He has had Oxycodone, Tylenol, Gabapentin, and Robaxin. Robaxin is a muscle relaxer and seems to help with pain. 

This evening at 8 pm Abby, our favorite nurse, came in to say hi and I guess goodbye because it was the last time we saw her. The world needs more people like Abby, even if she does have tattoos and a nose ring.

Stacy and Paul came for a visit and we were both asleep and they didn't want to wake us so we didn't get to see them. How sad. 

As part of our "CFM" lesson we read a wonderful talk by Elder Bednar, "Meek and Lowly of Heart" from the 2018 April General Conference. This talk is amazing because it helped me to understand the difference between meekness and humility.

I got texts from Michelle Beckham, Sheri, and Dennis. Rod Beach texted James. Jane Rosen told me the entire ward is fasting for James.  I talked to Kim and Tom. Brian brought me my stuff from Vernon that I asked for: my temple bag and Perk for Addy and my password book. Jared checked in on his dad this evening.

Martin Kempton texted and said they were praying for James. I suppose he hear from President Jones.

Brent and Rebecca came for a visit this evening. I had a nice visit with Brent. He is one of the most interesting people to talk to that I have ever met. He is like an encyclopedia of information. I wonder if his middle name is Google. I have some notes written down from our visit together but now I'm not certain what they mean. Here and some of the notes:

* The Edge Effect by Eric Braverman

* Dr. Bing on YouTube

* Strataus.com

Rebecca gave us a thank you note for the cabin memories and for the money we donated for Scott's funeral expenses.

Lily is having twins in October and Marin is due in July so their family is growing. 

Brent told a faith promoting story about when they were called to be temple workers. He was working 6 days a work about 12 hours a day in his lawn business. In spite of this they had the faith to accept the calling in the temple. Brent said the year before this calling he had tracked their budget very closely and they were $800 a head at the end of the year towards paying off debt. The first year after working in the temple once a week and cutting back on his working hours they were $8,000 ahead towards paying off debt. I love these two faithful saints. 

We listened to President Eyring's April conference address, "Prayers for Peace." We feel like the Lord has provided so many tender mercies for us in the past week. We are so blessed with such wonderful people in our lives. 

Alex moved in with Sheri & Ian this weekend. Shayna won't let Alex see their dog Zeno because she says she is afraid Ziggie will attack him. Alex's is very upset!

Happy 57th Anniversary!

Tom looking at Scooter who is caught up

on one of the upstairs balconies.

Saturday, June 6th, 2026: Epidural turned off, pain - more Dilaudid, Antibiotic Zosyn for pneumonia, 3 stoll softeners, diuretic to dry out lungs, Ben, Cayli, Michael visit, Sheri & I go to Deseret Bk for garments, Kerri visits, Texts: Chelsea, Kathy, Dennis, Addy, speech therapist (swallow tests)

Birmingham, Alabama

Temple #98

James's Journal

I arrive at 7 am. The doctors want to get James off of the epidural because they are worried about the amount of pain meds he is taking. On the other hand, they want to keep his pain under control. It's a Catch 22. James is taking Miralax and Duralax to soften his stools. They had him on three stool softeners until Courtney asked them to take him off one.  James has an epidural line and an antibiotic IV for his pneumonia. David is our nurse again today with Scott assisting. David put a Lidocaine patch on James's ribs to help with pain.

We had prayer and listened to Alma 15 from the Book of Mormon. We did "Come Follow Me" separately.

Dr. Roberts came in at 8:30 to turn off the epidural. We will know in a couple of hours if James can tolerate pain without it. If he can, they will take him out of ICU and put him in a regular room. 

James is in a great deal of pain without the epidural. They gave him more Dilaudid which is given in an IV. 

When Dr. Watt and his team came around the doctor looked at James's x-ray and said he wanted to put him on a diuretic to help dry his lungs out a little more. James's oxygen needs are down to 30. Yay! They are preparing to take the tube out of his side. His lung x-ray looks good. 

James is sleeping a lot this afternoon so I am holding off on his breathing exercises. 

Ben, Cayli and Michael came by for a visit this morning. Right now I am waiting for Sheri to come. She is going with me to Deseret Book where I am going to get garments. She asked if I could drive because Alex is using her car to move into their upstairs. 

I am reading Emma M. Lion volume 4. I finished "Come Follow Me" and Unshaken. I am still listening to "Follow Me." 

Kerri Halcomb came for a visit today. I got texts from Chelsea MacArthur, Kathy Crane, Dennis, and Addy. 

The speech therapist, Vanessa came by today. He no longer has to drink thickened liquid. When he eats food he needs to chew slowly and should take a sip of water after every bite. I brought James some grilled chicken nuggets from Chikfila. Because they are dry, Vanessa recommends putting sauce on them. If James's coughs while eating, he needs to stop immediately.

James had a dream that Michelle Tesarek was his nurse. He thought he had been downgraded to the Show Low hospital. He was also surprised that Michelle was a nurse. His current nurse, Courtney, reminded him of Michelle, hence the dream. 

Around 5 p.m. Dr. Roberts took out his epidural. 

Karen's Journal

My left upper arms was hurting this morning. I had some Tramadol with my RX bar, shake, and banana bread. 

I saw a woman wearing a shirt in the hospital that said:

Stressed, Blessed, and Obsessed with Coffee. Mine would say Obsessed with DPZ. 

"Come Follow Me": I can hear and obey the voice of the Lord.

1 Samuel 3. 

1 Kings 19:11-12  A still small voice. Luke 24:15-32 Did not our hearts burn within us. 3 Nephi 11:3-7 A small voice which did pierce them to the center. D&C 6:22-23 Did I not speak peace to your mind. D&C 8:2-3 I will tell you in your mind and heart. This is the spirit of revelation. D&C 9:7-9 Study it out in your mind and ask the Lord if it is right. He will cause your bosom to burn and you will know it is right.

We also listened to "Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives" by President Russell M. Nelson. 

* Invitation: What can I do to increase my spiritual capacity to receive revelation?

* Each blessing comes through seeking, receiving inspiration and revelation from the Holy Ghost.

* Pray daily for revelation. Heed promptings and be guided by the Holy Ghost.

* Good inspiration depends on good information.

* The Quorum of the 12 Apostles seek unity. By union of feeling we obtain power with God. 

* If we lack wisdom, ask of God. Choose a quiet place, ask humbly, pour out your heart and the listen. Write down your thoughts. He will pour out knowledge upon your head. Seek and receive knowledge and joy.

* Increased purity, exact obedience, earnest seeking. 

Kim is staying in Vernon. She can't stand to leave Tom alone.

I paid tithing this afternoon.

Look at the apricots on this tree. Too bad

we didn't cover them with netting because

the birds got all of them.

My sweet Tom

Lola had an early birthday party and Addy

made her a cake of her choice.

It's a duck. 

I have a picture of a duck Addy drew for me

on my desk.

Sheri's post

 

Friday, June 5th, 2026: Tube is still draining off fluid from J's chest cavity, nurses are David & Scott. Xray, Sheri coming, Addy & Ruby bring banana bread, blood sugar @ 150 so James got an insulin shot, Gail called, Sheri & Max, Waymo cars

 

Houston, Texas

Temple #97

James's Journal

7:15 - The tube in James's side is doing a good job of draining the liquid and blood out of his chest cavity, making it easier for him to breathe. 

James and I had prayer and read from the Book of Mormon before things started happening in his room. Courtney, the night nurse is giving James his meds. Two other guys are here, I think they are the day nurses. They are moving him from the chair to the porta potty. His day nurses and David and Scott. Soon James is back in bed for an x-ray to see how the fluid drainage is going. I continue to do breathing exercises with him, two "sucks" in every ten minutes.

Sheri is on her way here so I can go to Costco. Addy is coming at 11 with banana bread. 

James's blood sugar was around 150 so they gave him an insulin shot. 

The first night James was here, last Saturday, or early Sunday morning, Kim and Sheri were here with him. He told them he had a "feeling" or premonition he was gong to fall. They were pretty upset with him.

An anesthesiologist came in to make sure his epidural was working because he keeps complaining about how much pain he is in. 

Sheri left and Addy and Ruby arrived with a loaf of Addy's banana, walnut bread with chocolate chips. Thank you Addy!

Gail called around 2:45. David gave James his meds, oxycodone, something for gut mobility, potassium, Gabapentin, cream and a bandage for his butt because he has some bed sores. He also got some Tylenol. His oxygen needs went down from 70 to 40 which is a good things. They didn't give him any Dilauded but may need to later if his pain level doesn't go down. 

Sheri and Max came for a short visit. It's the first time we have seen Max. It was great to see him. 

5 p.m. Dr. Watt, the trauma doctor who normally comes in the morning just came by. He was very happy that James's oxygen needs have gone down. The goal is to get him completely off of it. Dr. Watt told him the breathing exercises we are doing are his ticket out of the hospital. 

For dinner they brought James chicken, zucchini, rice and peaches. Everything is chopped up in small bites as per the swallowing doctors orders. James ate all the peaches but very little of anything else. I spoon fed him again. 

James did end up having to have some Dilaudid.

Courtney is the night nurse again. We were watching the movie, "Knives Out" and she mentioned what a good movie it is.

Karen's Journal

Before going to James's room I stop at the snack bar downstairs and get some water, a Pepsi Zero, and either a Built bar or a Barabell bar. I bought an RX bar for tomorrow.

We finally finished the "Come Follow Me" lesson and 1 Samuel 4-5. I am now listening to Elder David A. Bednar's conference talk, "All Who Have Endured Valiantly" (D&C 121:29). This talk is giving me a higher and holier understanding of enduring to the end. We are to become new creatures in Christ. Spiritual gifts are necessary to our coming to the Savior and being embued with His attributes. Spiritual gifts are given to us through the power of the Holy Ghost. Charity is the greatest spiritual gift, what we do and become. Charity is the end of what we are enduring becoming new creatures in Christ. Heavenly Father gives us spiritual gifts to learn to loves as he loves. We are transformed as we endure charitably Our state of being changes...charity overtakes us. 

I made a trip to Costco for walnuts, two Pom juices, Dawn dishsoap, some jammies for me, some Meyers cleaning supplies, and some RX bars. When I was finished at Costco I went across the street to Target. I got some toiletries and makeup. When I got back to the hospital I make myself a salad at the salad bar downstairs. I am trying not to eat after 1, just like Rita. I also got another water and a diet Dr. Pepper. Three people complimented me on the color of my hair while I was downstairs. 

I listened to Inklings. The featured conference talk was "Prayers for Peace" by President Henry B. Eyring. 

Charlie

Device used for moving James from the

port-a-potty to the chair or bed.

Quail.

Sheri and Ian have a family of quail in 

their backyard.

Tom and Scooter

Thursday, June 4th, 2026: Lunch with Rita @ Cafe Rio - so much fun! Bill's wood pile sold for $5,000, Kim is @ the cabin w/ Tom and sends pictures, Stacy reading "Frankenstein", Stacy's flat tire in LaVeen

 

Caracas, Venezuela

Temple #96

I had such fun with Rita today at lunch. We went to Cafe Rio which is her favorite place to have lunch. Rita weighs 102 lbs. She ordered a small salad, no beans, rice, or tortilla, grilled chicken, extra lettuce and cheese, with the creamy dressing. Rita does Keto and inter-mitten fasting. She eats from 6-12 and eats mainly chicken as her meat. Rita is a people person. She has been a widow for six years. Somehow she has connected with Gene Cook, who is a widower. She says she talked on the phone with him the other day for 2 1/2 hours. Her heart loves Gene, but her head knows it would not work. He is not a member of the Church and he drinks and says he is not going to stop for a woman. He said he would take her to the temple and wait for her outside. That is not what she wants. 

Rita's son, Rick is in their stake presidency. When I told Jared, because he knew Jared in Texas, Jared said: "I'm not surprised, Rick is a good guy."

Some other random facts about Rita:

She loves Jared Halverson and listens to "Unshaken" every week. 

Bill, her husband, left her an amazing wood pile. She sold it for $5,000. Bill also gave her a handicapped sticker for her car one year for Valentine's day. 

Rita says she loved what she felt in Grace Whipple and Clea Adams' homes and knew she wanted that feeling in her own home when she got married and had children. I told her how I went to church on my own and thought: I want my family to go to church with me like everyone else and someday I will have that.

Rita said after grampa Maxwell passed away people would come to her or her mom and say: "I owe you money that grampa loaned to me."

When I returned to James's ICU room, Stacy was reading from the book "Frankenstein". She said she would never have chosen to read this book except that Joshua gave it to her. She said so far she really likes it. Later I  told Alex and he said, "Oh, that's a great book."

Stacy delivers for Amazon in the late afternoon into the evening. She uses her own car. Today she has a flat tire in LaVeen, which is south of Phoenix and west of Chandler. Triple A says they have already used up their help from them for the month, so Paul came out to fix the tire. Stacy used Paul's car to finish delivering the 16 packages she had left while he fixed the flat tire on her car. 

James's Day

Breathing exercises with me. He goes between 1000 - 1250. 

11:15 - James refuses breathing exercises because of pain. 

12:30 - Stacy came to stay with James so I could go to lunch with Rita. 

James got a tube in his side today to drain the blood and liquid from his chest cavity. Before it was over over 2 liters of liquid was drained. 

Not only does James take Oxycodone for pain and have an epidural, he is on Dilaudid a hydro morphine. When James's dinner came I spoon fed him peaches, carrots and goulash. He also had thickened lemon water to drink. He wanted ice water and said, "I don't want it thick!" I told him that's all they would give him. He said, "Well, I won't drink it." I told him he was being difficult and he calmed down. He asked the nurse if he could have regular water and when she explained why he couldn't he said, "Okay, thank you,"

Alex and Sheri came by for a visit. At 5:45 James is lying down. He doesn't want to do anymore breathing treatments. He has the airpods that Sheri gave him in his ears and is listening to "Follow Him." 

Courtney, the night nurse, seems awesome. She is very upbeat and friendly. 

Kim sent me some pictures of Tom.

This is one of them.

James sitting up in a chair in his ICU room

This is how it all started

I miss my Tom

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2026: Leave Stacy's @ 6, Circle K, hospital, talk w/ Abby my favorite nurse, respiratory therapist, Erica gives James a bed bath, my breathing treatments, Sheri here, James has pneumonia, ortho surgeon worried about respiratory issues, lunch @ Perfect Pear w/ Sheri & Ian, Erica's "power hour", Paul, Stacy, Joshua, Paul gives James a blessing

 

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Temple #95

I left Stacy & Paul's at 6. I had some issues with the toilet, but I believe I took care of it. I stopped at Circle K for a Polar Pop, water, and two Built bars. My bill was $11.68. Yikes! the Built bars were $3.58 a piece but they are so good!

The earlier I get to the hospital parking structure, the better parking spot I get. 

I talked to Abby the night nurse before she left for home. She told me about an accident she had 13 years ago while riding a motorcycle. She died 2 times and they brought her back with CPR and broke ribs in the process. She had a broken neck, a fractured skull, a brain bleed, a crushed pelvis, a broken leg and arm. Because her life was spared she decided to become a nurse to help others. 

Here is what is happening with James: His fever is down and then back up to 100. After his bath his fever went down to 98.6.  The respiratory therapist did her treatment encouraging James to breathe and cough.  James got a bed bath by his nurse Erica and her helper. This is sheer torture for him because they move him from side to side. Afterwards he gets his paid meds.  We started our breathing treatments every six minutes. 

Sheri was here when they came in and put a splint on James's broken leg (the right one). Since they have decided to cancel or postpone surgery they want his leg to have some protection. They told him he was not to bear any weight on it for at least six weeks. How fun.

I think we are going to have to cancel our trip to San Diego on the 19th of this month. Steve and Jane Rosen came to visit today. Steve said it took him six months to heal from his broken ribs. 

Sheri came this morning during doctor evaluation when they discovered James has pneumonia so surgery is postponed again. 

Stacy came in and stayed with James while I went to lunch with Sheri and Ian. We had lunch at the Perfect Pear Bistro. Sheri and I had the Strawberry Fields salad which was delicious. Ian had the Southwest Philly sandwich with fries. It comes with green chili sauce. I ordered one for James along with some tomato basil soup. When I left the hospital I left James my Polar Pop drink which was a mistake as he is only supposed to have thickened liquid because of his difficulty swallowing. Erica, the nurse, reminded me of this when I returned from lunch. He also can't eat the sandwich I brought but he can eat the soup. He ate some of it, but not much. 

Paul, Stacy and Joshua came this afternoon. Joshua anointed James and Paul gave him a priesthood blessing. It was a wonderful blessing.

When I get home to Stacy & Paul's they are doing scripture study. Joshua and Alayna are there too. After scriptures they talk about movies. Stacy declares she will not see an R rated movie. I am proud of her for saying that.

Here is some news from Sheri's family. Max got up in the middle of the night and ran 27 miles. He is preparing to run a marathon in San Francisco in July.

Alex is moving in with Sheri & Ian. He is moving upstairs in their "attic" room. His girl friend Jazmin is in Napa Valley this week attending a graduation of a cousin. Also Jazmin's dad was Max's favorite instructor at E.M.T. school. It's a small world.

So far for nurses James has had Sam (a woman), Andrea, Abby, and Erica. Abby is my favorite and Erica is second. Erica was awesome today. It was "power hour", the last hour of the day when they usually start logging out. She had two helpers, one was Greg, her work buddy, to come in and help get James out of bed into a chair. She came in and said, "okay, it's time to dangle." She means dangle his legs over the side of the bed. Someone said to her, just have the night shift do it. Erica said to them, "No, I've been promising James and his wife I would do it." Greg's philosophy is: "When a woman's in need, I am to please." James's night nurses are Stephanie and Chelsea. He did not like Stephanie very well. 

Pat Tedder passed away today. Janna posted many pictures of her on Facebook. I love her and Janna so much. 

Rita is coming to lunch tomorrow.

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2026: Sheri & Ian take my car to Discount Tire and I get 2 new tires, breathing exercises, fever of 102, today's visitors, Pat Tedder on life support,

 

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Temple #94

Sheri and Ian took my car to Discount Tire this morning. I definitely need a new tire. They guy said it's best to buy two tires so the tread matches, so I bought two.  Because we had a warranty I got two new tires for $194.00 instead of $350.00. Thank you Sheri & Ian for doing this for me. Sheri also brought me lunch from Yogi's, teriyaki chicken with veggies.

James's nurse today is Andrea. The first thing I heard this morning from her was: "I don't like the looks of your chest x-rays." After she said this she and another nurse were rolling James around in bed while he grimaced in pain. Andrea is a good nurse but she is a little abrupt. 

Dr. Watt, the trauma doctor, his hear with his team. James's oxygen needs are around 70 and he is a little concerned and said they should be lower. James needs to take more deep breaths.  Andrea said 1-2 deep breaths every 6-7 minutes with the breathing apparatus. I told her I could help with that so at 1:30 he did the first 1-2 breaths. He started out around 750 but soon was consistently getting up to 1000. I think he became annoyed with me. He gets agitated, trying to get out of bed, he wants to stand with the walker and he keeps playing with the bed controls. 

One of the doctors told me that the epidural works with gravity and James needs to keep his head down and still for it to work. The problem is his head needs to be up for breathing exercises so we have to wait to do them.

Around 7 Andrea leaves for home and Abby is here. James has a fever of 102. 

Today's visitors: Sheri, Stacy, Paul, Alex, Jared Ammon, and the Rosens. 

I talked to my friend Janna Grombach today about her mom, Pat Tedder. This is what she said: "My mom's surgery didn't go well. She aspirated during the surgery and it went into her lungs, so it's not good. They put her on a ventilator and we are going to have to make a decision within the next 24-48 hours. I am sorry to tell you that." 

I am pretty heartbroken because Pat is such a dear friend and so is Janna. I feel so sad for the Tedder family because it sounds like they are going to lose their mother. I told Kathy Crane, Maxine Thompson, and talk about it with Kerri Halcomb. 

James is a little grumpy tonight when I tell him that I am leaving and Abby says she is going to give him a bath. I ask if he wants me to give him his bath. He says rudely, "No, you need your rest!" That's when I left. Abby told me the next day he said this to her: "Why don't I go with my wife, take a shower and come back in the morning for surgery." Wishful thinking on his part. I feel bad for leaving but I think we both need some space and they really don't want me to spend the night at the hospital.

I went to Kim's after I left the hospital to drown my sorrows with a piece of her delicious carrot cake. It was soooo good. 

Today Sheri got me a case of shakes at Costco. 

Here are people who contacted me today about James: 

Susan and Pierce Goodman, Chuck, Tina Allen, Dennis - who is in Tennessee with Denise for Denise's mom Peg's 90th birthday party, Sandra Wilhelm, Lynn Wallace, Laura, Brian, Rosie Lauritzen, and Cheryl Sedig. Kacey said she was saying a prayer every 30 minutes and that she learned that from me. 

Monday, June 1st, 2026: Happy 58th Anniversary to us, Paul puts air in my tire, Circle K - Polar Pop, hospital @ 8, Rita says Patsy fell and broke her hip yesterday, Janna calls, Patsy in surgery, trauma team comes by, Andrea is today's nurse, no surgery today because of breathing & swallowing issues, epidural for pain, Abby the night nurse, Vickie's call

 

Veracruz, Mexico

Temple #93

Happy 58th wedding anniversary to us. This one will be remembered as the hospital anniversary. 

Paul got up this morning and put air in my tire. I am so grateful. On my way to the hospital I stopped at Circle K for a Polar Pop. I arrived at the hospital right around 8. 

Rita texted me this morning. She heard from Pete Whipple that Pat Tedder fell yesterday and broke her hip. Pete is Pat's brother. I contacted Janna, Pat's daughter, and she called me. Her mom tripped on the cat, fell and broke her hip. Pat is in surgery right now. They can't do a hip replacement for some reason, so they are putting a rod in. I told Janna that James was having breathing and swallowing problems and so they are holding off doing surgery. She said her mom has those problems too. I gave Janna my love and said goodbye. 

Dr. Watt, the trauma doctor, and his team came by and spoke to James with a few minutes and then invited me out in to the hall to listen to their report and evaluation. James's nurse, Andrea, was there too. No surgery today due to breathing and swallowing issues. The number one priority right now is getting James's pain level down so he can breathe easier. They are also putting him on hi-flow oxygen because his oxygen levels have been down because he is having difficulty taking deep breaths. They also put an epidural line in for pain. The first doctor was very talkative and informative but seemed a little nervous and after trying twice wasn't comfortable putting the line in and so he had another doctor come in. The second doctor didn't say a word but he got the epidural in and working. The first doctor came back to apologize. I liked him and wished he could have been successful. 

The people doing the swallow test never came back. I guess Andrea may have postponed them because she is trying to get James's pain under control and monitoring his breathing. 

I went downstairs and got a salad from the salad bar in the cafeteria and stayed until 9 o'clock. Abby is his night nurse for the second night in a row. I really like her. 

Kim performed an errand of mercy today. She brought me some of Brian's breakfast casserole, two waters, and two shakes. She also brought me two shakes yesterday. 

Charlie sent a picture for James.

I love this!

Vickie called to check on James and we got to talking about her night terrors, falling out of bed, and talking in her sleep among other things. She also pounded the headboard of her bed with her fists and made them sore and bruised. I told Stacy's problem and the drug that helped her and gave her the name of the drug. She said that if she dies, don't let them arrest Harold for murdering her. Wow, I feel so sorry for her. I'm wondering if the fact that her youngest brother Donnie was killed in a car accident when he was quite young and both her mother and brother committed suicide. 

When I got to Stacy's I told her about Vickie, and then went to bed.

Happy 9th Birthday to Winter

I love that Charlie is reading the

Book of Mormon before she gets

baptized!

Our stake youth conference at the 

Vernon girls camp.

 His phone is his best friend

My sweet friend Patsy Tedder.