I'll begin with the fun of St. George and end with the not so fun surgery. Those two events were what this month of September was all about.
Our family's annual trip to St. George for the performances at the Tuachan theater didn't disappoint. The highlight was that we were able to bring Sonnie to St. George to join us this year which meant we had all 7 Richards siblings plus Sam, our Bulkeley brother.
On Saturday, the 14th, the Fullers and ourselves drove to the airport to pick up Sonnie. I was able to get a pass to meet her at the gate. We were concerned that she would not know where to go after she got off the plane as she is struggling with the onset of Alzheimer's disease. She came off the plane wondering where to go so I was glad I was there for her. She was so happy that both the Millars and the Fullers had come to the airport to meet her.
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| Sonnie coming off the plane and seeing me waiting there for her. |
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| The three sisters together. This hasn't happened in many years. |
We dropped the Fullers and Sonnie off at their home and then everyone came to our home for a spaghetti dinner. After dinner we all went to the Fuller's home to watch the first half of the BYU/Wyoming football game.
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| Sonnie ready for church |
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| At the dinner table. Ed and Debbie arrived as we were eating. |
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| Sonnie and Darrell seemed to have a lot to talk about |
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| Sonnie and her birthday cake |
The next day, we all met at Tiffany's for our annual crepe breakfast. Sonnie really enjoy the sweet crepe with lots of berries and cream. Afterwards. Paul and I took Sonnie to see Ryan and Katie where we had a wonderful visit. I wanted them to meet my sister as they hadn't seen her for years. After relaxing at the condo for a while, we went to hang out at Don and Dana's. Sam and Kathy fixed build your own burritos for dinner. It was then time to head to the Tuachan theater for the production of Frozen. The show was beautifully done and Sonnie was enthralled with it all.
Tuesday, we took Sonnie to Don and Dana's to spend the late morning and early afternoon with her brothers. The Fullers and ourselves had an appointment to do a endowment session in the new Red Cliffs temple. It is a beautiful temple in the same design as the Saratoga Springs temple. We were glad we could go and enjoy the spirit of the temple. We had lunch at Jersey Mikes, picked up Sonnie and went to the condo to relax before dinner and another show, Jersey Boys.
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| Everyone loved this show but me |
Wednesday, we all traveled to Ryan and Katie's cabin to have lunch. We fixed hoagie sandwiches with ham and chicken and cheese with all the trimmings. After lunch we sat around and visited till it was time to return to St. George for dinner and our last show, Anastasia. Dinner was great as was the show. Paul and I especially loved the show as it was set in Russia at the time of the take over of the ruling Tsars.
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| At the cabin |
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| Ryan and Katie were such gracious hosts |
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| Back at the condo. Deon is helping Sonnie to be able to remember all of us after we leave. |
Thursday, we loaded Sonnie into our car and drove her to the airport to fly back to Denver. I had a hard time getting a pass to take her to the gate but the attendants finally granted me one. As I was taking Sonnie through security and to her gate she kept asking me how I knew what to do. She used to travel all over the world for her Montessori assignments but has forgot how to maneuver the airports. I talked to the attendant at the gate and requested someone take Sonnie right to her seat as she was confused as to how to do that. I was so relieved to have her on the plane and then to receive a message from her daughter, Jeanie, in Denver that Sonnie has arrived safely. We were so glad we could bring her out to be with the family. She felt so much love from all of us. Because of her mental condition, we're sure this will be the last time we will all be together.
Now for the not so fun surgery. As has been mentioned in previous posts, Paul was scheduled for surgery to remove a carcinoid tumor on the 26th of this month. We went to Utah Valley Hospital that morning and the surgery was performed in the afternoon. It seemed like such a long wait till the surgery was over as I was a nervous wreck. I was so grateful that Andrea had flown in to be with me during surgery. Charlotte and Allison and Todd were also in the waiting room with me.
I was able to go back with Paul for all the preop procedures. I was grateful when the surgical nurse said that our surgeon, Dr. Cook, was one of the best. When the surgery was over, he came out to tell me what had been done. It was more extensive than they thought it would be. They had to take out 4 feet of small intestines, 4 inches of colon, and the appendix. They were all impacted with the tumor. They also found that there were many tiny carcinoids in his abdomen which means Paul will have to be on a medication to slow their growth. All in all the surgery was a success.
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| All ready for surgery |
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| Feeling a lot better on the day after surgery |
Andrea stayed till Saturday morning, so on Friday she treated me and her daughters and son in law to lunch at Olive Garden. It was Charlotte's birthday. It was good to leave the hospital for a couple of hours.
On Saturday, Paul was given his first meal of clear liquids. Not too exciting but necessary to get his bowels working again. His first bowel movement was the next day. By Monday he was on a full liquid diet with was a little better because ice cream was allowed. He wasn't allowed real solid food until Tuesday evening and that was a low fiber meals which he will be on for the next 6 weeks. It felt real good for him to get solid food into his system. We did a lot of walking around the 8th floor and eventually were allowed to take the elevator down to the main floor and walk to the duck pond. That was a real treat to be out in the sunshine.
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| Eating his liquid meal |
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| Sticker given to Paul after he had his first bowel movement |
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| His first solid meal |
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| Todd and Kailee brought their family to visit Paul. The girls made these pictures for him. |
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| At the duck pond on his last full day in the hospital |
It was great day when Paul was finally released from the hospital. He loved being back at home and sleeping in his own bed. Of course one of the first things he did was check out things on the computer in his office.
Miracles surrounding this surgery:
1. In July, I wrote about going to the emergency room because Paul's continuous abdominal pain. It was there the found the tumor. It was such a blessing that we were prompted to go that day as this tumor was so compacted into his bowels that he could have easily developed a bowel blockage which would have meant emergency surgery. The fact that he is on a blood thinner, surgery with that in his system wouldn't have been good. When the surgeon told me that this was a life threatening surgery, I understood the severity of this operation.
2. While in St. George, several of my family got sick with COVID. Kathy, Don and Dana had a terrible time getting over it. Paul started with a sore throat on Thursday and had a slight fever on Friday. By Saturday, he was out doing yardwork because his bout with possibly COVID only lasted 2 days. (I was sicker than that having a higher fever and being much more congested.) Had Paul's sickness gone on any longer we would have had to postpone his surgery. That would not have been a good thing.
3. The biggest miracle, according to Paul, is that the surgery was scheduled at a time when the BYU football team played an away game and then had a bye the following week. This meant that he would not miss any games. (All too important to Paul) We did watch the BYU/Baylor game on TV at the hospital.
We are grateful that Heavenly Father watched over us and provide the tender mercies that we needed.
While Paul was in the hospital, I stayed at Todd and Kailee's home. I didn't want to drive the canyon each night nor stay in this big house by myself. I so appreciated the meals saved for me when I got to their home from the hospital. It was also fun to be around the children. Avery was especially attentive to me each time I would come home. It was as if she knew I was stressed and tired. So sweet. She also said a prayer each night asking Heavenly Father to bless both Paul and me.
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| On a couple of the mornings, the whole family rode their bikes to school. Lincoln was upset that he couldn't ride his own bike but that would have taken them too long and the girls would have been late for school. |
Typically September, means peaches and harvesting the garden. Both those happened at the first of the month. Paul was determined to get the garden done before his surgery so he harvested the of the corn and pulled the corn stalks,. He dug up the potatoes and all the vines. The only thing he left in the garden was the squash which is best if we leave it on the vines till into October. Of course, that all meant a couple of trips to the dump.
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| All set up and ready for the party to start |
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| The big hit was this train for the kids. Joey Hyer drove it all around the park filled with young children who were so excited for the ride. |
The highlight of the month for Paul was receiving his long awaited custom black license plate. Of course, he had them put on his favorite saying, HEEREE. He loves this new look on our car.
We were excited to welcome our college age students back to our home for Sunday dinner. Jillian is among them now as she is doing a student teaching experience at Bingham high school. They love to come up, not only for a good meal, but to jump on the trampoline which they do whenever the weather cooperates.
A few memes:
