Post #1) HITTING THE BIG CITY & OTHER FUN STUFF -

Well, if you follow my daughter's blog - you know that Ryan has been in Haiti this week.  We've really enjoyed reading his emails and are grateful for the invention of the INTERNET.  It would be really scary to have him far away and not have any contact.

So while he has been away, our precious wonderful HARDWORKING daughter has been at our house.  I don't know how she does it all.  Good thing she is physically fit.

She went to her house in Coralville on Friday to work on packing stuff up.  That day I had to work but took off in the afternoon to go up and get Jaimee.  (You get more done without a baby!!) 

Jaimee and I went from there to the Veteran's Hospital to visit my parents, and got home about the same time Rhiannon did Friday night.  Jaimee was a little peach.  Aunt Mary Ellen and Uncle Joe brought in some Kentucky Fried Chicken and there were some biscuits in it.  The biscuit Jaimee ate was a great help to her ability to handle a long hospital visit.

Dad had surgery that morning.  He has had a bad foot that has an open wound that won't heal.  The situation was such that they were/are considering removing toes and/or part of the foot in order to help it heal.  They ran tests the week before and decided to do angioplasty (?) on the vein of his left leg - with the possibility of a stent.  We were quite concerned as dad wasn't feeling well and the scary thing was we don't want him to get infection.

What they ended up doing was to put a little do-hicky in a vein in his RIGHT leg and ran it across his body and down the left leg.  Found a 'rock solid' something in it (kind of like coral they said).  Ended up cutting a piece of his vein out and reconnecting it.  Surgery took from about 7:30 a.m. to well after 2 p.m.  The good news was that the blood flow was much improved. 

Thanks to all the relatives who came up to visit and be with mom! You're the greatest.

I think I'll pause and let you take a potty break or something before I continue!