I know – It’s a shock! It was a shock to us, too!! Everything is fine now; but it was a major set-back for his knee therapy. Sorry I have not written or called anybody, but so much was happening that I just did not have the time. Please forgive me.
Here is the story –
As you know, Ken’s knee surgery was on Wednesday, April 29. He went home on Saturday, May 2. (No rehab following this surgery.) He seemed to be doing OK Saturday; ate dinner, watched the NASCAR race; slept well with the assistance of some pain pills. But, by Sunday evening he was feeling really tired and had difficulty breathing and with some tightness in his chest. Then, on Monday morning, while the Visiting Nurse from Gloucester Home Care was here, Ken became nauseous, had difficulty breathing and felt tightness in his chest. The three of us decided to call the ambulance and he was taken to the Emergency Room at Riverside Walter Reed Hospital, Gloucester, VA. They performed numerous tests and deduced that Ken had had a minor heart attack. They kept him in the hospital overnight and transferred him to Riverside Regional in Newport News, VA on Tuesday morning.
Tuesday afternoon, the Cardiologist performed a heart cauterization and found Ken’s heart to be in the same condition as we had described it was found it be back in 2004 when a similar procedure was performed in Arizona. Ken has two stents, but in 2004 one stent was found to be blocked with new arteries bypassing it to self-correct. At that time it was determined that no attempt should be made to clear the blockage as that could do more harm than good. On Tuesday, Dr. Burton made the same decision and no additional surgery was performed. He said that normally Ken’s heart is strong enough and functioning at about 45%; but the added stress of the knee surgery and slight changes in his medication had caused the minor heart attack.
Ken stayed in the hospital overnight and, after a few additional tests, he was released on Wednesday afternoon to come back home.
On Thursday morning the Visiting Nurse returned and checked Ken’s vitals, etc. The Physical Therapist came on Thursday afternoon and worked with Ken on some exercises for the knee. She was great!! She almost insisted that Ken’s orthopedic surgeon prescribe a PCM machine for passive knee exercise since Ken had had a major set-back due to the heart attack. So, on Friday morning the PCM machine was delivered. The Therapist came and helped us set it up for use three times a day. We cannot say enough in praise of the Gloucester Home Care organization and feel they and the PCM have been a major plus in his home therapy.
Well, that’s the story. It’s all down hill from here!!!
Ken and I sincerely want to thank all of you for your warm thoughts and prayers. You have helped more than you know.
Ken was able to get up a couple of times during the day, using a walker and the help of PT personnel. His appetite is pretty good and he ate about half of his meals – I ate the other half!! His major problem now is the pain in the back of his surgical knee. So many people have told us that is where they experienced the most trouble. It seems to be true.
Met Art and Deborah, guess where?? On the Pickleball court right here at Chesapeake Bay a couple of years ago. They have an RV with a “garage” in the back for carrying their Trike, etc. Note their beautiful pets!!
And with his Mom, Michelle
He received sooooo many presents!!!
Here is Little Michael going for a touchdown with his new football (part of our gift to him).
This building is a dorm for the students. Our really good friend, Millie, ran the Mail Room in this building. She and Ken used to laugh about getting each other in the closet during “those days”!! Millie has now retired to the country with her husband, BJ.
And the inside of the Chapel where we were pronounced Man and Wife!
These are the tennis courts with the Physical Plant in the background (that is where Ken worked). Believe it or not, we played tennis on these courts against the wife of the Seminary President and her guest, Patricia Cornwell!! Yes, that’s right! The Patricia Cornwell, the bestselling crime writer (although she was not so well known in “those days”!!
And here is Mike. Mike worked with Ken for about twenty years before Ken retired. He said he was like a little kid following Ken all around the Seminary, absorbing the knowledge of the Master; following him to the dump, and sometimes even to the liquor store!!
Mike is so funny! Every time we see him he tells a tale on my son, Barry, who worked at UTS a summer or two. Mike would start, “How’s Barry? Then he would start laughing until he had tears in his eyes. That Barry Hee Hee I’ll never forget Ha Ha Barry comes into the shop one day and says Ha Ha Ha I was a Good Samaritan today! I helped a blind lady back her car out of the cul de sac. Ha Ha Ha Ha Why do you think she was blind, Barry? Well because, she had those push buttons on her dash instead of a gear shift! Ha Ha Ha Well, Barry. If she was blind, do you think she would be driving??!! Ha Ha Ha
Here’s Faye telling Delores and JoAnne about something – I can’t imagine what it could be, but I’m certain it’s not as interesting as Wayne’s tale!!
Hope we can do this again real soon!!!
After dinner, we went to Grandson Thomas’ favorite place – The Cupcake Shop near their home, and had delicious cup cakes for dessert!! My CRAZY guys!!
On Sunday morning, we again went to Barry’s for pancake breakfast!! UUUMMMM!! On the drive over, Ken noticed we only had one bike on the back of the car. He stopped on the highway and checked. Surely enough, his bike was no longer on the bike rack. What could we do?? We continued our drive over and there on I-40 was Ken’s mangled bike along side the road. We can only hope it did no damage to anyone else when it fell off in the rain the night before.
The chicks have really grown, but are not laying eggs yet!!
After a good but an all too short visit, we left Raleigh and headed for our hometown, Richmond, VA. 
That evening we all went to Grandson Michael’s high school baseball game against last year’s champions. Michael had pitched most of the game the night before so he did not play when we were there, but the team managed to have a winning night. Since Michael did not play, he had to pose for a picture the next day.
On Thursday, I went to Swimnastics with Stasia’s group of seniors. First time I had been in the pool since Labor Day last year. It was great to be back doing water aerobics.
On Saturday morning, we had delicious brunch at Stasia’s, followed by some picture taking.
Michael was at practice, but got home in time to bid us farewell as we left for Raleigh.
Ducks, too!! [Oh, My!! I goofed. A faithful reader wrote that these looked a lot like Canadian Honkers (geese) to her!!! What do I know?? HA HA] Thanks, Betty.
