Time to Give Thanks...

 

Good news! I inquired about RODNEY FLANAGAN'S health and his wife Carolyn was kind enough to send me the following:

"Rodney was released from Shannon Encompass Rehab July 30, 24 days after the stroke. Seven of those days were spent in Shannon Hospital.  The remaining time was spent in rehab, which was crucial in his recovery. He spent time in Occupational, Speech and Physical therapy almost every day.  He is working to regain his strength by walking and doing exercises at home, which he does not enjoy.  He looks good and there are no obvious physical effects. There is some short term memory loss, and he gets tired easier.  He laughs and says that being 82 years old is part of the problem.  We are so thankful that he is doing so well and give God all the glory. Thank you all for the calls, cards and prayers.  The class of '57 is a special bunch of people."

Love to you all,

Rodney and Carolyn

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Back in May, NANCY BAKER'S grandson Rei suffered a serious brain injury in a skateboard accident. His sister Kara

set up a GoFundMe page for him and updated his condition from time to time. Last week NANCY told me that he was home with his mother Lynn in Winters, and accompanied them on their garage sale shopping! He is still on the path to a full recovery. His sister Kara wrote the following on his GoFundMe page:

"Rei has made a truly miraculous recovery. He was released from the hospital on July 16th. He was hospitalized for 7 weeks. 5 of those weeks he was kept deeply sedated, on a ventilator, and on a feeding tube in ICU. During that time the Doctors and Nurses could not tell us that he would ever be okay. Then once Rei's brain could handle coming back from sedation he literally started making a full recovery in 2 weeks and got to go home! Every other day my mom told me about a big milestone Rei overcame. I kept driving to the hospital to see for myself. God has been so good to us! Thank you all again for your support! We know many of you wanted to come see him but you didn't because you understood how important it was for him to have a completely calm and unstimulating environment for his brain to heal. We thank you for your understanding and for supporting us from afar! We love you and God bless all of you for your kindness!"

This truly was a miraculous recovery. 

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Back in June I wrote about my and BOB BURTON'S grandson Branch Tanner Archer and the 70-day bicycle ride he was participating in to raise money for cancer research, I Love to Ride My Bike. Last Friday the riders completed their 6,000 mile trip, arriving back in Austin. Guess who was there to greet him? As his parents were waiting in Alaska for him to join them, Papaw, aka BOB BURTON was there with a big grin and a hug! Uncle Matthew took the photos. We are all "busting our buttons" with pride for this young man.

BOB BURTON, Tanner, Aunt Amy, Cousin Kelly

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"Ask and ye shall receive." I recently asked DENNY HILL what he has been up to in recent months. I was tickled to get a quick, funny response from him. During the pandemic, he has been experiencing some of the things that we all can relate to. Stay tuned. I will share these with you in my next post!

In the meantime, if you can keep us all updated on classmates who need our attention and/or prayers, please drop me an email. I am finally able to do a little writing, and of course, I love to hear from you all!

Peace and love -- and may you all experience "good stuff"!

Marilyn

KEEP THESE IN YOUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS

It has been a while since I've posted here. I apologize for appearing to neglect our classmates. Especially as there have been some things happening that need our thoughts and prayers. I hope that my sending some of this information to you via email put prayers in action. Some of you let me know. I call you our "prayer warriors".

As you know, RODNEY FLANAGAN recently suffered a stroke in a doctor's office in Winters. This resulted in a brain bleed that placed him in ICU at Shannon Hospital in San Angelo. (Thanks to  BOB BURTON for this information.) As of a week ago, he was out of the ICU, walking with some help. NANCY THOMPSON BAKER told me yesterday that he is now in the rehabilitation section of Shannon Hospital for assistance with the after-effects of a stroke.

DORIS and DON WHITE'S daughter's husband died recently in Colorado where they live. He apparently was found dead in the truck he was driving. As they have children, one of which is disabled, there was a Go Fund Me page set up for them. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find out the daughter's or her husband's name.  Their last name is Marrow. If someone can get this information, I will certainly send the link to everyone.

JANETTE AMARINE BRADSHAW suffered a heart attack two or three weeks ago, but is out of the hospital and under home healthcare. 

Sadly, today is the anniversary of  NANCY THOMPSON BAKER's late husband Jake's death. We spoke yesterday and both told funny stories about Jake and their life together. The laughter felt good. Tomorrow would have been their 64th wedding anniversary. 

NANCY also told me that her grandson Rei is slowly making progress from the brain injury he suffered on a skateboard fall. He is still unsure of where he is or what happened to him. He has a Go Fund Me page for the massive amount of medical bills.  PRAYERS FOR REI

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On a lighter note, BOB HOLLIS sent me the following email and photos. Thanks, BOB!  ( And happy belated birthday!)

       

"Robert (Bob) & Margaret Hollis just returned from their 55th anniversary trip to Hawaii. Their kids and grandkids and great-granddaughter from Texas, Arizona, and California were there to enjoy the vacation also.

"Now that Covid 19 has subsided and our family members are all healthy, we traveled. I told the kids that we were spending their inheritance and trading money for memories, so they had better take good pictures."  

BOB AND MARGARET HOLLIS

"I hope youall and yours are doing well." 

Spoken like a true Texan, BOB. However, we usually shorten it to y'all!

I have been getting notices from Google that this blog is difficult to read on some devices as the print is too small. I'm experimenting with different sizes, etc. Let me know your feeling on this. Apparently, Google wants everything to be read on an iPhone - perhaps so they can get their ads in.

Hopefully, soon we will find out which medicine I've been on has caused the serious outbreaks I've been having.  Imagine having hives on your face.. As I'm only on three, two are for breathing, it should not take too much longer!

I hope everyone out there has their COVID vaccinations and are in good health. 

Praying for peace, love, and healing for those in need,

Marilyn

CONGRATULATIONS!

 

GOOD NEWS TIME

JIM & BETTY COWLISHAW
November 7, 2008

Every now and then we need to remember all the things we have overcome at our age. As our bodies “out-age” our minds, it’s easy to become a little negative and worry that we might be falling apart. Especially when we have suffered some tragic losses among our friends and family members. There have been many success stories among us over the past year or so. Here’s some of the “good stuff” that’s been happening:

NYDAH ELLET had knee surgery shortly after the reunion in ’07. Here’s what she has to say today about having had a double knee replacement: “Yes, I am dancing and my teacher says that I look stronger than ever. Also Yoga is in my life. I would recommend the surgery but only if one totally commits to the immediate walking and physical therapy. Otherwise, you had the surgery for nothing.”

JAMES HAYS had heart bypass surgery and may already have his pilot’s license back. This is what he recently wrote: “The ticker keeps on ticking like the Duracell bunny. Actually, I'm fixed for quite a while, probably years. I'm in more danger from jealous husbands (dream on).” James’s wife Kay also had a successful hip replacement not too long back.

JUNE HASH CURRY underwent back surgery last year that caused her to miss the reunion. This year she has undergone wonderfully successful physical therapy that has kept her from having to have additional surgery for upper back pain. She can now enjoy playing hours of bridge!

PEGGY VIRDEN SHARP had heart valve repair surgery shortly after the reunion last year. The last we talked, she had been taken off nearly all medication, and except for being slowed down a little, she is back to her normal, busy lifestyle.

JANICE AMARINE suffered from a fractured hip this past summer that crimped her style for a while, but she told me that has healed now.

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PEGGY BRANHAM KRUMLINDE had a brief scare with a health checkup a few months

ago that turned out to be nothing to worry about. More of her “good stuff” was a lucky “little” win on a slot machine.

ROSALYN URBANTKE HOELSCHER was in the hospital at the time of our Class Reunion with heart problems. Some of us spoke with her by telephone at that time. Since then, in spite of a couple of scary episodes, ROSALYN had a monitor implanted to regulate her heart rhythm. The last we spoke she felt this would be the resolution of some of the episodes she had suffered. She was well enough to celebrate her and Nolan’s 50^th Wedding Anniversary at the end of August, looking beautiful and healthy!

GENE ROUTH missed the reunion last year due to a broken ankle. The last report I had from him, he had mended nicely.

I’ve made inquiries of RODNEY FLANAGAN and BARBARA SHARPES BROOKS in regards to their respective knee surgeries. I am assuming “no news is good news” and they have put their new knees to good use!

IRENE PIEL BATTS is still being challenged by the treatments she has undergone in recent months. However, she is courageously fighting the good fight, and I feel she will head the next list of our success stories. Keep sending her loving energy and prayers.

While we’re at it, now is a really good time to count our blessings and give gratitude for all of the above successes. Who says “good stuff” doesn’t happen?

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Two remarkable things in the news recently left me in awe of where modern science is taking us. The first thing was last Sunday on 60 Minutes. Researchers have developed a way to put electrodes on the brain of patients who are paralyzed that enable them to actually use a computer by THINKING!! In one instance, they have actually surgically implanted the electrodes into a woman's brain. Still in a developmental stage, but already working, is a small computer on a wheelchair. They showed the woman able to operate the wheelchair with her thoughts from a distance! Soon she will be able to use it and get around unaided.

The possibilities of enabling paralyzed people to lead useful lives again - in some cases, walk again, and amazingly, in the future for amputees to be able to operate artificial limbs by thinking... Wellll, let me say I think this is nothing short of miraculous.

The next item that amazed me was this: “Scientists reported decoding the entire genetics of a cancer cell.” By doing this, they are looking at personalizing treatment for an individual's DNA makeup (one size does NOT fit all) and cure more cancers than ever. It is going to happen in our lifetime, folks!

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Election Day I set out early for Mineral Wells to spend the day with my dad, who turned 90 years of age. I want to tell you in another blog about that poignant visit. For now, let me say it was a magical day for me, and I kept getting sidetracked to take photos of all the beauty in our little part of the world. Here is one of my favorites: (Who needs New England?)

Bayou Road One Lane Bridge

Burkett, Texas

Oh yes, before I forget... The episode I had last November and the trip I took by helicopter are only a distant memory now. I take my daily aspirin and exercise more than I used to. More of a hindrance to my everyday life has been the horrendous reaction I had to the chemicals used for ridding the orphan kittens and then my house of fleas this past summer. I just finished the third round of steroids. I'm happy to report that I no longer have to wear gloves to carry out my everyday activities! I'm tempted to try to catch up on all I had to leave undone, but will be more than satisfied to be able to do this blog and type answers to my emails without the gloves! The work will be there another day. Thanks to those of you who sent me such good wishes for my recovery. JUNE, you in particular!

A side note: My beautiful ballerina granddaughter Audrey who also plays the violin so sweetly I cry, has decided to major in "Environmental Science" and pre-med. Environmental illnesses are causing more of our ills than ever before, according to my Dr. McKinnon.

Before I go, I want to send condolences to NANCY THOMPSON BAKER, who lost an older brother this week. She is in Houston for his funeral as I write this.

Let me hear from all of you. I know there has been a lot of "good stuff" going on in YOUR lives ~ hasn't there?

Peace and love,

Marilyn