Saturday, November 19, 2011

A WORRYING FEW DAYS

Last December MOH had a really bad virus and with a cough that hung on for many weeks.  He was even too sick to enjoy his own birthday but fortunately got well enough to enjoy Christmas.  More recently he had a similar infection complete with cough so off we went to the doctor.  He was given antibiotics specific for this type of infection and over a matter of several weeks he gradually got better.

We had reason to see the doctor again (for scripts etc) and I mentioned that MOH had never had a lung function test and as he'd been told he had mild emphysemia back in 2006 and was using asthma type puffers I was surprised that this hadn't been done.  The doctor decided a chest x-ray would also be a good idea so off MOH went for that and the lung function test.

The x-ray came back showing what appeared as a nodule on his right lung.  Straight off to have a CT scan of his chest and a 2 day wait that seemed like 2 months.  To cut a long story short off we went back to our doctor yesterday afternoon for the dreaded results.  GOOD NEWS.  It would seem there was a type of scarring on his lung most possibly as a result of a lower respiratory tract infection.  He of course still has emphysema and some bronchial damage but the relief we felt that the 'nodule' was not something nasty was overwhelming.

The lung function test showed somewhat decreased lung capacity but the doctor said that was nothing to worry about as MOH had been a smoker (he gave up over 40 years ago) and this would partly be attributable to that and also his age.

To celebrate we had take away Chinese for dinner (and it was delicious) and both breathed a big sigh of relief.  This type of happening though is more or less a wake up call that we are indeed getting somewhat older and should perhaps make more definite plans for our future.

One good thing though is that MOH will be able to enjoy his 82nd birthday in a couple of weeks time.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

PLEASANT THOUGHTS OF A SPECIAL COUPLE

Yesterday my lovely daughter and her hubby celebtrated their 34th wedding anniversary and it got me to thinking about how and when they met.

Way back in the 1970s MOH and I used to play badminton in a hall near our home.  They were a great bunch of folk and among them were two young men that I liked very much.  My daughter at that time was on her own with her little girl and I thought it may be nice for her to join in and play badminton with us and also meet these two young men as well.

She came along to the hall and with her little girl being so well behaved she was able to bring her along too which was great.  She (our daughter and not the 2 year old) seemed to enjoy herself and played badminton quite well and got on so well with the people that we invited them as well as family and other friends, along to the 21st birthday party we arranged for her.   We felt sad that she was on her own so hired a hall, had the party catered for and had a DJ to put on some music so there could be dancing as well.  We had a lovely cake made and I also made my daughter a very pretty dress to wear. You did that type of thing for 21st birthdays way back then.

Eventually one of the young men asked our lass to go on a date and their friendship grew from there until finally there was a marriage, 3 children to add to the little girl my daughter already had so a nice family of 6, and today they are real soul mates and it always makes my heart so glad that I was instrumental in them meeting.  They have had their ups and down but have always come up smiling and I can only hope they have many, many more happy years ahead to spend together.  I love them both very much and they are wonderful to MOH and me in our declining years for which I thank them so much.

Friday, November 4, 2011

MOTHER LOVE

I often think of my mum (the one that adopted me when I was very tiny) and also the one that gave birth to me and was forced to give me up.  To have been so fortunate in being adopted by a wonderful couple was I think perhaps more than I deserved.  I hope I never really let them down and I will always be grateful for their love and care.  Thinking about this today reminded me of a verse in Mother's Day card I received some time back and I would like to share it with you.

Mums always show their caring in so many different ways
By giving warm encouragement, support and words of praise.
They give their understanding and they take the time to share
Warm moments of companionship that show how much they care.
Mums always give a special gift that really stands above
Any other gift in life - the priceless gift of love.

My real mother of course was never given the opportunity to do any of the above and I feel so sad that she was denied this.  My 'other mother', although she had not given birth, had the pleasure of being able to do all the above for her chosen daughter and she did it without reserve of any kind.

My only hope is that I too have been a reasonably good mum to my children (and grandmother to my grandchildren as well) and have managed to instill in them the values I hold dear and that were taught to me.  To my way of thinking one of the most important of all these beliefs is to endeavour always to treat others as you'd like them to treat you.  If you can do that throughout your life you will cause little deliberate hurt and hopefully not be hurt by others.

As usual, I hope everyone out there in blog land is keeping well and happy.