Been Out Sick

It's been a while since my last blog. I ended that one on a tragic note. But what the devil meant for bad, God turned around for good. It has brought families back together and made us all realize how important family and friends are. If I haven't told you lately - I love you from the bottom of my heart.

I took Daddy to the viewing on Wednesday night. I saw my brother embrace our dad for the first time in over a year. God is good. I have never seen so many people at a viewing before. I'm sure the fact that there were two people had something to do with it. It was closed caskets, but they had a slide show going. Oh, the love those two had for each other was so evident in their pictures. If they were staring into each other eyes, they were holding hands. And there were pictures of Ricky (the son who killed them) and you could see how much they loved him and his brother, Randy. They lived full lives, with their horses, their business (paint contractors), their family, their travels. I regret that I didn't belong to their lives more than just at funerals and hospital visits. My children and grandchildren could have had fuller lives if they had know Randy and Debbie. They could all have learned how to ride horses. But, we all just get so busy with our own little group of family and friends that we miss out on so much. It was a blessing that they went together to be with the Lord, because one could not have carried on without the other.

The funeral was a tribute to two Christians who cared about people and worked hard in the churches they were members of. Debbie would sing for anybody's funeral. All the preacher had to do was call the night before, say "Debbie, do you know this song?" She'd say "No, but I will by tomorrow." If it meant staying up all night, she would learn the song and sing it like a pro. She loved God and would sing for Him every chance she got. They worked in the church doing whatever needed to be done. They painted the preacher's houses, the churches and did any thing they could for God's people. It was a blessing to hear three preachers talk about them as friends, while another preacher sat on the first row as a pallbearer crying through the whole service.

They were buried in Vernon at an old country church cemetery (Ebenezer Baptist Church). Over 200 people were at the graveside service. The funeral lasted from 10:00to 2:00 and did not seem too long at all.

I saw my two aunts embrace and cry on each others shoulders and ask forgiveness and speak love for one another. They have not spoken in over six months. That was so precious. Those of us standing around that knew the situation broke down and cried. God is so good.

Penny, Chip, Angie and I stopped for lunch at a BBQ place and met up with Angie's cousin, his wife and daughter. Penny and I ordered catfish nuggets and had to send them back - not done. Yuck! I do not eat raw fish. We changed our order to BBQ sandwiches. Lesson learned - Never order fish at a BBQ joint! I stayed over and Chip and Angie's visiting until 5:30. Got home and started running fever around 6:30 and coughing every other breath.

I ran fever all night and took Nyquil and cough medicine. Vance went to the store and got Dayquil for me to take to work with me. Had to go to work the next day, cause it was timesheet day and I don't have a backup. I worked until I got them all entered; left at 12:30. Came home and hit the couch - fever and coughing. Took the Dayquil and cough medicine (Tussionex), but it wouldn't stop the cough.

Vance went and played golf the next day. When he got home, I sent him to the store for Old Crow Whiskey. He came back with Jim Beam; couldn't find Old Crow. I mixed 1 ounce whiskey with 1 ounce honey and took a tablespoon. Layed down and slept for about two hours. That was the longest I had been able to sleep without coughing. It's an old remedy that my cousin's pedetrician gave my aunt over 40 years ago. They called it "Deacon Brown's Cough Elixir". It still works.

My co-worker, Randy, called me Sunday morning and requested prayer for his brother-in-law's family. Their 2 1/2 yr. old son was riding a little electric car around in the yard with a whole bunch of people around and he got away because nobody was watching him every minute and went to the neighbor's house, fell in a ditch and drowned. The little car fell over on him and he couldn't get out. They noticed he was gone and called 911 when they couldn't find him. They thought he had been abducted. The Sheriff and deputies came and started a search and a deputy and neighbor found him, tried CPR to no avail. What a tragedy. You think just because there are a lot of people around, that your child will be safe. But, you really do have to keep your eyes on them the entire time. The mother had just turned around to talk to somebody, turned back and Zeke was gone. Not even five minutes had passed. So, please, if you have a small child, watch them every single minute. You don't want this to happen to you or someone you love.

I did not get off the couch until today. Went to work and then to the doctor. She said I had a very bad case of sinusitis and gave me a shot of Rocephin and a shot of Decadron. Said I should start feeling better in about 2 hours. Well, it took much longer than two hours. I was still weak as water until around 9:30 tonight. But, it did stop the cough. I worked and made more mistakes than I think I've made in my entire career. My brain was just in a fog and I couldn't seem to do anything right. I had to run all my reports twice because I did them wrong. It would take about 15 minutes to figure out a timesheet, which should have taken only seconds to figure out what they were trying to say. I told my boss I couldn't be responsible for anything I did today. The reports were done before I went to the doctor and without being on any medication. One good thing - I lost 8 lbs. Hope I can keep it off. My doctor gave me prescriptions for Azithromycin 500mg, Methylprednisolone 4mg and Tussionex to start taking tomorrow.

The steroid shot finally kicked in around 9:30. I decided to make cupcakes, cause I will have to eat breakfast to take the medicine. It's a Weight Watchers recipe (1point each) - Pillsbury Angel Food Cake Mix and a 20oz can of crushed pineapple mixed together and baked at 350 degress for 15 minutes. They are pretty good, but it makes a whole bunch! I'll have to carry some to Kim and share.

Guess I better try to get some sleep. Goodnight and God bless...........