My Dear Friends (Page 1 of 2)

Take care Bill our thoughts are with you and Dondra .

Prayers are with you . Just know we are here.

   Joe

Take good care of her, as I know you will Bill. And take care of yourself too buddy.

I was hopeful that things were getting better for the two of you when I spoke to Dondra but you seem to have been going though the mill again. It really is about time that have less troubles.

Thoughts and prayers with you both.

Roger

Well, since you mentioned it, I'll comment on that "upbeat and positive" attitude we try to have, keepitreal (I think your name is Brian, but I'm not sure I'm remembering correctly).

When this whole thing with the heart began months ago, I kept thinking "they're gonna fix this", never once imagining that it would take such a long time for them to finally put in a pacemaker or that she would take a turn for the worse so many times (14 hospital admissions in one month's time - one of them lasting 20 days) or that she would wind up having a stroke.

While all of that was going on and I was keeping y'all updated with all the changes, I couldn't help but think, "What must the Chordians be thinking???? No one's luck is that bad!"

So after the pacemaker was put in and the stroke happened, I honestly didn't know what else to say to you, my friends, so I took some time off from posting here and stayed awake at night for about a week so I'd be sure to be at her bedside if she had another, worse CVA (cardiovascular accident - otherwise known as a stroke).

Luckily she did not and has not (so far), but I'm wary that it may happen again and she and I are all each other has. Again, luckily my physical health is good (although I still have the dementia stage 4) and I can help her get around if she needs it.

But yeah, we've tried our best to think positive and be upbeat, Dondra being better at it than I am. She rarely complains and is secure in the peace her religion gives her.  She will also downplay her illness when family calls - that's the way she is

Yes, we've been very unlucky these last 6 months, but we've both been "through the wringer" so many times now, nothing surprises us anymore.

I've never been what you'd call "religious" (spiritual, maybe), but lately I've begun to pray very hard for her to get better, and there you have it: A bird's eye view of what goes on at Casa Craig.

After the holidays there will be another adjustment to the pacemaker. Right now it's just managing the atria of the heart - keeping its beat regular at 70 bpm. She does however still have the atrial fibrillation so the adjustment to be made will include the ventricles. What that means is that she will be totally dependent on the pacemaker to keep her heart going: something else to get used to, but hopefully she will have a better quality of life when that happens.

Yeah, people really can be this unlucky, but what's it gonna help to mope around? Nothing, right?

Thanks so much everyone! We love you!

Bill

Edited to correct spelling and to add the love!

Hoping the best for both of you.

Thanks for the "Thanksgiving Card", Bill ... so typically thoughtful of you. Here's wishing you both good health in the very near future.

I'm so sorry to hear you two are still going through the wringer.  You're both in our thoughts on a regular basis.  I do hope things turn around for you soon.  This is more than anyone needs to deal with, especially without a lot of help from family nearby! Thank you so very much for thinking of all of us during this... your kindness for others and thoughtfulness while dealing with enough of your own issues says heaps about your character (yourself and Dondra of course).  We love ya's!

VERY nice, arkady and as you said VERY relaxing. I joined soundclick so I could leave a 5 star rating and comment!

Thanks for thinking of both of us with this beautiful melody, my friend!

Bill and Dondra

I'm getting a "photo not found" message on the picture of the poster, Mo', but I'm pretty sure I forgot to put your name on it. If I did, please excuse me and thank you very much for your well wishes, my friend!

Bill

Heh-Heh. This is the only site I've ever been a member of where someone hasn't complained about my posts being too long. It's nice to be able to write to y'all.

Bill

Hey Bill, it looks like the photo is no longer available on photobucket for some reason. But, I went through your photos in there, and found it in a different location.  My guess is maybe you uploaded a new version of the photo (or photobucket got weird) and photobucket made the old one unavailable and gave the new one a slightly new name.  Anyhow... for anyone that didn't see it yet, here it is!