Cardiac Rehab

Two weeks after I came home I had a follow up appointment with my cardiologist, Dr. Holmberg. He is from Omaha, but comes to the hospital in Atlantic several times a month, so that is where I went to see him. He ordered an echo cardiogram which they were able to do there. The results were good. The fluid around my heart was gone and my heart function was back to almost normal.

I also had my first cardiac rehab that day. Several days earlier I had come in to visit with Peggy, the head nurse of cardiac rehab. She went over what happened, what medications I'm taking etc etc. She also gave me some educational material about cholesterol and heart health. My cholesterol was too high (240), it should be under 200. So she talked about what foods I should and should not eat. She gave a DVD "Take a Load off Your Heart", which was a cardiologist and a man who had to have by pass surgery speaking about heart health. That was very informative. The doctors told me I do not have heart disease, so some of that didn't apply to my case, but I did learn a lot on how to keep my heart healthy. Basically it's just eat a healthy, well balanced diet, get plenty of exercise, and learn how to handle stress. Stress is really bad for your heart.

When I came to do rehab the first thing they did was put a heart monitor on me and take my blood pressure. My blood pressure was always very low like 90 over 60. They wanted me to drink a lot, because just the extra fluid can raise blood pressure.Then once everything was hooked up and I showed up on their computer I started with stretches to warm up. That first day I didn't do much. Walked about 5 minutes on the treadmill, rested, then on the Nustep, rested, then on the bicycle. For the first two weeks I was not allowed to use my arms on the Nustep and the bicycle. That was orders from Dr. Holmberg and was because of the dissection. Usually that just applies for those who had open heart surgery.

I had 36 sessions of cardiac rehab - Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Slowly they increased my exercise until I was spending 45 minutes. I was on the treadmill 20 minutes (1 mile), Nustep 15 minutes and on the treadmill again for 10 minutes (1/2 mile). The rehab helped me so much. I was scared to do anything at first. Working out at cardiac rehab with a heart monitor on and knowing that everything was fine gave me the confidence I needed. The nurses were great and I made some good friends there. I was not allowed to drive for 4 weeks, so Irene took me where I needed to go. I often took some of the children with me. They enjoyed it and the people there enjoyed having the children there. How often is a mother with a 4 week old baby at cardiac rehab?! All the other people were elderly.

By the time I was done in early November I was fully recovered. Those three months the drs. told me it would take to recover were not as long as they sounded when I was flat on my back. Praise the Lord for healing! I still dealt some with anxiety, but that gradually got better too.

Peggy Perkins, head nurse in cardiac rehab.


Nu step... you pedal with your feet and the things you hold onto with your hands go back and forth

A Friend In Need Is a Friend Indeed!

Matthew 25:36 ...I was sick, and ye visited me:...
Matthew 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Galatians 6:2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

We were so blessed with friends in our time of need. After Michael was born, families from church were bringing us meals. While I was in the hospital and afterwards other people we had learned to know also came and blessed us. We had so much food we had to tell people to stop bringing some. Our freezers and refrigerator were stuffed! I imagine some people were thinking, "Nine children! That must take a lot of food!" Well, yes, but a lot of our children were small, and none of them are big eaters, so it really didn't take that much. And, besides, we had lots of fresh garden goodies to use up too. We did appreciate it all, though. It made us feel so cared for. Those casseroles did come in handy later on busy days, and there is never anything like too many cookies, is there? :) While I was in the hospital Elaine Krambeck, Irene's piano teacher called. They were bringing some food. They brought a lot...several pizza breads (French bread with pizza toppings), salad, and cookies. Jill Grove, our supervising teacher, stopped in with cookies and encouraged the children who were staying at home. After Teresa Smidt and children visited me in the hospital Edward and the children found several casseroles in the freezer and some baked goods on the counter when they came home. Apparently they had stopped at our house before coming in to Omaha. Chris Charles's visited me in the hospital. I believe I listed their blessings in a previous post. The first Sunday I was at home, I was resting upstairs when I heard a car drive in. Here it was Marty Bopp, a lady from Griswold that Edward had done a lot of work for. She and her granddaughter brought enough food for 50 people!!! A huge casserole, huge exotic salad, and cake. Wow! I felt so unworthy how local people reached out to help us.

My mother (God bless her) called every day for a while to see how I was doing. This meant a lot to me. She has Parkinson's disease, and it's not easy for her even to do something like make these phone calls. She is unable to travel from PA to IA to visit us. I could feel her loving care through those calls and it meant so much to me. She also started a card shower from cousins and aunts and uncles. That was such an encouragement to get all those cards and letters while I was unable to do much. Many of them included monetary gifts to help with our expenses. May the Lord reward all these people for their kindness.

A couple weeks after I came home Edward sent a text saying Elvin and Rachel are coming tonight. They will bring supper. What a happy surprise! They had sold a puppy to someone in Omaha and decided to meet them in Griswold so that they could visit us. Since they had traveled so far they got pizza, pop, and chips at Casey's for supper. They encouraged us and prayed for us before they left. What a blessing!

One day the UPS truck roared up to the house. The man carried in a heavy box. This is what it was...

A forty pound block of Wisconsin cheese from my sister who lives on a dairy farm in Wisconsin. :)

We did not have to buy diapers or wipes for a long time!

Ups and Downs

A week after I came home I had to have a follow up appointment with my regular doctor, Dr. Wilcox, at the Atlantic Medical Center. Edward was working in Atlantic, so he met me there to go with me. I was not allowed to drive, so Irene, who had her learner's permit, took me. We took 3 week old Baby Michael along. I was still scared and unsure of what I could or could not do. It was good to sit down and visit with a doctor about some of those things. She had never heard of SCAD after having a baby. She explained some of what had happened. The lining of the artery is a connective tissue, and that had gotten a tear. Dr. Holmberg had been in contact with her and told her about what happened. When she listened to my heart she said, "Your heart sounds good". "Your heart sounds good"....Just four little words, but how they lifted my spirit! I walked out of there feeling better than I had for weeks! The next day, Saturday, the girls went to a wedding. I wasn't up to going myself, but I did feel good enough to be in charge and make supper. Sunday morning I was still feeling good and decided I can go to church. I spent my time on the recliner in the nursery. It was a bit scary to step out of the comfort zone of my home. For a while I thought I have some chest pain, but if I got distracted it didn't bother me, so I know it was only anxiety. I did have my nitro pills in my pocket, just in case....

It didn't take much to trip me up again. Several weeks later I was reading about SCAD on the internet (bad idea!). It was a good, informative article, but I did not need to know all the facts I read. It said that 90% of patients have a recurrence in the first week and 50%  have one in the first two months. OH! I had not reached the two month mark yet. Fear surged through me. I did not want to go through it again! It took me a while to get over that. Again, it mattered where I looked. I could look at the 50% that had a recurrence or at the 50% that did not. I could look at my fears or at the grace of God that had carried me thus far. Sometime after that I was talking with my sister in law. She was saying that she had been talking with someone else who told her about a mother that had died from a heart attack (probably a SCAD), but her baby had been three months old already when it happened. Oh no! My baby is not three months old yet. Does that mean it could happen again?! She had no idea the emotional turmoil she put me in. I don't blame her at all, but it has made me more sensitive when I talk to others.

About six months later when I was feeling much stronger I happened across an article of Mayo Clinic's studies on SCAD. From the research they did 21% of the patients had recurrences. I had not realized the rate was so high. I had thought I was about past the chance of any recurrence. Apparently not. I again struggled with some fear, but not as intense as earlier. Later that same day two year old Rhoda was singing the song, "God Is so Good". She had gotten stuck on the verse, "He cares for you", and was singing it over and over while she was playing. Out of the mouth of babes...

God is so good,

God is so good,

God is so good,

He's so good to me.

He cares for me,

He cares for me,

He cares for me,

He's so good to me.

The Garment of Praise For the Spirit of Heaviness

Isaiah 61:1-3 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. 

Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised....

The first scripture here is a prophecy of Jesus. The second one is Jesus reading those words of prophecy about himself. In this post I would like to lift up the power of our Lord Jesus. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, which means He still heals the broken hearted etc.

Those first days, weeks, and months after my heart attack, fear and anxiety wanted to overtake me. I could be feeling fine during the day, but when I went to bed at night it was there, trying to overtake me. That slight risk of complications magnified itself in my mind. When I was at my lowest point I happened to think, no, I believe God caused me to remember that I was going through some major hormonal changes. I had just had a baby. I was nursing the baby then I had to stop, so that too caused a major shift in hormones. I was not going crazy. Once my hormones are straightened out I should be feeling better. That was such a relief I felt better right away!!! Until something upset it again...

I felt very good physically. My headache was completely gone and I had no pain anywhere. My hips had straightened out the first week. I was still weak, I could not walk much till I got hot and sweaty and my heart rate wanted to go too high in the evenings. Emotionally I was also very weak. If the children got too noisy I couldn't take it. It even stressed me out to be responsible for the baby. The girls took care of him at night for another 1 1/2 weeks. During the day I usually fed him his bottle.

And now back to the title of this post. We had a weekend of meetings and the preacher used the words, "Garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness". Immediately I thought of my experience and in my heart I said, "That is true!" Praising the Lord takes away that spirit of heaviness. At night when I was in bed and that monster of fear was right there trying to overtake me I would cry out to the Lord. Sometimes it was just, "Help me. Please don't let my heart do anything it shouldn't. Please heal my heart!" A dear friend had sent me a letter. In the letter she wrote, "It matters where you look". That is so true. I could have my focus on my poor, weak heart that was not trust worthy at all, or I could have my focus on the LORD and know that whatever happens is because He willed it so for my good. This is where I needed to put on the "garment of praise". Another friend had told us once that to help the children memorize scripture they put emphasis on each word. I would recite in my mind... "The LORD is my shepherd. The Lord IS my shepherd. The Lord is MY shepherd etc. A song that helped me through those long, dark nights was "What a Friend We Have in JESUS".

1. What a friend we have in Jesus,
   All our sins and griefs to bear!
   What a privilege to carry
   Everything to God in prayer!
   Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
   Oh, what needless pain we bear,
   All because we do not carry
   Everything to God in prayer!
2. Have we trials and temptations?
   Is there trouble anywhere?
   We should never be discouraged—
   Take it to the Lord in prayer.
   Can we find a friend so faithful,
   Who will all our sorrows share?
   Jesus knows our every weakness;
   Take it to the Lord in prayer.
3. Are we weak and heavy-laden,
   Cumbered with a load of care?
   Precious Savior, still our refuge—
   Take it to the Lord in prayer.
   Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
   Take it to the Lord in prayer!
   In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,
   Thou wilt find a solace there.
4. Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised
   Thou wilt all our burdens bear;
   May we ever, Lord, be bringing
   All to Thee in earnest prayer.
   Soon in glory bright, unclouded,
   There will be no need for prayer—
   Rapture, praise, and endless worship
   Will be our sweet portion there.
5. Joseph Scriven

I would recite those verses over and over until I fell asleep. Truly the LORD can give songs in the night. The garment of praise does take away the spirit of heaviness.

Isaiah 25:4 For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.

'TILL THE STORM PASSES BY

In the dark of the midnight,
Have I oft hid my face;
While the storm howls above me,
And there's no hiding place;
'Mid the crash of the thunder,
Precious Lord, hear my cry;
"Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by."

'Til the storm passes over,
'Til the thunder sounds no more;
'Til the clouds roll forever from the sky,
Hold me fast, let me stand,
In the hollow of Thy hand;
Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by.

Many times Satan whispers,
"There is no need to try;
For there's no end of sorrow,
There's no hope by and by";
But I know Thou art with me,
And tomorrow I'll rise;
Where the storms never darken the skies.

'Til the storm passes over,
'Til the thunder sounds no more;
'Til the clouds roll forever from the sky,
Hold me fast, let me stand,
In the hollow of Thy hand;
Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by.

When the long night has ended,
And the storms come no more,
Let me stand in Thy presence.
On that bright, peaceful shore.
In that land where the tempest
Never comes, Lord may I
Dwell with Thee when the storm passes by.

'Til the storm passes over,
'Til the thunder sounds no more;
'Til the clouds roll forever from the sky,
Hold me fast, let me stand,
In the hollow of Thy hand;
Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by.

Hold me fast, Let me stand,
In the hollow of Thy hand;
Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by.
'Til the storm passes by.
Mosie Lister

Adjusting to a New normal

I was now at home from the hospital, but life was not back to normal. I had hit a huge bump in the road of life and needed quite a bit of adjusting in my thinking. Coming home from the hospital with a new baby is always an adjustment. This homecoming adjustment was much greater. Not only did I have a newborn baby, I had come through an unexpected, life threatening circumstance. My activities and diet had changed. That was pretty major, but not as big as the emotional roller coaster I was on.

After Joes left it was time to make supper. I think the girls were pretty glad to hand the responsibility of meal planning over to me. We had LOTS of food in the house. People were bringing so much food we didn't have any room in the refrigerator and freezers anymore. Most of the meals were casseroles. Those did not fit into my low fat, low sodium diet, so we decided to just make plain tomato soup for supper that first evening. Since my daily allowance of salt was only 1/8 teaspoon, we decided we would cook everything without salt and the others could salt their food however they wanted. Have you ever eaten everything without salt? It isn't very tasty!

My heart attack had happened while sitting at the table to eat. That first evening at home I could not bring myself to sit at the table. I knew that was not what caused the heart attack, but it was scary. It was like a car accident victim not wanting to get back into a car. I stayed on my recliner to eat. If I remember right I was able to sit at the table the next day.

Sitting was very uncomfortable, so after supper I lay on the couch. It was hot outside, so everyone wanted to be inside. The air conditioner was noisy and I wasn't used to it. The children were happy and excited to have Mom at home again. All in all it was pretty hectic. As much as I wanted to be with the children I soon moved upstairs to our bedroom. I just couldn't cope with all the noise and commotion. Ah! My own bed with the memory foam felt so much better than a hard hospital bed. But I felt scared and vulnerable. Like I said in a previous post, there is a feeling of security in a hospital. Now I was at home, at least 15 minutes from a hospital. OK, I know that sounds like a lack of faith. We trust God, right? Yes! I did trust God, but the reality was, something could still go wrong and I was afraid. I always made sure I had my cell phone with me. Even something simple like going to the bathroom and locking the door was unsettling. What if I would just drop over and die. At bedtime I told Edward I have this discomfort in my chest and I don't know what it is. He prayed for me and after I had slept awhile it went away. I know now that it was just anxiety.

I came home with five different medications... Effient, Metoprolol, Lisinopril, Atorvastatin, and Aspirin. While at the hospital the nurses always brought them to me at the right time. Now I had to figure out when to take what. Everything was clearly labeled, so it wasn't as hard as I first thought. Edward bought a pill organizer and that made it much easier.

Edward and the girls got everyone settled down for the night. Michael's crib had been moved into the girls' room. They took care of him at night for about two weeks until I felt able to do it again. The night seemed strangely quiet and dark. In the hospital there were always lights on, people talking, and phones ringing, especially in the CCU where the nurses' station was right outside my door. I was able to sleep pretty good. There were some times that I lay awake, unable to sleep. That was when the nights seemed long and dark...

During the day I spent most of my time in bed or on the couch. My hips still made sitting very uncomfortable. I was supposed to walk twice a day. That really helped me get back into shape and after about a week my hips did not bother me much. At first I did all my walking in the house, since outside is mostly hilly, and I could only walk on level ground. Back and forth - around the rooms this way then that way so that I don't get dizzy. :) It was amazing how tired I got! I had to check my heart rate regularly. It could not go much above 100. Evenings it tended to go a little high. I don't know why, but it was a bit unsettling, so I didn't always take my evening walk.

Edward does remodeling and painting. To make it quieter here at home he took the three boys with him everyday. That was so nice that he was able to do that. Once when he was at the store they gave the boys some hats they were lusting for.......

Cardiologist Visit

I will interrupt my story a bit here. Today I had an appointment with Dr. Holmberg, my cardiologist. I was sitting in the outpatient clinic waiting to get checked in when Joanie, a nurse I met in cardiac rehab came to get someone else. When she saw me, she got a big smile, came over and hugged me and said how good it is to see me again! She had seen my name on the chart for today and was so glad. That was nice. :)

My blood pressure was low - 100 over 70. Heart rate was low too. Joanie was a little concerned, especially when I told her it's in the low 40s sometimes. She said I have to be sure to tell Dr. Holmberg. He didn't seem very concerned since I don't have problems with feeling light headed. He said some people's heart rate is in the 40s. He wants me to stay on the beta blocker, metoprolol, to take stress off the arteries to help avoid another dissection. He also wants me to stay on Plavix and baby aspirin because of where my stents are located. They are at the top of my left anterior descending artery, which is the main artery, supplying blood to 70% of the heart. We don't want anything to happen there is what he said. I also have to stay on the cholesterol medicine because my cholesterol had gone too high this winter when I got off for a while. I was disappointed about that because cholesterol medicine is kind of hard on a person. He said my high cholesterol is likely hereditary and that can't be kept low by watching your diet. It wasn't extremely high, but I am now classified as "high risk". I need to go in next week to get it checked again to see if it has come down since I am on meds again. Good news was I don't need to see him again for a year!

I asked about getting more testing done through Mayo Clinic. He said it wouldn't benefit me anything, but might help years down the road with research. What Mayo would do is blood work to check for genetic factors that might cause spontaneous coronary artery dissection to see if it might be hereditary. My parents and siblings would also have to do this testing. I probably won't do it...

After I was done in the out patient clinic I went back to cardiac rehab to say hi to Peggy and Kathy. I also had to congratulate Peggy. She was named one of the "100 Great Iowa Nurses for 2015".

And now tomorrow and Wednesday I go to college to do the final tests to get my GED (now called high school equivalence test). The only thing I'm worried about is that I do not get a headache!! The reason I am doing this test now in my "old age" is because some states require it to home school your children.

And then I have to make an appointment with an oral surgeon about my wisdom tooth that is erupting. Yes! I am getting my first wisdom tooth. Maybe that is why I have all these headaches???

Homecoming

Friday morning dawned with an air of anticipation. If all went as planned I could go home. Early in the morning a lab worker came to draw blood. She commented on some tracts the children had left laying around and told me how I had such good kids. I told her she can have some tracts and asked her if there is anything I can pray for her. She opened up and told me some of the difficulties she was facing. A very worldly, lost and hurting woman with little concept of Godliness. My prayer was that somehow I could be a light to all the people I was meeting in the hospital.

Next, two men came to do an echocardiogram aka ultrasound of my heart. It's like I've heard many times... you lose your dignity pretty fast in a hospital. :( The first man took some pictures then the second man put an illuminator in my IV. As that was going through my heart, he took some more pictures. It was pretty interesting. He explained how the illuminator is really just lots of super tiny bubbles that pass out through the lungs when the blood goes through the lungs. He showed me both sets of pictures. The ones with the illuminator were definitely more clear. Then the second man, who was just learning how to do an echo wanted to try his hand at it. I guess they need to learn on someone...

Edward came in a little bit later than usual. He had some business to attend to first. When the PT came to take me for a walk he had good news. The echo showed my heart function had improved quite a bit and I was allowed to go home, but then he said he isn't supposed to be telling me this, so when the doctor comes in I'm supposed to act as if I didn't know! This day he had me go up and down a flight of stairs to see what my BP and heart rate does. It was fine. While we were walking in the halls we came across a man (a patient in his gown...) who was trying to open a door to the outside. Josh, the PT, left me standing in the hall by myself while he went to tell the man to get back to his room. He was trying to hide a pack of cigarettes, apparently trying to sneak out to have a smoke. Poor man. His smoking is probably what landed him in the hospital with heart problems.  For some reason when we came back from the walk and I sat down on the bed I felt hot and light headed. I didn't say anything, just laid back and rested. It soon went away. I think I was just tired...

And then Dr. Holmberg came with the good news that I may go home. The ejection fraction of my heart had improved from 25 - 30 % to 45 - 50%. I did still have some fluid around my heart. He said again that he expects me to have a full recovery in three months. In several weeks he wanted me to start cardiac rehab. Meanwhile I would have to do some walking at home. He wanted to see me again in about 3 weeks and do another echocardiogram. I would be able to have that done in Atlantic.

I would have to be on a low cholesterol, low sodium diet. Dr. Holmberg offered to send a dietitian to explain more about it. I felt like I understood it pretty good. After all, I have been cooking since I was a little girl! But life in the hospital can be boring, and I thought I might be able to get some tips from a dietitian, so I said I would like that. I have taken a keen interest in healthy cooking for a long time. I thought our diet was pretty healthy, so I was surprised to learn that my cholesterol was too high. It was 240 and they recommend having it under 200, especially if you have heart problems. The only thing we could figure that caused the high cholesterol was the 2 fried eggs I ate for breakfast every morning. Dr. Holmberg told me I should not eat more than three eggs a week. One egg has more cholesterol than I was allowed to have daily!

Josh, the PT came back with a book of instructions. Yes, a BOOK! There were several pages of does and don'ts for the next six to eight weeks. I could not lift more than 10 pounds. Thankfully my baby weighed only six pounds! I could not do anything where I would have to lift my arms above my head like washing windows or hanging out laundry. An interesting thing he said is the last to do is pushing a vacuum cleaner. I had to walk twice a day, increasing my time gradually. It had to be on level ground, not up hill and not in the hot sun. He told me over and over that if I start having chest pains I have to take the nitro pills and either have Edward drive me to the hospital or call the ambulance. Later when we were doing our research we found out that a large percent of people with SCAD have a recurrence. I am so glad he did not tell me that.

The lactation consultant also visited me. She really thought I should try nursing. She gave me a business card for the pediatrician we could take the baby to, to make sure the medication was not harmful to him. She thought the benefits would outweigh the risks. After she left we discussed the pros and cons. We finally decided to go with formula. We know that is safe. Nobody was able to tell us if the medication I was taking was going to be safe. It was a hard decision on my part. I believe any nursing mother will understand the grief I felt... Well, maybe not unless you had to make that decision too. So many times we don't understand until we experience something personally.

And then the discharge process started. Orders were sent to the pharmacy for all my meds. I was SO glad for one thing. Earlier in the week a nurse told me I might have to give myself heparin shots in the stomach. She gave me one that day. Horrors! I did not want to do that!!! Apparently blood work showed I did not need them. I was given one dose of Coumadin, but didn't have to take that at home either. The only blood thinner I had to take besides the daily aspirin was Effient. It was after lunch now. My IV and heart moniter were removed and I was free to get dressed and comb my hair. Oh that felt so good! My hips were still badly out of shape. I could hardly get out of bed and stand up without falling. Laying down was the only comfortable position. A PT had given me exercises the day before that should help. A nurses' aide came with a wheel chair to take me to the door, but then the meds weren't ready yet. Finally we were able to go! Edward had been busy taking out all the STUFF that had accumulated. When we came down to pick up the meds they still weren't ready. We probably waited at least 30 minutes. Because of my hips I could hardly sit and the wheel chair was so uncomfortable. I didn't feel strong enough to stand or walk around and the chairs weren't very comfortable either. It was a long wait. Finally everything was ready and we were on our way home.

After such a traumatic happening there is a sense of security in the hospital. It was a little scary to leave that security. What if.........??? The healing process had only started. I didn't realize that emotionally I would go down before I went up.

My brother Joe and family came and spent the day at our house. They decided not to come to the hospital since I was expected to be released anyway. The children all stayed at home too. They were very happy to have Joes there with them. We were having some very hot weather and with my heart issues I was supposed to stay out of the heat. Since we did not have air conditioning in our house, Joe stopped in Des Moines and got a big window unit that he put in the living room. He also helped the boys weed the strawberry patch and put electric fence around the sweet corn patch to keep the raccoons out of it. Anna Mary helped with the laundry and cleaning, some of which had been sadly neglected. They also picked a bunch of beans.

We were thankful for the cool breeze, but it took some getting used to the noisy fan. And besides, it blew right at my favorite recliner. Thankfully the heat wave soon passed and we actually did not have to use it that much.

With my troublesome hips the hour long ride home was long and uncomfortable. The children were calling, wondering WHEN we're coming. Finally we were at home. A large "Welcome home Mom" sign was at the end of the driveway. Everyone seemed a bit shy as they came out to greet us. Except for Rhoda who had her second birthday that day. She came running and squealing, "MOOMMM!" It was good to be home, but after a quiet hospital room all the noise and commotion was a bit overwhelming. After visiting a bit Joe and Anna Mary and family had to leave. Jonathan had saved Rhoda's birthday gift till I was at home to watch her open it.

He gave her a rock and a night light that we probably had for 10 years already! Ah! the simplicity of childhood. She was as happy with that simple gift as she would have been with an expensive one, and Jonathan was happy to give her some of his treasures.

I was finally able to mother my baby. :)