Holiday Recap

This year was different than any other Thanksgiving. John and I spent Thanksgiving day with our CR family. It was a nice relaxing day visiting with our friends and their families. We played Guitar Hero and their Wii. We had a plethera of food: Turkey, Dressing, Mashed Potatoes, BBQ pork, slaw, Alfredo pasta, rolls, cranberry sauce, sweet potato pie, apple pie and no bake cookies. Here are a few pictures from our Thanksgiving:

So on Thanksgiving day, we are grateful for each of our families and our CR family as well!

On Friday, we slept in and then watch the Razorbacks. When it looked dismal we went to Little Rock to our favorite movie theater to see a movie. Here is a picture of Gus watching the Hogs with John.

Because we have had our Christmas decorations up for 2 weeks (be watching for the pictures) we have really gotten to relax and enjoy this Thanksgiving holiday!

Heart Surgery

After running tests on Monday, the doctors believe that all the problems Mimmie is having are confined to the heart and that surgery is the best way to fix it. So they have talked with the surgeon and they are doing the surgery on Monday, December 8th. Mimmie will be going home today and taking it easy until the surgery. Pray for strength during this time. Also, be covering the surgeon, doctors and nurses in prayer as well.

I've been Tagged

I've been photo tagged by Billie. Here are the rules:

Players look into their photo files, choose the sixth folder and then the sixth photo in that folder. Post that picture, and tell the story behind it.

Here is Mine:

This picture is of Gus and Sissy playing tug of war with one of Sissy's toys. And that precious little foot is Belle's. She was probably laughing at the dogs or getting on to them for fighting!

This is an easy one to do and fun to see what picture ends up as your sixth picture in your sixth folder.

I tag:

Momma

Andrea

Mary

Anna

Joanna

Sunday afternoon update on Mimmie

My mom will return to El Dorado this morning to be there for the CT scan of Mimmie's chest/heart area. If that test does not reveal enough information for Dr. Bhott, he will also do an echogram. After he gets the results from the tests he will conference with the surgeon as to what would be the best plan of action for Mimmie. He said he is still leaning toward surgery but wanted to get these other test done and allow for the medication to work before making a definite decision. Mimmie is doing well. She is in good spirits and at peace with whatever they decide. She got to take a shower yesterday and wash her hair so she feels like a new woman! She is sleeping well at night but not in the bed...she sleeps in the recliner. When she lays flat down on the bed it causes her to not be able to breathe.
We are certainly thankful for all your prayers and notes. Having all that prayer support is making this much easier. Dr. Bhott is a strong believer and appreciates your prayers for him as well. He is seeking the Lord's guidance as to what would be the best treatment for Mimmie. God was truly good to give us a doctor who is a strong Christian.

Further updates on my Grandmothers

THRUSDAY MORNING UPDATE:

The doctor has decided not to jump to having a major surgery. Mimmie will be treated with medication for now and see how she does and use surgery as a last resort.

This is the e-mail I received from Momma on Wednesday night:

Thank you so much for your encouraging calls and notes. You don't know how much it means to all of us to know you are holding us up in prayer. We have found out that they do have Mother down for surgery on Friday, but they have not given us a definite time. We will find that out tomorrow. Mother is very much at peace about having it done. She said she was a little anxious but that is normal when you are going in for such a major surgery. However, she is ready to have it and get on to the recovery process. I hope to find out early tomorrow what time they will take her in so those of you that have expressed a desire to be here can make your plans.
Again, thanks to all of you for your prayer support on her behalf.

On another note, please be in prayer for Norman's mom too. He called to tell me that her periods of being unaware of who his dad is are lengthening. She was agitated with him for about an hour and a half today, would not take her medicine and kept asking for Mr. G to find Leon (Norman's dad) and bring him back. They do have an appointment with their family doctor tomorrow. Please pray that he will be able to give Dad some insight as to what they need to do regarding her care. Also, Norman may have to go out to meet with his dad, brother and sister to make some plans about care and possibly moving her to a care facility. That will be so hard on all of them. Please pray for wisdom and strength to do what is best for Mrs. Gillaspie.

Update on Mimmie

Wednesday afternoon update:
Hello Family and Friends,
Just wanted to let you all know where we stand with Mother. The cardiologist came in this morning to talk with us. He had talked extensively with the surgeon (after the surgeon had talked with Mother last night) and they both agree the only way for her to get better is to have the aortic valve replaced. She has an irregular heart beat and her heart is weakening so t"he treating this with medicine" option is out. He said her quality of life would only digress which would basically mean she would be confined to a bed or chair. Previous to her going to the doctor on Monday it was it wore her out to unload the dryer or tie her shoes. So, she told Dr. Bhott, that she was ready to have the surgery. She is at peace with this decision and feels whatever happens is the Lord's will. Right now I am waiting to talk with the surgeon, Dr. Wilson, to get the final details, but Dr. Bhott said that he told him he was planning to do the surgery this Friday. She will remain in the hospital until they do the surgery so they can keep her stable. When I get the chance to talk with Dr. Wilson and get further info, I will pass it on to all of you.
We all appreciate the calls, visits, and notes from you. I know that is the reason we have such a peace and calm about all of this...your prayers are giving us strength from the Lord.
Thanks to all of you at school for taking up the slack for me. I appreciate you.
Love and hugs!
Alicia

Here is the update from my mom regarding Mimmie's condition:

We finally got to meet with the Cardiologist regarding the next step for Mother. He confirmed that the aorta valve is not functioning properly and is basically wearing out. He said they are not going to make a hasty decision about what to do next. He is consulting with other well known cardiologist in state and out of state to get their opinions on what they would do. He did say he was going to treat her as if she were his own mom which I appreciated. What would he prescribe for her if she were in that state. He wants to have a concensus of opinions before they decide what they should do. They will consider her age and other health issues in making a decision. He did say the good news is that she does not have any other problems with blockage in the coronary arteries. If she did, it would not be a hard decision. They would go in and fix the arteries and the valve at the same time. However, since that is not an issue, it creates a more difficult decision, because this is not an easy surgery to recover from. He said it would take maybe a year for her to gain full recovery. Mother did ask what he would do if they did not do the surgery and he told her they would treat it with medicine. But that it is like a faucett that is clogged up...it will still work but it will not work properly or at full capacity until the clog is removed. She does have some calcium build up in the mitral valve but nothing to worry about. So, she will be in the hospital over night and then I am assuming she will come home tomorrow. Then she will wait to hear from Dr. Bhott who will call her in after he has gathered all the other opinions.
I appreciate your prayers. Mother feels good about what he has told her and is willing to do what he feels is best for her. Dr. Bhott was very open and honest with her and said before he left that he would be seeking the Lord's help in this decision as well. That made me feel very good!

We appreciate your prayers and ask that you continue to pray for all involved (Patient, family, and doctors) and that the decisions that are made will be in Mimmie's best interest!

Asking for Prayer for my Grandmothers

I am asking for prayer for my Memaw (Genevieve Gillaspie). She had a lung infection and was very confused and agitated. I got word yesterday that the infection is clearing up but that they had diagnosed her with Dementia. Then I heard from my Daddy last night that for about 30 minutes she did not know who Pawpaw was, she told him to call her when Leon gets home. It just breaks my heart and can’t imagine being married to someone for 60 years and then that person not know who I am. Please continue to lift up Leon and Genevieve Gillaspie through this time. Also their kids (Norman, Tricia, and Paul) grandchildren (Alison, Andrea, Christiana, Anthony Benjamin, Joseph, Ashely, Josh, Nick and Jake) and great-grandchild (Camryn).

Also, my mom got a call yesterday that they were taking my Mimmie (Thalia Curtis) to the hospital because she had a heaviness on her chest and was short of breath. They did an EKG and it showed a narrowing of the Aorta, so they are going to do a heart cath in the morning early to determine exactly what the problem is. Her primary care doctor said that the EKG tests showed that the aorta valve is not functioning as it should which is therefore causing the blood to build up in her lungs thus causing the shortness of breath. Hopefully it will something they can stint. If so, they will do it while they are in there. If not, we are talking bypass surgery. Please remember Joe and Thalia Curtis and my mom and her sister (Alicia and Shelia).