December 27-30, 2014

Little Manatee River SP

Saturday-

It was wonderful to just hang out all day.

I coaxed Monte into going for a walk in the afternoon. 

Seeing how good he looks in this picture it is hard to believe that Monte had an invasive procedure just two days ago. 

 

 

There was still enough light left when we returned from our walk for me to sit outside reading. 

It hadn’t been an exciting day but after the scare we had with Monte’s health every day (even just a typical normal day) is very much appreciated and not taken for granted.

Sunday-

Because Monte had been in the hospital on Christmas Eve and Day, we missed out on the family Christmas gathering. 

 So today, my parents, my brother Jon and sister-in-law Margaret, came to us bearing gifts and food.

We borrowed a folding table and chairs from the meeting room to accommodate everyone.  Jon and Margaret brought a huge pot of homemade turkey soup and two types of bread.  Mom and Dad brought salad makings and bread.  I made baked macaroni and cheese. 

 

 

After dinner, we opened up gifts.  Monte and I received this beautiful basket from Jon & Margaret filled to the brim with tasty treats and a sweater for me and a Mountain Dew shirt for Monte.

Mom and Dad gifted us cash (always appreciated) and Applebee gift cards. 

 

 

I felt great when I saw Jon and Margaret’s happy expression when they opened our gift to them. 

 

 

 

They have a very busy social life and like to host dinner parties so we thought the three pot crook pot would be a perfect gift for them. 

Giving and getting gifts is great but nothing can compare to the joy of getting together with family and being able to share it all with the love of my life, Monte.

Monday-Monte put in a few hours of light duty work.  He won’t be cleared for heavy duty work until after his two week follow-up appointment with the cardiologist.

In the late afternoon I gave him a much needed haircut.

And he gave Annie a much needed combing. 

She likes to be groomed but does not like being outside.

LET ME IN!

 

Tuesday-  It has been over ten years since Monte had a colonoscopy and three years since his last PSA test so a couple of days prior to Monte going into the hospital last week he had begun researching doctors in the area that accept Medicare because he needed to establish a relationship with a primary care doctor who would order the tests.

Now that Monte will be on maintenance medications requiring monitoring and prescription renewals, it is even more important to have a primary care doctor.

He found a doctor in Bradenton that had very good reviews so he made an appointment for today at 11:30. 

After filling out the new patient application, we were ushered back to the doctor’s office.  He looked perplexed when he saw us and inquired what he could do for us.  It turns out that he no longer practices general medicine.  His specialty is integrative medicine that focuses on the overall well being of the human body with the key being the balance of mind, body and spirit.  When the doctor explained that his patients are mostly professional athletes we understood why he was confused when we entered his office.  He apologized for wasting our time saying that his receptionist shouldn’t have given Monte an appointment in the first place.

We left the doctor’s office giggling.  So Monte will have to do some more research to find another doctor.

We decided to use one of the restaurant gift cards we had for Longhorn Steakhouse for a late lunch. 

 While we waited for our meal to be served we talked about how amazing it was to us that it had only been one week since I took Monte into the ER because he was complaining of chest pains.