We got back from our fabulous NYE cruise on Saturday. All we did the rest of that day and yesterday was rest, relax, read, and watch TV. LOL! Sounds like just what we did on the cruise!
While on the cruise, I really thought I had gained ten pounds. I felt like my clothes were so tight that it just seemed there must be several pounds added; however, when we got home and I weighed in, that was not the case. I only gained ONE pound! I could hardly believe it. I was thrilled.
Also I have noticed my shoulder isn't hurting as much. I have been doing some of the exercises and taking Advil regularly, but I also think the cortisone finally did kick in and help. It took a month to kick in, but I'm sure it's doing great now. I still have twinges when I reach behind my back, but the rest of the time is much better. I was going to go back to the orthopedist this month to talk about surgery to scrape out the bone spurs, but now I'm not going to do that. When the intense pain comes back, I will ask for another cortisone injection.
Now for some sad news. My dear cousin Irene passed away Saturday night. Her granddaughter Heather sent me a private FB message that I saw Saturday morning while eating breakfast on the ship. It said she wasn't doing well and was going in to hospice with palliative care, but she passed that night before ever leaving the rehab center for the hospice services. So terribly sad.
Now we are taking the auto train up tomorrow and back Friday for the viewing and service on Thursday. Flyn is also coming up by train. Cindy is graciously hosting us all. At least we get to go out to dinner Thursday night with Lowell and Emily at the beautiful Seasons 52 restaurant in Columbia.
Irene was 11 years older than me. As a child, she seemed much older because she had five kids when I was old enough to remember. My mother used to go visit her often, and Flyn and I would go along. Irene always seemed like her best friend. In fact in the late '70s and early '80s, Irene and Gary (her fourth husband, but the love of her life and the marriage lasting until she passed) moved into the apartment next to my mother's. At that point it was like one giant apartment where we went back and forth all the time. That was a life-saver for me when my mother went into the hospital in September of 1983, never to leave alive. Irene, as a nurse, was able to be at the hospital when I couldn't. She kept on top of treatments and doctors and told me everything that happened during the day while I was teaching. Irene was working full time as a nurse at the time, but she took care of my mother and me! I was teaching, had a four year old Lowell to take care of, and Mark was flat on his back, completely immobile and incapacitated with a slipped disk. I was absolutely stressed to the max, and Irene was able to keep me grounded. She was amazing. She was the kind of person who nurtured everyone, always saw what needed to be done, cared more about others than herself. She was tireless and selfless her entire life. The world has lost a beautiful soul.
I will post some pictures of our cruise eventually. The program seems to be having trouble getting the pictures uploaded today, so I have nothing right now to post. Maybe tomorrow before we head up to the auto train.
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