ROBERT'S VERY CLOSE CALL
Right after we returned from our cruise, Robert was admitted to the hospital. After blood tests, an ultrasound on his right leg, a chest X-Ray, and a CAT scan he was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

We soon learned it was the long ten hour flight to Amsterdam on August 22nd that caused this very life threatening condition.

Early on, while on the cruise ship, Robert complained his calves hurt and bothered him when he climbed the many flights of stairs onboard. He just chalked it up to being out of shape. The stairs didn't bother me and since we do a lot of walking up hills at the park it didn't make sense. Later just his right calf and ankle began to really swell a lot. There was no explanation we could come up with as to why this was happening, it was very unusual and odd. It wasn't like Robert had sprained something or over extended himself in any way that we could remember. It became obvious he needed to go to the ship's infirmary. The cruise doctor, after a cursory examination, told him, "Well, there is the possibility of a blood clot especially since you were on a long flight. However you are not showing the usual symptoms. Besides I don't have the right equipment on board to check for sure. Since you aren't feeling any pain in any part of the upper leg it looks like you must have somehow strained some muscles. Here is some aspirin to take. Check back with me if things get worse."

The next day things got worse. Robert's entire lower right leg had turned a bright red. Back to the cruise doctor. Because of the redness, the doctor decided it was a case of Cellulitis, an infection of the skin, so he gave Robert Cefhalekin, an antibiotic.

The next day Robert woke with a very sharp pain in his right side just above his stomach. This was the last day so we were disembarking from the ship. This made it more difficult to get hold of the doctor. Robert wasn't keen about calling 911 so decided to just grin and bear it.

By the time we returned to Napa, two days later, after another ten hour flight, the swelling, redness, and pain in his side were not much better. He was also very weary and breathing hard even after doing simple things like carrying luggage. I encouraged him to go in to see our doctor.

When Dr. Bullar saw everything going on with Robert and learned he had been on a long flight he immediately concluded he had a blood clot and ordered an ultra sound and blood tests. Dr. Bullar was quite upset with the way the cruise doctor had handled the situation. To be safe the cruise doctor should have put Robert on shore to get access to the needed equipment to check for a blood clot.

When the ultra sound results came back, it showed not just one blood clot but several clots in Robert's upper right leg. The doctor immediately ordered him into the hospital. It got worse. Further tests, after being admitted, revealed both his lungs were filled with blood clots. This was the reason for the pain in his side.

Of all the scares Robert has given me over the years, cutting his foot on a piece of glass in the American River going into shock plus a case of spinal meningitis sending him to the hospital in 1976 when Chris and Kathy were very young; almost ending up under the collapse of the freeway in the 1989 San Andreas earthquake, nearly losing his eyesight in one eye to a detached retina in 1991— this has been the biggest scare of all. Dr. Bullar told us Robert would be dead if it wasn't for the fact he is very healthy and in such great shape. (To read about the past things mentioned above that have happened to Robert, click here.)

I am now an advocate for DVT prevention. I am telling everyone if they go on long flights to be sure to get up and move around. Every hour. Don't let inconsiderate and belligerent passengers force you to stay in your seat. If you watch a movie, move your legs and change positions often. Because, believe it or not, if you don't do these things, you can get blood clots. Blood clots are very serious and can be fatal. Here is a good site to visit to find out more: http://www.anticoagulationeurope.org/avoidingadvt.html

Robert was in the hospital for four days. Once home he was relegated to inactivity. During Chris and Patricia's wedding he was not allowed to do much more than walk Patricia down the aisle. He is injecting himself with Lovenox twice a day (he HATES this) and is taking Coumadin once a day all in an effort to discourage further clotting. The clots he has will never actually go away. Instead they form into hard particles of cellulite and his body rebuilds new blood routes around them (like a river does when it comes across a large obstacle like a rock). He is hoping to be off the Lovenox next week. The Coumadin he will have to take for six to nine months and all the while he takes it he has to avoid high risk activities like snow skiing. For the next six to nine months it will be like having Hemophilia.

Robert is still resting a lot. I am now doing a lot of the meal preparation, the dishes and many other things he usually does and appreciating how important he is to me.( I am finding cooking to be a challenge. It has been so long since I have cooked lunches or dinners I have forgotten how). Dr. Bullar is telling him it will be a few weeks before he can even think about taking walks in the park again. We are just taking one day at a time; happy that, although he will always have some swelling in his right leg and likely will never regain his total lung capacity back, he is still here!

SIDE BAR— Details about other things that have happened to Robert:

THE BEST FAMILY REUNION

This year's annual Gray Puckett, Ellingson and Relations family reunion was held in Colorado in tandem with my Aunt Nancy and Uncle Doc's 50th Anniversary.

This well attended event took place July 29, 30 and 31 in Colorado. Included was a tour of the local library and a progressive dinner on Friday, a potluck lunch, a tour to Indian pictographs, and an open house for Nancy and Doc on Saturday, and on the last day, there was a tour of the historical downtown area and a visit to the local museum. Added to this mix was pinata breaking, mural painting and, of course, the best part, meeting family members, ones we see every year and new ones we met for the very first time plus getting reacquainted with those we have not seen in years.

The pinata, a yellow pear, was made by my Mom. There were lots of kids in attendance to break it. This was a nice change compared to many other reunions where very few kids show up.

The mural was painted on an outside wall of the house, known at the Teal House, where everyone gathered. Earlier in the year my Mom had come up with using a famous family picture of Nancy and Doc and their children and grandchildren for a mural. This picture is well known in the family as the "hillbilly" picture. Before Robert and I drove out to Colorado, I enlarged the hillbilly picture to a width of nine feet, tiling it to 12" x 18" sheets of paper. Since my Mom drove to Colorado, she was able to bring a whole passel of colorful paints. It was fun to see how many family members became involved in the creation of this mural. Tess & my Mom helped me transfer the design to the wall. Once the design was transferred, many hands became excited about painting in all the colors. Besides Mom and I, Tess, JoAn, Patty, Lonnie, Matias, and Nanette all grabbed a brush at one point or another to add bright colors to the hillbilly image.

The progressive dinner on Friday night started at JoAn's with salad and soup. Next stop was Nanette and George's where we were served the main part of the meal; roast beef from one of their cows (they own an entire herd). Our dessert of ice cream with syrups, whipped cream and cookies was enjoyed at Allison and Rico's house. The progressive dinner lasted into the night and was indeed a very fun and delightful experience!

The Teal House is a story in itself. This is a house Nancy and Doc have owned for years, a house that has sat empty for years. It sits near a junk yard well known in the little town where Nancy and Doc have lived since marrying 50 years ago. I am sure the junkyard is a collection of stuff from those fifty years—herein lies dozens of old cars and tons of outdated parts and machinery from Doc's many years of mining.

Nancy has carried a dream in her head for years to make this house a bed and breakfast. With the family reunion and anniversary celebration came the opportunity for Doc and Nancy to get serious about fixing the house up. And so they did. With the help of their kids (there are eight of them) they worked hard right up until the moment the first family member arrived. Two days before the event cement was poured to make a concrete patio in the back of the house! Even though they didn't get a kitchen completed, that worked out okay. They just set up a temporary kitchen on the deck. Nancy, in the tradition of Bed and Breakfast houses, even named each of the three bedrooms (future guestrooms) in the Teal House. There is the "Duck Room," the "Princess Room," and the "Cowboy Room." She has already started adding decorations in each to match their themes. The name for the house came from the fact the house is painted in a dark blue teal color (you can see the color behind the people in the mural above). We are all waiting and watching to see if the Teal House actually does become a famous bed and breakfast in Nancy and Doc's little Colorado town. If so, ask me for a discount.

With so much going on and everyone that came, this year's family reunion was the best ever! I have never had so much fun.

NEW WHEELS
With our Oldsmobile Intrigue over seven years old, we decided it was time to buy a new car. Our decision to do this was also influenced by the sale of our rental house in June. That is another story. I did not write in this edition of Osborn Country about our house sale last June followed by the purchase of a house in Sacramento. Maybe once (if ever) I get caught up on my rap writing (Sue's Raps) you will have the opportunity to read the continuing story about our 2005 real estate adventures and the additional account of Chris and Patricia's move to Sacramento.

We had hoped to buy a new car after getting back from our cruise and before the wedding. Of course that was out of the question what with everything going on. After the wedding and a short recuperation period we headed to the car lots to test drive a Buick LaCrosse, a Lexus ES330, and an Acura TL. Robert was ready to buy the Acura on the spot; he liked the way it drove much better than the others. I wanted to sleep on it plus I wasn't real keen about the blue graphite color of the Acura TL we test drove.

We went home and slept on it and in so doing Robert decided we ought to test drive one more car just to be sure. The next day it was back to another car dealer to try out an Infinity. Robert liked how it handled better than the Acura. However we both decided we didn't really like much else about it so headed back to a second Acura dealer, one closer to our house, to find an Acura TL on the lot I really liked. When I say really liked, it was the color of the exterior; dessert mist, and the interior; ebony (black) plus the fact a navigation system was included. Robert didn't really expect to be looking at cars with navigation systems however I talked him into test driving cars with them installed. He was impressed enough to go along with my desire to get one. Even though I was happy with the dessert mist TL and Robert was willing to buy it on the spot (once again) I still wanted to sleep on it, mostly because I wanted to see what the best price could be had by looking on the Internet.

We went home, found the best price that night, and the next morning called the dealer telling him the price we wanted to pay. The price we found was better than Cars Direct! Gary, the salesman who showed us the car, said he had to go check with the big guy. But of course. When he called back he said wheel locks, a trunk tray, and mud flaps had been added so we would have to pay an additional $150 to $200. We were perfectly fine with that so off we went to pick up our new car!

Surprisingly it turned out to be a long drawn out process just the same. It took four hours to wait for the car to be detailed, to do all the paperwork, and to be shown how everything worked like the voice activated navigation system with the female voice (I have named her Navilee), the satellite radio (which I am already hooked on and expect to subscribe to once the three free months are up), the driver one and driver two settings, the heated seats, the six CD player, and the moon roof.

Robert has pre-set six satellite stations for me and six for him. I already have a favorite: SUNNY. I listen to it every time I go out. Even though there is a cassette player (other cars we looked at did not even have one) I don't think I will be using my iPod in the new car very much anymore. Satellite radio is just too cool.

I have a lot of fun challenging Navilee. Even if I am just driving a few miles. I punch in a destination address then purposely take a different route. I am amazed how quickly Navilee figures out what I am doing and adjusts to direct me to a new route to make sure I do arrive at my "destination."

We both love our new car and are looking forward to lots of enjoyable road trips in our Acura TL! Thank you to Chris and Patricia for making the decision to move and making it possible for us to get new wheels! Of course they benefited too. They are now driving our Intrigue (and loving it).