Handy Experience

If nothing else, after 6 years of doctoring, we Lingenfelters know our way around hospitals and doctor's offices. Comes in handy sometimes. Quite often Pam will give first hand recommendations regarding physicians, surgeons, oncologists, etc. to friends and acquaintances. She/we can give pretty detailed directions to and around most medical facilities. I have even been trained in several medical procedures I won't mention (and I am not just talking about removing stitches, but Pam would kill me if I got more detailed). Pam and I can diagnose many ailments/conditions with a fair amount of accuracy these days. OK, Pam can. I can, however, tell you which hospital serves the best food (OSF) and what is best to order. **Disclaimer...we have certain medical insiders that help us terrifically and at this point I am very tempted to link you to a pic of her/them...but I am not going to do it. You'll have to find your own insiders, sorry.

Spring is nearly here. Today it is going to be 63 degrees or so. We all are ready, kids included. In our world, baseball tryouts and the start of track practices are clear signs that winter is nearing an end (now we can all debate whether beginning to play baseball in mid-February in IL is a sign that winter is over, but that is the way it works these days...your summer sport begins before your spring). So on the second Saturday of February, our son, Sir Swingsalot, headed off to the batting cage to get ready for tryouts on 2/27 & 2/28 (track began on 3/1). It was on this day Feb. 13th, that Mighty Casey entered the cage, swungalot, and injured his back. Not just a little injury, like I immediately diagnosed, but a substantial one. For a couple of weeks I encouraged Josh to work through it, all the while convincing a concerned and experienced mom that it was a muscle strain/pull. Ever obedient and non-complaining Josh pressed on, doing what he could, getting through the two weeks prior to tryouts successfully, but still with pain. The first day of tryouts was the day that his dad realized that he wasn't getting better, he may actually be worse. Gulp.


I relented and off to the doctor he went. It took his doctor little time to tell us he needed an MRI. That MRI happened one week ago on Wednesday. Josh entered this experience with a certain amount of excitement and interest. He has spent nearly half of his life watching his parents deal with medical stuff, so to him it is fairly normal. When this all began, we didn't have to wonder where to go for the MRI. Pam is an expert in these routines. The MRI is done in the same area of the hospital that Pam received her MRI's, many of her scans, and all of her radiation treatments. Because Josh defends his 2009-10 school perfect attendance status fiercely, we had to schedule the MRI late in the day. Of course there was a delay, giving us time to roam the hospital. Ah the memories...the heart floor, the oncology floor, ambulatory/surgical unit, the cafeteria, radiation, the gift shop, the waiting rooms...Methodist Hospital, our second home. Josh experienced for himself how cold the hospital can be, especially when you are dressed in a thin hospital gown. Pam told Josh not to worry. She disappeared for a few moments, going places that Joe Average might think civilians are not allowed, and reappeared with some freshly toasted blankets. Handy experience.

The MRI showed that I definitely didn't diagnose Josh correctly (go figure). Josh sees a pediatric orthopedic surgeon (he was referred to a neurosurgeon...but that seemed too scary and serious, so we opted for the orthopedic surgeon) and we hope he gives us lots of positives. We would love to hear the words "physical therapy" as opposed to "surgery." Sadly my extensive medical training was not in surgeries/procedures dealing with the spine dang it.

For now Josh is allowed to participate in PE and sports so long as he stops short of pain. Last week he was riding a bike with the track team on our long runs (serving as assistant to the assistant coach, me). This week he is back to running most of the workouts, mindful not to twist or over exert. He plays catch and does some fielding practice, but no swinging.

This post isn't about Pam and her continuing struggles, but it is, sort of. Her experience has in a way prepared Josh. Things that might be new and scary for the average 13 year old are very familiar to him. He finally sees behind the waiting room walls to the places Pam goes. Some curiosity is being satisfied. He is being shaped by all that Pam has gone through. He has stood by his mom and now he is prepared to deal with this personal adversity having watched her go through hers.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." James 1:2-3

Stop!!!

How do you stop your kids from growing up? This is driving me nuts.

Erin turned 10 this morning at 9:48AM. How did that happen? Argh.

Despite all of our grown up problems, our kids just keep having birthdays and enjoying life. Whew!

downer family

Read a post or two on this blog and you might walk away thinking "what a downer." We know what club we are in and we just have to embrace it. Thanks for coming down with us.

To quote myself...hubba, hubba

One of the more depressing posts I made was last January 13th titled Eight Words. I wrote it during the dead of winter after a horrible week in between one surgery and the start of chemotherapy. But my last two sentences of that post is what I am reminded of after Pam surprised me by wanting to attend a grown-up dress-up party last Saturday night. Surprised is too mild a word. Shocked is more like it. Pam stepped way out of character for a regular year, but way WAY out for a year like she has had.

So, at great risk to myself, I am going to post a few pics from Saturday. Hope you got to this update soon, because I have a feeling these pics won't be on here for long.

Like I said on January 13th...hubba, hubba.

Oooohhhhh noooooooo!!!!! You are too late to see the pics! They were so hot they were melting motherboards. Soooooo sooooorrrrryyyy. But I will leave the post with a little visual.

Mary Hunter obituary

Mary Kay Williams Morris Potter Hunter

HUNTER, MARY KAY WILLIAMS MORRIS POTTER, 97 years and 3 months, passed away September 5, 2009, leaving her family and friends with an abundance of memories and love. Mary Kay, born in Bicknell, Indiana on June 5, 1912, came to Florida to live with her beloved sister Nellie and to pursue her education. She graduated in 1930 from Homestead High School and in 1935 from Florida State College for Women (now Florida State University), where she was a member of the 13th graduating class of this university. Prior to her retirement, she was an elementary school teacher for 30 years in Homestead, Little River and Greynolds Park. She enjoyed playing bridge with her many friends and was a sports fan, diplomatically dividing her loyalty between the FSU Seminoles and the Florida Gators in order to humor all members of her immediate family. Noted for her generosity and desire to serve her community, she volunteered as a Pink Lady at North Shore Hospital, and was a member of Alpha Delta Kappa, an international honorary organization of women educators dedicated to educational excellence, altruism and world understanding, the Philanthropic Educational Organization (P.E.O. International Sisterhood), a philanthropic organization where women celebrate the advancement of women, as well as an active member of Miami Shores Presbyterian Church and the Miami Shores Country Club. She was also a member and past president of the Miami Shores Friendly Villagers, Miami Shores Woman's Club and Miami Shores Garden Club. An avid traveler, she recounted to children, grandchildren and great grandchildren her many exciting experiences including visiting many national parks in the United States as well as honeymooning in Havana, Cuba, seeing volcanoes in Hawaii, cruising through fjords and seeing the northern lights in Norway with her beloved sister Mabel, ferrying from Sweden to Denmark, visiting castles in England and spending Oktoberfest in Germany. Mary was preceded in death by her parents Edward Williams and Marget Davidson, sisters Nellie and Marguerite, brothers James, Charles Edward and Paul, and husbands William Emory Morris, Sr. and C. L. Potter. She is survived by sister Mabel Fisk, sons William Emory Morris, Jr. (Flora Sue) and Charles Edward Morris (Fulvia), grandchildren Pamela Kay Lingenfelter (Rick), William Emory Morris, III, Charles Edward Morris, Jr. (Laurie) and Melissa Christina Morris Howard (Doug), great grandchildren Josh and Erin, and niece Mary Margaret Caldwell. Special thanks for the loving care given her by her wonderful caregivers Romela, Willie and Beebee. She will be remembered and missed, not only by her family, but many who knew her and shared her life. Funeral Services will be 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, September 9th (today) at Stanfill Funeral Home followed by graveside services at Southern Memorial Park, North Miami.

Stanfill Funeral Home 10545 S Dixie (305)667-2518 Family Owned/Operated www.stanfillfh.com To visit this Guest Book Online, go to www.MiamiHerald.com/obituaries.

Published in The Miami Herald on September 9, 2009

Until Heaven

Goodbye Grandma...Nonnie...Mary

6/5/1912 - 9/5/2009

Thanks for prayers for Pam as she will travel to Miami this week for her Grandma's funeral.

Prayers for her sons Emory and Edward as they say goodbye to their mother.

Doings

Pam is doing fair these days. Good days. Bad days. She buckled down and started the anti-hormone drug. Verdict is still out on how that will go. She is recovering nicely from the radiation and most recently the removal of her Power Port. She was not sad to see that go. Fatigue is constant and her nose drips blood* a lot, she would testify that these things are somehow getting worse. Basically, she doesn't feel bad all the time, but she doesn't feel all that great ever either (that sentence ended oddly).

Yesterday we received the news that her 97 year old grandma, Mary, has really taken a turn for the worse. Not doing well. She spent the first 91 years of her life in very good health (she kind of skated through two rounds of breast cancer in 1962/1982), nothing really ever slowed her down. But the past several years have been really hard. So if you are reading this right now, I ask you to pray for her for comfort and peace. Thanks.





These pictures of Pam and the kids with Nonnie are from Melissa's wedding in Coral Gables on 12/30/06.

Here is Pam, Josh and Erin with her on our last visit to Miami in June of 2008. And if you can't tell by the photo, we took her (technically she thinks she took us) to Red Lobster to eat on this day, it has always been one of her favorites. We realize there are better seafood restaurants in Miami (or are there?) but that is one place she loves.

* Pam has been told to take the tamoxifan every other day from now on. The bleeding could indicate thrombocytonpenia...one of the lovely side effects advertised with this drug. She has a week to see if it slows down or stops. The only time it is good to have thrombocytonpenia is when you are playing scrabble. That word is worth about 3,000 points!