Baby Hailey is here!!

Our newest grandchild was born this morning. Her name is Hailey Elyse. She is a healthy, beautiful girl. She weighed in at 8lbs 15oz. After 19 plus hours of labor, Julie had a pretty traumatic C-section but her and Hailey are doing well now. Jason (our son) said that Julie was able to feel the entire procedure and was in agony. I cannot imagine how rough that would be. We thank God for keeping them both safe.

Today was my 21st radiation. I have 12 more to go. I saw my surgeon today and she drained some fluid off my left side. It has been accumulating since the drain was removed 4 weeks ago and was becoming inflamed. She sent some fluid off to be cultured, but said that it really didn't look like I had an infection. She did put me on an antibiotic, just in case.

Our granddaughter is due on Thursday. The ultrasound last week showed that she is over 9 pounds. The doctor said that they plan on inducing her if she doesn't come on her own by November 1. So, Hailey should be here by early next week at the latest. Can't wait! Our family has been hit by the flu bug, so I hope that everyone is better by then. I have kept my distance - I do not want it!

On Friday, Julie, Len and I are hosting a table at the DeVos Children's Hospital Halloween Party. Caleb (our oldest grandson) was in the hospital on Halloween a few years ago and it meant a lot to him that he could celebrate in a small way at the hospital. Len and I are going to dress up as clowns. I will post some pictures after the event.

Pumpkin Patch

Today was a great day. It was the first day in quite some time that we have had a mostly sunny day. It really helps to improve the mood! We spent the afternoon with most of our family and 2 of our grandchildren enjoying the season. Unfortunately Caleb, our oldest grandson was running a temperature so he and his mother (Julie) were unable to join us. We went on a hayride, through a corn maze and then spent a long time picking out just the right pumpkins. Braedon (our youngest grandson) kept telling us they were all too heavy. Hunter was able to find one right away, so Uncle Jason had to carry it around for quite some time. Then just as we were going to get on back on the hayride Hunter changed his mind and wanted a different pumpkin!

I am glad to have a couple of days off from radiation. I have had 15 treatments and have 18 to go. It has really gone faster than I expected. My skin has "pinked up" and has that tight sunburn feeling, but overall I have been feeling a little better than I have in the past few weeks.

Jason and Julie's baby is due in 2 weeks. She will be having another ultrasound on Thursday to try to determine the size of baby Hailey's head. I think they are trying to determine if she will need a C- section since the baby is already believed to be over 8 pounds. It looks like it won't be long before we finally have our first granddaughter. I have had a lot of fun buying little girl things for her and our daughter Robyn's baby.

Radiation progress

There is really nothing new to report. This picture is of me being set up for my treatment. The treatments only take 10-15 minutes, every day Monday through Friday. I have had 8 radiations and have 25 to go. So far there hasn't been much change. I have started to "pink up" a little and my skin feels tight like you would have with a mild sunburn. My energy hasn't changed much - I still tire easily. I have been told that my energy will decrease even more the farther into treatment I get. Oh well, the end is in sight! I had an appointment with my plastic surgeon yesterday and he is looking forward to getting started with the left side reconstruction. We have to wait until the radiation is done before anything can be done, but then let the magic begin.

Len and I were able to walk around Art Prize in Grand Rapids yesterday for a few hours. It was really nice to see all the fantastic art that is in and around the area. What a great event for the community.
I am beginning to really dread the thought of winter setting in. I hope to be feeling good enough to get back to work before the really bad weather sets in. The days are really long when Len is working his 12 hour shifts and I would really like to be able to join him behind the counter a few hours a week. The only thing that I am dreading about going back to work is learning the new computer system that was installed while I have been off.