Columbus OH

'Tis the day after Christmas. The Lindner family must report a very untraditional but deeply gratifying holiday.

It seems like the Lindners observed almost none of the traditions of past Christmases. More honestly, they didn't get any of the traditional preparations started, much less completed. The unaddressed cards still sit in a large basket in the living room underneath Bobbi's hospital bed, which she no longer uses but hasn't been able to give away. There is no traditional Christmas letter to write since this blog does the job far better. None of the plastic trees stored in the basement were brought upstairs. No lights were installed indoors or out (admittedly, the family orthopedic problems made that unwise).

However, there was the Christmas music. A couple of weeks ago Lew brought all of his and Bobbi's CD's into the 21st century by ripping them to a hard drive as MP3 files. Ever since he has played selections from this trove impulsively.

Not only was there no tree, but there were few gifts to to under one. The week before Christmas the Lindners each received four new tires for their cars (actually, Lew's tires were for the Airstream), so they weren't going to give each other any additional gifts.

The holiday actually began on Christmas Eve, when Bobbi's closest friend from church asked them to join in their family dinner - as has been their custom the past few years.

Christmas day dawned bright but not early for the 2 geriatrics. They left quickly for 11 o'clock church, hanging around to gossip with the priest for nearly an hour afterwards.

Back at the house, Bobbi and Lew unwrapped their remaining gifts. Bobbi's church friend, Bobbi's brother Pete and his wife, and the eldest son in Florida provided the only gifts for them to unwrap on Christmas day. But this did not result in any sort of deprivation, because the gifts had been chosen very carefully to match Bobbi's and Lew actual needs/wants/desires, rather than some conventional "gift" item. Bobbi's friend gave Lew a small statuette of St. Francis (whom Lew greatly admires) and Bobbi a hand-turned walnut bowl, a sweater, and a fruit cake. Pete and his wife gave Lew biographical compositions for his family history collection, and Bobbi a book on meditation. Eldest son Scott and his wife gave Lew a DVD dubbing of some old family recordings that had been made in 1971 on open-reel tapes, and preserved all these years. They gave Bobbi a bunch of romance books, and a meditating fountain. They also gave Bobbi and Lew each a tongue-in-cheek bright red T-shirt with a large wolf head on the back (one of Scott's parishioners gave them away as promotions for his restaurant).

The rest of the day was devoted to long-distance calls to a variety of relatives.

Now they only need to get on the stick and get those delinquent cards out.

Columbus OH

One whole month! Shame on the Lindners - derelict as usual.

To top that off, Bobbi and Lew are delinquent on their Christmas cards - which has been the case more years than not. tua culpa magnissima! (After 58 years, my Latin is more than a little rusty - add that to my culpabilities as well. Of course the internet does make it easy for anyone to look up the correct forms - but why pretend? It's miraculous that I remember as much as I do.)

Since the Lindners are delinquent on their holiday cards, it is just as well that this blog makes the hoary annual Christmas letter redundant. Otherwise that would be late as well.

MEDICAL REPORT: LINDA
Lew's sister Linda in Brenham complained of severe abdominal pain, anorexia, and diarrhea ever since approximately 6 November. She was taken to the ER (in Brenham), where apparently no one was particularly impressed. Apparently no diagnostics were run, and she was treated with just an oral synthetic opiate. Over the remainder of the month her symptoms worsened progressively. For some reason someone thought the pain might be due to the opiate itself and tried to withdraw her; Luther on the other hand thought the increase in pain might be due to the withdrawal. On the 11th of this month she was in the hospital in College Station. The medics there discovered that she had a recto-vesicle fistula and scheduled her for a CT scan on the 12th. She went to (successful) surgery the afternoon of the 13th. The evening of the 15th Liz called Lew with a message that Linda wished to speak with him, but Linda lost all control and began screaming, etc. Luther later explained that he believed Linda has suffered additional brain damage in the past 2 years, and he was considering transferring her to a more intensive-care facility in College Station-Bryan.

MEDICAL REPORT: BOBBI & LEW
Both Bobbi's and Lew's backs improved slowly during this period, to the point where Lew began fantasizing about vacationing in Florida again. There is no explaining Lew's improvement - but who is going to argue? Indeed, everything was looking up until last night, when Lew went out to the darkened Airstream he had just brought home, took a header (the slight motion of the trailer on its wheels is very disorienting), and strained/sprained his right shoulder. Hopefully the inflammation will go down soon.

MISCELLANEOUS:
Bobbi and Lew continue to live through their computers. Fortunately Lew keeps his data on flash drives and external hard drives, so when the operating system was corrupted earlier in November, losses and disruption were minimized. In order to further facilitate that system, this month Lew removed the hard drives from all his old broken computers and installed them in enclosures that permit him simply to plug them into USB ports. So he now has nearly 2 terabytes of HD storage available to him, all but 250 gigabytes of which is always off line and therefore not accessible to cybercrime. The 250 gigabytes which do go on line are used to store data that is public - applications and music. Of course one can still have one's personal data stolen from the databanks of commercial organizations that one has patronized (remember Sony and BAC?), but that sort of exposure can and should be minimized.

On the 13th and 15th Lew had his first days since June to see patients in Dayton. Regrettably, the agency there is almost entirely defunct. With staff shrunk to (apparently) only 2 employees, its case load too has shrunk to only 6 clients on psychotropic meds. Furthermore, these residual clients are the most chronic from the old case load and have been on the case load 10-40 years, and on the same medication regimens for more than a decade following repeated attempts to further reduce their doses. No new medication patients have appeared for some years now. While this situation in part represents changed policies on the part of the agency, it more fundamentally reflects the fact that the state of Ohio has withdrawn nearly all funding for Deaf services: direct, indirect, and even training.

During the current period Bobbi continued her religious work. She continued to volunteer as the chaplain at corrections' Frazier Health Center, even though the state cancelled her contract a couple of years ago (along the rest of the contract employees). And she has become quite active in her own local church, assisting with a variety of fund-raising activities, attending mass daily (Lew accompanies her to all of the signed masses), and frequently reading the lessons.

In order to preserve any possibility of traveling this winter, it was necessary to have the Airstream inspected and serviced, and to fill one of the propane tanks. But the coach had not been moved in nearly 2 years, so before it could be towed anywhere safely it was necessary to top up the pressure in the tires. Lew's old air compressor had gone to heaven, so he replaced it with a more effective one - then made an appointment at the factory. Bobbi escorted Lew as he drove the coach up to Jackson Center on the 30th, while Paul escorted him when he brought it back yesterday - just in time for last night's performance. Ah well!

Columbus OH

Goodness how time passes!

Status remains quo, yet we have been quite busy. Yesterday the shower head broke, so right now Bobbi is chasing a replacement.

As one might expect, Lew's back pain continues, no better, perhaps even a little bit worse. But still no surgery. On the other hand, Bobbis back has improved slowly - certainly due to the PT she has recieived. And while Lew's PT decreased the pain only temporarily, nevertheless it has continued to postpone surgery. So that is a benefit.

And the computers continue their conspiracy against Lew. Early in the week an important file in the operating system was corrupted. So there was nothing to do but remove the OS, then reinstall it with all the applications he had installed. So another couple of working days and nights down the drain - thus, this entry is even later than usual. Since then, it has been catch up, of course. Lew still tries to work on his reminiscences of uncle Julius, but it still follows this blog on the "todo" list.

The one family task Lew did get accomplished was to contact clergy in New Braunfels and offer g'momma's house as housing for a homeless family. Since Julius and Elizabeth moved out, two other relatives have occupied the house, but only briefly. For the last year or so, all of Lew's attempts to find a relative who would live in the house have been fruitless. Fortunately cousin Michael has been kind enough to keep an eye on the property, but of course Lew cannot continue to impose on him indefinately.

Lew knows that not only does such prolonged vacancy invite vandalism, vermin, and accidents (like frozen pipes), but it certainly violates one's Christian duties. So this is the best use of the house that Lew has been able to come up with. If anyone else can come up with a viable alternative, we are all ears.

Columbus OH

Still in Columbus; but thank God, no surgery.

Thursday afternoon we took down a message from cousin Michael, stating that his father had died the preceding morning.

For any reader who might not know/remember, Pastor Julius Frederick Herman Holm was born 22 January 1914 in Shive TX. Because of the present late hour, we wish to continue this post as a tribute to "uncle Julius", hopefully in the AM.

(to be continued again)

Columbus OH

Again too much time has passed. Readers deserve an explanation.

All was going well until the second (Sunday). Bobbi had just left for prison when Rob and Lew attempted to save a baby raccoon that had wandered out of their usual home around here - the storm sewers - and was wandering in the street in front of Bobbi's house. Unfortunately, the little thing failed to go back down into the sewers and remained out in the street. After dark a neighbor drove rapidly up the street (stupid because the street ended in no more than 100 feet), and ran over the little tyke. Really grossed us all out, Lew most of all. When the neighbor simply left the corpse, Rob at least had the decency to bury it.

Then on the fourth (Tuesday) Lew also was in a hurry and hit the wrong button on the computer. Somehow this trashed the operating system. Fortunately he had backed everything up on the first and keeps the data files in a separate partition, so he did not lose data. However, he had to spend that evening and the next day reinstalling the OS and reconfiguring it. For the next few days he also had to reinstall the apps and continued to come across settings that had to be re-set. He had less labor than most people (most people don't back up their files) but it still was a tedious bummer that consumed time he wanted to use for other things (like this blog).

While going through all this labor Lew came across a site containing many vintage photos, mostly from the first half of the 20th century, but also quite a few from the 19th century.

MEDICAL REPORT: all status's remain pretty much quo. No one is planning any surgery at this time.

OK, enough for now. Lew is going back to family history.

Columbus OH

When Lew got up this morning he had planned to write an entry for the blog. And initially he feared he again would have to report that there was nothing to report. And at the physical level this true: Bobbi and he continue to experience considerable back/back-related pain, but neither are about to undertake any surgery. Of course there has been the usual visits to doctors (no change) and PT (Bobbi continues to increase the strength in her lower extremities, Lew maintains).

And in between medical visits they continued the usual routine activities - Bobbi's prison ministry, her other church-related activities, visits to her church friends, trips to the supermarket and the hair salon etc. In between entertained herself with email correspondance. Nothing new, nothing unusual, no justification for boring readers.

However, as he was waking up, Lew suddenly realized that, like most assumptions, it was not true that there was nothing to report, that nothing had happened all summer. On the contrary, the entire time Lew has been very busy on family history - not genealogy so much as the evolution of religion - many nights staying up late.

Cousin Michael has remarked that there seems to be little to do on the Franke line. In Europe, Louis Franke' maternal ancestors were nobility (but not very noble). As the internet developed, family members worked together to ferret out that line back through Charlemagne to Gallo-Romans (as well as some more or less curious branches such as Pope Adrian VI and the medieval Negrone family). However, from there back, surviving records really are too fragmentary for anything but speculation and myth. More fundamental, the ancient concept of history simply doesn't overlap enough with modern concepts to be useful. So it is hard to see where any of us can contribute a whole lot more to that quest.

Nevertheless, plenty remains for amateur genealogists to do. The Franke line itself has run into the proverbial brick wall in the netherlands. Somewhere I have a note that the unnamed ur-Francke was born there, but we have no details. Another note (or is it in the same one?) states that Helen Franke once had a book that gave this information, along with the connection to AH Francke, but it was lost in the 1920's. However, with all the resources now available, and more increasing daily, I can't imagine that this barrier will stand for long. A worthy project for Samantha.

Another opportunity lies in the fact that the Francke's were a hereditary clerical family. In pre-WWII Germany this gave them at least semi-noble status, hence they were acceptable for aristocratic marriages. In tracing both the Franke and Romberg lines backward the family already has documented many links with other clerical families - Cothenius, Dihn, Stoll, etc. Only the Romberg-Cothenius-Negrone line has been traced as far as the 12th century (thanks to cousin Samantha). Each of these clerical families need further digging.

However, Lew has developed a different line of thinking. Some time ago he realized that the density of these clerical connections translated out to a near identity of this family with the history of the church. Thus, while the specific family line fades out in the mists of the fourth century, the tradition can be traced further back by examining the history of the church itself. Now this turns out to be a lot easier. Conveniently, around the beginning of the century Eusebius collected the pre-Constantinian data. Of course he has been criticized (justly) for bias and unreliability. But since there exists much other documentation to supplement his, that unreliability causes little difficulty.

Over the centuries, a number of scholars have remarked upon the resemblance between the teachings of Jesus and those of Buddha. Publications on this topic certainly have hypothesized some fantastic (but not necessarily impossible) mechanisms.

But following Eusebius et al. backward in time, a simpler and entirely credible mechaninsm - supported by some hard evidence - also has been proposed. First of all, some of the fathers of the church (for example, Clement of Alexandria), specifically noted that Buddhists had influenced Jesus. Secondly, recent scholars have revised the date of Buddha's death to approximately -400. Third, the Mauryan king Ashoka (a convert) is well documented to have sent a series of missionary groups all over Asia in the years following -265, including at least one group to Alexandria, and another to Antioch (perhaps it would help understanding to note that there had been extensive commerce between Egypt and the Malabar Coast). The continuing success of the Alexandrian mission is supported by Buddhist symbols (the wheel) found on Alexandrian gravestones, the establishment of the monastic group which Philo said labelled themselves "Therapeutae" (a corruption of "theraveda", the Buddhist school of Ashoka) in the desert behind Alexandria, and the testimony of Clement.

Consider the testimony of the Evangelists in light of these facts. In chapter 2, Matthew explicitly stated that at the time of the slaughter of the innocents, the Holy Family escaped to Egypt. This must have occured before -4 because it was Herod the Great who ordered the atrocity. We know that at that time the largest Jewish community in the world was that of Alexandria. Therefore, the odds are quite high the the Holy Family gravitated to that city.

The gospels do not state how long the Holy Family remained in Egypt. Matthew states that they returned to Nazareth at some non-specific later date - "when those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead". That is no real help because it could have been almost anytime between Herod the Great's Death in -4 and Jesus' baptism in 29/30 AD. Matthew does mention that Joseph was afraid to go to Judea because Herod Archelaus reigned there in place of his father. Since Archelaus was deposed in 6 AD, this suggests that the family left no later. Luke seems to corroborate this terminus when he states that Jesus was 12 when he met with the (Sadducee) teachers in the temple. Now, were he born in -7 or -6, his 12th birthday, and therefore this scene, would have occurred about the time Archelaus was deposed.

From the foregoing, one legitimately may infer that Jesus remained in Alexandria from about age 2 to his 12th year. Certainly that would have provided very adequate time for him to learn from both the Buddhist missionaries and the Jewish teachers there. No wonder that the questions and answers of this 12 year old boy astonished the teachers in the temple (a far less cosmopolitan place than Alexandria). And no wonder that the Sermon on the Mount and many of his other teachings sound so Buddhist.

What I get out of all of this is that religion is not a fixed and static body of knowledge. As time passes, our knowledge and understanding increase, and the faith(s) evolves.

There is much more to this - Akhenaten and Moses is just one example. But this already is way to long, so I am arbitrarily postponing that to a later note.

Columbus OH

Winter arrived in Columbus on Labor Day, courtesy of the hurricane. The town went from insufferably hot and muggy cloudless skies to pleasant room temperatures (yes, I accept mornings in the 50's as "room temperature") under a cover of unrelieved gray. We can look forward to that gray until somewhere around memorial day, though of course the temperatures are going to go down in steps until the end of February.

The dogs are happy with the lower temperatures, though they would prefer something in the 40's, and apparantly could are less about clouds. In fact, last night it was drizzling, but they chugged outside happily, and were eager to return only because they knew it was feeding time (all the pets know when 9 PM rolls around, to the minute, and pester us insanely until we get the food out).

Columbus OH

Recently cousin Michael (Julius & Elizabeth's eldest son) sent an email about g'ma's old house in New Braunfels. He said that recently the US Post Office placed a bright yellow sign on the mailbox saying "vacant house". Predictably, someone tried (ineptly) to break in. Of course Michael immediately removed the sign that advertised the house as a target. But while that attempt failed, it is only a matter of time before someone succeeds and either removes all the valuables (?) or else trashes the place. So something more definative will have to be done.

Trying to secure the house physically is impossible. It is all wood, and any physical measure can only slow down and/or annoy a serious perp.

Social obstacles are more effective. One such obstacle is an alarm system that rings into the police department. However, many police departments (I can't answer for NB) have notoriously slow reaction times, thus their protection is limited. And such a system is an expense.

Another social obstacle is a commercial service that physically goes by and checks the house frequently; I've no doubt that such a service is available in NB. The downside of of such a service is (1) the expense, and (2) the limited amount of time that someone actually is on the premises.

The best social obstacle is an occupant. At this point Michael tells me he knows of no relative who wishes to live there. That being the case, I wish to offer rent-free occupancy to (1) Irene Bulgerin's clan; (2) more distant relatives, such as the Franke and Schudde clans; (3) someone referred by a local church. I am going to email Irene, and also will contact the local clergy. However, if any reader knows of anyone who would like to stay in the house, please do contact me.

* * * * *
MEDICAL REPORT:

LEW: the same. He spends too much time searching for files whose location he forgot to note.

BOBBI: still taking opiates, and had an MRI of the offending hip on Friday, but as yet does not have the report. Nevertheless, she was well enough to work the entire day today in the prison hospital.

BOBBI'S BROTHER-IN-LAW: died on August 19th.

PAUL: still going to his nursing program and doing well (the class curve-breaker).

SMOKEY: as usual, we are treating infected spots on his skin, including weekly medicated baths. But he is responding, and the current crop of infections are clearing up. Despite his 2 surgerized knees, he sometimes does bounce around like a puppy. But mostly he just louts around.

SAPPHIRE: age is slowing her down a bit, looks like she has some arthritis in her knees (which is to be expected). So is less eager to bounce around like a puppy. Another lout.

KITTY-POO: she has gained weight to 8 pounds. Thought by far the smallest, she remains the most aggressive of our pets, thus dominates and rules over the other 3. She also acts out her dominance on Lew, and he lets her.

LUCKY: our black panther slinks around, but vitiates the effect of his silent pace by demanding food in the loudest voice; he actually talks. And every night when Lew goes to bed, he runs in and lies down next to him, spending most of the time there until dawn breaks. He is overweight, so we restrict his food intake. However, he has developed a taste for people food: crackers, dry Cheerios (but not with milk), and his favorite - oatmeal cookies!

Columbus OH

Started this entry on the 19th, was interrupted by a phone call, and this is the first time Lew has been able to get back.

MEDICAL NEWS:
Aches and pains are a bore for the writer, just as they must be for most readers. But for those who do ask us for a medical report, here it is:

Lew continues about the same - for two weeks he improved so much he could stand throughout an entire mass, but of course he overdid it and for the past week has been back to where he started.

Bobbi too is about the same. Her weakness in extending her left hip interferes with her stair-climbing and getting into cars, plus limits her ability to climb stairs.

After pneumonia, heart failure, a dissecting aneurysm, and a stroke, the husband of Bobbi's half-sister died exactly one week ago. The half-sister herself is tolerating her chemo poorly, the same for Bobbi's sister.

At the other extreme, the husband of Bobbi's friend, who never once in his life has followed a physician's advice and coded twice on the table during a hip replacement, recovered well not only from that surgery but also from the triple bypass at the beginning of this month. There is at least one message here, but I'm not sure of what it is. Meditate upon it for me, please.

Her friend's son with the metastatic melanoma now is on chemo. At least the friend with herself with all her chronic ills remains stable.

Now that is as short as I could make it.

FAMILY NEWS:

Paul continues on uneventfully with his nursing training. He is beginning to get into his clinicals and enjoys them. But they give him additional opportunity for his macabre sense of humor.

Scott's family too plods on uneventfully but very successfully. The two grandchildren, currently in the last stages of HS, are starting to look forward to college. Indeed, the youngest is toying with the idea of living with us and going to OSU. We'd kind of like that, but suspect that his principle motivation is to get away from his mother's strict supervision.

Lew's sister Linda continues on in her completely unremarkable stay at Kruse Retirement Center in Brenham TX. But "little" brother Luther has announced his retirement at the end of this month. Where has all the time gone? Luther's wife, children, and grandchildren remain status quo.

Lew's cousin Michael sent word that his family and Aggie's remain unchanged. However, he remarked on the damage that the drought was inflicting on the vegetation at grandmomma Holm's little house. It was necessary to remove one of the victims, a pecan tree.

Lew's aunt Irene sent a rundown on all of her large clan. They all seem to be doing well, healthwise and other. But that is her story, and anyone wanting details should send her an email.

OTHER:
Due to their limited mobility, both Bobbi and Lew have tended to amuse themselve primarily through the internet. Bobbi devotes her time to email, including Facebook.

Lew on the other hand continues to watch and listen to NHK. This month they presented a 16 part series they entitled "August Chronicles", dissecting the events that made the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs inevitable, and the aftermath of nuclear energy. Lew remembers WWII and the bombs well, thus reflected upon the fact that in barely 3 short years (from summer 1942-1945/08/15), the Churchill Warlords (Winston and FDR) and the Soviet Warlord (Stalin) had reduced the German and Japanese Empires from control of all of Europe from the channel islands to the Volga, and all of Asia from Assam to Midway - to where the German and Japanese Empires were smoking ruins inhabited by starving millions, while the English (including the USA) and to a lesser extent the Russian Empires controlled the entire world.

Of course NHK also continued to report on developments in the Fukushima-Daiichi disaster. One could hardly listen to and watch these programs without concluding that humanity and nuclear energy are completely incompatible, and mankind's only hope for survival lies in getting rid of it completely. Br-r-r. (Of course, even if mankind succeeds at this one task, it still must avoid overheating the planet, deforesting and desertifying it, and other consequences of over-population).

OK, I'm depressed, tired, and it's getting late. Signing off for now.

Columbus OH

I'm back! But again after 2 weeks.

The first faint signs of autumn have appeared. The temperatures have started to drop slightly and slowly, but steadily. One can go out in the morning and not be overwhelmed by soggy heat. Of course that doesn't last long, but it's a first step.

Unfortunately, this blog remains mostly a medical report. On Tuesday the 19th, Lew went to a neurosurgeon for a second opinion on his back. The neurosurgeon concurred that surgery was in order, but added the slight twist of a different surgical technique. Now we have to look into that further. Certainly it is relevant that the Bobbi's back surgery was not successful, in the sense that the next disk above the surgical site failed within 2 years. Makes one think - move slowly and carefully. Unfortunately, he was home before he realized that the game plan had morphed a bit; by the time he phoned the neurosurgery group the man who gave the second opinion had left on vacation, and his two colleagues artfully avoided speaking to Lew. As expected, while all this was going on, Lew's pain continued, but he was still able to manage it without opiates.

Bobbi, on the other hand already had been on fentenyl for a few weeks. And during this period her physician increased the dose when Bobbi saw her on the 29th. She continued to attend morning mass about half the time, and was able to make it into the correctional medical facility where she is chaplain on the 24th. But on the 31st she went only a couple of miles before concluding that she couldn't do it, turned around, and returned home. Her medication does make the pain tolerable, but sedates her so that it is not a good idea for her to drive.

Bobbi and Lew both are quite circumscribed in their activies. They cannot stand for more than a few seconds, or walk more than a few feet before the pain becomes intolerable. It is difficult to see how this situation can be resolved without surgery, yet that avenues doesn't appear too promising either.

On top of their own infirmities, it seems like all of their relatives and friends have become seriously ill. Bobbi's younger sister has been on chemo for breast CA during the past year, and her older half-sister (a nurse) currently is on chemo. The half-sister's husband who had pneumonia last winter recently lost consciousness, and when he was taken to the Marietta hospital, was Life-flighted to OSUH. There it was discovered that he has an aortic aneurysm. The half-sister argued with the doctors who refused to operate because they feared it might be impossible to get him off the vent. While this difference of opinion was working through, hubbie sustained a significant right-sided CVA, No doubt the physicians now are even more reluctant to tackle the aneurysm.

And the husband of Bobbi's close friend for more than thirty years (another nurse) recently had a massive heart attack while he was on the table for a hip replacement, coded twice. So he is scheduled for a triple bypass tomorrow.

Bobbi's closest friend from church - Lew's age - has had MS since she was about 20, an inoperable cerebral aneurysm for 20-30 years, a botched left hip replacement, and spinal stenosis. Her youngest son is divorced, has obesity and diabetes, and his daughter (age 20?) is aggressively gay and takes delight in continually offending everyone. Her daughter (another nurse) is grossly obese and on course for multiple illnesses in the future. And cruelest of all, now her recently divorced second youngest son has just been found to have metastatic melanoma.

As you can tell, we have sufficient bleakness. Please some of you send us some sunshine (and I don't mean more heat).

Columbus OH

Ha! Only ten days this time.

Again, little of note has happened since our last note (sic!). The only events have been medical - for the most part, our physical condition has kept us confined to the house, thus limiting the opportunities for any events. Lew considered himself lucky to get through mass two weeks running - but accomplished that only by sitting down most of the time.

Bobbi had a second epidural on Thursday, and says she feels noticeably better. But already today she insisted on going into the prison to work. We'll see tomorrow how wise a choice that was.

Lew's pain, on the other hand, always is more than yesterday, and less than tomorrow. Since it looks like there is no way to escape surgery, we will go for a second opinion on Tuesday. After that there will be the pre-surgical physical exam, then schedule the actual surgery.

Your prayers always are appreciated.

Columbus OH

Bad me again! I've let almost a month slip by. Busy in some ways, but not busy with things that make a good excuse.

Much of the time Lew continued to spend watching NHK - turns out Japanese educational TV is much more congenial to his taste than anything on cable, which he has not watched in years. Furthermore, the technical quality of the video is excellent - HD, no less. Internet video has come a long way in just the last few years. The content is more interesting, more objective, and much more polite.

The medical situation remains problematic. Bobbi and Lew both now have rather disabling back pain. Neither can stand/walk for more than a few minutes without the pain becoming incapacitating. Neither has any reasonable prospect of eliminating that pain surgically, though there certainly would be improved load-bearing as well as some reduction in pain and capacity. Surgical risk would be not inconsiderable due to age and Bobbi's weight. Convalescence would require some months for both, and that likely at the same time. In the end, both would be left with almost no flexibility in the lumbar spine. Hard decisions.

Fortunately Scott and his family as well as the two younger sons are doing well. Scott's family visited us for several days a couple of weeks ago, very welcome since we were unable to get down to see them last winter. They have many photos of their vacation posted on the web, and I will try to include links in my next entry.

Columbus OH

Another 2 weeks. And again we must apologize to our readers for a blog that nothing but a continuing medical report. Readers never want to read about someone's aches and pains, but when medical events are the only ones that occur in people's lives, there is little choice.

However, this time there is a little more progress to report. Bobbi's left hip pain continues and even increases. She has consulted both our pain specialist and the surgeon who specializes in backs. After examining her, they decided to send her for another MRI - today, by coincidence. There will be little waiting this time because the scans will be reviewed immediately by the back specialist. And then?

Despite her pain and almost daily medical consultations, Bobbi continues very active in our church, reading for mass and helping with the ladies' projects such as the festival and the community dinners they hold for the local impoverished families.

Lew actually continues to improve slowly in most ways after his kidney stones. However, his back continues to limit him sharply. Nevertheless he is beginning to get together aids and procedures to circumvent those limitations. So he may start to get out more in the future.

While Bobbi remains active in our church, Lew no longer can stand long enough to help distribute communion. So he sits pretty passively in the pew. His goal remains to get out of town, even if only for a night.

The beat goes on, but the rythmn is a a bit ragged.

Columbus OH

Last Thursday (the 26th) Lew had another CT scan of fhis urinary system to check whether there were any stones left to pass. And today Bobbi had her consultation with the orthopod who did hip replacement because of pain she has continued to have in and about her left groin. The orthopod expressed great certainty that the pain was not related to the hip replacement, but was concerned that it might reflect additional degenerative disease in her spine. They made her an appointment next Monday with the orthopod who did her back 2 year ago, and she is quite depressed.

Of course Lew does not have back the results of his CT scan yet, but also is awaiting results from the battery of chemistries that his PCP ran on him the preceding Monday. So both are left with depressing uncertainty as they wait for the results of all the tests and consultations. Since both have been pretty much confined to the house since they returned from Florida last year, the depression is pretty deep. So in order to get in something like a little travel, Lew took Bobbi out to DQ after we sae the orthopod.

Stay tuned.

Columbus, OH

Well, immediately after composing the last note, Lew was laid low by another stone, this time on the left side. The next day he saw his PCP, who basically assured him he was doing the right things and taking the right meds. He reassured Lew that the elevated creatinine level he recently produced was a fluke, with the next sample within the normal range. On the other hand, he frightened Lew with a report that his last blood panel had shown a significant anemia. And he changed Lew's antidepressant. On the 20th the urologist basically also minimized the whole thing, but did set Lew up for another CT scan (today). And Lew spent the remaining days surfing.

Bobbi has had a discouraging month, with her left hip pain continuing to bother her considerably. So it is difficult to predict when we will be well enough to do something.

Columbus OH

Promises, promises... so much for promises.

Chaos report for May to date:

Dr, Jankowski removed the stent from Lew's right ureter on the 4th. However, Lew continued to feel vaguely under-the-weather, and passed another stone the morning of the 8th - presumably this was the stone already visualized in the pelvis of the left kidney, so hopefully it is the last.

Bobbi's fancy new iPad froze up on the 13th. And clearly the last stone had not passed, because the pain returned with a vengence until the 16th. A couple of more physician visits produced nothing more substantial than "we hopes". But at least as of today, things are quiet.

Columbus OH

A promise is a promise - but -

Nothing has happened in 2 days. Lew's clinical condition remains unchanged. Bobbi is at church, helping at the garage sale, somehow. No, she is not yet fully recovered, she has another month where she is supposed to baby the hip. She says she will return for supper.

So stay tuned.

Columbus OH

OK, as promised:

Lew went to surgery shortly after noon on the 26th, woke up a few hours later with an impressive registration amnesia. (He asked for it.) The urologist had snaked his scope up and around and photographed the stone (I am offering 8x10 glossies to all who want them), zapped it with the laser, snared the pieces down, and put a temporary stent in their place.

The surgery turned out to be more traumatic than expected: first of all, it did not end the crampy pain - that continued up untl the time Bobbi bought Lew some pyridium. Secondly, Lew's (unrelated) back pain continued. Thirdly, the opiate Lew received constipated him completely (also painful).

The stent is scheduled to come out on the 4th. This time we will expect the worst, so that anything less will be gravy.

Columbus OH

Even before Lew had time to post the last note, Bobbi was complaining of a progressive headache. She started vomiting and requested to go to the ER.

Lew took her. She was questioned, examined, bled, scanned, and medicated heavily before being released. Back at the house she fell in a deep sleep while Lew sent off the preceding post. She proceeded to sleep heavily until Saturday afternoon. On Friday while she slumbered she developed a pronounced facial rash; fortunately that cleared up by the next day, more or less at the same time she started to wake up.

So despite the best intentions, Bobbi and Lew both missed all the activities of the biggest church festival of the year. Maybe another time?

And Lew's kidney stone is still to be removed - scheduled for 10:45 am Tuesday. Stay tuned.

Columbus OH

Much against our wishes, more than six weeks have passed since the last update. Adverse events have concatenated to fill the time:

First, on 11 March the earthquake and tsunami not only devastated the north Pacific coast of Japan but precipitated a nuclear disaster unequaled since Chernobyl in 1986 - one which everyone thought never would be repeated - certainly not in Japan, one of the most disciplined and technologically advanced cultures in the world.

In 1986 it was months before the outside world even learned what had been happened at Chernobyl (and indeed, we still do not know the entire story). But in 2011 we have the internet. As soon as incomplete word of the earthquake reached the net, Lew Googled local Japanese sources for the details in the disaster. In short order he found a live video stream in English from Mie in central Japan which was broadcasting a continuous real time account of the disaster (tweets, Skype, and other electronic communications) 24/7. And in turn that led to discovery of another live stream in English from NHK, Japanese public TV. We watched in horror as the tsunami completely wiped out everything along the beaches of NE Japan - and then felt the horror compounded again and again as the Fukushima reactors blew up and melted down one by one. Lew had more than enough engineering and physics training to be able to predict what was coming at each step, even if the public authorities continued to minimize. The release of blistering amounts of radioactivity contaminating a wide area of both land and sea was entirely predictable, and all we could do was to watch. Needless to say, this took precedence over any relating of events in our dull lives - which don't look quite as bad now.

Simutaneous with this spectacular but slowly unfolding disaster, Bobbi and Lew were dealing with their own petty medical annoyances. Bobbi had begun to experience pain in her operated hip while Lew continued to have experience progressive pain from the damaged disk between his L4 and L5 lumbar vertebrae. On 31 March one of Lew's doctors injected steroids around the affected disk. With careful physical management, this seemed to produce some slow and imcomplete (but greatly appreciated) improvement.

Before these stresses had time to equilibrate and permit getting to other business, Lew woke up on the 12th with severe right lower quadrant pain. Fearing appendicitis, he made a trip to the ER. A CT scan revealed that his appendix and gut were fine, but he had a small stone in the pelvis of his L kidney. The next day Lew's urologist reviewed the same scan images and pointed out to Lew that he had a very obvious stone halfway down the R ureter. The urologist elected to wait and see, but a repeat scan on the 18th showed that the stone had not moved, so Lew will have to have a surgical procedure next week.

At the same time Bobbi was having her hip pain studied. Her orthopod took a plain film and discovered that she had avulsed the tip of the Greater Trochanter, so she too faces another 6 weeks of relative immobility.

We appreciate the concern that people have expressed about our silence, and we will try to keep eeryone better informed. But if the roller coaster continues at this rate, it certainly will reduce our ability to do so.

Until next time.

Columbus OH

Weather report:

This is Columbus. Weather here sucks. Spring 2 weeks ago was followed by freezing rain and snow followed by rain, more rain, and more rain. Then a day of sunshine followed by more rain and a little snow. Then repeat. (Today is a sun morning and semi-warm, this evening more rain is to blow in).

Health report:

Bobbi continues unremarkable progress, but still hurts, especially after AT. Recovery is sufficient to permit her to tilt with windmills again, but she is slacking on Al-anon etc.

Lew's back continues to worsen day by day, slowly and incrementally. Still not ready for the knife - there are multiple possibilities before that point is reached.

When we will get on the road again remains a (frustrating) mystery.

Techno Report:

Switching from Windows to Linux feels like driving a hot sports car with stick shift after years of driving a 1941 Chrysler with fluid-drive. There are more adjustments you can tinker with than you can wrap your mind around, more (free) accessories than you can see in a lifetime of dedicated looking. Lew is 8 years old (you knew that, didn't you) in a candy store. He finds something new every day - even new ways to manipulate old Windows files.

Columbus OH

Spring seems to have come suddenly to Columbus. It was down to 2 above one morning, but rebounded to nearly 70. Today another cold front came through, but it was all bluster and wind - certainly no hint of winter. The snow and ice melted overnight, exposing all the dog feces that had accumulated while the ground was covered with ice and snow, but Bobbi cleared half the yard this afternoon. Of course this simply stimulates Lew's urge to travel - he is ready and waiting.

Health report:

Bobbi continues progress with her recovery in general and physical therapy in particular. She has been driving now for a couple of weeks) goes where she pleases on her own. However, she still is unable to get down on the floor, and too much walking does initiate pain in her new hip. She gave up on opiates some time ago, except for occasional flareups. For someone who has had three orthopedic surgeries in 2 years, she probably is doing as well as anyone would have any right to expect. She is attending mass 3 times a week (twice in English, once in ASL) and is beginning to resume her role in church. Tonight she is at an Al-Anon meeting for the first time since her surgery - support which we both value.

Recently Lew's health has left more to be desired. Despite about 4 months of the very best PT, his back pain has worsened slowly - probably not surprising in light of his spinal MRI. But there are some ups as well. In the first place, he was clued in to try a recumbent tricycle. He rode for the first time in 6 years, and did so with marvelous results. Despite at least a half hour on the trike first time out, his back pain was relieved entirely for 24-36 hr. After the pain-free period the pain did flare up again, but has receded to some degree since. On the advice of his PT, Lew immediately ordered one - which should help temporize a bit longer.

Lew's depressed spirits did get a lift with a techno-fix. Sitting around, Lew decided he really needed to try out Linux, so he downloaded a flavor (Ubuntu) from the net and installed it on a thumb drive. There were the usual problems learning how to operate the new software, but by now (less than a week) it feels comfortable - so he is using it to type this note. What this means is that Europeans (including North America and Australia) no longer are captive to the monopolies (MicroSoft and Apple) but can set up their computers entirely with open-source programs. Since even brand new copies of the latest netbooks go for under $250 - and refurbished or used units for even less - it seems like we finally have entered the era when the residents of even the poorest first- and second-world countries can afford to own and operate a computer (of course, I'm not counting the backwoods of Africa and other such places, but it won't be long even for them). Of course that also means that no one anywhere will have any privacy, but that is another rant.

Enough for now. I've got to write one of my doctors.

Columbus OH

Enforced idleness has produced at least one benefit for Bobbi: she has been bitten by the genealogy bug.

Convinced that there must be something interesting in her past, Lew long had urged Bobbi to find something out about her origins. But as her various elders aged and died, she made no inquiries. Her mother even had a cousin that we visited a couple of times, and that cousin was deeply into their family history, but Bobbi never followed up, and all the genealogical material either went to the cousin's sister, or was lost. Her mother had a half-sister (still living) who knew their father, but again, no interest.

Last week, all of this changed. Lew had a long standing subscription to ancestry.com which he resorted to from time to time. So one day boredom prompted her to use that site to try and find something out about her paternal grandfather. Personal inquiries over the years had been completely unproductive - her grandmother, his wife, did not even know where he had been born.

She was able to locate his family almost immediately. And she found it relatively easy to follow the line backwards not only to colonial Virginia, but back into Scotland (no one ever had suspected a Scottish connection). Furthermore, the names were familiar. Checking, she learned that these familiar names belonged to significant historical figures: Stewarts, Douglases, Crichtons, Alexanders, Rosses, etc. It looks like her Bruce ancestors probably left Scotland as losers after the Battle of Culloden. The line currently traces back to the both the Viking chiefs (via the Orkneys) and the Irish chiefs, who trail off into the mists of legend.

Stay tuned for additions and corrections.

Columbus OH

The great blizzard of 2011 is over - at least for Columbus. Despite the ice, we did not lose power (though there were a few around us who did). We have come through intact - at least as intact as we were before the storm.

Columbus OH

My, how time flies when you are having fun. I am in the living room next to Bobbi's hospital bed. She is gossiping on the phone with a friend. We look out the picture window at the slowly falling little flakes of snow - pretty. But a whole month of it? But when I talked on the phone with a social worker I know and thought it was Saturday, I knew that this has gone on too long.

Bobbi has continued to progress as expected. She is permitted outdoors - but that is scant comfort when the snow on the ground precludes doing so. She also has been cleared for driving, and did her first yesterday.

Lew's situation is less predictable. His back had been getting worse week by week, and he was fearing he was getting close to mandatory surgery. Neverthless he continued with PT, and suddenly this week there has been some notable improvement. He was able to see patients in Dayton both of the last two Tuesdays, and the past four days his back pain has dropped off considerably. So maybe...

Lew also has found a company that makes a recumbent tricycle which supposedly is good for backs. But their sales room in Newark has been closed through January, so Lew hasn't gotten to see one in the flesh and try it out. But he is hoping that this will permit him to get back on the road once again - which he has needed for years.

So we remain in a sort of nebulous holding pattern......stay tuned.

Columbus OH

As everyone knows, a snow storm has brought the central and eastern US to a halt this week. Columbus is no exception - there is enough snow on the ground to make streets slippery, close schools, keep the elderly indoors. However, Columbus so far has escaped the heavier falls that blanketed north, south, and east of this city. So Bobbi sits in her hospital bed looking out the living room picture window at a pretty scene, but one with no living thing moving. And Lew sits on the floor next to her, waiting.

Columbus OH

A new year! What will it hold?

Not being fortunetellers, it would be futile to speculate. However, we could stand improvements in our health. Some improvement is pretty much a given for Bobbi, since all she has to do is be careful and compliant while she convalesces from her hip replacement. Lew is more up in the air - his back continues to deteriorate. Fortunately, he has an appointment tomorrow with one of his orthopods, and hopefully she will be able to come up with the next move.

While convalescing, Bobbi has picked up a new obsession: genealogy. She became curious about her maternal grandmother, who always has been a mystery and a dark cloud over her life. Since Lew had subscribed to ancestry.com, Bobbi tried to see what she could find out about her grandmother & family. Lo and behold, the internet paid off. She has traced most of her ancestors backwards from Letart Falls to Virginia, and is busily pushing her envelope backwards in time. Lew continued to help her mostly because his own family had run into dead ends - records in the eleventh century are so incomplete and conflicting that it becomes impossible to follow the line with any confidence at all.

On the other hand, Lew's principle activities have been attending church, bringing communion to Bobbi, and complaining that Columbus is not Tampa. And whether we ever make it to the grandchildren at all this winter depends on how quickly Bobbi heals, and whether or not (and when) Lew must have surgery. Whether we will see anyone in Texas is even more dubious.

So there it is. Life is uncertain, we are not promised tomorrow. But we will do the best we can, and pray that God's plans for us coincide to some degree with our own.