Ian...this past spring....out at Weston Bend State Park

Greetings,

I believe this have been the longest stretch of NOT sending "Points To Ponder" since I began in 1998...The dry spell started when we headed out of town to Columbia, MO on 11/17 where I had the privilege of performing a wedding for the son of one of our "Train Friends" (this was the first wedding I have ever officiated at). We got back from the wedding on Sunday morning and immediately repacked and Vicki took me to the hostpital for a TKR (Total Knee Replacement - right knee). I had to be there two days early so they could do a quick drop on my blood thinners etc. as anything I do health wise is made exceedingly complicated by my Lupus (SLE). Surgery was on 11/21 and thanks to a new nerve block procedure I was 97% pain free for 24 hours afterwards..PTL However, I can assure you that the knee is now fully awake! For me surgery causes another great discomfort in that ALL my plumbing shuts TOTALLY down...UGH :O( But I will spare you the details on that :O).

So I spent Thanksgiving in the hospital and came home on 11/24 where Vicki and the visiting nurses will keep tabs on me and my blood thinners for a couple of weeks. The doc says it may be eight weeks before I can drive...WOW! My son brought me over an air card for my laptop so I can now do e-mail etc. while laying in bed.

Adding to difficulty of this past week was the fact that we had to have our 13 year old Black Lab, "Ian" put to sleep yesterday because of serious ongoing health issues. :O(

Thanks to the all of you who have been praying for my recovery etc....I had eleventeen hundred e-mails in my inbox when I opened it up!