We Done Good

Dear John,

 

I've had a busy day. It was mid-70s and cloudy, so I mowed and trimmed. Then I figured that I might as well keep going since I was already about as dirty and sweaty and I could be, and I trimmed the bushes in front of the house. I had to cut them down to half the size they were. I really don't like those bushes. I may pull them out later this summer, when it's a better time to plant something else there. Any suggestions?

 

Right after I got out of the shower, Jethro came down the hall barking and making it clear that he needed to show me something. I looked out, and there was DeWayne loading the bush detritus into his cart, bless him! I was going to leave them until tomorrow. I have such wonderful neighbors! Oh, and I introduced myself to the new dog across the street. I haven't met the humans yet - Jim and Brenda's grandson moved in with his wife and children. But I made friends with their husky.

 

I was thinking while I mowed today, and realized that we managed something remarkable in your last year. Your heart failure progressed from Stage III to Stage IV, and we managed it quite well. If you'd been in CCU you'd never have gotten out, because they wouldn't have been able to manage it without the Swan-Gantz catheter. But using symptoms alone - no invasive lines or chest X-rays - we kept you out of the hospital, upright, and even working. And in all of your hospitalizations, we made most of the diuretic decisions. You may not realize how remarkable that it, but trust the CCU nurse on this one. It's amazing.

 

And you're amazing. You learned to read your own symptoms. And you trusted me, which means more that I can ever say. We kept it under control until that last bit of your AV conduction system went. The team at Methodist were amazed at how good you looked and how bad your cath looked. Your attitude and determination did that.

 

So cheers to you! and to us! We done good. And bless Dr. Suh, who let us have the Bumex to do it with! It was a good run, and amazingly long. And I loved every minute I had with you.

 

Love you still, and always,

Joan.