Tree Trouble!

Our favorite tree that provided lots of shade or A/C split during a storm and gently laid to rest on our deck! That created a huge problem for relief from the hot sun during the heat of the day.

New Covered Deck

Since the tree split, we felt we needed to do something to help shade the house and give Scott a nice place to hang out in the heat of the summer! We are lovin' it! We put a red metal roof on it and the sound when it rains is amazing!

WE HAVE A DATE!!!!!

We finally have a date for Scott to go into the Cleveland Clinic for a trial of the intrathecal pump, that hopefully will give him LOTS of pain relief! August 25th, Scott and I will be going to the Clinic for 3-5 days. This will be a trial to see if it looks like the pump will be a good option for him. Please pray that this works. The past days with extreme heat and humidity have been a huge challenge for him. Along with the pain, he has had a lot of swelling....but I think we all feel rather swollen right now from the difficult weather we have been having. We don't have air conditioning, so we have been hanging out on our newly roofed deck a lot with fans blowing! Feel free to invite us in for a meal if you have air! :) We try to cook but have been hitting restaurants a lot lately. Just a nice break from the heat!

WAITING....

Waiting has to be one of the hardest things to endure....waiting for the ice cream truck, waiting for Christmas, waiting for your birthday, waiting for a new baby to be born, waiting for a test score....you get the point. Well right now, it seems like all we do is wait! That goes for my family as well as for my Mom! Her surgery was scheduled for July 1st. We thought that day would never get here....and then came the phone call....your surgery has been moved to Sept. 7th!!!! What???? The Dr. has to go out of town for 10 days, so that somehow moved her back a LOT longer than 10 days. I have called her Dr. and we are WAITING to see if they will move her up even a couple weeks. At the Beck household, we are WAITING while the new Dr. learns to know us and will discuss implanting an intrathecal pump in Scott to deliver pain meds all the time to him. At this point, the waiting is getting rather old!

WHY......

Do you ever wonder why......some people have to suffer so much.....the best pets can't last forever.....the ways of God are such a mystery to us.....some people seem to be so ugly to others, yet nothing bad happens to them? I could go on and on right now, as my heart is heavy. My hubby is hurting soooo badly that it just seems no matter how hard we try, we just can't find the answers. The Dr.'s keep trying, but his spirits are tough to keep up when the pain is so bad. I have an uncle who is also suffering soooo much right now. It just doesn't seem fair! My Mom is struggling with pain and waiting for surgery, our neighbor just had surgery for lump on his head and another good friend is awaiting surgery on Tuesday while her daughter is having her graduation party on Saturday! Some days I'd like to scream, but other days I just dig in and try to keep everyone's spirits up, even when mine would love to take a nose dive. I just have to hold on to my faith and know His ways are not ours, but it sure is hard some days!

DID YOU EVER?????

Watching the news lately has really been a challenge. I hate the fact that all they share are the shootings, murders, rapes, sad, and depressing stories. I realize these are the headline grabbers, but what about those news stories that are just plain funny! When we go to Cleveland we listen to the radio and one of my favorite parts is when they talk about "News we didn't use"! It's stories that were "humorous, odd, heart-warming" that just didn't make the "shock value" that our news folk seem to deem necessary. One headliner that has really gotten me upset the past couple days is the parking attendant who was shot 3 times because he wouldn't let some guy (who wasn't handicapped) park in a handicapped spot! Did you ever park in one 'cause it would only take a minute or 2? Did you ever need one (as we always do) and couldn't find one???? That is one of my biggest pet peeves! I do NOT use the spaces when my hubby is not leaving the vehicle or is not along. At times he is able to walk, but we still park in handicap, because he is at risk of falling. Do you have any clue how many times we've had people cuss at us or flip us the "bird" because it wasn't obvious to them that he had a handicap? Don't judge others, but please don't park where you don't belong....not even just for a few minutes!
So keep your ears open for the "good news" and try not to let the bad junk get you down. There is always good in our world, we just have to look to find it at times. So for now I leave you, I am on a mission to get the good people of Cleveland to help the poor homeless man that I take food to whenever we go to Cleveland. Surely someone could help this guy. He looks pleasant and always says "thank you and God bless you" when I give him a bag of food. There is a story that I think could have a very happy ending!

ADVENTURES IN CLEVELAND

Yesterday was D day, the day I was supposed to call the Pain Management Dr.'s office to see how soon we could get Scott in for another RFA treatment. The Dr. had been out of town and was to return yesterday, so when I called the secretary tells me...he was stuck in the New Jersey airport overnight! Just got in to Cleveland this morning, has been behind all day, but said to put Scott on the schedule ASAP. When she checked, she asked if today would suit!!!!????? Today???? Of course! I was shocked! Worked this morning for a couple hours, then ran to Hershey's bakery for 2 dozen fry pies to butter up the nurses (oh yeah, I baked brownies last night for the awesome secretary) then headed up the highway! Procedure went well, pain is greatly reduced...still having some, but that may be due to the wicked weather in the area....time will tell.
Next we headed to Aultman to visit my uncle! He was doing a LOT better today and we had a great visit. I had put Scott in a wheelchair, just to be on the safe side. When we left, 2 nice gentlemen held the elevator doors open for us. As we got in, I smelled something kind of funny? When we left and started down the hall, I asked Scott, did you cause that smell????? He said, NO, I wondered which one did it! :) So if you are nice enough to hold open an elevator door for someone.....please keep your smells to yourself...I'm just sayin'!
On one last note, please keep my mother in your prayers...she will be having back surgery on July 1st.