Larry Sells His Truck to a New Zealander--An Amazing Story!

Larry decided he didn't need his 2002 Dodge Ram truck anymore, so he put it up for sale in October, when he bought a new Malibu. Finally, in December, when John was in town, he helped us set up an ad on Craig's List. We got a few calls---but just a few. Then last week, when Larry was still in the hospital, I had come home and the phone rang about 8:00 PM. With a very strange accent, the caller said, "Hello, I'm calling about your ad on Craig's List for the Dodge Ram truck! I'm calling from New Zealand! Do you know where that is? It's south of Australia!"

I answered, "Yes, I know where that is." He went on, "I'm planning to be in Texas for about three months. I should arrive next Tuesday, and I need a truck to drive during that time. When I leave, I may sell it or I may ship it back to New Zealand! I'm going to be staying in Pleees-on-tone." I said, "Pleasanton?" He said, "Yes. Is your truck in good condition?" I told him it had never had any fast food eaten in it, and that whenever it rained, my husband came home and wiped it down. It had only one tiny little ding on one side of the door. Yes, it was in excellent condition. He said he'd give us a call when he got to town and that he had cash to pay for it and would like to see it. Tuesday morning, about 8:00, the phone rang, and I said, "Hello?" The person said, "Hello, this is Michael, from New Zealand! I'm in LA and I'm going to be in San Antonio about noon. I want to see your truck and I'll call you when I arrive at the airport. Can you pick me up at the airport?" I explained that my husband had just had open heart surgery, and no, I wouldn't be able to pick him up and he said, "That's no problem, I'll catch a cab to your house." When he arrived, he called and I gave him our address. Within about 30 minutes, he arrived! He paid the cab driver, took his shoes off (New Zealand custom), and left them at the door. In he walked with a bottle of wine and a box of chocolates from New Zealand! He drove the truck around the neighborhood with Larry, and loved it! We visited with him for about two hours (!) and he was interesting and likable. We finally hinted, again, that Larry had recently had major heart surgery, and needed to take a nap, and he gave us his business card and said good-bye. He gave Larry a large stack of $100 bills, and drove off into the sunset with the truck!!

The Mutton Bustin' Cowboy, Marshall!

I just love this picture of Marshall, his shirt tucked in crooked, his belt buckle askance! The smile on his face says it all! He was a cowboy waiting to get on a sheep. All he had to do was hold on for six seconds!

Thanks to Betsy and Tom Stolhandske for the wonderful box seats! The rodeo was spectacular!

Here's a picture of Marshall standing with his dad listening to the rules of the event! He's #6!

It's too late to back out now!

It's finally his turn! He was the last one!

Here he is, holding on for dear life!

Here they are getting their trophies!

It's almost as big as he is!!! That's his teacher next to him. They gave her tickets to the rodeo too!

What a great job, Marshall. He came in second place! We are proud of you, Cowboy!

Larry Gets a New, Improved, Super-Duper Heart, Just in Time for Valentine's Day!

When Larry had a heart catherization on Jan. 27, we both thought he might need a stent or two. We were shocked when the doctor came out and told us he had some serious blockages and was a candidate for a quadruple bypass operation! The 90% blockage was in the LAD artery, AKA, the "Widow Maker."  He spent one night in the hospital and then came home for five days before checking in to North East Baptist Hospital for surgery on Feb. 3.

This is not a very good picture, but it was taken just before he was wheeled into surgery when Dr. David Cohen was asking, "Do you have any questions?" Then they talked Super Bowl for a couple of minutes, and he was off to the OR.

Here are just a few of the monitors he was hooked up to for several days. There were more on the other side of the bed.

This screen showed his heart rate (top), blood pressure and oxygen levels which were both turned off at the time. A couple of times, his heart went into atrial fibrilation and sky-rocketed to 184 beats per minute. Medication seems to have that under control now.

When he asked for the newspaper crossword puzzle a few days after he got into a private room, I knew he was on his way to recovery!

Highlights of his nine-day stay were visits from grandchildren. This is a poster made by Macy and Marshall.

And this is a precious card Hayden made at school and had all his classmates sign. There are more on the back!

Here is the sweetest nurse's aide in the entire world, Estela. She is the happiest person I ever met. She helped Larry with his first shower and pampered him every day.

He also had wonderful nurses in the ICU, Gloria and Victor. In the CVU room, he had Nancy, Sue, Lillian, and David. There were also some precious student nurses from Galen College of Nursing.

One afternoon, these student nurses came in to take vitals and Larry said, "Do you want to see my scar?" They said, "Yes!" They had lots of questions. Later this day, they helped administer a unit of blood to him. He had wonderful doctors and nurses. After nine nights in the hospital, he finally was cleared to go home.

Here he is waiting to go home. The doctor usually made his rounds about 11:00 AM....

So, we waited, and waited...and finally about 2:00, he strolled in!!! By the time the nurse filled out all the paper work, it was 4:45 before we headed for home on this cold, rainy day! Yea, finally, we'll get some good sleep with no interruptions!

Here is the beautiful prayer quilt that was made for Larry by the UUMC Prayer Quilt Ministry, and was waiting for him when he got home. Each knot represents a prayer for him by my bible study class.

This is sewn into the corner on the back of the quilt.

Never ever underestimate the power of a card. Larry and I have both read and re-read all of the cards many, many times. Knowing he was thought of and prayed for made Larry feel better each day!

The cross on the wall in Larry's room--a constant reminder of just who was really in charge.

Macy Gets a Pink Cast!

Macy got a little too rambunctious on a trampolene at a birthday party a few days ago, and this is the result! A little fracture or sprain in one of the tiny bones on top of the foot. The doctor said she'd need to keep her foot elevated for a couple of weeks or get a cast. That was an easy decision! She has to wear it for just a couple of weeks.