Sunday, April 26, 2009

Another Busy Weekend!

Just wanted to share some pictures from our weekend.
LeRoy and I had the honor of attending the Mrs. Idaho pagent in Boise. Our neighbor and friend Jill Knapp was a contestant. She looked beautiful and did a GREAT job. Out of 16 contestants she made the top 6! In the final round she took 5th runner up! We are so proud of all she has accomplished!



It was also a chance for LeRoy and I to get dressed up and have a "date night". LeRoy was able to wear the suite he purchased 15 years ago! He said it fits him better now that it did when he bought it! He tried on the suite that he wore just 4 months ago in Ireland and he could not keep the pants from falling off! I am so PROUD of all his hard work to loose weight and be healthier. To date he has lost 35 pounds!!!! He looks amazing and feels much better! Here are a couple of pictures of LeRoy and I all dressed up.



Stephanie also had a busy day Saturday. She was invited to attend the "American Cancer Society Appreciation Ball" by our family friend Jon Bowers. Jon is a survivor of a brain tumor that was dicovered 9 years ago when he was just 9 years old. Jon has been a camper at the "Camp Rainbow Gold", a canp for kids with cancer. This year he will be a Junior Counselor. Shephanie was very honored to attend and had a wonderful evening. Here are a few pictures of her all decked out! She is a beautiful young woman inside and out! We love you Stephanie!!!

Monday, April 20, 2009

Visit with Tara, Andrew and the kids

Tracie's sister Tara and her husband Andrew came down to Nampa to visit us with the kids, Malia, Jillian and Kyle the end of March for 3 full days! We had so much fun! It was great so see them.
We got the GoCart running and EVERYONE had to ride it. I am not sure who had more fun... the kids or the BIG kids! LOL

We also went to Given's Hot Springs for an afternoon. The water was great!

We had our good friends Rod and Doris and their son Alex over for dinner and had a campfire in the woodstove in the garage because it was rainy and windy outside. We even made SMORE's!

What a GREAT weekend!

Some of our recent projects

We have been busy in the garage again. Here are a couple of our latest projects.
We built a pot rack for above our center island in the kitchen. LeRoy and the kids bought me new pots and pans for my birthday and I wanted to show them off. Check it out!

The "BARN" in our pack yard! We are in the process of building a 12x16 shed in our back yard. We will add the shingles this weekend and paint in a couple of weeks.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

LeRoy is home!

Wednesday February 4, 2009

LeRoy had another good night of sleep. He was given the once over by Dr. Roan this morning and was given the "all clear" to come home. He was release about noon. We went and had a really good salad for lunch at Applebee's before coming home.

It is amazing how differently we look at food now. Looking over the menu you see all the things that you would normally have ordered and realize how unhealthy the choices we made were. We are all looking forward to being healthier and living a longer, more energetic lifestyle. LeRoy has already lost about 10 pounds. We will keep you up to date on his progress and the progress of the whole family.

We would like to say THANK YOU!! again to all of you for your love and support. Thank you for keeping us all in your prayers. God is Great!!!

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Angiogram was sucessful!

Tuesday February 3, 2009

LeRoy got a great nights sleep the Ambien they gave him worked like a charm!!!

LeRoy had his Angiogram today around 10:30 this morning. Dr. Roan said that his heart had some inflamation which was causing the plaque in his blood to push the stents closed a little bit. He was able to go in and open the stents further and added a second stent to the Artery on the back side of his heart that had been previously blocked 90%, so now LeRoy has 4 stents instead of 3. The Dr did alot of exploration to make sure that there were no other issues going on.

LeRoy rested quite a bit this afternoon and his vitals have changed quite a bit. His blood pressure and heart rate have come down even further than they had with the previous procedure. His vitals have not been this "normal" in many many years. Tonight before I left he said he feels like he has more energy than he has had in YEARS!!

LeRoy was taken off his IV around 10:00 pm and the Dr. said he should be home tomorrow!!

Our comedian LeRoy, continues to keep the nurses entertained and laughing. I have a feeling they will not soon forget him. Last night he asked his nurse for a bedtime story! LOL She said that was the first time she has ever had that request and offered him a VOGUE or Home and Garden Magazine! LOL We will always be greatful to the wonderful nurses that have taken such good care of him!

Thank you again to everyone for all your thoughts and prayers. They are much appreciated.

We love you all!!

Monday, February 2, 2009

A Little Set Back

Sunday February 1, 2009

LeRoy has been experiencing some chest pains over the coarse of the week, which the Dr. said would be "normal" for a little while given the trauma his heart has been through. We decided to go to a movie on Sunday afternoon rather than watch the "Super Bowl", can you believe that!! LOL While at the movie LeRoy started to have pains in his chest again only this time they did not go away after a few minutes like they usually do. We decided to go to the ER and not take any chances that something might be wrong.
Once at the hopsital, which was pretty busy, a few patients there due to "fights" over the game! LOL The nurse that brought us back to the exam room asked us what was going on and then realized who we were. She said, "you were here last week right?" We told her we had been there the week before only early in the morning. She immediately reconginzed LeRoy and said "YOUR THE GUY!!!! YOUR THE GUY WE SAVED LAST WEEK!!!"She was so excited to see LeRoy and introduced him to all her peers as.."the guy they saved". He was the talk of the ER! Turns out she was the nurse that had to pound his chest and start compressions on his chest and applied the Shock pads. She had to give us big hugs and tell us how happy she was that things turned out the way they did. She said she had wondered how he was doing since once patients leave the ER they don't ususally get to see them again due to privacy laws etc. It was so nice to get the chance to THANK her and a couple of the other staff that were there last Sunday!
Anyway, back to the update.... LeRoy continued to have pain in his chest... they took a chest Xray, did an EKG and drew bloodwork. After getting his enzyme levels back from his bloodwork the Cardiologist on staff decided to admit LeRoy for observation overnight, his enzyme levels were a little elevated and they did not know if it was residual from the heart attack or if it was new stress to the heart. The pains could be caused due to inflamation around the heart or fluid around the heart which are common after heart trauma. There is no point in taking chances so LeRoy was admitted to ICU where he spent the night.

Monday February 2, 2009

LeRoy had a long and sleepless night. His IV machine kept beeping all night and he kept getting woken up by the nurses for blood pressure and blood draws. He was tired when I got to the hospital about 8 am and still having pain in his chest, although not as painful as it had been Sunday evening. They did not give him breakfast because they where not sure if the Dr was going to do and Angiogram to check the stents etc. It was finally around 11:00 when the Cardiologist came in. Poor guy was pretty hungry!!
The Dr ordered an EKG and Echocardiogram (Ultrasound) to see if they would give any indications as to what is causing the pain in LeRoy's chest. His enzyme level was still a little elevated so the Cardiologist decieded to do a "stress test". Depending on the result of that test he would decided if he wanted to to another Angiogram to have a closer look at the stents and check for any other blockages. Just as LeRoy got his breakfast tray they came to take him for the stress test so he never got to eat, this was about 12:15! The stress test came back with results that were "hard to decipher" as the Dr put it. LeRoy's heart rate was higher than it should be after the test and as a precaution the Dr has decided to do the Angiogram tomorrow. They did not give us a time for the procedure, They will "work him in " as early as possible in the morning.
LeRoy was finally given a lunch tray about 1:30, he was sure happy to see some food!!!
LeRoy spent most of the day just "hanging around". The kids spent the afternoon with Dad watching cartoons! LOL He did get a good nap in for an hour or two this afternoon. He had a nice dinner and watched a little TV and visted with his Mom and myself. Hopefully he will be able to sleep in his own bed tomorrow night!

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

First full day at home

Wednesday January 28, 2009

Today was LeRoy's first full day at home. He spent the day relaxing in the recliner and napping off and on. This relaxing business is harder than it sounds. LeRoy would love to be up doing something!!!

We scheduled his follow-up with the Cardiologist for the 13th of February. He will also start his Cardio Rehab next Monday. He will be a busy guy for a while.

I will be returning to work tomorrow, on a "see-how-it goes" basis. I am still battling the cold and a little tired from the emotional roller-coaster this past few days has been.

I thank God each day to have the man I love still with me. He is a wonderful man and an amazing father. I could not imagine life on this earth without him!!

Thank you all again for your prayers and support.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

LeRoy is Home

Tuesday January 27, 2009

LEROY IS HOME!!!!!
The Dr. released LeRoy today around 12:30pm. He has been resting all afternoon.
He is having a little pain in his chest and at the incision sight which we are told is possible for a while. I guess you have to consider the fact that he was beaten on the chest and shocked with electricity to get his heart beating. We are just greatful that he is ALIVE!!!

We would like to send a huge THANK YOU to all of our neighbors who have been preparing meals and for their support. I guess we all get so wrapped up in our lives that we tend to take the people around you for granted. We feel so fortunate to live in such a great neighborhood that supports thier fellow neighbor. We could not do this without you!

THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!

Monday, January 26, 2009

Miracles do exist!! We have experienced one!

Sunday January 25,2009
After returning home arond 2:00 am from a very fun night of UNO with our friends, LeRoy was experiencing some chest pains. After trying to treat it like Heartburn and not having much success we took him to the ER at Mercy Medical Center around 4:30 am. After blood tests and EKG came back negative for heart problems they began treating for Heartburn/Angina. He continued to have chest pain as well as pain in his left arm. While the X-ray technician was in the room to do his chest X-ray arount 6:25 am, LeRoy lost contiousness and stopped breathing. They began CPR and has to shock his heart back into rhythm and bring him back to life. With-in a half hour they had him to the CATH lab to do and angiogram. They found that 2 of LeRoy's 4 Arteries were blocked. One was 90% blocked and the other was 100% blocked!!! They repaired the blockages with a total of 3 stents, one in the artery that was 90% blocked and 2 stents in the Artery that was 100% blocked. He was in and out of surgery in an hour!!!

LeRoy spent the majority of the day getting some well deserved rest. He was taken off his oxygen and IV around dinner time. I stayed at the hospital with him last night and he slept all night with the exception of the nurse coming in about 4:30 am to take his vitals and draw bloodwork.

The Dr.'s have said we are very fortunate that we were at the hospital when he had his heart failure. LeRoy is also fortunate to have 4 Arteries, some people are born with 2, some with 3 and few are born with 4. If he did not have 4 Arteries his heart failure would have been fatal.

We are so fortunate to have been given a "second chance". We have been given a "MIRACLE". Life is too short to take it for granted. We will live each moment to the fullest and appreciate every day we have.

We are so greatful for family and friends. We have seen an outpouring of support and prayer. We appreciate you all!

Monday January 26, 2009

LeRoy had an ultrasound of his heart this morning. The Cardiologist said it shows very little to no damage to his heart! They are going to change a couple of his current medications to treat his Cholesetral, Triglycerides and Blood Pressure and add a blood thinner because of the stents. He will start Cardio-Rehab on an outpatient basis after he is realeased from the hospital. They will educate us about nutrition and excersize that is appropriate for heart disease.

LeRoy has been up out of bed for short periods of time and the Dr said he would have him up to walk around sometime this afternoon.

The Dr. will run a few tests in the morning and should be able to go home sometime Tuesday if all goes well.

I will update again tomorrow and let you know how LeRoy is doing.