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IT'S FRIDAY, MY FAVORITE DAY!!

I have been in West Linn all this week as Lara had her reconstruction surgery last Friday. I took her to the hospital at six a.m. and the doctor started the operation at eight a.m. Fourteen hours later, the surgery was successfully completed and the doctor was very pleased with the outcome. Lara was supposed to spend a week in the hospital but by Tuesday she was doing so well, they let her come home. She has been a little tired but has been taking it one day at a time and I am here to help her with whatever she needs. It has been a long and sometimes difficult six months since her diagnosis, but the combination of her great attitude and the support she has received from all of you has brought her to this point. She still has a ways to go, but the light at the end of the tunnel is getting very bright. My thanks to all of you for your prayers and cares. It all helped.

I had my share of doctors also. I woke up Saturday morning and my left lower leg and ankle were swollen. I thought for sure I had been bitten by something during the night. It was so sore I could hardly walk on my foot! Anyway, I was concerned so Dave took me over to an Urgent Care facility close to West Linn and the doctor told me he thought I had an infection and gave me an antibiotic to take. He talked in doctor terms and I had no idea when I left his office what I had and why? He had taken a Sharpie and drew a line around the red infection and told me that if the redness goes any higher on my leg to go to the emergency room. Well, the next morning, I felt worse and my leg was throbbing from the pain so Dave took me to Emergency at Meridian Park Hospital where I found out I had Cellulitis caused by a normal skin bacteria. The doctor gave me an IV for the infection to get jump started in the blood stream, another antibiotic and to stay off it for a couple of days. The doctor didn't want to take any chances of me getting worse or contacting MERSA. I am glad I decided to go to the Emergency Room as I like the treatment better. What an ordeal. But by Tuesday the swelling and redness had subsided but I still have to take the antibiotics until they are all gone.

Saturday night Dave and I were invited to a retirement party for one of the guys I used to work for at Tektronix. The party was held near us here in West Linn and about 25 people were there. Bill Bucher has worked at Tek for 38 years and had decided to retire, so the old gang got together to give him a good sendoff. It was a fun affair and it was so nice to see my old colleagues and get caught up on their lives.

The granddaughters were in school until Thursday so I have been picking them up from school and daycare and whatever activities that they needed to be transported to. I brought my artificial tree from home that I always decorate for the kitchen so the girls helped me decorate it this week. I also brought my "Rock'n" Santa Claus and they have been having a ball dancing along with Santa. They have reminded me that there are only five more days before Christmas! They are so excited and can hardly wait. Oh to be a young child this time of year!

Dave drove back to the coast on Tuesday having to drive through the Coast Range and snow. He had to pick up the mail and pay a few bills. He had a City Council meeting he had to attend on Tuesday night and also spent a couple of days getting some projects done. Unfortunately, I had emptied most of the cupboards before I left so there wasn't a lot of food in the house. He managed to find something to eat and probably went out to eat a few times. He came back to West Linn on Thursday after working a Blazer broadcast. We will both be sticking around here until after Christmas and then I hope I can take off and go home for a couple of days to regroup. We will see how Lara is doing by that time.

I wanted to express to everyone a Very Merry Christmas and a Healthy Happy New Year!!!