Christmas In Texas

My Brother Wayne and All Of His Family

This will be the first time in a long, long time that I've been able to celebrate Christmas with my brother Wayne and his family. Jerry and I were looking forward to it. Even though our children will miss us at Christmas time they are glad we have this opportunity.

Wayne, Gerry Beth, Jerry and the family
Wayne and I With His Family

My Sister In Law Myrte and Her Family

We really had a good time being with Wayne, Myrte and their family during Christmas. My niece Gerry Beth fixed a real good dinner and we spent the day talking about old times and getting to know the new relatives. It was truly an enjoyable Christmas. We would like to do it again soon while we're all still here.

These pictures were not taken during Christmas but I thought they would be appropriate here.

Wayne, Myrte and I

Wayne, Myrte and Jerry

Wayne, Myrte and Gerry Beth's Husband Jim

Gerry Beth, Myrte and Jerry

Gerry Beth, Myrte, Wayne and I

Tarpley, Texas

On December 14 we arrived at Caribbean Cowboy RV Resort in Tarpley Texas. The park is small but it's real nice and quiet. They have a lot of activities here to keep you occupied and the owners are real nice and friendly. It's not too far from Kerrville, Fredericksburg or San Antonio either.

The Texas Hill Country is really beautiful even in the winter time. The weather here is very mild and not at all cold like it is back in Montgomery.

Bandera Texas, The Cowboy Capital Of The World is only ten miles from us. It's a small town of 975 but they have a lot of interesting things to see and do there. On the Court House Square they had a Cowboy Nativity Scene there.

Since Bandera is the Cowboy Capital Of The World what would you expect for Christmas?

End Of Holiday Season

We had a very enjoyable Thanksgiving with our children, grand children and great grand children and their families. As usual we ate too much but then that only happens once a year.

We had Christmas with our daughters and families here in Montgomery and we really had a good time.We had a wonderful dinner at Billie's home and the food was out of this world.

On December 11th we had Christmas at Karen's home in Meridian MS. We had our two grand daughters and their families there too. Again we had a wonderful dinner at Karen's and a big Christmas tree with all the kids and great grand kids too.

We had to move up our Christmas with our family here because we have Christmas plans with my brother in San Antonio Texas. We'll leave here in a day or two and head back to Texas.

Our children don't really like the idea that we're not going to be here for a long time but they have learned to get use to it after several years of our being on the road so much.

New Knee Check Up

We had a follow up appointment with Dr McGrory to see how well Jerry's new knee was doing. He had her bend her knee and he was very well pleased at the range of motion. He told her to continue doing some therapy and he would see her next October.

She can now walk through a WalMart of Mall with no problems and that's something she has not been able to do for several years. Of course now that she can do that it means that she'll want to go there more and it'll cost be money. Oh well I guess it's worth it.

Our children and friends cannot believe that it's been just a little over a month since Jerry had total knee replacement. She can walk with out the use of a cane or a walker and there is no limp in her walk.

Now that she's doing so well we will be here till after the holiday season and then head back to the Texas Hill Country to spend the rest of the winter. We really like it there and can't wait to get back there.

New Bass Pro Shop

A new Bass Pro Shop has opened in Prattvile which is just about 20 miles from us. We went with our daughter Billie to see what this store was all about. She said they had over one million dollars of stuffed animals of all types.

We were informed that each Bass Pro Shop is different and that no two are alike. They spend a lot of money building and fitting these stores. Also Bass Pro Shops allow RVers to spend the night in their parking lots.

Going Home

When I got to the hospital, the medical Doctor had already made his rounds and had discharged Jerry. He said she was doing just fine and he didn't even prescribe any medication or any other things she had to do.

The nursing staff was very helpful getting all of Jerry's personal effects and the two new gadgets she had to use at home ready to travel. By the time I brought the car around they were at the entrance with Jerry and everything she had. We can say enough about how nice the staff were at this hospital. We would 100% recommend this to anyone who needs orthopedic care.

When we got back to the RV Jerry was able to navigate the three steps into it with no problems at all. She still has a little soreness with it but that's to be expected for a while.

I stopped at the FAMCAMP office to check out and all the manager charged me for was one extra day. He didn't charge anything for today even though it was past the check out time. They were real nice and we'd go back and stay again.

I had called Mick at the RV Park in Montgomery and told him we were on our way back and he said he would have a real good site for me. When we got there he had us parked on the end of the row so that we had a lot larger space and it would be easier for Jerry to get into and out of. He is a real nice man and we really enjoy staying there when we come home.

Jerry starts her therapy tomorrow and will go three times per week for about six weeks. We go back to see Dr McGrory on October 15th for a check up .

Good News and Bad News

When I got to the hospital Jerry was really in high spirits, Dr. McGrory had been in and said she was doing so well he was going to discharge her this afternoon. He had made arrangements for her to have therapy back home starting Monday and go three times a week for six weeks. Good News.

Bad News, the medical Doctor came in and said the fluid around her heart was not totally gone and he was not going to discharge her till it was. I told him we were covered under Medicare and Tricare For Life and they had a time limit on hospital stays. He said, "don't worry about Medicare, we'll take care of them". He said if all went well he would let her come home on Monday. He'll be checking in on her every day till then. These Doctors here are very thorough and they do their best to care for their patients. He said he and Dr McGrory would take care of the therapy schedule and for us not to worry about anything.

Oh well she could be in a worse place, when the nurses learned that Jerry would be for a few more days they assured her they would take special care of her.

We had thought we were going to be able to go home today and my time at Fort Benning FAMCAMP is up today. I had to go back and let them know I was going to have to say till at least Monday and ask for an extension. The manager was real nice about it and gave me a week extension and said when I knew for sure when I would be leaving, we'd take care of everything then. Don't worry about it he said.

Jerry's New Knee

When I got to the hospital this morning, Jerry was setting on the side of her bed and didn't look as though she had undergone surgery yesterday. She still had on a hospital gown but she did have a smile on her face.

I ask her how things went last night and she said they went real well. She did not have any pain from the surgery and the nurses were in there every little bit checking on her and if she ask for something they made sure she got it.

About 9:00 AM the crew from PT came to get her for her first trip to therapy, she'll have PT at least twice a day while she is here. In addition they have two devices they will use on her knee, one will manually exercises the knee to increase range of motion, the other is a cold device that helps control any swelling. During the day the nurses come in and put one of them on and then remove it about an hour later.

Dr McGrory came in after lunch to see how well she was doing. He checked her range of motion and was really happy with how much she had so early after surgery. There is a regular MD assigned to check her general medical condition. He has found some fluid around her heart and he has prescribed medication to take care of that. All the Doctors and nurses are very very nice and go out of their way to make sure the patients are being properly cared for.

About an hour or so after lunch, the dietitian came in to see how Jerry liked the food and ask if there was anything they could get for her. She told Jerry that if she wanted anything that was not on the menu to let them know and if they could get it, she'd get it. You don't find this type treatment in most hospitals.

As a rule hospitals are not the best place to be when you don't feel well, but this hospital is totally unlike any other hospital we've been associated with. They can't seem to do enough for you and if a family member is visiting, they ask if they can bring them something as well.

Time For Surgery

We arrived at the Hughston Hospital early in the morning and the pre-op staff went out of their way to make sure Jerry was carefully taken care of. They had to put in an IV in and Jerry told them that she had shallow veins, they had her wait till they could get an IV Nurse there to do the job. She did it with no pain at all.

The Anesthesiologist came in and very carefully explained how he was going to take care of Jerry's operation and that he would be available after she got back to recovery room to make sure she was doing alright.

A little later Dr.McGrory came in and very carefully explained how he was going to perform the replacement procedure. He said that they used a computer to make sure the knee was properly and correctly aligned so that she wouldn't have any post-op problems. He was real nice and we have complete confidence in him.

When they took Jerry to the operating room, a nurse took me to a real nice lounge and also to Jerry's room where I could wait for surgery to be completed. She said the Doctor would call after surgery and brief me on the results. The surgery took about two hours and as soon as it was over Dr Mc Grory called me and we talked about thirty minutes about what had been done and how Jerry was doing. Later that afternoon he came by to see her an make sure she was doing well. He said that he decided he didn't want her to have any pain for several hours so he had the Anesthesiologist give her some pain medication right into the knee.

This hospital is unbelievable, there are 100 rooms and each one is a private room. There are also six rooms that can be converted into suites. This hospital is one used to perform surgery on professional athletes. Patient care is their number one priority and they really go out of their way to make the patient and family feel at ease and if they want anything they get it.

Stock Up Time

Since Jerry is going to be in the hospital for several days we made a trip to the Commissary to get me a few supplies. I'm not much of an indoor cook so we got simple things I could fix without too much trouble.

I had previously commented on how quiet it is here but I was a little wrong. We're in the flight path for the base and once in a while the big troop transports come in from their mission of dropping the Rangers at the parachute ranges. They are real low when they cross over us. Thank goodness they don't fly at night or leave real early in the morning.

We're going to sit outside tonight and watch our visitors when they come to feed. One of the RVers next to us feed them some corn. I believe I'll show another picture or two
I didn't realize how big Fort Benning is, but from the FAMCAMP to the Commissary is 14 miles one way. You wouldn't want to go there every day.

We're going to sit outside tonight and watch our visitors come to feed. One of the RVers next door puts corn out for them. I believe I'll include a picture or two of them.

Jerry Get's A New Knee

Jerry has been having a lot of problems with her left knee. Our Doctor in Montgomery decided she needed to have a total knee replacement. They arranged to get her an appointment at the famous Hughston Sports Hospital in Columbus, GA. We had an appoitment with Doctor James McGrory who specializes in total knee and hip replacement. He conducted a thorough examination and determined that total knee replacement was in fact necessary. We had done a thorough check of him and because of the way he conducted himself we had full confidence in him.

We scheduled surgery for September 20 and he said Jerry should be in the hospital for about four days.

We decided to bring the motor home to Fort Benning and stay in Uchee Creek Campground. The park is real nice, the sites are large, level and it's real quiet there. It's about 20 miles from there to the hospital in Columbus. We got checked in, set up and I was prepared to be there for about a week while Jerry has her surgery. This evening we had a lot of new neighbors visit us.

We've been told that these deer come here each evening and that they are not really afraid of humans.

50Th Anniversary Page Three

We had most of our children and their families with us and several of our friends and everyone had a good time. I don't know who told our friends about gifts but all of them gave us some type of gift cards. We're really glad cause it would be hard to find a place for a big gift.

The Minister And His Wife

A Few Of Our Friends

When we got back home we had a little clean up to do before going to bed. The daughters had somehow gotten in the motor home and had covered the bed with flower blossoms made from paper.

50Th Anniversary Page Two

We decided to renew our vows so our daughter Billie arranged to have her minister present. A lot of our family were present for this important occasion. I gave Jerry a large diamond ring to show that I still loved her.

The Minister

Saying Our "Do's"

Jerry's New Ring

It's Cake Time

Time For A Sip Of Wine