April 4 Terry's Birthday

Friday:  We celebrated Terry's birthday over at The Score this evening. We spent most of the day, otherwise, packing boxes and getting things organized for the big move next week. 

Terry had a rough 75th year physically. Although happy to be living in Grand Rapids, his health continued to be a challenge: painful knees (bone-on-bone in X-ray evaluation), high blood pressure issues, as well as very low iron (blood count). All of his family, including me, encouraged him to get his knees taken care of--afterall, if it were easier for him to get around, perhaps he could spend a less painful time being out and about, making life a little more interesting and fun for he and Ruthanne.

I highly recommended the orthopedic surgeons I used to transcribe for, and after a very lengthy pre-surgical round of tests and docs, he was finally scheduled for left total knee replacement (or was it his right knee?) which did happen last mid-October. The surgeon did an excellent job aligning all of the components in Terry's "new" knee, but the procedure itself was pretty tough on him post-operatively. He had to be re-admitted for several days just to get his body under control once again--much shaking, some cognitive/confusion issues, as well as depression. All of this occurring with Ruthanne needing much reassurance, and suffering severe confusion.

Terry finally recovered--but this was a scary time for Shelley and Shari, as well as his other loved ones. I felt pretty helpless a lot of the time. This is one of the biggest reasons they decided to move to Georgia to be with Shari and Mark and their grandkids.

But ... back to Terry's birthday. We enjoyed a nice meal at The Score. David had flown in the night before, so he was able to be with us too. I didn't take pictures of us while we were at dinner; in fact, I hardly took any pictures at all during the move! There was too much else to do!

Here is the card that I made for Terry:

These photographs were taken on our 4-day vacation last fall with David and Carol. All five of us traveled up north a bit to see the sights. I remember standing on this bluff next to Terry and him telling me that the little barn and land around it was his favorite sight. I took many pictures, using my zoom, to try to capture this farm--I loved it too. 

These two quotes are so appropriate for ... beauty on the earth. I've often thought of Lake Michigan and its shoreline as being "Paradise" because it is so breathtaking to me ... and how I long for the peace that being at the lakeshore brings to me. But Jesus IS Paradise! Anywhere HE IS is heaven!

This picture was taken from the top of Sleeping Bear dunes--which is higher than it looks in this photo. What a gorgeous place.

Happy Birthday, Terry. I pray your move to Georgia will bring you more support, good medical care for both you and Ruthanne, and that 76 will be a wonderful year for you.