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Lebanon, Oregon, United States
We are Terry & Cathye Kinkelaar. If you've followed my blog in the past, you know that Lydia, my beautiful wife of 52 years, and I made the lifestyle choice to move to Oregon in 2017. You've seen my posts about losing her in May 2020 to cancer. Although I was left alone, I am pleased to say that I have found happiness again. In April 2021, I met Cathye, who also lost her longtime husband in 2020. Well, we fell in love and were married in April 2022. So, if folks are still interested, I will continue to post here as we move forward with our lives and adventures!

Thursday, March 15, 2018

Oregon Living 2018 – Blog #37 – Taking Care of Quincy and Heading to the OR


 

Tuesday, March 13th, 2018…...  We had rain come in last night and it got the lawn really soggy.  I’m so glad I mowed yesterday!
We got up early this morning.  I think I’m adjusting to the time change now.  Sis came over with Quincy as I was heading out to get coffee/tea and breakfast.  Her taste buds are still not normal so she passed on all of it.  I got back and ate and then fed Quincy.  She left her here and went home to get things together for when she stays with us after her surgery.  We needed to go to Walmart so a bit later we went over to Penny’s and helped get her stuff together and I loaded the dog stuff in my car to bring back.  She had me shorten her kitchen blinds to fit her window while I was there. We decided that we would just keep Quince at our house since they will be there tomorrow anyway. We left and went and did our shopping at Walmart and came home.  The rains had stopped so I took Quincy out for a while.  She wears me out!  I sure hope I can still keep up with a puppy!  Afterward, I went out to the shop and got one more of the stanchions built.  One more to go! After a brief break, I let Quincy out for her potty and play time.  A few weeks ago, she had found Bailey’s toy box in the shop and pulled out a monkey tug-of-war toy - she thinks it’s her toybox - so she always goes for that when I’m in the shop. I shut down the shop and came in for dinner.  We fed Quincy and ate our meal while catching up on the latest two episodes of Guys Grocery Games. Lydia talked on the phone a bit with our friend Carol, who will be coming up the end of the month for a visit.  She wanted some updates on the weather so she can pack accordingly. We are looking forward to her time with us up here. 
    
Wednesday, March 14th, 2018……  We woke up early this morning. Quincy came in to check on us and to see if I was ready to take her out yet! I got dressed and we walked around the property for a bit – until it started to sprinkle. We came back in and I fed her her breakfast and then took my shower. It stopped raining and the skies turned nice and blue with white clouds so off we went again! This time we walked our street up to Main. Then we ate our breakfast and started our day.  Yesterday I spoke a while with our SoCal friend, Jim Wampler, to check in and see how he’s doing.  This morning I called longtime friends Bud & Linda, to see how they were doing.  We invited all of them up here to see our place and visit whenever they can. Then I sat down and wrote the check to the IRS (boooo!).  I wanted to get it done and mailed out so we can concentrate on the fun stuff - getting funds worked out so we can plan our 50th anniversary trip to Hawaii.  We’re still waiting on the projected calendar for my sister after her surgeries.  They think she will be able to make the trip with no problems but we’re waiting to see how the surgery and healing goes after tomorrow. I got the check mailed off and then went out to the shop to finish up the steps.  I didn’t get them assembled but I got everything cut.  Next step is to assemble and fine tune to the porch.  It’s a bit wet out there right now for that but at least the hard part is done.  



Thursday, March 15th, 2018……  We woke up this morning at 0 dark hundred!  We had to check in at the surgery desk at the Salem Health Hospital by 7:40am. I walked her in the dark and then fed and watered Quincy and then we took off and made the trip with no problem.  Penny got checked in on time and we stayed with her through prep and until just before they wheeled her to the OR. The doctor told us the procedure would take 3-4 hours so we then left to go get a bite to eat and do some shopping.  We went to The Chair Store (just what the name implies), to check out bar stools for our place. We also looked at a recliner for Lydia’s craft/tv/fireplace room. We stopped at Fred Meyer (to get some soft drinks and water) and then at Big Lots, before going back home to let Quincy out for a bit.  Then we went back to Salem (about 40 miles) and went to the surgical waiting room.  We were there less than an hour before Dr. Dozier came out to talk with us so we timed it right.  He said her double mastectomy went extremely well.  Her petscan on Monday showed no visible signs of cancer so the chemo worked well.  He said the tissue looked good (but they will do a procedural biopsy on it).  We went up to her assigned room and waited for her to come up from recovery.  The hospital is very nice and she has her own room.  She got up after an hour and a half. She was awake and scratchy voiced from the tube they used down her throat, but she was pain free for the time being.  She was kind of groggy so we stayed just long enough to let her know we were texting the folks on her list letting them know she was ok. We’re going back tomorrow morning after Lydia does her labs.  We’ll know more about how she’s doing and maybe get an idea when she can be released. We drove back through sprinkles and made it back in time to let Quincy out again.  Poor puppy! Lydia fixed us a quick meal of fish sandwiches and tater tots and we settled in for the night. Busy day for everyone but a good day none the less!     

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