Glad to be home!

Well, I finally left UNC hospitals on Wednesday, October 22 which was two days prior to my previous expectation. The reason for this was described as my Myasthenia numbers had gotten to the point that other plasma exchanges were not  necessary. This determination was, in my opinion, related to the fact  that I almost became unconscious near the end of my fourth exchange. The team of physicians decided that that was caused by my irregular heart beat. In view of this revelation, they decided I should come home with a heart monitor that I am to mail in to them after 14 days.

Meanwhile, I am here with my wonderful wife who, with all her arthritic pains makes every effort to assure my well being. I am so blessed to have such a caring person in my life and she has been that way for the 65 plus years of our marriage. How I was fortunate enough to marry this wonderful person was without a doubt, a gift from God.

Although I have felt absolutely terrible the past couple of days, I feel slightly better right now which is a good thing and hope the improvement continues. Unless there is a major improvement by Monday, I plan on trying to see Dr. O'Neill. I feel sure he will give the correct advice as to the next step I should take. He will probably check to confirm my heart out of rhythm and if he finds it so will make a determination on the next step.

I was fortunate yesterday that I was able to accompany Barbara to her beauty shop appointment  and had  my hair cut and washed. It feel great and I was on the verge of applying for dog tags due to the shagginess it portrayed.

I really enjoyed my stay at UNC hospitals. Not that I like being hospitalized but  because of the wonderful people employed there. They are so caring and at least in my case, make one enjoy being there in spite of the pains and illnesses one might have.

As I told the beauticians at the beauty shop yesterday, when asked how I felt, my answer was, "terrible, but as the hymn goes, we will understand it better by and by".

I am now just praying that I can get back in my Bible Class and to Church. It is lonely in the world  without their backup.

At UNC Hospital

Here I am again! Well, I was scheduled to check in here at UNC hospitals on the 24th of October when suddenly, on Friday the 10th, I became so weak that I contacted Dr. Howard, my Myasthenia Gravis physician and was advised to come to the ER here. On Monday, the 13th they put a catheter in my veins in order to begin plasma exchange on Tuesday. I am scheduled for six of those and they all should be completed by Friday, the 24th and I should be discharged that day. Can't wait for that since I miss my wife and home so much.

I am truly fortunate to be cared for in UNC hospitals. They have, without question the most professional care givers I have ever experienced. The training of everyone in this facility seems to produce people that truly care for the patients well being since they strive to accommodate every whim one might have.

I have an excellent relationship with just about all of them since, having been a patient here many times over the past 10 years I have come to know the majority of those that serve here on the sixth floor which is reserved for Myasthenia patients only.

In addition to the excellent care provided, the meals are  similar to what one would expect in a "high end" type restaurant. They have a wide variety of any type food one could possibly want. The best part is the fact that you can order anything on the menu at anytime day or night and it will be delivered to your room within the hour.

I was visited today by my lovely wife, Barbara who was driven here by my wonderful daughter, Beverly. We were all joined prior to lunch by by talented son Blain. It was a real great feeling to have us all together for a while. Blain, however, has visited several times this week and Lori, Blain's wife took my dirty laundry home, washed it and returned it.

I am so thankful that Lori, Blain and Beverly took the time to accompany me on walks around the sixth floor. Although I really have not felt that great, I realize I have to get some exercise if I am to regain my normal strength. 

I really miss home and Church, especially my Bible Class and am anxious to get back to a daily routine in Danville.

I feel a little distraught today since Herman Parker, a member of my Bible Class was buried. His funeral was at the Church [North Main Baptist] at 2:00 and I would love to have attended.


Just thought I would record this here while it was fresh on my mind.

Family Get Together 9/11/2010

Today was a great day in the Dillard household. We had some of our favorite family members for lunch and a good time was had by all. Those in attendance included Winnie, Sandra, Angela, Jean and Beverly and of course Barbara and me.

Barbara and I will be further blessed tomorrow when Blain and at least one of our adorable grandchildren visit. We always look forward with a great deal of joy when any of our family visits. It seems that feeling is more important as we continue to age gracefully.

We also give tribute this weekend to the victims of the murderous attacks by a few nuts on September 11, 2001. As a country, I hope we will never forget that act of mayhem. I know as Christians, we are supposed to be forgiving in all things, however, it is very difficult to forgive something so hideous. Oh well, the evil doers will most certainly get their just rewards when they arrive in hell.

Well, Blain and Caleb came as expected on Sunday 9/12. Babara and I met them at CCs Pizza for lunch. After lunch we came home where MeeMaw helped Caleb with gluing some toys and as expected got glue on the kitchen table as well as MeeMaw's ring. It wound up at the jewelers for a thorough cleaning.

We really enjoyed having them and truly love all our grandchildren.

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!!!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Edith's 85th Birthday Celebration

Last week, May 26, Blain drove Barbara and me down to Chesapeake, Va. to celebrate Edith's [my sister] 85th birthday. She is in an assisted living complex called Georgian Manor. It is a very beautiful facility with highly competent employees that go out of their way to assure her comfort and happiness.

Edith's daughter Ronda is a real jewel and really put on a party that would make anyone proud. I am so proud to have her for a niece and love her very much. The celebration was capped off with dinner at the Olive Garden Restaurant, compliments of Ronda. There was 12 in attendance and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves, especially Edith. Edith's grandson Zack was there with his girl friend and that alone brought a lot of smiles to Edith's face. She really loves Zack and it is obvious that he feels the same towards her.

While there Barbara and I joined Edith along with the other Georgian Manor guests in a session on of bingo games. They play there every day and Edith has become addicted to this past time event.

Barbara and I spent the night at the Hampton Inn while Blain stayed with Ronda and John, Ronda's husband.

The following morning, Blain picked us up and we went by to say farewell to Edith and Ronda. Edith seemed really happy and we were pleased to see they were in an exercise period being conducted by some of the staff as well as Ronda.

Ronda's school where she is employed is less that 1/2 mile from Edith' resident which gives her the flexibility to visit very often, usually twice daily. What a daughter. She cares for Edith with so much love and compassion. I feel very fortunate in the fact that Barbara and I have a daughter, Beverly, that is very similar to Ronda in the way she cares for us and attempts to look after every little need that we may have.

We are so appreciative of Blain driving us down there and he really seemed to enjoy it, unlike most men I have known.

This was the first time in years that Barbara and I had been on a trip and we
thoroughly enjoyed it.

I feel sure this "Birthday Event" will be forever in Edith's memory.

Caleb's Weekend Visit

Barbara and I were so fortunate to have our son, Blain and three wonderful grandchildren visit and spend the night with us on Friday, April 2nd. We were overjoyed that Caleb opted to stay over two additional nights.

He is such a joy to be with. On Saturday afternoon Caleb and I went to see the movie, "Train Your Dragon" which was shown in 3-D and was very enjoyable.

On Sunday, he accompanied Barbara and I to Church. He was a perfect little gentleman. We took him to the 3rd grade Sunday School class and I picked him up when it was over. Since I was scheduled to usher, I had him sit at our usual section where he was joined by Barbara. After ushering, I joined them and he was a very well behaved boy the entire service. At one point during the singing, he whispered to Barbara that "they sing that song at my Church".

After Church, we had all sorts of plans, however, the fact that Target's was closed for Easter sort of through us off. We decided to formulate an alternate plan which included visiting Winnie's house where all her family was gathering for an Easter Meal. Although we had planned on eating at the Golden Corral, everyone there insisted that we eat with them. We did and it was a superb meal.

After eating, we took Caleb to Walmart's where Barbara purchased a pair of shoes for him as well as a Lego toy that he had longed for a long time. We then came home where he proceeded to put that thing together. He is simply amazing in working with those things. It would probably take me a week to put it together while he did it in a little over an hour.

It was amazing to me that Caleb would insist on taking a bath each night before going to bed. Most kids would not do that.

I have a major regret though. We were so excited to have Caleb, I failed to take even one picture. As many pictures that exist in our family, the omission of pictures for this visit is inexcusable and I will forever regret it.

Christmas 2009

Well, another Christmas season is now behind us. Although this one went as usual, in that everyone received too many gifts. There was sadness about. My childhood friend, Larry Watlington passed away in Florida. He had been ill for some time so his passing was not unexpected. It just seems sad that it happened during Christmas. Barbara and I attended the funeral and I was listed as a pall bearer, however, I was in so much pain, I could not participate.

On Christmas day, Barbara, Beverly and I joined Blain and family along with Lori's parents in Cary, N. C. This has been the routine for the past several years and as is customary, everyone had plenty of gifts food and family fellowship. Seth, Caleb and Luke seemed to really enjoy the gifts from Santa as well as the many others they received. It was unfortunate that it rained all day that day and made it a little difficult driving. Beverly is an excellent driver, however, so we had no problems arriving back in Danville around 6:00 P. M. Beverly departed for Richmond to visit her friend on Saturday, the 26th.

On Saturday night it seemed as if everything that could go wrong did. I became very ill with a virus of some kind and was unable to get out of bed all day on Sunday. On Monday, I seemed to be getting a little better but Barbara came down with the same type of virus. She was sick all day Monday and Tuesday and is still not over it. I am somewhat better but have remained very weak since it started.
I have sent word to my Myasthenia Gravis Doctor in Chapel Hill hoping he can see me prior to my scheduled appointment on January 8. I suspect my weakness now may be related the the Myasthenia.

Christmas is such a special time of year. It would be wonderful if more time, money and effort could be funneled into the real spirit of Christmas and the birth of Jesus Christ.

To anyone reading this blog, I wish the very best New Year.

Henry