I Survived....

There's a whole children's book series by author Laura Tarshis called "I Survived."  This series of books tells the stories of people in the midst of disasters and turmoil. (An example is shown below.) Well,  I have a new story for her:  I survived the Iowa derecho of 2020.

For those of you readers familiar with Iowa geography, please bear with me as I give a brief lesson to those unfamiliar with the great state of Iowa on the locations of some key places in my "I Survived" story.

Here is map of Iowa.  As you can see Interstate 80 runs east to west across the middle of the state, right through the state capital of Des Moines.  (The s's are silent in both words, just so you know.)  Above Interstate 80 is Highway 30 which runs east to west across most of the state.  About 1 hour northeast of Des Moines, just off Highway 30, is a town called Marshalltown.  If you follow Highway 30 east about 40 miles you will come to Belle Plaine.  If you continue on east for about 65 more miles, you will come to a small town called Stanwood.  Here I would turn south to go to Tipton.  My Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Rick live right outside Tipton on a farm. Back up at Stanwood, continuing east on Highway 30 for about 18 miles you will come to Wheatland.  This is where I will turn right and head south.  From here my dad and step mom live only 12 miles away.  Remember this as I tell about my adventure on Monday, August 10, 2020.

I woke up on my aunt and uncle's farm outside Tipton and was headed to my dad's later that day.  Typically it is about a  20 mile drive.  But my cousin, Becky, had told me about a sunflower field near Belle Plaine.  Since sunflowers have a very short life span and I was smack dab in the middle of that 20 days, I decided to head west for the 1:20 min drive to see this field of sunflowers.  

Once done there, I thought I would continue on west another 40 minutes or so to Marshalltown to check out an antique/junk store I had heard about recently and grab a bite for lunch before heading back to dad's.  As I was browsing, I noticed several other customers on their phones listening to the National Weather Service.  I asked what was happening and they explained that Des Moines was currently being pummeled by a very severe storm and that it was headed northeast directly for us. SO I decided it was time to leave.  I was going to get out of there and get on the road (Highway 30) headed to my dad and stay ahead of this storm.

As I drove east on Highway 30, I could see a storm wall in my rear view mirror. I wasn't really sure what the storm consisted of: rain, hail, wind, tornado.... but I kept an eye out for funnel clouds just in case. As I was driving the storm wall continued to grow and soon what I once could only see if I looked in my rear view mirror, now was visible out of my peripheral vision.  It was growing.  And it looked like it was catching me.  I just wanted to get to my dad's house safely before the storm hit.  But that would not be the case.

About 12 miles from my dad's, I had to leave Highway 30 and turn right on 130th Avenue in Wheatland heading south.  As I made the right hand turn, the wind picked up and the rain began.  The wind and rain were blowing from my right to my left...completely sideways.  Things were blowing across the road. As I drove, my hands gripped the steering wheel, not allowing the wind to blow me off the road,  I was trying to decide if I should stop somewhere but if I did where would it be.  I was in the middle of Iowa corn country.  I thought maybe I could drive up someone's farm lane and knock on their door and ask to ride out the storm in the safety of their home.  But, I didn't know if anyone would have even let me in.  So I kept driving.  When I reached the small town of Dixon (4 miles from my dad's house), I saw 2 trucks sitting in front of the fire station.  I assumed they were volunteer firemen waiting to see if they were needed.  I thought about pulling over with them and seeing if they had a suggestion about where to wait out the storm but since I was almost there, I decided to keep going. The last 0.8 mile to dad's is a gravel road.  Once I turned onto the gravel road, I stopped my car, put it in park with the emergency brake on (because of the wind) and texted my step mom that I was coming down the road and to please open the garage.  As I pulled into the driveway and up to the door of the garage, my step mom was waiting with the door open.  Unfortunately, I could not pull in since there was no space.  I grabbed my phone and keys and dashed the short distance to safety.  I felt as if I were Dorothy and I had just been blown into a new world.  It was approximately 1:30 p.m.  Once inside the safety of the house, my step mom informed me that my dad (who was working at a construction site that day) had not gotten home yet.  We stood there almost in disbelief watching the wind bend the tall pine trees, throw things around, knock things down, etc.  At one point a very large limb from a tree in the yard fell to the ground, and I suggested we head to the basement just in case.  We still weren't sure if this was a tornado or not.  As we headed down the stairs, we heard my dad pull in the yard.  The electricity had been flickering since my arrival but had just gone dark.  Dad had been able to get his truck into the garage at the end of the lane but was unable to close the garage door.  He came rushing inside and we went to the basement.  They have a very nice basement, finished off with carpet and some furniture.  It also has a few windows that look out to the front of the house and across the road.  We sat there watching the straight line winds, the trees bending and swaying in ways that seemed impossible, and the cornfield across the road taking a beating.  We saw several very large limbs come crashing down.  Tops of pine trees were being ripped off like toothpicks, hitting the ground and looking like full grown trees instead of just parts of trees. 

About 2:15, the rain stopped and the winds died down and we thought the storm was done.  So we decided to go out and survey the damage.  But while we were out there the wind began to pick up and we decided we better get back inside.  This happened several more times.  The wind would die down or stop and then soon it would begin anew and with even more force.  Most of this time we were without power.  But their power came back on very quickly after the storm, unlike a lot of people in the area.  My aunt didn't have power again until a week later and when I left  to go home to Texas 8 days later there were still people in the state without power.

When the storm was finally done, maybe around 3:00 or 3:30 pm, we went back outside to check out the damage.  It was incredible!  I couldn't believe the size of the branches laying on the ground.  There was one laying on the roof of the garage, although it didn't look like there was much damage and thankfully later we found that there was not much.  But there were multiple layers of stuff that had come down.  Anything that could be knocked down by the wind had come down.  Many of those things were blown into new places.  One tree that came down had actually been blown across the road.  They also had one tree laying on a grain bin but again it didn't appear to have much damage.  And so they were lucky.  WE were lucky.

Just like when you are driving down the highway and you come across an accident and you find yourself looking at the wreckage, so it is with weather related disasters.  People like to drive around and see what damage was inflicted on others. Most towns in the area had lost electricity and enormous amounts of trees and branches had fallen.  It was going to be a massive clean up in most places.  Not to mention the ruined corn crop.  One day while I was there, we drove to a small town called Clarence on Highway 30.  I had driven through it on my way to dad's on the day of the storm.  This town looked like it had been hit by the eye of a storm or massive tornado. Everyone had major damage...grain bins flattened and metal pieces thrown about, roofs torn off, giant trees uprooted taking the sidewalk with them.  They were still without electricity and this was almost a week later.

Later we found out this type of storm was called a derecho. A derecho is a widespread, long lived storm with straight line winds up to 100 mph causing damage like a tornado or a hurricane but it has no eye. But I bet the people of Clarence, Iowa would disagree about the eye.  The man that discovered and named this weather phenomenon was Gustavus D Hinrichs, a well educated German immigrant who settled in Davenport, Iowa in 1861. (Davenport is my hometown.) This storm began in southeast South Dakota and traveled 770 miles in 14 hours all the way to Ohio.

The majority of my time visiting my dad and step mom was spent helping my dad pick up branches, cut up trees into manageable pieces, load them into the gater and haul them to the burn pile at the back of the farm.  Here's a picture of the gator with the very first load.  I enjoy being outside, doing yard work and I enjoyed this time with my dad, helping him clean up their farm after this horrible storm.  But I have probably never worked so hard in my life!  

After seeing what this storm was capable of and the damage that it caused across the state of Iowa, I reflect back on the fact that I was driving in the beginnings of this storm and the fact that I was very, very lucky to have gotten to the house and safely inside before anything major happened to me. I am also grateful that both my dad and step mom were safe and that the majority of their damage was tied simply to trees.  At one point my dad said that he counted 126 trees on the property and 35 of them had major damage from the storm.  We worked 5 full days cleaning up and while it did look much, much better, he still had a lot of work to be done when I left to come back to Texas on Tuesday, August 18.

I'm including a few pictures of some of the trees that were down on the property and a picture of me in my new t-shirt (courtesy of my cousin, Kim, and Back Street Graphics).

So....needless to say, I survived......

 

For more information and pictures, search Iowa derecho or check out this link:  Iowa Derecho.

LW in May 2019

May 2019

It was like we were living inside an episode of House. If you are not familiar with House, it is a medical drama with Hugh Laurie as the lead character named Dr Gregory House. In each episode a patient arrives at the Princeton Plainsboro Hospital presenting symptoms that have perplexed their family physician. As House and his team attempt to diagnosis the patient, many times they really have no idea and are leaping to possible conclusions. These conclusions are most often inaccurate, because of course writers need to fill 60 minutes of tv time. Which as I write that, it brings me to another thought about the show. Those doctors are so often wrong in their diagnoses, it’s a wonder they can hold on to their prestigious positions. Anyway, in the end,it’s usually Dr House who solves the mystery and makes a correct diagnosis to save the patient.

But I digress....

This past week felt like LW was a patient in the care of Dr House and his team. LW went to urgent care on Tuesday midday for a host of complaints falling basically into the “I don’t feel good” category. They discovered his heart rate was elevated and thought he was having a heart attack. EMS was called and he was transported to the ER.

In the ER, LW was hooked up to a heart monitor and an IV. As the drs/nurses tried to determine what was going on, they did blood tests, an EKG, a chest X-ray, a cat scan, and an MRI. Because they were still unsure, he was admitted around dinner time and moved to a room. I imagine all those drs/nurses sitting in a conference room arguing about what they think the next step should be, with some version of House shooting down all their ideas. But in reality they were probably just moving on to the next patient.

Once he arrived in a room on the fourth floor, he was hooked up to a heart monitor, IV, and more blood was drawn. Throughout the night and into Wednesday, he was taken for an ultrasound, another form of scan to check for blood clots, and the next morning underwent a stress test. All of these came back good and his heart was cleared. They were preparing to discharge him when the nurse came in to check his vitals and discovered he had spiked a fever. Sorry....no longer headed for home. Staying another night.

The Dr informed us he had no idea why LW continued to spike fever, have no appetite, and feel so exhausted. From my vantage point, I assumed it was an infection. When the Dr came to that conclusion, he ordered another battery of blood tests and blood cultures. These showed liver enzyme numbers on the rise. However the Dr was not sure why, so he ordered an antibiotic drip. Enter the gastroenterologist .....This Dr mentioned that he thought the infection might be caused by a gall stone stuck in the bile duct leaving the gallbladder. A special type of MRI was ordered to look at the gall bladder, liver, and bile ducts for late Thursday evening and an endoscopy for Friday morning.

After both of those came back clear, we were starting to get frustrated. What was going on? Why couldn’t they figure out the problem? LW was responding to the antibiotic and starting to feel better. Around lunchtime, a doctor we had not yet met or seen from the infectious diseases unit came into the room. With him, he brought a diagnosis. He was our House.
Diagnosis: Cat flea typhus
This is from the California Department of Public Health website: Flea-borne typhus is a disease caused by Rickettsia typhi and possibly Rickettsia felis bacteria that are spread by fleas. Human cases of flea-borne typhus are reported worldwide, but mainly in tropical and coastal areas. In the United States, most cases occur in Texas, California, and Hawaii, with an average of about 300 cases every year. In California, flea-borne typhus is considered endemic (always present) in areas of Los Angeles and Orange counties, but cases sometimes are also reported from other parts of California. A person can get typhus by coming in contact with fleas that are infected with the bacteria that causes typhus. Fleas become infected when they bite small animals like rats, opossums, and stray cats. Fleas can then spread typhus to other animals and humans.

This Dr said LW presented a classic example of cat flea typhus, from the beginning symptoms, all the way to how quickly he responded to the antibiotic. Thinking back he had been bitten by something a week ago. Must have been this so called cat flea.

In the end our version of Dr House saved the day and gave us the freedom we so badly wanted...the freedom to be discharged from the hospital.

June 2019 Update:
LW recovered quickly once the antibiotic began its magic.  He has been back to work and seems to be back to normal.  As he follows up with the infectious disease Dr, we are now finding that the original diagnosis may not be accurate.  Blood work will be done again in July and we will see what secrets it holds.  Until then, at least he feels better.

For the Love of Old Books....

I love books!  But I especially love old books.  I currently am collecting versions of The Wizard of Oz, Heidi and The Five Little Peppers.  But trust me, I also latch on to any old readers and a whole host of other old books. 
Most recently I searched the Goodwill and Salvation Army stores in the area for any selections I needed for my collection.  Here is what I walked away with on this adventure.

Heidi by Johanna Spyri, copyrighted version dated 1948.  It was a part of a school library.  On the inside front cover, someone pasted this information about the author. and illustrator.

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, paperback edition copyrighted 1973.  I love the movie, have never actually read the book but how could I pass this up when I looked inside and found this handwritten note from Barb to Kathy.

Then I found these two books by Louis May Alcott.  Gotta love Little Women.  Here is Little Men and Eight Cousins.  Both dated 1940.  However the thing that sucked me in is the note inside the front cover of both of these books.

Eight Cousins was for Barbara from Momie and Daddy in 1950.  Little Men was for Juanita from Momie and Daddy in 1950.  Do you suppose the family had already read and enjoyed Little Women?

Last but not least was this Websters Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary from 1969.  I am not in the habit of collecting dictionaries but I brought this jewel home because of the secrets it held inside.  Take a look.

Here is what I found on the inside cover pages.  Read it carefully...still good advice today.

Further into the book I found these secrets hiding.  This picture was found on page 353 and has a handwritten date of 1968 on the back of the clipping.  The other clipping was found stuck on page 385.

Then there was this beauty on page 439.  If you can read it you will see that it portrays a pretty accurate picture of humans even now in 2019.  This whimsical item was on page 673.

And last but not least, this page intrigued me as it was the only page where the top corner had been folded down.  Had the owner of this dictionary been reading each page and only gotten this far before putting it down?  Or did something strike the reader as especially interesting on this page?  I will never know.

Anyone else interested in old books?  Or different versions of the same story?  Or am I just crazy?

Enough Already!

Wow! This fall has been a rough ride. I am ready for a new year to get here so that perhaps we can all have a fresh start.  Let me explain.

Aunt JoAnn

In mid September, my aunt JoAnn left us. She was the only remaining sibling of my mom.  She left behind my five cousins and their families. Due to several factors, including my mom's own health, she was unable to attend the services in North Carolina. This broke my heart. I hated the fact that mom was unable to say her goodbyes in person. I did attend and was able to reconnect with my cousins I have not seen in over 15+ years.

Bear

In mid October, our beloved dog Bear left us. He was almost 14 years old. Michael picked him out at the animal shelter when he was just a few months old. He was such a good boy, especially in his golden years. Losing a pet is so hard. It's gut wrenching. The pain seemed magnified watching our children deal with Bear's last moments. I miss him every day.

Uncle Bill

Last week my uncle Bill took his own life. He is my dad's youngest sibling. He was 66 years old. As a young girl growing up, my girl cousins and I thought he was so cool. He was funny and we loved hanging around him. I miss him already. I'm so sad for uncle Bill's family and his siblings. But I'm really heartbroken for my dad. In 1989, my brother, who was 18 at the time, committed suicide. So now, almost 30 years later, we are all experiencing this again. With uncle Bill's suicide, it dredged up all the old feelings we experienced  when Jeff died. (See a post I wrote about suicide and my brother after Robin William's died, if interested in my thoughts.)

My brother, Jeff

With suicide, there are always so many questions. Why? Why? And most of those questions will remain unanswered. It is so hard to deal with a family member's suicide. I pray none of you will ever have to experience this heartache.

December 1, a very dear friend lost her father on his 87th birthday. He had been experiencing health issues but that does not make it easier. At least now he is with the love of his life singing and dancing and free of pain.

I am extremely exhausted emotionally. I pray that we do not lose anyone else the remainder of this year. Please understand that if I have been distant or hard to reach, I've just been trying to comprehend all this loss over the past few months Trying to make some kind of sense out of it all. Thank you to all my family members and friends who have shared supportive and uplifting messages with me.

Funny How Life Works Sometimes

Sometimes it is crazy how life works out.  Last Christmas, I planned a cruise for the two of us to the Bahamas for this week (October 22-27). As the  time was approaching, I was really looking forward to this next adventure.

But then a little over a week ago, we had more pressing issues to deal with.  We had a pet who was struggling and eventually we had to say goodbye to him last Friday.

It was so strange not having him around in the house for 2 days before we left for Miami.  I wasn't excited about the cruise anymore.  My mind was overloaded with my grief. Ask LW, I was keeping myself busy cleaning the house and the yard.  I guess I was afraid if I sat too long, my memories of Bear would rush back and my emotions would overwhelm me.

Now I am glad we have been gone for a bit.  The distraction has been good for me.  Plus while we have been gone, Austin has had a "Boil Water Notice" in effect due to all the rain and the flooding.  It has lasted all week. I am so thankful I have not had to deal with that issue.  Hopefully by the time we get home, it will have ended.

Unfortunately,  I know the reality of losing Bear will hit me again when we walk in the door and he does not come to greet us.  But just with any loss, I'll just take it one day at a time.

Good Byes Are So Hard

This week has been one of the hardest weeks I've experienced in a long time. Early Tuesday morning we awoke to the sound of Bear's nails clambering on the hardwood floor next to our bed. When I finally got the light on to see what was going on, I saw that he had urinated on his pillow and the floor. I encouraged him to go outside but he was very wobbly as he walked. He actually banged into the wall. It was as if he were drunk. As we waited for the vet's office to open, he vomited twice and had increased difficulty walking and standing.

At 10, we loaded him in the car to head to the vet. He was able to walk but was wobbly and actually fell twice from losing his balance. LW finally carried him to the car.
Upon arrival at the vet, he was able to walk into the room, very shakily. The vet checked him out and listened as we explained the morning's events. He decided to treat him for vertigo. I didn't know dogs could experience vertigo. Bear was given fluids under the skin to avoid dehydration and a strong shot of something to help with the nausea. Massive drooling in dogs is a sign of nausea and boy was he drooling. We were given pills to administer at home over the next 4 days.  If it was vertigo, we should see some fairly quick improvements.

 We took him home, made him a bed of blankets in his favorite spot just outside Michael's room and my office. He stayed there all the rest of Tuesday, not even interested in water or food.

Late Tuesday, we attempted to get him up and to go outside for the bathroom. He was unable to stand or walk. And it was clearly stressing him out.

So he has remained on the bed we made for him, only moving when we need to change the soiled blankets. Then it is the three of us who actually move him. He has attempted to sit up but can't really do that. He lifts his head to look at you but can't maintain it for long.

He did get most of the way up on his haunches when I came in the house yesterday after a meeting. But soon he had to lay back down. He isn't eating but will take a little water every now and then. Overnight he licked on an ice cube.

Obviously there is more going on than vertigo. I told the boys that I actually wonder if he had had a seizure on Tuesday morning when he woke us up.

Now it is Friday. He has definitely declined. Not being able to walk or stand is no kind of life. I've been laying on the floor with him off and on since Tuesday. I want him to know I'm here and that he is not alone. But because of that I have not really slept since I woke up on Tuesday morning.  I am exhausted mentally and physically.  I should be napping now but I can't.  I want to stay busy near Bear.

Lauren will get here today around lunch and we have a vet appointment today at 4. We are most likely going to have to say good bye to him this afternoon.

This dog has been such a good boy. He laid with me and never left my side when I was stuck at home in bed with a broken leg in 2011. He loves his Michael, Lauren, David and daddy. He allowed a puppy named Luna to play with him when she first arrived in our home, even though I am sure he was not thrilled about it. He has tolerated the rambunctious Duke. He has been the best companion  a human could ask for and will be greatly missed.

My heart is breaking but as my mom said this is the price we pay for their love and faithfulness. She is absolutely correct and I wouldn't trade our time with this amazing animal just because it hurts now when we are about to lose him.

Please keep all of us in your thoughts. If you've been through this you know what we are experiencing. I appreciate all the comments and messages I have received. We are lucky to have such a great support system.

Look at these two doing what they do best..

Look at this beautiful guy!

Love you Bubba.💔

#pickmybookplease

Okay Friends,
I am searching for new books to add to my TBR (to be read) list.  So let's have a little fun with my search.

Here is what YOU have to do.  Post a comment on this blog, on Facebook, or Twitter telling me your all time favorite book that I need to read.  If you post on FB or Twitter, remember to tag me (@jenniferlw63) and use #pickmybookplease.

Here is what I will do.  I will pick 10 of the books posted, share my new list with all of you on this blog, on FB and Twitter.  Then I will get busy reading. After reading them, I will write a review on Goodreads and determine which is my new favorite.

If my new favorite was your recommendation, you will win this:

So let's do this.  The window for recommendations is open now and will close on October 14.  I will not take any more titles after the 14th.  Post your favorites!