February 2026

 Dear Family and Friends, Feb. 29, 2026

Seems that everything is shortened this month including interesting things to talk about.  Or so I thought until about the middle of the month when things began to improve.  First was the three-week departure of Cathy to Utah to help her daughter after emergency surgery while tending to her four little ones as well. It tired her out but she was glad to do it.  Cathy likes Valentine's Day so she celebrated it there, whereas Dan and I let it slip by us except for the Valentine puzzle I was able to share with friends at the NuHope party where I received a bunch of goodies from them.

Second, my weekly Friday hair treatment was interrupted when Lisa left for a weeklong cruise and no one else was available to take her place.  Though my flaky scalp does need weekly scrubbing, I did manage to get through the week without my much needed treatment and nice hairdo besides.

Third, the hour Dan and I spent attending the “Music in the Park” activity put on by the Golf Hammock Association.  I had said before that I was sad that the people in charge here didn’t seem to do anything for their residents, so after this maybe they’ll do more.  I am now aware that there are two separate communities here - one for 55 and older and the other for families, so the guitar playing soloist and his Elvis-type music caused a few couples to get up and wiggle around on a platform and others to try singing the words to the various tunes, but sorry to say, I was left out in the cold.  However, I still did enjoy the performance and the experience.

Another experience that was definitely not so entertaining was that one night just after getting into bed, my stump began to painfully twist and jerk every few seconds.  It was strong enough in pain and movement to issue a loud yelp from me.  I didn’t know what caused it nor what to do about it except to just tolerate it until it decided to quit on its own. With 60 seconds to every minute and 60 minutes to every hour and each jerk came about every 10 seconds or 6 times every minute and always with pain, I was soon about to go crazy so at 5:00 ln the morning after putting up with waiting for it to stop on its own, I got up and took a double dose of Gabapentin (a nerve pill), a double dose of pain pills and hoped they would do the trick  Luckily the combination worked quickly so within the hour I was completely relieved!  Hurrah!.

There have been many other times, but not recently, when the stump has acted up and sent nervous jerks every few seconds that lasted all night and deprived me of a full night’s sleep but none had actual pain with each jerk like this one.  We still have no idea as to it’s cause but I sure hope it never returns. 

I thought that was to be all for this short month, but towards the end of the month something else happened that I guess you might like to know about.  It was rather startling in the beginning, but certainly very reassuring in the end. As you probably know, I wear a safety button around my neck obtained from Medical Guardian.  I always put it in the charger the last thing at night and put it around my neck the first thing in the morning.  I have used it for help only three times in the five years I’ve had it, for nothing at all serious, however.  I was advised to push the button every once in a while just to test the instrument, which I did in the beginning, but not for a long time now.  It is their policy to have first and second responders whom they can call if necessary, especially if I am unable to answer their telephone call to me.

One day last week, I noticed how worn and disgraceful the lanyard and device appeared after 5 years of constant wear, so I decided to press the button and ask about getting a new one.  The person answering asked if I needed help?  When told I just needed to ask a question she transferred me to another and just as I was beginning to speak to him the volume faded away until I couldn't hear a thing, so I hung up.  A few days later, after I had replaced the device on the charger for a full night’s charging, and while still in my bed I was curious, so I pushed the button but it was so faint that all I said was “I can't hear you” and then it went blank.  

Almost immediately thereafter the telephone rang but I, still in bed, was unable to get to it in time to answer the call.  I went into the bathroom and was actually on the pot at 6:15 in the morning when two young men with a strong light came through my dark living room and were standing at my bedroom door!  Of course I was startled but not afraid when they said, “Are you allright?”   They had answered a 911 call put in by Medical Guardian just minutes before, assuming I was in trouble because I didn’t, or couldn’t answer their phone call.  I was really amazed and very reassured about the effectiveness of having a safety net so responsive as theirs, because moments later Dan came in as a responder to their call and even Linda in Oregon had been contacted, which I didn’t think was necessary, but she appreciated knowing.  So, with a recharged battery the well-worn device will continue to take good care of me for whatever my need might be.  Even one that is very trivial.   And that’s good to know, huh?

Well, I’m sure that’s the end for this month now, but not without me sharing my love for you and wishing you the very best of health and happiness throughout the coming month and to ask for the Lord’s love and blessings to be with you always.  Keep smiling and please enjoy February’s puzzles even though they are past due now.

Love, Marie