[QuilterInVA]

Good afternoon, ladies. Still raining but the sun is supposed to appear on Wednesday so there is hope.

Faye, 13 pounds! What a fantastic start. That should be incentive to stick with it another week. Cupid was well trained when he came to live with me. He doesn't get up on anything but the bed, his footstool, and his window seat. I had to actually pick him up several times and put him where he was allowed to sit before he would get up there by himself. Now he gets upset if anyone sits in his space. I couldn't abide a cat that got up on counters or the table.

Jean, the count down continues--school will be over before you know it.

I went to the doctor this morning and had an EKG, a pulmonary function test, and 5 vials of blood drawn. The EKG came back "textbook perfect" but they are still scheduling me for a stress test. She verified that my blood pressure is up over 30 points in the last month so we have to figure out what is going on with that. I'm also being scheduled for a workup with a Pulmonary Specialist because none of the asthma meds are working anymore. She's putting me on a high dose of Prednisone for 15 days and then we'll start weaning off and see what happens. I hate Prednisone - I'll have a round face and gain 20 pounds in a week, but it does help with my breathing. I'll have to extra vigilant about only eating what I put on the menu for the day. Right now I have 44% pulmonary function and it should be 90% for my age.

Well, need to get to work so have a good one!

[Jean]

Good Afternoon, Flowers! It's another beautiful day in my corner of the world -- sunny and 72 degrees as I type. It's hard to believe this is the middle of March in Iowa. Today was another "ho hum" kind of day at school; everyone has spring fever today.

"Gma" -- Congrats on the GRRRRRREAT loss! Wouldn't it be nice to lose that much every week?! It's good that the dogs get along which makes it easier for you to dogsit.

Susan -- I'm glad your visit with the doctor went well and you will be meeting with a specialist. Does the stress test measure for the heart or lungs or both? My "mom" had to have a stress test before they would schedule her surgery; it was for her heart. She said she walked on the treadmill for about 10 minutes but she felt like she'd run a marathon because they gave her some sort of IV while she was doing it. I wondered what they would do with someone who couldn't walk long enough and she said they can do it all with meds. Good luck! I hope they can find an asthma med that will work for you. I know they have new things coming out all the time.

I have card club tonight, but I know it won't be late. I know there will be at least one sub and the "regular" has been gone more than she's been there this year. She's good for gossip around town because she owns a business, but sometimes it is hard to find a sub.

Have a terrific Tuesday tomorrow!

Jean -- from Iowa!

[gma22]

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