Some pictures from the hospital...

First: no news on diagnosis today. The blood work that was supposed to be sent out yesterday and the results that were supposed to be returned today did not happen... so now we're waiting for tomorrow!

Oh - and the other conditions that they mentioned could cause the symptoms that Dwayne is exhibiting (besides alcoholism and HIV infections) would also include people who consume moonshine or antifreeze! I have quizzed Dwayne about whether he has been making moonshine and drinking it or antifreeze on the sly... but he says no!

A couple of pictures from today:

Dwayne was toasting me with hummus on a pretzel cracker! I think he looks better today, and we did a couple of laps around the hallways today. The doctor indicated that his bloodwork has not improved though... he did get a good night's sleep last night so we believe that has helped!

This is a picture of the symbols on the side of the blood pressure cuff that is assigned to Dwayne (it is a "reusable" object so he has kept it with him from when he was first in the triage in the ER on Monday). When I first saw it in the triage area, I was trying to figure out what those symbols for #7 and #6 were... I thought #7 was for a cat!

Ok... a closer look shows a crawling child for #7... and I guess #6 is a small baby, but Dwayne and I both think it looks like a teapot or a tea cup or a genie's lamp!

More updates when we know something more about Dwayne's medical condition!

When you squeeze oranges...

When you squeeze oranges, you get orange juice.
When you squish a bug, you get "bug juice".
When you smash a watermelon, you get the red meat of the watermelon.
What comes out is what is inside.

What happens when you, a human, gets squeezed, squished, or smashed? What comes out is what is inside.

This morning, I was sitting here in the bus, listening to my sweet Dwayne in the hospital via the phone as he communicated with various people. I had talked to him earlier in the morning on the phone, and evidently his phone "bed dialed" me when they transferred him to the transport bed for tests a little while after we had hung up. I figured he was calling me back and answered, but could hear other things going on in the background so decided to wait to see if he intended to call. It was a great way for me to go along with him to the ultrasound test!

What I heard was this sweet man being kind and loving towards all those who are caring for him - exactly what I am blessed to experience every day. What's inside of him is kind and loving - Jesus living inside of him.

The medical update for today: Lots and lots of blood draws today. If I understand correctly, the issues that they are seeing in the blood don't make sense with each other and with Dwayne's condition. Several medical professionals who came into his room today said, "You are looking a lot better than your blood work would lead me to believe!" One doctor said that the characteristics of his blood work would be expected in a longtime alcoholic, or someone who is HIV positive, or other very serious chronic conditions. Dwayne doesn't fit.

There are still more tests to be run. The last doctor that we saw today (he described himself as the "GP" as opposed to the specialists who had been by earlier) indicated that Dwayne would probably be in the hospital for at least 3-4 days as they continue to diagnose. It is likely that there will be a bone marrow extraction (biopsy? I can't remember the word) on Wednesday.

Prayer requests: restful sleep for Dwayne, wisdom for the doctors

Prayers...

Dwayne was admitted to the hospital in Mechanicsville, near Richmond, VA, this afternoon. He has been feeling weak and exhausted, and was looking jaundiced. Turns out that he is anemic and other blood concerns, so a hematologist will see him on Tuesday and, God willing, we will find out what is causing the issues. The ER Dr said he is an "interesting case" - I think this is a time when being "uninteresting" would be preferable... But God knows what is going on and we are praying for the doctors and care professionals here. We would appreciate y'all's prayers.

Many thanks to our veterans!

Many thanks to our veterans....

... from us at Poplar Springs Farm!

More progress on the roof

Saturday was another workday on the roof at Jimmy and Regina's church.

One group started taking the old shingles off on the east side of the roof,

While another team started putting the new metal sheets on the west side.

The sheets were prepared before being handed up to the folks on the west side...

Preparing the sheet: https://youtu.be/EHvVIvLHxzU

The first sheet of metal took a while to ensure that it was in place correctly - under the edge strip and straight.

Here's a video of supplying the metal sheet to the folks on the roof: https://youtu.be/AwnQeto0zR0 - it was quite the process with everyone working together! 

Meanwhile folks on the other side were making good progress on removal.

Folks signed the back of one of the metal sheets to signify their participation in the project!

It was great to participate with folks with all different skills and abilities!

This was just after lunch - a lot of the roof on the west side has been covered with the new material.

The roof looks really good!

Progress on the west side (new material) got almost to the valley where the decision was made to stop for the day and to move to the east side to work on repair.

East side

I was up on the roof on the east side pulling staples remaining from the old roof - SO many staples! Nephew Ricky was part of the team working on replacing some bad pieces of plywood.

Finishing for the day - covering the roof with a large tarp.

Ashby is holding down the tarp until the ballast to hold it down could be applied.

Work is progressing!

Last evening's clouds

I was going through pictures from my phone - I took this one on Thursday at 4:44pm...

I never know if the picture will show up as gorgeous as the reality - this is pretty close!

Wisdom from the dentist's office

I got my teeth cleaned at a dentist's office close to the farm here in Virginia, and I thought these signs that I saw there had good advice!

Thoughts for your day!