Done at last!!!

After two and a half weeks of work, the bathroom is finally done! I am so excited to have this completed. Not to mention, I am thrilled to go the bathroom upstairs instead of having to go to the basement to use the toilet! It is so nice to take a shower and not have to worry about water getting into the hole in the wall. I am still not too sure about the toilet paper holder! But this is the one that Brian picked out, so I am going to have to live with it! My father did an absolutely wonderful job and I will forever be greatful! Thanks Pop! And a thank you to Gramona too! She helped me with the paint. I am not much of a painter and hate cutting in. Gramona is the master of cutting in! Thank you from the very bottom of my heart!

The home stretch

We are coming down the home stretch with the bathroom. YEAH!!! All that is left is to paint the linen closet doors (doing tomorrow), touch up some paint here and there, hang the toilet paper holder and some molding around the floors. I am so excited to have an up-to-date bathroom. And I am so very thankful that my wonderful father did all the work for us. He saved us a ton of money and I appreciate it more then I could ever say! It is wonderful and I am in love with it! Now, off to take my first shower in the new bathroom!

Waiting for things to turn around

I am sitting here looking back on all of my postings this month, and have noticed that it has been a very depressing month so far. So, I guess that I will just have to wait for things to turn around. As of today, it has been 18 days since my mother-in-law had open heart surgery and she is still in the ICU. She has not improved much since the surgery. Brian found out yesterday, that she only has one functioning lung. Brian made the tough decision on Sunday to sign the DNR papers. He had a lengthy discussion with his mother and this is what she wants. He has been really struggling with all of the decisions, as far as she is concerned. He really has not received any help from his brother on decisions, as his brother is very sick with cancer himself. It has been very hard on Brian. After he drops Brad off at school in the morning, he runs to the hospital to spend time with his mom and make any decisions that need to be made. Then he goes and picks Brad up from school and goes to the in-laws to help his brother out with any chores that he needs to have done. Once he is done there, it is off to work for the night. I do wish that there was more that I could do to help, but my in-laws will not take any from me. At the end of the day, all I can do is offer Brian all of the support that I can give him through all of this. I am thinking that we are owed one and am hoping that next month things turn around for us and some good news finally comes our way!

Renovating

This has been one crazy week! It all started on Monday with the first day of bathroom renovations. Today, was day 5. It is coming along pretty well, with only a couple of bumps in the road! Some of the floor had to be replaced and then the tub surround that we decided to go with is too big for our shower! So, onto plan B. My father has that all figured out. I don't know where we would be without him. Having the bathroom renovation going on has shown me that Brad is not in favor of change. He just wants to know "How so many more days until the bathroom is done?" Or "When is the toilet going back in?" Tonight, he got to take a bath in the new bathtub and he was very excited. Although, he was focusing on the fact that the new faucets are not in yet! I tell him to be patient, it will be done. I am very excited to finally have a updated bathroom and to move it into the 21st century!!

Emotionally drained...

The past two days have been extremely draining. Last night I went to the wake for my friend Beth's parents. It is always hard enough to attend a wake for one person, this was doubly hard. I wasn't prepared for this, but I knew I had to be strong and be there for Beth. It was very tough on her and she has some guilt. I know that over time, this guilt will pass. I stayed with her for most of the calling hours. This morning was the funeral. This was hands down, the toughest funeral I have ever attended. It was gut wrenching and heartbreaking. I don't think that I cried as much at any other funeral. There were very wonderful things said about the Gerstens. But we all know that there was no way either one of them could have lived without each other. It is only fitting that after 60 years together, they would be together forever. To Beth (if you are reading this), I love you so very much. You are the sister that I never had. I will always be here for you, through thick and thin.

Demo Day

Well, it is day one of bathroom demo in our house. It has been a long time coming and we are excited, yet I am nervous at the same time. You just never know what you are going to get into once the demo has begun. We are very fortunate enough to have my father doing the work for us. It is going to feel like a very long process, as we only have one bathroom in our house. Thankfully, we do have a toilet in the basement, so that will be somewhat helpful. I did get a call saying that there was good news and bad news. No one ever likes to get those calls! Plus side, our house has blown in insulation. The down side, when my father took down the wall, the insulation got everywhere! That had to be some sight! By the time I got home from work, there was nothing on the walls and the floor was in the process of being torn up. It looks like there may be more work that needs to be done on the floor than we initially expected. Oh the joys of being a homeowner!!

Gone but not forgotten

I got a message from my friend Beth this morning that her mother had passed away. She and her sister were with her mom when she passed. Mrs. Gersten is now in heaven with her husband. It is very sad that they lost their lives this way, but deep down I know that this is better for them. They were together for so very long and it only seems appropriate that they would go together. I will always remember the great times that I had at their house and all the funny stories. They may be gone from this earth, but they will certainly not be forgotten. Rest in peace, Mr. and Mrs. Gersten.

A quick update

Just a quick update on my horrible week. My mother-in-law is still in the ICU and is not improving as hoped. She was put back on the ventilator today as her breathing was very rapid and causing her to hyperventilate. She has also been put back on some powerful pain medication. Brian has been up to visit her everyday, but she is not responding to him. She has not spoken to him much in the past few days. Most of the time, she is sleeping or just not responding. My poor husband is having a lot of guilt over the entire situation and I just don't know how to help him, other than to be here for him. We are just taking things one day at a time, as far as my mother-in-law is concerned.

As for my dear friend, her mother took a turn for the worse late Tuesday night. When we spoke on Tuesday night, her mother was expected to recover and come home from the hospital on Friday, so that she would be able to attend services for her husband. Sometime after I talked to Beth, something went wrong and her mother started to bleed out on the brain. She was taken off of life support (per her living will) and now the family is just waiting for their mother to join their father in heaven. This breaks my heart more than anyone will know. It kind of feels like I am losing "parents" as well. All of my thoughts and prayers are with the Gersten family during this terrible tragedy that has struck their family.

When It Rains...

Everyone knows the saying, "When it rains, it pours". That is just how I feel after this past weekend. We started with weekend off with my mother-in-law having a heart attack and having major heart surgery. She is improving, however, she is still in the ICU in a medically induced coma. She will be there for at least the next 24 hours, and then she will be moved out of the ICU and into her own room. We believe that when she is finally released from the hospital, she will be moved to a rehab center as she will require 24 hour care.

Then, if that wasn't enough, my best friend had tragedy strike her. Her parents were in a terrible car accident last night and her father lost his life. Her mother is in serious condition with 4 broken ribs and her collarbone is broken in 2 places. I practically grew up with her family. If we weren't at my house, we are at hers. They are wonderful people and I will miss Mr. Gersten (aka Dad). I am praying that her mother pulls through all of this. It is going to be tough for her but I know that she is strong and will make it. Beth is on her way back to Syracuse to be with her family. I can't even begin to imagine what she is going through, but I will be there for her no matter what she needs, as she is the sister that I never had.

Change of Plans

It is the 4th of July weekend and we were planning on going up to camp. However, our plans were changed this morning by an expected turn of events. Brian received a phone call this morning from his brother saying that his mother was taken to the hospital in the middle of night as she was having a heart attack. Brian managed to find out this morning that she was being prepped for surgery to try and clear her arteries. So, Brad got to spend the day with Pop and Uncle Dave while Brian went to the hospital to wait for his mother to come out of surgery. As of 5:00 this evening, we still had not heard anything from the hospital. Gramona and Pop took Brad up to camp with them as he was so excited to go to camp. Brian and I went to the hospital and found out that my mother-in-law had a quadruple by-pass and had six valves fixed. She is now in a medically induced coma and will be that way for at least the next 24 hours. The doctor told Brian that the next 48 hours are going to be critical. The doctor did say that she did better than they expected. So for now, Brian and I are home waiting to hear more before a decision is made as to who will go to camp and save Gramona and Pop from Brad!

Raining...again!

This summer has been sooo rainy! As I sit here and type this, it is raining again. I think that it has rained just about everyday in the past two weeks, and I am getting pretty sick of it. Poor Brad has been whining that he wants to go outside, and it seems like every time we do, we are forced back inside by the rain! I thought that it was summer, not spring! UGH!!!