Friday, November 16, 2007

update

The Hermit is home now. They discharged him this morning, but he walked out before they had all the paperwork done. Oh well. His doctor said it was okay, so I guess that's good.

He's still kind of weak and a bit uncoordinated, but his speech is much better. He's on an antibiotic; the doctor was kind of skeptical about the Lyme connection, but I'm glad he at least agreed to try it.

I think he'll get better, but it really has me thinking, how quickly life could change. And the uncertainty; what is causing this, and will it get better?

We went out shopping for a few groceries, and when we came home we were greeted with this:



A male Pine grosbeak, actually two of them, paid a short visit to our feeder. This one looked so huge, his feathers were all fluffed out against the cold. The high temp was 35, but it was sunny. When we met the kids at the end of the driveway when the bus dropped them off, our shadows were about a hundred feet long.

12 comments:

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

I'm so glad to hear Hermit is doing better and is out of the hospital. You'll have the weekend to watch him and make sure he's getting stronger and doing what he needs to recover. (rest, Rest, REST!!!) The Pine Grosbeak is beautiful! I saw two females last winter but they're not nearly that pretty.

barefoot gardener said...

So glad to hear about Hermit coming home. It's strange, my thoughts have been kind of paralleling yours. How quickly something could happen, how scary the uncertainty of life is, etc.

I love the pic of the bird. I am learning so much about my backyard neighbors from you and a couple other birding blogs! It's not something I ever thought I would enjoy, but I am finding it really fun!

Anonymous said...

Deb,
Keep a close eye on him. I'm glad that he, at least , seems to feel better. What a scare! These kinds of scares, I think, are meant to remind us just how quickly our lives can change. It also is, I think, a reminder of just what is important in our lives. I don't imagine you cared much if your dishes were done or not yesterday. Will keep you and your family in my prayers for a little while yet. Don't forget to breathe.
Your winter birds are so beautiful!
Cindy

Anonymous said...

Keeping you all in my thoughts... I think it's particularly scary when you don't know the cause... Isn't there a test for Lyme disease?

That is one pretty bird!

Anonymous said...

I'm glad for the good news. And I love the image of the long shadows.

Anonymous said...

Holy cow Debbie I just read your blog today and you were just in Duluth the other day! I a mglad he is getting better and its great that Hermit has a smart wife and strong wife to get his butt to the doctor. I'll keep him in my thoughts.

Sue said...

Glad he's feeling better- keep an eye on him!

Deb said...

Lynne- Thanks. It's so nice to hear from you! I'm sure you'll see a male pine grosbeak at the Sax Zim festival, if not the Pine County Christmas Bird Count!

Barefoot Gardener- we have been kind of running along parallel lines, haven't we?

Glad you're enjoying the bird info. It is addictive. :)

Cindy- thanks. It has been an eye opener. I think maybe there's a reason behind this...

Jennifer- I believe a test was run, but the tests are generally unreliable. I have been doing a lot of research though, and it's not out of line to have stroke like symptoms with Lyme's.

Pablo- Thanks. And, I wish I had brought my camera out there to capture the amazing long shadows.

Mike H- Thanks. I won't take that long walk out on Park Point on Monday for granted.

Sue- I certainly will keep an eye on him.

RuthieJ said...

Hi Deb,
I'm glad the Hermit was able to come home. I hope he will continue to improve and a scary medical event like this won't ever happen again.

R.Powers said...

Jeez.
I miss a day or two here and serious stuff happens!

I'm glad he's home and feeling better.
Very glad it was not a stroke.

Deb said...

RuthieJ and FC- thanks for your concern.

He is still kind of weak and we're not exactly sure what's going on. He has an appointment for an MRI tomorrow.

Larry said...

That's scary.-I hope he's going to be o.k.-Nice Grosbeak photo.-I have a chance of seeing one this year in CT