A Road Trip to Remember

 Hello Everyone,

So much has happened since my last post a bit over a week ago that it is hard to know when to begin.  As you know, Mr. Joe and I set out on a road trip to Denver on August 10th for the taping of my segments on The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims.

We took a slight detour through Bryce Canyon National Park.  The clouds parted when we got there, and the thunderstorms and hailstorms stopped. The remnant of the hail is visible in this picture.

We arrived in Denver on the 12th of August.  On the 13th we went to the old, restored Mission Church to drop off quilts and all of my supplies.  The church is now an event center.

Alex and Ricky were filming promos for The Quilt Show.

The church is beautiful inside.  

My scheduled day for taping was Wednesday.  Tuesday night I didn't feel well and then my left leg blew up like a sausage.  It was red, hot and extremely swollen. For those of you who follow my blog, it is the same leg that received the venomous bites a year ago.....almost to the same date.

Somehow, I was able to shower, do my hair and get dressed which was a HUGE deal since I had to keep sitting down. I had great difficulty getting a pair of pants on over the swollen leg. I crammed my foot into a sandal. We set off for the church even though I felt horrible and just didn't look good.  I explained to the crew what was going on and I told them I was going to get through the taping no matter what. It was an issue dragging this weary body up the stairs to the choir loft to tape the before and after show segments.

The crew is getting ready to reveal my super-secret project so we could talk about it.  We sat for a bit and just ran through the segment with the producer.  It is amazing how comfortable Alex and Ricky make you feel so at ease and it's as though you are just sitting and chatting, and you forget about the cameras and crew.

Then we went downstairs to film the three other segments.  My leg was ready to fall off by this point in time so they got me a stool which was a big help because I couldn't stand up for very long.

When the filming was over, Mr. Joe and I headed right to the emergency room at Saint Joseph's Hospital where I was admitted and in surgery Thursday morning to remove a blot clot of epic proportion.  The clot started in my abdomen and ran down my thigh.  One clot started and other clots joined in on the fun!  After the 2-1/2 hour surgery they showed me a picture of the clot and it looked like a string of pop beads.  Remember them?  

I was released on Friday night with a sworn promise not to start driving home until Saturday.  All was well and we left Denver Saturday morning.  They told me to stop every hour, and I know where every Starbucks is from Denver to the California border.  There aren't many across southern Wyoming.

Again, all was well until yesterday. Wednesday when I ended up in the ER again for a 6-hour stay and more ultrasounds.  My blood thinning medication wasn't working, so a pill has now been added to my arsenal of medications.  

Before we headed back to California, we stopped by the church to pick up my quilts and supplies.  The crew treated me like a conquering hero.

We stopped at a restaurant the day I was released, and this sign was over our table. 

Cherish every day you are privileged to live.

Soon,

Lynn