WebWalker's Blog

Last night I went with my next door neighbor Lori Gray, her teenage son, and his friend to a local corn maze. It was FAB-O-LUS. There was a traditional corn maze - very large, over 3 miles of walking - as well as the farmer's famous "Fear Farm" corn maze, and several "haunted houses." The boys went through the Fear Farm maze and the haunted houses, while Lori and I tackled the much larger traditional corn maze. It was themed on the upcoming SuperBowl which will be held here in Glendale AZ on February 3 2008, and "tackled" is the word for the maze! Lori and I made it through in about 45 minutes, but met several people who had been "lost" in the area of the "football" for some time. Everyone who met anyone in the maze Of Course gave them wrong directions, plus it was night-time and the corn was waaaay over our heads, so it was really fun and challenging, trying to negotiate your way through the maze. On our ticket stub was a tiny ...

Mary is recuperating nicely and is no longer in the rehab facility. She is currently staying with son Don and daughter-in-law Lupe at their house, since she is still not able to negotiate the stairs to her own condo. She is taking several "tours" around the house using her walker, doing her rehab exercises, and generally in very good cheer... but then she always is in good cheer, bless her heart. May we all have her attitude when we are 93 years old! The news about Lori is not quite so heartening, but our hopes are still up as she awaits the possibility of a liver transplant. There are endless ups and down, sometimes several in one day, as she and her family battle for her life. Please continue to keep them all in your prayers.

Hey, great news - Mary Wroten spent the afternoon with me updating the pictures taken at the Family Reunion in Chicago (July 1 2007). We labelled them, and at the bottom of the page we even put a little Who's Who legend to better discern who is attached to whom. Have fun checking it out - here is a link: http://webwalkerdesign.com/Graphics/ChiTownReunion/index.htm and if you have any photos to add to the collection, please send them to me - thewebwalker @ cox.net (no spaces in the actual email address, I just added spaces here to thwart spammers).

The good news from Rickey Lynn is that Lori was recommended for referral to the liver transplant team and the surgeon. Apparently however there is a tremendous amount of testing to be gone through just to be put on the national transplant list, not to mention all the red tape or the huge financial burden. If you'd like full details of all that is involved, please leave a comment below this post and Rickey Lynn will add you to her mailing list for updates. Meantime, please continue to keep Lori and her family in your thoughts and prayers.

News from Rickey Lynn: Dear Family and Friends, Lori is home! In truth - she came home late in the afternoon before yesterday, but in accordance with the decision that we came to some time ago, June and I were sent on a 2 day vacation as soon as we got her settled in the house. Next, Jennifer will be sent on a 2 day vacation as soon as she can make her arrangements. It may sound callous, but the stress levels had reached the point where we all needed some down time. June and I spend ours in a hot soaking spa, and doing a lot of sleeping. Lori seems to be doing better now, partly with the help of 8 meds instead of 2, and partly with having been in a top notch hospital where she received excellent care. Our only problems have been with the insurance company, and they are always a pain in the tush! In our case, we had to fight for her meds, and they refused to pay for her rehab care in the hospital, but they will still pay for her physical therapist at the house, as well as a social worke...

I know this is looong past due, but I have *finally* compiled a slideshow of some pics of the Family Reunion held in Chicago on July 1, 2007... here is a link: http://webwalkerdesign.com/Graphics/ChiTownReunion/index.htm The pics are not in any order, and some are of the Reunion Day, and some of the days leading up to the reunion. Right now none of them are labelled as to who is who, but I figure you know who you are, ha! Seriously, I will be working to get them labelled soon. Meantime, enjoy the photos for a little trip down memory lane... or to "meet" some cousins if you didn't make it to the reunion! There are 80-odd pics in the slideshow, but it's the type where you can click the "next" button so you can go as fast or as slow as you want. I reduced the size of each pic so they would not take so long to load on the Internet, but if you want any of the photos in their original large size, just post a comment to this message (below, see where it s...

Okay, now that all the serious illnesses and crises in the family seem to have abated for a little bit, I figured it is time to upload some of those photos everyone has been hollering for! Click on this link for a few photos from our trout fishing trip to Lees Ferry with David in August: http://webwalkerdesign.com/Graphics/DaveFishTrip/pages/P1030263_JPG.htm

I quit going to the gym after this happened... LOL - just figured it was time for a little levity. Have a great day, folks! Susan

Finally, some good news from Rickey about Lori: Dear Family and Friends, Lori is doing much better than she has in a long time. Apparently, taking her to a different hospital has made a big difference, as they seem to know just what to do for her. Lori looks better than she has in probably 3 years. They not only have her kidneys pouring fluid out of her body, but she now has ankles instead of elephant feet, she no longer looks 20 months pregnant, and most important of all, she seems happy and able to comprehend what is said to her. It's hard to express our happiness. In addition to all of the above, she was seen twice by doctors from the liver transplant office today, will be seen by them again tomorrow, and will be seen by the actual transplant surgeon on Wednesday. We've tried for months to get to see these people, and now they are just coming out of the woodwork. I think that if there is one thing that is a problem, it's that the rest of us are all suffering from exhaust...