Memorial Service for Melvin Kuklenz

The week of June 19 through June 26, we traveled to Iowa to attend the memorial service
for Doug's dad (on what would have been his 80th birthday.

Below are some photos of the event.

The church visitation

The gravesite service

Lyla and her 5 children

Passing of the ashes by all eleven grandchildren....from oldest to youngest.

Our kids!

Karl getting ready to read "The Thirteen Folds of the Flag"

The presentation of the folded flag to Lyla

Trombone TAPS by Joel, Ryan and John Veencamp

The little blue pick-up truck with flowers.

The Kuklenz cemetary headstone

Andrew putting dirt on Great-Grandpa's box.

The entire Kuklenz family

A rare photo of the two of us.

Our family photo

Sinus polyps removal and septoplasty

Doug has been having some difficulty breathing lately, so I scheduled an appointment for him to see an ENT.  Dr Evan Bates, was referred to him by Dr Stanley Cohen (the doctor that treated his autoimmune hearing issues).  His first visit was Wednesday, June 12th where he had a sinus xray. He visit revealed he had a visible polyp in his nose and a deviated septum. He wanted him to have a sinus CT to check out his sinuses. He had the sinus CT on Friday, June 15th with a follow-up scheduled for today to get the results of those findings.

Dr Bates showed us his sinus CT.  Doug has one or more polyps in each sinus (Frontal, Ethmoid and Maxillary) on each side of the nose. He has recommened that Doug have these polyps removed (sinus polypectomy) and his deviated septum repaired (septoplasty).  This will be outpatient surgery where he will need to leave splints in his nose for 5 days to allow the septum to heal straight.

Doug will be going back to the ENT next week to have the sinus CT repeated to help with the guidance of the instruments for surgery. A pre-op physical will need to be done followed shortly by the outpatient procedure.

We are hoping the getting all the sinus polyps removed and the deviated septum fixed, his sleep apnea issues will be greatly reduced. 

Here is info about Doug's ENT physician: http://www.swent.com/doctors.html

Father's Day for Papa

Sunday, the Elliotts came over to celebrate Father's Day.
We had pork chops on the grill, rice, peas and jello.

Andrew made Papa this garden stone of his footprints, for the backyard.
Papa is trying to find the perfect place to that everyone will see it when they visit.

Dee - Foot Dr appt

Thursday, I went to the podiatrist for some foot pain I've been having since our Washington DC trip. 

The pain was the worst in the morning. But if I took some time and stretched my foot before I got out of bed, it was better.

My podiatrist, Dr Robert Taylor, did xrays and I was diagnosed with posterior tibial tendonitis.
Posterior tibial tendon dysfunction is one of the most common problems of the foot and ankle. It occurs when the posterior tibial tendon becomes inflamed or torn. As a result, the tendon may not be able to provide stability and support for the arch of the foot, resulting in flatfoot.
Most patients can be treated without surgery, using orthotics, braces and anti-inflammatory medication.   I had been talking about 1000 mg of ibuprofen but my stomach was bothering me. Dr Taylor prescribed Mobic (Meloxicam) as I only need to take it once a day for relief. I will wear my shoe inserts and hope that this tendonitis recovers without having to have a surgical repair. 

Dr Taylor says he sees this injury alot in people who have recently been to Washington DC, New York City, San Francisco or Las Vegas.  These are cities you do quite a bit of walking.  I guess that vacation was bad for my health! This won't slow me down too much!  I've got other vacations planned!

Birthday Boy

Monday was Doug's 53rd birthday, but we celebrated it on Sunday with the Elliott family.

Andrew is helping Poppa with the unwrapping of the gifts.

 

And then he gives the paper to Mimi.

Not before celebrating with the paper first!

Doug received two henley style shirts from the Elliotts.
I got him multiple pair of IZOD shorts, black Sketchers shoes and a book we saw when we were in Washington DC "Listening in...The Secret White House recording of John F Kennedy"


After present opening, Poppa and Andrew played with some blocks.

Angel food cake and strawberries was enjoyed by all!

Healthy Eating

 

TONIGHTS MENU

Italian Chicken Roulade Kabobs (via Ladies Home Journal),
Grilled Pineapple slices and Corn on the Cob.

 

 SUNDAY NIGHT
We had  grilled salmon, steamed vegetables (broccoli and red peppers)
 and this Summer Citrus Fruit Salad - via Betty Crocker

Jill took the picture of the salmon so I don't have that to show you.

 

Help ASAP!

Sunday morning, we got a call from Jill around 8am. Her and Josh were both sick (food poisoning from some bad pork chops). Andrew is not a meat eater, so he didn't have any to eat. So he felt fine!  Josh and Jill did not. To further complicate matters, Andrew had a photo appointment at the mall at 11am.  So Jill was calling to see if we could pick up Andrew and take him to his photo appt and then to our house for a while why they recuperated.

The photo session was great and Jill will be viewing those photos on Wednesday. Stay tuned for more photos!

Doug decided to pull the Edge into the garage so Andrew wouldn't have sit in a hot carseat when Josh and Jill came over to pick him up.  He is shown here helping Grandpa drive it in to the garage. He loved holding the steering wheel AND honking the horn. TeeHee!!!