Another Month in the books

Hard to believe how fast the month of February has move . I am ready for the fresh breath of spring , and the outdoor activity to come in a short while.
The last few days have been busy with travel to Duke a couple of birthday party and hospital meeting.
The trip to duke went well, it was a combination of Dimebon follow up and HD clinic. we do not see any change as a result of taking Dimebon . VJ is going to physical rehab twice a week and that will continue for another 30 day at least. I ask the MD and he agree to write a script for a MRI of her hip and lower body. This has never been done and since no one can tell us what is causing her pain we must start ruling out things. When i ask the Doc for the test he seem surprise it had not already been done . She is also having some other problem which need investigation. She continues to have great attitude and continues to buy furniture for the house. She told me yesterday we should do an expansion of house in the next few years.
We attend two birthday parties and had a great time and VJ was able to stay a few hours at both.
The hospital issues have improved a little in my opinion with the selection of a new executive, i don't expect any problem negotiating the contract. We have folk on our board who are not qualified to to serve on any board of any kind.

I am reading a new James lee Burke book , i though he had stopped writing and turned it over to his daughter. Good read

Life is good.

Golf weekend

The weather was wonderful this past weekend and the golf course was full both days. On Saturday after not playing for two month i played well and kept it in the low # on Sunday the weather was even better and i finished but that all i can take credit for.
Sj was offer and accepted a job in NC , and should be moved by the end of June.Great new for his family and the rest of the clan. My boys grew up with there cousin and they are all still close . I hope this move will mean the cousin will get to see more of each other and develop a relationship that will last a life time.

I have been searching for leather cleaner , so last week we drove to little furniture shop to see if the owner of the shop knew were I might find the cleaner , we left with a new coffee table and two new lamps , no cleaner. something wrong with that deal.

Vj has started physical therapy and she does well at the hospital but she will not exercise at home. I think her gait when she walks has some how cause her pain ?? Back to duke on Friday, still no noticeable change from the Dimebon trial. We drove to the city on Saturday and VJ did a little shopping and later dinner.

Meeting week and it should prove interesting , I am at the point i am tired of the grind , but i have never given up on anything in mid term , probably stuck for the time being.

TGIF

The week has been busy , glad i get to catch up at home. There is also a little activity on the Huntington front. The NC-CHD has hired our first social worker, who will began work right away. I think this should motivate us to get busy on the fund rising project. The national organization has set march 18Th as a legislative call day in Washington DC, they have ask about 75 people who live within driving distance to attend. I am not sure if i can make it work yet.We received registration information for the national HDSA convention which will be held in Raleigh in June . VJ has agree to attend so i am going to register.
We were at the physical rehab center yesterday for an evaluation and will start rehab on Monday. We must improved VJ mobility . VJ still has the great attitude , but she does wind down quick and some time i have to insist she get dressed and out of the house , but she is a warrior .

SJ and the boy will come in Sunday if the weather don't close them down. This has been a wet cold and now snowy season. The bird are eating the seed i put out very quickly , but me and Mr Cat do enjoy watching.

We had two interview for the CEO position at the hospital and both are very good candidates, we will talk to one more and try to reach a decision. We need to get this behind us asap. In a meeting to discuss the hospice construction , i offer my thought on what i think is the proper way to handle a RFP bid process and i am not sure i should be in the process at all. I think it is an indication of the leadership vacuum that exits, which is another reason we need to move to hire the new CEO asap.

I read Harlan Coben "long lost" and the plot of the book is in part based on a on a man who discovery he has Huntington and what happen after. This is the first book(fiction) i have ever read that deals with Huntington , i hope that means we are gaining some traction in getting the word out on this issue.

Time for more coffee and the rest of what has piled up on this desk.

Life is good!

Catch up

The past few days have been busy for us, we had a couple of outing during the weekend. I would be just as happy at home or going to the movie , but i think it is important to keep VJ out with other people. She decides how long we will stay at the function once we arrive and unlike the old days were we would split up and visit around , we now stay together for the entire time. She still enjoys dressing up to go out and she is still a beautiful woman. We got a new script for P/T and we will get going on that this week. Still on the Dimeabon no changes noticed.

SJ will be in town this weekend for interviews on Monday with the county school superintend and an interview in wake county as well . He is very excited about moving , i hope it all work out. He is selling his house in a slow market , but if he can get it sold there it is a buyers market here.it will be great to have him and the grand kid local.

The hospital saga continues and i don't see an end in sight. The changes to health care at the federal level will to a large extent determine if community hospitals will survives. I know the most efficient way to deliver care would be do away with the overhead of the small hospitals and get everyone into a large hospital were the a production line process could be used and how folks are treated along with the cost could be controlled. This is not the ideal method , but if you are only looking at cost and efficiency , that is what is in store for us..

Enough gloom this morning . Me and the cat are have our coffee and watching the day come alive .

Life is good!

Afternoon delight

It is amazing what afternoon delight mean as we grow older. Today it mean me and the cat and my afternoon toddy, we are watching the birds feed and the sun sink over the lake ! The weather was great today so i spent all the time I could outside. I saw a very large bird , so after finding my field glasses and my field guide for Carolina birds i was able to determined i was looking at a red tail hawk(buteo jamaicenis) it was a beautiful bird. I can not image even two years ago i would have even noticed.

Peggy called from Duke and will FedEx me the script for VJ physical therapy. I will be at the hospital on Friday for a lunch meeting so i will visit PT and set up some appointments . VJ told me today she need a scooter so she could get around , i told her i would not support that , once she give up she will never walk again. Three weeks into drug trial , i do not see any change

We still have quiet a bit of snow around , hope it is not waiting for more.
Life is good.