Labor Day R & R

The Wild Hog Trap

Pat went to work a few hours last Thursday and Friday. His weight is now down to 217 which is a total weight loss of 29 lbs. He really looks good! The highlight of his weekend was Friday at 3:00 when Dr. Lin's nurse called to tell us that she finally caught up with Dr. Lin and he said the tube could be removed if Pat was eating good and his weight was stable. Pat was sleeping when she called, so when he woke up, I said "Okay, take that tube out"! He was elated and asked me if I could do it. I said "nope". So, he did. He clipped the stitch and started pulling and kept pulling. That tube was about 12 inches long. Pat felt so free that he was practically dancing a jig! Pat and I headed to the ranch Friday evening after we dropped G and Mr. P off at Chili's before they headed to the football game. We dropped the dogs off at the house in Hico and headed to town to share a cheeseburger in town. The burger tasted good to him, but he didn't feel too good before bed. Sharing food sure is helping my serving size, but I had to eat all of the onion rings! Saturday morning he started out mowing, but I stole the mower from him claiming that I needed some sun. I mowed and weed-eated until about 4:00. The above picture shows Pat putting corn in the trap so that we can catch those wild hogs, but no luck yet. Pat still did not feel very good most of Saturday. Saturday evening our friends, Brian and Lecia came over and treated Pat and I to steaks and baked potatoes. Lecia's twin sister, Linda, and her fiance Brandon were there too! Late Saturday night about 11:00 the boys and their friends, Mr. P and Arty came with big plans to dove hunt. Sunday morning I had to sing (on the Praise Team) so we drove back to Burleson for church and then returned back to Hico. The rest of the weekend was pretty uneventful and so was the dove hunting for Bubba and Arty. They shot two and one fell in the lake! Oh well!

Pat is still battling his eating. It is emotional and psychological, and many times he just dreads eating. His appetite is gone and food is not appealing to him at all. Sometimes he feels like he has to force feed himself. If he does feel like eating, he doesn't quite know when to stop as he never feels full until it is too late. He has also struggled with depression this week and I have to say watching him go through this has been the hardest part for me during this whole journey. I just feel helpless. I know that all of this is normal, but it is a hard hurdle to overcome for all of us. Please continue to pray for his complete healing. We are so very thankful for his progress and so touched by all of the people who love and care for us.

I hope all of you had a great long weekend!

Hugs!