JANUARY FAMILY LETTER
2008
To
see or print this letter in plain text, click here!
Lloyd and Nilda –
Dear Family,
It is not hard
to have something to write about when you have had so many trips to the
hospital.
On the other
hand is difficult to find the time to do it. Since our last letter I have
had many trips to the hospital.
They all were
new events, fortunately none of them turned out to be very serious.
Last night I
had an ache on the right side of my chest and one gets a little nervous after
hearing about
so many cases of heart problems. One
tendency is ignored it hoping that will go away, so Nilda
called the doctor
I was sent to
the emergency room. We did not come home until 9:30AM. Every test was negative
except for
stress test that I need to take tomorrow.
Both with my trips to the hospital and Julie's treatments for her cancer,
the Castleton's must pretty well keep
the hospital afloat. We have not attended Church for 4 Sundays.
Our grandson Lloydli came home from his camp and the change has been
phenomenal. Things remain quiet at home.
He has already
find work and purchase a car. It is a pleasure talking with him. Last
Friday Kayle and Porter came to visit us.
We really
enjoyed their visit and we hope to do the same with the rest of the
grandchildren. Gabriel was in Idaho participating
on a National Ballroom Competition.
As for the
weather we need not to report on that since most everyone is in the same boat.
We are very
sorry that we hold this letter for soooo long, we
will try to do better next month.
Meanwhile, we
hope that all of you are able to keep healthy.
Love you all,
Lloyd and Nilda
FROM DARLENE AND BOYD -
Dear Family,
Just for the record I would like to relate what happened
to me in Dec. I started to feel some discomfort in my chest but didn't think
much of it until it went on for about 4 days. I had been cleaning my carpet and
thought moving the cleaner around had put a strain on me. But when it lasted that
long Boyd told me I had better go to the doctor. This was on Friday and the dr.
was not available until Monday. So I went to my family dr. on Mon., he sent me
immediately to a cardiologist where I was told I needed to have an angiogram
and maybe put in a stint or two. So Tuesday, that was done but the dr. found a
big blockage where a stint would not work and so he told us I needed to have
surgery. Instead of sending me home first, they figured out a schedule where I
could have surgery the next day, Wed. Dec 5, 2007
They did a double bypass and found my valve was not
working properly so that was replaced. They also found a hole in my heart that
was probably there since I was born, and repaired that. Boyd told me I was in
surgery for 9 hours. It has been a long, slow process to get better, but
everyone says they can see improvement each time they see me. I am starting to
feel somewhat better. My legs still give me some trouble. A vein had to be
taken from my leg for the bypasses and that has been very sore, and my body
filled with fluids. I have been taking diuretics, water pills, and that has
helped to relieve me of some of the fluids.
Boyd has been a great help to me. I don't know what I
would have done without him. He is still doing most of the work but I can fix
dinner sometimes now.
The rest of the family is doing good.
They keep busy with their work schedules and taking care of their families.
They have all taken their turns coming to be with us and helping however they
can.
Judy and Garth and kids are going to church now and Garth
has been ordained a Priest and Seth has been ordained a teacher. They have set
a goal to go to the temple sometime this year.
Have a Happy Valentines Day!
Love,
Darlene and Boyd
From
Wayne & Loree
The last of January I went to Tammy's to watch her kids
while she and Perry went on a Caribbean Cruise. This is the second cruise they
have enjoyed. It was a long ten days. I guess I'm not used to being Mom to
young children. It was harder than I thought it would be. I'm certainly glad to
be home. But Perry and Tammy enjoyed their trip. They were delayed coming home
on Saturday because their pilot didn't arrive to fly their plane, and they
couldn't make their next flight connection. So they had to be booked on another
flight the next morning. Then when they got to Denver the airlines had
over-booked their flight. So they opted to get a free ticket and take the next
flight out to Boise. So they didn't arrive home until nearly 10:00 p.m. Sunday
night. But they made it home safe and sound.
I don't know about your areas, but where I was (Parma ID)
they had several snow storms with high winds. The schools had one snow day. It
would have been two, but the snow and wind didn't start until later in the day
when the schools were alrady in session. And then on
the last Sunday I was there, they had another bad windy snow storm, so the
bishop cancelled church for that day. Since then it has warmed up and calmed
down. The snow is melting quickly.
On the way home I had very good weather until I came up
over Whitebird hill and into the Grangeville Camas
Prairie, when high winds hit and there was a whiteout for a few miles. That
area always has high winds when there is any kind of wind at all, but when
there is snow it makes it much worse. I prayed a lot that day. The Lord was
kind and I got through it without incident.
Wayne stayed home while I was gone and kept the homefires burning, literally. He didn't feel he could leave
when the weather was so cold and unpredictable. Earlier this month we had a
wind storm here at home that took off part of our patio cover. It's been a very
interesting winter as far as weather is concerned. I'm looking forward to
spring and different weather.
When I was in Parma we were given another computer from a
friend of ours that is more up to date. We have a young man in our ward who is great with computers, so we asked him to set it up
for us. It has XP Pro on it instead of Windows 98 (which is what we have been
using on our other computers). It's going to take time to get used to it. But I
think it will be good once we get all the bugs worked out.
Guess that's all for this time. We love all of you and
our prayers are with those who are in special need at this time. May God bless you.
Wayne
& Loree
From
Elaine
Dear Family
Last month was wonderful.
I was able to visit Julie for Christmas and then stay and help her while
she underwent Chemo. Christmas was just
like home, lots of kids, noise, hugs, good times and of
course, gifts. I certainly got more than
my share. I loved every minute of
it. It snowed on Christmas eve and was beautifully clear on Christmas so we could
travel and enjoy the day at Karie and Brian’s house.
Larry and family came over for one afternoon, we went to
visit Darlene one afternoon, other than that we were at home. It was such an honor and a blessing to be
able to be there and take care of you, Julie.
You are such a trooper. I know
that you are on your way to complete recovery.
Although I was looking forward to coming back, I’m delighted that you
didn’t have to have chemo again.
I came home to guests.
Derek was here for several weeks with a friend. He’s starting a new business. Then Lynda came and we went to a workshop
about finding your life’s purpose and direction. It was great.
She went home, then Candace came for a couple of days, then Derek went
home, then school weekend, then Lynda came back with two guys and we went to
another workshop. This one was the
second visit to Breakthrough to Success.
It was so good the first time that I signed up for everything they
teach. I was glad that I did, in
revisiting it, I got even more out of it. Then everyone went home. Whew! No wonder I’m tired.
This month I am going to Maui (yippee) for another of the
Workshops. This one is Billionaire Boot
camp. Lynda is going with me and we are
planning on staying an additional five days to play. Luckily I had enough miles to go for only $10
air fare.
I’m so blessed.
I’ll be gone Feb 28 through March 12, so you may not get a letter next
month, or will get it late. But know I
had a great time.
School is great.
Life is great.
Lots of love to you all,
Elaine
From Larry and Betty
O.K. here is January's family letter from our side of the
tracks!
We have had a chaotic month, to say the least. It's hard
to believe January is now just a memory. First of all, we brought in the new year by having an overnight party for Ana and some of
her close friends. It's the first time she has been able to stay up past
midnight at our house. She and her friends became a little wild, which was to
be expected. It took until about 1 A.M. for them to settle down enough to
finally go to sleep.
Next event was Brian's birthday; we had the party at our
house, of course! We had dinner and then Brian opened his presents; and then we
enjoyed cake and ice cream. It was a lot of fun.
The biggest news, though, is on the health front, (or
should I say the lack of health front).
Kendra found out she had to have her gall bladder
removed. For quite some time, she has been in pain and couldn't seem to keep
any food down for very long. Finally, she went to her doctor and had some tests
done. The doctor immediately referred her to a surgeon. She went in for her
operation on Tuesday, January 29, early in the morning. They did the
laparoscopy type surgery where several small incisions are made, and then they
go in with a laser type device and remove the gall bladder. Kendra was able to
come home that same day. Of course, she has experienced pain from the surgery,
but according to the surgeon, it was a good thing she had it done now; he told
her he had never seen a gall bladder as diseased as Kendra's was, and also she
had a stone blocking the entrance to her gall bladder. She is now home recouperating and instead of having to be off for 6 to 8
weeks from the old type surgery, it will take only 2 to 3 weeks for her to get
back on her feet. It has been only a little over a week now, and she is making
excellent progress already.
The next health event happened to Betty. Last week, she
had a scratch on the back of her leg; then it turned into an ulcer, and Sunday,
her whole lower leg was inflamed and swollen; so we took her to emergency at
the hospital, because on Sunday, the urgent care is closed. It turned out that
her blood sugar was way high, probably because of the infection, so they put
her on an insulin drip to bring down her blood sugar to a lower level. Also she
was put on some antibiotics. She was also complaining of a headache, so they
gave her a low dose of morphine. Her headache went away, and she joked that she
would like to take some of that home with her, it made her feel soooo good!
After an overnight stay in the observation unit, her
blood sugar levels had come down to manageable proportions, and the sore on her
leg had improved somewhat. She was released, but they wanted her to go back the
next day for a follow-up. The doctor was pleased with her progress, but told
her to see her regular physician to fill him in on what was going on. She had
that appointment today, and he seemed pleased that she had taken care of it in
a timely manner. She just needs to finish her antibiotics and then we will see
how it is. To this day, we do not know how she got an ulcer on the back of her
leg. Oh, by the way, the diagnosis was diabetic cellulites. I have had
cellulites before, but not the diabetic kind, and antibiotics is the only way I
can get rid of it.
Ana will be turning the big 12 this year, on Sunday,
February 17. She will be graduating from Primary and joining the young women
program. She is very excited as are we.
As far as my health is concerned, I just keep plugging
along. I am still taking what I call 'my happy pill' along with all my other
medications; I no longer have anxiety problems, and don't get upset at the
little things in my life anymore. It is just a wonderful feeling to have
finally found out my problem and just to know that a teeny tiny pill can make
me feel good about my life seems like a miracle to me. Can't wait until our
next reunion to be able to show off the new me!
One other thing: Lauren and Kendra have signed the
grandkids up for Karate lessons. All three of them are enjoying the classes. We
will see how they progress. Hoping it has a postive
influence on their attitudes toward life in general. It's supposed to help them
become more disciplined.
Just remembered, KayLub has
taken up piano lessons as of today. We have a neighbor lady that teaches piano.
I was just informed that he really likes the lessons and the teacher. We will
see how he does; at least we have a piano at home so he can practice.
That's about it for January's letter. Hope everyone is
doing much better healthwise. We pray for all of you,
especially those who are going through trials in their lives right now. May
God's blessings be upon you and your families, and may He give you all the
comfort you need to overcome those trials.
We love you all!
From
Wayne and Julie
Dear Family,
I suppose most have you have heard about my long stay in
the hospital and the results. But if
not, here is the story:
A week after my last session of chemo, I started getting
a fever. First it was low -- 99 to 100
-- But then it went up to 102 on Saturday.
I didn’t tell anyone because I just didn’t want to go to the hospital
again and have them tell me they didn’t know what was happening to me. (They did that the last time I had chemo and
my fever spiked). I took Tylenol and it
seemed to get my temperature down again to 99.
But on Sat. night, Sunday morning I got the chills, couldn’t get warm,
and I felt awful. Wayne took my
temperature and it was 102 again. So we
called the doctor and they said to take me to the ER. In the meantime, Wayne had gone to the Instacare that morning and found that he had
bronchitis. He was worried that he may
have made me sick.
Once at the ER they took a whole bunch of tests, including
blood tests to see if I had an infection, x-ray to see if I had pneumonia, and
test to see if I had the flu. The tests
were negative (except the blood tests that had to wait for cultures to grow) so
they admitted me and told me I would probably stay a day or two. They thought it might be a UTI, but that came
back negative as well. Since they
couldn’t explain the fevers, and I kept having them every day, they called in
an infectious disease specialist who also couldn’t figure it out. So they gave me a CT scan and found that I
had pneumonia that didn’t show up on the x-ray.
Then they called in a pulmonary doctor who did a bronchoscopy
to take the fluid out of my lungs to find out if it was infectious or
inflammatory. Of course this was Friday and
the lab didn’t think it was important enough to do over the weekend so I had to
wait for the results until Monday. My
fever finally stayed normal over the weekend, but they still wouldn’t let me
go. All three doctors had to approve my
release.
I was finally released on Monday at about 6:00 p.m. with
the diagnosis that the pneumonia and fevers were caused by the chemo. I went to the cancer doctor on the 7th
and he agreed that I had had enough chemo and that one more time wouldn’t do that
much good as opposed to the risks of getting pneumonia again. So I jumped for joy, got an appointment with
the surgeon and off we went to celebrate (Teresa went with me, so I took her to
lunch).
Today I met with the surgeon and he was able to look at
the CT scan to see if there was still a tumor or if it had gone away. He gave me an exam and couldn’t feel the lump
so I was encouraged, however, the CT scan showed it was still there and had
just decreased to half it’s
original size (2 cm.). He said he still
wanted to check my lymph nodes, so he will take the first nodes out, have them
tested while I’m in surgery, and then go from there. If positive, I will have all of my lymph
nodes taken out. I’m kind of worried
about that, but hopefully everything will turn out for the best. My surgery is scheduled of 2/25, so everyone
keep me in your thoughts and prayers.
I’m now back to work, and feeling great. The surgeon said that I looked really good,
especially for having gone through what I had in the last few months. But he also said the surgery was going to be
hard on me because of my compromised immune system. But I’m a fighter and I’m sure all will turn
out great.
That’s my story for this last month. I can’t wait until I don’t have to talk about
this any more and it’s all behind me. I hope all of you are well and happy.
Love,
Wayne and Julie
From
Vernon and Gwen
Dear Family,
What an incredible couple of months.
Just before Christmas, Gwen and I got to fly up and visit
Lloyd in Montana for a couple of days. It was almost like torture the first
day, however, as we sat through a parents session with the school. We were so
close to Lloyd, but couldn't see him. The next day was, however, worth all that
we have gone through to help him. As we walked into the building, he was
sitting at the other end in the common room. He had no idea we were coming.
Gwen was ahead of me. When he saw her, he yelled out in surprise and ran to his
mom. He gave her the biggest, longest hug, and we knew our son was back! We
were there to celebrate his graduation into the second phase of the program.
He, along with all the other graduates, gave a talk about his experience and
what he had learned during the first phase. He expressed his gratitude for
having been sent to Turning Winds. Hearing him and each child express how they
had overcome their difficult situations (the reasons each child was there was
as varied as the kids) was truly a moving experience. Lloyd had learned a lot
about himself, and how to change his situation. He learned to make better
choices. He had overcome his depression and anger. He had turned the corner and
was coming home soon! One thing surprised me. He confessed that had he not be
sent there, he believed that he would have either been dead or in jail. Gwen
was so right to have received inspiration to send him there. Moms do have a
special intuition. I am learning to listen to it, because when she gets that
certain feeling, she is most often right. As a dad, I am so concerned about providing, I tend to overlook the other needs the kids have.
I am so grateful for a partner that is in tune as she is. Life is so much
better with her in it. Heavenly Father has blessed me so much through her, I can not express the deepness, the joy and tenderness, nor
the gratitude I feel when I think I have Gwen as my eternal companion.
We spent the rest of the day together, talking and
talking. We also got to see National Treasure 2. The bummer for me came the
next day as I was so sick, I couldn't get out of bed. So Gwen and Lloyd want
out for breakfast and a long talk. When they came back, we all played games.
Sadly, we had to take him back late that night, as we had to leave early to
catch the flight the next day. Still, we had talked more in that weekend than
we had in a couple of years, or so it seemed. We enjoyed being in the company
of our son once again. And he would be home soon. With that precious gift, we
boarded the plane and headed home to spend Christmas day with our eight other
wonderful children. It was a truly glorious Christmas.
Last week I got to travel back to Montana. If ever you
want to feel isolated, separate from the world, a visit to Yaak,
Montana, will definitely help. It is a four hour drive from the Spokane,
Washington airport. Along the way, you do pass some significantly sized towns,
but that becomes less and less so. About three hours from the airport, I
arrived at Bonners Ferry, the largest town in the region, with about 2200
people. An hour past that, and way beyond civilization, lies
Yaak. The trip was long, the weather was stormy. Snow
was piled high on either side of the road. My excitement grew as I turned off
the main highway onto the last highway to Yaak. It
was a two lane, ice packed road with no lighting anywhere. Twenty nine miles up
that highway sits the very sleepy village of Yaak.
The center of town was not much. A country store, and
two saloons. Why a town of only 100 needs two saloons, I'll never know. But one
of them is called the Dirty Shame Saloon. It seems ironic to me that the turn
off to the facility where so many get help and turn their lives around is named
the Dirty Shame. Turning left at that corner and heading up the last four mile
stretch, I very definitely got excited.
As I walked in the door, all the kids cheered. Not for
me, but for Lloyd. For it represented his triumph and achievement, he was at
last going home. They were truly happy for him. There was a small good-bye
ceremony. Other young men got to share some feelings about Lloyd, who he was,
and what he meant to them. It was gratifying to hear from them the very
qualities we knew Lloyd had, and that he had begun to let those good parts of
him show so much more in his last month there. After an hour or so, we headed
out. We got about half way to Spokane, in a town called Sandpoint, Idaho. We
arrived about 10 at night. Despite the need to get up early, we decided to jump
in the hot tub. For the first time in two years, I had the joy of having a
good, long talk with Lloyd. We talked about his plans, his experience at
Turning Winds, and all kinds of things. It was great. We got to bed about
midnight.
The next morning we awoke to what the news outlets were
calling the biggest snowstorm in 10 years. We kept hearing how many roads were
closed, and that the road we were to take was one of them. Despite the news
reports, we decided to head towards the airport. We planned to go as far as we
could, and if the road was closed, we would turn left and go skiing. But as we
went along, we got no sense for the effects of the big snowstorm. The roads
were clear. We stopped to get gas and saw the news crew wrapping up the
broadcast. It was straight and smooth sailing to the airport.
We landed in Salt Lake and went straight to my Mom and
Dad's home. Mom was sure excited and happy to see Lloyd. She was so overjoyed,
she cried. We enjoyed a late lunch/early dinner with them and then headed down
home. Gwen had planned a great surprise party with some of Lloyd's friends. It
was a wonderful reunion. Lloyd has really turned a corner. He is headed in the
right direction, and that makes all the sacrifice worth it, no matter the
price.
The rest of the gang is doing well. We have had no major
events, excepting Gabe's competition schedule started again. Last Saturday he
place first in three of the five dance events he entered. He made it to the
finals in all events. The kid can dance!
Gwen is feeling better. Isagenix
now produces a healthy chocolate. It seems a great contradiction. She reports
that her stomach pains have stopped. Not to mention she gets to eat chocolate
guiltlessly every day now!
We love you all.
Vernon, Gwen, and all nine kids at home!
Dear Family,
Happy Valentines Day!
Brian has recently been called by his Elder's Quorum
Presidency to teach the Joseph Smith Smith lessons
and the Teachings for our Times. He is very excited about his new calling. He
will still be working with the Webelos Scouts and all
that entails. As if life couldn't get any busier!
Lisa is also still enjoying her calling with the Webelos scouts. She recently fell on the ice at work and
hurt her ankle. We went to the emergency room.and
they gave an ankle support boot. It seems to helping. We hope it heals quickly.
Speaking of healing, Oreo got bit yesterday at obediance class. A bassett-rottweiler
mix did not like any dogs near himand Oreo got too
close. In just a split second, Oreo was bleeding from his upper lip. The
trainer swooped in, picked up Oreo and took him to the hospital in the back of
the PetsSmart. He ended up needing 3 stitches and now
he is healing too.
Other than that, not much has been going on except the
same old busy life. Hope everything is well with you.
Love,
Brian and Lisa Castleton
If you have any problems or
questions e-mail me at thj2u@yahoo.com