Comfort Food - Chicken Corn Chowder

That yummy goodness which you see in the bowl is my friend Susan's Chicken Corn Chowder or what I sometimes like to call "heaven-in-a-bowl". (I think the formal name for it may be Illinois Prairie Corn Chowder but Chicken Corn Chowder just rolls off the tongue a little easier.) And tonight, we had some. With every warm, delectable spoonful, I imagine her cutting, chopping, and slaving away just to bless is with this savory goodness. It's one of the yummiest soups I've ever had and that's why I'm sharing it here. Whenever I make this soup for folks I'm always asked for the recipe. One day, hopefully in the not-so-distant-future when she has her own blog, Susan can post the recipe there and receive her due credit. Until that day, however, I get to share the love.......

CHICKEN CORN CHOWDER

2 chicken breasts
1 cup diced carrots
2 cups heavy cream
1 onion, diced
1/2 cup uncooked rice
3 potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 t. dried red pepper (or more if you like a lot of zing)
2 chicken bouillon cubes
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 cans sweet corn
2 T parsley
1 Bay Leaf
salt and pepper

Cook and dice the chicken. Add water to cream of chicken soup until you have 8 cups; bring to a boil and add bouillon cubes. Add potatoes, carrots, onion, corn, red pepper and parsley, bay leaf, and rice to boiling mixture. Let simmer for 30 minutes covered. Add 2 cups heavy cream and heat on low, uncovered for about 15 minutes. Add chicken. Add salt and pepper to taste.

This soup is even better leftover. It's a good thing, too, because we've got plenty left for tomorrow and I hear snow's coming our way! Thanks, Susan!!

All the hype about Skype

One of the best and funnest ways we stayed in touch with our girls while away was by the use of Skype . Skype is a program that allows you to communicate via webcam over your computer screen. And the best part is it's FREE! (At least the basic version is free and I believe that's all most users would need.) Because we had downloaded Skype last week, both onto our home computer and August's laptop, the girls were able to see and talk with August shortly after he came back from surgery. They were also able to "meet" Dr. Young yesterday via webcam.

If you have family or friends far away that you want to stay in touch with, I can't recommend this program highly enough. You will need a webcam; however many newer laptops come with one built in. If you don't have a webcam already, this is the model we use on our desk top at home, and it has worked great.

We're Home!!

After having a great day today, August was discharged this evening. We surprised the kids by showing up at home unannounced tonight. It's so good to be together again........and to have our own bed awaiting us tonight!!

A different point of view

Hi! It's me, Marina, again.

We've been Skyping Dad recently, and you can definitely tell that he's feeling better! He takes walks down the hallway and gave us a tour of their suite (on skype)! He likes to have fun with the computer settings that make him look unusual! ;) He acts silly on the computer and makes faces at us! We will be glad when you get home, Mom and Dad!

Recovery Update #2

Oh, it's so good to be in a new day! In Lamentations, we're told that God's mercies are new every morning and today that feels more real than ever.

We both slept.....restless and spotty.....but we slept. Poor August had the nurses checking on him every two hours through the night. I'm thankful for the checks but glad they can back off on that today. Our baby decided to do his celebratory somersaults in my belly around 4 a.m. this morning so that left me awake for a while.

We've been in touch with the girls by Skype and that has been so good for us to see them and they us through our computer screens.

Today will be all about working up to a regular diet (being able to swallow without difficulty - including pain pills) and walking to get his lungs back to full capacity again. (The lungs sometimes decide to take a mini-vacation whenever you have surgery. No big deal, he just needs to MOVE). It will be slow, but we'll just try a little at a time.

There's still a chance we'll go home later today (August is REALLY hoping to be in his own bed tonight), but we won't know until this afternoon.

The first picture is him right when they rolled him into the room yesterday. He probably doesn't even remember me taking it. In fact, I'm pretty sure he doesn't remember much of anything from yesterday evening. Our "conversations" were pretty one-sided!

Here he is this morning sitting up in a chair. He's already concerned about how behind he is on his newspaper reading - yes, I'd say he's getting back to normal. Maybe I'll get him to post something later. (By the way, still not able to send emails. So if you've sent one, know that I've received it!)

RECOVERY Update #1

He's here!! They rolled him into his room around 6:15 tonight. He looks great. He's pretty groggy still and not much for conversation, but still able to make a few wise-cracks. It's SO good to have him back.

Dr. Young came in a little bit ago for one last check of the day. Apparently, he's never seen such a large disc in all of his 40 years of practice. (I'm glad I didn't know that at 10:00 this morning!)

Thanks to everyone who kept vigil with me today. I know there were many, many prayers offered and candles burning on our behalf. I wish I was able to respond to all of the encouraging and humerous emails I've received today. (Thanks to those of you who offered the comic relief! You made me laugh out loud.) But for some reason, I can receive but not send from here. I even had to hack into August's laptop to be able to post this.

A few folks have asked how long we'll be here. There's a chance (although probably small) that he could be discharged tomorrow evening. More likely, we'll go home on Saturday. His recovery will require him to wear a hard (and I mean HARD) neck collar for 4-6 weeks. It makes me uncomfortable looking at it! He plans to only take a couple of weeks off of work but we'll see how that goes.

I'll try to post some pictures from my computer tomorrow.

For now, they just rolled my bed into the room...........and it looks awfully inviting! It's so good to have this afternoon over. Good night, all.

Surgery Update #3

This is Marina again.

Dr. Young just came to see Mom. He says it[the surgery] couldn't have gone better. There were no surprises and everything went well! Dad is in recovery, and Mom will get to see him in an hour.

Surgery Update #2

This is Marina writing for Mom.


The internet connection at the hospital is so slow that she's having trouble getting online.

Dr. Young just called Mom to say they'll be closing Dad up soon. He said everything went well.

Mom will try to write more later!

Surgery Update #1

"Don't worry, August. I'll take care of you just like you were my son."

August was rolled into the Operating Room around 12:45 p.m. today. The words above were what Dr. Young said to him shortly before that. And I really believe him.

I got a call around 1:45 p.m. from one of the OR nurses letting me know that they had started and that his vitals were normal. Dr. Young told me this morning that it may be 2 1/2 or 3 hours from the time they start until they are finished. At this hospital, they don't let family members see the patient in the Recovery Room so I won't see him until they bring him up to his room - where I'm waiting now. I'd love to think that will be around 5:00 but it may realistically be more like
6:00.

The top picture is August waiting in the pre-op area. Notice there's not a twinge of anxiety on his face?! He's so great in that way.


These other two pictures show the wires they attached to him to monitor his nerve impulses throughout the surgery. He has them on both wrists and his ankles. These wires will provide information about how well his nerves are conducting sensory and motor impulses throughout the operation. They will give a warning if the surgeons get too close to the spinal cord. Isn't that amazing? August wanted to be sure I got pictures of these since he knew we had a special somebody at home who would want to know as many of the medical details as possible...right Marina?!


I don't expect to get another call from the OR until they are done but if I do, I'll post another update. Until then, I'll be waiting and praying in his room.

Thanks for all of the comments, emails, and phone calls I've gotten over the past few days. The encouragement has been much needed and much appreciated.

Glow-in-the-dark hubby?

August had his stress test this morning and all seemed to go well although we don't have the final, official word yet. He had to be injected with something radioactive as part of the stress test and will therefore be radioactive for the remainder of the day. He was even advised not to sleep in the same bed with me tonight so as not to put the baby at risk. I guess one good thing that can come of this is that if he has to be up during the night tonight, perhaps he'll be at less risk of falling in the dark since maybe he'll be glowing?

Someone I'd like you to meet.......

See that sophisticated looking man on the left? That's Dr. Young. He'll come into play a little later.

See that MRI image on the right?
Notice the ladder looking column that runs up the middle? Those are vertebra with discs in between.

Now, just to the right of the "ladder", can you see the hose-like line that runs the entire length of the vertebra? That's the spinal cord - August's spinal cord to be exact.

Now look even a little closer at August's spinal cord. In the center of the picture, do you see where it's a bit indented?! A spinal cord is not supposed to be indented. But it is because a disc has ruptured and is pressing on it. Not just pressing a little bit but pressing a lot.

Here's where Dr. Young comes into play. This Thursday, around noon, Dr. Young will go in and remove the disc pressing on August's spinal cord. Unfortunately, he won't just be able to go in and pluck it out but instead may need to go behind a couple of vertebra to completely remove it. And when he goes behind those vertebra, recall what he will be right up against - yep, the spinal cord. Scary stuff.

We have great confidence in Dr. Young's skill but we have greater confidence in God's perfect and good will. A good friend has a habit of saying "God is good. All the time, God is good." Yes, He has been, is , and will continue to be.

For months, August has been skiing and playing tennis with, unbeknownst to us, this ruptured disc. That means that for months, the Lord has already been watching out for him mightily. He claims that twice he nearly wiped out recently on the slopes. Yet, for no logical reason and due to no skill of his own , he was able to remain upright. (I've been asked to consider revising this part so I'll just say that although August is a very good skier, even he isn't skilled enough to stay upright while going down the mountain backwards which is how he was headed!)

Now, since I'm really hoping that anyone reading this will be praying for August as well as Dr. Young, let me tell you just a bit about Dr. Young. He is undoubtedly one of the kindest, warmest people either of us has ever met. In the eyes of the world, he could have every reason to be otherwise - great esteem in his field and a Neurosurgical Center named after him. He breaks all molds of what you might expect of someone in his position. And we are thankful. So VERY thankful for him and his care.

Just to give you an example of this man's character, let me tell you about this morning. Today is Saturday. A day to do anything but think about the normal grind of Monday through Friday. A day when many folks enjoy a leisure morning with the newspaper, fresh coffee, and homemade waffles. But this morning, Dr. Young phoned - just to see how August was doing. And whenever he talks to us, he's not just business-as-usual. He's probing - about August, about my pregnancy, about our kids. He doesn't merely see a neurosurgical patient but he sees a whole human being, a life. (I'd love to know more of what makes him this way. Maybe Thursday......)

So if you think of it, as you're praying for August this week, also pray for Dr. Young and the team of folks who will be assisting him.

More updates to come.

Small Successes

1.
On a long, exhausting day out of town, I stayed quiet and let my dear, sweet husband linger, relax, and enjoy himself..........and treat me to dinner, when what I most wanted to do was get home to my p.j.'s and slipper. It was a delightful date. :)

2.
On Wednesday, it was VERY important to us to get to Morning Mass. We are not morning people. We are night people - late, late night people. We made it - on time - and with cheerful hearts.

3.
One particular day this week was especially fuller than usual. I did not get stressed. I did not get exasperated. I did not get mad.....at anyone. Instead, the day was our best of the entire week. We had ordered it well - putting the most important thing first. (see #2 above)

To learn more about the Small Successes meme and how YOU can celebrate your successes each week, go to Faith & Family.