Hi Claudette -

Thanks for the welcome back. It was a bit of a rough end of the summer up there and after we returned. Ed took a downward slide with his respiratory status from the asbestos exposure years ago. In August it got suddenly worse - needed to be on oxygen 24/7. Once we got home mid-October he saw his pulmonologist and cardiologist and had a battery of tests. Cardiac cath showed excessive fluid buildup in his lungs from congestive heart failure. So he was admitted for 5 days while they did IV Lasix to "dry him out" His breathing is so much better now, and he seems back to himself mostly. On several different meds, too.

We've having to do a low-salt diet and I find it much harder than the low-fat that he's been on since his bypass years ago. Nothing tastes good AT ALL, no matter all the other stuff I'm throwing into it to compensate for no salt. And I'm also finding very little except soups and veggies that are low-salt or salt-restricted in the stores. It's surprising how little there is. And also surprising how much sodium is in EVERYTHING you buy.

But I'm not going to complain - he's still with us, and feeling so much better that there's lots to be thankful for this Thanksgiving! Hope you have a good day, too.

Love, June