Thank all of you for your prayers.The Prayer Warriors came through again. His doctor said that everything went really well. They were able to fix the tear, remove the arthritis and bone spurs. If he does his therapy he should be golfing soon. And I know that he will be doing that therapy. I am sorry to say that my brother did not make it. He died just before Easter. I am the only one left of my family. My Mom,Dad,two brothers and sister have gone home. It has been a really hard year, but we take it a day at a time. It is good to have friends here and at the KT.

There is a lot of bantering on the RE forums about the best way to protect yourself, and it's quite interesting but IMHO, not very realistic. For many, they believe the answer is carrying a gun (legally, etc) but it's not like you're going to be holding your loaded weapon in your hand while you walk through someone else's house. If it's in your handbag or on your body, I just think it's highly unlikely that you're going to be able to get it out in time to protect yourself against an assailant in a house. Think about how you show a house - narrow hallways, chokepoints at doorways, stairwells, basements. (And as a seller, don't even think about sending strange buyer into my house unaccompanied!) It really wouldn't be too difficult to look away for a moment to find a light switch or look down at a step and WHACK! - you're down, arms held behind you, or in a chokehold and your gun is where? Your keys with emergency alarm? (not that anybody pays attention to a car alarm going off) Your emergency button on that cell phone app? Can you reach your Cuff or Artemis (jewelry with emergency buttons)? Is anybody going to find you in time using any of those alert services? I strongly believe, although it's more paranoid than I care to normally live my life, that the best precautions are taken in advance. I've decided that a buyer who won't take the time to meet me in my office or in a public spot first, and let me copy their ID doesn't get my time to see a house. (Not the best example, but just to make the point.) I don't think we know what Ms. Carter did or didn't do, but we will all learn a lesson from her tragedy.

DH had his prostate removed 6 weeks ago because of cancer. He had the choice of removal, or radiation and we chose the removal, for various reasons. Medical surgeries have come a long way! His was done robotically and the recovery and hospital time is cut drastically. He was released the next morning. A common side-effect is incontinence. Hubby wears Depends all the time, but he hasn't had any accidents where he leaked out. He makes sure he goes to the washroom every couple of hours, so even when we're out for a length of time, he goes to the washroom. At first he couldn't feel his bladder, and didn't know when it was full. That has changed. Here is a link that might be useful: Hubby's Surgery thread

Thank you Tina. Jeannie, has been strong for so long that it makes sense she breaks down now and then. I think she feels comfortable doing so with me. She knows I can take it. After all we come from the same strong bloodline. Granted, I often break down after we hang up or this weekend on the way back to the hotel, but if she can be strong going through all this, I can be strong for her when she needs it. I thought I'd be able to cry with her, thinking it would make her feel loved, but it just didn't seem right. I did tear up, but the bloodline kicked in and the strength took over. It's just the way we are. Saturday our daughter texted to tell me that a neighborhood friend of hers and her brothers, (we all knew him and his family well, but lost touch after we moved) died last Wednesday. Our son who went to the visitation Sunday and found out it was cancer. He had a brain tumor when he was about three, shortly after we moved to the neighborhood. He was 29. Thank you Jen. I'm so glad she's home too. I don't know if I mentioned earlier, but her hubby had just been in the hospital about a week before she was. He's an artificial valve. I was thinking it was something else, but found out this weekend that it's a valve. I'm going to call Jeannie tomorrow during the day hoping she's feeling more up to talking or maybe even Skyping. I want to thank you all for giving me this outlet to talk about Jeannie as it's helping me more than you know. I know your prayers are helping Jean, and the rest of us, too. Thank you!