Our summer was good, we had some ups and downs and visits with family and trips to the hospital. We volunteered in HighRiver to help the flood victims in early July, I went for one day and Matt went for two. We picked through 'mud' to clear out belongings and funiture, helped the vac truck to suck everything up and the gutted the basement down to the studs. It was smelly, hot, gross but very rewarding work. We had a good group of people to work with and the home owner was so grateful! He was a sweet old man in his eighties, his whole life was in the house and it was all gone! It was so sad to see him watch his life reduced to a pile of muddy garbage. But he could never have gotten his house cleared out unless he had help.
About a week after Matt got really dizzy, after trips to emerge and the dr and blood tests and heart tests, we don't know why he is dizzy. The specialist said that working in hHighRiver May had triggered it because Matt is not used to so much physical labour. Today we went for more tests, a hearing test and some tests where electrodes are put on Matt's face and neck and then beeps or clicks are played at a specific decibel to stimulate the nerves in the balance centers of Matt's ears, and the electrodes can pick up if they are working properly. That one was pretty easy, but Matt always gets so nervous when he has to go for tests. We didn't know what they would be until we got there, and he hates needles so much( there were none, but he still worries poor guy). The other test was pretty neat. Matt got strapped into a harnes which attached on to a big three sided metal box with a screen to look at and the insides were pained with a bright landscape scene. The floor could tilt and slide and the box would tilt. The harness was to catch him if he lost his balance. The movements were to try and trick his body into losing his balance. He just had to compensate for the movements and the comuter recorded his reactions.
I doubt we will be able to but I would love to know how he did on that one!
So he has been home all summer and mostly it has been really great having him home all the time, and I am so glad that we had such good benefits and a health care system that we don't have to pay for!
Anita turned six in June, which is crazy! She also started grade ones his fall, and is really enjoying it! Her teacher it fanominal! Julia is in the same class and they have been getting along very well.
My sister and her family moved to our town as well just at the end of August, they weren't too far away before, but I think they are enjoying the small town instead of the city.
At church I am now in the primary presidency and so far it's been great! The ladies I serve with are great fun! And Matt is in young men's which I think he likes.
I have done SO much driving this summer! Matt isn't supposed to drive ( he does once in a while but only on good days when he is not dizzy and never by himself) so I have done all the driving this summer, we've been to Fairmont B.C., Edmonton, Lethbridge, Red Deer, all over the place not to mention all the regular stuff like trips into the city etc.
So it's been good, I've got to brush up on my city driving skills, we've been able to spend almost all day every day together for three months (really this had been mostly great, I've only almost gone crazy a couple of times), I have only one child home half the day, (and it had been so peaceful!) we have traveled and visited.
It has been a good summer!
Happy thought
Matt has great benefits, he is still getting payed even though he hasn't been to work since the middle of july(except a few days in August but they sent him home)
My kids like school and have a teacher who loves them.