Dr. Phil and the family visits

Family Photo

Flamingo at the San Diego Zoo. Julia's favorite of the day!

We've had a busy time for the last week. First, we spent two days in a row going to see the Dr. Phil show. The first day, the trip there was probably more memorable than the show itself. We had a woman on the bus who had what we believed to be a heart attack. She was right across the aisle from us and our friend, Barb, was sitting next to her. I happened to glance over and saw a strange look on Barb's face and the woman appeared to have fainted. I jumped up and told Tom to tell the tour escort and I went to see if I could help. When the tour escort asked if there was a nurse or doctor on board, no one volunteered, so I told her I used to be an emergency medical technician a long time ago. When I felt for a pulse, I couldn't find it, so I shook her and called her name. I was ready to move her to the floor for CPR when she suddenly took a breath and her eyes opened. An ambulance was called and while we waited I kept her awake and responding to my questions. It was a long 10 or 15 minutes before the paramedics arrived, but the good news is that she is doing well. I spoke with her today and she said she had atrial fibrillation. By the time we arrived at Dr. Phil, we had all calmed down considerably. The second day was uneventful but a lot of fun. Besides seeing another Dr. Phil show, we went to the Farmers Market in Los Angeles. President Obama was in LA the same day we were. We kept an eye out, but never saw him. Two days in a row was pretty exhausting but we were glad we had the experience of seeing Dr. Phil in person.

The second exciting thing was our daughter and family came down for a visit. Our granddaughter (4 1/2) loved all three swimming pools. She had so much fun trying them all out and even met a little girl to play with at the pool one day. We also took a trip to the San Diego Zoo where Julia claimed the flamingo birds the best part! Tom and I liked the huge hippo as we have an affinity for them. The kids headed home this morning.

We only have about 10 days left here and we're sad to leave but looking forward to new adventures. Spring in Portland will be beautiful and we're looking forward to starting our summer jobs.