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Cord's Heart - EXCELLENT NEWS!

11/14/2015

Hello!
Yesterday was our first visit to the cardiologist. Love on the wind and brilliant minds who know things about hearts are doing the trick - Cord's heart is on the mend!!!!!!!!!! We were thrilled when the doc agreed to do a quick ECHO - to check for improvement of Cord's Ejection Fraction. This doc is chill and doesn't like to rush - he warned against checking too soon so we wouldn't be disappointed - but after talking to Cord and hearing how he sets off the Life Vest by running - or how he wants to start exercising - the doc agreed to check because he could tell Cord was improved. And you know it's true, his Ejection Fraction was 10% at the hospital - it is now around 25-30%!! We were out of our tiny minds. Cord was smiling from ear to ear. I started whooping and hollering just after we cleared the doors of the lobby. WOOOOOOOOOHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! And once we got in the truck it was, "Yeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
So we are happy. It is working. The meds are working and the prayers are working. Please don't stop sending that love on the wind - it is all around us and gives us strength.

The doc adjusted the meds after a nice, long meeting with Cord. He is very cool and seems confident all will go as planned.
Cord still has a long way to go and will continue wearing the Life Vest but once he is up to 40% or more - he "can kick it to the curb and never look back" to quote the doc. The doc could see the problem with Cord's heart - and how it throws the beat off - or how the 'left bundle' wobbles. As the meds work, this will diminish and as his heart gets stronger, could correct itself enough to operate on it's own. If not - and after we give the meds a chance to work - a pacemaker could be in order. But not yet - the doc is a positive guy and seems to think Cord could heal all the way and not need one so we shall be patient and see.
We were so encouraged to get this news and will continue on course.

Denver's Coming Right Up!
As you know - last month - the Denver Botanic Gardens postponed our greenhouse event until November 19/20. The time has come and we are working madly on a two day event. We would love to see you if you are near Denver this Thursday evening, November 19th, for a photographic story of our greenhouses and how it all happened. The next day, November 20th from 10-3, is a nuts and bolts workshop on sustainable greenhouse design. Both are beautiful affairs and a part of the Bonfils Stanton Series - this year's theme being, "Heroes of the Front Range" - and we are honored to be speakers for it.
The lecture is Thursday evening with a meet and greet from 6-7 - then the talk from 7-8:30, along with catering both days. It is inexpensive and always lovely to attend an event at Denver Botanic Gardens, again, we hope you can come.
Seeds
I am buried in seeds. I hope to have as many new varieties ready for these events - especially new tomatoes - all I do is squeeze them all day long. I will have seeds there - some saved by firefighters and some saved by me!

Happiness to all - thank you for your incredible support - Cord is on the mend!!!!!!!!!!
Penn

Cord working on a greenhouse design in the shop while Beau builds vents nearby.

Squeezing a big ol' 'Delicious' tomato - to ferment the seeds in time for Denver.

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Cord's Heart - Life Vest Data - Black Tomatoes

11/7/2015

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Hi again! We are so busy - days are just blending together. Cord seems to be busy all the time. He has been doing lots of finishing work in our bedroom - right now he's using beetle kill to create a wainscoting around the bottom of one of the walls. It is really shaping up - the room feels like another place - like a place we are visiting - or a hotel room we are staying in. We haven't moved anything in yet but our bed and our overnight bags from our trip to hold our clothes. So I hang my robe on the hand truck and leave my shoes by the bed.
I had my birthday this week and my first gift in the morning was a soft little rug for my side of the bed. Ahhhhh! When you've only lived on bare OSB for 25 years - you never go barefoot - it's way too dangerous. So this is like a dream - and the little rug is just right. We had traveled all week and I wanted to stay home on my birthday so we did. It was lovely - I did what I wanted. I am in the middle of massive seed production - the whole house is full of melting tomatoes - and bags of seed heads - I can't keep up! It's time to call in some help. But, that day - I processed and photographed tomatoes and wandered around drinking bubbly water and counting my blessings.
Since the crash we both got sore enough to start seeing a chiropractor. Soon we will start seeing the wonderful Melissa Harth - our local massage therapist. Thank goodness for insurance. My car is covered and I will work on replacing it asap. Our bodies are covered too - so this maintenance will be good. My old ribs are a bit angry. But I am fine and it is amazing how little there is to fix. Cord too of course. The day before my birthday we went to the Reef - our favorite local hot springs. Cord dropped me off to go birthday shopping for me and I got to soak for a long time. He came back and joined me - taking off his Life Vest is a treat for him and he relaxed and soaked and watched the shooting stars. Now there is some therapy for mind, body and soul.

Speaking of the Life Vest - here's news. Occasionally they want Cord to send in his data - the vest keeps track of his heart - constantly. We need cell service to send in the data so we have to do it in town where we can plug in and do it on the phone. When I called them to report about the wreck, they reminded us that we had not sent in data yet - for 24 days and they wanted to see it. So we went to town and plugged in and sent it. While it was coming in the man on the phone could see it and he told Cord that there were no arrhythmia's - not one bump - for the whole time - including during the wreck! His heart has been steady and not doing any unauthorized tricks!!! The heart meds are really working - I can feel him responding to them. Steady as she goes!!!! Great news!! We were so happy - this confirms our suspicions that the meds are working. When we first got to the hospital - he had three arrhythmia's in two days but once he started the meds - it stopped. So getting this report from the Life Vest folks was affirming!
Today we wake up with both Wulfgar and Beau home. They will work on greenhouse vents together. Cord is starting the fire in his wood stove in his shop as we speak. This is for the greenhouse in Evergreen that has been stopped in its tracks. The homeowners are wonderful and understanding but of course Cord thinks about it a lot and wants to finish it. We are prepping for our big presentation and workshop in Denver on Nov. 19/20 and building a vent in class is one of the things he will be prepping for. So they will prepare that today as well.
One more thing, last week we attended the funeral for our young, beautiful friend Cindy (fly free, girl!) and we drove our big truck because that's all we've got. The night before we left, our $50-found-it-in-the-paper-refrigerator crapped out. We madly started moving everything into the deep freeze and the little shop fridge. Some produce just got put in the shop where it is cold. The week before my friend told me about the Sears Outlet Store in Denver and how they got an incredible deal on a new fridge. This is another thing on our list to get for the remodel of our kitchen. So when this happened and we found ourselves in Denver with the truck - I told Cord - well, we are going to the Sears Outlet store! So we did. We had such fun with the sales rep - she was great and we found a perfect fridge with a ding or two in it and the price was incredible. The best thing though, was the financing - we can pay it off over 18 months - no interest. So even though it is always scary to take on another bill, (sheesh), we had to and it was perfect and we both feel very optimistic about next year - we will pay it off early! I know this stuff is personal - but I am reminded that an open-heart is the only way to go.
Cord figured out how to unload the new fridge with the chain hoist! It and the truck are so tall he had to let the air out of the tires to make it low enough to lift it with the chain hoist. Brilliant! So it is in the shop and running with some stuff in it as we need muscle to move it in and the old one out. I've never met a fridge that doesn't pee on the floor but I have been assured this one won't - I will believe it when I see it. Ha!
I will leave you with some pictures of the Life Vest - it is doing it's job beautifully and even though it is a pain in Cord's butt - it is so smart and helpful. He ran the other day - just jogged to answer the phone or something - it did not like it - it beeped at him! No running yet Cord!!!
We see the cardiologist on the 13th - I will have a news then for sure - we are making a list of questions.
I can't say it enough, please keep the love coming on the wind - we obviously need it - and it is working it's miracles on both of us. Thank you all for your love and care.
Penn

This is the Life Vest - I change the hardware out while Cord showers - into a clean harness. It is all color-coded and only fits one way. Super easy.

The round sensors you see are right against his skin and the zapper pads ride on his back and one just under his left pec. See the color-coded velcro and the snaps and the pictures?

Birthday tomatoes! Set them up and take their picture. As you can see, I am trialing LOTS of black tomatoes.

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Author

Penn Parmenter is a high altitude gardener, seedswoman and student of the earth. She is married to Cord Parmenter - an awesome gardener, gorgeous man and a master blacksmith. Together they own and run a sustainable greenhouse design company, Smart Greenhouses LLC and Penn grows seed for her seed business, Miss Penn's Mountain Seeds. She is a mother of three sons and an outdoorswoman. Penn forages wild food, hunts big game, fishes, preserves, maintains a huge organic forest garden and occasionally makes dinner. At home you can find her in her greenhouses as well as in the wilderness - nose to the ground, butt in the air, trying to identify Colorado natives.