I am a wife of 41years, now a widow and a mother and grandmother, great grand mother I have 4 grown children and 5 grandchildren. I live in northern Wisconsin. I had been employed for 25 years at a local nursing home. I no longer work due to a disability. I started blogging in September of 2009 to have something to do. Since I love to read, I started doing reviews and I love it!! It is fun to discover new authors out there. I love to travel, even though we have not traveled for a long time I have been to California three times, New Bern NC. a few times, Florida a few times, Ireland twice and to the Dominican Republic
To any authors/publishers/ tour companies that are looking for the reviews that I signed up for please know this is very hard to do. I will be stopping doing reviews. My husband passed away February 1st and my new normal is a bit scary right now and I am unable to concentrate on a book to do justice to the book and authors. I will still do spotlight posts if you wish it is just the reviews at this time. I apologize for this, but it isn't fair to you if I signed up to do a review and haven't been able to because I can't concentrate on any books. It may take a couple of weeks or even months, but I do intend to start doing reviews at some point. I looked at my Goodreads goal for 2024 and I have only read 7 books and I am 17 books behind to reach the goal at the end of the year.
Thank you for your understanding during this difficult time. I appreciate all of you.
Kathleen Kelly
April 2nd 2024
Time to do an update. March 7th, 2024
A lot has happened since my last update to Celticlady's Reviews. Hubby was diagnosed cancer with liver cancer. He did all the treatment that was available, chemo and radiation. His last treatment was November 7th. After that he started going downhill. He was kind of ok when our daughter and her family came for Thanksgiving. After that it went pretty quick. He started having more pain, having hallucinations etc. Hospice was started in January. Our youngest came and stayed until the end to help me take care of him. The last week in January was pretty hard on him, he was started on morphine for the pain. I think that after I and the two sisters told him it was ok to go, it was time. I think that is what he needed to hear. On the eve of our youngest 40th birthday, Tommy passed away peacefully in his sleep. I have added the obituary instead of writing all of it that I have to say. Our second youngest wrote the obituary and did a great job.
Update: September 25th 2023
Things have not been the greatest, have had 3 hospital stays in June and August. An acute kidney failure has me on permanent dialysis, three times a week.
Hubby's treatment of the first 12 rounds of chemo finished, and he was put on chemo in the pill form and it has totally wiped him out. The next step is immunotherapy. We are taking it a day at a time.
Update: March 29th 2023
Tommy has started chemo, he was supposed to start his second round but his white blood cell count was down. So he received a shot today to help with that and will get another tomorrow. Then hopefully can start chemo next week!
Update: February 10th, 2023
I guess it is time to update again. The year went pretty smoothly, hubby did lose his job in September 2022. He worked in a supper club and there was a fire in the kitchen and the owners opted to sell instead of fixing. He is still on the County Board and the City Council which gives him something to do. The bad thing is his cancer is back, in the liver this time. He had a PET scan and they found that there is no cancer in the pancreas or tubes from the liver, which is good. Now back to the oncologist for treatment options.
The family is doing well, our youngest moved to Cape Cod, the grandchildren are growing up so fast, one is 20 so not so little anymore.
I am still reviewing books, doing quite well with that actually.
Well, it has been almost a year, again a lot happened in that year. Had back surgery in September 2021, then had the booster and ended up in the hospital a second time for covid. Guess I am one of those long haulers.
As far as reading, I am back blogging again. Reading for reviews but it takes me a while to get a review done. You can contact me for reviews and I will determine on a case by case or book by book!
Hope everyone stays safe!
It has been awhile since I updated. Ever since I had COVID, there has been so many health things that have happened.
I do not do reviews anymore, I have just started reading again, I am now reading for the fun of it, catching up on my many books. I am having eye issues so it takes awhile to read a book.
I will also be having back surgery in the near future.
I apologize for any author's books I have not read.
6/09/21
Well, it happened. Hubby and I both got Covid. He was asymptomatic and I got pretty sick. I am still weak and recovering.
I have not been able to read and books. I am so far behind right now I fear I will never catch up. If I owe you a review, I will do the best I can to catch up. I will not be taking any books at this time. I need to feel better first. I apologize if I owe you a review.
October 16th, 2020
Haven't updated in awhile
I had 3 hospitalizations in a month but I think that things have been straightened out. My heartrate was running at around 150ish, and that is not doing anything. I had to go into the hospital so they can monitor a medication called Sotolal to see how I handle it. It went well and I am on it now. It worked. My heartrate is in the 50's 60's. I feel pretty good right now, hope this lasts.
Hubby is doing good, passed another birthday, 78 yo now. Still doing his City Council and County Board, doing the social distancing.
This quaranteening is starting to get old, I get that we need to do it and wear masks when out and about. Our lifestyle really has not changed too much. We live in a small town so there really is not too
Hubby is doing good, passed another birthday, 78 yo now. Still doing his City Council and County Board, doing the social distancing.
This quaranteening is starting to get old, I get that we need to do it and wear masks when out and about. Our lifestyle really has not changed too much. We live in a small town so there really is not too
Hubby had cancer over 7 years ago, went through the whole cancer thing by having the chemo treatments. He was cured now there is one small tumor back.He had a few colonoscopies and the results were that the small tumor that was there should come out and it is cancerous
Tommy sees a doctor at the Cancer clinic next week and then we go from there. He will be cured again, I am sure.
I saw my surgeon for my neck and back issues. yesterday. There will be no surgery at this time. He thinks that there is more going then the neck and back issues, like neurological muscular disorder doctor of which I will be referred to after I see me, my neurologist. I am having a lot of weird things going on like unable to walk properly, spasms, spilling and dropping things. Oh yes, I fell out of bed the other day.
I had been treated for Polymaygia Rheumatica, now the doctor says that I don't have that but the pain is from Fibromyalgia.
My balance issues have not gone away, the MRI found that I have a protruding disc in the C7-T1 area and also one in my lower back. I am looking at 2 surgeries down the road. Not too sure about that. The one in the neck would fuse my neck to the point that I could not move my neck.
Other than that, life goes one and books get read!
Time for another update:
In the year since I had heart surgery, I have had lots of other things happen. I was hospitalized last January for an infection. Then I was diagnosed with Polymyalgia Rheumatica and put on a high dosage of Prednisone. I have been weaned off that and will be off completely by the end of February.
Last month I ended up with a partial bicep tear just from pushing an oriental rug that was in front of the couch. Getting therapy for that.
So last week we ended up with an ice storm and got 6 inches of snow on top of that. I walk with a cane due to balance issues and I was on my way to therapy for the bicep tear and my cane went out and down I went. Ended up in urgent care and came home with an air cast on my ankle. Weird that that happened because I landed flat on my back. Now I have a severely sprained ankle and foot.
Wishing for the winter to end.
As far as my reading, I am trying to keep up, bear with me authors, I am working on my stack slowly. I will get to your book, but it will take time.
I can also be found on Twitter as @CelticLady1953 and on Facebook as Kathleen Kelly(Celticlady1953).
Thanks for being interested in me and what I enjoy, reading, blogging, computers, spending time with my family is, of course, the most important part of my life.
Charlie and his mom Rex 2023
Hubby, Tom and I in Puerto Plata for our son's wedding, February 2015 |
My eldest daughter Jen and her husband Clarence, who is now a Captain in the USMC and he got stationed to Chicago so they have moved temporarily to Antioch, Ill. |
My son Erik and his beautiful bride, Emilce..married February 21st, 2015 in Puerto Plata Dominican Republic |
My daughter Rex (on right) with her wife Emily |
Rex and Emily's little fosterlings D & Q...so adorable.
Update: These boys have gone back to live with mom and doing very well!
They are missed, though!
|
Rex and Emily and their former foster Sky |
August 3rd 2019
My daughter Kate, her new hubby Brian
(left) is my new grandson Gavon and on the (right) is his twin Ethan.
August 3rd 2019