SEASONS GREETINGS FROM THE BERNATHS

Well, another year has passed and the Christmas season is upon us. We hope this finds All of you
happy and healthy. Jack and Dorothy have had their share of health problems this past year, but are coping well with them. In January, thy took a trip to Arizona and stayed a few weeks with son John & his wife Cindy in Chandler. It was nice to get out of the cold, cloudy weather and renew our acquaintances in the old neighborhoods. While there, we visited with the Andersons & Carpenters, and Jack had lunch with some of his ham radio buddies.
Jack’s back pain got worse, and so did Dorothy's after the Arizona trip. We both have been laying around a lot, nursing our pain, but we still get out and play cards with friends occasionally, and Dorothy is active in her church. She also works at a local charity screening people who come in seeking help.
Jack had a really bad time with his back this summer, and is still in recovery. In June, the doctor did some MRI & CAT scans and determined that the fusion that was done two years ago was unsuccessful and needed to be repaired. In July he went in for repair of the old fusion plus another level that had deteriorated. Unfortunately, after 4 weeks the pain was unbearable, so he went in for more scans. Those showed that the screws holding the bones in place came loose and had to be replaced. He went back into the hospital in mid-September and went through the same ordeal all over again. As of now, the fusions are holding up and he is having less pain, although the progress is slow. He still takes high doses of strong pain medicines and the weather effects both of us when it changes. We got an electric wheelchair to aid Jack in. getting around. It has a nice reclining seat that makes sitting more comfortable so he can use it for card games, concerts and movies. We also got a carrier for the chair that fits on a trailer hitch on the back of our car.
Jack picked up some consulting business certifying structural analysis for antenna towers for some hams in Arizona. He has a Professional Engineer's license from Arizona, so he can certify plans for hams who need them in order to get a building permit to put up their tower. He is still on the air regularly with his ham radio, and he’s contacted 300 out of 332 possible foreign countries. They are getting harder to find as he gets closer to the ultimate goal. He still practices his musical instruments and performed for a group of friends at Dotorhy’s church last month. Dorothy still sings every week in the church choir, and she has become quite active in several Bridge playing groups. Her mother moved to our area and is temporarily staying in our house. She plans to find a home of her own as soon as possible, and Dorothy is busy helping her get settled.
Our cats, Kia and Willy are doing fine. Kia is 10 years old and Willy will be 2 in Feb. In fact, they were both born in Feb. so they have a birthday coming soon. Willy sticks to Jack like glue and Kia hangs out with Dorothy. All the kids and grandkids are doing fine, but we haven’t seen any of the out-of-town kids for a long time. Fortunately, we installed “Skype” software on all of our computers and we can keep in touch with the kids by video and do show-and-tell.
Well, that’s about it for the update. Please check our Blog at: http://w6qo.blogspot.com/ for updates, or look for Jack’s Facebook page.
Best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,