Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Focus on compassion & thankfulness this Thanksgiving week November 26, 2025

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Jesus multiplied two fish into enough to feed 5,000 people. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

“THE SMALL LITTLE LUNCH became more than enough.” That statement, made during the Rev. Bruce Stam’s sermon at Trinity Lutheran Church in Faribault on Sunday morning, really resonates with me in this week of thanksgiving.

Stam was referencing the feeding of the five thousand as recorded in all four gospels and specifically in John 6:1-13. In that story, Jesus and his disciples are faced with a hungry crowd and nothing to feed them. That is until Andrew notices a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish or, as Stam termed it, “a happy meal.” I laughed. I appreciate humor in sermons.

I expect the disciples were not laughing, but rather were highly-skeptical when Jesus suggested that the boy’s meager meal could feed thousands. I would feel that way, too. But Jesus took the loaves and the fish, gave thanks and there was enough to feed everyone. With leftovers.

A Thanksgiving week message outside Faribault Church of Christ. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2025)

There are several takeaways from this miracle of feeding 5,000 people. First, God provides. That’s clear and Stam emphasized that point. In my own life, I’ve seen God provide again and again to meet my needs whether physical, mental, emotional or spiritual. I live in a house that is paid for. I have enough to eat. I have loving and supportive family and friends. I’ve had excellent healthcare. The list goes on and on. It’s not that I have the biggest, best or most. But I have enough.

And on that referenced day during biblical times, there was enough bread and fish in a small boy’s lunch to miraculously feed thousands. Jesus, the Rev. Stam said, opened his heart to compassion and fed the hungry.

As I jotted sermon notes, I began to better understand how Jesus taught compassion on that day. He could have ignored the hungry crowd, although that may have been a bit difficult to do given the sheer numbers. Rather, Jesus fed them. His disciples handed out the bread and fish and gathered the leftovers. They were learning an important lesson in compassion as active participants in a compassionate and caring act.

A kindness rock photographed among plants in the Waterville Community Patio. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)

Just like the disciples, we are each capable of compassion, of giving to others. Perhaps we only have a happy meal to share. Or maybe we have an entire Thanksgiving feast to offer. I’m speaking figuratively here. The point is that, as the Rev. Stam said, this world needs compassionate love. And we can give that through monetary and food donations, volunteerism, kindness, anything really that shows care and love for our fellow human beings.

Finally, in the biblical feeding of the five thousand, two other words resonate with me. And those are “gave thanks.” Jesus gave thanks when he took the loaves and fish and then multiplied them. This week “thanks” is the focus, or should be the focus, of our thoughts.

Thank you to the readers who sent these cards to me. Your kindness touched me. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2025)

I am thankful for you, dear readers. I am thankful for everyone who tells me how much they appreciate my writing and photography. I am thankful for my family, especially the birth of my second grandson in January. I am thankful for time spent at a family lake cabin. I am thankful for freedom of speech. I am thankful for a locally strong arts scene. I am thankful for friends, those who are long-time and those I’ve only just met. I am thankful for too many reasons to count…

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! May you always be blessed with “enough” and with a heart of compassion.

TELL ME: What are you especially thankful for this Thanksgiving?

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

New one-of-a-kind streetside food pantry opens on Cathedral grounds November 25, 2025

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This custom-built community food pantry recently opened outside the Guild House at the Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour and is a replica of the historic cathedral. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2025)

IN THIS SEASON of gratitude, the Faribault community now has one more reason to give thanks. And that’s for a new food pantry recently installed outside the Guild House at The Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour.

The Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour has always been community-minded, including as home to the Community Cafe serving free meals every Tuesday. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2025)

The pantry, housed in a custom-built replica of the historic cathedral, is a joint endeavor of Our Merciful Saviour and of the Community Cafe and Triumphant Life Assembly of God Church, both based in the Guild building along Northwest Sixth Street. The pantry will be dedicated during the 10 a.m. Sunday, November 30, worship service at the Cathedral.

The bell tower on the food pantry is shown in the foreground with the Cathedral bell tower rising in the background. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2025)

When I first saw this approximately 3-by-5-foot structure rising some four feet, I just stood there looking, impressed by the details, the artistry, the craftsmanship, the likeness to the mammoth stone cathedral built between 1862-1869.

The front entry to the Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour with its signature red doors. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2025)
The front of the cathedral in the custom-built mini version. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2025)

The smaller version took the builder, Don Greeley of Stillwater, an estimated 200-300 hours (he didn’t tally time) over 1 ½ years to complete. The results are stunning, right down to the signature red doors, the stained glass windows, the limestone walls, the cedar shingles and the cross above the front door.

A side view of the food pantry shows the detailed construction, including cedar shingles, just like on the actual cathedral. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2025)

CONNECTIONS & A CHALLENGE

The Faribault native, who grew up in this church where he served as an acolyte and where his parents’ cremated remains lie in the lower level columbarium, agreed to take on the project because, “Why not?” he said. He has a strong connection to the cathedral, is always up for a challenge and is an avid do-it-yourselfer. The retired Minneapolis Police Department crime prevention specialist likes designing, creating and building things. He’s been working on his house for 30 years. And he’d already built a food pantry for his church in Stillwater, Ascension Episcopal.

The new food pantry, built by Don Greeley and donated by he and his wife, Emily, sits outside the Sixth Street entry to the Guild House and cathedral. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2025)

It was that church replica, seen by the Cathedral’s the Rev. James Zotalis, that got Don involved. Zotalis mentioned the mini Stillwater church to parishioner Candy Greeley, who then informed him that her brother built it. One thing led to another and the food pantry project was underway. Candy provided measurements, which Don used as guides along with photos. He started with the church doors, then scaled his model around those, admitting that he also “winged it.”

“I love it,” his clearly proud sister said. “I could not believe what came out of his head.”

A back and side view of the pantry looking toward Second Avenue and Central Park. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2025)

CAREFUL, PLANNED CONSTRUCTION

In talking with Don, I realized just how much thought, time and effort he invested in planning and constructing this 80 to 100-pound cathedral replica to withstand a Minnesota winter. He learned from the Stillwater project that he needed to improve weatherproofing. To that end, Greeley used treated plywood for the walls, which he then painted with four to five layers of paint mixed with sand. He used an electric saw to cut lines into the walls to resemble stone. Epoxy adds another layer of protection.

The bell tower is crafted from plastic. Sheets of layered heavy black plastic under the entire structure add more waterproofing. And the handcrafted cedar shingles are protected by an oil-based varnish. Don did everything he could to prevent rotting. The church sits on a wrought iron base crafted by Myron Hanson of Eagan, who previously did wrought iron signage for the Guild House exterior.

A recent look at items inside the food pantry. A message on an exterior door reads: “TAKE WHAT YOU NEED. LEAVE WHAT YOU CAN. BE BLESSED.” (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2025)

FROM TABLE TO TABLE

There’s one more aspect of this food pantry project that I find compelling. Don, without a heated workshop to build the mini cathedral, did about half the work inside, in the dining room of the Stillwater home he shares with wife Emily. The church sat on a work stand. And sometimes on the dining room table.

A list of items to place in the food pantry is listed on a door. Because of freezing issues due to weather, there are winter restrictions such as no cans or glass jars. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2025)

This project has come full circle. Now those in need can put food on their tables, find personal care items and much more in this mini streetside cathedral partially crafted atop a table. What’s inside the pantry varies, depending on donations. It supplements already existing food shelves and services in the community. But the need is great and growing.

Words on the exterior of the massive cathedral express gratitude for the bell tower and also honor Bishop Henry Whipple. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2025)

In this season of thanksgiving, I feel gratitude for this new food pantry in Faribault, for the talents and generosity of Don Greeley and for the Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour, the Community Cafe and Triumphant Life Church. I expect Bishop Henry Whipple, who long ago led this mission-minded congregation in service to others, would be pleased with the Cathedral’s ongoing community outreach. Says Candy Greeley of the newly-placed food pantry, “It’s getting used.” And that is enough to understand its value in our community.

FYI: Additional food resources in Faribault include St. Vincent de Paul Society, two blocks from the cathedral food pantry; the Community Action Center, also in Northfield; and local churches.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Health update December 23, 2024

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 3:45 PM
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Graphic of the first coronavirus. Source: CDC

GRATEFUL. That sole word defines the state of my soul today. I feel gratitude for you, my dear readers, who care so much. When I blogged late last week that I tested positive for COVID, you responded with words of encouragement and kindness. I am grateful.

When I shared my disappointment in not immediately seeing my son, who flew in from Boston on Friday afternoon, and in missing an extended family holiday gathering on Saturday, you lifted my spirits. Whether you commented here, emailed, texted, or simply held me in your thoughts, thank you. Your words mattered to me. I am not surprised by your response. You have always given me so much love.

Today I am happy to share that I am doing well. That was not a given going into testing positive for the coronavirus given my history with viral infections. But getting on the antiviral med, Paxlovid, made all the difference, along with being up-to-date on my vaccinations.

Paxlovid helped immediately in nearly eliminating my horrible COVID cough. After a night of no sleep due to coughing, one dose of Paxlovid in my body and I slept fine with no coughing. As I write, I can’t recall the last time I coughed. Mostly, I feel near-normal. Not quite, but close.

ABOUT PAXLOVID

I have to pause here and write a bit about Paxlovid, which I’m taking twice daily (three pills at a time) for five days. The taste is beyond awful, something I can only describe as bitter and metallic. That repulsive taste lingers. I’ve found that chewing a strong, mint-flavored gum helps mask the taste. That tip came from my eldest, who got the tip from her brother-in-law. As much as I detest the horrid taste of the med, it’s a small thing to put up with if it means a shorter and less severe case of COVID. The drug absolutely is working for me.

That said, I wish it was easier to get Paxlovid. When you need it, you need it. And, to be effective, it must be taken within five days of developing symptoms. I tested positive Thursday evening, too late to reach a doctor for a prescription. Friday morning I called my clinic when it opened, then waited another 1 ½ hours to talk to a doctor. After that phone visit, I waited for the pharmacy to fill my prescription. It wasn’t until late afternoon, when Randy got off work and could pick up my prescription at the busy pharmacy, that I finally got the med in my body. I lost nearly an entire day going through all those steps. It should be easier to get.

Then there’s the cost. Thankfully, Medicare covered the cost of Paxlovid for me. But I was shocked to see on the pharmacy receipt that the drug costs $1,707. Do the math and that’s $171 for each dosage. Now, if I didn’t have insurance or didn’t have insurance that covered that cost, I likely would not have taken Paxlovid. Price should not be a factor in whether you have access to treatment. But that’s reality, unfortunately.

GRATEFUL FOR HEALING & GATHERING

So here I am, on the end of COVID which, for me, proved fairly mild thanks to modern medicine. Whether my long haul COVID symptoms flare with this new infection remains to be seen. But I am hopeful.

Mostly I am grateful. Grateful that I will soon see my son and my daughter and her family. The plan now is to gather on Christmas Day. As long as I’m doing well. And I fully expect I will be.

© Copyright 2024 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Feeling especially grateful this Thanksgiving November 27, 2024

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I created this Thanksgiving display in a stoneware bowl. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

GRATITUDE. It’s a word that gets tossed around a lot this week as we observe Thanksgiving. And that’s good as we all need to pause, reflect and focus on reasons to feel thankful.

Health and family often top that list. And I’m staying in that lane of feeling especially grateful this year for restoration of my health and for my dear family—my husband, three adult children, two grandchildren and sons-in-law. And the soon-to-be-born second grandson.

This map shows the geographical distance separating my family. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

While my core family is scattered from Boston to eastern Wisconsin to Minnesota, we are never far apart, thanks to smartphones. So, yes, this mom and grandma, who once lived in the days of no phone service (not even a landline) and of typewriters, is especially grateful for technology that allows us to stay easily connected.

Still, that does not make up for in-person time together as a family. It doesn’t happen often that we are together. But in August, we were. All of us. For the annual Helbling family reunion. If ever my mama’s heart was full and happy, it was then. The son actually spent several weeks in Minnesota after flying in from Boston for the international unicycling convention in Bemidji and then staying until the reunion. To have that lengthy time with him, whom I typically only see at Christmas, was beyond wonderful. Technology allowed this extended stay as he could work remotely, although he did complain about my slow internet speed.

A sampling of some of the exercises I did while in vestibular rehab therapy at Courage Kenny, Faribault, from April to September 2023. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2023)

And then there’s my health. This past year marked the year I reclaimed my life after spending 2023 dealing with issues caused by long haul COVID. I spent six months in vestibular rehab therapy to retrain my brain. I learned to feel comfortable walking without feeling unbalanced. I learned to manage sensory overload (which remains a residual problem). And much more. I shall be forever grateful to my healthcare team, specifically my physical therapist Ryan, and my family for getting me through an incredibly difficult health challenge. My symptoms were debilitating. Few understood then and few understand now what I experienced.

But because of that experience, I’ve been able to encourage and support others who are in the throes of debilitating long haul COVID. I understand. I empathize. And my compassion for them runs deep. This is real and life-changing.

Information about the eye muscle surgery I underwent in Minneapolis under the care of a neuro ophthalmologist. I had this same surgery performed at age four. These are my pre-surgery eyeglasses, without mega prisms. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2023)

In January, I underwent bilateral strabismus surgery to realign my eyes. Although that surgery failed (as it does up to 20 percent of the time), I remain grateful for one thing—my vision. It’s certainly far from perfect. I still see double if I’m not wearing my prism-heavy prescription eyeglasses. I struggle to tell if photos I am taking or processing are clear. But the bottom line is that I can see. And that is reason to feel grateful. I. Can. See.

This tag of reasons to feel grateful hung on a Gratitude Tree outside the Northfield Public Library in 2019. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

In all of the challenges of life, reasons exist to feel thankful. It’s easy enough to fall into complacency and take good health, family, friends and life in general for granted. Don’t. None of those are a given. No matter what, we can choose to feel grateful, even in the midst of struggles. Something positive can come from negative. Life brims with reasons to feel grateful. I am.

Happy Thanksgiving, dear readers! I am grateful for all of you, for your support, for your friendship, for the light you shine in my life.

© Copyright 2024 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

With gratitude for my southern Minnesota community November 25, 2024

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I photographed this tag hanging on The Gratitude Tree in the neighboring city of Northfield in 2019. I love this idea of publicly expressing thankfulness, including for community. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo July 2019)

WHEN CONSIDERING GRATITUDE, as we do this week, we usually look inward. But I want to look outward and share six reasons why I feel grateful to live in Faribault.

This is my all-time favorite image showing local diversity. Here children gather to break a pinata during an international festival at Faribault’s Central Park. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2012)

PEOPLE make a community. I knew no one when I moved here as a newlywed in 1982. But I was welcomed and have since formed deep friendships in Faribault. I can walk into a business, attend an event, or simply be out and about and run into someone who knows me. Conversation often follows.

Recently I attended a 75th anniversary open house at Burkhartzmeyer Shoes, a third-generation family owned shoe store in downtown Faribault. After purchasing athletic shoes, I headed to a back room for complimentary refreshments. A small group of us sat there talking and laughing, simply enjoying each other’s company. I felt like I was inside a small town cafe drinking coffee and conversing. It felt that down-home comfortable.

But I can feel just as comfortable with strangers, including Adolfo, whom I met in October while walking in Central Park. Adolfo moved to America from Venezuela, a country he fled because of Communism and violence. On this morning, he was pushing his one-year-old grandson in a stroller. It’s part of their daily routine. Darling Milan drew me to his grandpa, where I connected with Adolfo on a personal level and heard his story. I feel grateful for every opportunity I have to meet Faribault’s newest immigrants and hear their stories, stories often laced with hardship and hope. To live in a city as diverse as Faribault is truly a gift.

Kids help at the Faribault CommUnity Thanksgiving Dinner by, among other things, creating festive placemats. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo November 2017)

Faribault overflows with CARING INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS striving to help others: the Community Action Center, Rice County Habitat for Humanity, St. Vincent de Paul, HOPE Center, Ruth’s House, IRIS (Infants Remembered in Silence), the Salvation Army, Operation: 23 to 0… I’ve received support while dealing with some especially challenging life events. When you experience that community love and care first-hand, you understand the true meaning of community.

Once again this Thanksgiving, volunteers will serve a free CommUnity Thanksgiving Dinner as they have for the past 30 some years. I’ve previously helped deliver those holiday meals. Every Tuesday, a free meal is also available at the Community Cafe. With Christmas approaching, I’m part of a bible study group coordinating the annual Angel Tree (gift giving) at my church. I could go on and on with an endless list of how people are helping people in my community. Hearts are loving, spirits giving.

A 1950s scene along Faribault’s Central Avenue is shown in this downtown mural. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

I am especially grateful to live in a community which values THE ARTS. The Paradise Center for the Arts in downtown Faribault centers our arts scene. Every time I tour a gallery exhibit, attend a play or otherwise engage in the arts, I feel grateful to live here. I’ve even contributed to the local arts scene by publicly reading my poetry. I love attending summer concerts in the park and concerts inside the historic Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour. I appreciate the history-based murals that color our downtown. I grew up in rural southwestern Minnesota with minimal access to the arts, meaning my gratitude for the arts in Faribault runs deep.

I treasure Buckham Memorial Library, just blocks from my home. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2022)

My thankfulness for BUCKHAM MEMORIAL LIBRARY also runs deep, for the very same reason. I grew up in a small farming town without a library. And I love to read. That we now also have a volunteer run used bookstore, Books on Central (benefitting the Rice County Area United Way), notches my gratitude level even higher.

A snippet of Faribault’s historic buildings, photographed during a monthly Car Cruise Night. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2016)

The bookshop is located in the heart of our HISTORIC DOWNTOWN, another reason I feel grateful to live in Faribault. My community cares about preserving historic buildings. I love old architecture. There’s nothing quite like walking among vintage vehicles along Central Avenue during Car Cruise Night as the sun sets at the end of a summer day. Beautiful.

In just minutes, I can reach the countryside, where I love to travel gravel roads. This road winds among the lakes and farm fields west of Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo October 2022)

Faribault also offers incredible NATURAL BEAUTY in a diverse landscape of woods and prairie, hills and valleys, ravines and bluffs. It’s so different than my native prairie. Admittedly, it took me a while to “get used to” all the trees when I moved here 42 years ago. I still mostly have no sense of direction on roads and streets that don’t run prairie grid straight. But I love to walk through city parks, along city trails, at River Bend Nature Center, on the campus of the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf… And within a short drive of my home, I am immersed in the countryside.

A view of The Gratitude Tree outside the Northfield Public Library in 2021. People wrote their reasons for feeling thankful on a blank tag. Those were then hung on the tree. I’d like to see a Gratitude Tree in every community once a year. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo May 2021)

This list of a half dozen reasons to feel thankful for the place I call home just touches the surface of why I am grateful to live in Faribault. It’s not utopia, certainly. Nowhere is. But today I want to pause, consider and acknowledge specific reasons for feeling thankful that Faribault is my home. I hope you’ll do the same, wherever you live.

© Copyright 2024 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Mother’s Day reflections of love & gratitude May 10, 2024

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The only photo I have of my mom holding me. My dad is holding my brother Doug. (Minnesota Prairie Roots)

MOTHER’S DAY. It’s a day that can feel both sad and joyful. Sad if your mom is no longer living. Mine isn’t. Joyful if you have children, no matter their age.

It is a Sunday of gathering, of remembering, of honoring, of celebrating motherhood. Perhaps with a meal together. Perhaps with flowers delivered or received. Whatever, however, the focus should be one of love and gratitude.

I feel grateful for my lovely mom, who taught me kindness, compassion and care. Sure, she had her moments. Who wouldn’t with six kids spanning 12 years? We tested her patience more than once. But that didn’t diminish her love for us. Her own mother died at age 48, when I was only two months old, and I cannot imagine how difficult that was for my mom and her three younger siblings. So treasure your mom. Time together is precious.

The card I made for my mom as a child. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo)

So are words shared. As a writer, I value greeting cards as a way of expressing love and other emotions. My mom did, too. She saved cards, including a simple card I created for her in elementary school for Mother’s Day. I cut a flower photo from a seed catalog and pasted it to the front of a folded piece of paper, then printed I love you Mother. Audrey inside. The editor in me wants to add a comma and change the formal Mother to Mom. But I doubt Mom much cared. She was just happy to get a handcrafted card from her eldest daughter.

Likewise, I love getting greeting cards from my now-grown children. One arrived in the mail today from my second daughter, who lives 260 miles away in Madison, Wisconsin. I last saw her at Christmas. Her job as a letter carrier for the US Postal Service keeps her working 10-12 hours daily, usually six days a week. So seldom does Miranda have adequate time off to travel to Minnesota. I couldn’t help but think, as I opened her Mother’s Day card, that Miranda was likely dropping similar cards into mailboxes along her route.

Mothers always appreciate flowers. These were a gift from my daughter Amber and her family in 2021. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2021)

She chose a lovely floral design card that is certainly “me.” And then my sweet daughter penned the most loving message. One that left me in tears. Hope you have a nice, relaxing day surrounded by the people you love. We love & miss you. Love, John & Miranda.

A plane leaves Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

I will be surrounded by people I love—my eldest daughter, Amber, son-in-law and two grandchildren—on Saturday. But “the people I love” also includes the rest of my family. And in that moment tears fell at the missing of Miranda and her brother, Caleb, both of whom I haven’t seen in more than four months. Caleb lives in Boston.

This photo of me with my mom was taken two years before her death. Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo January 2020 by Randy Helbling)

To be a mom is to understand that separation is inevitable. Our kids grow up, move away, sometimes farther than we’d like. Things keep us apart. Death also separates. Daughters and sons have lost mothers. Mothers have lost children. But in the end, love remains. As does gratitude. I am grateful for my mom. Grateful for my three children. I am grateful to be a mother.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there! You are loved. And appreciated.

© Copyright 2024 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Update: My eyes are aligned February 5, 2024

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My old glasses with prisms atop information about bilateral strabismus eye surgery. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo November 2023)

TWO WEEKS OUT from bilateral strabismus eye surgery at M Health Fairview Clinics and Surgery Center in Minneapolis, my vision is looking good, pun intended.

Neuro ophthalmologist Dr. Collin McClelland was pleased with the results of his 1.5-hour surgery on my eyes. I saw him and his team last Wednesday for my post op visit. My previously misaligned eyes are now in full alignment. In three to four months, I should know the final outcome. Eyes can shift yet as muscles heal and my brain adapts to the new alignment.

Updated glasses (minus prisms) and updated eyes, nine days after surgery. (Copyrighted photo by Randy Helbling)

This is a process, this recovery and healing. I can tell my brain is working hard to adapt to my new way of seeing the world. My eyes remain red, irritated and itchy. But I am looking less ghoulish each day with my eyes no longer leaking fluid and blood. Time, healing, ointment and eye drops have all helped.

Mostly gone is the double vision which led me first to my local ophthalmologist late last summer and then to the specialist at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis in October. Today I see double only upon awakening and for a while thereafter and when I’m overly-tired. That compares to more often than I could count pre-surgery. That is reason to feel thankful.

As you may expect, I arrived at my post-op visit with a list of questions, tasking Randy to take notes as I focused on eye checks done by two doctors and another medical staff member. Yes, the exams were repetitive and exhausting. But I appreciate the thoroughness of the post-op evaluations.

I won’t get into the medical details of my surgery, not that I understand them anyway. But I learned that Dr. McClelland worked on two muscles in my right eye and one in my left to realign my eyes. He had to work through extensive scar tissue from this same surgery done in 1960 by Dr. Theodore Fritsche in New Ulm.

This is what I looked like shortly after surgery in the recovery room. If you look closely at my left eye, right above the steri strips, you’ll see a black thread taped to my skin. That’s the end of the adjustable suture. (Copyrighted photo by Randy Helbling. I asked him to take the photo, not realizing how awful I looked.)

Perhaps the most intriguing part of my recent surgery is the adjustable sutures stitched into my left eye. That’s exactly what it means. Adjustable. During recovery, when I was alert enough to focus on a big letter E across the room, Dr. McClelland tweaked the alignment based on what I saw. Twice he had to pull on the sutures to move my left eye into alignment. I’m thankful for the topical anesthetic eye drops that semi dulled the pain and for my inability to clearly see what he was doing. I could only see the blurry movement of his hands and what I think was a tweezers. I will admit the tug on my eye felt unsettling.

Several days post-surgery, I was already looking better. It’s difficult to see my red eyes in this image. But trust me, they were still very red. The flowers are from my dear children, sons-in-law and grandkids. (Photo credit: Randy Helbling)

But here I am today, two weeks out from all of that. Each day brings some improvement in the physical appearance of my eyes and in the way my eyes feel. I still feel, though, like a pebble is stuck in my right eye. That, my surgeon explained, is likely the end of a suture irritating my eye. I asked him to clip it off. Of course, I was joking because I realized he couldn’t possibly do that. But I had to bring some humor into the post-op exam room where medical residents listened, observed and learned.

Healing takes time and patience. Not only do my eye muscles need to heal, but my brain needs time to adjust. I’ve learned a lot about the brain in the past year since developing neurological issues from COVID and undergoing six months of vestibular rehab therapy, finishing that less than five months ago. My brain, an amazing and complex organ, is still trying to manage all that goes into it.

Beth, a blogger friend from Michigan, sent this handcrafted get well card, which made me laugh aloud. I love it and all the other cards and wishes I’ve received. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo 2024)

Now with this recent eye surgery, I must limit screen and reading time. I learned this past Saturday that shopping is like physical therapy for my eye muscles and brain. My eyes hurt and I felt exhausted after grocery shopping and stops at Books on Central, Eclectic Alliance and a Big Box retailer. Eyes move a lot when you’re looking at items on store shelves. I overdid it.

My vision is not crystal clear and is sometimes blurry and distorted. I haven’t attempted photography yet, except with my cellphone. Putting anti-inflammatory drops into my eyes four times a day to reduce inflammation has proven challenging. I can’t seem to master that skill. I am thankful for Randy’s help.

Meanwhile, I am wearing prescription glasses without prisms. Before surgery, no number of prisms would correct my double vision. To see such improvements so soon after surgery leaves me feeling grateful to my surgeon and this team—for their knowledge, their skill and their compassion.

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NOTE: I am grateful also to you, my blog readers, for your support and encouragement offered in the comments section and in get well cards I’ve received. You’ve lifted my spirits. Thank you.

© Copyright 2024 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

A programming note & thoughts of gratitude January 20, 2024

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Expressions of gratitude are written on tags hung on The Gratitude Tree outside the Northfield Public Library in 2021. I love this idea. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo May 2021)

BEFORE I HEAD in to bilateral strabismus eye surgery this week and then recovery and healing, I want to take a moment to thank you, my dear family of blog readers. Thank you for your care, kindness, compassion and prayers. I’ve read all in your thoughtful messages. Mostly, I feel your love and support in my heart. You represent all that is good in this world. I am grateful.

An especially bright spot in the heart of downtown Faribault is the Second Street Garden, a pocket garden with positive messages. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo August 2019)

I expect to be absent from writing and photography and, unfortunately, reading, while my eyes heal. Any blog posts you read this coming week were written pre-surgery and scheduled to publish. I’ll take this one day at a time and update you on surgery when I am able.

Love this LOVE mural in the heart of historic downtown Northfield. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo September 2020)

In the meantime, continue to shine your kindness and love into your neighborhoods, your communities, and into this big wide world. I firmly believe we each hold the power to uplift one another, to be that person who puts others before self, who chooses to build up rather than tear down, who exudes a spirit of hope and positivity. Onward, dear friends, onward.

© Copyright 2024 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

With a thankful heart on Thanksgiving November 22, 2023

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A seasonal bulletin board at Fourth Avenue United Methodist Church, Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2023)

WHEREVER YOU ARE on Thanksgiving, whomever you celebrate with, or don’t, I hope your day overflows with gratitude.

A full view of that festive church bulletin board. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2023)

Thursday marks a day to reflect. We all have reasons to give thanks, ranging from the material to the more important non-material. Family tops that list for me. There’s nothing better than to be with those we love most. This year that will include all in my immediate family except my son, who flies back to Minnesota from Boston in mid-December for a holiday stay. Unfortunately his sister and her husband, who are coming for Thanksgiving, won’t be here at Christmas. I haven’t seen any of them in a year and I miss them so much my heart hurts.

But, if I’ve learned anything through these empty-nester years, it’s that I need to savor the times I do have with my adult children rather than bemoan the holidays without them. I feel thankful to have at least one of my three—the eldest daughter, her husband and my grandchildren—still living in Minnesota.

We will gather around the table on Thanksgiving, ever grateful for each other.

I created this display in a stoneware bowl on a previous Thanksgiving. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

Likewise, I am grateful for you, my readers. I’ve felt the love this year through my difficult health struggles. In all the chaos in this world, goodness remains. Strong. Bold. Shining. And for that I have every reason to feel thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

© Copyright 2023 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Gratitude beyond Thanksgiving November 21, 2023

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Reasons to feel thankful, hung on a Gratitude Tree at the Northfield Public Library. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo July 2019)

A SOLITARY TEAR TRICKLED down my left cheek as I struggled to hold back my emotions. I willed myself not to burst out sobbing in the quiet of the sanctuary, in the profoundness of his story.

He was nine years old, the pastor said, when a vision screening showed he needed prescription eyeglasses, an expense his parents could not afford. Yet, they found a way. His father sold his treasured guitar to pay for the $25 eyeglasses. Twenty years later, the son realized, understood, the sacrifice his dad made for him. And he thanked him. That simple thank you forever changed their relationship.

The Rev. Bruce Stam shared this personal story as he preached on gratitude just days before Thanksgiving. And it was his story which got me thinking about my own eyes and how, as a four-year-old, I underwent corrective eye surgery to realign my crossed eyes. I, of course, was too young to understand the financial challenges this presented to my parents. I regret that I never thanked them for the sacrifices they made to keep me from going blind in one eye and then for the prescription eyeglasses I needed to see. Just like the boy who would become a pastor.

Reasons to feel thankful written on feathers of a turkey at Faribault Lutheran School 10 years ago. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo November 2013)

All too often we are blind to seeing the importance of gratitude. Except perhaps on Thanksgiving, our yearly thankfulness reminder. Gratitude does not come easily. We need to work at it, to carry an attitude of gratitude throughout the year. We are more inclined, however, to focus on that which we do not have, on complaining rather than expressing thanks. That’s human nature.

I created this Thanksgiving centerpiece as a reminder to be thankful. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

But we can refocus. Thanksgiving is a good day to start. Sure, we say we’re thankful for family and friends and food and shelter and good health and such. But what does that mean, in a personal way? I’ll start.

I am especially grateful this November for having mostly reclaimed my health following a viral infection in January that affected my brain. This was tough stuff. But I got through it with the help of caring medical professionals and the loving support of my husband and my eldest daughter, especially. Amber checked in with me daily via text, always asking how I was feeling and offering ongoing encouragement. Randy mostly did everything on the home-front besides encouraging me, taking me to medical appointments and reminding me that I was making progress. Their unconditional love and support carried me through some really dark days. I am forever grateful.

Likewise, friends and some extended family did the same. I tried to remember to thank them. But I expect sometimes, in the midst of my neurological issues, I failed.

I love the idea of a public Gratitude Tree, this one at the Northfield Public Library in 2019. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo July 2019)

Thanking someone need not be complicated or extravagant. Heartfelt, loving words spoken, texted or written are often all that is needed. As a writer, I am big on sending greeting cards to express my feelings.

When I graduated from five months of vestibular rehab therapy in mid-September, I knew I needed to do more. I baked homemade carrot cake cupcakes with homemade cream cheese frosting for the team at Courage Kenny in Faribault. For my therapist, Ryan, I also baked chocolate chip cookies and penned a lengthy thank you. He deserved my deep gratitude for working with me tirelessly to reclaim my life.

Another thankfulness tag on that Gratitude Tree in Northfield. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo July 2019)

Opportunities abound to express gratitude in our daily lives. With words. With actions. With a smile. Sometimes understanding the importance of thankfulness comes in a story, a story of sacrifice. A story that touches the emotions, that causes us to see as a single tear slides down our cheek.

© Copyright 2023 Audrey Kletscher Helbling