Where Are You, Puffling

I received a copy of Where Are You, Puffling by Erika McGann to review. It was such a darling book, and I wanted to take an opportunity to provide an extremely positive review.

I have written and shared about my husband's love of all things birding and his extreme desire to see a real-live puffin in the wild here.

Because of that, when I saw an opportunity to review a kids' book with these birds, I couldn't help but jump at the chance.

Follow a little puffling as he helps all kinds of animals and is ultimately helped himself. I especially think you'd find this video a ton of fun. It is done by the book's illustrator: Gerry Daly. 

If you love birds and pufflins like us, this is a great book to add to your kid library. This is one we will keep for a long time!

We Bought a Farm: Meet our newest addition

We have made a hugely overwhelming, probably very lofty, decision on the part of our farm. It brings us great joy and also causes us to go: "Should we really do this?!"

We have decided to purchase another dog from the same breeder we got Ritter and Arabelle from.

And here she is:

We made this decision for the following reasons:

1. Arabelle will be "retired" from breeding after her next litter. 
2. We have decided that raising dogs is something we greatly enjoy.
3. We want to get a new young lady that can mate with Ritter and continue our fun breeding. (We wouldn't keep one of their puppies to mate with him because that's his daughter.)
4. The sales from the dogs we breed helps off-set our farm costs greatly here on the farm.
5. We have had SO much fun following these families who have adopted our dogs. 

She will be coming home to us sometime at the end of August! We are super duper, amazingly excited!!!

We Bought a Farm: You May See an Apple

Tuesday Truth

We Bought a Farm: Hardest Farm Day This Year

This is where our day began. It began at 7:30am trying to move our egg-mobile to a new location on the farm. 

It went badly.

Our turn radius wasn't wide enough and we got stuck and quite honestly, could have seen our egg-mobile go head first into the pond. We switched from a 4-wheeler to a truck and it went somewhat better but still was way more challenging than it should have been.

After about an hour, we finally got the mobile to where it was supposed to go, but at the moment we parked it, the back door popped open and all the chickens went spilling out of it.

This is a major problem.

Chickens aren't that bright. If you move their house to a new location that is too far from where they were, the chickens will try to go back to where their house used to be. In this case, that was about a quarter mile away.

What we normally do to combat this is put a fence up around the egg-mobile for a few days until they "hone" back in on where they have moved to.

But we didn't have time to put up the net. The door popped open. They went stumbling this way and that way.

That's 130 chickens flying to bushes and corners of the ponds and in the back of blackberry bushes (THORNS!) to hide.

I had long talks with them throughout the rest of the day.

Hey chickens! Your house is over here. It's a nice house. We cleaned it all out. You'll be safe from coyotes in this egg-mobile. Hey chickens. We really don't want to hurt you. We are your friends. You've known us from years. Just let us lead you back to the egg-mobile. It's a great place.

(They didn't listen.)

So the kids and I (and JB and Jacob and Jake and Ann at times) spent hours catching chickens. 

Literally ... hours.

The boys and Abigail were ROCK STARS. 

Hannah had very brief glimpses of rock star status mixed with lots of crying and getting frustrated when her brothers yelled at her for letting a chicken run through her legs.

I didn't have my pedometer on. I wish I would have. I can only estimate that I would have broken 20,000 steps today.

I am like a puddle of exhaustion right now. So, so tired. 

John's Achilles heel of farming is animals not going where they are supposed to. We have a joke where he says: "I'm sorry for what I said while we were moving the ____." Today that animal was the chicken. 

Give JB and Emergency Room full of sick patients over runaway chickens any day.

I'm off to the shower,

 

We Bought a Farm: Our Garden

Summer 2020

Summer 2020

Summer 2020

Summer 2020

We Bought a Farm: A Swirling Vortex of Crazy

There are moments that I wish I could freeze. Just snap that shot and hold it there in the middle of time and never let it move forward. 

I am so thankful for videos and photography. We complain about technology and its negativity in our lives, but oh the fun to get to see my kiddos grow up again and again through video! Not only do I watch these videos over and over again, but my kids love to see themselves too. How I wish I had a video of my little strong-willed self floating around somewhere.

I have so few pictures of me growing up. And of course, there are no videos. I explained to Sidge and Abigail (who are pretty obsessed with photography) how "getting film developed" worked and they were nearly dumbfounded that you'd have to wait to see the picture you took.

How could that be?

Today, we can take a video like the one I have below to remember and look back on years from now. Our Sidge is loving building things. He's really been into bird feeders. He has pretty sensitive ears so he is nearly always wearing noise-canceling-headphones while he is building things, and I could just watch his intensity and be proud over and over again. He's eleven, and he's already built two tables himself!





My thanks goes farther. It stretches Grampa K (John's Dad) who is a master carpenter and not only instilled sbuilding lessons into John, but is still around to share his knowledge with Sidge as well.

You can't make a kid be passionate about something. But having someone around who is passionate and knowledgeable, really helps.

Sidge is not a fan of math. But last week I overheard him and Grampa dividing fractions in the garage to work on a building project, and Sidge was all over it. That is what math should be.

The thanks goes to my husband too. In his early 20's, he had the vision to buy this farm even though it would be a decade or more before he could do it. He had the wherewithal to decide go back to school to move into a career that would afford us the ability to buy this farm and let me stay home. 

Our world is a swirling vortex of insanity right now. But on these 96-acres, there is peace. It is its own vortex of crazy. But it's our vortex. And I love it.

It's my crazy. My crazy with the four greatest kids I can't believe I thought I would never have.

My life is heavy right now.

But it's beautiful,


 

My Facebook Post Re: Covid

I wish I had the words to share what this Covid thing feels like for our family right now. Let me try. My husband is...
Posted by Wendi Huisman Kitsteiner on Tuesday, July 21, 2020

Tuesday Truth

Incredibly Exciting Greeneville News

I have some incredibly exciting news to share. My parents have bought a second home in Greeneville, TN -- our "big" town about 20 minutes from us. Here is a picture of the house:

They aren't exactly sure right now what this means. If they will spend half the year in each place. If they will end up just fixing this up and selling it. If they will use this for an Air B&B. They are just taking it day by day.

My parents with my goofy children.

However, if you knew my parents story, this would be an incredible answer to prayer. My parents have never owned a house. They have owned a trailer. They have owned a townhome. But not a house. They never thought they would. And now the Lord has provided for them to have two homes right now. It's amazing!

And my parents with my normal children on our farm the day they left after spending a week with us here in Tennessee. 

It was amazing to see their porch filled with people after just moving in! Tenneseeans can be so nice.

Sidge built this bird feeder for my parents' back yard!

They've been having tons of cardinals visiting already.

More silliness

My Hannah (Age 6) with her version of Papa Coach.

My Abigail (age 9) with her version of Papa Coach. (Age 9)

Post on My Greeneville

Last week I posted this on a local community Facebook page: My Greeneville. Our county had recently mandated masks and people were getting angry.

My husband is an ER doctor and the the co-ER Director in Greenville. He does not work for Ballad. All ER doctors are employed through a separate company!! He gets paid hourly whether there is 1 patient in the ER or 500. He has no financial incentive to make Covid sound better or worse.

If you or your child is injured or sick, you will take them to him to ask him to save your life.

He is saying to the community: I’m concerned if we don’t slow the spread down, I may not have room to treat you.

I can’t think of a reason why anyone wouldn’t want to heed this advice.

We love Greeneville. We love this community. We are devout Christians and farmers and have children. I grew up in a trailer park. My husband grew up in a family without medical insurance. He joined the Air Force to pay for medical school with the dream of settling in a small town and helping people who are hard-working folks like our parents were.

He is worried that our ER won’t have space or he won’t have space to send you to another ER. Isn’t his concern enough to listen to him?

We chose Greeneville to raise our family and create our life. We bought a forever home here. We love this community. We have no reason to lie or try to make things better or worse. We just want to help keep people healthy and have room for your child when they come in with an injury or concern.

Please everyone: be wise. This isn’t about fear. It’s just wisdom.

P.S. please be kind if you leave a comment. We are a real family with real feelings who have lived in 5 states and 3 continents and have chosen Greeneville to live forever! We love it here and are blessed to call this community our home. My husband doesn’t even want me to leave a post but I just felt compelled to speak from my heart as I see the burden on him every time he comes home after a shift.

I wanted to share this post on my Blog as nearly all of the comments were incredibly encouraging and wonderful! (I have tried to share all the comments but I can't get it to copy and paste. So I am going to just share some of them.)

• Thank you for weighing in. I just don’t understand the blunt obstinacy I’ve seen lately. 
• I trust your husbands opinion. He is one of only a couple of doctors there in the er that i do trust after what happened to me. He took the time to listen to me after everything happened and took action to solve the issue.
• It saddens me that people that think this is a joke! My son is one is those one the high risk lists. I take this very seriously. It isnt fair for my special needs son and my one year old and also myself who also has a Compton immune system to have to stay home so often because others can’t stay home or wear a mask or not to social distance. I appreciate your words. Wisdom needs to be used. This is a temporary sacrifice WE ALL NEED TO MAKE.sadly not every one agrees.
• btw your husband is an awesome dr! When I’ve seen him come into my or my children’s room ik I was in good hands. 
• when I was pregnant with addie I had a scare in the beginning and he was very gentle but honest and even shared his own personal story a bit with me. I so appreciated this! Some months later I think I was in there with Axton and he was like hey youre still pregnant that’s great and was genuinely glad that he saw me and that all has worked out. I would impressed he remembered. Yo me it shows me that he’s a dr that’s cared.he also took great care of my little man as to be expected!
• If this don’t wake some folks up, I’m afraid not much will!
• He is a awesome doc.
• I agree with you he is a great doctor. If he is there I too know I am in good hands and he is wonderful about answering questions.
• All ERs in our area have contracted for over 30 years to TeamHealth and other ER “physician providers”. Please listen to her...she is speaking from the heart and honestly.
• Thank you for your post and for trying! I pray that people will listen.
• We appreciate ur husband for taking risks and saving lives God bless
• Thank you for your post and sharing your husband so much of the time, and thank you to your husband for all he does for this community!     
• I absolutely LOVE your husband! We had 2 foster boys and I brought one in one morning w the croup. He couldn’t breathe. One of my nurse friends, getting off the night shift said “You will love this doctor, he’s my favorite!” And, I did. He even called before his shift was over, to check on our foster son. Thanks for your post! I appreciate it!
• Your advice is very well taken. I finally was able to read something about COVID-19 that I can believe, thanks for sharing.
• Dr Kitsteiner is a treasure!
• Thank you we are blessed to have you in our communities
• Thanks for sharing your heart
• Huge THANK YOU to your husband and all of the health care workers. Thank you for this post
• Viruses and germs cover the whole planet.. all of them are life threatening.. people need to stop being scared about just one and live life.. God does not promise tomorrow but does promise everlasting life if a person chooses to obey and believe. 
• its spreading like wildfire in churches. God also gave us common sense. We need to stop being selfish and think of others. Especially the children and elderly
• Thank you for this post. If we don't slow down, tragedy is going to happen. Hamblen County is already feeling it. They're already at full capacity and is having to divert patients to Jefferson County. Why Greene Countians can't recognize the escalating problem is far beyond me. It's here and it's not going away. We just need to slow it down right now until it can become manageable but it's extremely hard to do when you have all of the I do what I want and you can't take my freedom away people. We don't want your freedom /rights. We just want you to stay safe but if you don't care about yourself then be human enough to care about Grandma/Grandpa or anyone that is immunocompromised. Wearing a mask to go in and buy your milk isn't going to hurt anyone no matter what your excuse.
• Dr. Kitsteiner is the BEST!!! Wish there were more doctors like him!! You are so “right on” with your post! Hope and pray our community will wise up!!!!!! God bless!!!!!
• Bravo!!! Bravo! Thank you!
• Thank you sweetheart. People need to hear this. But I'm afraid they won't care. People need to think of others. They need to wear a mask in public. Everyone has parents and grandparents. They need to at least think of them
• Thank you for sharing this post. Thank your husband for all he does. Hopefully people will realize this virus is here and very real. Before it’s to late. God bless.
• Well said!!!
• Thank you for the education. Hopefully, those who need to listen will pay attention to your words.
• Yes thank him for all he does . People just dnt care for know one but their selfs I just pray people will do all they can
• Glad you posted this. People need to be mindful of what is happening. Blessings.
• Thank you for taking the time to speak from your heart. My husband is at high risk. I Wore my mask since day one and got strange looks. But it doesn’t matter. I feel for my coworkers still working in healthcare. There’s nothing wrong with being cautious and smart… I appreciate you taking the time, and I appreciate all that your husband does. We’re in for the long-haul with this one.
• TY, & I agree, but there are those folks that will never listen. Welcome to our community. I'm borned & raised here & love it.
• Thank you, and thank you to your husband!
• Seen your husband last month when my son had allergic reaction to bee!!!! Super nice man! He did amazing with my teen son
• I love your kindness and heart behind this. I also appreciate that you didn’t give specific “you must do this” instructions but urged everyone to be mindful. Praying your hubby stays healthy and you have peace while he is at work!
• what u said was also very kind. I also appreciate what she said very much but i was thinking she wasn't specific enough. Some people r just too "hard- headed". You have to spell it out!
• Thank u all so much and thank ur husband so much
• Thank you for such a heartfelt post. Praying everyday for an end to this virus. I hope your husband and family stay well.
• Thank you and your husband for caring about our community and welcome. Half of greeneville know and understand the risks and are listening to medical personnel, the other half thinks this is a conspiracy to keep Trump from being re-elected as well as the government trying to control us. Keep fighting the good fight and those of us who know and understand will continue to try to educate those who are living in an alternate universe.
• Thanks to you and your husband. Greeneville is lucky to have such a good doctor and caring wife. Your husband treated my uncle. Great doctor in my opinion!
• Tell your husband thank you and don't let others peoples comments get to you.
• I’m no longer in greeneville but I had the pleasure of meeting your husband in the er one night when I had a seizure very nice man
• Thank you, you have come closest to changing my mind. I still have concern about wearing masks long term, and inhaling Co2, and with asthma, it's hard to breath in a mask sometimes.
• Thanks to your Husband! Thanks for posting!
• We are here at the hospital now admitted yesterday morning not COVID but still here. Love our hometown hospital. Thank you and your husband for committing to us here in Greeneville. Your dedication is truly appreciated.
• Tell your husband we genuinely appreciate him for his hard work.
• Praying always for John and your family. We are thankful for the times you've both helped our family.
• John is a wonderful & caring doctor! I had the pleasure of working as an ER nurse with him for awhile & he truly cares about his patients & community. Many thanks to John & Wendi for loving our area enough to make this their forever home & raising their beautiful children here. These are scary times & we all need to listen to those on the front lines so we can stay healthy. Prayers for our community.
• God Bless him and your family, I am new to the area, I stay home unless I have to go out and then I wear my mask, my husband depends on me because of other medical conditions, so I definitely don’t take chances. Sad that people don’t wake up and I get tired of politics brought into the mix.
• Wendi, appreciate your heart on this and thanks for putting it out there. Saw your hubby in the ER a few years back. Really nice man and good clinician. I would definitely listen to him. I've read all the reasons folks have for not wearing masks and I just don't see why it's a problem. My hubs is immunocompromised but I would wear one even if he weren't. At the very least, it's the considerate thing to do. Our Greene Co. Mayor this morning made masks mandatory. However, in the same order, he said he isn't requiring police officers to enforce it (I think those were his words). So, we'll see how many folks will actually comply. I guess ignorance is bliss.
• Thank you for speaking from your heart. Please thank your husband for his services to our community. God bless and be safe.                    
• Your husband has treated my mother several times. You are good people. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
• Please tell your husband thank you for his dedication and to you for your support of your husband.
• Your husband is wonderful! He’s treated my daughter and my husband in the ER and I’m always happy to see him there, because he’s so caring and takes the time to talk to us about what’s happening. I hope he stays safe!
• Your husband treated my daughter some time back. He was phenomenal, I mean one of best physicians I have had an encounter with in emergency medicine! Thank you.
• Thank you for your post. Thanks to your husband. We are so fortunate to have you both in our community & appreciate your dedication to helping educate our community to stay as healthy as possible. We pray for all the healthcare workers that are giving their all & all the essential workers as well. We wear our masks & follow all precautions, those that chose not wear a mask we love them too & pray for their safety! Keep up the good fight, we need more voices of concern, love & kindness!
• Wendi , thank you for choosing Greeneville and for looking out for our families.
• My husband was there 10 hours last night. Not for covid., another issue that we were afraid could be life threatening. He said it was hell. No beds etc. only 1 doctor working. He said it wasn’t the doctors fault but it was the worst experience. It shouldn’t have taken 10 hours for what they done for him. I’m afraid w/ covid taking over the other health issues will get pushed to the side so to speak.
• Thank you for posting this very heartfelt concern. Your husband is a kind and talented physician, and we are glad to have his expertise in our community 
• I pray for the doctors and nurses and all healthcare workers, people need to know this is real,we can't live in fear, but we need to use our wisdom and our respect for others.My daughter works at the hospital so does other family members I PRAY for all, thank you for sharing this
• Thank u for posting that! I just hope enough people will read it and take heed! And thank u for loving and appreciating this area!
• I see over 350 people have liked this! I hope it gets read and absorbed by many more. Wish it could be shared!
• Thank you for your post. We pray every day for your husband and all those in the medical field and the first responders.
• We are thankful for the dedication of your husband and are glad that you and your family have chosen Greeneville as your home. Thank you for your very wise words.
• Thank you for your post. I was reading comments last night about the mayor putting the mask mandate in place. There were ALOT of people who said they simply wldnt wear a mask. ALOT of people who still think this virus isn't real. There is definitely cause for concern. My daughter has down syndrome and heart problems and my son has asthma. Every since this began I have taken it seriously and wear a mask because I'm afraid I will bring it home to them. I pray to God daily for the people that has lost loved ones, for the people who have this virus and are fighting for their lives, for the doctors and nurses that are having to fight this battle, and that the virus will stay away from my loved ones. Please tell your husband thank you and I pray God watches over us all.

• Thank you for your thoughts and kindness you have shown to all of us
• food for thought .. not only is there limited Drs and nurses for covid patients but ventilators! anyone ever asked your local and ONLY icu how many beds or ventilators they have? JCMC was at max capacity last week with covid.... let's not get to the point we are chosing between the sweet little grandma whose lived a full life and the 24 year old who just so happened to come back from the beach sick because masks aren't cool. we as a community make the difference on the final outcome.. let's be known for least cases because we did things right   
• We love your family and are so happy your hubby has such a compassionate attitude. I am afraid this virus has taken a toll on so many, yet i cannot believe we arent doi g something to mitigate the problem. Why isnt there a hospital that only treats covid or set up a separate er? Going to the hospital for anything we are now at risk for contracting the virus. With 157(?) active cases in greene county how many are in serious condition on a vent? I am so torn on these issues
• Thank you for sharing and much thanks to your husband and all of his co-workers for helping to spread the word and doing what they can to treat and keep our families safe!
• Your husband treated my mom when she had a stroke. We spoke of the AF because my son is enlisted. He provided outstanding care. Thank you for sharing his thoughts!
• We appreciate your families service he works hard and has a serious job but his family is serving too may God bless you all we welcome you to our community
• Thank you and thank you husband! I’m happy to call you friend!
• Thank you for posting this! Greeneville needs to hear this. I’m so glad your family pick Greeneville for your forever home! God Bless!! 
• Love me some Kitsteiner encouragement, kindness, and wisdom.
• Ty for sharing! I understand the uncertainty of it all I have several family members who work at hospitals I'm praying for everyone's safety
• Thank you, and God Bless your family for the sacrifice you make! 
• Yes, wisdom. I agree! 
  Thank you and your Husband for your service to this Country! My husband was in the Coast Guard and we have chosen Greeneville as our home too
• Thank you for sharing this and thank your husband for his dedication and you for supporting him through this.
• This has nothing to do with Covid19, but I respect your husband as a physician who treated my son when he was 9mo in the ER a few years ago. Your husband transferred my son to Knoxville for care due to his age and it being a pulmonary issue. The next day I received several calls from an unidentified number so I ignored it several times before I answered. It was your husband checking on my son. I was sincerely touched that he took his personal time to check on his status.
• Thank you for sharing. Thank ur husband for all he is doing. Everyone needs to think the nursing staff everywhere. From hospital’s, nursing homes, dr office, to the in home health, to private duty nursing. So many ppl out their that have a very hard job trying to protect. Thank you everyone.
• Thank you for posting this because there are so many around here that think because they are or a loved one has not been sick this is not real. Thank your husband for his service. 
• Your family has my respect . God Bless you all . And to your husband and a hero in all this mess ..Thank you Sir for your service .
• God bless you and your family. Your husband is an excellent Er doctor. He just recently treated my husband as well as myself for various issues. In my eyes all healthcare workers are our heroes. They stand on the front lines every day, regardless of what is bad out there lurking. Without our doctors, nurses, CNAs, housekeepers, receptionist. There is no way we would survive. I have asthma, allergies real bad, and non alcoholic cirrhosis and my son has a bad immune system. So we do wear mask when we are out and about. Also my husband works in healthcare in dietary as well as my in-laws are in healthcare. They all risk there lives everyday. Really appreciate this post. Many think this is all a joke, I believe it is real and many will die from this terrible illness. Thank you for all you do for our people Dr. Kitsteiner and all of our healthcare. God bless you all and be safe
• May God prosper your husband and the job he loves 
• God bless you and I kown your family is a great asset to Greeneville 
• Thank you! As a mammaw who takes care of my grand babies, it’s nice to know people care. I have no choice but to go to the grocery store, so when people wear masks it makes me safe. I have to be alive so I can care for my babies. Thank you.
• Thank you for sharing. I work in the lab, so I talk to Dr Kitsteiner on the phone quiet often. He is one of the best. It is trying times now. It is stressful times. We, in the medical field that see the complications, understand the severity of this pandemic. I just wish, or hope, that others in our community listen to the experienced professionals and do what needs to be done to slow this virus down. It is pretty much common sense and common courtesy. If we don't take care of this now, we may never get back to a normalcy as we know it. Thank you, once again, for sharing your post.
• Prayers for him and all the hospital staff. I’m a retired RN and to be honest I don’t think I could cope with working these days. I believe this virus is real. I belief most think it a hoax. I believe your husband. He has my gratitude 
• Your husband treated me back in November and my husband and I were very impressed with him and his genuine concern. He is one of the few doctors that ive met that actually listens to his patient. Please tell him we said thank you and are praying for you all!
• Thank you for your service and being in our little town. Please people listen 
• Thank you for caring and loving Greeneville as much as we do ! 
• John Kitsteiner is a class act. I would trust my life with him. He is one of if not the best ER doctor I have ever been around
• Thank you for loving Greeneville and thank you for serving our area  
• Thank you for sharing! I've seen/ checked you & him out before at Ingles when I was a cashier in the store & I'm thankful for your concern for our community & your kindness always!
• Thank you! Prayers for his protection as he fights for others.
• He's a good doctor me and my kids have seen him a view times
• This is a very uplifting post. Thank both you and your husband for the dedication to our community. God be with your family and keep them safe. I pray that people will heed your advice.
• Thank you for this. Your husband treated my mother when she was alive, and treated a friend of mine. Here is a great doctor and I value his opinion. He has a great bed side manner. Bless you all.
 

• I'm waiting on the GoogleMDs to start. Thank you for sharing. I'm praying for him and everyone else on the front lines. It's not hard to do our part. They work so hard for all of us and deserve so much praise.
• Thank you for your husband's devotion to our community.
• From a public health registered nurse, thank you for the sincere message. I have had to refrain from commenting on multiple posts because I’m afraid of saying something that I shouldn’t. Myself, along with my co-workers, have interviewed every single case within the region, and this is real. I appreciate your husbands devotion to our community, and from one health professional to another, we are all in this together!  
• Please give our well wishes and thanks for caring for all of us to your husband. I understand he is putting his life and his families life on the line every day. Again thanks. Stay safe! Thanks for choosing Greeneville to live! 
• May God Bless your family for doing the many times thankless job that your husband does. Greeneville is lucky to have your family here. There are so many people who believe this virus is no big deal. Please, if you don't think it is a big deal, stop and think. Do you love your parents, grandparents, the rest of your family and the friends that you love. Staying safe is showing how much you love them. 
• Thank him for putting himself in the line of Fire every day he goes to work. Thank you also for your sacrifice as well. These are trying times we are in the midst of. I am thankful there are doctors like him out there so willing to help and wives and children like you and yours that give so much up so he can help.
• Dr. Kitsteiner and all the Er docs really work hard and deserve praise for the jobs they do. But let's not forget those awesome nurses as well. We are all concerned about the spread of coronavirus.
• My prayers are with him that he has the strength to endure whatever gets thrown at him. Thank you for your service, Sir.
• So thankful that he is here in Greeneville.
• Thank you for sharing and thank your husband for everything he is doing to help. I sincerely hope that this divided country can find the compassion for each other to work together.
• I haven't stopped wearing a mask since COVID first started. I don't think it is to much to ask to save a lif and prevent the spread. I appreciate your post and just hope everyone will listen!
• I’m thankful for you, your husband, and your family. 
• Thank you for sharing. I am so sorry that people are being disrespectful to you and your family. Since this virus has gotten so bad it seems as if more people are turning against each other. I am glad that you and your family are here. Thanks for the message 
• Thank your husband from a family that cares God bless you all.
• Your husband has treated me and tried his best to help me and just know we are all thankful for people like you all and your husband thank you for saying what was on your heart
• Thank you for sharing this and many, many thanks to you and your family for sharing your wonderful husband with our community. I'll say prayers for you all.
• Anytime you speak from the heart it's the right thing to do. Thank you for your courage. It's more important now than ever to speak up. We can't let the people full of fear and hate dominate us.
• Your husband is one of the best doctors we have. He treated me SO KIND before, during, and after my procedure! He's a blessing!  
• Thank you for the post, hopefully more understand that wearing a mask, staying home and washing hands are a small sacrifice compared to what medical staff has to do 
• I'm thankful you did. Bless him and your family. I pray that he can rest when he has time, which is rare, and that he knows he is doing all he can everyday to help people. Thank him for me and thank you for standing up for him and what you believe.    
• Thank you and thank your husband for his dedication to our community. It’s not easy to put yourself out there like you did with this message, thank you for your bravery also! 
  Wise words indeed! Sending prayers to you and your husband and your family.
  Your husband also treated my daughter awhile back & let me just say that I bragged on him to everyone. He is amazing! So thankful to have someone like him who actually cares about his patients! 
 

Because I couldn't respond to the comments (the moderators turned off comments), I wrote a separate post about a week later. Here is what I wrote:

A few days ago, I wrote a post here on behalf of my ER-doctor husband and the battle he's facing in medicine. He had told me not to and said that it would just hurt my feelings to see what people said. 

Instead, you all did just the opposite. The moderators eventually turned off the commenting, but not before over 250 of you left incredibly kind, understanding, encouraging comments. The 1 or 2 unkind comments, were immediately disputed by others.

My husband, who doesn't spend much time on social media, stopped and sat down, and read every single one. It was an incredible encouragement to him in one of the hardest seasons he has ever faced as a human.

Thank you for supporting your medical professionals, your teachers, your grocery store workers. I am here to tell you that IT MATTERS. My husband is so incredibly weary and feels that every day, there are new concerns and worries. But knowing the community is behind him makes us all feel so much better.

THANK YOU GREENEVILLE!

• It is good to know that there are good health care professionals working the ER at this time. They are being called to do extraordinary jobs right now and I am so greatful for their commitment and courage in going to work everyday. I am also greatful for their families who I know are having to make sacrifices and remain courageous too. Thank you and your family for remaining diligent and continuing to use your God given gift to help others and bring healing to so many. Praying now for you and your family. God bless.
• It's early so let me see if I got this right. Your husband works in the medical field? If that's the case, he is a HERO and my hat is off to him. Please tell him I said thanks for everything because the people who work in the medical field are like our soldiers and should be thanked every day.
• He is very compassionate! Followed up with a phone call , a short time later!
• We love him and are happy to have him working beside us!
• He did a great job stitching up my forehead.
• I was in the er a couple of months ago when I was having chest I ains and he took great care of me.
• Right before this mess went down last December, I had a very sudden scary ER visit. I was a lucky to have your husband as the doc on staff at the time. He was incredibly kind and passionate about his practice and put me at ease during a terrifying time. God bless him and your family
• My daughter (age 12) had her first ER visit back in February when she was diagnosed with Flu B, Strep, and then an "unknown" virus. She was sick for a two week period. Who knows, she could've had Covid 19 but it wasn't recognized here yet. He was wonderful to her and eased this worrying Mommas mind! Please tell him thank you for our experience with him and our family will pray for him!
• He was absolutely amazing with my teenage son!! I think my son won’t hesitate to Epi in the future because HE TOOK the time to explain to him the dangers of not using it quick enough. VERY thankful Mom
• My husband was the sickest I’ve ever seen him, so we had to take a trip to the ER. I remember your husband easily with how kind he was. And this years ago! 
• Dr. K thank you for your kindness and compassion not to mention excellent skills!!! 
• when I see him come in I know no matter what comes our way it will still be a good day he is a great doctor our hospital is blessed to have him
• He stitched up my leg when I cut it a while back. I’ll never forget how professional he was. I’ll wear this scar proudly knowing he did some handy work on it
• Wouldn't trade him for anything as a doctor or a friend. 1st class all the way. 
• Your husband is a blessing to so many. We have had him assist us several times at the ER with complex circumstances. We may not have left with all the answers but always left feeling understood and empowered. Keeping him, his family and co workers in our prayers 
• He is an excellent Dr., he has treated my son and my daughter on a few occasions and I'm very happy to have had his compassion for them as more than "just a patient". He cares deeply for his patients and explains everything going on in detail. My son probably wouldn't be alive today if it wasn't for your husband, there's no way I could thank him enough for the care he has given to my family members   
• My DIL told me how grateful she was that your hubby was my grandson's ER doctor when he had a problem with a bug bite. Thank you both.
• I talk with ER staff every time I send a patient over and I’m always relieved when I hear “this is Kitsteiner” on the other end. I know that my patient will be well taken care of.
• Your husband took care of me in the ER the morning I thought I was having a stroke. He was kind, compassionate, and gave me the courtesy of a complete explanation of what was going on. I will never forget him. Thank you, thank you, Dr. K.
• He is simply the best! The best physician and the most kind hearted man! I have the pleasure of working with him and I can tell you that he is for the patient EVERYTIME in whatever decisions he is helping make. He is a great advocate. I have been in my role for a while and have never worked with an ER physician so engaged in quality of care. I know he has a big weight on his shoulder but we would never see it. Thank you for everything you do for our community and our hospital. 
• My kids have seen your husband before and he was great with them. I know his job is stressful but he still doesn't let it affect how he goes from patient to patient and listens to their concerns. Most of them have been great. I had one experience there where the doctor's bedside manner was horrible and you cld tell he wasn't a very nice man at all. I appreciate all that your husband does and the way he cares for people and does his job. Thank you very much sir!!
• Great guy. Believed me when everyone else thought I was seeking drugs. I was released that night after he told me what to watch for wasnt long after that I dropped. Colon ruptured. If I hadn't know what to watch for I'd probably been dead. Just got my colostomy bag removed recently and getting stronger! From my family to him, you, and yours. 
• I didn’t see your other post but I do see this one and I recognized the man in the picture, your husband. Your husband took care of my daughter in the Er when she was having an allergic reaction to a medicine she’d taken. Dr Kitsteiner was amazing and really explained things very professional but also to where my daughter would understand. He didn’t rush In or rush out. He took the time to actually speak with us and didn’t make it seem as if he was just doing his job. Im glad that we were able to meet him that time. He’s an amazing doctor. Hopefully we won’t be back in the Er anytime soon but if we are I only hope that he is the physician that we are able to see. Keep up the great work. Thank you and thanks to him!!!!
• He is great!! Was so kind to my 93 year old Mother!! Great physician!!! 
• Dr. K is the only doctor I will see in the ER. I use to work with him in the ER I was ER Admissions and I know first hand how much compassion this man has for his patients. Other doctors could learn from this man. Dr. Kitsteiner in the words of Joe Dirt "Keep on Keeping on"!                 

I also received a few Facebook messages from people:

• Hi Hun. I just seen your post in my Greeneville. I looked at your profile picture. If I'm not mistaken you're husband was the doctor that seen my two sons after we were hit(car accident) back in March. March 21 to be exact. If I'm correct, I absolutely love and adore him!!!!!! I've wanted to do something to show him a bit of my gratitude but have no clue what little of me could ever do for a doctor. Anyways I just wanted to mention this. Maybe you could tell him that he's loved and adored. If nothing else please please let him know that he most definitely is touching lives and making a huge difference. I wanted to add not only was he good that day but what really got me was a few days later he called me!!! He went out of his way to call me and ask how we were doing!!!! I've never ever witnessed a doctor doing this. It meant so much to me. So much that I started to tear up.
• Hi Wendi! You do not know me but I brought my grandmother into the ER one night and she saw your husband. He was wonderful with her. She did not want to stay but obviously needed too. And with all the talk of Ballad, I was a little nervous. However, your husband stitched her upper lip and explained everything step by step and how he himself had considered going into plastic surgery at one point. She’s quite the talker..lol She also ended up with a broken wrist. Still she did not want to stay and I could not make her stay as much as I thought she needed it. I spoke to your husband to let him know she was 83 and really needed to stay given the circumstances. And he agreed. Love her heart she is very independent and stubborn and that is why we love her! Nothing gets her down! But on that night your husband came back into her room and when she told him she wanted to go home. He said to her that he thought she needed to stay a few days and that he would say the same if she were his wife, his mother, or family. And he then told her what she could expect the next few days and that seemed to ease her anxiety. And she stayed. Her lip looks fantastic. He was wonderful with her. We have had to see him twice I believe and I have read a lot of reviews about Ballad but we had a great experience both times she has seen your husband. She also did well there at the hospital and through surgery which she had to have as well. He has a great heart as well as intentions and a great wife! Thank you for sharing! I hope you and your family have a great weekend! I just wanted to send a little positive note from us and how we appreciated your post.