Twenty-one Days

Twenty one days have passed since I last smoked a cigarette. All chemical traces are supposed have left my body. I have had a fairly easy time of it but the cravings have been strong the past two days. I am glad to be among encouraging people. I am walking between a half mile and a mile a day on dog walks. My blood pressure is within normal limits, oxygen level is good.  Dr. Cohn calls and we talk about test results and my vital signs. The primary problem of the past two weeks has been wound care. The implantation left a record-setting hematoma and a huge lump. Both are gradually receding but they have been no picnic.

Life is returning to normal. Eve left for Oregon yesterday and her stepsister Vickie and daughter Angela also left-for Oakland. Only one hanger-on: the O.F. The kids could not be more welcoming, helpful and caring. After dropping Eve for her flight we went to the John Prince Park for a meet and greet and to see the improvements. That was fun but I am not ready to set up camp yet.

David and Jacqui's Christmas eve Dinner

David's driveway- brightened with L.E.D. lights this year.

I missed the big Christmas Party by reason of being detained by Good Samaritans in Kearney, Nebraska. A more intimate family dinner event took place on Christmas Eve. I'll post the party pictures.

Lobster bites-delicious

Jacqui compliments the chef

Click the photo below to see the album:

12252010 Christmas Eve at David and Jacqui's

Kill The Bug Party 12/24/2010

Lori's "Kill the Bug Party" based on a West Texas Polish tradition thought to bring good health to the participants was a great success this year. Great food, lots of people and a few laughs as neighbors and friends showed up in their Pajamas (requested but not required).

Mostly provided drinks and food were augmented by "carry-in" and gift comestibles. Mimosa's , Bellinis, Bloody Mary's, Spiced Cider , Coffee and juice got the ball rolling. People came at eight and wandered in and out until one o'clock. Kids, dogs, friends abounded. Great fun.

More pictures of the fun at the picture link:

12242010 FL Kill the Bug!

Florida at Last!

Learjet 55

"Snacks" in first class.

Buddy gets his own lap.

The "O.F" is well taken care of.

My left arm is still badly purple and sore from te implant. More tale telling later

Aaargh...

Just kidding, the procedure went well. I am feeling better. Unfortunately, the newly created pocket for the ICD is  a tad tender making typing painful. Dr. Kutte wants to take two last tries at restoring all of my heart rhythms tomorrow. He'll take one with the ICD and failing that, he'll try with the classic paddles. Then we will checkout, head for Lincoln, NE  and get on the plane with the pooches. Three hours later with a tailwind, we will be in Ft. Lauderdale. 

Device Day Minus 5...

Tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. I'll go in for the ICD implantation. Dr. Bibbler has been here, Dr. Kutte has been here, the anaesthetist has been for a visit, too. The procedure should take an hour or two depending on how long it takes to find my veins for the wires and how much fun they decide to have shocking the daylights out of me.

I have had other attention too. Jason and I took a walk to the Heliport pad, and saw some other sights in the hospital.I developed a chest pain and Dr. Kutte was on the floor when I got back. I was given a nitroglycerin tablet which helped. So I was glad to have this kind of experience in the safe environment-if I am going to have this kind of experience at all. I have to admit, I am profoundly grateful it happened  with Jason there. He is very helpful,has experience with Lori's similar issues and I need him here right now. So I got an EKG, and am now receiving an infusion to make my shocking work better as a converter to restore my heartbeat.

Progressing

Patty, my nurse for the day, hooked me up to the telemetry reading machine. My Vitals went to a central spot instead of my room monitor. Thus set free, I embarked on several excursions trailing my oxygen tank behind me. Dr. Bibbler was my first contact: He is on tap for a Sunday morning insertion of my device. With this cast in stone, other things started to progress. The Charter flight, the checkout procedure, the meds...Everybody on Team Stephen was smiley today except when they were not. I had an ebb: low BP, and perhaps sugar. But that was transient. Jason was busier than I was by far but even he was forced into relax mode this evening. 

I am getting excited about the flight. On-flight catering called. Unfortunately they called Jason and he ordered things I can eat. I regret having to fly under these circumstances but that will not stop the enjoyment of this once in a lifetime experience.

While trekking on ICU, hoping to see my nurses, my respiratory therapist shooed us off the floor. I didn't recognize a thing on that floor.

There was a "CODE" on my hall. It was just like the movies: crash carts and personnel, at a dead run. I do not know how it turned out.  About the time you climb on the pity pot, you hear a story that makes you feel small. After whining to Val, my Cardiologist RN-PAC,  about the shifting  operation dates to insert my device, she wished me luck because she is setting off for the holdidays to see her terminally ill daughter. Kind of puts a perspective on things.

Dr "A" talked to me about my medications  and how much to cheat on my Lasix to ensure less fluid gain. He is my Hospitalist on the floor. He has worked hard to get my meds effective and reduced in number. I am getting decent numbers all around. 

I am really missing my  dogs. I know they are getting A-1 care but I need to pet them and play with them. The lady at the Best Western has given the dogs, Jason and the dog's handler, a ridiculously rate-low. I really am looking forward to the flight to Ft. Lauderdale and sitting on the deck watching the boats go by and doggies play.

My Chevy van is sitting in Jason's and Lori's Florida driveway. The driver is on his way to Phoenix tonight via USAir and he will enjoy there for awhile before heading back to Omaha.

Hanging Out in Kearney

As much as I love hanging out with Jason, I am starting to feel badly for him. Dr. Kutte overestimated his ability to get Medicare to budge on their 40 day rule. We are here until Sunday at least and he has work issues, Christmas issues, Lori to think about, and a full plate here in Kearney. Kutte offered to prescribe a temporary "life belt defibrillator" but we mostly wish he had been more realistic at the get-go.

Life at Good Samaritan Hospital continues to be good for me. We are getting more good blood pressure numbers than bad. The Cardio-rehab lady assured me that after my procedure I would likely find a portion of life away from the tether of an oxygen tank. That was nice to hear even if it turns out to be blarney from Kearney.

Posies in the Winter

Camera phones are all we have at the hospital. A beautiful bouquet came from " the neighbors up the road," Guy and Janet. I love the deep reds. As we will be here a day or two more I should be able to extract the aroma and beauty before we have to cram everything into a Learjet. Jason has some real organizational skills. He also has a wicked sense of humor luring me the lobby art show when I was taking my oxygen tank for a walk.

There are beautiful red berries in the bouquet.

Tonight I got a lesson in how to inject myself with blood thinners in the stomach. I did well. I'll leave the hospital on that medicine and go back on Coumadin in Florida. This stuff is shorter acting so I have to shoot myself  twice a day, two shots each time. I am getting some decent blood pressure readings, good O2 readings, and blood sugar readings. BUT I AM STARVING.

Bob and Doris brought the Van Driver to Kearney. The driver left this morning and was heading due south to avoid storms-smart guy Lincoln is paralyzed by ice.We got another little visit. Enjoyed the warmth.  We will have to wait on taking a meal together.

Pampered Pups

Joys of the midwest: Jason tipped generously because the dogs got 4 hours of grooming and getting good and dry before he picked them up. The bill was not very much compared to Florida. He later took the man who has been walking the dogs to dinner. Interesting story there. Somebody done somebody wrong, wrong, and wrong some more. We are talking Dr. Phil territory here.

My big news was the catheter went away. Kate, my day nurse today, deflated the balloon holding it in place internally, told me to take a deep breath and launched herself toward the wall with one hand on the catheter. The "deep breath" doesn't do much for the pain but you can't scream and take a deep breath at the same time. It is less upsetting on the staff. There was some suspense for a couple of hours but we are now going with the flow.

Dr. Bibbler, the surgeon was in to see me. My "procedure" is the one I need and the device I need is the second stage device-but I can't have it until Friday. So we are stuck here a little longer than we thought. The new van will head to Florida tomorrow in the hands of a flight attendant or a car thief -to be determined.

Dr. Kutty dropped by to discuss the situation with me while I was in the very nice bathroom attempting to have my first post heart-failure poop. I was nicely equipped with oxygen, a current newspaper and lots of time. I have never had a physician make a potty call before. Before long I felt I could tell him anything.

Busy but not Productive

They are keeping me busy with pokings, proddings, pills, and processes. I love the lung therapy- a bubbling face mask opens things up and refreshes. I am about to get cut off water and everything in aid of the defibrillation device being implanted tomorrow afternoon. I may be delayed until Wednesday morning if my numbers aren't right in the morning.

Bob and Doris left this afternoon. It was so nice of them to come for support and help. Bob may bring the van driver  over. A Craig's List job by a retired flight attendant: The guy drives cars for a fee and uses his lifetime pass to fly standby home. The doggies are going to have a spa day tomorrow. If they are going fly private, they are going to look the part. Jason is in charge and I am just enjoying watching him operate.

I have lost 30 pounds of fluids. My ankles look like they did long ago-in shape. They weren't purple then. The level of health care continues on a high level. Nichole, my  night nurse (from Singapore) is a dandy professional. I'll have more to tell..

Nectar of the Gods!

And whoever thought that it would be ice chips to set me raving.  I have graduated from the ICU to the Progressive Care Unit of Kearney Good Samaritan Hospital. My fluids are restricted. I had a bout of Congestive Heart Failure with a capital F. The last thing I remembered was Connie, the motel owner and two beefy cops entering my room and Honey going ballistic.  I had called but I was in such respiratory distress I was grunting.

The dogs are fine: my neighbor on the other side volunteered to take care of them. The troops arrived from Gretna, Nebraska and Florida. Dr Kutty has overseen the loss of  8.5 Liters of fluid. The Lung guy let them take out the tubes this morning. Dr. Kutty, the Cardio guy, says a defibrillator is a must, given the Echocardiogram shows even more loss of function which increases the odds of  "the big one." He seems a sound man and I am inclined to go for it at this point. These events are losing their entertainment value rapidly.

In the freezing cold Bob, Doris and Jason completed the de-commissioning of the Green Van today. I suspect Jason, the dogs and I will fly private to Florida. The new van will get there some other way.

Meanwhile my fluids are restricted and every ice chip is treasured.

Turner's 1916 Model T Wrecker

One of 300 manufactured, Grandpa Turner is proud of this Model T baby. They have an ice cream maker they attach for parades. He also has a 1921 Chevy wrecker -one of three surviving machines. The Model T has a hemp rope and will lift 1000 pounds. Yup, I'm still in Kearney. After a bad night last night, I found the wonder of calories and was energized by a bowl of soup. I can finish in the daylight tomorrow. The hard parts are done. After you take three years to trick your vehicle out with a refrigerator, generator, Storage batteries, Satellite radio, and cell phone extenders for Wyoming, it takes some time to untrick it. Unfortunately bad weather is moving in. I may stay longer yet. Setting out with a new vehicle on uncertain roads seems to be tempting fate to me and fate has not been my best friend lately. The Best Western in Kearney is a congenial place to be in wild weather. We'll see.

A coterie of lefties? Being left handed, I notice other lefties. The Nebraska HP that took my accident report was a lefty. The wrecker driver from L&S, Elm Creek, NE, was a lefty. The Turner Grandson in charge is a lefty. The motel clerk is a lefty. All fine people, exceptionally kind and intelligent.

Road-ee ohs

The journey begins with white knuckles and a clenched butt. The road from Riverton to Casper was the worst! Snowpacked and slick for miles and miles. It took me three hours to get that leg past me. A driver for Rich's company said it was the worst day of driving he had ever had. That put me well behind schedule for a meetup with brother Bob near Omaha. (Gretna). Nebraska roads were dry so I hopped off Hwy 30 onto I 80. The infrastructure money being spent left me with a slack-jawed appreciation of improvements in 80. Much much better. After a nap at the Cozad, Nebraska east rest stop. We continued with the trucks whizzing past us. So I was completely surprised by the deer that we hit. Highway Patrol after 45 minutes, Wrecker after 2 hours. The van was taken to Turner's in Kearney after my willingness to pony up $65.00 to avoid being towed to Elm ?? population 1000. That was a good decision. Turner's couldn't have been nicer- Mr.Turner even found me a replacement vehicle. Low mileage (RELATIVELY) Chevy van. But I am still in Kearney, enjoying the Best Western Motel. I worked all day tranferring stuff to the new van but I play out. The air bag ripped off my wrist watch and I can't extend my elbow without considerable pain. Geico offered me a fair settlement. I should be able to finish up tomorrow and get back on the road. All schedules are off. Don't much care.

The doggies are fine, if neglected. Give them a king-size bed and The World Woof Wrestling Tournament begins.

About to Launch

Busy day. As Thayne and I chatted on the way to the hospital on the 8th he was interested in a Sun break. We talked and I bought him a ticket to come visit in Florida- a thank you gift. Delores printed it out for me. Southwest is featuring some bodacious prices. The Florida trip will fall in the middle of the Denver Stock Show so he will use that to bookend his Florida jaunt. He works hard so I hope he has a great time. His plane lands at Palm Beach International which is about 20 minutes from John Prince Park so I'll snag him there.

I touched bases with Blue Cross and Humana to make sure my automatic payments are flowing and I have continuous coverage.  I've been using my Humana card at Wal-Mart while my meds are still in flux. I had my final appointment with Dr. Hedgecock for awhile. She gave me her email address! That is a good thing. We are dropping the Norvasc. If I start to puff up I can use my Lasix and Hydrochlorothiazide to get the ball rolling. Gotta keep after the potassium, though.

Went to the bank to load up an account. I'm on a budget this year. The banks are making it hand over fist but they aren't sharing the wealth in the form of interest. The heart attack is almost a relief. I am not worrying nearly as much about outliving my money. Still, I wish the Dodoes had been paying attention. I don't deserve this. None of us do.

The packing was going so well-then I noticed I couldn't see out. Some adjustments will be necessary. Some stuff is temporarily placed until I get the Oxygen concentrator located as a passenger. 

The water is shut off. Have a bucketful to final flush. Still a lot of last minute stuff to do tomorrow but I am sure we will get launched.

Keeping the Gas and Water Running

With recommended meds changes, I felt like crap on Saturday. I was bummed. But after a nap, which always produces a tinkle, things started flowing and flowing and I started to feel much better. It was still a slow-do-nothing day. Some med changes are going to be deferred for a few days.  The problem started with the meds which wired me up-I could not sleep, nor get my required horizontal time. The potassium is, however, required. That keeps the fluid running as well as other vital processes.

Today, Sunday, was much better and I feel like things are going to be better from now on. One thing the Casper P.A. said is that I should invest in a scale: one or two pounds variation in a day means fluid is building. I called Saturday to ask what I should do if that occurred. "Call us," was the answer.  Not a very practical answer. I did get some sorting and packing done today. Felt pretty darn well. Using stuff up. The doggies got ice cream today. A fairly pleasant day here and I am seeing a cold front is advancing on Florida. It is all an adventure!

The Tension is Thick

Daryne called to tattle on the dogs this afternoon. They were across the road headed up Ann McIntosh's lane. This is not good. I jumped in the van and zapped them all the way home. Buddy was scooting. They knew they had been bad. It has been very subdued in here. Buddy came to apologize or makeup awhile ago. Honey is still nursing hurt feelings.

It got up into the 40's today and I couldn't blame them for enjoying it but they have acres and acres on this side to enjoy.

It was off to the hospital this morning for a blood draw. My records from Dr. Hedgecock were ready as promised and I fixed a gift basket of fruit for that office. They are all trying to keep trim and fit and the parrot enjoys fruit too. Then the medical calls began. Wendy from Casper wanted to double my Carvedilol and start my statins after reviewing things with Dr. Wicks.( my BP is too high)  Later Jessica from Dr. Hedgecock called after getting the draw results-take another Potassium pill immediately and double up on those from now on. I made another appointment with Dr. Hedgecock on Monday. Wendy thought I needed more Lasix but deferred judgment until after the blood tests.

I'm going to finish packing this weekend. I'll leave Tuesday. (or Wednesday) I'm trying to be responsible here.

Cuz Donna called with a report on Eleanore's funeral. There was a good turnout. She was 97, not  92. The cemetery is Denver's oldest and holds other Bosco's and Roberts. She enjoyed seeing relatives she knew and quite a few she didn't  know. Had news. We are being asked to host another reunion. We will think on it.

Puhlease Release me, Let me go...

Somehow I had December 2nd on Friday. Jason straightened me out on that last night so I really did make my appointment in Casper at the CardioPulmonary place. I left early so I could meet with Rich and Val and cuz Jim and Susie for lunch. That was ever so nice to catch up with lives and catch a glimpse. Jim is in a state over his cancer recurrence and I don't blame him. Poor baby.  A low blow at this late stage but he is lined up with top oncologists from Boulder. Top oncologists or not, having your nose shaved until the cancer disappears is not a pleasant prospect.

Rich went with me to the meeting with the "mid-level practitioner" who turned out to be Wendy, a Physician's assistant who was all kinds of competent, thorough, and took pains to explain a lot to me. Moderate Heart attack-serious enough, no coronary disease, prognosis for restoring a normal rhythm. (four weeks of good coumadin scores are a pre-requisite before shock therapy), limitations, and how to cope, med adjustments (add a statin as a precaution). Richard and I have the same heart and we think our dad did too, though the medical arts were not this advanced then. I knew Rich had an angiogram in 1999 but he did not require a stent (nor would I) but his arrythmia is due to a bundle branch block which cannot be corrected.  But we have big old hearts that don't push enough blood. He exercises faithfully and takes his meds and his recent test has his expulsions up to about 65% which is pretty good considering. Mine is less than 40% . I really will need to consider the shock treatment. They are fine with me transferring to Dr. Cohn and driving to Florida.

Got the record requests in place. I was impressed as a techie: My EKG, and all other tests go right into a laptop and to central records. They can print them out at the push of a key. They scanned the records I brought right into the machine. I am now fasting for another blood draw tomorrow.

The ride to Casper was a good test. I am tired tonight but not bad. I will need to take breaks on the way to Florida because I need to move the fluid that settles in my legs.

The doggies were good as gold and got a nice treat. Honey is out barking at the moon right now. Buddy likes to be warm.

Pecking Away

The annual trek to the post office for premium mail forwarding took place yesterday. Diane ("21 months until I retire") is the only one who knows how to do it.  We had our annual visit as well. I went to the Super Wal-Mart for my cardio: two times around the perimeter pushing a cart at a pretty good clip. Paused to admire the new Televisions and look at Christmas lights. I had ooomph left but it was bitter cold and I didn't want to leave the pups too long.

Had email from the PNW with advice and cautions. Nicole and Andre Skyped from Florida. Nicole was wiping her brow, I was in three layers.

Today was Cardio-Rehab at the Lander Hospital. Stamina was better. The blood pressure was high and the EKG was the same- Atrial fib with an occasional skip of the beat. My weight was down. Oxygen was pretty good at rest but a little low after exercise-not bad. I did the routine without supplementary oxygen so that was pretty good. I finally got the knack of the treadmill after I reduced the nurses to tears of laughter. They thought I was clowning- I wasn't.  Tripled at least my times on the pedal machines. I had energy to go on but Nurse Rita had seen all she needed to see.

The roads even today were a caution but it is all the way up to 35 degrees so there is some melt going on.  The dogs went AWOL as soon as we got home. I am waiting.