Stupid red tape...

Dad's surgery didn't happen today. Rotten red tape. By the time he got all of the "I"s dotted and "T"s crossed, there was not operating room time left. It will be 1:00 tomorrow before the surgery can be done.

We were all ready for it to be over today. Suffice to say, this has probably been one of the longest days since he went in.

Murphy's Law strikes again

I've got some not so great news tonight. Murphy has been in on Dad's illness from the word go, and refuses to quit. We thought we were sailing smooth, healing was progressing quite nicely, pulse was strong, no signs of infection, he was almost ready to go to a skilled care facility... everything was going great over the last few days. Until yesterday morning.

Yesterday morning, the regular check did not find a pulse in Dad's left foot. Over the course of the day, his foot grew colder and the color turned greyish blue. A strong pulse was never found. We waited to make any reports about it, hoping that is was a temporary glitch or something. Unfortunately, an ultrasound today confirmed that the graft at the top of the bypass has failed. His leg is not getting enough blood sustain itself, let alone heal. The surgeon told us going in that this could possibly happen before the first surgery.

Dad was given a couple courses of antibiotics today. The doctors will take one more look at it tomorrow for any signs of improvement. From the sounds of things, unless a miracle happens overnight, Dad's left leg will be amputated just above the knee sometime tomorrow.

He is looking at this in the best possible light. Even if improvement happens overnight, and he were able to heal, he would not heal completely, the leg would not have much function, and he would always have to be concerned with infection, injury, and just about anything else attacking him. The other option is to replace the leg with a prosthesis that will function and won't get infected or injured.

Mom is doing pretty well herself. She is taking things in stride and counting her blessings. We've all had time to think about things and have realized there are much worse things that could happen. The stress of the unknown, of not knowing, is gone. We know what tomorrow will bring, and the waiting to find out what will happen is over. It still seems very surreal, though.

Dad said a prayer today with Mom, Jack, and me wrapped around him. He told God that he is thankful for the life that he's lived so far, for the life that he's going to live in the future, his doctors and medical staff that are taking excellent care of him, his friends and family, and the incredible outpouring of support from people who don't even know him, just the people who are close to him.

He's ready for the next chapter to begin and is considering it a new challenge to face, not something that will take him down or make him quit. He's too determined and ornery for that. He's already wondering if he can get a prosthesis that will extend and retract a couple inches to make walking around hillsides at the Tick Farm easier.

So tomorrow, we go to the hospital early and wait. That's going to be hard, but we accept that this is what was supposed to happen. It's one of those things that makes you wonder about God's plan, but I guess in the end, we don't have to understand it. We just have to accept it and try to deal with it in the way that God would have us to do.

Just how big is a Yorkie, anyway?

Dad is doing much, much, MUCH better

He's showing signs of improvement almost every hour it seems. He's still got a long way to go to recovery, but things are looking a little bit better every day. The doctors said that 2 weeks without infection is the magic number. 1 week almost all the way down, a little over another week to go. We're almost halfway there! :o)


Mom and I toured some rehab places on Friday and picked a couple that we thought he'd be comfy in. Dad chose from those and will be going to a place that will let the little Yorkie visit and let Dad pick his own meals from what is available. When he gets a little more mobile, Mom can go get him and take him out to eat, or visiting, or whatever. He'll spend 2-3 weeks there, and when he comes home, he should be able to maneuver around really well and take care of most of his own stuff without a lot of help.


Jack came in on Friday and will stay until Dad is moved to the rehab center. Then we'll both go home for a bit. Mom & Dad's little dog, Sam, decided he was going to sleep with us the first night Jack was in. Sam is a Yorkie, and you'd think he wouldn't take up much room in the bed, right? Shows how much I think... that little dog managed to have both of us clinging to the sides of the bed to keep from falling off. I don't know how, but a dog that is only 9" or so tall at the shoulder still managed to take up most of a sofa bed all by himself. I think Mom & Dad should have named him "Stretch" or something. :o)

Oh Happy Day...

Dad isn't out of the woods yet, but he sure is taking great measures to get out of them.

The doctors are very pleased with his progress so far. There are no signs of infection, he's fairly alert, and he started getting out of bed and hopping around on a walker today. He's not supposed to put any weight on his leg, so it's difficult for him. He makes it to the bathroom and back, though. It tires him out a lot, which is to be expected. After all, he has had 3 surgeries since last Thursday and has spent much of his time since Friday in a drug induced fog.

The happy button was taken away today and he's controlling the pain pretty well with oral medications. He still gets a shot of IV antibiotics every 6 hours, but when he's not getting those, he's cut loose from the IV. We did find out that a combination of low blood pressure and narcotics will make you even loopier than expected. I had no idea low blood pressure would contribute to general confusion like that.

Mom and I have appointments at 3 different skilled care facilities (aka "Nursing Homes") tomorrow. The doctors want him in an environment where he can be watched like a hawk for signs of infection, but he's quickly getting to the point where he will be discharged from the hospital. His leg is still pretty messed up from the surgeries, so the nursing home will give him a chance to heal before he comes home and starts trying to walk on it.

We were told that it could take up to two weeks for infection to manifest itself and that any infection could result in the loss of the leg. Sooooooo, we're cooperating as best we can and looking at places. We'll report back to Dad what we found and let him decide. They've all got good reputations, which is a comfort.

He's not real thrilled with the food the hospital has been bringing him. He got great food when he was in ICU, but it wasn't a diabetic diet. Mom fussed enough about it that he was placed on an ADA approved diet, which consists of cardboard and a pat of margarine for every meal. Blah. I know it's important to keep blood sugar under control, but fer cryin' out loud, you don't have to make the food so bland you can't possibly swallow it without a gallon of water. I know you can prepare diabetic healthy meals that taste great. I do it all the time, I'm diabetic too. I've been cooking quite a bit since I got in to make sure that Mom eats, and we're bundling up the leftovers and taking them over tomorrow. He'll get good dinners and lunches, by golly, and they'll be good for him, too.

I'm sure the hospital staff may fuss, but hey, at least he'll eat. Dad's lost a LOT of weight over the last week or so, and he's running out of weight to lose. He's getting spaghetti (some of the Dreamfields stuff) for one meal, and baked pork loin, fried rice made with whole grain brown rice, and oriental style mixed veggies (I love those new microwave steaming veggie blends) for the other meal tomorrow. I'm already planning on a steak with a twice baked potato (only half of a small potato), and some Dreamfields penne pasta with chicken and steamed veggies tossed with olive oil and some garlic & herb seasoning for Saturday.

Okay, I'm off my soapbox now. It just irritates me to no end when people won't make a healthy diet tasty, too.

In other news, I think I've created a monster. I brought the stuff to make a twin bed sized afghan and I've been working on it all week long. I used the multiple strands again, this time with three threads. Mom has been watching and commenting on it. I finished it today and said something about starting on another one. The ultimate goal is to do enough of them to replace the crummy comforters in the campground cabins with afghans, all different colors and yarns. Anyway, Mom decided she wants one for their new camper and picked up the stuff to make one of her own when I went to WalMart this evening. I get to show her how to work with multiple threads when we slow down.

I'm trying a different yarn on this one. It's really bulky and fluffy from Lion Brand Yarn. It's called "Homespun" and it's really soft. I'm using two strands with this one. One is a golden yellow, the other is a varigated yarn with golds, greens, browns, and reds in it. It is a very fall looking piece. I've got 3 rows of the afghan completed already and it's shaping up to be a soft, fluffy, thick mass of yarn with beautiful autumn colors in it. Very nice.

Jack is coming up tomorrow!!! :o) I get to go home soon. Mom is in much better spirits with each passing day. I think she's starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. There are lots of things that could derail the train, but we will deal with them if they happen. I'll feel comfortable with leaving Mom for a little while when the decision is made about the skilled care facility and I know that Dad has somewhere good to go. He'll be in it for 2-3 weeks, then come home. If I'm needed again, I'll be back.

I am so thankful and blessed that I was able to come up and be here for my parents. My biggest fear about moving to Tennessee was that something would happen and I wouldn't be able to be here for my family. God knows what He's doing. He moved me out of a job I couldn't have left for this long without causing widespread panic to one where Jack and I call the shots, allowing me to leave.

He sent wonderful guests who took excellent care of things this week while we were away without expecting anything in return, although we did offer to let them stay for free. Their answer was "You can take the money now, or you can find it shoved under the door after you go home tonight." Jack took the money gracefully. I'm glad he didn't spoil their blessing from helping us, although we would have been quite happy to not take it, either.

He gave me a wonderful husband who told me when I was wavering about my obligations to the campground -vs- my family that my place was with my family right then, and he would do everything he could to make it happen. I've missed him terribly, and I'll be ecstatic to see him tomorrow, but this time with my parents is priceless. I wouldn't have been able to deal with guilt that would have come from not being here for them.

He sent surgeons, nurses, and doctors who cared about my Dad, and seeing that he got the best treatment. There's no way any of them could have forseen or prevented the complications that have come out of it, but God was there, guiding them all the way through. Things look really hopeful for my Dad to keep his leg, and most of it's function. But, even if something happens that he does lose it, I know that God will still be there with the surgeons, doctors, nurses, physical therapists, and everyone else involved and He'll guide them to the best results for Dad. He'll be here with us, too, and help us through this trial.

He's already been an ever-present help in our time of need. He's kept me calm and rational for my Mother, who has been anything but that up to just recently, and I think He's calmed and reassured her through the doctors and Dad's continued improvement. He's also given Dad some of the best friends, people who check on him, pray for him, call him, visit him... it's been very touching to see the depth of the love and support that Dad's friends are showing him right now.

God is good to us, yes? Even in times of not such sunny skies.

Thank you, God, for everything you've sent my way to make me who I am today, and for continuing to work on me to make me more like the person you need me to be.

Cautiously Optimistic

Yeah, I should have posted this yesterday, but I was just so beat. All I wanted to do was go to sleep.

Dad's date with the plastic surgeon went wayyyy better than we'd expected it to. The doctor came out after the surgery to talk to us and was very pleased. He'd been able to save more of the muscle than originally expected, and felt comfortable enough with what he found to go ahead and close the wound up. Yayyy!!!!

The orthopedic doctor took advantage of Dad being knocked out and put his foot in a cast to keep it at a 90 degree angle. The doctors will take the cast off today to check on his incisions and such. They told us before the surgery yesterday that if all went well, and he heals without any more complications, the only limitation that would be placed on him would be that he would need to stay off ladders, and he would probably need a brace, and another surgery might be required later to fuse the ankle together. That was before they found out how much of the muscle was saved, so all of that may be out the door, too.

Dad isn't out of the woods yet. He is being watched for any signs of infection. That could totally derail things. But, if he heals well from here on out, he may not need any more surgeries. So, we're hopeful, and optimistic, but we're trying to keep at least one toe on the ground so that if something happens, we won't crash too hard.

Thank you to everyone who has been keeping Dad and the rest of us in your thoughts and prayers. We really appreciate it, and you have no idea how much it has helped and blessed us to know that you've kept us in your thoughts. Dad has a pretty long road of recovery ahead of him, but he'll make it. Thanks.

No real news today

Jack and I drove up to Ohio Friday night and spent yesterday at the hospital with Mom. Jack just left to go back, I'm staying here.

Dad's surgery didn't go as well as hoped today. We had hoped the doctor would look at the spot all of the bad things were happening in, say "He's healed!", and schedule the plastic surgeon with a smile on his face.

Unfortunately, he found more dead tissue to clean out - tissue that was OK two days ago. :o( He cleaned it out again, taking more of the muscle. The good news is that the graft of the bypass looks great. It's healing well, and doing its job.

The plastic surgeon is coming in tomorrow to evaluate whether there is enough soft tissue left to cover it. If he finds more dead tissue, or the bypass has collapsed, or there isn't enough tissue to cover it, Dad will probably lose his left leg just above the knee. If they are able to save it, but what's left won't be very functional, the surgeon will let Dad make the decision on whether to keep it or take it.

One day at a time... that's all we can do...

Update on Dad - 7-20-07

Just got an update from my sister. Dad's procedure did not go well today. The doctors initially believed that only the skin layers were infected. When they got in there, they also found that muscle has been involved, too. Cleaning out all of the infection required removing some of the muscle.

He's in ICU, at least until Sunday, with an open wound. The place being open will let them keep an eye on what it's doing and take action quickly if the infection persists. We knew this was a possibility when they had to go in the second time, and we'd thought that he had beat the odds. Apparently not.

I'm not sure what the odds are, especially since they've cleaned it out and are watching it so closely, but there is a possiblity that he could lose the leg somewhere below the knee. The doctors had to tell Mom a worst case scenario - it's part of their job. She's not taking it well, which I'm not so sure that I am, either.

At best case, things will heal well from here on out, Dad will go through a lot more physical therapy than originally expected to get back partial use of the leg. The muscle they had to take part of is one of the ones used to lift your feet when walking. It is this scenario that I am focusing on.

I'll close for now. I predict a long drive in my immediate future, so I'd better start taking care of stuff that needs to be taken care of.

Minor Setback on Dad

I just got off the phone with my mother. My father went into the surgeon today for a followup visit. He's doing pretty well, with the exception of one of his incisions is badly infected. The doctor has decided that he needs to clean it out and let the wound heal from the inside out. Sounds kinda' gross, to me. Mom says I should see it. Uh, I love my Dad, but no thank you, not unless I have to.

I'm really thankful the doctor caught the problem when they did. Mom said she and Dad had been watching the incision for signs of infection, but didn't see any. The infection was deep, which is why they didn't see it. If the doctor hadn't caught it when he did, it could have become a very major problem, instead of one that that could be taken care of relatively easily.

Mom says I should try explaining to Dad that it's just a minor setback. He's not one to ask others to do anything for him, or ask them to help him do something, so this whole event is a major strain on him, physically and emotionally. Any setback is not minor to him, but this one is still better than say, ohhhh, taking the leg off, right? He's scheduled for the procedure tomorrow afternoon, after the blood thinners have had time to clear out of him. I imagine he'll come home tomorrow evening.


On another topic - how do you know when your crock pot is ready to give up the ghost?

I soaked some beans overnight, put them in the crock pot on high this morning. Tonight, they're warm, but not any closer to being cooked now than they were this morning. I can pick up the crock part without burning my fingers, which I don't think you really should be able to do with a crock pot that's been set on "High" for the last 8 hours. And yes, it is plugged in. Don't ask how I know to check that. It's quite embarassing.

Methinks it's time for a new crock pot. In the meantime, I gotta' go find something else for dinner tonight, and pour the beans into my stock pot to finish cooking for tomorrow night.

A Married Man's Harley...

Like His Mother Used To Do

I've been getting some pretty cool poetry from my sister lately. Here's one:


Like His Mother Used To

He didn't like the casserole
And he didn't like my cake.
He said my biscuits were too hard...
Not like his mother used to make.

I didn't perk the coffee right
He didn't like the stew,
I didn't mend his socks
The way his mother used to do.

I pondered for an answer
I was looking for a clue.
Then I turned around and smacked the crap out of him...
Like his mother used to do

Baby Afghan #1 down, 3 more to go...

I gave up on the original replacement afghan for the one that fell apart in the washer. We have a total of 3 more babies coming in the church, and I'm pretty sure that none of them have somebody in their family that does this kind of stuff. I'm pretty much a softie when it comes to babies having an afhgan or blanket made just for them, too, so if there isn't somebody to make them something, then I do.

Anyway, long story short - there is a baby shower in August, another one in September, and another one in October, all of them on the second Sunday of the month. Add to that the replacement afghan - I'm up to 4 afghans to make in a little bit of time. Soooooo.... the intricate one that I started on has been pushed to the side, and a quickie was put in it's place. And I mean quick - this one took maybe 6 hours to complete.

If anybody is interested, I used two strands of yarn in two colors - sage green and off white - and a size N crochet hook. I worked both strands at the same time with a simple double crochet. The light green stripes were a strand of each color, while the dark green stripes were two strands of green, the white stripe is done with two strands of white. I finished it off with two rounds of white (2 strands) - the first round was a single crochet, the second round was a half-double crochet. The yarn that I used is a worsted weight from Caron called Simply Soft. It's as soft as any baby yarn, but a lot heavier, so it makes a nice, thick blanket that is good for covering a car seat in the winter, or for laying on the floor as a mat.

I've already started on the next one, which is going to be for a little girl. I'm not sure of the colors the mother wants to use, so I'm using the universal girl colors - pink, purple, and white. I'm working a pattern that I found a long time ago called Wee Bonnie Plaid. It's another fast working one, too, and results in another nice, thick, soft blanket. I'll post pictures when I get it done.

Let's see if I can figure out how to do this YouTube thing....



This is Casting Crowns, singing one of my favorite contemporary Christian songs ever. The song is "The Voice of Truth", and it talks about how doubts will put you down every time, but if you listen to the positive message from God, you can do anything. I always feel stronger when I listen to the words and let them work on me.

The really great thing about this song is that it's true of anybody who will listen to a positive voice over a negative. It can minister to anybody, even people who claim they don't believe.

YIPPEEE!!!!!

I just got a call from my dad. He's on his way home! We weren't expecting him to be allowed to leave the hospital until tomorrow or Wednesday, but hey, we'll take it. :o)

He's still got quite a bit of recovery to go before he's able to go back to work, but he'll be a lot more comfortable at home, in his own bed, with Mom, with his own cats and the little dog, too. That poor little dog has been worried to death. He's not quite sure what's been going on, but he knows that Dad isn't home and that upsets his universe. He'll be quite happy to see Dad hobble through the door.

I'm of interest to bird flu afficianados?

I use StatCounter to keep an eye on who visits my various websites. It's a great tool - free, logs IP address, location, how long, what pages were visited, where the visitor came from if they followed a link, that kind of thing. It's been great on my business' webpage.

Just for giggles, I installed it on my blog, too. I'm surprised at how many people really do read my blog. And, apparently, my blog is of interest to the folks at http://www.birdflubreakingnews.com/, because I'm getting all kinds of hits coming from it. I've been to the webpage and don't see any obvious links, so if somebody reads this post and they got here from there, would you mind telling me what you clicked on to get here? I'm not sure the good folks over there really intended to link to me, especially since I couldn't identify a sick bird from a healthy one, anyway.

It's good to be home

There's no place like home, that is certain... my own bed, my own cats, my husband... yup, it's good to be home.

I made it home last night, just in time to miss Jenna's birthday party. My husband and the cats are all relieved that I am home, but probably not as much as I am.

Just a quick update on Dad:

He moved out of ICU into a regular room yesterday. He starts physical therapy this morning to teach him the best ways to move around while he's healing, and what he should do to keep his muscle tone up. Yay!!!! They're thinking he may come home Sunday or Monday. If any of my friends would like the phone number so they can call and say "Hi", or an email address to send get well thoughts to, ping me by email or phone and I'll get it for you.

I'm thankful for the surgeon who's worked on my dad. He seems to be a very concerned person, and checks in on Dad two or three times a day to see how his recovery is going. He also talks to Mom, my sister, and me and keeps us totally in the loop.

That's all for now. I'd better head out for the office before they start calling...

Happy Birthday Jenna!

Jenna Hamilton turns 1 year old today. So....

Happy Birthday Jenna!!!!

And Happy Labor Day to her mom, too. :o)

Surgery Update

Dad went in for arterial bypass of the main artery that provides blood for his left leg yesterday morning. 6 looonnnngggg hours later, the surgeon reported the operation was a success. He was quite pleased with the results. Dad had feeling in his left foot, and blood flowing, it was pink and warm.

Dad was groggy, but we were allowed into the ICU to see him an hour or so later. He has a morphine pump, so it really didn't take him all that long to drift off to la-la land.

This morning at 7:30, the surgeon called us. The new vein had become clogged already. They didn't know what was causing it, but Dad was back to square one as far as circulation in his leg went. They were going to have to go in and operate again to see what was wrong and fix it. Since they didn't know what they were looking for exactly, it could take anywhere from an hour and a half to 7 hours. We were dressed and out the door by 7:45, driving through rush-hour traffic to a town over a half hour away. We pulled into the hospital parking lot at 8:05. Don't ask me how, I'm not sure I wanna' know.

We were able to see him for a few minutes before the OR called for him. He seemed in pretty good spirits, but maybe that was the morphine talking. He was in surgery for 4 hours today. Apparently, the new vein had become kinked, which works about as well as a kinked garden hose. The surgeon made sure there was extra room through the area that the vein was routed this time.

Dad's still on the morphine drip, he'll spend the next 24 hours on an antibiotic, the next 36-48 hours will be in ICU so they can keep a good eye on him. After that, the doctors will try to get him up and walking and into a regular room. He should come home sometime this weekend.

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for him, and for us. It's been a rough day today, much rougher than yesterday was, and it really helps to know that we're in so many people's thoughts and prayers.

Were you born between 1930 and 1979?

This edit has been added as a result of hits to my blog coming from birdfulebreakingnews.com. If you made it to this page from that one, would you please drop me a comment on what you clicked on to get here? I'm sure the fine folks at birdfluebreakingnews.com really didn't mean to send you here. There isn't anything at all about bird flue on here. Many thanks ~ Lori. 7/6/07

First off - made it the parent's house in OH without incident. We leave out at 0:dark:30 to take Dad to the hospital for his surgery. He's expected to stay in there for 5-6 days, if all goes well. I'll have to leave to go back to TN before he gets to come home. :o(

And finally, I got this in the email from one of our church members:

Those Born 1930-1979

READ TO THE BOTTOM
FOR QUOTE OF THE MONTH BY JAY LENO. IF YOU DON'T READ ANYTHING ELSE---VERY WELL STATED TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's!!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle. We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank Kool-aid made with sugar, but we weren't overweight because, WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or chat rooms....... WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever! The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!

If YOU are one of them CONGRATULATIONS! You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good .While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave (and lucky) their parents were.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!

The quote of the month is by Jay Leno: "With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"

For those that prefer to think that God is not watching over us...go ahead and delete this. For the rest of us...pass this on.

Kind of makes ya' think, huh?