No Tacos Tuesday

     For breakfast I cut up the sausage links and Bruce tried to spear them. He couldn't see them, even sitting up straighter they are at an angle. I cut up the fried eggs and fed him those, then just ended up spearing the sausage and he uses a fork to bring them to his mouth. I buttered the English muffin and applied brown sugar. Bruce can hold the slices and eat them without assistance. He drank all his orange juice. I refilled his sippy cup. He got a little dizzy after breakfast. He was telling me about a Hallmark movie he watched after I left last night. Must of used too much oxygen talking. They said being dehydrated can make you dizzy too, or irregular blood pressure.

    He is playing chainsaw (a nap) while we wait for PT to get here.

They have removed the trach bandage. It is scabbed over and looks like a small black scab on his neck.

     He is getting an IV since he is not drinking enough liquids. The bed sore ladies are here, I was informed they are " wound nurses". They are changing the bandages on his bed sores. They take pictures and measure them. The nice nurse asked if he smiled for the camera. Her name is Robin, like my baby sister.

     Bruce brushed his own teeth! I put the toothpaste on the brush for him and he got it to his mouth.

     They did a weight, he has lost 35 pounds total.

     Bob arrived to tell us about the inpatient rehab program they have at St. Als. It is in the south tower on the third floor in the hospital campus. It is the same building the helicopter lands on. We are waiting for insurance approval to move on the 19th or 20th.

   As they were stretching Grandpa K to put him in his chair, Jamie, the PT, told him to push back with his right foot and he did. They set him up in his chair. Lunch was chicken salad with pepper, rice, and fresh fruit. He is able to eat the sliced apples and oranges by himself.

     I showed him some videos on the volcano in Hawaii where it burns someone's house. 

     Cheri and Dallas Hibbert arrived with a bag full of chocolates, that is a forever friend. We got big hugs and some company to talk to. They said the roads are clear. 

      For dinner Bruce had mac and cheese and a sprinkle of pepper, French Onion soup with 2 soda crackers and a dash of pepper, salad, chilled pears, milk and a sweet roll our case worker, Colleen brought for Bruce. She is spoiling him. Actually she is trying to fatten him up he needs more calories. I don't like that he has lost so much weight.

     Ray and Carol Westenskow came by. They are going to help with a new grand baby in Utah. 

      Casey from St Als and Colleen our case worker came by. They need to make sure Bruce is ready for the move. They want him breathing on his own, check, eating on his own, almost check (he can do finger foods, he has a harder time with scooping his food, he can't see it as he is at an angle in the bed and can't look down) and healthy enough to do therapy for 3 hours a day. Bruce is doing one hour of sitting up a day. He gets dizzy when he sits up. He is getting stronger every day. We will see what they say tomorrow.

      I left Bruce listening to a conference talk. 

    

     

Sabbath Sermon

    Left for church this morning and was detoured because of flashing lights and orange cones. Arrived to find someone had taken a power pole out and it was blocking the road. One of our sons almost did that when he was beginning to drive. Apparently someone slid into one of the supporting wires and the pole came down. No lights or heat in the church, we are just having Sacrament meeting and then will head home.

     A young man spoke about the Bismark and it being unsinkable. It was hit in the rudder and could only go in circles. Will have to google the story. Bruce said he read the book. We need to make sure our rudders are in place and we know where we are headed.

      Spiritual self reliance was the topic of the first adult speaker. Are we ready to approach the throne of God? Six things to do to avoid discouragement. Take responsibility for your own spiritual development. Take responsibility for your own physical well being. (diet and exercise) Embrace voluntary obedience. Become really, really good at repenting. Become really, really good at forgiving. Accept trials, set backs and surprises as part of our mortal existence. (tell me about it)

    He told the story of the ten virgins, oil in our lamp is our testimony. Make sure we have enough oil in our lamps. 

     The final speaker used this scripture John 14: 27 peace I leave with you. He said his daughter wrecked their car while playing in the snow. He said he didn't have peace when that happened. He said as we seek the Lord, He will bless us and protect us. A quote  from Isaiah he used was Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. I can remember that scripture because I was singing it in my head as he said it.

     When life is a drudgery find joy in helping others. He said as he focused on his daughter and she was okay in the wreck, he was able to have peace. Be nice to people when you have unkind feeling toward them. The key to peace is service. 

    The best story was last, the Bishop spoke about a son that was trapped in Michigan during a snow storm. It snowed up to his second story window. The whole town was shut down. He was a college student and all he had to eat was popcorn. That was okay for the first day. The second day he got his skis out and went out the window and skied down a ramp someone had made to the front door of the store. Nothing was on the shelves, drano was all he found. He looked some more and found a couple cans of green beans. He bought those and skied home. The Bishop said since we have more time today we need to take inventory and see what we need to be prepared in case this happens to us. End of Sunday Sermon.

     Bruce was sitting up when I arrived. He said he only ate half his breakfast. He held the croissant by himself. He hasn't gone to the bathroom so they will have to give him a suppository. That should make things happen. 

    Got another card from Rosala with a fabric strip. Thank you Rosala it makes my day, I love the mail. We marked on his menu the food he will have for tomorrow.

     The nurse is giving him a washcloth bath, change of hospital gown, a shave and cleaning him up. 

     He is shivering and nauseous. They gave him something for the nausea.

     Bro. Robison and a man named Bruce with blue eyes, just like my Bruce, brought him the sacrament today. 

    Bruce feels well enough to eat and he ate all his lunch. He had nice bland biscuits and sausage gravy with pepper, a small Caesar salad with croutons and two Oreo cookies. He didn't want the lemonade.

   He is shivering, put a blanket on him and his hat. The nurse, Gregg came in and saw him with his hat on and told him he was not going outside. 

     The sweet nurses gave bruce the suppository, I made a hasty retreat to the visitors lounge, just outside the door. Gregge gave me the thumbs up so I could return to the room. Bruce said he can feel when he has a movement, just can't control it. He is getting closer. 

    He is sleeping now so will call my mama. My mom must have been lonely, she talked for  45 min. 

     Gregggg is one of the nurses here. He spells his name with a couple of g's. And the nurses tease him and add more g's. He is a Washington Husky fan and Bruce likes the Oregon ducks so they like to razz each other about football games. 

    They are getting him ready for the chair. (sounds like an electric chair) He feels well enough to sit up in it. Wouldn't you know it as soon as he is set up to go and everything is fine and the nurses leave he gets dizzy? I push the button for help and two nurses arrive. They tilt his chair back and soon the dizziness goes away. We remember he hasn't been up for two days. We should have tilted him first and then straight. They tell him to drink more fluids. 

   He did feel better and we got his baked tater with pepper, butter and sour cream down, then a small garden salad, then some fresh fruit, kiwi, strawberries and blueberry yogurt. I am coveting the kiwi. He is finished eating and I can have a bite of the kiwi, he didn't want the orange slices or chilled pears. 

    I go to the cafeteria to eat and call my sistah and brother. No answer from either.  My sister calls me. Baby brother calls. Finish talking to sister, call brother and no answer, maybe tomorrow we will connect.

     Watch the Hallmark channel with Bruce, sweet Christmas story on. Leave for home, feeling sorry for self and son calls so have to buck up and tell him about the day. 

     Ready for the this Sabbath to end. I'm tired. Sleep sweet.

  

     

    

     

Sat All Day

      Bruce was sick this morning, had nausea and vomiting. (Glad I missed that.) 

He told the nurses he didn't feel well. (if a child says that it is fair warning) The nurses were in the room, so they rolled him to his side and caught it in time. They are well trained. They gave him nausea medicine. I fed him some oatmeal with brown sugar and butter and a banana. I ate his bacon (a sacrifice, didn't want it to be thrown away) he said he had a fever and didn't sleep last night. He is sleeping and snoring now. 

     I brought a couple of wool kits to work on. I finished the first one, a pumpkin, a small rug (that you use for a table topper) and am working on the second, a circle flower autumn one, which will be a pillow. 

     The PT evil lady torturer came in to see if Bruce was ready to sit up and he told her he had had a bad night so she left him alone, maybe this afternoon we can get him up when he feels better. The nurse took a urine sample to see if he has a UTI, urinary tract infection.

     Reed and Debbie Waite stopped by bearing gifts and a nice card from past Central staff and a container with bite - size cookies for me and I suppose Bruce. The cookies are from Barb Ely, 

Almond Meal Cookies with Chocolate Chips and Coconut. Gluten free cookies, what? Are these healthy? They smell good. Bruce said he couldn't fight me for them. I suggested arm wrestling. The cookies taste like coconut macaroons! Yummy. 

     For lunch Bruce ate the rice with pepper and half of the glazed salmon. Can I have the rest? I had two bites of the salmon, and he had the protein chocolate drink and some water. 

     I put some plum berry hand lotion on his dry hands and dead skin caked feet. The lotion is good for my hands too. 

    He wanted to listen to a church conference talk. It was a 10 min talk. He was asleep in 5 min. 

    Can anyone beat that record?

     Forgot to mention yesterday one of the young nurses was checking the sores on Bruce's bottom and said " You have a nice backside." I said, " I am usually the only one that says that to him." She assured me she meant it in a professional manner. His bedsores are healing. Ahem

    More visitors are Jean and Kevin Rogers, they are down to help fix their daughters broken cars. Thank goodness for dads that can do that.

     Pres. Richards texted to see if we want visitors. Yes we do! He keeps telling Bruce he looks great. He says he will bring Krispy Creme donuts when he visits next. Andrew would like that.

   Bruce gets sensation on the top of his head. It occurs after his medications. We get a dry washcloth and rub hard on the top of his head until the feeling goes away. 

    We received a card from Tommy Thompson, it stated that a monastery Our Lady of Guadalupe Trappist Abbey in Carlton, Oregon was praying for us!  I googled the monastery and it looks like a quiet, peaceful place to visit. We are talking about visiting and thanking them. 

Here is what I found: 

Our Lady of Guadalupe Trappist Abbey is a monastery in a rural area of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located about 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Portland. Currently the Abbey is home to about 28 monks. 

The Abbey is located on 1,300 acres. It is an income-generating enterprise which includes a book bindery, a wine warehouse for local wineries, and a fruitcake bakery. They have hiking too, no children, pets, phone or TV. Thank you for including us in your prayers.

     Bruce says to say the hearing in his right ear has improved, he could hear before, but the hearing is much better now.

     For dinner Bruce had s hot opened face roast beef Sandwich and gravy with pepper and smashed taters and gravy, corn, soup with soda crackers and a banana Creme pie. He ate the entire entree, a couple bites of soup and almost all the pie, his appetite is back.

 The nurses came in and turned him on his right side, he is making like a chain saw now. 

Before I left I set up his book on CD for him to fall asleep to.

 On the drive home, I slid once, one person passed me and someone was in our oncoming lanes trying to turn left in front of us. I slowed down and figured they must've from outta town like me. 

I finished my second wool project. It will fit a 10 inch pillow form. I found out I do not like wool kits. They make my arms itch. Back to the hexies.

Six Weeks

     Forgot to mention Wayne, Kathy and Jared Jensen dropped in to say hi. Wayne admonished Bruce to go slow as he figured Bruce would be trying hard to get his body moving.

     Joshua Fusselman stopped in for a visit yesterday evening too. I brought a cradle, a box of stuff and a bag from Rosala for them. Bruce knew him and they had a nice chat. 

     For breakfast Grandpa K had a Breakfast burrito which had eggs, sausage and cheese, oh my, some hot cocoa, Raisin Bran cereal and a fruit smoothie to help the medicine go down. He is now taking pills orally. 

     It has been six weeks since the accident, that is when feeling should start returning, so that is why he is starting to have sensations. He moved his left arm and touched his nose, he only did it once, the wrist really hurts and they had it wrapped in gauze for some compression.

     My car with all the snow on it.

      We returned with four of the children, Rob and Lindsey. Crys, our daughter stayed home with baby Riley. She and Rob will return later this afternoon. It is still snowing. There is about 6 inches and still coming down. School was cancelled here. Not in La Grande I hear.

     The grandchildren got to watch Grandpa K get lifted in the Hoyer on a sling and transferred to the mobile chair. They each took turns riding on Grandpa's lap while we went down the elevator to the gym.

     Leaving the room with rider number one.

    Grandpa K was staring out the window in the gym looking at one of the trees and noticed a broken branch, he said it was driving him crazy. He wanted someone to go out and finish cutting the branch from the tree. Any volunteers? Might have to wait for warmer weather.

     Can you see the broken limb? Now it will drive me crazy too.

    Back to the room, Bruce is resting now, he didn't sleep well last night as his left arm was hurting him. 

    Lunch was half a hamburger, the previous sandwich was huge so he asked for a half a one so of course this was too small, French fries which he ate himself, a small bowl of chili and a couple soda crackers and lemonade to drink. I sliced the hamburger in half and he held it himself, only dropped it once. Good job!

       Rob and Crys are back for more afternoon talking. 

     Ann and Lee Flower blew in with the snow storm. Said there was a foot of snow in La Grande. Brrrrr They said there was about 150 miles of snow packed roads. They will go back tomorrow. Travel safely my friends.

     Heard the nurses talking, most spinal cord injuries happen to young men, usually when diving into shallow water or on motorbike accidents. 

     Shaved Bruce's face, he likes if I go down his face first and then the whiskers are easier to sear off, I mean shave. He only said ouch once this time.

     Andrew called, won't be coming tomorrow, the weather outside is frightful. He said to tell his dad he had competition in weight class and he lifted a 75 pound weight 31 times. He will have some nice guns to show us next time we see him. 

     For dinner he had pasta! Sketti and 2 meatballs, no Parmesan, a chocolate protein drink in a can, an orange power drink, milk, cottage cheese which we mixed in a bowl of fruit, a roll and for dessert, sherbet. He told me smaller bites or he would get brain freeze.

     President Chadwick braved the winter storm and stopped in for a visit. He and Bruce chatted about Stake business. 

     After Pres. Chadwick left,  Bruce asked me to read him some news. Then set up the book he is listening to and departed. Made it home in the slick ice, I went slow, don't have the snow tires on yet, we usually don't need them til mid December...

     

Goodnight Boise

     Breakfast was waiting when I arrived this morning. A delicious sausage, egg, and cheese on a croissant sandwich, cranberry juice and an English muffins with butter and jelly. He usually puts lots of healthy brown sugar on his toasted English muffins and bagels He ate the English muffin by himself. I brushed his teeth for him, he was able to pick his teeth by himself except for the last three teeth he couldn't reach. So I helped get those toofers for him.

     

      Bertha and Merle Feik came for a visit. Got nice strong hugs from them. They are here for Drs appointments.

Grandpa K is up in the chair, new orders are twice a day for an hour, that is easier on the bedsores. We are in the gym watching it snow. One of the aides wants to make snow angels. Brr it looks cold to me. Bruce does not want to go outside.

   He is getting a protein drink twice a day to help with healing, orange flavored. He sipped that while we watched it snow. We ate a healthy and delicious Hello Dolly cookie that Lonnie made, (the lady I am staying with, new friends in Boise). Bruce fed himself. I held the cup and he drank from the straw. 

     Back to the room and he is sleeping on his side and blowing gentle puffs of air out of his mouth. 

    The PT have some tricks (he calls them accomplishments) for Bruce to do. He can touch his thumb on his right hand with each finger, not on his left. He can touch his hand to his nose five times in a row, sometimes he touches his mouth, oops. 

   Penny Yost stopped by with some more books on cd for Bruce. There were some good ones. He is excited to listen to them. Penny and I had lunch downstairs. It is good to have someone else to talk to.

   Bruce had chicken Caesar salad, mater soup, cottage cheese and sherbets or lunch. 

I brought him some contraband Reese peanut butter cups. He just loves chocolate. 

   Rob, Lindsey and fam and daughter Crys arrived. The grandchildren got a quick tour of the room. The inflatable bed grandpa sleeps on, a look out the window at snow covered picnic tables below and the walk in shower room. I showed them some of the cards we got, they like the singing "get well" card the best, (thank you aunt Kathy) a close second was the cat with a hug (thank you Riley) and third place is the 3 D postcard of planet earth. 

     The fam left after a brief visit to eat and settle in a friends home. 

Bruce was ready for the second dose of PT. We went to the gym and they taught him how to feed himself with a spoon. He ate two helpings of vanilla pudding and only spilled once. Next they gave him a cup with a handle, a lid and a place for a straw. He can now get himself a drink of water when he wants. He has a little trouble with the straw facing the wrong way but he has a flexible tongue that maneuvers the straw into place. Most Kevans are infamous for being able to touch their tongue to their nose. Not my side of the family...

    We returned to the room and Grandpa K was placed on his left side. I read to him from my stake conference notes so he would know what is going on in church instruction. 

    Rob and Crys returned through snow packed horrible roads. Rob trimmed Grandpa K's fingernails and Crys applied lotion to his very dry hands. Visiting hours are up at 8 so we headed back to our friends home. The children are sorta asleep and only one came down for hugs. We watched a program called "Chopped". Bizarre ingredients for chefs to create edible food entrees and desserts. 

   Rob and I watched a couple of short clips of Studio C, Lindsey Sterling Sister Debut, (her sister plays the tuba) not as good as the violin and Lewis and Clark and Frodo. Just google it, it is pretty funny. 

     Good night Boise.

     

      

Increased Sensation!

     Arrived to find my husband with a carrot in his right hand taking a bite out of it. He is eating regular food now and he can feed himself with food that he doesn't have to hold tightly. He doesn't have the strength to hold a spoon. On the other hand, the left hand is giving him problems. They X-rayed it and it is not broken, but there is a lot of pain there and he can barely move it.

  The oxygen tube is gone from his nose and he has a smaller patch on his throat covering the Trach incision.  He can move the covers with his right hand to cover up his shoulders, he can wave bye bye and he can push the call button with his hand instead of moving his head to touch it with his cheek. Quite a bit of progress I'd say.

      While I was gone grandpa K had some visitors; Donna and Archie Patterson, Lee Flower, Lanny and Ava Hildebrandt, from La Grande and Bill Crawford a seminary student from 27 years ago from Rexburg, Idaho. He brought his wife and several children. Bruce said it was great to see him and meet his family and was grateful they came all the way from Rexburg to see him. 

     Mark Haynes stopped by this afternoon on his way to Ca. He is just missing the storm.

     

    A beautiful flower arrangement sent by our friend Julie! Thank you, he loves it. 

   PT came in to stretch Grandpa K before they put him on the standing board. As she was stretching his left leg, we both saw it move. So we had him move it again. Then Waldo came in and he made Bruce move it three more times. He put his hands under his knee and pushed up and had Bruce push down. WOW. Then he tried the right knee and he moved it once. Waldo told him not to make faces when he moved his knee. He got up to 30 degrees on the standing table then stopped, he gets dizzy still, the blood pressure thing, then he gets a headache. So that is the sign to stop.

      There is a really bright overhead light in his room and it is nicknamed the "Tanning light". Bruce grimaces when they turn it on. We usually use the back light over the bed for more subdued lighting. 

    I wasn't going to mention this but Bruce says to include he has increased sensation on his backside, he can feel the bedsores. Ow Last night as they were putting medicine on the sores he felt a tingling and today he feels pain. The nurses all say this is good so he will be able to tell them when he needs turned because he can feel the pain.

What is an ig?

     Talked to the nurse for an update on Bruce. she reported he is using his regular voice, ate well today, he was feeding himself, he missed a couple of times, but he tried. 

     His left arm is hurting him. They had him up for therapy. He was listening to an audio book. 

I will see him tomorrow. She said he was awake and alert more, not sleeping as much.

     

       What is an ig? A snow house without a loo.