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. 

Friday

     Arrived this morning to see my husband covered in only a towel. Ahem. He was getting cleaned up. The nurse cleaning him is my age. I can take her. 

     So anyway, breakfast was really good this morning, a fried egg, a pastry, which was a small cinnamon roll, a fruit smoothie and a sliced sausage. Oh boy did he ooh and ahh over the sausage. They brought him another one and he had no problem downing it.

    Bruce said he wanted to pick his teeth, I said can you move your hand to your mouth and he did! He just doesn't have the small motor skills to do his teeth. So now he can slap himself in the face. Maybe he will be able to move a cheeseburger to his mouth and begin feeding himself. He is still pretty weak. The left hand comes up about half way.

      Met for a family council today, they said they are looking at moving us to an in care rehab on Nov 19th. We are opting for a place in Boise so we can be near Andrew to help keep him outta trouble. The two choices are St. Als and St. Luke's. I will go visit them next week. As long as the insurance covers it, then it will be cleared.

    Grandpa K mentioned to the council team that I would be leaving today to go home to help Andrew get sorted for the next little while. So they set Bruce up with controls for the TV, we like the history channel and pbs, couldn't find a soccer channel. He can squeeze with his right hand by using his thumb and hand. And they found a wedge for him to prop up his ipad so he can listen to his audio books, he will need help getting to the right place, but at least he can listen to the story at night when I am gone or watch something halfway entertaining. He has had a lot of time to think, some would say too much time.

    This is the iPad set up. The blue touch pad on the right is very sensitive.

     The cleaning lady is from Bosnia. I pulled a map up and she showed me where. She has three daughters and two grandchildren. We typed in Tuzla and found it. She has a garden too with tomatoes and carrots and another vegetable I didn't understand what she said but nodded my head anyway. I look wise and knowing when I do that. Maybe 

     President Chadwick came all the way to see Bruce, he wants to report at Stake conf on Sunday how he is. (Stake conf is all the wards meeting, we have 13 in La Grande Stake. Wards are individual congregations, about 200 that attend. Bruce is first counselor in the Stake. Just FYI so you know some Mormon lingo. I don't think it qualifies as a second language. I learned some Catholic lingo when I was at St. Als.) They had a nice chat. Bruce is worried he is causing too much work for them. They do a lot of interviewing and traveling. Pres. Chadwick is a dear friend and we have grown to love him and respect his counsel. 

     Bro R. Chandler stopped in for a visit. He said he had finished a temple session and wanted to stop by. 

     I left Bruce to eat a quick lunch. When I left Aylisse the PT gal was giving him an arm workout. They will put him on the standing board again today. She said the chair was being used for a dialysis, didn't know they did that here too. I saw two more gurneys for transport too.

   I will be home with Andrew for a few days so will take a break from blogging.

Thank you for your prayers, cards, hugs and thoughts. It is very comforting to know people care so much. 

    This is the door to our room. I put some of the cards up from students and friends. The nurses say we get the most cards. I like that the nurses and aids knock on the door before they enter.

New Things

     He was really groggy this morning. He said they woke him every two hours last night. He has a sore on his bottom and they need to turn him. He also can't breathe through his nose, so he had a rough night. They gave him nose spray, he gets that twice a day, it has a steroid in it and it is locked away. He says he can feel a difference when they use the spray. He also has a saline solution to use today and something for his mouth. They said open mouth sleepers use it so they won't get cotton mouth. 

     

     Here is the trach part they put in his trach hole. It is the long purple curved piece. No wonder he kept gagging so much. Food and mucus got caught under it. ick

   For breakfast he had a real banana, he kept saying, "This is good." And " I can't believe I'm eating a banana." I sliced it for him and then each slice in quarters. He does enjoy his food. He had eggs that were rubbery so we added pepper and a bit of salt and he got those down. He really liked his Special K, too and said, "This is good."

     

     He slept most of the morning.

Up for lunch in a chair, the PT tied his knees together with a sheet, she says it is better for the hips that way. 

    Lunch was marvelous, a big bowl of buttered noodles with parsley, egg salad (with real eggs) and lemon meringue pie from Costco. Yummy! The speech therapist moved him to the next level of food, mechanical soft, which is meat cut into cubes and vegetables in cubes. Yeah! The speech therapist, Melissa is from Texas. She has a Masters degree. She was hired when this place was built 6 1/2 years ago. She says the buildings are all the same, here, in Texas and elsewhere. 

    The nutritionist came in and is pleased with how well Bruce is doing with his eating. She did not like the color of his urine and says he needs to drink more water. 

     The PT, Aylisse is massaging his hand, the left hand is swollen. 

They have him strapped to a board. They have to watch his blood pressure, he gets dizzy. They want to put weight on his feet. His arms are getting stronger. I hold one arm and Aylisse holds the other. She keeps calling them chicken arms and I politely remind her it is ducks as in GO ducks! 

     She said her husband was making dinner tonight and walking the dog. She says he makes a sausage and sauce meal. That sounds good. 

     Got the mail, Carma sent a ukulele book from Girls camp, Rosala sent another beautiful yellow batik leaf strip for a quilt top and two cards from coworkers and family. I love mail. 

     He is sleeping now. I will work on my hexie block and post a photo later.

    This is a kit Debbie got for me to work on. At first I rolled my eyes and said yeah right, I have repented! They go pretty fast. The brown one is the sample and I made the two light blue ones by hand. Two more squares for the pink one. I think I might do a couple more. One of the nurses wants to make a baby quilt for a new Grandbaby. I told her to do a nine patch it is easier and if you put this much hand work into it you don't want a baby, no matter how precious throwing up on your hand piecing. Sigh

     Bruce is doing really well with his eating but is losing weight. He is down to 200 pounds so they will begin a night feeding on an iv. Apparently he needs more calories to heal. He was afraid he was getting fat from eating and sitting all the time. They said it was water weight. The skin on his legs just sags where all the muscle was. My heart breaks seeing him so helpless. 

     For dinner he had Mac and cheese with pepper, his favorite, a baked tater with butter and pepper, mater soup with pepper and chilled pears. 

     

     I shaved his face, it doesn't hurt as much if I go slow. Why do the movies make it look romantic? It is up close and personal, he said ouch a couple of times. I think I am getting better. Maybe

     I read sections of the paper to him from on line. We like Deseret News as it has world, movie reviews, sports and church stories. Then we discuss how all the problems could be fixed and move on to the next story. 

The Trach is Out

      Beeping sleauty, translation sleeping beauty, had to wake him up for breakfast this morning. He slurped down his hot cocoa, cream of wheat, fruit smoothie, hot sticky bacon and mushy pancakes. 

 We had more choices for lunch, so looking forward to that.

    He is sitting up in a chair now. He gets dizzy when he gets up out of the chair so just sitting today. They had him do neck stretching exercises today. He has overextended his neck and they want to get it back in place or else he will look down his nose at people for the rest of his life. 

     I cut his hair for him. At least the front and sides, they use a dry shampoo that you just massage into the hair. I trimmed his ear hair too. He looks nice all cleaned up. The Dr said he would make an order to have the trach removed today. Yeah.

     As I was leaving for lunch Grandpa K says "I will wait for you". And I replied, "you have to we are married." And he said, "I will always wait for you." I had a good lunch. 

      For lunch Bruce had a curry chicken with gravy and pepper, mater soup with pepper, chocolate milk, puréed peaches, no pepper, that Bruce said were good. He enjoyed his meal.

     Now listening to audio books A Tale of Two Cities. This is a long book, it might take a while.

Lee Clinkinbeard stopped in for a visit. He is between trains. Glad he was thinking of us.

     The trach is out. The hole is covered with a four inch patch. The RT said it would close in 2 - 4 days with no stitches, it just closes itself. Grandpa K likes being able to breathe easier. His voice should come back soon. 

  He has been having twitches in his stomach. We are wondering if it is gas, internal rumblings or just reflexes. 

     Whatever it is, it is a good sign!

Look I learned how to snap a photo on my iPad. Ta dah!