Happy New Year

Jim and I will be ringing in the New Year together. I got permission to stay through midnight tonight so we will be together as 2008 begins. The very best to everyone as we move into a new year.

Patty and Jim

7 Months and 10 Days

We are almost to 2008 and I am really glad. The last 7 months and 10 days have been really hard on Jim. The holiday season is always a trying time according to the doctors. Dr. Liggitt had told me to work really hard at keeping his spirits up because so many times patients fall into deep depression during this time. I have been positive and upbeat with Jim and it has worked. Today when Dr. Hume came in Jim actually joked with the doctor. He had the doctor really going and laughing. It was so good to see.

We were working on his exercises and there is one where he has to hold his arm up and wave like the queen. This ones always brings up a smile. The other good one is when he has to open and close his had. Well today on the second set of 10 he gave me the finger and just laughed and said see I can still do it. It was just that kind of day today.

Dr. Hume said to keep plugging away because he is doing great. He is going to have Megan reevaluate his swallowing this week and see if he can get upgraded. He wants that cheeseburger so bad. Maybe by the end of the week.

Please be safe everyone as we get closer the the New Year.

Jim's A Little Scared Today

I'm not sure of the reason but Jim is very nervous today. When I got there today he said we had to talk. This always makes me nervous because you never know the reason. He went into quite a bit of detail about his breathing. He felt that he could not get his breath. He had all the times in his head. Resperatory and his nurse came in and everyone tried to assure him that things were fine. They even brought in his chart and showed him all of his levels. His oxygen was 99 all day. I saw the computer printout. Sometimes he just gets nervous. This has caused him to have an upset stomach so he doesn't want to eat. And all of this throws him into depression.

I try to do everything to make him feel that everything is OK and there is no reason to be nervous. They gave him a shot for the upset stomach and he said he would eat later for Mary. All I can do is assure him that everything is OK and not to worry. I try to cheer him up in every way. I actually got him laughing today with my trials of trying to find Teresa and Bob a Wii. I missed one today by one person. With any luck I'll have one by the new year. Several places expect them in and I'm wait listed at one place. He was laughing when I was telling him what it did.

Right now Jim is the best he has ever been. Now if we can just get him out of this funk and get him eating all will be good and then maybe I will get out of my funk too. He was even talking to Misty today.

Christmas Miracle

Jesus has performed another miracle. Jim is still fighting to come back to us. Today he was smiling and in good spirits. He was in a chair and breathing on his own. Last June I would never have believed we could get to this point. He ate French Silk pie minus the crust today. Merry Christmas to all. Like they said in church last night. We must believe in miracles.

Not the Christmas I had hoped for

This is not exactly the Christmas Jim and I had hoped for. When we moved to Florida we had so many hopes and dreams for our new life. A joyous Christmas with my family was one of our dreams. Now Jim is in the hospital and both of my nephews will not be with us. My sister is sad for this is the first Christmas without at least one of her children. I am happy to spend Christmas with both my Mom and sister even though we will be spending a lot of time at the hospital. We are all trying very hard to get in the holiday spirit but it is very hard.

I have transformed Jim's hospital room into a festive room in hopes that this will cheer all of us up. I also make these layouts to get me in the spirit of the season. It's moments like this when you see such magic in children's eyes that you find the real spirt.

My plan is to spend Christmas Eve with Jim. Just the two of us watching old Christmas movies on TV. I'll turn out all the lights and just have the Christmas Tree lit. I'll bring Jim an Eggnog milkshake and some munchies for me and we'll try to be in the spirit.

On Christmas day Mom, Jackie and I all plan to go to the hospital about 11:00 and open presents with Jim. Caroline and Nancy I will bring the box you sent and I hope this brings a smile to his face. We'll have Christmas dinner at the hospital. They have a celebration planned. I plan to stay at the hospital until about 5:00 and then go to Mom's for her Christmas dinner.

We have a plan but I just need a little cheer. Hopefully tomorrow I'll find the cheer. Jim's doing fine but he is refusing to eat and I don't know what to do about this. All I can do is keep trying.

Jim had a Steak & Shake Milkshake

Today was a milestone day. Megan (speech therapist in charge of Jim's eating) said Jim could have a milkshake from Steak and Shake. McDonald's was too runny and Wendy's too think. S & S is perfect and luckily just down the road. I went and got it for him and he loved it. He drank about half and we put the rest in the freezer for later. What a treat for him to have something normal.

Dr. Liggett was in and she said Jim is very stable and progressing along. She said Jim's just doing his thing and we just help him along. About 5:00 he told me to go home and get some rest. I guess I look a little tired. So I'm home now and going to just relax tonight.

This layout is about the Christmas Flamingo Santa I took to Chicago for my grandchildren. I don't think its something you find in Chicago. Jack, Josh and Luke just loved it. He sings a song, Here I come . . . and dances to the music. I think Teresa and Bob have gotten a little tired of listening to him but I am sure these 3 precious boys are still playing with it. Teresa, do you need more batteries.

Peace, Love and Joy to all during this holiday season. Remember us in your prayers as we remember all of you to keep you safe during the holiday and into the New Year.

Christmas Lights Have Put Me in the Spirit

I love looking at the Christmas Lights. My sister took us to this amazing light show. There must have been one million lights and over 150 trees. They were all set to music and I was enthralled by the show. I have been twice in the last week. Once with Mom and Jackie and then with Donald and Holly.

I am working on getting Jim in the spirt of Christmas. It's hard but his room looks a little like Christmas. There is a tree, red bows and Mom brought in a stocking for Misty and it's hanging on the bulletin board.

They put the wound vac on Jim last night. They have it at a very low setting because they want to make sure that it does not overpower his lungs. So far so good. Jim ate lunch but wanted nothing to do with dinner. He said his stomach was upset so the doctor prescribed something for this and hopefully he'll eat tomorrow. Today he told me to stop fussing over him. I can't help it. What am I to do. If it's nice tomorrow I am going to try to get him outside. He needs a change of scenery.

Thanks Jackie for dinner again. I love it when you cook.

Deck the Halls

I am having such fun making these layouts. I can't wait until after Christmas to print them all out and have a very special 2007 Christmas Book. I hope you are enjoying them.

Today Jim is doing about the same. He is still off the vent and this now makes 5 days. His blood pressure is much better today so I think we dodged that bullet. It was really low yesterday and they just watched him. They did not want to give him any levocet if they didn't have to. They hoped it would resolve itself. Today's were all in the normal range.

As for eating not so good. At lunch he had some yogart and that was about all. For dinner I got him to eat 3 bites of each item. It's a start. You just have to coddle him into it. I think pureed roast beef may taste good but it is not great to look at. He slept a lot today and the doctor tells me this is good because the body heals better when he is resting. When he's sleeping I don't wake him up. I have things to do at the hospital so I either read or do puzzles.

Thank you Jackie for making dinner tonight. I loved it. You can cook for me anytime. Love you.

Santa Arrives in 7 Days

Today I got everything in the mail. (Except for Tom, I don't have your address) So with any luck everything will arrive by Christmas. The post office was jammed and I spent some time in line but everyone was in great cheer and it was not bad. I should not have waited so long to get this done but you now how behind I am.

Today Jim was doing great. They even took the ventilator machine out of his room. They have not done this for awhile so it is a very good sign. The only problem will be with the insurance company. BCBS will probably start giving us problems next week but the doctors are very much against moving Jim to a skilled nursing facility. So we will be fighting BCBS.

Jim ate very little again today. It is hard to start eating after so much time. The doctor says this is normal. He is drinking the Dan Active and for dinner he ate a little mac and cheese and some yogart. He also drank his milk. Other than that we just hung out and played with Misty.

Bingo was tonight and I won 3 bingos and did not have to share with anyone. The other players were ready to throw me out. Hope everyone's holidays are going great and that my Chicago friends are not freezing. I hope you enjoy my digital layouts. I have such fun making them.

Jim now has a doctorate in the Swallow Test Arena

Jim has now been off of the vent for 48 hours and once again he has passed another swallow test. That means he can eat nector thickened foods. The foods are pureed and the fluids are nector think. He did not eat any lunch but I got him to drink a glass of milk and a glass of cranberry juice. That is all he wanted. We he hasn't eaten in a while it takes him a few days to get back in the swing of things. Today he was alert and talking. Baby steps are all we can ask for and that is what we are getting. Let's hope he will eat tomorrow. He really needs the nutrition that food gives him. The TPN has nutrients but it is not the same.

This digital layout is of Donald and his girlfriend Holly. The snowman should be made of sand since there is no snow in Florida.

But I must say it was really cold this morning. The weather man said 42. Baby it is cold outside. I even turned my heat on for a while tonight. Hopefully, tomorrow will be warmer. No more emails from you guys up north. I know this is not cold.

Football Sunday

Jim had two TV's going again today. He had the Colts on one TV and the Cowboys on the other. He's got his own sportbar going on in is room. He was happy and content. He had his dressing changes without much complications. The wound vac won't be in until tomorrow. Dr. Hume was happy. And guess what. He was off the vent the whole night. That means he has been off the vent since yesterday morning. This is great. He might be able to have water and eat tomorrow. He really does want to drink something.

I'm a little behind on my 25 days of Christmas. This photo was taken at the Windy City Scrapbooking store in downtown Chicago. This is Danelle Johnson and she is my hero. She is from Iowa and was in Chicago teaching. I was lucky enough to be able to take 3 of her new Creative Cafe classes. It was a great day and I learned a lot of new techniques.

It's getting cold here. We are supposed to have a high of 61 tomorrow. Right now I have the window's open but it's getting a little cold so I might have to shut the windows. Iknow 61 is not cold to most of you but here in Sunny Florida 61 is cold. Our low tonight will be in the 50's.

Hanging Out on Saturday

Misty and I spent the day with Jim. Misty had her first rawhide chew bone. She completely devoured it during our day at the hospital. Jim and I watched two movies. First Pirates of the Carribean and then we watched Our Big Fat Greek Wedding. We laughed as hard this time as we did the first time.

Dr. Hume was in and we reviewed our plan for the next couple of weeks. The wound vac will be there on Monday so we'll see what happens. Dr. Hume agreed with this plan and said that Jim was very stable right now and we are going to work on getting him off the vent.

I had not shared with everyone Jim's special birthday day. I was in Chicago so I could not be there to share the day with him. The first thing in the morning all the nurses came in to sing Happy Birthday to him. Mom came in and brought Jim a Notre Dame fleece that she had made for him. She found the fabric at Joanne's. Jackie went in and cheered him up late in the day.

Surgical Update

Well Jim and I met with Dr. Van Winkle tonight. Boy does he have an entirely different opinion on the surgery. He said right now we would have to do both options 1 and 2 and it would be very dangerous.

He says that if you introduce the muscle/blood to the wound it would be fine for the top layer but everything underneath would absese. No good because now you have to clean up underneath and you now have all that muscle. If gives this only a 50 percent change of success.

What he would like to do is put a wound vac on the wound for 3 to 4 weeks and see how much infection they can pull out. He said the wound is much improved over the past month and he thinks this is the best. Then after the first of the year we revisit the surgery option to see where we are. In that time also we can get Jim off the vent. He wants to try another medication that may make JIm's pulminary issues better. He said all of this will greatly increase our chances of success.

Ok so now we have another opinion. What do we do. WE talked with the wound care nurse and she said to go with the plastic surgeons opinion because that is his specialty. So that is what we are going to do. So in the next day or two the wound vac will go on and we will hope for the best.

Donald, Holly and Jackie were there during the doctor visit and they said the doctor made a lot of sense.

I said goodbye to Donald tonight and that was very sad. I will really miss him.

Let It Snow

I did this quick layout this morning remembering my day in the snow.

Christmas Celebrations

Today we mostly just hung out. Jim and I watched a movie. Mooseport was really funny and kept us enterained.

No news on when the surgery will be. I am hoping we will know something tomorrow. Last night we all went to the Christmas show at the club house. It was put on by a local high school. The kids really got us in the Christmas spirit.

More when I know something.

Dr. Schiro's Report

Jim and I met today with Dr. Schiro. He is the cardiac surgeon who did Jim's bypass surgery. He is also the doctor that opened his chest on September 12 and found all of the infection. He said we have three options.

1. We can do nothing and the worst will happen. It will be slow and it will be painful.

2. We can open the chest cavity and remove a portion of the sternum and clean out the area between the sternum and the heart. This is a very strenuous surgery. There is no way to tell if the stiches will hold inside. He gives this option a 50 50 percentage.

3. We can get in a plastic surgeon and between Dr. Schiro and Dr. Van Winkle they will remove muscle from the pectorial muscle area and put it into the chest cavity and then sew it up. Infections do not heal without blood and this area is not getting a lot of blood. I did not know this but muscle is full of blood. Introducing blood to this area will pull the infection out. I don't know how but this is what he said. This option the doctor put at 90 percent success. It is not as hard on the body.

Jim and I have talked about this and we have decided on Option 3. Jim does not want to continue the status quo. He wants to be aggressive. He wants to live but he does not want to just lay their and let this infection take over. Jim is fully aware of his situation and the doctor explained all of these options to both of us. It is ultimately Jim's decision and he told Dr. Schiro he wants the surgery.

The two doctor's offices are talking and are trying to coordinate their schedules and hopefully the surgery will be at the beginning of next week. He will be transferred to Sarasota Memorial Hospital for the surgery. If the surgery is Monday, then the best case senerio is that he will be back at Healthsouth by the end of the week.

Dr. Schiro was very upbeat about this. He said to Jim, "Let's get this fixed so you and I can go to a Yankee spring training game in Tampa."

Yes I am scared. But this is the first time in a long time that I feel there might actually be some hope of Jim getting better. This chest infection is what is holding him back. Even Dr. Hume was excited about this procedure. He was totally against surgery on Monday. As we all believed, we thought our only option was the second one. Ok one more time. Big prayers are needed.

A perfect Winter Day

I am sorry to my winter friends and family but Sunday night was a perfect winter evening. This picture was taken at 5:30 in the evening. It was 82 degrees and the sun was setting. There were about 30 drummer on the beach and the beach visitors were given a perfect sunset.

Jim is still the same. The chest wound is not healing and we do not know if it ever will. Dr. Schiro is meeting with us tomorrow morning to see if there is anything he can do.

Bingo tonight. Donald and I both won a bingo. Yeah for us.

I took Donald and Holly to lunch today. Spent some time with Jim. Zero chores were accomplished. But you know what. I am not going to let it stress me out. This week I am hanging out with Donald.

Christmas Day 11

It was a little late last night so I skipped the blog and went straight to bed.

Jim is doing fine but he was a little tired yesterday and his vitals were a little off so they kept him on the vent most of the day. I saw him around noon and he just wanted to sleep so I only stayed a little while. Later I went back with Jackie, Donald, Holly and Misty. He was more awake and enjoyed our visit. Last night Mary told me that he watched the entire football game and that he enjoyed that.

I saw the movie Fred Claus last night. This is a fun family movie and really gets you in the holiday spirit.

This layout is from Saturday's Newby Management employee party. We went with Jackie and had a good time. Jackie and her co-workers won the best community award so we are really proud of her.

Donald is Here

Donald and Holly are here and it is so good to see them. Can you believe I did not take one picture of them. I will remedy that tomorrow. We all had breakfast together this morning and tonight we went to Barbara's Christmas open house. What fun.

The rest of the day I spent with Jim. I wanted to take him outside again but he said no. It is football Sunday and he was going to watch the games. He's about the same. Off the vent and vitals all normal. Tomorrow we are going to see what Dr. Shiro has to say about Jim having surgery.

Off to bed.

18 Days to Christmas

And you guessed it I have 60 days worth of stuff to get done. Well guess what it is not all going to get done. I have a half decorated tree. Hopefully it will get done. My Christmas card situation is a mess. In February my hard drive crashed and burned and I have no address book. No addresses is my situation. Plus nobody had my address so cards may be a problem this year. I'm not even thinking of baking. My house is out of control and I am almost out of underwear. Yes I am stressed. But starting right now I am going to let it all go. If it doesn't get done oh well. Since I have not been sleeping the past couple of days I have got to change that and that will be my focus. Tonight sleep and no one is going to wake me up in the morning.

Oh and did I say no air conditioning. That's right. This has quit on me and currently it is 81 in my house. All the windows are open and all of the fans are on. A can't do anything until Monday.

I think my stress level is based on the fact that Jim and I are going to be facing some big decisions. Unfortuately we did not talk to the doctor today but will tomorrow. This surgery decision is looming on us. Jim was fine today but he did not want off the vent. They said there was no reason except that he was really tired. I guess the time outside yesterday wore him out.

My nephew Donald and his girlfriend Holly will arrive late tonight and I can't wait to see them tomorrow. I bet they wake me up. Oh well who cares. I can't wait to see Donald.

A Little Time Outside Today

Tonight I tried my hand at digital scrapbooking without the help of my teacher. I did this layout completely from scratch. There are 27 items on this page. I can't believe I was able to do this. Now it only took me 2 hours but yeah I did it.

Today Jim and I spent an hour and a half outside. It was really great. He was off the vent and we just hung out. As I told the doctor it was almost normal for us. Misty was with us and she was sitting in Jim's lap and he was petting her and talking to her. We talked about Christmas and what we were going to give each of our families. He said get some paper so you can write this down. The fresh air is good for him. After awhile we just need fresh air and he has had so much artificial air that this time just perked him up.

Dr. Liggett said that Dr. Winkel would be in tonight and she had called Dr. Shiro so we are waiting on all of this information. She said that Jim is the best he has been throughout this ordeal. So we'll see where we go from here.

I took my sister and mother to Mrs. Chin's tonight for dinner. Then we went to see a house that has at least 150 christmas trees all set to music. It was beautiful. More later as it is now 1:00 am and my sister is picking me up at 8:30 to help her mail 50 boxes to Iraq.

A favorite moment

As many of you know I have just returned from Chicago. This photo is one of my favorite moments. I spent the day with three wonderful little boys on my birthday. Jack, Josh and Luke are absolutely perfect. You can not imagine how I felt when I met Jack's school bus on Thurday and he ran off the bus yelling Grandma Your Here. He ran into my arms and we just hugged. Josh waved his arms and said grandma in his little voice. Now Luke is not sure about me. He doesn't remember me like the other two. He kept watching me and wondering why his two brothers were always on my lap and giving me hugs. He slowly warmed up to me and soon he to will be saying grandma.

Spent a lot of time with Jim today. They took him off the vent so we could talk. He says, It's about time you're back. He really missed me. I told him all about the trip and said did you bringme a hot dog. I said no but when the doctor said he could have a hot dog I would get one for him.

He had some chest pains this afternoon. To be safe they did an EKG and a chest X-ray. They even gave him some nitro. Dr. Liggett assured me that his was probably pain from his chest wound and not heart related. She ordered enzymes to be sure because as she said, "I'd look pretty silly if he really did have a heart attack."

We also discussed the chest wound and how we should proceed. She feels Jim is strong enough to consider surgery. She is calling in Dr. Winkel and is going to get a consult with Dr. Shiro. She discussed this with Jim and I and we are going to look into our options. Basically the situation is the wound is not getting better and if we don't do something it may never get better. This is saying in a few words what we discussed for over an hour. Jim is totally alert and understood everything she was saying. I will keep you updated as we consider the options.

Spent time with Misty today, went through the stack of mail and just relaxed this evening. I'm off to bed. 4:00 was way to late last night.

I'm Back From the Frozen Tundra

Just wanted everyone to know I'm back from Chicago. Leaving Ohare yesterday was a trial. The plane was delayed because of the snow. Then when we were finally loaded there was no one to put our bags on the plane. Finally the ticket agents did it and that was after sitting on the plane for an hour. Then we had to wait in line for another half hour just to take off. Then because of the delays we stopped in Orlando. Another hour delay. My very sleepy sister picked me up and I think I finally got to sleep around 4:00. Misty did not want to go to sleep. More later. I've seen Jim but not for very long. They wanted to change his pick line and do his dressings so I ran home for awhile.

Chicago Report @2

Jim misses me is the report. He is still on the vent but they hope to take him off tomorrow. He is only on pressure support today and he is doing fine. No fever and all vitals are normal. All the blood tests have come back normal.

Today he wanted to know where I was and I had to remind him that I am in Chicago and will be back Wednesday night.

As for me I am having a little fun. I have been hugging my grandchildren so tight. I think Teresa would notice if I took them back with me. I tried to bribe Jack with a trip to Disney World but he is still not up to it. Maybe next year.

Tonight I went to the CCBA board meeting/Christmas party. It was fun to see everyone and laugh a little. I need laughter and this trip has really given me some much needed laughter.

Some say snow tomorrow. I certainly hope not because I have a day planned with the kids. we are going to see Santa.

Snow in Chicago

It snowed today. Then there was an ice storm. I was out in this and it was awful. When I got to Bob and Teresa's I parked the car in the driveway and started to get out and the car was sliding down the driveway. I had to park in the street so the car did not slide away.

I got to talk to Jim and wish him a happy birthday. The boys all sang to him and I am sure he was smiling. Happy birthday honey. I love you.

Chicago Report

This is new for Jim. He is sitting in a chair and playing freecell. The neck brace is to protect his neck while he is out of bed. The vent machine in the background is off.

Last night they told me Jim is doing great. He was off the vent all day but they put him on at night so he gets a good night sleep. He did not want to eat yesterday. He only drank some of the juice, milk and water. No fever. Mary told me he was a little depressed because he missed me.

I spent the day with my grandchildren and got a million hugs. It was wonderful. We went to Portello's for a birthday celebration. This is one thing I miss about Chicago. Most of the day was spent just playing with the boys. I even played Candy Land. Teresa's father brought me my favorite birthday cake from the Mexican bakery. Oh it was good.

Jackie and Mom thank you for taking care of Jim while I'm gone. Jackie I hope Misty is better. Yesterday she chewed through her collar and kept Jackie up all night.

Jim played freecell today

Today was a first. I borrowed a laptop and took it in to Jim today. He was in a chair and the computer was set up and he was playing free cell. Wow. We are making progress. He was concentrating so hard and it was a little hard for him to manipulate the mouse but he was doing it. This is so great for him to be able to do something besides watching TV. The therapists are going to work with him and see how far they can take him.

All is well and I am off to Chicago in a couple of hours. Jack I'm on my way.

Bingo Night

Can't remember if I posted this layout from my digital scrapbooking class. I really liked how it came out.

Well once again I did not Bingo. My sister Jackie won $50. She put her $5.00 in the pizza pot so that was good.

Jim is doing well. He is off the vent during the day and he is eating. The pulminary doctor was pleased today. He said Jim's lungs are clear and sound very good. The chest wound is the problem according to the doctor. Wound care continues and they are improving. Everyday is a challenge but hopefully things are looking up. He can now take his oral medication and this is so important. The antidepressants have started again along with the medication to prevent a stomach infection because of the antibiotics. He knows I am leaving tomorrow and he told me tonight that he is going to miss me.

Mom is making him a Notra Dame blanket for his birthday on Saturday. I know he's going to like that.

Don't forget to send him a birthday card. The address is in Sunday's blog. Love to all and for some of you I'll see you in Chicago. Jack, Josh and Luke, Grandma will be there to meet the school bus on Thurday.

The end of Thanksgiving Weekend

Well I really haven't blogged much this weekend because I have been so busy. I have spent a lot of time with Jim. We have just been hanging out and watching movies or football games.

He's doing pretty good actually. He has been off the vent during the day and back on at night so that he can rest comfortably. They gave him two pints of blood yesterday to bring up his hemocrat level. This always gives him some extra pep. The nurse today decided Jim needed to get outside and breath some fresh air. So into a chair he went and we spent almost an hour outside. Now for Jim being outside for an hour for any reason is a lot. He isn't really an outside person. He did enjoy it though and I think it was good for him. The nurse said we should do this every day. We're hoping tomorrow they will allow him to eat again. So wish us luck.

Today was decorating day. Jackie and I put this outside lights on her house, mom's house and my house. So the season has begun. I have Christmas stuff everywhere, laundry to do and the house to clean. And I'm leaving Wednesday for Chicago. Windy City here I come. I'm coming for a much need break and some hugs from three very special little boys. They want to hug their grandma on her birthday.

Speaking of Birthdays. Jim's is Saturday. He needs birthday cards. We need to perk him up and what better way than to hear from all of you. Down with the get well up with the birthday cards. You can send them to Healthsouth Ridgelake Hospital, 6150 Edgelake Drive, Sarasota, FL 34240.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend. A special thank you to my friend Barbara for a lovely Thanksgiving dinner. It was wonderful.

Black Friday

I was up early to start off Black Friday. Now I wasn't up that early but for me 7:30 is early. This year I did not think the bargains were as good as past years. I by-passed the electronics because those lines were just way to long and I really did not need a TV or a Wii. It's fun to get out there and watch the crazy people and the parking lots. Those people are crazy trying to get parking spots. No one has any patience any more. I did pick up a few things but not much.

We have a new woman in the house. Misty is in heat for the first time. Poor thing is having cramps and is not feeling very well. She just looks at me with those sad eyes. I feel so sorry for her.

Spent the afternoon with Jim and he is doing fine. He was off the vent again. They put him back on last night at midnight which means he was off for almost 11 hours yesterday. Today he did not have a fever so that is good. Today they took him off at 11:30 and just now put him back on. We watched a couple of TV movies and just hung out.

Tonight I went to Scraptherapy and had a good time. We did more chatting than work but that is OK because it's just nice to have some down time and girl time. I love having a place to go hang out and enjoy my new friends.

Hope everyone had a great shopping day and are now home safe and sound.

Thanksgiving Playtime

I was taking a little time today to relax before I started my day. I decided to play with my digital scrapbooking. My 4 week class is now over and I wanted to see if I could make a layout from scratch. Here's what I came up with.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all, to my family, to my friends, and to every single medical person who is working today to take care of my Jim.

Thanksgiving is a time for giving thanks for all that we have. These past months have been very hard for me and for Jim but I am thankful for every single day we have together. We have grown closer because of these days. For him I am his rock and his soul mate. We love each other and we tell each other every day. We did not always do this but I am thankful that now we do. Everytime I leave him I am leaving the unknown as to what will happen. But I know in my heart and my soul that he knows I love him and he loves me. That is all that is important. In our other life anything could have happened -- a truck could have mowed us down and maybe that would have been a day we did not tell each ther that we loved the other. That I would have hated. But today I will not feel that way. So yes I have thankful for Jim and my time together.

Today he is doing better. His temperature is normal. He is alert and even smiling. We watched Hairspray today and trust me he was dancing. We also watch Next. A great movie with Nicolas Gage.

I have thankful that I am now closer to my mother and sister. I love them both so much and they are so much a part of me.

I am thankful for my two wonderful nephews Rick and Donald and my new neice Heather.

I am thankful for the extended family Jim has given me. Each and everyone of you is special to me. I had never dreamed I could have such a wonderful gift given to me.

I am thankful for my three wonderful grandchildren. Jack, Josh and Luke. The unconditional love these three boys give to me is a gift from God.

I am thankful for my health and the strength that gets me through these troubled days.

I am thankful for my new friends that I have made at K2 scrapbooking store. You give me such friendship.

I am thankful for my precious Misty and for all the comfort she gives to me. She is a wonderful sounding board.

I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and may all of you count your blessings and share them with the ones you love.

Update on yesterday

Jim is now back on all of the antiabiotics. He still has a temperature and they are checking the pic line. This always seems to cause problems. Dr. Hume put him back on the meds about 1:00 this morning. I did not talk to Dr. Hume but the nurse told me about this.

Having a Melt Down Day

Today has not been a really good day for me. Earlier I did not know why. I went to the hospital around noon today to just hang out with Jim. I picked up Live Free Die Hard with Bruce Willis that came out on DVD today. I had seen it in the theatre but that was after Jim's surgery. He was excited to see the movie. I pulled up 2 chairs and pillow and put the rail down on Jim's bed and we cuddled and watched the movie. Both of us fell asleep for awhile. Jim longer than me. The nurse told me Jim was doing just fine.

I watched Oprah and when Josh Grosman sang one of his songs I just cried. They tired to take Jim off the vent but he just wasn't strong enough and that made me cry. I came home for awhile and that made me cry. My mom came over and that made me cry. It just was not a good day.

I went back to the hospital at 8:00. Guess what Jim is not fine. I am so mad I could spit and may spit before the night is over. Jim has a temperature of 103 and has had all day and no one told me. Plus Dr. Vega took him off of all the antiabiotics. I was there 5 hours and no one told me. What is wrong with these people.

Nurse Mary put a call into the doctor and he is coming in. I have been calling there every half hour and I still do not have any answers. Dr. Hume told me that Jim would be on these antiabiotics indefinitely. Linda Johnson told me today that she faxed BCBS today that he would be on these antiabiotics indefinitely. Now I can't get any answers from anyone. I know I am ranting but it's all I can do.

Mary said they are running all the cultures but that takes days. This may be a very long night for me.

A little depression today

Because Jim is back on the vent he can no longer eat. Because he can not eat he can not take any oral medications. This means he can not take his anti depressant medication. He has now been off this for four days and it is showing. He just layed there today looking at the ceiling. I could not get him to talk to me or get interested in anything. I stayed most of the day with him trying to perk him up. Finally I just put in a movie. I had rented 3 today. I put in the comedy Chuck and Larry and did not say anything to him. I could tell he was getting into the movie and then I started to see him smile.

I don't know about you but I would be depressed also. He has been so great throughout this ordeal and we have come so far. I hope he can hang in there and see this through even though there are bumps in the road.

The nurse told me tonight that he was awake and watching the football game. He was totally cooperative so that is a good sign. Good night to all.

Digital Scrapbooking Class

I just finished this layout from week 4 of my Digital Scrapbooking class. It has 27 layers to make up this page. If I were paper scrapping that would mean I put 27 items on the page. I think it turned out really great. Just wanted to share with everyone. I'm off to the hospital now. See you tonight with an update on Jim.

Jim had a good Football Sunday

Jim had another good day. His secretions are down and he was resting comfortably. He was awake most of the day -- Football keeps him interested and busy during the day. Personally I was rooting for Kansas City today and they almost beat the Colts. In our losers pool 50 people picked Kansas City so I wanted them out. I choose Miami and they lost so I'm still in.

I just talked to the nurse (11:30 pm) and Jim's doing fine. We'll see what the week brings.

This photo is from Nancy and Caroline's visit this week. He loved having you guys here.

Jim's Improving

Jim had another good day. He is still on the vent because the doctor wants to make sure that he has the best chance of getting back off he vent. He said that he wants Jim to rest over the weekend and not work to hard with his breathing. Any time the lungs fill with co2 it takes some time to completely rid the system of the co2. Thus the vent. He is only on pressure support, much like a cpap machine. Luckily it is the weekend and Jim loves to watch football so that keeps him occupied. Today the Fighting Irish won 28-7 over Duke so this made him happy.

Today was busy for me. I started the day with a breakfast party given by the Women's Club. My sister Jackie was in charge of the baby shower program and it was a buffet at Yoder's. Now Yoder's has one of the best breakfast buffet's outside of the fancy hotels.

Then I was off to the hospital to see Jim. ONce I was home I finally finished this layout from my digital scrapbooking class. It was really complicated and I think it turned out pretty good. What fun this is. I used some old Easter photos that fit the theme of the class.

Tonight I went to a party to unveil the new Creative Cafe at my local scrapbook store. We had a great time playing with the new cafe items, eating and drinking. I even won two door prizes. Now that is fun.

So Much Better Today

Jim is so much better today. When I got to the hospital this morning he looked rested and comfortable. He was on the vent but they had changed it to pressure support. This means

that he is breathing on his own but if he needs help it is there. He had a lot os secretions but they were staying on top of them. His vitals were all normal and his oxygen saturation was back to 100 percent. We watched I Thee Wed DVD and he was laughing throughout the movie. I felt it was OK for me to go ahead and play in the Sarasota Sectional for one session.

I came back after the session and he was doing great. The tech said the doctor had been in and they decided to keep in on the vent overnight and try to take it off in the morning. So that is the plan. All vitals normal. All blood oxygen levels are fine. He looked happy and content. I shared some bridge hands with him and he told me what I did wrong. So the day went great and we'll see what tomorrow brings.

I told him that Paul Soloway died this week and he was sad to hear this news. Our sympathies go out to his family. Deibetes is such a horrible disease and is relentless on the body.

It was so sad to see Jim's family leave on Wednesday. We hope to see they again soon. Guys, remember when it snows a foot it's time to make a trip to Florida.

Thanks Kay and Bob for the card. Jim loved your hug.

Thursday Not So Good

Yesterday was not a really good day. I spent the morning fighting with the insurance company. They wanted Jim moved yesterday to a skilled nursing facility. The doctor did not want this to happen. I called my insurance agent in Chicago and they got BCBS on the phone and we were trying to work it out. The three doctors were all against the move. Jim had been told he was moving and nobody was happy. BCBS finally said the doctors could fax more information.

I went down to see Jim again and the nurse was in with him and all of a sudden he stopped breathing. People came from everywhere and I went into the corner and just cried. Someone took me out of the room and just told me to breath and then the doctor came out and said he was ok that the trach clogged and he was now breathing. For the next hour I sat in the room with him and kept telling him I was there and holding his hand. The tech's never left his side. There were also 2 or 3 nurses there at all times.

They decided to put him back on the vent because his oxygen levels were very low. the CO2 built up in his lungs and they needed to clear that out. Once he was stable and talking to me I just put a movie in and we watched Ocean 13. He finally fell asleep and was resting comfortably.

I called at 10:00 and at 1:00 and he was resting comfortably.

Obviously he is not being moved now. I just checked with the hospital and he is comfortable and alert and interacting with the nurses. For those of you that I should have called I'm sorry. I just could not face this last night. I will check in with you this weekend.

Way to quiet at my house

Jim's sisters, niece and great niece left today so it is now really quiet in my house. Misty is running around looking for everyone. They spoiled her to death with all of the attention. We took out time yesterday to go to Siesta Beach. (Jack do you remember Siesta Beach?) and time for some photo ops. We picked up some sand for them to take back to Indiana.

Dr. Hume came in and talked to the family today about Jim's condition. According to him the most worrisome part is his chest wound. This is where the infection is. They believe it may have caused a small hole in his lung. They are aggressively treating this and we are not sure where we are going on this and what the possible outcome may be. The lung doctor was possitive tonight. He said the lungs seems to be clear but he has ordered a chest xray for tomorrow to be sure.

Tonight Jim was a little sad that the girls had left. I had been there two hours and was falling asleep and was going to go and he said please don't go. So I stayed another hour and we just talked. My heart just breaks for him and what he is going through. He did eat his soup for me tonight but he wouldn't eat anything else. He did not want his wound care but I told the nurse to just do it. It is too important for him to miss these treatments.

Off to bed early. Really tired tonight.

Jim may be moving

Jim may be moving to a Skilled Nursing Hospital. Blue Cross Blue Shield feels that Jim is now well enough to be moved to a skilled nursing hospital. The hospital he is now in is considered an ICU hospital. As we all know the insurance companies rule our lives. He has been accepted to Manor Health Care. But . . . the temperature that he spiked yesterday is causing some problems. The infectous disease doctor has order blood and sputum cultures to see why he spiked the temperature. Because of this he will stay where he is until we find the problem.

Now I am not all that happy about this situation. He will get a lower level of care and we really do not need this right now. Yes he is getting better but he is getting better because of the care he is receiving from the nurses at Health South.He has an exceptional wound care nurse and his entire care right now centers on his wounds. I am not sure how much say I am going to have on this but I am voicing my concerns. Dr. Hume/Liggett will no longer be his doctors and that is a problem for me.

I have been assured if there is any problem he will be sent to Sarasota Memorial and Dr. Hume will once again take over and ultimately he'll be back at Health south. This will be very trumatic for JIM and that is not what I want.

Today we did some shopping and visited with Jim. His sisters and Kathy spent the afternoon with him. This evening we went out to dinner and then came back to the house and played cards.

Football Sunday

Sorry no pictures. Too tired to put some together.

Nancy and Kathy spent most of the day with Jim today. Caroline had a bug so we did not want her there. I spent a little time with him today but not very much. I went in at lunch time to feed him and he was adament that he was not hungry and was not going to eat. And that was that. Cathy supervised the wound care dressing change to check things out. She said that the nurse was really good but the wounds are bad and a lot more care is needed.

When I went back to pick up N and K Jim had a fever of 100.8 and he was not feeling real well. He mainly just wanted us to leave him alone so he could sleep. At 6:45 temp down to 99.5 and at midnight it was normal. He actually ate something at dinner. Not much just some yogart and cranberry juice but it is better than nothing.

I fixed dinner for everyone tonight. Mom, Jackie and friend Barabara also joined us. The meatloaf was great, the potatoes not cooked and the veggies cold. The salad was perfect and so was the key lime pie mom brought. Oh well I tried. Afterward we played Hands and Foot. It was a fun night.

Here's to a better week.

ND Loses Again

Once again Jim watched a losing ND game. This really depresses him. He wasn't in a very good mood today. He's kinda depressed. He goes through this periodically but it only lasts a couple of days. He didn't want to eat and he didn't want his dressings changed. Hopefully he'll do the 11:00 ones.

Jim's sisters and niece and grandniece arrived tonight so hopefully this will perk him up. Everything is status quo. More tomorrow.

Sand Bed is Back

Jim's got his hot air/sand bed back. His lungs are clear so he no longer needs the pulsating bed. Now he needs the wound care bed. We are moving along. Normal wound care today and the are showing improvement. He ate very little today. He does not like the food and he is not shy about saying so. I guess I'll need to meet with the dietician again tomorrow. His spirits are good but now he wants a coke and some black coffee. I keep telling him soon.

He's looking forward to seeing his sisters and his niece. That will be a real pick up for him.

Misty had her first bone this week. I grilled a rib eye steak and gave her the bone. She loved it. She did not leave the kitchen for an hour.

Jackie and I were the receipients of a random act of kindness yesterday. We had to go through a toll bridge that cost $2.00. When we got to the window they lady said the guy in front of us paid our toll. How cool is that.

I'm totally exhausted -- from shopping

No photos today because Blogger is not working.

Today my sister and I went on the Scrapbook Shop Hop. We went to Bonita Springs, which is an hour and a half south and then worked our way back to Sarasota. WE went to 6 scrapbook stores and had a ball. Each store had a project for us to do and what fun that was. Plus we got some great ideas for more projects. We left this morning at 9:30 and did not get back to Sarasota until almost 7:00.

Once we were back I picked up Misty and we headed to the hospital to see Jim. He missed me today but was relaxed and watching TV. They gave him tomato soup for breakfast. Guess what he ate it and was happy about it. They are loading him up with soups now and that is good because he likes them. Dr. Liggett came in while I was there and said Jim is doing great. The stomach wound has now closed up. Now this hole was completely open into the stomach and now closed. I can't believe it. The center portion of the chest wound is also closed. We are hoping this continues to heal and that the underneath portion is not tunneling. The butt sore is also showing improvement finally. She was concerned about the adema but is going to change the meds and order some albumin tests. The is a balance between the dryness in the heart and the fluids in the extremities. Not sure what this means. We won't be seeing Dr. L. until Thanksgiving now as she is off rotation.

Off to bed now. Shopping is such hard work.

Busy Monday

Well today was really busy. First my ice maker is broken. For the past couple of weeks it would not make ice. Last night it decided to just pour out water. It filled the ice bucket with water. Overflowed into the freezer (don't know how I'm going to get rid of this ice) and then poured out on the floor. I had to call Bill (our resident handy man) and he came to my rescue. But I have to get a new ice maker so my frig is sitting in the middle of the kitchen. Yuk. But this to shall pass.

Then Misty was past due for her 9 month checkup. Finally got her to the vet and had to leave her for 4 hours. I then went to Bradenton for my scrapbook Shop Hop.

After that I went to see Jim and had to meet with the case manager. We are having some insurance issues but they are handling these for me. BCBS thinks Jim should go to a skilled nursing facility. The doctor does not agree and he is fighting this. The doctor said that if he is moved in all likely hood he will be back in the hospital within 48 hours and ultimately back at Healthsouth. So the fight is on. BCBS does not know who they are taking on.

Jim does not know any of this and I don't think he needs to know. It was in good shape today. He was awake and watching TV. I took in the baby food fruits and he loved the peaches. I got a variety so we will keep giving these to him. I met with the dietition and we went over the foods that he likes. They are going to add some Boost pudding to add protein to his diet since he doesnt much like their hot foods. I also asked him they could give him soups. He loves soup. When I told him this he smiled and said he would like soup.

Then I went back and got Misty and came home and put everything back in my scraproom/guest room. Not quie done but getting there. I cleaned out the car and then had dinner. About 8:00 I was sitting there and missing Jim so I said to Misty let's go see daddy. So off we went. He was getting ready to watch the football game so we chatted. I hugged him and felt much better. A nice way to end the day.

I came home and did my digital scrapbook lesson for the week. The layout above is what I created. I started with a blank page and put this together. Wow what a class.

Lazy Sunday

Today Jim and I just hung out. When I got to the hospital around noon Jim was coming down from a fever. He was sweating and then had chills and then the sweats. I asked the nurse for some ice and gave him an ice cold bath. It worked. The fever broke and he was so much better. When he has these fevers his face is beet red. After about an hour of this his face looked normal. We don't really know what spikes these fevers but around 2:00 his temp was 98 so that was good.

Misty was with us today and we watched some football. The Bucs won so that was good. Next came the Colts game and sadly they lost. (But guess who I had in the losers pool). Hint I'm still in. Jim is now out of the losers pool. He had Green Bay. It seemed like a normal Sunday. I spent the afternoon reading the paper and watching football with Jim.

Dr. Liggett came in and was gushing all over Jim. Wow looks what's happened in the six days I was gone. You're off he vent and it's not even in the room. You are eating. She said to Jim, "We are going to get you better and get you home. You have the right attitude and she patted his head and said, your brain and heart are in the right place and you are getting there. She wanted to tweak his lasix because he has some adema in his hands and feet but she said that is minor.

Muriel I asked her about the baby food and she said go for it. She said if he wants fruit that is the way to go. If he has a fruit craving something in his body wants it. I stopped at the store on the way home and bought 4 jars of fruit and some chicken and noodles. Will try it tomorrow. He just does not like their hot food.

I almost have my guest room done. It is all painted now I have to put everything back in order and hang the shelves. Pictures to come. I am done painting. I have been painting or 4 months. That is enough.

Took a Little Time to Play Today

I took a little time off to play today. The Women's Club was having their annual Luncheon and Card Party today and I went off with Mom and Jackie and had a really good time. We played Hands and Food and had a fun lunch. If was great to get out and have some girl time. Our friend Barbara played with us.

I went to see Jim after the card party and he was enthralled with the Notra Dame game so I ran home to take Misty out. I then went back to the hospital and watched 3 overtimes with Jim. It was pretty exciting but ND finally succumed to Navy.

They changed Jim's antidepressant today to see if they can get a better result. The old one was making him pretty irratable and we really don't want that. He once again did not want the hot food. He ate the yogart and rice pudding plus all of the fluids (milk, water and cranberry juice). He was having pain in his hip, his shoulder and neck. He said he didn't want anything for pain so I hope it was tolerable.

Went to the movie tonight and saw American Gangster with Denzel Washington. It was a pretty good movie. Would recommend. Don't forget to change your clocks today.

TGIF

Not much new happened today. They are now giving Jim all of his regular medications. Some of them he could only take by mouth so they have started them up again. Dr. Hume reviewed all of his medications today and made some changes. He had his normal wound care much to his chargin. He ate very little. He doesn't like the pureed foods but will eat anything that looks normal.

More tomorrow. Tired to night.

A little let down after a good day

Today was kind of a let down after yesterday being so good. The day started out really well but we did some backsliding.

Harriette Buckman came to see Jim today. She was there in the morning while Jim was still wide awake. He enjoyed her visit and it was good to visit with Harriette and catch up on all of the news. Thanks Harriette. You brightened Jim's day.

Letter in the day we had pick line troubles. Jim's pick site is infected. This seems to happen about every 6 weeks. They have removed the old line and placed a new one in the other arm. We hope this is the reason for his fever. They also sent cultures out on every other thing they could think of. They just are being cautious.

Before Jim could have anything to eat or drink that is all he wanted. Now . . . he can have some of these things and he doesn't want them. He loves the yogart so he eats all they will give him. He likes the fruit juices, water and milk but does not care for anything else. I can't blame him it looks awful. Pureed meat is not pleasant to look at.

He spend most of the day sleeping but that is OK because he heals faster when he sleeps.

This layout was part of my digtal class this week. I can't believe I actually did this. What fun.

Eventful Halloween

It was a pretty eventful Halloween. The day started with Jim and his swallow test. Megan gave him the test and he passed. Yeah. (Megan is the woman in the middle photo on the layout.) That meant that he got lunch and dinner. Neither one of them thrilled him very much. He drank all of the milk, water and fruit juice. He picked at the meat, mashed potatoes and veggies.

After lunch I took him down to the Halloween party in the cafeteria. They were having a party for the staff and visitors. They even had a pumpkin decorating contest. My sister and I were the judges. After this I took Jim outside for a little fresh air. He has not been outside since May except to get in and out of an ambulance. He liked being outside except for the heat. Said it was pretty humid. On my second visit of the day I took in Misty with her halloween scarf.

So we are still taking some small steps but at least we are going up and not down. Hope everyone had a great day.

Happy Halloween

Not much is really new today. The swallow test is scheduled for 8:00 tomorrow morning. If he passes he will get breakfast. I am crossing my fingers. This pumpkin has been in Jim's room for the last couple of weeks. It has a light bulb in it so it glows. I have also put some candy out for the nurses.

Jim is still off the vent and feeling comfortable and he is trying to stay off the pain meds. They make him groggy and grumpy.

Halloween party at the hospital tomorrow. They have a pumpkin decorating contest going on. Guess what, they've asked me to be the judge. I'll have photos tomorrow.

Boo to all. Happy Halloween.

Busy Monday

Today was really busy. First it was my digital scrapbooking class. The lessons come in every Monday morning. I did not get to this until 11:00 at night but I am really pleased with how it came out. I am really learning how to do this. I have tried to do it on my own for about 6 months to no avail but with these lessons I am finding it really easy to do. Jack I hope you like this page of you.

At the hospital today I was lucky enough to be there for all of the important doctor/tech meetings.

1. Wound care nurse report: The wound on the butt is showing fresh tissue. About a third of the wound is growing fresh tissue. She says this is a great indication that we are going in the right direction. The chest wound is also going forward. She does caution me that she does not know what is happening underneath because she can not see this but the machine is drawing out the secretions and that is good. The stomach wound is almost healed. It now has a very small dressing.

2. Resporatory: Lungs are showing great impovement. Jim was off the vent the entire night. Chest x-ray shows practically no fluids.

3. Speech therapy: (eating) If Jim continues off the vent she will schedule the swallow test for 8:00 Wed morning. She wants to wait until Wednesday so that Jim will have the most opportunity for success. She does not want to start him eating and then backtrack. I trust her judgement.

4. Dr. Hume: Jim is amazing is what he said. He continues to improve and he is very stable. Since Jim is so close to eating he is holding off on the topical anti depressants because this process is so expensive. He said another 2 days will be ok. Dr. Hume is opptomistic and hopes that the progress continues. All procedures will continues and he will be watching him closely.

So it looks like Jim is improving. Keep the prayers coming because we are not out of the woods yet. Jim was a little fiesty today. He's hungry, which is a good sign, but Megan and Dr. Hume talked to him about this so he said he would be patient. He told Megan he wanted a pizza on Wednesday.

We lost power for three hours today. I came home from the grocery store and wouldn't you know it no power. I put the stuff away and went back to the hospital. They have air conditioning. Jim's room is always cool.

Misty Shares with Jim

The funniest thing happened at the hospital today with Jim. (Well it wasn't funny at the time but it is now.) Misty and I went to visit Jim. We had been there about an hour and so I took Misty out for a potty break. When we came back in Jim asked if she was a good girl and I told him yes. I got the treats out of the closet and asked him if he wanted to give her one. He said no so I gave it to her. A few minutes later he asked me to give him one. Thinking nothing about it I gave him one. You know what he did. He popped it in his mouth. He's never done this. I freaked out because he has not passed the swallow test and he could apsiciate on this. I called the nurses by running out in the hall. They came running and we tried to get it out but it was gone. He ate it. They suctioned him and swabbed his mouth . . . nothing. Julie asked him how it tasted. He said bad. so she told him that she would tell Megan tomorrow. He may have passed the swallow test.

Football Sunday is always good for JIm. He loves watching the games and it keeps him busy. WE watched the Miami game. I really thought they might win. Jim and I are both still in the loser's pool. I took SF and Jim took the Jets. We were the only ones that picked these teams. We have never lasted this long in the pool. I guess that is because there have not been very many upsets this year.

I am continuing to paint the guestroom/scraproom. I am more than halfway now.

Nancy, Caroline and Cathy, Jim is so excited that you may come to visit. He said, I've got to get better because my sisters are coming. That's the spirit I like to see.

It's still raining in Florida

Nothing makes Jim smile more than looking at photos of our grandchildren. He really liked this photo. To Teresa: Jim says, "he needs a haircut." Where have you heard this before.

Jim was very content today. He was off the vent and talking and smiling. However he was sleeping a lot. He seems to have switched his days and nights. WE are not sure why but he has. It may be that we have not seen the sun in 3 days and for Florida that is really unusal. It just keeps raining. This makes the room darker and that is why he thinks it is night. He is progressing with little tiny baby steps. The pulmanists are going to talk to the lung doctors on Monday about keeping him off the vent at night. This is the next big step.

Nancy, Bob, and Caroline, Jim loved the card. It was so funny. Keep them coming.

I did not blog yesterday and it was because the day got away from me. But I'll share my big clumsy act with you today. As you know I am painting the guest room/Scrap room. Well yesterday I was on the ladder with the paint tray in front of me on the ladder. I moved, the tray moved and suddently it was on the floor upside down. What a mess. All clean now but I hope I never do that again.

Resolving Issues today

Yes Bob Chocolate is misspelled but I can not figure out how to fix it. I have emailed by online digital scrapbook instructor to figure out how to fix the word. I got this photo today and have already sent it over to Walgreens. I'll pick it up in the morning and take it to Jim. He'll love it.

I have listed several issues here on the blog that I have been having with Healthsouth. I think today we resolved several of these. One was the antidepressant drug. Jim is not able to take a pill and these drugs do not come in liquid form. So the doctor ordered this two weeks ago and he still has not been able to take them. Today I met with Linda Johnson the case manager. She was able to get with the doctor and have the doctor submit a topical prescription to the pharmacy. The pharmacy then called a lab to have the topical cream made. This will be delived to Healthsouth tomorrow and he will get it. Basically what happens is they crush the pills and put it in a cream and then rub this on Jim's arm and it is absobed into the body. They start with a low level to make sure it does not irrate his skin. He needs this because there are times he is really depressed as any of us would be.

My second issue was with the call button. I have tried to get a workable nurse call button for Jim. This has been an ongoing issue. They have a very sensitive one but it is being used by another patient. This is not acceptable. He needs to have a way to call the nurse. He may be off the ventelator all night tomorrow and this is for his safety. Well I got through to them finally. They have ordered another one and it will be there tomorrow. I told them this was a safety issue and if something was not done I was going to call the state agency that regulates the facility. After three months this got them hopping.

I also got them working on the broken window blinds.

My new issue may be with Blue Cross Blue Shield. They are making noises about JIm's need to be in this facility. Linda told me not to worry but she was just giving me a heads up.

Well you are probably wondering how Jim is. He's doing just fine. He was off the vent for 12 hours today. He was awake and he wanted pizza and coffee. I know he is feeling better when he wants food. He was not seeing things today so that is good. He had his wound care and there was a small improvement. He watched an entire day of Law and Order: CI. on USA channel.