Update

Just an update. I just talked to the ICU unit. Jim has been off of the levercet since 7:00 and is doing fine. If dialysis goes fine he will be back to Healthsouth by the afternoon. The nurse said he is just fine and even smiling at her jokes when all the nurses come in to say hi. These are the ones who took care of him in June.

Bumpy Tuesday

Well it was a bumby day today for Jim. As I said yesterday Jim was going to the hospital today to have the dialysis and pick lines changed. All went well until the end and he coded. The chaplin called me baout 10:30 and said he coded and it was a heart incident but they brought him back. I called my sister to take me to the hospital. Before she got here they called back and said it was only a mucas plug and he was fine. The chaplain said not to come because they were going to send him back to Healthsouth. Half an hour later they called and said they wanted to watch him for an hour. This went on until 3:30. They called and said he was fine but wanted to keep him overnight for observation.

I went to Sarasota ICU and Dr Harcore was there and he said. Jim is fine but his blood pressure is a little low and we put him on levocet. They believe they will have him off of this by morning. Dr. H said he wanted him to have dialysis at the hospital in the morning so they could watch his BP. Then they will transfer him back to Healthsouth.

He was fine when I saw him. His color was good and he was completely alert. I knew he was OK when he told me to go play bingo. I was holding his had and he shook it off. This means he's fine. He put a real scare in me. Yesterday he told me he was going to die tomorrow. How did he know he was going to code today. I told him today that I was glad it got that over with and he could now get better. He smiled and agreed with me.

Enjoy the digital layout of Joshua

Where did Monday Go?

Where did the day go? I woke up late so got a late start. I was up at 10 and at the hospital by 11. Then played bridge and back to the hospital. Then to my sisters for dinner. (Jackie thank you it was great.) and home at 8 pm. Whew where did it go. I did not do a digital layout today. Sorry Josh but I will tomorrow. These are two layouts I did over the weekend.

Jim is fine. He was off the vent for both of my visits. Yea. Things are going fine. He is going to the hospital tomorrow to have his pick line moved. They can no longer do this inhouse because his arms just can't take it. The reason for the temp on Saturday was that something is growing in his blood and that indicates the pick line. It will be much easier on him to do it at the hospital. It took them 3 hours last time to get the new line in and that is too much.

I talked to the case worker today about the lack of communication with the doctors. I asked her to set up an appointment with Dr. Hume for tomorrow. He called while I was out today but I told Linda that I insist on a face to face meeting tomorrow. No more excuses from Dr. Hume. I told her that he has a responsibility to keep me informed and he has not been doing this. I will dog him tomorrow until he talks to me. Wish me luck.

Where did Monday Go?

Sunday With Jim

Today Jim was lazy. He just wanted everyone to do things for him. Turn on the lights. Turn off the lights. Change the channel every five minutes. Raise the bed lower the bed. This is the way it went today. He had no fever today so we really don't know what was going on yesterday. Tomorrow is a new week so I hope I can get some answers on what is going on with him. I want to know his dialysis status. The results of the EEG. I'd also like to know more about his wound status. It is really hard to track down the doctors but I am going to talk to each of them this week. I will be on their trail.

Well this is going to be Joshua's digital week. The one of the day he was born is the digital page. The others are paper layouts that I have done throughout the week.

Today Misty got a bath. This is always an ordeal but she truly needed it. As a treat I took her to see Jim. He loved it even though she seems to always step on his b___s. We also took a long run tonight. She ran and I rode my bicycle. She is plum tuckered out tonight and is fast asleep.

As for me I did some cleaning, just a little actually. Then I did a load of laundry and then watched TV. But guess what. I washed by cell phone and memory card. I hope they work tomorrow.

Negative on CT Scan

The results are back on Jim's CT scan and it was all negative. Everything is normal. The results of the EEG are not back so I don't have those results today. Jim did spike a 102 temp at 6:00 tonight but when I went back at 9:15 it was 99. Sometimes Jim just gets hot. I gave him an ice bath and turned his fan on. The nurse gave him asprin and that seems to bring it down. They did all of the normal cultures when this happens. The doctor things it is probably the dialysis line. He does not tolerate needle sites for long and this line has been in for a month now and probably will have to be changed on Monday. We hope it is that simple.

Jim was in a good mood today. We watched a movie during my first visit. Later in the day we just hung out after I gave him the ice bath. The last visit I just checked on him and tucked him in for the night.

For me I had a scrapbook class in the afternoon. Misty and I went for a walk and then I met Mom and my sister for a movie. We saw Fool's Gold. It was a fun movie just to get your mind off of your troubles. It was a a typical Mathew movie.

This is the last of Lucas's digital pages. Next week I'll have Joshua pages. Plus tomorrow I'll post all of the paper pages I did this week. Have a happy Sunday.

Jim going on road trip tomorrow

Jim is going to take a road trip to the hospital tomorrow. He is going to have an EEG and a neck and head CT scan. Why you ask, well he is been having an event. I am not sure what to call it because they do not know what it is. Sometimes his eyes will roll back in his head and he is unresponsive for about a minute. During this time the EKG, blood pressure and oxygen levels all remain normal. So tomorrow they are going to try to determine what is going on. Jim does not remember these and he is fully alert afterward. He has had no deminised brain activity that we know of. He is still alert and fully aware of what is going on. The doctor explained all of this to him and he understood. We probably won't know anything until Monday so don't worry.

Jim had dialysis today and they took 2 liters of fluids off of him. This is compared to the 4 liters they used to take. Small steps.

If anyone would like to send Jim a valentine card his address is: 6150 Edgelake Drive, Sarasota, FL 34240. He enyoys the cards. Thanks, Nancy, Cathy C. and Tom B. for the cards.

There will probably no be a post tomorrow as I am going to Scrap Therapy from 3 until midnight.

Jim was tired today

Jim decided to take the day off and sleep today. He slept through both of my visits today. Don't know if he'll even remember that I was there. The urine test is back and Jim scored an 8. Last week it was a 4 and I know the 8 is better but I do not know much more. I missed the doctors today so I hope to catch up with them tomorrow.

Did mundane things today. Got an oil change in my car and a free car wash. Met with the association president about a proposal I had made. Went to Scrap and Dash and had a good time.

Misty and I went for a good run and now I'm off to bed. See you tomorrow. This is another digital layout of Lucas.

Twice in one day

Well I have to get back to my routine and blog at night before I go to bed. Don't you love this sweet face of Lucas. I just want to hug this little boy. Today he said Hi to me. What joy. And Joshua told me how he is going to the potty now. I told him I was so proud of him and he told his mommy that grandma was proud of him. There is nothing like being a grandma.

Jim is doing fine. They only took a liter out of him in dialysis today because this was all they needed because of his natural output. Nothing on the results yet of the 24 hour urine test. He slept most of the day so I sat with him and watched him sleep. He has a little eye infection so they are giving him drops for this. But all is well right now and I hope it stays that way.

Got a Little Lazy Last Night

Well I got a little lazy last night and didn't blog. I went to bed at 8:30. I don't know what is wrong with me but I just can't seem to get enough sleep. I had a full day and maybe that is why. I saw Jim in the morning, played bridge in the afternoon, saw Jim again and then went to a steak dinner at the club house.

Jim is the same and we are waiting on the results of the 24 hour urine test. He was off the vent for two hours midday and that is good. So progress, slightly.

More tonight. This is my digital page from yesterday.

Superbowl Sunday

I just called the nurse to see if Jim's heart rate went up during the game. She told me a number of the patients had higher heart rates at the end of the game. I guess that backward catch did it for them. I rather enjoyed the game tonight but the commericals just didn't do it for me. Plus we did not win any money. Our squares were 8 NE and 3 G and we were not even close even when the G had a score of 3.

Dr. Liggett is pleased with Jim's progress. She said a month ago we were really worried and now he's looking great. She said she never expected the wounds to heal and that they are. This is really great. His urine output yesterday was 1300 cc's. Wow. Let's hope he doing the cleaning. The 24 hour test started today so we should know something on Tuesday. We've got progress and that is all we can hope for.

I took Misty to the vet today because she was scratching her ears. They were OK but the vet cleaned them out. Then Misty and I went to the hospital and hung out. Jim loves having her there.

The comedy show last night was really fun. My sister did a great job organizing this event and enlisted Mom and I to help her execute last night. A great sucess. Thanks Mom for making dinner tonight. Loved It. This week I am going to try to make a digital layout every day. This week it's going to be about Lucas.

Jim is getting lighter

Jim is losing weight little by little. This is a good thing because he is not losing it fast as many sick people do. He's gradually losing a pound or two a week and the doctor says that this is a good thing. He's about 240 right now.

Kidney doctor is hopeful that the urine test will show some cleansing of the toxins. We can only hope. He's up to about 800 cc's a day. Good.

We are still having trouble with the vent. They are going to try him again after dialysis.

Played with my digital scrapbooking today and came up with this adorable page. You just have to love babies.

I'm off to a comedy show at Camelot East next door. My sister is in charge and she assigned me as the photographer. Hope it cheers me up because I've been a little down today and yesterday. But I'll get it together. Hoping for a 8-3 square win tomorrow.

Happy Anniversary Rick and Heather

Today is Rick and Heather's 4th anniversary. Where does the time go. They are as happy today as they were the day they got married. The both have good jobs, they are building a house and will make it their home. Congratulations to you both on your wonderful life. Did I say I was still thinking pink.

Today I talked with Jim's kidney doctor. He says that his creatin and bun numbers have come down but the GFR is still not good according to Sunday's 24 hour urine test. It is a 5 and that is the point that they put people on dialysis permanently. He is not sure of this though. He says they also look at urine output and they want it to be between 500 and 1000 cc's consistently. Jim has started to do this. Today they backed off on the amount of fluid they are taking off of him in dialysis. He wants to see what Jim does as far as output on his own. Then on Sunday they are going to do another 24 hour urine. If his number improve they will keep watching him. If the numbers do not improve they are going to move the input site to a different position that could possibly be permanent. He's not ready to do this yet so we are hoping for better numbers.

Jim did not tolerate being off the vent today. He was to tired and just wanted to sleep so we let him. I had group therapy today and that is always good for me. Sometimes it's good to find that I am not the only one going through this and that others understand my plight. It was great to talk to Teresa today. She is such a wonderful listener. I love you Teresa. It is always the best to talk to Jack. How can you be sad when that little voice tells you he loves you. I have played the message from Josh 4 times already. It's like he's here. Love you three little boys.

Quiet Day for Jim

Today was kinda of quiet for Jim. He finally let Lori shave him. Wow does he look better. Now you can see the color in his face. We watched TV and just relaxed. Yesterday he did not do very well off the vent but he was fine today for awhile. I think he feels safer off the vent when I am there. Yesterday I was not there when he was off and I think he gets a little scared. I try to tell him he's fine but he gets a little jumpy. WE'll work on that. Wounds are healing and am waiting for a discussion with the kidney doctor.

Today I finally got in and got my hair cut. Went to Scrap and Dash (The green layout) and rode my bicycle. Thanks Mom for dinner. It was great. Nice to see my sister after her cold. Played bingo last night and won a bingo. I've decided that Jackie and Mom play bingo to watch me win. Had a great time making these layouts over the past few days.

Jim's Growing A Beard

Well I think Jim has decided to grow a beard. He has not let them shave him for about 10 days. He said that Mary is not there and he's not going to have a shave until she's back. Mary is a night nurse and was on vacation and came back with a terribe cold so she has not been in and Jim really misses her. I should probably be jealous of this but I'm not because she takes really good care of Jim.

They did a 24 hour urine test today that will be sent in tomorrow and we should have the results on Thursday. Cross your fingers because this test will tell us how Jim's Kidneys are doing. Just the fact that they did the test hoping for a good outcome is huge. He was off of the respirator for the better part of the day today which is good news. We also watched the movie Heartbreak Kid. It was kinda of corney but it's something for Jim to do. I think he liked the Bruce Willis movie better.

Not much else happened today. Rode my bike and walked Misty. Finished some of my layouts that I had half done and are shown above. Also look how big Misty has gotten.

Took some time away from the computer

Had a really good weekend. Spent time with friends. Spent time with family.

Spent time with Misty. And I spent some time with Jim.

Friday night I went to the every other week Scrap Therapy. A group of about 15 women get together and just have a good time chatting and working on our scrapbooks. It's fun and a way to get rid of the frustrations of the week. I made several layouts Friday night. There are more but I can only post so many with each post.

Saturday I went and rented some movies for Jim and I to watch. Wouldn't you know the DVD player stopped working. Just our luck. So we just spent the time together and watched TV. He's doing fine but has some anxiety over being off the vent. They tell me this is natural and soon he will get used to being off. He is off about half of the day. Dialysis continues with Bun at 55 and creatine at 3.1. He is starting to put out some significate urine so they are thinking about doing the 24 hour urine test. This is the test that will determine if he needs to continue on the dialysis. We do have some more challenges. His amputed leg has become bent from lying in bed. They put a splint on it to try to keep it straight but that rubbed a sore so now that is off. Therapy works with it every day and we are keeping a small pillow under the leg to try to straighten it. I also work with this every day to help Jim with this. He also has an eye infection. They are putting drops in his eye. Also Dr. Van Winkle debrieded the shoulder wound. This is almost healed. Other than this all is well. The bright side, his mood is good.

Saturday night I went to a card party at the club house. There were about 150 people there and it was fun to get out. I won a door prize. Dinner at Applebees just down the street. Jackie couldn't come because she has a terrible cold and we are all staying away from her.

Rick and Heather's house is coming along great. I can't believe it is going up so fast. The bathtub

is already in and they are working on the fireplace. It will be done before they know it.

Sunday I went and bought a new DVD player. They are only $29 at Walmart. Prices sure have come down. So today Jim and I watched Live Free Die Hard. He was tired and wanted to sleep so we didn't watch the other movie. We can do that tomorrow. Jim has the TV very loud so his roommate was able to watch the movie too. Jim was fine today with no problems.

I spent the rest of the day just hanging out with Misty. We took two bike rides today. I am going farther and farther each time. My legs hurt a little tonight but it was such a beautiful day I just had to get outside. It was 68 degrees and sunny. This is what Florida is all about. Come see me and I'll share the sunshine.

Maintaining the Status Quo

Just a quick post to let everyone know that things are pretty much the same. All is well. I'm tired and am going to go to bed early.

An Amazing Day

Jim had an amazing day today. They took him off the vent at 11:30 this morning. She said let's try this for a couple of hours. He was talking away about everyday life. He talked to Teresa. We were trying to get Jack to wish him Happy Birthday. He was talking to the nurses. He was just being Jim. I left about 2:00 and went back at 6:00. He was still off the vent. The tech said he's doing great and no reason to put him back on. We called Jack and talked to him and Jim talked to Teresa again. He even held the cell phone himself. How great is this. I just talked to the hospital and they just put him back on CPAP for the night. They want him to get a good night's rest and they believe he will rest better this way.

Next: he peed 450 cc's in a 12 hour nursing shift. This is fantastic. Yesterday it was 300 cc's. The nurses said this is a definite improvement.

Dr. Van Winkle report: (He's the plastic surgeon specializing in wound care) He says that Jim is vastly improved. The hole in Jim's lung used to be the size of a chewed up thumbnail. Now it is about the size of a pin head. This is huge for us. He said the secretions are way down and the entire site is healing. He does not recommend surgery because what we are doing now is working. He wants to continue on the wound vac. He also said the butt wound is doing great and we need to continue the same course. They explained this to Jim and he was really pleased. Jim asked the wound care nurse tonight if he was going to still have a cute butt. I couldn't help but laugh.

Jim is in such a good mood this week. He talked to the priest today and you could just see the hope in his eyes and voice. The priest saw his Notra Dame blanket and tried to steal it from Jim. He said the Irish are keeping him safe.

I know we have a ways to go but I love seeing Jim in this mood so I am going to hope for the best. Especially since he asked me for a coke today. He has not done this for quite awhile.

The photo is of me doing what I love. This is my escape.

Big Day For Jack and Misty -- Birthdays

Happy Birthday to our wonderful grandson Jack. Today Jack is 6 and such a spectacular grandson. Jim and I just love it when he tells us he loves us. Jack is always telling me to give grandpa a great big hug and that makes Jim feel so good. Jack is sensitive, caring and loving plus he is very smart. Right now in his life his favorite things to do are to go to school, play with his Star War toys and to play video games with his daddy. I wish I were there with you Jack. If I were I would give you a great big grandma hug. Love you.

Misty has a birthday also. She is now one year old. As a treat I took her to the dog park today for the first time. She loved it. I kept her in the small dog area but all she wanted to do was to get in there and play with the big dogs. Happy Birthday Misty.

Jim is doing great today. The pulminary doctor said his lungs are great and let's try and get him off the vent. He was off 3 hours this morning before I got there. They only put him back on because he was starting dialysis. The lab work was not back so I don't have those numbers. He loved playing with Misty today and feeding her treats.

We had bingo tonight and I got to yell BINGO. Yeah me. My sister was robbed about four times from yelling bingo. She was oh so close. Mom didn't play with us tonight because she is in the middle of her two day quilt class.

Dr. Says Jim is Doing Well

The doctor said today that Jim is doing great. Still working on the kidney situation. (Forgot to ask about his bun and creatin today so I don't have the numbers. The doctor is going to have Dr. Van Winkle come back in on Friday and check to see how the chest wound is doing and where we are on that. The cutest ear doctor was in today. He was 6-6 and about 32 years old. OK I like cute doctors. He cleaned out Jim's ears and Jim could hear a lot better. His ears were really packed with wax. He also told Jim to do some ear exercises. Jim just looked at him like he was crazy but then the doctor explained. He said that the times Jim is off the vent he should hold his nose and blow. This will eliminate fluid from around his ears. OK we can do that. Speaking of the vent. Jim was off for 2 hours today.

Yesterday I went to a crop and a Tinkering Ink class and we made the cutes little wood valentine box. We also made little love notes to put in the box. As always there was lots of paper left over. In the past I would file all this paper away and essentially forget about it. It never gets used and just takes up space. Tonight I decided to use all of the left over paper. I made these two layouts of my nephew Donald and his girlfriend Holly. I thing they turned out pretty nice. I then threw all of the scraps in the trash. No leftovers and space taken up. So I made one box and two layouts with the materials from the class.

Rode my bicycle today. Man this is going to take work. I am really out of shape. Everyday is a new day and this to will get easier.