Showed up at Suzanne’s room today just after noon and already missed most of the fun, well maybe not fun but progress. She was all smiles and anxious to tell me all that had happened so far this morning. The ‘Grey’s Anatomy Crew’ were in early as usual and anxious to do something, anything, as the breaks have been put on them most of the week; but today, they got to jump in. First, they removed the staples that hold…
Kind of what we expected, an uneventful weekend. Halls were quiet, with no incoming or outgoing patients and the staff was a little more laid back. Suzanne spent the weekend mostly in her easy chair. When I’m visiting from noon till evening, walking is what’s on tap. Starting Friday with a slow walk up and back to the end of the hallway was her limit but today, 4 laps around both wings were the record. We both knew that today…
The protocol for Suzanne’s type of surgery is 48 hours in intensive care. That means 48 hours of intense monitoring of Suzanne. Every hour they check the blood flow in her flap reconstruction, medications & hydration; every two hours they: measure the fluid output of her wound drains, administer pain medication, and every four hours; blood count, plus all the other stuff they are looking at that I don’t even know what it is. I had some comfort in seeing…
There’s a big difference between ‘Killing Time’ and ‘Time Killers’. When you could be productive but choose to do things that just take up time, that becomes a time killer. When you are away from or unable to perform your normal routines or tasks because of the situation, you end up just killing time. Here in Chicago, I’ve been forced into the killing time mode. Waiting 14 hours to hear about Suzanne’s surgery outcome, just killing time. Every morning, waiting…
Calls & texts were the first part of my morning as the inner circle of family and friends wanted to hear a voice. I was unable to visit Suzanne until Noon because my attempt to get an early exemption failed. Amazing how questions in your mind clear after some thoughts. I realized this morning that the fright I saw in Suzanne’s eyes last night is just like a movie plot we have all seen. The patient wakes up after a…
I will use this entry to update all you prayer warriors on events during today. If you subscribe, you will probably only get one email from this initial post so you will have to check the website. I’m hoping to have 2 or maybe 3 more updates as the day progresses. I expect to see one surgeon mid-day but have been told to go back to the hotel and hear from them by phone at the end. I don’t expect…
I just can’t comprehend how much the lives of the Apostles changed in just one day. A man, walking along the seashore stopped and asked these men to follow him, follow him across the lands as his associates. For each one that did, their lives changed that day forever. Mostly fisherman, one day these men were casting their nets into the sea and the next day, they were on a journey that would make history. What moved them to make…
Been to the bank lately? Hope it was to make a deposit. I took Suzanne to the bank today, the voicebank. We are working to have her voice saved in a voicebank in case she is unable to speak in the future. Recording words, phrases, and sentences that can be analyzed and create a virtual voice that sounds like her is the goal. We are working on this from two different directions. First, I have put together a large number…
Here’s a cliche question: What would you choose to eat if you only had about 50 meals left to eat in your life? That’s only 18 days of breakfast, lunch, and supper. Suzanne is facing that exact question before surgery on the 23rd. After that, it’s questionable whether she may ever eat solid foods again. When her surgeon told her to enjoy life on February 4th, food and lots of variation have been on her plate. This is the first…
Today Suzanne was scheduled for her Pre-Op meeting with all those who will be involved with her upcoming surgery next week. No surprises but still informative and a little unsettling. We came up the night before and glad we did. Overnight about 2″ of snow fell in the Chicago area. On top of that, a huge lake effect storm occurred during the day in advance of the winter storm tonight. First up – Reconstruction. This Doctor will be responsible for…