Tuesday Update

 After a kind of difficult night

we had a good day.

Spoiler alert....

They tried to wean him off all

of his pain meds (except Tylenol,

but I don't think that really qualifies...)

and last night his body wasn't having it.

He was in some serious discomfort.

Not quite pain, but vocabulary doesn't

matter when you hurt.

We went to sleep about 8:00.

(Long, boring days...)

By 10 he was squirming around

and needed 2 nurses to reposition

him about every 30 minutes or so.

Then it progressed from squirming

to thrashing, until finally about 1:00

I convinced the nurse he needed 

real pain medicine.

She gave him some Tramadol and said

it would take about 30 minutes to kick in.

Sure enough, about 1:30 he relaxed and

fell asleep.

And lab showed up for a blood draw.

After that, he finally relaxed and went

back to sleep.

And x-ray showed up to do a chest film.

So..... we possibly slept from 2:30 until

about 5:30 (not including the nurse

checks and his oxygen thing coming

out of his nose and causing alarms...)

About 5:30 the nurses came in and put

on his big fancy brace and set him up

in his recliner to be ready for breakfast

to arrive.

He ate a whole scrambled egg and

sausage patty and even some banana.

(I fed him....)

(I ate his oatmeal and the rest of the banana...)

It wore him out!

But he was happy to be out of bed!!!

He brushed his teeth and we tried

to fix his hairs for a picture.

Straight back to sleep.

He lasted in his chair for FIVE HOURS!

PT showed up during that time and

showed me a little about how the brace works.

And then helped him get back into his bed.

Followed by the Trauma Doc who looked

at stuff and hummed and hawwed and said

his platelets were a little low, but it might

be because of the stuff in his lung.

And said he would come back after they

read the chest x-ray.

(Haven't heard from him...)

Another well deserved nap in his bed.

And then another x-ray - this one of his

tummy / bowels just to see...

More napping.

And then about 3:00 I left and went

down to the cafe to have a bowl of soup.

It looked gross.

(Beef barley)

So ordered a Philly Cheese with fries.

It was yummy.

Fresh made there on the grill.

Didn't mess with the bread,

but filled me up.

Back in time for his dinner to arrive.

(Lunch showed up in there somewhere,

but it was meatloaf and mashed potatoes

and he just wasn't interested so the nurse

eventually took it away...)

Everything is SOOO under seasoned.

While at the cafe, I grabbed a BIG

hand full of salt and pepper packets.

We'll see if that helps.

Anyhow.

We ordered a la carte for him for dinner.

They had chicken parm on the menu

and they didn't sound delicious.

So he ordered a baked potato and a

chicken ceasar salad.

He ate about half the potato with sour

cream and salt and pepper,

and then said he ate maybe 6 pieces

of the chicken off the salad.

So I let him eat his vanilla ice cream.

(grin)

And now it's time for another breathing

treatment and then we will probably

see if there is anything on TV.

(Last night we watched the Santa Claus

2 and part of 3, but it's just too

slapstick and manic for hospital viewing.)

Probably sleep.

Which doesn't bode well for tonight.

But what else are you going to do?

I have been reading on my phone.

I downloaded a couple more novels

on my kindle unlimited app.

But he doesn't like to read.

So he just sleeps.

What I look like most of the time.

Except at night when I add 2 more

blankets and a hot pink touque.

He fed HIMSELF dinner while I did

some computer work.

I cancelled Friday night's class and then

went ahead and cancelled everything else

for the year, but needed to do last week's

attendance roster.

And a blog.

So we are all caught up.

Thank you, again, for all the prayers!

We are doing well.

Might move to a ward room in the next

24 hours or so.

And then, depending on how he does,

rehab next.

Where and what that entails remains a mystery.

Surprise is good, right?

(Nobody I talk to here knows anything...)

Monday Already???

 We had a tough night last night.

They tried a new opioid to help

with pain and he didn't react well....

Woke from a sound sleep and

didn't know who I was, or where

we were. He thought we were 

on a boat. (?)

Once I convinced him we were 

in a hospital, he wondered if it

was a boat hospital.

He didn't know why he was here.

He just knew he was in a lot of pain.

He has a very high pain threshold,

says his pain level is 1 or 2.

Even after having surgery hours earlier.

But he was like a little child,

trying to rock and moaning and

just not himself.

We finally put a lidocaine patch

on the site of the chest tube to

numb it and thankfully that helped.

He went back to sleep and woke 2

hours later for his usual check and was fine.

Whew!

That was intense!

He has no memory of it.

Today was full of progression steps!

We got permission to remove the

surgical drain from his back, which I'm

sure increased his comfort level.

(Also took out his catheter ... another 

huge milestone!)

Next PT and OT showed up to fit him

for a brace. I was imagining a big white

plastic turtle shell looking thing.

Nope.

Looks like a bullet proof vest

a police office might wear.

Not super comfy, but he looks cool.

They got him up in his walker for a minute.

His BP dipped, but not as drastically as

yesterday. He was able to take a few steps

and then they got him situated in a

recliner to eat his lunch!

It felt good to sit up!

But totally wore him out.

He's been napping off and on

since then.

He's running a slight fever now,

no sign of infection or pneumonia though.

So we are just keeping an eye on it.

I'll update again later when there is

something to tell.

Oh, yeah, we spoke to the trauma 

surgeon and it's a definite no go on

the rib surgery. Also there's a chip

out of his RIGHT hip???

Who knows.

Anyhow, they aren't doing anything

about that either.

Sunday Update

Wow, it's been a hot minute.

The patient is finally sleeping,

so I'm going to grab a second and

update what's been happening. 

Let me start with the excellent care we

are receiving.

These people are the BEST.

Friday we were on "standby" for surgery.

But since it's not life threatening,

we kept getting pushed for other

trauma cases that were more urgent.

They finally came and got him around

1:00. I visited with Kyle on the phone

for a little bit and then dashed to the

local WalMart (13 minutes away) to get

my thyroid pills, a hat to wear in here,

a traveling neck brace so I can sleep and

not kink my neck, and some fun slippers

to keep my feet warm. 

(And be able to take my boots off...)

When I got back to our room there was a

surprise from Jim & Sabrina.

They are beautiful and cheerful and

go a long way to make our room

more pleasant.

Thank you guys!!!

The doctor came to see me after surgery

and said he had VERY strong bones which

is why they didn't just turn to mush when

he landed on them.

He had no difficulty at all attaching

6 screws (3 per side) to stabilize

his lower back.

He said he would need to wear a brace

for a first while, but foresees a full recovery.

That was EXCELLENT news.

Then, the trauma team got together and

decided it would be best to put off any

further surgery until at least Monday to

give his body a chance to recover a bit.

We had a good dinner and were both

exhausted and asleep by about 8:00.

There were LOTS of visits in the night.

They drew blood twice, and Rod got

really really hot at one point and

started taking everything off.

Including his oxygen, oximeter,

and ECG leads. Not to mention

his hospital gown.

The thermometer said his temp was 

normal, so we put everything back on

him, gave him some more meds and

put him back to sleep.

(He took his oxygen off many many

more times... a continuing issue.

I just put it back on TWICE...)

In the morning we got another shift

change, (last night's nurse, Devin, was

AMAZING and so patient with him!)

We got Lexi back again.

Another outstanding nurse.

She used a different thermometer that

showed he had 103 temp.

The other one was still showing normal.

So she got an old fashioned one and yup,

he has a fever.

It was a busy morning.

There were respiratory treatments (every

4 hours all day), chest x-rays,

CT scan of his chest and abdomen,

visits from the trauma doc,

the hospitalist, the social worker,

and umpteen nurses.

Also they continually dropped off

bottles of Ensure and meals for him to

sleep through.

(He DID eat some of his breakfast. 

Bacon makes EVERYTHING better...)

It was decided that they probably are NOT

going to do surgery on his ribs.

And then the PT guy (who said he has been

talking to a gazillion doctors on Rod's behalf,

trying to convince them to let him in...)

he showed up, a good guy, big, burly,

NO NONSENSE.

He said he was going to help Rod get out

of bed for the first time.

Rod was so excited he took everything off

again so he could put pants on and go home.

No, we are just walking 3 feet to the door.

Poor guy, he was so deflated.

But he was anxious to do at least that much.

We had to keep holding him back.

We did manage to get him standing,

but as you can see from his face,

it wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

His BP plummeted, 86/60.

His oxygen dropped to the 70's.

And he was VERY unstable.

So we let him stand, walk 1 step forward,

1 step back, and 2 steps sideways in

each direction and that was enough.

They will build on that each day.

Right after that, the trauma doc showed up

again with the news that his CT showed

some blood in his lung cavity.

There was some originally, and a bit more

now than before, so they had decided

a chest tube was the best course of action.

I left.

(They also tested for Covid, but I never heard

anything more, so it was negative I guess...)

More drugs following the chest tube,

so then he was loopy and ready to nap.

But dinner showed up.

He actually ate a good bit of the stew.

Said it was delicious.

And then 2 more brethren from the local

ward arrived to administer the sacrament.

A long time member,Jim, and a new(ish) member

Wesley, who just recently received his endowments.

It was his first time administering the

sacrament, as well as his first time

doing the annointing.

And then Jim gave Rod another outstanding

blessing.

VERY confidently promised he would

heal completely, the doctors and staff

would find themselves performing their 

duties beyond their normal abilities

and he would heal completely.

The Lord has work left for him to do.

Very similar to the blessing he received

on Friday.

He checked on our needs - he was requested

to report back to the Bishop.

I imagine in the coming days I'll need a

place to grab a shower.

But for now I'm fine doing what we are doing.

After that I tidied up the room a little.

We have quite the campground going on.

Then I ate his lunch.

And replaced his oxygen a few more times.

We turned on a movie, but he fell

asleep so I turned it off.

And now he's snoozing.

Getting expert at the breathing treatments.

I'll try to keep these current.

I'm sending mass texts each morning and

when there are major updates...

but you can check here as well.

Thank you everyone for all the thoughts,

prayers, texts, emails and well wishes.

He feels so loved and cared for.

We love you!

Craziest Thursday EVER

It started with me 

CUTTING MY OWN HAIR.

Yes, I did.

There's a "viral" YouTube all over

the place of people doing the

"butterfly" cut.

Basically you split your hair in half.

The front (just behind the ears and forward)

and the back (everything else)

You put them both in very specific

pony tails and then cut.

Yup, just one, straight cut.

I happened on a video made by a

60-ish year old woman with

hair very similar to mine.

I watched it.

And then I did it.

There are no pictures.

But I like it.

In fact, I actually did it Wednesday

and then I cut more from the back

on Thursday.

I still want to take off more from the back.

But I'm a little busy right now.

I like it though.

Although I then stuck it in a ponytail

and haven't seen it since.

Then a quick run into Hays to Tractor Supply

to get some shavings for the chicken coops

since the forecast is for COLD this weekend

and it helps keep them warm.

Then to WalMart to pick up two 9x13 pans

I forgot to get on Tuesday.

I'm supposed to make 2 pans of funeral

potatoes for the ward party Saturday.

Also a box of ice cream sandwiches

and a couple pies.

Then to the church to help decorate for

the ward party.

It was a fiasco.

We had a whole bunch of lights the

town of WaKeeney threw out since this

was their BIG event and they wanted all new.

But they all worked.....

We strung them width-wise across the gym.

We tested them before we hung them.

But when we hooked them all together,

they wouldn't work.

So we took them all down again.

And swagged them down the long walls

with some pine garland.

It actually looked really pretty.

But took the whole time we had allotted.

So I left and went to Dollar Tree to get

some gift stuff.

And then I ran out to the farm to check 

on the guy's progress.

It was a glorious day!

In the high 70's with a light wind.

When I got there, I put the sandwiches in

the freezer and the pies on top.

The back neighbors were finally harvesting

their corn and it looked so pretty!

So I hopped on the 4-wheeler and headed 

to the back of the property for pictures.

I don't often take pictures from the back.

You can't really see how the land dips

and rises... there's a hidden valley

in that dark line.

The light was that flat / glowy light

just prior to sunset.

Wish my camera on my phone was better.

He was getting it done.

When I got back, they were on the roof,

laying peel and stick underlayment.

They only had 2 rows left to do.

It was looking GREAT!

I headed inside to think about Kyle's idea

to flip flop the kitchen and living room.

(I eventually veto-ed it...)

And about that time I heard some LOUD 

thumping across the roof above me and

Kyle started screaming CALL 911!

CALL THE AMBULANCE!

He took one last step on the roof,

but there wasn't any roof there.

And down he went.

They sent a crew to help us out.

Some really kind women.

Thankfully a second (third) truck showed

up with a bunch of burly guys.

Lifting him onto the gurney without

hurting him more than they did was a chore.

Off to the little hospital in Hill City.

Where a doctor and another crew of 

wonderful women took such good care of him.

They did an x-ray and said good news,

nothing is broken.

But he has a little umbilical hernia.

And then they ran a CT scan just to be sure.

And every time the doctor came back

in the room, the news changed.

Actually he broke a couple ribs

on the left side.

And then... ok, he broke all the ribs on the

front and a couple ribs in the back.

And then.... all the ribs on the front and

most of the ribs in the back,

AND looks like L4 is crushed.

And then.... nope, all the vertebrae from

L1 thru L5 are crushed.

We can send him to Hays.

Nope.

He's going to Salina.

(2 hours east.)

Nope.

He's going by helicopter to Wichita.

(225 miles south east.)

Once the decision was made,

it didn't take long for the crew to arrive to

whisk him away.

I headed to the house to grab a go-bag

with enough clothes for me for a week

and "come home" clothes for him.

(Except I forgot socks and underwear for him...)

Stopped to fill my fuel tank,

and hit the road.

I called everybody and updated them all

on what was going on.

(In addition to the phone calls while we

were at the hospital...)

Last call was to Nancy and, bless her!

She stuck with me for the entire drive!

Which was good, because Google decided

to send me on all two-lane roads.

I call them "Bob's Road". 

I nearly got side-swiped by a huge

owl just flyin' along in the dark.

(uh, hello, HEAD LIGHTS...)

And a little later a deer hopped out

in front of me.

She followed me along on her

Google Maps on her computer and

helped me know where I was going

and that I was actually going to arrive

at Wichita at some point.

Phew!

I finally pulled into the hospital

(via a back alley - really Google???)

about 1:30.

Thank you Nancy!

Took another 30 minutes to figure out

the right way to park and how to get

in the building, but eventually I figured

it out and got to rejoin my husband!

There were nurses in and out all night

long and he was pretty uncomfortable.

Mostly his mouth was SUPER dry and

they were under strict orders

NOTHING by mouth in case of surgery.

Poor guy.

He was half out of it and just mumbling

"water... water... please water..."

Broke my heart.

Finally this morning he fell asleep about 5:30.

They took him for an MRI at 4-ish so I 

grabbed a 40 minute nap.

A resident came in about 8 and said no

surgery today so OK to food and drink.

YEA!!!!

That helped him feel much better.

They also got a better handle on his

pain meds (oxy, tramadol, gabba....?)

and tylenol.

Once he was more comfortable,

he mostly slept the entire day.

He'll poke me for sharing this picture,

but this is my record of what happens in our lives.

And this was what was happening.

Things got REAL busy about noon.

The surgeon came in to talk about the plan

for surgery tomorrow (different surgeon)

and explained the options for his ribs.

After the back surgery, once it was stabilized

and they could move him a little more,

they would decide.

His ribs aren't just broken and pushed up

against each other like two fists,

they are split and on different levels.

They "may" heal on their own, or they

may need to open him up and pull

them together and screw a titanium plate

over the top to hold them in place.

That could happen Sunday.

This guy would do it.

Anyhow....

About that time, lunch showed up.

And 2 minutes later, the respiratory guy

for a breathing treatment,

and right after that, two brethren from the

local ward to give us each a blessing.

They were very encouraging blessings

and I'm feeling pretty good about it all.

It's going to be a long haul.

But we can do it.

So, they just came in and turned him again.

PAINFUL.

I ordered him a ham sandwich to eat

for dinner. (hard to eat laying flat...)

The breathing guy comes again at 8.

And the patient is sleeping again.

(They just gave him more meds...)

So...

that's the latest!

I'll try to keep everyone updated.

We have gotten LOTS of calls and texts

from friends and family.

We appreciate being in people's thoughts

and prayers.

Love you all!

ALL the Walls.....

 We all know Kyle is a BEAST.

But I wasn't really expecting him to

have ALL the walls done today!

Standing in the living room, looking at the 

master to the right,

closet (and bathroom behind it) in the middle,

guest bath and closet to the left.

And a peak of the prep room.....

He's really good at framing!

He said it was a TIGHT fit,

so ALL the walls are "load bearing".

Not intentionally, but that's good

for the roof!

So, tomorrow morning I'll run out there

and we will decide where we want

outlets and lights so they can figure

out wiring (how much to buy...).

They are still working on the roof.

Tomorrow is supposed to be 72 degrees!

So they will be up there.

I have to run into Hays in the afternoon.

We are setting up for the Ward Christmas

Party on Saturday.

Need to get all the tables set up and decorations

and whatnot.

Anyhow.

I'M SOOOOOO excited!

It's coming together!

This part goes quickly, and then it

slows way down again.

You gotta do all the "behind the scenes"

stuff, like putting in the wiring.

And then the insulation.

And then the drywall.

But before all that we need to get our

electrician to come out and run the

power from the pole to the breaker box.

And then I think we will buy a pellet stove

and put it in (temporarily) and make sure

it will actually heat the house.

(Well, we will have to put in the tile under

and behind it, but we aren't going to wait until

the house is all done to put it in.)

1. We want to make sure it will heat the house.

(The one we picked out heats DOUBLE our

square footage, so I'm pretty confident.)

2. We want to USE it! (grin)

Anyhow.

That's the current update!

WEEEEEEEEE!!

Window Clings

 At $0.47 each, I'm a little

tiny bit obsessed.

Good thing they only

have 4 to choose from...

Grin.

I slipped over to Gibsons Pharmacy

this morning and grabbed

one more.

It's hard to see in the camera

because there's stuff in the yard

behind it,

but it says "Snowman COLD"

and there's a gingerbread house,

a gingerbread man, a train

and some random ornaments.

Then I pulled the Merry Christmas,

Happy Holidays and Santa in his sleigh

off the front door cuz you can't see

it behind the big door.

I hung a cute little ornament on the door instead.

This is our backdoor.

And, of course, I have our snowmen on

the window above the sink.

Our kitchen is SO FESTIVE!

I'll probably leave the snowmen and

gingerbread guy up for the winter

since it brings some fun color into the house.

It's fun!

And they were so inexpensive!

If I had windows in the new house,

I would probably put them up there too.... lol.

Building Update

 I taught over the weekend.

So today was the first day I got to

head back out to the farm.

I have a hard time getting into the

house because we are using a little

step-stool thing and it's not really

tall enough to get in the door.

This is an old picture, but that's the

little stubby stool we are using.

Anyhow.

I'm not as flexible or agile as I used to be.

So today, I went out to walk around inside

and check out how Kyle has it all laid out

and make "final" decisions.

(We moved the washer/dryer out of the

bathroom and into the office closet...)

And then, after he watched me struggle

to get in and out using that silly step stool thing.....

We made some STEPS!

(Should have done THAT a few weeks ago!)

They are just temporary,

but they work and are a HUGE improvement!

And then Kyle got busy and started

on Wall #1.

(And Kyle brought the little step stool inside...)

It worked GREAT for getting him up

where he needed to be to plumb the wall.

This is the "pantry wall" in the new prep room.

The wall between the prep and the

mud room.

It was SOOOO exciting!!!!!

I had to leave at 3 to get ready to teach.

And, of course, he kept on working.

Houston, we have a prep room!!!!

I can't tell you how exciting this is!

The wall you are looking at will have

a counter inside the room with open

shelving under it, to store all my

various pressure canners, pressure

cookers, steam canners, etc etc etc.

Then on the side closest to us, it will

be kitchen. That wall has the fridge,

(right next to the door into the prep room)

counter, and stove.

Tomorrow is Hays Day, so I'm not sure any

building will happen, but I imagine by

the end of the week we will have lots more walls.

(There really aren't very many...)

In case you haven't seen it lately.

Top left is the prep room....

Ok.

Just finished teaching.

Need to go take care of Rod and Beau.

And get some sleep.....

NITE!