A Very Full Saturday!

 Wow.

What a day.

One of those where you look back and think,

was that TODAY?

You know, a week ago this morning...

(I say that to my students

ALL. THE. TIME.)

We had a relatively good sleep.

Interrupted every 2 hours

but good deep sleep between.

The x-ray tech and the 1st year

surgery resident showed up at

the same time this morning.

(5:30 am. Seriously?)

He hung around long enough to

take a peak at the x-ray and

said "I'm NOT the radiologist,

but this looks pretty good to me!"

The chest tube is still in.

And, to the best of my knowledge,

is still on suction.

Nobody else came by today regarding that.

So... maybe tomorrow?

Then the nurse came in and we asked

if she would be interested in taking

us for a walk after hooking up his

new calcium drip.

She said let's do it before!

So we strapped into his fancy

turtle shell and off we went.

Rod and his favorite (so far) nurse,

Daphne.

She was AMAZING.

Listened to him tell his entire story.

And asked questions and encouraged him

to tell more and more.

They are busy.

They don't have time to stand and chat.

But she made time.

She was the SWEETEST.

In true Buffaloe style, they had to go 

further than the day before.

You can't even SEE them all the way

down there at the VEEEERY end of the hall.

Trust me, they are there....

After some challenging math,

(converting his steps into feet, into yards,

into miles)

we are pretty sure he did 1/4 mile.

She even posed for a selfie!

And then she brought him a self-cleaning

shampoo cap for his 9 days since

shampooing hair.

It was pretty nifty, looks and feel better

and even smells nice!

(For future reference...)

Room service brought him a hamburger

and roasted potatoes and 

HE ATE HALF!

All that exercise is GOOD!

And then..... a serious NAP.

After a bit, today's Physical Therapy lady

showed up and gave me some excellent

tips for his turtle shell.

And then we hit the road again.

Once again, you gotta do MORE than before,

so back allllllll the way down the hall,

then to the room, but instead of turning

into the room, he just kept on going,

into the cancer ward at the other

end of the hall.

All - in - all we think we did about

1/3 mile on that one!

(No picture this time, I was handling

the IV pole... not enough hands...)

Another good nap.

And while he was sleeping, I slipped out

to WalMart to get some essentials.

You know.

Dry shampoo.

The cap thing was nifty, but left his

hair still kind of greasy feeling...

Socks to go in his shoes.

Undies.

And some fun slippers!

I'll take pictures tomorrow on our walk.

I also got some Arnica gel.

His knees have been aching at night

and the staff want to give him major

pain killers. I'd like to save the big guns

for big issues. (Like a 3 hour drive home?)

So instead we've been putting arnica

on them and that seems to help.

Once I got back, we had a nice visit

with the doctor in charge of medicine

(like ... drugs...)

and we talked about the possibility of

... medicating... him BEFORE the trip.

She said ABSOLUTELY!

And she might just tuck an extra one

in his pocket...

 (I'm sure she was joking.)

(maybe)

He took another nap and I ran back

out to the car because I left my phone

charger out there and wanted to get it.

This is such a cool old hospital.

This is part of the LOONG hall heading

down to the parking garage.

All those cases are filled with

historical medical stuff.

It's fascinating!

Back up to find Rod awake and HUNGRY!

So I went down to the cafe and got him

a slice of PIZZA! He didn't eat much,

but at least he ATE!

(And I was also starving, after just

not being hungry all week... I had

a cheeseburger and onion rings...)

YUM.

There is this really beautiful, old Catholic

cathedral that it looks like they built the

hospital around. It's hiding in the court yard.

If you didn't know it was there,

you wouldn't know it was there.

Some stunning stained glass!

Absolutely gorgeous at night!

All the wall art is beautiful,

but this one is directly outside the ICU door.

It brought me such peace!

I still tear up when I look at it.

It was such a frightening time and experience

and just that reminder every time I went

out those doors that we are being watched over.

Both by God and by trained professionals

who have devoted their lives to saving others.

The first night here, (Friday) I was in the

little lounge just inside ICU, with my computer,

welcoming each student as they logged on for

the evening review class and explaining that

I was cancelling class.

There were a few I just said I was cancelling,

but there are a couple who have been with me

for some time and we have a relationship.

For those, I gave them a little of the story.

A woman and man came in and sat for a bit.

As they got up to leave,

she apologized, said she didn't mean to listen in,

but felt I could benefit from a gift.

She pulled this out of her pocket and

handed it to me.

It's been in my pocket ever since.

Kind of like Grandpa's red marble.

This has been an experience.

Not one I would like to repeat.

But there have been so many learning 

and growing moments.

I am grateful.

A Little TOO Optomistic

 Our surgeon came in this morning

and apologized about a million times

for making promises he couldn't keep.

We totally understand.

You sometimes step forward 

and you sometimes step backward.

But it's not a problem, really.

Because waiting for his chest tube

to finish its job has also allowed a little

time for us to clear up his digestion issues.

His belly was bloated, uncomfortable,

and he was sure he would never feel better.

And now, we can't seem to turn it off.

Hahahaha.

Glad he's in a bed, with handy nurses

who are "happy" to make him comfortable

as many times as it takes.

Instead of in our car on a 3-hour drive.

Even when it looks like a set-back,

Heavenly Father has a plan.

We just have to be patient and go for the ride.

Speaking of steps...

Helloooooooooo.

Is that YOU waaaaaay down there?

The PT and OT (and intern) took him for

"a little walk".

I walked it later, using his step-sizes.

THREE HUNDRED AND TWELVE STEPS!

Yesterday when he was walking,

it was mostly an old man shuffle.

Today he was taking actual steps.

I am so proud of him!

Getting up out of bed or off his chair

is going SO well!

His arms and legs are regaining strength

and remembering their jobs.

Getting back into bed isn't fun.

There's just no way to go from sitting

to laying down without violating some

aspect of the good ol' BLT.

(No Bending, Lifting, Twisting)

It's more of a side flop.

Which is super fun with 12 broken ribs.

Pain shoots from 0 to 100.

But it's over quickly.

As soon as he's laying flat again,

he's back to very low pain levels.

All he needs is a kiss and a sip of water.

We were hoping to go for a walk while

the plumbing seems to be cooperating,

but they hooked him to a new IV (after

bringing in the specialist because they couldn't

find any more veins... yesterday they even

brought in a "fish finder / vein finder" thing...)

The IV guy brought in an ultrasound but

didn't need it.

Anyhow... 2 hours on a calcium glycinate (?)

drip and THEN he can go for a walk.

Anyhow.

They are now saying after looking at his

dawn x-ray today (hello... SLEEPING HERE!)

that there's still some gunk in there and

although his lung looks better, it's

still slightly collapsed. Taking a little

extra time to fill in all the little holes.

So another day on the chest tube on suction mode.

But rehab facilities don't take new patients

on the weekends, so it will be at least

Monday before we transfer.

I'm not happy, but not sad either.

I really want to be in Hays and closer

to home and family (real and ward),

but there is something to be said for being

here with doctors and nurses, even when

they want to take blood and do x-rays

at the most ridiculous hours.

The days are long and boring.

But today he discovered the Hallmark

channel on his TV. 

So things are looking up.

Cautiously Optimistic....

 Only because of conflicting information

from the various medical staff.....

We had the surgeon in earlier.

We are taking the chest tube out

today and have been approved for

HaysMed Rehab (30 miles from home)

as early as tomorrow!

Then the resident came in and said

his chest tube was situated wonky

(they just did another CT scan...)

and he was here to reposition it a bit.

I asked if they were taking it out today.

Nope.

Possibly tomorrow.

Ok....... either way, it's coming OUT.

And, according to all my medical friends

(nearly half the ward works at HaysMed

in some capacity or other...)

getting the chest tube out will take care

of the majority of his pain.

Which is awesome, because he isn't in any.

But it IS uncomfortable having it 

hanging out of his body.

I just reached out to the local Bishop.

He is arranging for someone to bring him

some sweatpants and a zippered hoodie

for the trip HOME.

(The ER gave us a goodie bag including a

$20 Walmart gift card, so I told him we would

just give it to whomever brings the clothes.)

Their ward shouldn't need to pay for this.

We were just looking at the clock.

It has been almost EXACTLY one week

since the accident.

I'm AMAZED at the progress he has made.

MY view from his window.

Unfortunately, his bed is at the wrong angle,

so he can only see the side of the building.

But at least we are getting a little natural light

which is helping reset his circadian rhythm.

He was all messed up between day and night.

He has a LOT of stuff.

The big black thing in the chair is his

fancy chest protector.

Anyhow.

We are still praying constantly and

expecting the best possible outcome.

And who knows...

he might just get to sing...

"I'll be HOME for Christmas!"

(I'll count Hays as home if I have to!)

Even MORE Wednesday News!

 Woot!

We MOVED!

We can now be found in the 

Taj Mahal of hospital rooms.

If you just happen to find yourself

in Wichita KS in the next few days,

look us up!

St Francis Hospital

929 St Francis

Wichita KS 67214

Room 7054.

It used to be a double, but they

renovated it into a private room.

And it is ALL OURS!

On the very far wall is a closet to 

stash stuff in.

And a couch that makes into a bed.

Then there is his bed and all his

medical equipment.

On this end (you can't see) there is a little

cubby with a sink and more closets.

And a FULL BATHROOM with

a shower!

He got to get out of bed again this

afternoon and actually use the

bathroom for the first time in FOREVER.

He had a great visit with his VERY

motivated and enthusiastic

respiratory tech that included a couple

of different types of homework assignments

to help expand his lungs and get

him out of here faster.

After all the excitement, he took a nap

and I went down to the car to get rid

of some things I won't need anymore.

Like my neck brace.

No more sleeping in a chair!

And then I stopped by the cafe and

picked up a Philly Cheese and Fries.

Ate it in the room while Rod snoozed.

They brought up some beef tips and

roasted carrots.

He said it was actually pretty good and

although he didn't eat all of it,

he ate more than he has been.

So that's also good.

And I'm making him drink his Ensures.

Gotta keep that protein up!

Just did his final official breathing treatment of

the evening and now I'm going to run

take a quick shower before his nurse comes

for his 9:00 pills and eye drops.

(I'm still having him do his homework

breathing every 30 minutes if he's awake.)

Our tech is off tomorrow.

We want to blow him away

(see what I did there)

when he comes back on Friday!

******************************

YOUR homework assignment.

(should you choose to accept it...)

We are now very specifically praying

that he will be accepted at the

HAYS MED REHAB CENTER.

The only other option is Garden City

which is 2+ hours to our south.

Which, obviously, we will do it we have to.

But, boy, being in Hays would be so much better.

Unfortunately there is no

inpatient rehab in WaKeeney.

Wednesday PROGRESS!

 There's good news,

great news,

and ... not as good (but not bad) news.

First....

we got him up today with his walker

intending to take his first real steps.

So far he has shuffled from the bed

over to the chair and back.

Like 4 steps.

So the plan was to walk to the door of

his room, turn and walk back.

But he just didn't stop.

Eventually made a lap around the unit!

We had a "chase car" with a wheel chair

on standby behind him, but he didn't need it.

After, I re-walked the route and came up

with 84 steps! Of course, his were probably

smaller so maybe more like 100 steps for him!

Amazing progress!!!

And although he's tired, he's rarin' to do it

again this afternoon after a little nap.

Other good news, the trauma doc just

stopped in. His lungs look pretty good,

but there is still too much drainage, so not

removing the chest tube just yet.

And his lower abdomen and plumbing 

is just sitting there.

Kidneys are working fine, but miralax

3x daily and colace and several other things

aren't getting things moving.

So we might need more drastic measures.

Walking should help a little though.

AND

they are going to try to kick us out

of ICU at some point today.

The hospital is fairly full, so it will

depend on when an appropriate bed

comes open, but possibly today.

(They were watching to make sure his

breathing improved and he's getting

better every day in that department...)

That means a bigger room,

a bigger window (he's SO confused

if it's day or night since there is only

one little window and a military time

clock on the wall.) A bigger window

will give him a better idea of what's

going on out there in the big world.

Fewer nurses, but we try not to be "needy"

anyway, so probably won't notice

much of a difference there.

After that, they will start applying for a 

bed in an inpatient rehab center.

Fingers crossed for something in Hays.

But whatever we need to do.

So.... we are moving forward.

Slowly.

But the tortoise won the race.

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!