Weekend Plans

Lots going on today as I get my menu for the week prepped and from that my grocery list. Jim and I will go shopping later (Kroger and Lehr's) and who knows, maybe we'll go out to lunch. We'll see. 

Tonight we're going out to dinner with Doug and Lauren. They came over yesterday afternoon for a beer and we tried to come up with somewhere to go but no one could agree on a place. Lauren doesn't eat meat so it's hard sometimes. I suggested Cooper's Hawk (they have a huge menu) but that didn't get a very warm reception. We always end up going somewhere Asian and that gets old. Lauren's main suggestions yesterday were a Japanese place nearby or a Thai place nearby. 

The left bridge is the new one. The one on
 the right will, I'm sure be demolished.
They also put in a rotary. The bike trail goes
under the bridge. 

I'm so excited!!! The King Ave. bridge project in Warren County is nearly complete and open!!! They still have a "punch list" to complete but it is open to traffic. It's been closed since last school school year which has been the cause of many a headache for me as I go home from work. This is the route I normally take but with it closed, I've been forced to take the highway most days and the highway is stupid at 3:00. It looks pretty awesome from the videos I've seen and I'm sure the brewery that's there (Cartridge) is ecstatic! I know they've lost a lot of income with the bridge down. It almost makes me excited for when I go back to work! Woot! 

Other weekend plans: I'm not sure what we'll do Saturday but Sunday, New Year's Eve, Jim and I will do our usual. Nothing. I'll make a nice dinner of filet mignon, twice baked potatoes and asparagus. Monday I'll make our good luck pork and sauerkraut. It's going to be weekend full of good food, that's for sure. 

So here's something weird: We got a delivery from Amazon yesterday and it had Jim's name on the package. Inside was a pretty nice drone. We have no idea who it's from. I'm guessing it's from either Fritz (Jim's brother) or Les (Jim's good friend in SF). I looked it up and it wasn't cheap...just over $200. Interesting, huh? 

Okay well, time to walk the boys and then finish my routine. I did a really good yoga this morning to help my hips. They've been so tight lately. They cramp up and it's annoying. Hopefully this will help. 

K - happy Friday! Happy weekend. Be safe on New Year's Eve. I'll try to remember to post Monday. Later!

Sucky Neighbors

Yesterday got me so hyped up because my neighbors up the street suck ass! These are the ones that have the German Shepherds - 1 male, 1 female. In the past, they used to have them on an "electric collar" in the front yard but after too many times of them coming out, getting loose and causing mayhem with other dogs, they now only let them out in the backyard. Unfortunately (as I found out later) the husband, Nick, isn't very responsible and in the past week, the female has gotten out 4 times. Yesterday being one of them...as I was trying to come home with Boo. I saw her running around so stopped up the street and called Jim. Of course he didn't have his phone on him so it took about 5 phone calls before he finally picked up. (I also messaged the wife, Brittni but she didn't get the message until later.) So fucking pissed! 

Later, as I was walking Scout, she responded. Of course she apologized and told me that it was Nick who is the real problem. He apparently lets the dogs out and then doesn't pay attention when they've been out too long and start to wander. She is then the one who hears all the complaints and he thinks everything is hunky dorie. She then gave me his number and told me to "give him hell!" I do plan on texting him but need to word it in a way that isn't totally confrontational but still stern. 

There are a couple issues at play here. I understand that Lily (the shepherd that keeps getting loose) is nice but Boo isn't. If she comes up to us Boo's going to lose his mind and if there's a fight, Boo's going to lose...his life. The other issue is that up the street there's a neighbor who got 2 years in prison for killing, shooting, another neighbor's dog who got loose. He's served his time and is back. Who's to say that he doesn't do the same thing again when Lily comes by...and maybe this time he claims "self-defense"? There are many other issues I haven't mentioned (the dog gets hit, stolen, etc.) but the main one is, Why the hell does this keep happening!? Why are you such a douche!? I can't tell you how nerve-wracking it is for me to walk Boo. Ugh!

Here's something weird: Last night I had a dream about Akira, Maggie's best friend from Mercy. I don't really remember the dream, just that she was in town and getting treatment for breast cancer (she's been dealing with issues in her real life of late). My point is, when I got up this morning and was drinking my coffee, the first posting on Facebook was from Akira. She hardly ever posts. I think that's weird. 

Jim and I have plans today (or tomorrow?) to go out with Doug and Lauren. I'd made these plans last week and forgot. Oops. We'll go out to dinner (not sure where yet) and then probably come back and play cards. They both took the week off from work. If we don't go out to dinner tonight I'll make a chicken dish for dinner. Maybe apricot chicken in the instant pot. I haven't made that in a while. 

Jim and I also need to get to Lehr's to purchase our filets for New Year's Eve dinner. Maybe we'll wait until tomorrow to do that. We'll see how Jim feels. 

Not much else is happening. I'm going to try and walk the boys before I get on the elliptical and try to beat the rain. Which means I should get going. Happy Thursday! Later!

Putting This Out There

I was perusing IG this morning and saw a meme that said, "This is the time of year when everyone forgets what day it is." Ain't that the truth. It really screwed me up that Christmas was on a Monday which meant that our garbage day (which is usually on Monday) moved to Tuesday so when I brought in the cans yesterday, I thought it was Monday. I mean, first world problems, right? Especially since I've got another week and a half off! Woot!

So yeah, it's Wednesday. Four weeks ago right now, they were taking Jimmy back to crack open his chest. I know I keep putting that out there but I'm just so happy he did so well and continues to do well. We even went out last night for Mexican and Jimmy had a strawberry daquiri! (Which, by the way was $13!!! WTF!? It was a medium too. I mean, how much is the large?) Anyway...here's hoping that things continue in the direction they're going for him. 

In other health news, Mom is struggling. She's very weak and having aches and pains. Part of the issues I'm convinced stem from the fact that she's not eating which I believe stem from anxiety. I'm sorry I'm putting this all out there (not sure Mom even reads this anymore) but we've all talked and talked and talked to her about this and she's not doing what needs doing to help herself. I'm pretty sure the last time she went to the doc and told them she has trouble eating, they gave her meds to help with that but she won't take them. When I looked up "symptoms of anxiety in the elderly", here are the things that came up which she seems to be manifesting: 

• Muscle tension (she started having these weird aches and pains while here)
• Confusion 
• Eye and vision problems
• Digestion problems
• Memory loss
• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Excessive worry
• Difficulty controlling feelings

There were more symptoms and I could've put a checkmark next to nearly all of them. Anyway - she called Maggie at 7:00 this morning telling her she thought she should go to the hospital. I'm sure they'll do tests to ensure there isn't an underlying problem but I really think it's a vicious cycle she gets wrapped up in. She was anxious about coming down for Christmas because of the cats and then she started getting nervous and not eating (although she did eat while here...I made sure...just not a lot and not yesterday before she left), which leads to her feeling weak and unstable on her feet and then she gets nauseous because she's got nothing in her system and has been taking "pain pills" on an empty stomach which can't help. I hope this is what it is and they give her something to try alleviate all this angst. But the real thing that needs to happen is she starts taking better care of herself. 

Plans today: I've got nothing. We'll probably just hang here. I'll get my laundry done and make pork tenderloin for dinner with, probably rice and green beans. Something easy. 

And that's all I've got for not. Happy Wednesday. Later!

Better Late Than Never?

Well, as you can see/read, I forgot to post yesterday and I nearly forgot today. Part of the problem yesterday was that A) It was Christmas B) I was busy C) We had a guest here and D) My computer was upstairs so, you know, out of sight, out of mind. But here I am, ready to thrill you with my weekend/Christmas update. 

It's been a very lovely and whirlwindy last few days. Lets start with Friday. 

Friday: Doug and Lauren came over after Jimmy and I had dinner and we exchanged the gifts we'd gotten each other and then played cards. They got us the most amazing gift; the Nut Bar shown. As you may or may not know, we have a little picnic bench that we have attached to a tree outside in front of our front deck. In the summer, we top it with a corn cob and enjoy watching the squirrel chow down. I'm so excited to put this together and see what happens. I hope we have a bar full of squirrels frequenting the Hanke "watering hole" every day! Jim will have to make an additional sign that says either "Hanke's Nut Bar" or "Titties Nut Bar". (We named our squirrel Titties...it's a long story.)

Saturday: Jim and I hung around most of the day, cleaning and getting things ready for Christmas Eve, until it was time to leave for Rafferty's. Most of the family (except Steve and Max) met up for dinner and it was lovely! Once home, with Mom in tow, we sat down for a glass of wine before bed.

Sunday, Christmas Eve: The family was coming over, starting at 4:00 so most of my day consisted of getting things ready. We had a lovely time and I ended up with a yummy bottle of Limoncello after our "White Elephant" alcohol give away. Dinner was delicious (Brunswick stew), dessert was delicious (brownies and Graeters) and it was so nice to be able to resume Christmas Eve at our house (last year was cancelled due to the blizzard). We even got to do our annual after dinner fart walk! 

Monday, Christmas: Jim and I got up, opened presents (me, candles, a new wallet and some other stuff; Jim, lots of clothes) and then ate our breakfast casserole. We headed over to Raeburn around 1:00. I decided to make my salad over there and in the midst of doing that, I clogged the kitchen sink. This resulted in Charlie and I working for about an hour and a half, trying to unclog it, which meant taking the sink apart scratching our heads a lot. In the end, we managed and all was fine. But boy am I a pain in the ass. Dinner was delicious (prime rib, mashers, green beans etc.) and we were home around 9:00. 

Mom and company left this morning and Jim and I are now getting ready to exercise our fingers (playing Megatouch) at Shooters. Jim wants Mexican for dinner so no cooking for me tonight. 

K - I'm out. Time to get out there and relax. Later!

Cleaning Frenzy

Today will be the mass clean of my house. I've done a lot already but today I'll finish up today. Jim's been assigned his jobs (toilets, cleaning the nose prints off the windows, dusting) and the goal is to finish before noon. Why? Because if we don't go to Shooters today, we won't get a chance until AFTER Christmas and that's just too long for Jim's liking. We'll have lunch there and play a little Megatouch. 

In addition, I'll get all my school work finished up. I got all my progress reports done (I have one I need to wait on because the Speech teacher needs to put her comments in on my one speech student) so I'll send those off and then I need to share IEPs with teachers who will have new students in their semester classes starting in January. This means I also need to check schedules. I'm going to TRY to get my first day of class into Google Classroom so I won't be scrambling on January 8th when I head back to class. But we're not going to think about that day and risk sinking into a depression. 

Last night was, as usual, delicious! Recall, Jim and I went out to Mint. We shared a sushi roll (spicy tuna dynamite roll) and then each went off our normal course and neither of us are a bit sorry. Normally I get the tofu pad Thai and Jim gets Pad See Ew (with beef). Last night I got the tofu royale (lots of veggies) and Jim got Bulgogi (a Korean beef dish that comes out on a sizzling skillet). Jim's smelled so good that the table next to ours had to ask what it was and then the two men got the same. I tasted it and it was amazing! Mine was amazing as well. They do tofu really well...crispy. I love that place. 

I was just attacked and skippity papped by Boo. He is such a demanding little devil! He obviously thinks it's time for him to get a stick. I tried to hold out because I don't want him being such a dictator (I always tell him, "I'M the momma! I decide! Not you!") but he went to his daddy this morning and started skippity papping his arm (he's been so good about not jumping on Jimmy) which led to Jim giving Boo his way. I love him (Boo) so much! (I love Jim too...just to clarify.)

As I mentioned yesterday, dinner tonight will be the soup and fixin's that my cousins and aunt from Cleveland sent us. Did I mention that the meal also came with a ladle? So cute. 

Tomorrow, the Egberts and Mom will drive down to Cincinnati. The Egberts will stay with Trip and family while Mom will be here. We'll all meet up at Rafferty's for dinner, including Anne and fam as well as Dad, Becky and Cullen, I believe. Christmas Eve will be here (last year was cancelled due to the blizzard) and then Christmas as usual at Raeburn. So excited for it all! 

Okay well, time to get on the elliptical. Afterwards, I'll start my cleaning and then walk the boys after the suns up and it warms up a bit. Although after the last few days in the 20s, I'm sure it will seem downright balmy this morning. Happy Friday!!! Later! (BTW - I'll try to remember to post on Monday but it will be Christmas and you know...I might be preoccupied.) 

Feeling The Love!

I've got lots of jobs to do today, mainly because I didn't do all I was supposed to do yesterday. Don't get me wrong, I was very productive but I put some stuff off to finish other stuff. I did get all my gift shopping done and I finished up all my wrapping. I also started on my cleaning; putting shit away that was laying around; wiping down all the kitchen cabinets; laundry. Today, however will be the big clean, hopefully with a little bit of Jim's help. 

I put off getting all my school shit done. I did enter my 5th period ELA grades but I didn't touch my progress reports. I'll do that today. My final class will take their semester exam this morning and once that's done, I'll only need to enter those grades and post them, which should take too terribly long. 

Last night, I was sitting around the family room watching TV when the dogs all of a sudden got ramped up thinking they heard something. I got up and didn't see anything...no dogs walking; no deer; no cats up to no good; no leaf blowing across the yard. I was walking back to the couch when I spied a something on the front porch. I opened the door and there was a huge box from a place called "Spoonful of Comfort". Opening it, I found the feast you see here from my Cleveland family! How nice and unexpected. I immediately texted them saying thank you. I also told them it almost makes me want to root for the Browns and I would if they weren't in competition with our Bengals. I threw them a "Who Dey" and a "Down with the Dawgs!" (I was going to have tomato soup and grilled cheese for dinner tomorrow but it looks like I'll have other plans! So excited!)

Speaking of dinner, I offered to Jim a night out and he chose Mint Bistro, a nearby Asian fusion restaurant that we love. Can't wait. 

And that's about all I've got. Time to get my exercise shit done so I can get my other shit done and then relax. Happy Thursday! Later!

Too Early

I woke up at 4:30 this morning and then started thinking about things I needed to do and gifts I still needed to get and then of course I couldn't fall back to sleep. So here I am, figuring things out and developing an annoying headache. Add to that, Jim got up as well, he's talking to me and it's no wonder my headache just keeps getting worse and worse. He's watching the news, as he does, and he thinks that just because I'm sitting here too, I'm listening; I'm not. He then gets into a news item and starts commenting on it and I'm all, "I'm not listening and have no idea what you're talking about." I should have a button on my head that I can just press and that statement comes out because besides, "I love you", I've probably said that to Jim more than anything else. 

Can you tell that things are pretty much back to normal here at the Hanke household?

Speaking of which, can you believe it was 3 weeks ago today, right this second, that Jim was at the hospital getting ready to be cut wide open!? So crazy! Time is flying! 

Yesterday, by the way, I kicked some serious ass! I was out the door at 9:00 and back home, having visited Costco, Target and Aldi by 10:30. That's pretty freaking awesome. I also managed to make and "bake" a whole batch of French cakes in less than 2 hours. Bam! Muir is a fucking wonder! I also got half my progress reports done (the transition portion, which means nothing to most of you) and entered grades for my government class. On fire!

So for the holidays and Christmas Eve, I still need to go to Kroger and do my final shop, which I think I'll do either Thursday or Friday. I also need to make the Brunswick stew and brownies. Of course I have to clean but I'll do a little bit of that each day, hopefully with Jim's help. I still have a few gifts to wrap and then I just have to wait for Sunday to do my final things. 

Jim's been trying to help around the house. He's done some straightening up in the garage and started to prepare the luminary bags for Christmas Eve. He also dusted the other day. Every day he's doing more and more. 

Dinner tonight: I think I'll do a chicken dish...something with mushrooms (Maggie is jealous) with a veggie and probably rice. Exciting, huh?

And that's about all I've got. My headache is fading so I guess I'll go do some yoga. Happy Wednesday! Later!

Lots To Do

I have a lot to do today including:

• IEP progress reports
• Costco run
• Target run
• Aldi run

I still haven't made my lists for all this so when I finish here I'll start that. I anticipate a lot of money leaving my bank account and a lot of patience leaving my system. I'm hoping it's not too terribly crowded out there but with only 5 days until Christmas I think my hopes are circling the drain. 

I've already done my yoga and will do my ellipticizing after this but the dogs are going to have to wait until later. First because I want to get to Costco when it opens and second because it's freaking freezing out there. My weather person said the wind chill is around 10. Yowza! My poor piggies can't take that. 

Dinner tonight: Cobb salad.

This morning when I got up, Jim was in his recliner. I asked him if he slept and he told me that since Sunday he's had some "kidney pain". He plans on calling the doc to see about getting that checked out. He had a urinalysis a week ago and all was clear. I know that "kidney pain" can often be confused with back pain and considering he's not been getting solid and consistent sleep in our Tempur-pedic bed and has been relying on the recliner this to me makes more sense as the culprit. But...Jim, you do you...better safe than sorry, I guess.

I managed to get a lot of work done yesterday and now just need to enter exam grades as kids take them (everyone in my 1st bell passed yesterday and even passed the quarter/semester!!!). Other than that and progress reports, I'll also be writing a couple IEPs for January. 

Oh, and damn! I need to make French cakes. The work never ends. Well, at least I have plenty of time to get it all done. Speaking of which, tomorrow I'll start cleaning. I'm hoping Jim can help a little bit...dusting maybe? 

Okay - happy Tuesday! Later!

Wind & Snow

I don't think we're going to get much snow but the winds are going to kick up to some pretty strong gusts. As we all know I'm not a fan of the wind. With all these trees, it makes me a ball of nerves but I'm hoping to stay busy today and hopefully that will distract me. We'll see.

The weekend was good. Jim and I went out to lunch on Friday at Shooters and then just had leftovers. Saturday we hunkered down here at home and watched football. Who Dey!!! Those Bengals made me so happy although I suffered a few heart attacks on the way to the W. I'll take it though. Saturday night I made the baked ziti that Maggie brought me when she was down and it was DEEEELICIOUS! Bonus, there's a ton of it so I'll be noshing on that for a while! (Jim had it for dinner again last night.)

Sunday was all football after a jaunt to Shooters. First we watched the Browns. I didn't not want them to win but alas, the damn Bears couldn't get it together. After that we watched the Cowboys v. Bills. I hate the Cowboys (Jerry Jones is a douche) so was thrilled that they couldn't figure their shit out. They were a train wreck. They always seem to fall apart at the end of the season. They are a very healthy team too. I don't get it but I'm fine with it. (I'm sure Jerry Jones will fire the head coach here soon.) I didn't watch the 8 pm game (I was tired) but I do believe Jim stayed up for it. I see the Ravens won...not surprised but that works for the Bengals in their hunt for the playoffs. 

Oh man that wind is fierce out there. It's sort of freaking me out. Settle down Muir, it's not even that strong yet. Ugh! Haha! I'm actually not hearing the wind, it's the garbage truck. Well, that's a relief. 

So my plan today is to get some work done. It's exam week so I need to finish up grading from last week along with completing my reading comprehension goal tracking and then start my progress reports. My goal is to get all this done by Friday so I can send off my reports and then enjoy my vacation. I've already done my yoga this morning and after this I'll get on the elliptical. I need to walk the boys as soon as it's light because the weather is going to turn around 10 am. After that I'll be getting school shit done. 

I was doing my yoga this morning and Boo was such a little devil. He kept coming up to me while I was in downward dog or in pigeon pose to smother me with kisses and paw at my face. Part of the problem was Scout was in the bedroom snoozing with Jimmy and the door closed. If he'd had access to his brother, he would have bothered him. The other problem is that I've created a beast who has expectations and when they aren't met at the exact moment when Boo wants them, he gets all up in my business. At the time I was doing yoga, Boo was ready for his stick and it didn't matter that I was trying to be all Zen. Maybe next time I should close the door where I am. 

Dinner tonight: I'm going to pull a soup of some sort from the freezer. Not sure which one. Jim said he wanted something like a minestrone. I'll have to see what I have. 

Speaking of Jim, he's doing well. He's been increasing his walking every day and seems to be feeling well. He's still getting headaches but they seem to be less frequent than last week. The doc did say that with the kind of stress the body went through during surgery, opening up his chest and stretching out his ribs, it can leave a patient with a sore upper chest and neck for a while. He's been using heating pads and taking Tylenol but sometimes he has to get up in the middle of the night to sit in his chair until it goes away. He managed Saturday night to sleep all night in bed but not last night. It will get better, I'm sure. 

Okay well, time to finish up my exercise. Happy Monday! Later!

Finally Friday!

Not that I really care about what day it is right now, considering I'm not currently working but it means I'm one day closer to a mimosa! Woot! 

Jim's appointment yesterday with Dr. L went exactly as we'd hoped. His blood work is showing that it's starting to normalize and the doctor is thrilled with how Jim looks, feels and is progressing. In fact, he said that as long as I give the okay, he can start driving. I think he should wait a week and Jim feels the same way. No need to rush but I'll certainly need him to be my designated on Christmas. It's all about me. Anyway, Jim will go for a CT and an echo in three weeks and the following week, he'll see Dr. L, hopefully for the last time. After that, Jim will be his cardiologists problem. What a relief! 

Jim keeps proving what I keep saying about him. He's a dumb ass! Ha! Just kidding (kind of). We were watching the weather and he got all confused with the graphics. It was showing the "Today, Saturday, Sunday" weather with a Bengals "B" on Saturday (since they play then). Jim thought it was a graphic just for Saturday and that they'd moved the game time. I explained what it really was saying but he didn't believe me, so I said, "Rewind it." Jim said, "Ooh, she's throwing in the red flag!" He rewound and proved that once again, he was wrong, I was right and he's a dumb ass. Burn! (I revel in this only because usually Jim is right in these cases." 

So after Jim's appointment yesterday we took a little trip to Agave and Rye for lunch. It was delicious. I didn't think Jim would want to go because he seemed a little moody and listless but I think the news from the doc gave him a little boost. I'm glad we went. 

For dinner last night I made a curry ramen and man oh man was it scrumptious! After lunch, it was nice to have a vegan meal. It was very filling and I certainly didn't miss the meat. Loves me some sugar snap peas. Dinner tonight, by the way will be walnut chicken. This is a recipe that I got from Susan and it's so yummy. 

What else? Oh, Jim told me yesterday that his finger needs exercise so I think we'll go to Shooters for lunch and Megatouch. He's really coming along. I wonder when he'll feel up to some cards with the neighbors? I figure if needed we could always set the card table up in front of his recliner so he'll be comfortable. 

Not much else is planned for the day or the weekend. I'll do some work today and email parents; walk the boys, do my elliptical. Clean. The usual. 

Guess that's all. Happy Friday! Later!

Post-Op Appointment

Today we see the doctor for Jim's post-op appointment. I haven't laid eyes on him since we met in October when he told us what exactly was wrong with Jim. Of course Jim saw him every day in the hospital but he rounded around 7:00 so I was never there. 

Anyway, our appointment is at 10:00 (moved from 10:20) but before that happens, Jim will need to get his blood work done and a chest X-ray. Fingers crossed that everything is trending in the right direction. I keep having this thought that we go there and the doc doesn't like what he sees and he makes Jim go back into the hospital. That would really suck. 

Jim's been doing fine. Yesterday he seemed very tired and sluggish but he said it was because all day he either had a headache or felt on the verge of a headache. I'm hoping that was just a fluke. Last night, however, was the first night he spent all night in bed. We went up around 8:00 and minus an hour when he came down to sit in his chair waiting for Tylenol to take affect, he stayed there until 6:00. 

Other plans for today: Depending on how Jim feels after his apartment, we might go out for lunch. We talked about The Pub (which is near the hospital) or Agave and Rye in Hyde Park. Or maybe we'll just come home and lunch here. I don't care either way. 

Dinner tonight: I'll either make Walnut Chicken or Vegan Curry Ramen. Either one is delicious...I'll let Jim decide but whatever we don't have tonight I'll make tomorrow. The best part about both meals? The sugar snap peas. Yum!

Yesterday I got all caught up on my grading. Of course there are several students who are missing things but I did what I could do. Other than the exam in Government, I'm done with grading there. For ELA, the kids have 2 chapters left in the book before they work on the exam review. Woot. Today after we get home from the doc, I'll email parents with a grade update (I'm sure that's going to be a shit show) and then I'll start doing what I can for my progress reports. 

Oh, good news on Doug and Lauren's daughter, Naomi. They met with the head of dermatology at Children's along with an oncologist and they said that the issue she's got with the mycosis Fungoides is common with patients receiving Humira, which she does for Crohn's disease. They'll meet with her GI doc next week. They said that the priority is the inside rather than the outside so most likely they'll continue with the Humira and treat the MF as it occurs. Though it's not optimal, they were able to breathe a bit. 

Okay, time to finish my routine before getting in the shower. We need to be out the door by 8:30 which means I need to light a fire under Jim's ass. Happy Thursday. 

Death By Wasabi

For a few days there I would walk out to the garage and it smelled like death. I mentioned it to Jim when he got home and he said to check the potatoes and onions. I did, but they were fine. I said, "There's a dead something out there. Who knows where?" And then the smell went away. I forgot about it. Fast forward to yesterday. Jim took one of his walks around the island and when he came back he spied his bag of wasabi covered almonds and so he picked it up to dig in for a nibble. Instead, he found the culprit of the smell. Apparently, mice don't fare well with wasabi. I can only imagine the hell that poor mouse went through when he dug in thinking he'd struck the mother load and then his head "exploded" from the wasabi bomb that went off. Heart attack? Who knows but now you know: Wasabi kills mice. 

In Jimmy news: We headed down yesterday to the hospital to first, have his blood drawn and then to meet with Dr. Locher's nurse practitioner. His WBC is down slightly (from 17 to 14.3) but that's nothing different from what was happening in the hospital. Now, this could be from the antibiotics that Jim's on or maybe it's just the same thing that was happening before. We'll know more tomorrow. (Oh and we also heard that Dr. L did NOT want Jim released last Friday. He wanted him to stay another night and was pissed. I can't say that I'm mad. I mean, like the doctor who released Jim said, what would he be doing differently in the hospital v. home?) 

The plans for today: NONE!!! Where we thought we would have to go down to get his blood drawn again today, we don't! Woot! Instead, we'll head down for his scheduled appointment with Dr. L tomorrow and prior to that Jim will have another blood draw as well as a chest x-ray. Fingers crossed that things are continuing to improve. In terms of his weight, BP, heart rate and temp, all is good there. 

After we finished up with the NP yesterday Jim decided he wanted to go see Trip at Rafferty's...so we did and it was delicious! It was nice to get out and bonus, Jim didn't seem too worn out from the outing. He even walked several laps in the circle last evening. The goal for today is 2 laps three times unless he feels good and then he could increase to 3 laps. 

When we got home from lunch, Jim went up to lie down and I made French cakes. Originally, I was only going to make a couple dozen but it was going so smoothly and I was on a roll so I got the whole mix done! I'll probably make one more batch before Christmas just to make sure those in need/want have some to take home. 

Dinner tonight will be the turkey sloppy joes I was going to do yesterday. I decided last night to heat up the leftover beef stroganoff. (It was better the second time around.) 

Plans today: I need to go to the grocery for a red bell pepper and a couple other things and I might just head up to Deerfield and make a stop at Half Price Books. I'm running low on things to read (hard copies that is) and figured, Why the hell not? I think Jim will be okay on his own for a few. If not, I'll put it off. 

And that's all I've got. I'm going to go hop on the elliptical and then probably walk the dogs, depending on the temps. Yesterday when I walked it was so freaking cold and my fingers were so sad. 

K - happy Wednesday! Later! 

Little Hiccup

We've had a slight hiccup in Jim's progress but nothing too major. We ended up having to drive down to Ft. Thomas for blood work yesterday morning and the results showed that once again, Jim's white blood cell count was elevated. Since surgery, it's been above normal; it will go up (to say 15) then go down (to say, 13.6) then back up. Yesterday's results showed that it was back up to 17. So, they prescribed Jim antibiotics (I wondered when he was in the hospital why they didn't do this) and we now have to go down to KY for more blood work this morning and then an appointment with the nurse practitioner. We'll have to go back down on Wednesday and then Thursday is Jim's post-op appointment with Dr. Locher. I mean, it's not ideal but at least he's not in the hospital. 

BTW - all other vitals for Jim (weight, heart rate, temp and blood pressure) are all in the normal range and he's feeling good. He's getting pretty good sleep and he's eating well. Hopefully these antibiotics will flip the switch for his blood work. Fingers crossed. 

So plans today: After I finish this I'll go up and ellipticize. Once I'm done, I'm hoping the sun is up enough to walk the boys. I'll then shower and we'll head down to KY. We need to get his blood work done about an hour prior to his appointment which is at 11:00. From there we'll come home and have lunch. Dinner tonight will be WW turkey sloppy joes, cole slaw and fries. I'm sure at some point I'll do some school work and then read my book. 

Speaking of which, I'm reading a really good book: Annie's Ghosts by Steve Luxenberg. It's about the author's mother, Beth Luxenberg who told everyone, during her adult life that she was an only child. Six months after her death, her secret came out and it had a name: Annie, Beth's younger sister. The book explores the repugnant history in the U.S. for how people with mental and physical disabilities used to be treated and worse, hidden...for decades in institutes. It's really good. I found it on my shelf and have no memory buying the book. 

And that's about all I've got. Today, I'm lucky enough to be missing a Professional Development day for the sped department on how to write goals. I mean, I can't tell you how badly that annoys me. If I can't write a goal after nearly 24 years as a sped teacher, having written, probably thousands of goals, I should be fired. Can you say waste of time? I'm sure if I were not on leave, I'd have called in sick. I just can't stand these meetings that are so off base in giving us what we actually need. 

K - happy Tuesday. Later! 

Jim's Killing It!

This time last week...but lets not live in the past. Especially when the weekend was so good. Once we got past Friday's snafu, that is. So here's the rundown of what happened with Jimmy upon his release. 

On Friday, Jim finally got sprung from the hospital around 3:30. On the way home, we stopped at Kroger to pick up his 6 prescriptions. One of the prescriptions (his pain killer) wasn't approved by insurance so they were going to have to do a little song and dance before they could fill it. (I mean, how stupid! They approve open heart surgery but not the pain killer for his cracked chest!? Dumb.) It didn't really matter, however, because Jim had some tramadol left from another surgery or something. 

So we get home (the dogs were great), get Jim settled and I set about sorting his pills into a pill organizer thing and see that one of his prescriptions wasn't filled. Ugh! So I go BACK to the pharmacy and pick it up. (They had the tramadol at that point.) I then come home, we eat, watch TV for a bit, and then I put Jim to bed. Ultimately, he stayed there for about 2 hours and then came down to sleep in his chair. He slept well and woke up around 5:30. He even fed the dogs and let me sleep until 6:00. 

After coffee etc., I took all of Jim's vitals (we have to track them for a couple weeks). Temp was good; weight was good; BP was HIGH although his pulse was good. So I check it again (maybe the reading was wrong). Still high. Then I look at his meds and realize that the prescription for his BP, which we'd picked up the night before was wrong. It was supposed to be metoprolol, 75 mg. Instead, they gave us 25 mg. So I call the on call doc who eventually calls back and I explain the issue. He tells me to just give Jim the other 50 mg. So I do. Well, a bit later, the nurse practitioner calls and say, "Uh oh". See, the 25 mg is an extended release and basically Jim got triple the dose. It really wasn't too big a deal, I just had to monitor his BP through the day and ensure his systolic didn't go above 150. It didn't. 

The other part of this debacle was the fact that Kroger fucked up and then when I went to Kroger AGAIN on Saturday to get the correct med, they didn't have it. So then I had to wait until 3:00 and go to a different Kroger to get the freaking med. I was so annoyed. But in the end, it all got figured out and Jim's BP and heart rate have been great since.

In terms of Jim's progress, he really is killing it. He's been doing his walking (twice, he did two loops around the island yesterday); he's been sleeping well (he starts in bed and eventually moves to his chair...so thankful for his chair!) and he's been eating well. I can't tell you how relieved I am that he's home but more than that, he's not in much pain. I think he's only had to take a pain killer once a day. That's pretty amazing. 

So plans today: Jim will call the doc's office to see if they need us to go down and get labs done. His white blood cell count was still high on Friday and they may want to monitor that. If we do have to go down, we'll go after I finish all my exercise stuff. Once we're home (if we have to leave) I'm going to get back to work. I need to do some grading, check my students' grades and email parents. I also have a couple IEPs I'd like to crank out for meetings I have in January. I also need to start working on progress reports. I'll have plenty of time this week to work on those things.

And finally, dinner tonight will be creamy bean and kielbasa soup. It's one of my favorites. Yummy! 

K - well, I guess I'll go get on the elliptical. Happy Monday! Later!

Of Course

Of course I get Jim home, the overnight goes well; he slept like a champ (in his chair) and woke up feeling refreshed and happy. Everything seemed to be going well but then - BAM - wonkiness. I took Jim's blood pressure and it was pretty elevated (148/83). This after a low-normal reading when he left the hospital. I told Jim to chill for about an hour and then took it again. It was even higher (156/80). At the same time I was doing this, I was portioning out his meds and saw that one of them - the blood pressure med - wasn't the right dosage. They apparently changed it from 25 mg to 75 mg twice daily and the pharmacy filled it as 25 mg. This means that when he took the med last night before bed, it wasn't the correct dosage (I think) and same with this morning. I've got a call in to the on call doc but haven't heard back yet. 

I mean, of course, right? Here I am thinking, How nice not to have to go to the hospital today! How nice to have nothing to do except take care of Jimmy AT HOME!!! And now everything is up in the air. I'm trying to keep my mind on track for sanity and not wig out. Jim feels fine and is doing well but WHY HASN'T THIS FUCKING DOCOTOR CALLED ME BACK YET!?!? Calm down Muir...it's fine. He's okay. We'll get this riddled out. And if he has to get back to the hospital...all will be well.

Okay well, I guess I'll sit and wait for the doc to call back. I mean, it's been 10 minutes...what the hell!? Jaysus! Come on dude!

Okay - just talked to him. I don't know who fucked up - St. E's or Kroger. I'm going to walk Boo and then come back and check Jim's BP. Fingers crossed! I don't need this stress. I see a hot bubble bath in my future. 

Nervous

I'm not nervous about Jim coming home. I'm nervous after having read his chart this morning that he won't get to come home today. This is all Kyle's fault (Jim's night nurse). Apparently he saw overnight that Jim had a rhythm change so he ordered an EKG. Before they were able to obtain, however, Jim's rhythm went back to normal. Maybe Jim was right (I know, seems impossible) and Kyle really is a dope. The really sucky thing is that Dr. Locher is off today and so the decision to release Jim is going to be up to someone other than his doctor. How DARE he take 3-day weekend! (JK) Jim was assured that the doctor who will see him is well aware of Jim's history and how his hospital stay has gone. Plus, his other doctor involved in his a fib (Dr. Hays) is probably the one who will really decide on his release. We'll see. Fingers crossed. 

BTW - Jim straightened up and was flying right by the time I got to the hospital yesterday. I was worried he was going to be a real pill but he'd eaten and then showered when I got there and he was fine. He also snoozed a bit while I was there and that helped. When he called me later before bed, he said he was tired and felt like he would sleep. Hopefully Kyle didn't fuck that up. We'll see when I talk to him. After I finish here I'll text him and see how it went overnight. 

I decided yesterday that I deserved a little treat. So, after I fed the boys, around 5:00 I went to Shooters. I played my game, had a couple beers then got take-out and brought it home for dinner. It was nice to get out but I was preoccupied. Plus, Megatouch is HARD without two people when you're playing Word Safari (word search) and Photo Hunt. I guess Jim's good for something. 

So it's Friday which means I'll only walk the boys and do my elliptical today. The sun won't come up for an hour or so though so. 

OH!!! I had heard that Snoop Dogg was going to quit smoking (pot) but I just saw the commercial which started that "rumor". He's advertising those smokeless fire pit thingys. Funny! I knew it couldn't be true but I thought Well, maybe he's going to just take gummies instead. Now I know. Haha!

I'm not sure if I'll post over the weekend. If Jim comes home, I won't. So fingers crossed you don't read anything until Monday. 

My plans for the weekend: Nothing except ensuring Jim's all good (assuming he comes home). We'll order pizza tonight (if he comes home) and tomorrow I'll make him Beef Stroganoff. 

K - best mosey. Happy Friday! Later!

In A State

BTW - if you didn't read my update yesterday, I posted after my original post. 

Jim's in rare form this morning. I don't know if it's because he's now a week and a day into his hospital stay and has battle fatigue or the fact that he says he hasn't slept since when he last woke up yesterday at 4 AM. Regardless, when I talked to him this morning I must've said, "Settle down" about 15 times. 

When we started talking I asked him why he hadn't slept. He said he didn't know but he'd taken a sleep aid and a pain pill last night and it just never worked. I asked him if something was on his mind (other than all the obvious recent shit) and he said he didn't know but maybe it had to do with news we got yesterday about Doug and Lauren's daughter (more on that in a minute). I said, "Well, we talked about that and if it is what they say it is, she's in pretty good shape." I was just trying to remind him of our discussion and set his mind at ease but of course he went slightly off the rails. He was all, "I DON'T KNOW MUIR!!! I'M JUST ANSWERING YOUR QUESTION!!!" That was my first "settle down". He told me I sounded like his niece whom he talked to yesterday. He said she was telling him something about issues she's having with her boyfriend and he (Jim) got all fired up and she had to tell him to "settle down" multiple times. (I can only imagine.) 

After several more "settle downs" I said, "They've been giving you your Lexapro, right?" (His depression/anxiety med. This was a mistake on my part...I should've just looked at the notes on Mychart.) Well, that then sent him down a rabbit hole complaining about his night nurse, Kyle. (He doesn't like Kyle. Who knows why?) He said Kyle sent him into an anxiety episode because, according to Jim, "Kyle must not read the nurse's notes." Apparently Kyle wasn't aware of Jim taking Lexapro so then Jim started thinking, "Have they not been giving me my Lexapro?!" He of course started getting agitated again so I said, "Jim, settle down. It wouldn't be in Kyle's orders to give you that med since it's given in the morning so it's a reasonable he wouldn't necessarily know." 

In the end, I said, "Go order breakfast, eat, try to rest and I'll be there later." He then proceeded to tell me he wanted his contact lenses and saline solution. I asked if those items were in his bathroom and then of course he had to tell me where they were, which drawer (there are only two) and then described what the saline solution bottles looked like as though I'd never seen them before. I mean, I must be some kind of dumb ass. But I let him ramble on and kept my cool and DIDN'T say "settle down". 

I sure hope he gets out of there soon! I don't know anything as of yet since Dr. Locher hasn't been in yet. 

So the Doug and Lauren news: A couple months ago, their youngest daughter, Naomi, had a rash of some sort behind her ear. Lauren described it as like impetigo. They went and had her checked out, swabbed it and sent off a sample. It took two months for results to come back. As of now, they're saying she has what's called mycosis fungoides which is a form of lymphoma. They think she's in the "patch phase" which is one of the earlier phases and can be treated with topical meds, however, there is no cure. I mean, can this family catch a break!? It's still early in the possible diagnosis so things are still very much up in the air. The next step for them is a dermatologist. They haven't told Naomi yet and I don't know how they'll handle that but Jaysus! That poor girl.

Plans for the day: I've done my yoga and in a bit I'll walk the dogs (just need it to get a little lighter out). I'll probably shower then and head down to the hospital for a few hours. Last night I made a couple baked potatoes and I'll have that for lunch down there. Dinner: Who knows? I keep saying I'm going to go to Shooters for a beer and MegaTouch but I haven't done that yet. Maybe I'll do that for dinner. Give myself a little treat. Don't tell Jim. We'll see though. 

Oh, happy and safe travels to Maggie and Charlie today who are headed to North Carolina. Have a great weekend! 

K - time to get myself ready to walk. It's still 32 degrees but getting into the 50s today. Happy Thursday. Fingers crossed Jimmy gets some good news today! Later!

No Homecoming

Update: Jim's not getting out of the hospital and probably won't be coming home until the weekend. The issue is that though his white blood cell count is coming down but it needs to come down more. Additionally, he's had a low-grade fever that they want to make sure isn't anything. His heart irregularity is also something they want to make sure is under control. Basically, the doc wants to send him home when they can nearly guarantee he won't come back. Considering that's happened to Jim before, he gets it. I get it and as Jim told Dr. Locher, "I ain't mad at you." Personally, though I'm disappointed, I'd prefer he stay in the hospital a couple more days rather than come home too soon and something happen that we didn't understand and I'd/he'd either A) freak out or B) not recognize as concerning which would leave us with bigger problems. 

Reading the docs notes, here are the major points:

• Home when heart rate is more controlled
• On Plavix (replaces aspirin regimen) for 3 months
• Adjusting to beta blocker
• The fix on his heart is stable

And that's it for now. I've walked the boys and will now get on the elliptical. I'm not in a hurry to get down to the hospital but I should be there by lunch. 

Later! 

Homecoming?

Jim is finally out of ICU. We weren't sure if he'd be moved or not (sometimes people are just discharged from there). They had a couple cases coming in yesterday and needed the bed.  Since Jim was top of the totem he got to graduate to the heart floor! Patients only stay there for 24-48 hours so fingers crossed he gets released today. I'll know more once Dr. Locher makes his rounds and determines if Jim is ready. 

My visit with Jim yesterday was really good. He had all his stuff out (except his IJ line - the line in his jugular), got sleep overnight and was, in fact, awake through my whole visit. Kind of messed up my "work" plans but I'm okay with that. (They eventually took his IJ line out but that happened after I left as did his move to the heart floor.)

When Jim called to facetime me last night, his hospital voice (flat monotone voice) was gone and he sounded so energetic. I'm so ready for him to be home and I know he is as well. He's already told me he wants Beef Stroganoff for dinner. I told him that he's the menu maker for the next little while since his appetite isn't quite what it usually is and he's had to eat hospital food for the last week. (Well, 5 days since he didn't eat for the first 2 days.) He talked about taking a shower last night but I don't know if that was going to happen. No matter, when he gets to come home he'll take a nice shower in his own bathroom and I'm sure it will be lovely! Excited for him. I just hope it happens today. 

So my plans for the day: I'll wait to hear from Jim about Dr. Locher's visit. If he's going to get discharged, I kind of expect it to happen later in the day, which means I'll probably head over there a little later than usual. Normally I get there around 10 or so. I just don't want to be there late with the boys home and waiting for me. I'll walk them after I finish this and once the sun rises then I'll do yoga and if there's time I'll do the elliptical. 

Ooh, I just looked at Jim's chart and the "Day at a Glance" for today has no overnight plans! That's a good sign for discharge! Fingers crossed. I'll try not to get too amped up in case it doesn't happen. But even if it doesn't happen today, it will tomorrow! 

I woke up this morning at 6:00 and my first thought was, This time last week we were at the hospital getting Jim prepped for surgery. What a great place to be now. A week post-op with Jim doing well, about to come home, on the other side of this crazy whirlwind we've been living in and hopefully a bit of a break from health issues. {Knock on wood} 

In other news (how nice to have something else to talk about) I watched Family Switch, the new Netflix Christmas movie with Jennifer Garner. It was really cute! I told Jim about it (JG is his girl) and he's excited to watch it. Bonus it has a cute dog in it as well. 

Okay well, I'm going to go get ready to walk. I also need to fold Jim's laundry and change the sheets. Happy Wednesday! Fingers crossed for Jim coming home! Later!

Progress!

I know that Jim's been making progress every day but yesterday was huge. He finally got his chest tube out along with his A&V wires, catheter and the IV line in his arm. He is no longer attached to any lines or wires and can freely ambulate. And...wait for it...he finally pooped. I know that's more than you needed to know but it's big. He wouldn't be allowed to leave the hospital until he took a doo doo so we're one step closer! From what Jim said yesterday, his doctor was looking at Wednesday as a possible discharge day but we'll just have to see what happens.

Looking at his labs this morning his white blood cell count is still high and in fact higher than it's been this whole time. Additionally he's got a 100 degree temp. But again, they don't worry/react until it gets to 101. And it's normal for a high white blood cell count after surgery. It just seems to me that as time goes by, things should be starting to normalize but what the hell do I know? No one has made issue of it or made comment about it to me so I'm guessing it's just par for the course. 

I'm still waiting for Dr. Locher's notes for rounds...once that comes I'll know more, I'm sure. 

HOT DAMN DOG! The Bengals won!!! And in overtime! I think they're undefeated in their all whites! So exciting for Jake Browning, our backup quarterback. No one expected them to win. I, of course didn't watch because that's later than this little loser puppy can handle but I might be bad luck so it's probably a good thing I didn't tune in. Anyway, we're now 6-6. Let's keep the adding to the W column! (Aw...damn...I feel bad for Trevor Lawrence who went down with an ankle sprain but is now being evaluated for something more.) 

So my plans today: My typical routine is being thwarted by the rain. I've fed the boys, had some coffee (on cup #2) and done my yoga. After I finish here I'll get on the elliptical. Unfortunately I won't be able to walk the dogs until after the rain stops which I'm sure will bum them out. Scout didn't eat this morning which means because he won't get his walk, he probably won't eat at all. Lately he's been pooh poohing food until he's had his walk. He's such a finicky little turkey!

After I finish up on the elliptical, I'll shower and get ready to head to the hospital to hang with Jimmy. Fingers crossed that he gets to come home soon. Not that I'm complaining, truly, I'm happy to make the drive everyday but I'll be excited when I don't have to make the 35 minute trek and can just hang in the mornings with Jimmy at home. Him in his chair, me in my spot, sipping coffee, watching the news, maybe with a lovely fire in the fireplace to keep us cozy...sounds kind of perfect. 

Dinner tonight: I still have lots of leftovers from my taco concoction but I also now have white chicken chili because my neighbor, Cari, made me some yesterday so we'll just have to see how I feel.

K - well I'd best stop hemming and hawing and get on the elliptical. I need to figure out what to watch. Most of the shows I watch I've finished so I need to figure out something to binge. Ooh, I still have Black Cake to finish. 

Happy Tuesday! Later! 

Attempt At Normalcy

As close as I can, I'm trying to reestablish my routine. This means I'm up and at 'em early (today was 5:30) feeding the dogs, drinking coffee and then doing a yoga routine. I've completed that and after I do this, I'll get on the elliptical and finally walk the dogs before I shower and head down to the hospital. I need to be adamant about this so that I don't fall into bad habits. Just because Jim's in the hospital doesn't mean I stop doing the things that need doing. 

I've looked at Jim's chart but there isn't really anything new to report this morning. Yesterday Jim's a fib was giving him fits. They'd had it under control but then they gave him lasix again (I don't know why) and that depleted his fluids, magnesium and potassium so that his a fib reared up again. The did an ECG last night with the interpretation being that he has a first-degree heart block. This is the least serious of the "heart blocks" and doesn't necessarily need treatment. Essentially, the heart's wiring is slow to send signals but still, it sends signals successfully. This isn't normal but not abnormal for what Jim's gone through. It's a little confusing because his heart beat has been fast and the literature I read says that 1st degree causes a slower heart rate. Who knows? This is just me trying to riddle out all the shit I'm reading. 

Other than that yesterday, Jim was doing pretty well. He doesn't have a fever. The nurse said she didn't see any air leakage with his chest tube and she was thinking it could come out today. She also said that once that happens, things will happen quickly. For example, he'll probably get his catheter out and he'll be much more mobile. He'll have to keep his central line in (the IV in his neck) until he leaves but really that doesn't bother him. IMO, it's less a hassle than when you have an IV in your hand or arm. 

Jim's spirits were good yesterday and Trip and Susan's visit certainly gave him a boost. They also brought him a little Christmas tree with colored lights and he really liked that. As did his nurse. 

I face timed with Jim last night and he got to see the pups. The only thing he asked me to bring him today was some Powerade. I can do that! I'll take my lunch today rather than eat shit in the cafeteria or take out. I made some tuna salad last night and I'm pretty excited about it. 

For dinner last night, I made taco meat (chicken) and had a taco salad which made a ton of leftover so I'll probably have that for dinner tonight. 

Reading Jim's chart from the new nurse this morning. Here's what it says: 

• Rare to frequent/bigeminy PVCs (extra electrical impulses with your heart rhythm; after a routine beat, you have a beat that come too early. Common but not harmful if in good health. People with heart issues may need to take medicine to control.
• BP is good
• Pulse Ox is god
• Tolerable pain
• He still hasn't pooped (sorry TMI)
• Bruising on his incision 
• Walked 2 times during overnight nurses shift

And that's all I've got for now. I'll update more later if there's anything significant. Fingers crossed Jimmy gets his CT out. Happy Monday! Later!

Day 4 - Post Op

I'm not counting Wednesday as a day of post-op...we'll start with Thursday. 

(BTW - I got permission from Jim to take this photo. I thin he looks pretty good. His incision looks amazing to me. It stretches down a bit further but I was happy to see how healthy it looked. There is obviously bruising around it but there's no redness nor oozing. He said the incision doesn't hurt so to speak but his innards to. I'm sure they had to shove some shit around. I can't even imagine the pain that must be. He's such a fucking trooper! I really am in awe of him. 

Here's the latest:

• Jim is eating fairly regularly. He had a burger and cottage cheese last night for dinner. (Before that he'd had 1 1/2 omelets.) 
• His a fib is under control although his heartrate is still slightly elevated (112 this morning). 
• He hasn't pooped yet (sorry). He's on miralax and stool softeners but nada. He's going to have to try a suppository I believe. I mean, at this point in his care, he's got no shame. 
• His blood pressure is stable although slightly low which means some of the meds they'd usually use for the a fib have to be withheld or administered at lower levels. 
• He hasn't seen Dr. Locher yet and his visit will determine if his CT comes out or not...fingers crossed. That will be the first step, I believe, in Jim moving from the ICU to a regular room and then discharge. 
• Fever is gone. 
• His WBC (white blood cell count) finally went down a bit although his other numbers are still a bit wonky but I don't know what it all means and no one has raised a giant eyebrow about it so I'm assuming it's fine. 
• Jim didn't take any pain meds overnight. He wanted to see how he did without them and just Tylenol. He said when he's just laying there in bed, all is well. Good for him! I don't know if I'd be that strong. 

I talked to Jim this morning (he didn't wake me up...good boy Jimmy!) and the only thing he asked for were some earplugs and a sleep mask. I'll stop at Walgreens on my way in. I'd assume they'd have something. I'll probably head in around 10:00, after I walk the boys and shower. I'll have to take my lunch because the cafeteria sucks on the weekend (had to get Panera yesterday) and although I have some gift cards, A) I don't want to keep eating shit food and B) I want to save my gift cards for when Jim's home and I just don't have it in me to cook. 

My plans today are to visit with Jim for a couple hours but honestly, I need a bit of a break from the hospital so don't tell Jim but maybe I'll cut out a little early and stop at Shooters for a beer and some mindless video games. We'll see. 

And that's all I've got for now. I'll update as I read his chart with anything significant. Fingers crossed that his chest tube comes out and we get a goal for release from the ICU at least.

Happy Sunday! I know I/Jim have a whole long road ahead but I'm so thankful that we're here...4 days post-op with progression. Jim's feeling good and every day is a little better. Hopefully in a week I'm typing this and Jim's sitting in front of me. Thank you to everyone for your support! It means the world!

Jim Scared Me

I was floundering around in bed this morning just before 5:00 when suddenly my phone started ringing. It was the ring tone for Jim and it scared the shit out of me. Of course if something were really wrong, it wouldn't be Jim calling but initially, I wasn't thinking straight. Turns out, Jim was awake and in his chair and wanting to talk. We chatted for about 5 minutes before he wore out and we hung up. He just wanted to tell me that A) He'd gotten a new chair; one that fit him and B) He needs me to bring in his dopp kit with his tooth brush. He also told me that Dr. Locher would be in early today because he has an emergency. I'll be interested to see his notes today. I'm hoping they'll take his chest tube out today. I'd imagine that will be the first step to him getting out of the ICU. 

Yesterday, when I went to visit Jim, he was in a bit of a state. He was a little weepy and seemed down. They'd started lasix which causes you to pee a lot. He's still got a catheter and I don't know if the nurse didn't check his output and empty the bag or what but he ended up having an "accident". Add to that he didn't sleep well and hadn't eaten who can blame him for having a minute or two of downheartedness? He said that he's constantly getting woken up from all the activity and I told him he needs to keep his door mostly shut. I was there for about 4 hours and he slept most of the time. By the time I left, his spirits were much better. 

After leaving the hospital, I went to the grocery then came home and walked the dogs. It was still kind of spitting outside but it was good to get the boys out. I then did some things around the house and made some French cakes. Finally I laid and lit a fire and hunkered down to watch GBBO and some Christmas movies. After a lovely bath I went to bed. 

Plans for today: I'll make breakfast here in a bit (avocado toast) then walk the boys. I'll head to the hospital for several hours, probably around 9:00. After that, who knows what I'll do. I should make myself dinner tonight but I don't know what to make. Maybe something with chicken. Or maybe I'll make fish and chips. That sounds good. 

Speaking of: I went to the hospital cafeteria yesterday for lunch having no idea what to get and then I stumbled on a baked potato bar. It was so yummy! I might have to do that again today. 

Okay well, I'm just waiting for the doc to post his notes after he sees Jim. Fingers crossed he's still progressing. Happy Saturday! Later!

Well Rested

Sorry I didn't post yesterday. My plan was to come home from the hospital and do it but first I had to walk the dogs. Then I had to do a little cleanup and laundry. I then needed to feed the boys and by the time all that was done I wanted a glass of wine. And then I just didn't have it in me. 

You'll be happy to know that I got 10 hours of sleep last night. I went to bed at 8:00 and the boys actually let me sleep until 6:00. I have a feeling they were really wiped too because I barely heard them through the night. Usually, I can hear when they get up and change positions because when they shake, they're collars jingle. I only heard them once last night and then this morning when they heard me wake up. Thank you boys! I needed that. 

So yeah, yesterday Maggie and I got up (me around 5:30 and she around 6:00) and just eased into the morning. We watched some TV, maybe had a mimosa, talked, and then around 8:00, she got up to shower and I went and got on the elliptical. She was out the door around 9:30 and I was out by 10:30 headed to the hospital. 

When I got there, Jim was in bed although I'd been told when I called at about 7:30, that he'd been in his chair much of the morning. He was certainly happy to see me and in good spirits. I stayed for about 3 hours and Jim slept most of the time. He seems to be doing well although his blood pressure was pretty elevated and after a couple checks with it in the 151/105 range, they gave him some meds to lower it and it did the trick. 

I left yesterday around 2:00 as they were about to start him walking. When I talked to the nurse later around 5:00 or so, they said he was doing well, he walked a lap around floor and they will continue to increase this.

I just read his chart and here's what they seem to be dealing with currently: 

• He's got an irregularly high heart beat which is called sinus tachycardia. I noticed this yesterday on his monitor when I was there. Normal heart rate should be between 60-100 (Jeez, my resting is always below 60...wonder what that means) and Jim's was slightly over 100; around 104. 
• Additionally, they are monitoring him for a collapsed lung (pneumothorax). This hasn't happened (yet) but he's shown signs that the bottom part of his lung may have collapsed (Bibasilar atelectasis). This is where his radiation was so maybe he's prone in that area? His symptom for this is rapid breathing. They continue to do respiratory therapy every couple hours, which wears him out (use of a nebulizer) and hurts his chest.  He's supposed to do deep breathing exercises in the interim. All this to say that his lungs are expanding. 
• His chest tubes are still in but the output seems to be okay. 
• His white blood count is high. On the one hand this is normal after surgery but it has increased since yesterday. Not sure if that means infection or what. 
• They're starting him on lasix today. He doesn't have edema and his urine output is okay so it may be to help decrease his blood pressure (so they can stop the meds for that) and increase kidney function. Who knows?
• They'll be giving him some blood thinners today (lovenox) to prevent clots...again, I'm assuming this is normal protocol as he's not terribly mobile yet. 

And that's about all I see for now. I'll find out what's what when I get there but it seems he's headed in the right direction. 

My plan for today: I'll get on the elliptical after I finish here. Normally I'd then walk the dogs but it's raining so I'll wait to do that once I get home from the hospital. I'll shower and then head out. I'll be at the hospital for a few hours and then head home to hang with my pups. I do need to stop at the grocery and figure out what to eat for dinner tonight. I've been eating leftovers. I might make myself a yummy cobbish salad. That sounds good! 

Other than that, I've got no plans. I never had a fire last night (I was too tired) so I think I will tonight. You know, build a nice fire and hunker down and watch the finale of GBBO and finish the Christmas movie I started last night but couldn't finish. I might even have a glass of wine. 

I'll keep you all updated as I hear things regarding Jim's progress. Thanks again to everyone for your continued thoughts, prayers and support. Happy Friday!!! (Hopefully this time next week Jim will be home!) Later!

Post-Op & Exhausted

What a day! And I didn't have open heart surgery. I'm sitting here at the hospital. It's 6:05 PM. I've been here since 5:15 AM. I don't foresee my exit for another hour or so. To say I'm exhausted would be an understatement. I've been awake since 2:30 and up since 3:30. I'm hungry. I'd really like a glass of wine. My eyes are burning. And I feel bad because Trip is still here with me waiting. He's such a good brother! 

BTW - I also have really good sisters! Maggie is at home taking care of my babies and Anne came as well today to sit with us. Doug and Lauren were here for the majority of the time as well. It's nice to have such support!  

So here's how things shook out:

As I mentioned, Jim was taken back at around 7:15. They whole procedure took until about 2:30. I got hourlyish updates from the nurses and finally, around 2:30, Dr. Locher called to give me the rundown. 

Jim did really well and they surgery went as planned. They replaced his effed up valve (the doc said it was like stone), repaired his aortic aneurysm and bypassed an artery using a vein from his thigh. 

When the doc called he told me that they would be finishing up surgery in about 15 minutes and after that it would take about 2 hours for them to get Jim into a state where I could see him. They needed to make sure he wasn't bleeding (too much) and they needed to have him start coming out of sedation so they could tell if he'd had a stroke. 

After three hours, I'd not heard anything so I went searching for someone to give me some answers. Around 5:40, one of the nurses finally came out to see me. Actually, she pulled Trip and I into a consult room which freaked me out. She initially said to me, "Did anyone tell you that they had to do a bronchoscopy?" I said, "Uh...no one has told us anything. The last person I talked to was Dr. Locher at 2:30." Anyway, because his lungs sounded junky then needed to do the procedure. They found a lot of mucus removed that and said after that he was doing much better. 

In addition, Jim is apparently very agitated and they're having a hard time getting him to relax and breathe on his own so they can remove his tube. She then said that they were going to try to calm him for another hour but if they couldn't they would sedate him and let him sleep and take the tube out in the morning. I said to her in so many words that I was exhausted and fine with doing that immediately but she wasn't catching on. 

Did I mention I'm exhausted? I'm hungry. My eyes burn. Oh, and I want a glass of wine. 

BTW - the nurse did say that aside from all that, Jim is very stable. He did really well with his surgery, it's just this tube down his throat that's giving him fits. I will say that this was one of the few questions he had when we did his pre-op visit last week (aside from pooping on the table, which I forgot to ask about) so I'm not surprised. 

Anyway - that's all I've got for now. I just thought I'd get all this down while it was still fresh in my mind. It's 6:25 and I still haven't heard anything. And I'm exhausted. And my eyes burn and I'd sure like a glass of wine. And I'm hungry and I miss my boys. 

K - I'll update more later...probably tomorrow after I see Jim. Later!

You Got This Jim!!!

Well, we're here; the day of Jim's surgery. Currently I'm sitting in a cardiac family waiting room with Trip and it's 9:05 AM. Jim is in surgery and I just got my first update from a surgical nurse telling me they're just getting under way. 

Here's how things went down this morning: Although I woke up at 2:30 (and didn't get back to sleep), I didn't' get out of bed until 3:30. Of course the dogs got up with me and I wasn't going to feed them until closer to their feeding time, around 4:00 but I kept getting those cute stares and overly loud yawns so I threw them a bone. Or rather, I lovingly place their breakfast in their feeding spots and they chowed down. 

I sat down for about 10 minutes drinking my coffee and staring at my pretty Christmas tree before going up to shower. While I was doing that, Jim packed a bag, straightened him room and then showered himself. We were on the road by 4:45 and arrived at the hospital around 5:20. 

They called us back almost immediately and we were back in pre-op for about an hour and a half. They shaved him head to toe, which was hilarious. They put in an IV. They asked a hundred questions. He had to shower after his shave. They disinfected his nasal cavities (who knew that was a thing?). And once all that was done, they took him back around 7:15 and I was led to the cardiac family waiting area which is separate from all the other yahoos awaiting loved ones getting surgery. 

Trip got here around 8:00 and we've been chit chatting since. I did get my first call from a nurse around 8:45. They had basically just gotten underway with surgery because when he first got back there, they had to put in an arterial line and then get him hooked up in other ways. I will get another phone call from a surgical nurse once they have him on the heart/lung machine. 

I will say I feel like my blood pressure is sky high. I can feel my heart beating constantly which is distracting and makes me nuts. 

Doug and Lauren are on their way. Maggie is on her way. Eventually Trip will go get us lunch. We might do some card playing - euchre...Uno who knows. 

And that's all I've got. Not much else is happening. Or rather enough is happening and that's all I can take happening. Happy Wednesday. I'll update tomorrow...probably later than usual. Later

Happy 53rd To Me!!!

It's my birthday! I actually forgot...again. When I came downstairs after my shower, however, I had an ice cream cake, card and a gift card to my local nail spa from Jimmy! We all know what I really want for my birthday though, right? A successful surgery tomorrow and a quick recovery for Jim. 

Speaking of which, I can't believe this time tomorrow, we'll be at the hospital and Jim will probably be getting poked and prodded. We have to be there at 5:15 for his 7:30 surgery. (This means, BTW, I won't be posting in the morning.) If I didn't mention it before, surgery is scheduled to take until about 2:00. I'm hoping and praying and praying and praying that things go well and Jim's "youth" and relative health gets him through this. I know things are slightly stacked against him because of his cancer but I'm hoping that because his heart is still functioning pretty well and he has such fight he'll pull through this with flying colors. 

Oh, and another positive (fingers crossed): When Jim met with his oncologist a couple weeks ago and was telling him about the consult with the surgeon, he mentioned the worry the surgeon has about the scar tissue from radiation posing an obstacle for the procedure. Jim's oncologist, however, said that it was focused so low in his lung and closer to the bottom of his heart that it shouldn't be an issue. From his mouth to God's ear, right? 

Tonight in celebration of my birthday (it can't all be about Jim) and, okay, as a last hurrah for Jimmy, we're going to go to our favorite Italian, Rodi, down in Loveland for dinner. I can't wait! I might just have to get what I got last time because it was so freakin' good (Bolognese). We'll see. I might have to partake in a cocktail as well. They make some good ones.

School should be pretty easy today. I'm wrapping up a movie with the kids in Government (American President) and reading a chapter to the kids in ELA (Catching Fire). I'm supposed to have a department meeting after school but I think I'm going to skip that. I think that's going to be the only time I'm going to be able to meet with my sub...yeah, that's the only time! Because why in the hell would I want to sit in a meeting on my last day before leave talking about how to write IEP goals? I'd hope that after 23 1/2 years, I've got it.  

It's the coldest day of the year since February 3rd but I'm thankful that we're not getting what Cleveland is getting. They're getting hammered with a shit ton of snow. Can you imagine if I had to deal with that and driving down to Kentucky for Jimmy tomorrow!? That would be my worst nightmare. Well, maybe not my worst. 

Okay well, I've already run out of time. PLEASE!!! Keep all the positive thoughts and prayers coming for Jim. I'll be sure to text and let everyone know how things are going as I hear them. Happy Tuesday! Later!

Countdown On; Worry On

Not that I wasn't worried before but it's ramped up significantly as we approach Jim's surgery. I woke up several times last night and never really fell fully back to sleep, I don't think after 2:00. That should make for a fun day. That being said, being at work will be a nice distraction over the next two days. There's not much I can do anyway and with me at work and Jim home, I can have him take care of the last minute details. He'll go to Aldi today as well as Home Depot and he needs to finish getting the outside lights up and set up with the timers. Other than that I have a feeling he'll be sleeping. 

The weekend was fun. Friday after we put up Christmas and went to Shooters, we just hung out. Doug and Lauren came over for cards of course. Saturday Jim did more light work and I piddled around the house. We watched the OSU game and then headed out for dinner at Walt's with Trip, Susan and JJ. It was delicious. 

Yesterday was the epitome of Sunday Funday. Doug and Lauren found a dive bar near where the kids often play soccer and it boasts the best Bloody Marys in the world (or state or city or town...who knows). They opened at 10:00 so we made a plan to hit it up. They have two pool tables, lots of dart boards, a Megatouch and other fun stuff. The best however, were the prices. Between the 4 of us, we had 3 bloody Marys, 2 mimosas and 4 beers and the total bill was $35.That's pretty freakin' awesome.

After Ethel's (the name of the bar) we went to Little Miami for a beer and then across the street to Nation for lunch. From there we came home and then Doug and Lauren came over for cards. They left around 5:00 but Jim and I were still pretty full from lunch so I didn't cook last night. I took a bath, watched a little TV then hit the hay. It was a good day! 

This week I'll only work today and tomorrow so it will be an easy week. The only thing I need to do at work is talk to my sub and give her some last instructions. No biggie. 

Dinner tonight: I'll do a chicken coq au vin - a favorite recipe of mine. Tomorrow we're going to go out to dinner so I wanted to make something yummy and cozy tonight. Can't wait. 

And that's all I've got. I guess I should get a move on. Happy Monday! This time next week I hope that either Jim is home or is getting ready to be discharged. Fingers crossed. Later!