Sunday, February 10

Wow look at that...all that time flew by since I last posted.

Matt had his staples out, Mom and Dad came home, and all we have done here is work and sometimes sleep. haha Well, ok... more than Matt and Starr get. He still has lots of fluid intake and output, so this puts a damper on the REM cycle. They are headed to SLC on the 20th-ish to get the one month f/u appts with ophthalmology, endocrinology, and neurology. Not everything is functioning up to snuff, but we're hoping it's mostly meds and sluggish reconnection that's causing it. He is getting around a bit more, but still gets tired. Patience wears thin more easily, and I'm sure this is wearing on Starr. I know it would for me, but I'm WAY more selfish than that girl!

Madison blew out another tire in Kentucky today. It being a Sunday, and her car stuck in front of a porn store (the embarrassment gods are VERY giving, for this is the 2nd time her tire blew in front of it. She should take a different route to work), she won't get that fixed til tomorrow.  Apparently Kentucky and Utah have the same work rules...closed on Sunday. OK I'm mostly kidding. It's more Utah, obviously.

Josh has been sick this week, and finally allowed me to stuff him full of doTERRA. He didn't mind it, and has learned to be quite the chemist with his own bombs :)

 

 

 

         Today we also decided to shave Chloe. As many of you know, we lost Charlie in December. She was our only shave-able dog (shih Tzu) and Rod always groomed her. I wasn't allowed in the house during that hour because she just wanted to come to me, and she got in trouble. Now, we realize that Chloe is a yellow lab....and they don't need to be shaved because they shed. Well let me tell you, she sheds enough for THREE dogs put together. Holy crap am I sick of seeing furballs the day after vacuuming! So we thought it would be interesting to see what she looks like shaved. 

Here is during:

 

 

 

Clearly she is not pleased. But she did rather well, considering she is about 6 years old and has never had a power razor next to her. I haven't been able to get a good "after" pic because Rod put her Steelers jersey on her and now she walks sideways. I don't quite understand that, but nonetheless I can't catch her to pose nicely.

 

           The boys are at a movie; they went to one last night too. I stayed home and watched Pitch Perfect THREE times since yesterday! Yes, yes I did. I can't help it--it's dancing, singing, and BEING ON STAGE! How can you go wrong? Ok, if you ask two members of the Jackson family they might disagree (flaming scalps and wardrobe malfunctions, anyone?).

 

           It has been gloomy and boooring as far as weather is concerned. I LOVE 85-degrees and up. Can't stand this pissy-cold ornery weather that we've got. And for those of you in the "anything under 40 degrees all the time, suck it up princess" weather? Suck it. You choose to live there, so don't rain on my bitch parade.              *whimper* I need sunshine, damnit.

 

         I am in two different fitness challenges, and I'm doing pretty well, considering I've only been to the gym 4-5 times in the past 2 wks and that is SINCE SEPTEMBER. I lost 8 lbs when Matt was in the hospital so I should probably thank him, eh?  So far since November I have lost 2 pant sizes, so that's pretty awesome. Most of it is simply the foods I cannot eat....sugar, white flour, yeast breads, potatoes, and dairy. Mostly for health reasons, but some just because I've learned about what comes to the intestinal party and hangs around way too long, and therefore those things are no longer invited to said party. My disco ball, my rules.

      

         I used to Zumba at The Warehouse 2-3x/week, but it got so popular that I almost punched a girl in the face so I stopped going (she turned around against the routine, and we dance in the dark...totally her fault). So I decided that since I pay for Gold's every month I should take advantage of the Zumba classes there. hehehe that was fun.  Let me just say this: I know how to dance. I can grind it, pop it, and shake it like anyone there.  HOWEVER.. when I figured out that EVERY move is straight out of that song's music video...? Yeah I about lost it during "Gangnam Style".  ..REALLY?? I can stay home and memorize moves from VH1. Zumba is a Latin American dance style, people. Oh, where is this "Latin", you say? Open your textbooks to chapter 1, ladies. 

 

...where is that sun?

 

 



this week's updates

I haven't had a chance to update the blog at all this week...been getting home at 8:30-9:00 every night (work, meetings, going to walmart to refill the kitchen). I haven't even unpacked my suitcase yet. I'm sure Starr's life has been sucky the past week too, but my excuse is that she has mom and dad to help out with her busy life...haha


Here's what I have as far as updates on Matt (thanks to Dad for his text updates, and Starr for her blog):
He is sleeping more at night, eating cereal (this is a big thing because if he is willingly eating anything right now, I am happy) and trying to ease off the pain pills as much as he can. His pain level is more like a range of 1-5 now, with 5 being the worst. Seems like he is more aware of the little things now, which is a good sign. He explained how his head was feeling like it was full of air and fluid. He said that when he pushes on his right side where the incision is, it feels squishy like an air cushion, and when he gets up or moves his head he can feel fluid moving around inside. He also said that his sinuses make kind of a whistle sound when he moves his head around. He got a call from the surgeon's secretary today and she confirmed that yes, that's what he is indeed feeling. It could last 2-3 months and is fluid and/or air surrounding his brain underneath the skull and outside his skull underneath his skin. She also let him know that his tumor was what they had thought it was, a cranial meningioma. It was benign (yay!!) and it was categorized as a level 1. If you ever plan to have a brain tumor, you want a level 1 because a level 5 is bad. So for now, he needs to continue his rest and take it easy until they go to SLC for his follow up appointments in 3 1/2 weeks with the surgeon, eye specialists, and an endocrinologist. ...if that all sounds eerily familiar, it's because I stole it from Starr's blog :)  He will be getting his 40 staples out today I think, and I'm pissy because I wanted to do it. I'm gruesome that way. But an 8 hour drive gets in the way, so their friend who works in the wound clinic (I think?) is going to do it. I want PICS!!!

Haha best shirt ever!  From Jeff and Deann Stratton

(he thinks it's funny, even though he's not smiling..maybe it's just a bad angle. Or could be the recent skull-opening...I dunno.)

 

 

I have more pics to post...will have to figure out my new Windows 8. Somehow I lost a few downloaded iPhone photos into no-man's land.

 

As many of you know, I do enjoy the spotlight. And Matt doesn't necessarily thrive on it like I do, so he'll probably be glad that I will be transitioning back into my sick little world here. 

Good news/bad news is that I lost 8 pounds over the past week and a half from stress and whatnot..it's bad because I'm supposed to start a fitness challenge at work on Monday and everyone else has been fattening up!!

On the homefront, Boy and Rod have been sick all week; how is it that I can have a cold and still go to New Orleans, find out about Matt, sit through 2 days of seminars, fly back, drive 4+ hours to SLC and "live" in the Neuro ICU for four days, get back, go to work...all the while these boys lie in bed and moan and sniffle? There certainly is an unfair advantage of having the XX chromosome. 

GIRL POWER!!

Chloe is adjusting to living the live without Charlie. I think she enjoys the spotlight like me. I went to Petco last night to get her another Kong (how DOES she destroy those??) and saw a teacup Yorkie on a leash SO DAMN CUUUTE!! awwwww

And thus a convo ensued between Rod and I:
Me: I want a Yorkie.
Him: It'll get broken. It will get out and get run over (our modus operandi)
Me: I want a cat
Him: you're allergic
Me: we'll get a hairless one
Him: they are over a thousand dollars. It will get out and get stolen.
Me: I want a yorkie
Him: it'll get broken
....see the vicious cycle? So for now we need to slow down on the guilt treats to our single dog-child. She is fat.



Tuesday

6:54 am: After a night of waking up every two hours, having three people try to"suck" your blood with only one success; Matt has finally run out of patience. The second phlebotomist was asked to stop and no one else was allowed near him. Matt requested to see his Dr before any more sticks would be tried. His surgeon came in and said that he's doing really well; however, he must have one more sodium test and it has to be clear before he could be discharged....today! We have had our hopes raised on other things during this little fun-fest, so everyone is being cautiously optimistic. Matt took a shower, is drinking lots of water to get those veins pumping, and they wrapped his arm in the electric blanket to warm it up (this has helped in the past).
Matt's friend Vince Longobardo flew in from FL last night to spend the first half of today sitting and watching Matt sleep, then flew back home at 1:00pm. Not a chatty day. Blood has been drawn but no word yet, and bandages are still there. He also needs to be released from physical therapy which hasn't been done yet.

10:00am: Bandages off! He was shocked to see the incision; at first I thought "oh how sad..." But Starr said that he thought it would look more gruesome.  I texted his buddies the picture, and Jeff Staples said he was a tough one now! I said "unless you have a bigger scar from your lightening strike, I think he's the tough champion!" and he said "oh he's the clear winner!"  haha I'd say...

 

 

Monday AM, POD#4

5:00am: Alarm goes off, I realize where I am and immediately I'm pissed because I can't be in SLC. It's going to be a sucky day.
9:44pm (this is a recap). Yep, I was right...it was a sucky day. FOR ME, not Matt. Let's recap the day, pieced together from Dad and Starr and their text updates (I am so grateful that they are keeping me posted; I feel so helpless and guilty that I'm not there for my baby bro.)

5:00am: pretty good night; pain subsided. Got blood drawn 3 times. Has gotten to the point where they say "thank you" when they're done, and all he can do is grunt (didn't I say the other day how nice and gracious he has been to them, even in pain??). Still on sodium watch (urine output quality, basically tells how the kidneys are doing, based on pituitary gland function). He became more chatty late at night.
6:00am: Docs came in. Bandages should come off today. Will slow down the IV fluids or even stop them. Will move into a regular room today. Still no word on discharge date.
9:59am: Pain level about a 6 (better than 9 when I left yesterday). Will continue to monitor input/output of fluids before being discharged from ICU. Such teasers, they are. Matt didn't eat any breakfast, but did drink a 12 oz juice, 8 oz milk, 8 oz apple juice, large powerade, jamba juice, and an 8 oz bottle of chocolate milk. ...jeez...thirsty much? ...they say this is normal.
10:30am: Had a shower and drank a bottle of Gatorade. (...so.... it just dawned on me that he has been clean-shaven all these days...).
Oh, and he's been labeled as a "hard stick". Just like his mommy (favorite). Meanwhile, on the non-sissy side of the family, Dad and I are easy pokes.   ....wait a second... o_O

He walked today; looks a lot better because the gas pains are down from yesterday. If he is still here in a few days they will take out the staples (WTH??? that was supposed to be MY job!!??).
Still dozing most of the day, but is more aware of the TV and people in the room. Seems to eat better at night. Breakfast apparently "doesn't smell good enough to eat", according to the looks he gives it. As long as mom and dad keep running out for Jamba Juice with protein, I'll feel better.

2:00pm: BP 119/80 respirations 18, pulse 80; respiratory therapist came. 
He was able to finish a third of his lunch and still managed to drink a large orange smoothie, 8 oz. chocolate milk, 8 oz. lemonade, and some water. The nurse also brought him in four more 12 oz. gatorades to drink. The Occupational Therapist was also in to make sure he could perform simple tasks before they would discharge him and he passed each one. His mom was giving the OT other things to do that he might come into contact with when we got home and he did not like that at all (haha wah. Do what your mom says!).  His tasks included: sitting on and getting off the toilet without help or assistance, picking up things from the floor, taking off and putting on his own socks, and simulating getting in and out of a bathtub. (...umm...I didn't see any bathtubs there.)
He is feeling the pain of the staples in his head now; got some pain meds for that.  (I'm still bummed I won't be there for the unveiling and then the staple-removing!).
Just got released from introductory physical therapy (haha sounds like kindergarten for walking); will need to climb stairs and the next higher levels of physical therapy still.

 with any luck, this part is ticking him off, because he KNOWS that he knows how to do this. Being ticked is a good sign.

hee hee okay, okay, it looks painful. Really. But in 3 years he'll look back on this and giggle.



Drinks a good volume; the output seems down. Dad has been feeding me details now and again, and said "but who really knows about the output thing, except the nurses that tally the records?" To which I said "I'm just going to ask Starr why she hasn't marked the urinal and sent pics."  haha She doesn't yet realize what she married into.
Brett C. (Carter?) came, and Ronald Stout and Rusty and Hilary Stewart were coming tonight.
This afternoon he moved into a regular room!! Well, it's called Acute Care Unit...not exactly an unattended room, but no longer in ICU. Which the sister side of me says "whew..baby steps of happiness!" and the medical side of me says "well shit. Now he won't get hourly attention and 24-hour supervision."
9:38pm: Dad sent me a video of his room, from the outside to inside, and a 360-degree turn. That man knows how I think, and what I need :)

Sunday PM, POD#3

12:50pm: Matt is tired. Has a lot of bloat pain still, probably the gas from anesthesia. I told him if he would walk around, this would help blood flow and help move the gas around. The gas meds they have given him haven't helped. I know he also has a lot of toxins in his body from anesthesia, that needs to expel from his system...he will feel a lot better once that happens. Lemon added to water will help, but although he is extremely thirsty he is really sick of water.

 

 

 

Here's some random pics:

 

Jinnefer, Starr, and Jen

Starr, in her "office" and "bed" in Matt's ICU room

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The entrance to Matt's ICU room

 

Dad, Tom, and Dave

 haha ok this is cute: Jeff Stratton doing his calculus homework at the nearest table in the waiting room. Yes, it's a child's table and chairs.

 Matt and Jeff Stratton

 

 

 

 This is the back of Matt's head. These are little...well, we'll call them Lilliputian stab wounds... from the halo-type device that held his skull/head in place for the surgery. It was to stabilize the head in case of a seizure during surgery.

 

 

 

 

1:09pm: Went on a small walk, but then had to lie down. The physical therapist came shortly after and wanted to take him on another walk to make sure all the major motor skills are present, to check off one more thing on the "to be discharged" list, but Matt is just too tired. She will come back tomorrow.
1:30pm: Tom and mom went down to the cafeteria. Jeff and Deann went to return movies to RedBox, and see if Pitch Perfect was available (taking 13 hours to download it on iTunes because of the open Wi-Fi here).
2:00pm: I am in the room with him while he sleeps. Housekeeping came in and cleaned.

3:00pm: Dave came in; we have been trying to get a picture with him and Matt, but Matt hasn't been up to it. Him and Dave know this website "chive" that promotes t-shirts that say "Keep calm and chive on" (it's a take on the popular "keep calm" logo you see everywhere) and people take pics in them all over, in all situations, then upload them to the website and I guess there are prizes...maybe just notoriety  haha. Matt and Dave decided before surgery that they would take a pic with Matt after surgery with the head bandaged, and upload it to win prizes (Dave: if I get any of this wrong, let me know!). Matt's only question was "you're not going to make me put it on, are you?"  haha no, we'll just lay it on top of you. So we did.

Matt's pain level is back up to 8-9; body pain and not headache. Nurse gave him Reglan (antinausea) and Fentanyl. Have been trying to give him oral Lortab, but he throws up everything, and doesn't want to eat. She said "I can't give this to you unless you've eaten; whaat did you eat?" He goes "I had that banana" and she says "umm yeah that was two hours ago; I'm not liking this"  haha (she was funny). The codeine in the Lortab will immediately make him hurl if he doesn't eat something. Talked him into eating a little applesauce so he could take the Lortab.
3:30:pm: I had to leave for St. George. Not happy at all about this, but I was told I had to go back to work because we are short a person. Also Royce and Tom are my only way home and they are leaving....kind of important  haha. I told mom she was in charge of writing down all of Matt's details; she looked at me wide-eyed and said "but.." so I looked at dad and said "you're in charge"  haha
7:30pm: Matt is no better, as far as the pain level goes; maybe a little worse. Mom and dad went to Jamba Juice and got him a protein shake and he trying to suck that down. He wanted nothing to do with the spaghetti and broccoli dinner (omg that's the last thing I want when I don't want to eat!).
8:30pm: I got to mom's house to pick up my van. Checked in on Amy and the animals; she has been staying at the house while mom and dad are gone. The dogs are happy, Elliot is quiet (that never happens!! He's the parrot), and Oliver (cat) has been upstairs. Everything doing well there. I updated Amy on when mom and dad might be home (Jan 31st), and if she needs to get back to her place or if there's a problem to call or text me. I'm closer than Idaho :)
Stopped off at the hospital in St George to see Rhonda and Todd; he looks a lot better than last time I saw him (they live in Vegas, so I don't see them every day). Less swelling. Dr Goodger was there when I came in, and was very happy at how much better Todd is doing. Will be discharged tomorrow around noon. Rhonda is head-over-teacups (as my mother-in-law would say...what are teacups? Not sure I want to see them..) about Todd's improvements.
10:00pm: I got home. No more details on Matt. Rod has been sick since I left (he never tells me these things...once he broke his arm at work, went to Instacare and had it fixed up, went back to work, then came home after work and told me. Another time he fell off the ladder and broke his heel. Nope I didn't know. So he either cares enough about me to not worry me, or he's afraid I'm going to chew him out for getting hurt....hmmmm).
9:45pm: Mom and dad headed back to the hotel.

Sunday AM, POD#3

8:00am: Arrived at the hospital. Starr stayed with him last night, and mom went in to see him when we got here. I haven't been in yet; Starr says he is eating breakfast of pancakes and bacon, with apple juice and milk (YAY), but doesn't want to finish until he gets his chocolate milk (someone's getting cranky... To me, it means that being here is getting to him, and he's doing better enough to BE cranky. I'm good with that. Of course, I'm not his wife!). He had his milk and apple juice already, and then ordered chocolate milk. Nurse said he is consuming and outputting plenty of fluids; Matt is sick of water and doesn't want to drink any more of the stuff. He's good with ginger ale and other liquids though. When we left late last night, he wanted a Coke. The rule had been "no caffeine" on the floor, but he is far enough along that the nurse ok'd it.
8:30am: Starr left to go take a shower. Matt is still eating. Mom came out so he could have some private time. Dad or I will go in next. Still has a limit of two visitors at a time.
9:25am: I just went in; he is sleepy but answered my questions. I asked if he was sick being here, or if he just wants to be home; he said "I just want to be in a different room". He is so polite to the nurses; even went tired and cranky he says "please" and "thank you".  The nurse was giving him IV Reglan (for nausea); I asked if he was still nauseated, and he mumbled. He had eaten his whole breakfast, then it all came back up. He now has his own little ice bucket for his drinks (I didn't see any chocolate milk...?). States his head pain is at level 5 now. 

These pics are all out of the order in which I wanted, but we'll start here. This is the back half of his room in ICU, and mom is sitting on the couch on which Starr sleeps:

 This is the hallway in NCCU coming to his room near the end on the right:

 This is the view when you first walk in his room:

 These are the supply trays...only interesting to a few of us :)

 He is wearing the typical plastic hospital bracelet, and with every blood sample they take, they have this gadget that imprints a label to affix to the vial.

 He doesn't want any more water, and they brought him his own little "cooler" for drinks.

 This is his front door in the hallway...you can see he is lying there, trying to sleep.

 

 



11:15am: Another round of meds, since the last ones came back up with breakfast. Got Lortab and Zofran.

11:30am: He is ready for a shower. Mom asked him if he wanted to sleep or shower, and he said "both". The physical therapist came and in wanted him to get up and walk around, but he chose shower first.

He isn't out of "DI watch" yet (keeping an eye on the urine quality), and even if he was moved out of ICU yesterday they would have brought him back today because of that. He will still have a 24-hour watch on him before discharge, whether he is in ICU or a regular room, so there's no rush to get him out of ICU right now. Maybe if he is doing "stellar" he may get out of the hospital on Tuesday. He is getting blood drawn now and is not a happy camper about it. Could be the repeat attempts at a draw...? They are warming his arm to see if this will help get the vein.

He decided to get the catheter out since it will help him to move around a little better and maybe improve things quicker, so that was just done. He's not all that excited to be up and around though. Probably more pain. Anything that raises the blood pressure in the head can cause pain, and being ambulatory after being in bed for four days can cause a shift in intracranial pressure. Even if it's mostly subjective, who blames him??

12:00pm: Jeff and Deann are here, so I went with them down to the cafeteria. Pudding and chai tea! We also bought a thing of choco moo juice for Matt :) Tried to watch the downloaded "Pitch Perfect" on my laptop, but apparently it takes like 333 hours to download on this wireless service!  ugh. So we are left to entertain ourselves, which is a big DUH, since we're pretty good at that anyway. Topics have ranged from peeing when you're drunk, to gay men vs lesbians making out. Starr is missing out!

Royce and Tom just showed up. I'm sure the topics won't veer far from here...

Saturday late PM PO#2

6:00pm: He finally ate some food! This was my concern today; I can be quite the naggy sister. I kept saying "I wish you could eat this roll. I wish you could eat more crackers...anything to calm your nausea". So I'm feeling better. His stomach still hurts a bit (gas from anesthesia maybe? I dunno), and is still sleepy. Had a visitor today, Garn Mc Neil, friend from SLC. He stayed and talked for awhile. Still waiting for the next available room to move out of ICU.

 While Matt slept, we busied ourselves with other things. Dad is actually playing on the computer here, and mom paid a couple bills.

Deann and Jeff Stratton were awesome enough to hang out with us most of the day...I loved it. They are my adopted sis and bro, and they are fun to have around :) Here, they are each holding an iPad and were giggling. I'm not sure what is going on here. Kids pictures? Maybe they are reading Starr's and my blogs....

 



7:00pm: Dad had been in to visit, and came back out to report that he had gotten another Heparin shot. "ANOTHER?" I say..."I didn't know he had any?". Not a panic, other than the fact that I am trying to collect all info, and this tidbit slipped by me. The nurse said this is normal protocol after brain surgery, to prevent clots. Good. Starr thinks this may be his 4th Heparin shot. 
9:00pm: Took more meds: anti-seizure, anti-nausea, and Lortab, per dad who was in there. States his pain level is about 5-6 now, which is WAY better than the 9-10 that it has been the past 3 days. He is having normal...umm...."bathroom habits" now, so that's good. Sorry Matt. You won't find that in Starr's blog I'm sure. But I'm the big sister. 
As soon as there is an available room out of ICU, he will move. They assume this will be tomorrow. Then he will probably go home (if everything goes well) Monday or Tuesday, and Mom and Dad will follow them home.
We have been seeing several armed guards all day, in and out of the ICU...one of the patients is either an inmate or in serious trouble I guess.
There are 22 beds in the NCCU here, and it's mostly full. He is in the 2nd to last room at the end of the hall. Why is this interesting? It will be, to Matt when he can read all this. He is a detail whore like dad and I. Drives mom crazy, because we will count the seats in an auditorium and multiply the approx. seat cost (varies depending on the seat location), minus the empty seats and overhead/staff, and determine what the venue made for that event. Mom just sits there and rolls her eyes.  lol
During the evening, I got a frantic phone call from my bestie (Rhonda), who lives in Vegas but her hubby has been in the St George hospital for a couple days because his kidneys are shutting down from complications from diabetes. She had been with him, but had to go back to Vegas for a day for her son's Eagle project with the intent of coming back today. Todd's daughter Ashalee was with him in the room when his tongue went numb and he couldn't talk. They whisked him away for a CT scan to rule out a stroke (common in late-stage diabetics). Rhonda asked me the symptoms of a stroke, and I told her, but that it could be just a reaction to one of the many meds they are giving him and that even if it IS a stroke that he is in the right place. She was going to drive back to St George immediately, which made me nervous because a frantic driver is a dangerous thing. I asked her to breathe, call her bishop, and don't leave until he can talk with her. (I knew she would leave; there's no sense telling her not to. She is a head-strong woman!) I texted Kenz (her daughter in St George) to see how things were, and to let me know when Rhonda gets there. Turns out no stroke (YAY!), just a reaction to one of the meds; was given Benadryl and he is doing much better. Good thing Ash (daughter) was there to see this when she did :)
Saw a news report that early Sat AM a boulder fell off Foremaster Ridge (in St George) and slammed into a house, pinning the woman inside. She has a broken jaw and sternum, and has a gash on her leg. Turns out this is one of my friends also. Will visit her when I get back; she will be in the same hospital as Todd.
        This year sucks.