Winter Wonderland

We got 10 inches of snow today in Neenah. There is about 20 inches on the ground now. It doesn't make for easy strolling outside especially when the temp is single digits. But this is Wisconsin and it's December.

I continue to slowly improve. My energy is a little better. Have not taken afternoon naps the last few days so that is a positive sign. Started to use the exercise equipment in the basement but I won't be setting any records in the near future. The bills have begun to come in from the Univ. of Michigan. I think they want to build a new wing on the hospital with what they are charging. Thank God for the great insurance we have from Laurie's school district.

Laurie's mom (Flossie) will be having her Melanoma removed from her nose on Friday. Her spirits are good and she is handling the process fairly well. It is outpatient surgery. Any extra prayers that ar lying around would be appreciated.

Hope this finds all that are still tuning in to the blog in good health and good spirits. Regards, Bob

Homefront

Tomorrow, Thursday, will be four weeks post opereration. Things are going fine. I am a little surprised at the slow pace of the recovery. I do a few things and am fairly tired after the fact.

Had my first appointment with my cardiologist on Tuesday since we've been back in town. All is well. I can not drive for another month. The incision pain is tolerable but I must be careful no to do too much to strain the breast bone. I bought an iphone and have had the time to do a lot of fun things with it. Have downloaded music and pictures from our computer which is a snap. The apps for the phone are simply amazing.

Laurie's cold is on the run and she is sounding better. Laurie took her Mom to another doctor's appointment today. Her Mom (Flossie) has her procedure to remove the melonoma next week.

We have another 5 inches of snow today. The neighbors and Laurie have been keeping up with the shoveling and snow blowing. I'm out of the snow removal business this season. A big thank you to the neighbors for helping out. That's all the news from Neenah for the moment. Thanks to all for the support. Bob

Upset

It's the morning of the ND/USC game day. I smell upset. ND has the Trojans right where they want them. Maybe there is too much blood going through my new aorta and heart valve and I'm a little high. I don't think so. There's an upset in the making in Southern California. Go Irish beat the Trojans and some one get rid of that goofy Travler (trojan horse) and Tommy Trojan (sounds like a kids toy). I also know what they can do with Tommy's sword.

Lucky and Thankful

Hi from Neenah. Laurie and I arrived here on Thanksgiving Day but not without some major setbacks since the last post. I was doing fine until last Sunday. We were out at the mall and doing little things around town. Sunday afternoon I began to feel poorly and started to run a slight fever. Sunday evening it continued to rise and I did not sleep at all on Sunday night feeling worse by the hour. Early Monday morning my fever was 102. Laurie called the doc's number given to us and the number of the visiting nurses that had been seeing me on several occasions at the hotel. We called each number multiple times over the course of Monday morning and did not get a call back. We were within minutes of going to the ER or calling 911 for help and finally received calls from both the doc's office and the visiting nurses after nearly five hours. Fortunately, about the same time the fever began to subside slightly. It was about as sick as I have ever been in my life.

We continued to try to get the fever down with lots of fluids and cold compresses and it worked. The nurse visited us on Monday afternoon and said my lungs sounded pretty good and the doc's office set an appointment for first thing on Tuesday to go through some tests to see what was wrong. My lungs checked out and all the tests did not indicate anything. However, it put our departure date on Wednesday AM in jeopardy.

We saw the doc on Wednesday AM and said we were discharged. Laurie and I ran out of the hospital before anyone could change their mind. We split the trip home into two four hour parts, stopping in Flossmoor on Wednesday evening. We got to Neenah on Thursday afternoon in time for a great meal at the Rickman's. We then went home and continued to realize how lucky and blessed we are. "Be it ever so humble, there is no place like home."

Thanks to everyone for all the support and prayers. We will periodically provide an update to the blog over the next few weeks. We are due back in Ann Arbor at the end of January for some tests and a doctor's visit. Everything is functioning well and I am feeling better each day. Since we arrived back home, Laurie has developed a bad sounding cold. Time for the patient to give some TLC. We are both exhausted from the ordeal. It' been over a month since we left for Ann Arbor. We are so thankful.

Quiet in Ann Arbor

Hi to all. Our weekend has been low key. We have been to the mall several times to walk and have some meals. We suffered through the ND/Syracuse game on TV. My cardiologist from home, a Syracuse undergrad, turned down our seats for that game. He didn't want to see Syracuse get trounced. Oh well, we could upset USC next week. I may be having narcotic flashbacks.

Our focus is on leaving here after our doc appointment on Wednesday morning. It's about a four hour drive to Flossmoor where we will spend the night before heading to Neenah on Thurday another four hour drive. That's all for now. Regards, Bob

Mundane can be a good thing

Today's the first day without the narcotic pain meds. I feel better now that I'm off them. The pain is tolerable.

We spent a few hours at one of the local malls today. Laurie was in her element much more than me. One of the stores had live piano music which was very enjoyable and we took in all of the Christmas decorations. We had lunch at a Max and Erma's which was a big day for us. Both of us got back to the hotel and took a nap. That's the life of heart surgery recovery and care giver. I'm sure everyone is on the edge their seat taken in with the excitement of this day but actually considering surgery was just two weeks ago the day was pretty cool. Thanks again for all the prayers and notes of encouragement. So many of the emails, phone calls and comments have put a smile on our face. We are really looking forward to heading home on Wednesday. Regards to all, Bob

SNOW KIDDING?

Thursday night update

Hello again!
The surgeon's PA called late morning and pretty much told us to get our rear in gear. Bob should have been getting dressed every morning. We should have been getting out of the motel and walking around in the cold, fresh air. She even told me to take Bob to the mall. Why didn't anyone tell us this before? She also suggested that Bob cut down on the narcotics and switch to Motrin.

So up we got and drove to Paneras for lunch in the fluffly snowflakes. We will save the mall for another day. Dealing with the pain will probably take a little longer but he now finds that he probably needed a hand walking around here because, "I was stoned." He is doing pretty well now with the Motrin and Tylenol.

Nancy Lewandowski's friend, Natalie, stopped by this afternoon with lots of good advice and support as she has experience with heart issues. I wish there was a course to take with all this information, at the beginning of the process.