......4 Months Later

What a roller coaster ride the last 7 months have been.  From thinking we may have to put Ken into a nursing home/respite care facility to he's up and "supervising"/helping me hang light on the deck in EB is quite a change.  When we got here Ken was still using his walker and the last week he's been forgetting his cane.  From "I'm uncomfortable going outside (I might fall again) to forgetting his cane several times in the past week.

When we got here I didn't realize to get the Class II medications you MUST go to a Pain Management Specialist.  Fortunately Santiago (under duress) sent a couple of scripts down until we found one.  I have to show my drivers license both dropping off and picking up the script and Ken had to sign a contract saying he wouldn't pharmacy hop.  Dr Delahoussaye in Cruces is a good "pain doc".  The first appointment was Nov 7th - having to put down what I have been suspecting is however still an eye opener.  18 pages later he was done with the paperwork (I read it all to him at this apt).  Ken figured out to be 87% disabled - all but bedridden.  Wait - he gets up, gets dressed and spends the rest of the day laying back in his reclining chair...... sounds pretty much like bedridden to me.  At that trip we got a script and came back to TorC to fill it.  They didn't have that strength so bartered with doc and got a double dose pill. Dr. D. then tried ultra sound guided TPI (Trigger Point Injections).  He didn't really hit the right spot although it did a little bit of good.
The second apt with Dr D both he and his PA came in and remarked that Ken looked so much better and neither one of us had the desperate look anymore.  At this visit Dr D told Ken to take one Diladad 4 times a day.  Oh and come back in January and we'll try  P STEM OK Whatever.
Dr Santiago is weaning his off Phenobarbital (he's taking it for 58 years).  Between that and cutting back on the muscle relaxant and the NSAID his brain/thinking is AWESOME!!!!  None of us can believe how good he looks and sounds.  He's even been calling folks on the phone and is back on the computer.  (So for a "good boy" reward we got him a different tower.........:) with Windows 8)
He loves it!! (of course I stripped it of MUCH STUFF!)
He has been voluntarily going outside a smidge (taking over again a couple of things I took from him - gray/black flushing.); actually wanting to go to Carmen's to eat and helped me unload the baskets Saturday.  He cracks jokes; has an opinion (not ALWAY good), is making plans for Oregon, and wants to get outside more.  Although he won't ever be without pain he just wants to be comfortable.
Taking the med spread out is working wonders - he is rather number which we'll take for stiff and lots of pain any day.  This sums it up!

            They aren't perfect by any means (I have to have a taller ladder to go up one more step) and they hang a lot but it's the first lights we've had in years.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Gonna Make It To E.B....

*I started this September 20ish but didn't get it published.
Well Ken is good enough that Whitney and I are ok with us going back to Elephant Butte.  The Dialadud seems to be working on the pain (IF he takes it in the middle of the day) so he is just dealing with the stiffness - fall weather is starting with rain and coolness so we need to get out of here.  He has a walker and although he doesn't leave the MH often (MAYBE once a week he feels more stable using it.)

August 21st was the first day of school and Ethan FINALLY get to go to school!  He was so excited.  Their Nana (Trav's Mom) made them all shirts to wear the first day.

I do believe the littlest laddie is in trouble but still playing with a tiny Lego guy.

One of the daycare Dads locked his keys and kid in the car.

When Dave and Deb visited we went to Buck's (much like Humphrey's in Gillette).  Deb is showing off the tiny menu.

I made some ornaments to see if I wanted to make more of them.  NO I don't!

Don't know how this picture is doint this.  Can't remember what I pushed.  But it was Whit's Birthday and Buck's brought her a complimentary sundae - on a large pizza pan (what they use for plates.)  Ethan finally finished it.

And the final "Halfway to my Birthday Party" for the season complete with pinata.  The big boys finally had to break it (Trav and Dean).

And a family picture.  It was a 2 hour outing for Gdad.   The question was will we go to NM?  Yes we did.

I do miss these guys when we're gone.  Glad I got to spend July-Aug with them just 3 doors down.

.

Uphill and Downhill

The ups and the down are working big time right now.  The new pain med he got for the debilitating headache petered out very fast so when Ken saw the neurologist here this Wednesday we began discussing Schedule II medications (I got in trouble with Doc for saying "drugs" :) ) and left with a prescription for some.  We'll see.  Many of his medications are so similar.  I bought him some medicine dispencers and Whit/I are keeping them filled.  However from the looks of last night slot there is some left so I will get a little more agressive.  The new pills are very tiny and are causing some confusion but we'll deal with that to see if the headache will subside a little.  Yesterday was NOT a good day so he decided to take two this morning (6:30 am) and go back to bed.  I doubt he is up much before noon-thirty.  If he can be comfortable that is the goal.  Wednesday was 2 calendar months since the fall - not seeing too much progress yet.  I know: Perspective and Patience!!!!!  However I'm thinking we may see a "gone to lunch without you" moment before this is over.  We saw a lot of those days in 1992 when his epilepsy evolved into a different kind of seizure.  We'll see. Doc is just a phone call away.

Woohoo Dave and Debbie are coming to visit for a couple of days.  Excited to meet Sarah.  I still think she's going to be bigger than Luc.

Since we are always gone for the little boys' birthdays we always have a "Halfway To My Birthday" party every summer.  Today we're going to Disney's Planes and around Whitney's BD we are going to have a pinata.  (Thanks Linda Z for the Pinata idea.)



Ethan Jacob

                                                        Evan KaCe










and the tagalong Aedan Thomas.

If plans continue we will leave for NM about Sept 12th.  I'll only drive about 3 hours then stop to let Ken rest.  It is just too cold up here so we will head out. (The Lord willing!)

Trav/Whit's friend Dean (the Stranger from Afar) has moved to Rawlins and he sure is a blessing.  As he is a "fart on a hot skillet" type personality and wants to always stay busy we all have put him to do "honeydos".

Whitney has a daycare (OMG 10 of the little critters this week as the Boys and Girls club is closed. Generally she will have 3.  It was an interesting week.  9 boys and one girl.  She is a sweetie and I am going to help her get started beading.  hmmmmm!

And yes the summer hasn't been a complete beading bust.  Here are a few of the projects.  Yell if one strikes your fancy before I send them away.  :) Or I'll just teach you to BEAD!!

Well - off for Saturday hugs from the gbabes - :)  I'm bringing cinnamon rolls.

IT IS WHAT IT IS!  

The Fair, Travis the SIL & Ken

The Carbon County Fair started the 3rd so we went to the parade - probably as close as we'll get to it.  I went across the street to get some pictures.  Notice the short one with no shoes - they are............................somewhere................!

 It was a fair sized parade (pun! yes!) Clowns, horses, boats, candy, emergency vehicles and demo derby (before) entries

These two are from the local Elks Lodge.

Small and smaller seemed to be the norm.

This guy must really work with these teams all the time. (duh!)
He turned them on a dime at every intersection as he introduced the parade's Grand Marshall.

Now THIS was interesting - It is a Wyoming Highway Patrol golf cart.  They must have a lot of speeding golfers down here.  :)

Ken's REAL apt with the neurologist was Monday which turned into a two day event.  He had an MRI and Tuesday morning early an EEG.  The doc always comes in telling Ken what a mess his EEG is and jokingly proceeds on with his treatment for Ken.  This time he came in and did the joking and visiting right off the bat.  After about 15 minutes he proceeded to tell us that this year's is off the chart bad.  It is obvious he's had a bad concussion and he doesn't want him to EVER hit his head again.  (hmmmm!)  He confirmed the Post Concussion Syndrome diagnosis and it will take time.  I'm beginning to hate the "time" word as bad as I hate the "perspective" word.  To help with the unsteady on the feet he has put him on a cane and we will wean him off one "old school" medication.  This will take 1 year to accomplish.  He then gave him a big time pain med (the other pain meds he has are for nerve pain) which Ken is religiouly taking so he can get some respite from the pain to give the brain a chance to recover.  Thus here is new position.

I watched two 2 year olds Thursday and were they busy.  And a delight to watch Aedan and Donnica work together having fun!  I was watching them because the big boys were at the bus and everyone else was at the hospital with the SIL.

And then there is the Son-in-Law (SIL).  He was working on his pkup Wednesday evening when (the tranny I think) it rolled off the ramps and wellllll what DID happen?   The long and short of it is that the tire was on at least part of his head and in order to get it out (nobody heard him yelling for help) he manhandled his head out from under and in the process about ripped his right ear off and tore a chunk off the back lefthand side of his head which took surgery and 70+ stitches and staples (beneath and on top of the skin to close up).  Somehow his hand was injured but there is no broken bones.  I told Ken and him to combine their right hands (Ken's first three fingers-Trav's last 2) to make one usuable hand.   (Just a LITTLE humor)  They weren't impressed.
 The finished product (the before picture is WAY too gross).  It was very deep.

The right side of his head (ear) had to have stitches/staples in front as well as behind the ear.  It's a wonder he has a right ear left.  it could have been SO much worse.  He will have the stitches/staples for a week and then he'll probably get released to go back to work.  Oh and when they were cleaning our the biggest wound Thursday morning they found this rock.
OK NO MORE TRAUMA/DRAMA for the remainder of the year.

A Frustrating Month

OKAY so have been slowly working on this but it was hard without the "double U) and the "letter that can sound like c".  But thanks to laptopkeys.com I am all fixed up and am putting along.  So glad to have it fixed.  As well as our internet - which is a story for later.




We made it back to Rawlins July 3rd.  Ken has been feeling worse every day it seems and he seems to be sleeping more all the time.  He has complained about how bad his ribs hurt from the fall and of a headache once.  So he didn't participate in the 4th of July in Saratoga.  But we did.  First: ice cream before NOON!! Wootwoot!


Second: Gathering candy

Third: Not getting TOOOOO close to the clown.








Even a candy bribe couldn't get him close to the clown. :)  Then we went to Riverside (a town NOT the icky park in Saratoga) and back to the hot pools to play.  No pictures of that - it was too wet.




And then setting up the summer shade playground.

Aedan is sorting Legos from the BIGGG box.
Rats!  He says I DON'T have a big boat...

Fun with fake mustaches!

And finally Aedan's GREEN big boat came. Here the boats are in the dock all decked out.





During all this Ken kind of just kept fading.  At this point he is sleeping 16-20 hours a day.  So we established a doc here in Rawlins - they wouldn't touch him - after finding out Ken had fallen June 14th and although he didn't lose consciousness  the scar where he did land made everyone squimish.  To the ER for CT, MRI, EKG.  No MRI here go to Casper.  Then is when I found out the headache I'd heard about a couple of times was all the time and was at times pretty debilitating, the side of his face that has been pretty numb is now radiating pain and the EKG shows some kind of "major heart event" in the past. WTH!!!  This doc (very nice and knowledgeable) sent us on to the Neurologist in Casper.  He really thinks Ken has Post Concussions Syndrome.  He was also concerned about reinjury to the neck.  From everything I have read and been told there is no "cure" - rest, both mental and physical is the key.  We didn't get to see our doc when we went to Casper so will go back the first part of August after he returns from his month in South America.

So Wylie and I plug on.  I am really glad none of us have to drive to the others house.  We are just three doors down.  The gkids know the code for "she's up" by the front window curtains and visit daily.

Whitney and I do Bountiful Baskets every Saturday (training others to take one of them over) and I still "run" the one in E.B.  There have been a few issues with no refrigerated trucks which has been resolved.

I continue on beading - It is REALLY keeping me busy in the evening.  Sometimes Ken is awake off and on to watch TV and comment on shows; sometimes he's not.  The kids generally try to be here in the early afternoon for their visit when he is semi-awake. :)  It is pretty hard to Let go and Let God.  But on the other hand we are retired and time is all we have.