Can you say confusing?

Today was my first day back at work and boy… was it a doozie! First of all, I’ve been having a hard time getting to sleep here in my new digs. The first night, Saturday, it rained all night. There is some kind of metal skirt that sticks out from the building on my floor, so guess what? I got to hear the pitter patter of drops falling off the building onto the metal skirt. I didn’t get to sleep until nearly 2am and then was woken up by jets making their approach to Reagan National Airport at 6:30am. Yes, I am a light sleeper. Last night, Sunday, the wind was howling like crazy. The northeast has been getting pummeled by this storm and it just won’t die. It sounded like things that were loose on the building were being tossed around outside.

I got to sleep around 2am again and managed to get up around 8am. I grabbed a quick bite in the store downstairs and headed off to work. I got there around 10am and was warmly greeted by everyone. My boss was happy to see me too, but apparently there were some issues with my evaluation not being turned in yet. In the Army, Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) and Officers are required to be evaluated annually. They are supposed to be done by a certain time of the year, and when things fall behind, the people up the chain get hounded for not having the evals of their people done on time. I knew this before I went on leave and completed my part of my NCO Evaluation Report (NCOER.) Well, I guess we are cutting it too close for comfort since everyone from my unit in Fort Worth to the people at work want to know where it is.

The first thing I did was track down the guy that I knew could tell me where it was. I found him and was told to talk to another person higher up. That person knew that it was missing but didn’t know where it was either. Basically, all the people that needed to sign it had already signed it and they were just waiting for my signature. But now the eval was no where to be found. This person said they would talk to another person and see if they can track it down and that I should check back later. I checked back later and the person was gone. There was some kind of sewer leakage that blocked one of the entrances on and off base today, so they let people that lived far away go home early. I guess that person left? I stayed to get my work done… I won’t be at the office tomorrow, so I hope they find it so that I can sign it on Wednesday. My boss wondered why they just could not print out a new one and have everyone sign it again… I have no idea.

Speaking of work, I made quite a few phone calls regarding the Medical Evaluation Board (MEB) process that I am about to begin. The issue is… I have no idea how I’m supposed to initiate it! I think I know the problem though… normally a soldier doesn’t have to initiate it – it begins when they get hurt and then they get worked through the system. My issue is that because I have been having all my treatments done at the Navy hospital, the Army hospital has no idea what’s up with me. They don’t know I need an MEB! At first I thought I was supposed to begin out-processing from my office, and also take the paperwork that I do have to Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) and that would start the process. But when I ran this by my Reserve Management Office (RMO), they said that I should probably not do that quite yet. Instead, I should call WRAMC and the office that does the out-processing and see what they say.

I followed their instructions and called WRAMC. I explained my dilemma to someone there and they told me that they would have to speak to someone above them to see what needed to be done. To my surprise, a few minutes later they paged me and I called back. They had a list of things that needed to be done and paperwork that I needed to gather in order for everything to go smoothly. A plan! It sounded good to me, so I took notes and hung up. One of the items on the list required that I ask the out-processing office a few questions too. I called them up and they had a similar, but slightly different plan. They urged me to call a different person at WRAMC, but to come to them to begin out-processing immediately! I called the person they suggested I call and they were very helpful. They told me basically the same things the first person at WRAMC told me with a few slight changes. I called the first person back and left a message with them explaining that I had spoken to the out-processing people and this other person at WRAMC and that the plans were slightly different – I expect a call back from them tomorrow.

Okay, so all these details, right? Here’s what it comes down to:

1. When you can’t physically perform your duties in the military because of an injury or disability, they put you on what is called a profile. They have temporary and permanent profiles. I have been on a temporary profile since the surgery, but my main doctor recently put me on a permanent profile because you have to have one to start the MEB process. First thing tomorrow, I have to make the trek to my medical clinic in the Pentagon to get a copy of that P3 profile. Simple enough, right? We’ll see.
2. I need to begin the out-processing process which has to be done at Fort Belvoir, which is about 30 miles south of DC. I can’t drive, so our good friend Tamra, who is also in the Army and happens to work at WRAMC, is going to give me a ride. There, I’ll begin the process, but when I get to medical, they’ll see my past history and things will screech to a halt. They will immediately refer me to WRAMC for an MEB. Then we’ll drive to WRAMC and I’ll meet with some of the people that I spoke with on the phone today. And it all works out perfectly because Tamra needs to take care of some business there tomorrow too! I’m not sure of what all will happen when I get there – I’m kinda flying by the seat of my pants on this one.
3. I need a Narrative Summary (NARSUM) from my doctors explaining what happened to me and what conditions I have now. I have appointments with my Neurologist and Oncologist on Friday to knock this one out of the way. BTW, I also have a follow-up MRI Friday afternoon to see how things look up there. Pray that everything is still getting better for me, okay?
4. Since this happened to me while I was on Active Duty, it is considered a Line of Duty injury (LOD). Apparently there was supposed to be a form filled out quite some time ago (a DA2173 to be exact,) it was never done, so the folks at WRAMC will take care of that for me.

Wow! So those are the major things at this time that I know of. In addition, I was told that once I go to WRAMC and they begin the process, they will put in a request to the Army to cut a new set of orders assigning me to the Medical Holdover Company at WRAMC. The Army will then have 72 hours to cut the orders. Whatever date the orders say I am assigned to WRAMC is the date that I have to move out of this temporary apartment and into the housing at WRAMC. My current orders expire on April 27 – I’m sure they will be done by then. In fact, if I go there tomorrow, they might be cut by this Friday. I was kind of hoping to spend one more weekend in this apartment close to everyone I know, but I might have to move before then. Or, they might cut the orders by Friday, but the effective date won’t be until sometime next week. That would be preferable since I have medical appointments pretty much all day Friday and it would suck to move over the weekend. So, let’s pray that I am told to move next week too.

Confusing? We’re just getting started. Tomorrow should be a fun filled day of running around and being told different information. I pray that it goes well. I know I’ve probably given you way too much information, but I wanted to tell you everything and it also gives me a way to put it on “paper” to make sure that even I have it right. I’ll update you tomorrow evening. And if you have questions for me, please leave a comment and I’ll answer them. Now it’s close to midnight again and I’m still up. So, I’m posting this and going to bed.

Back Safe in DC

I made it back safe to DC thanks to JetBlue. My good buddy Matt O picked me up from Dulles and I got checked into the apartment with little trouble. We had a great dinner at Cafe Asia (one of my faves in the area) and then he dropped me off. It has been chilly and raining all evening and night and is apparently supposed to all weekend. Holly and I talked on the phone for over an hour, I unpacked a bit and I'm ready for bed. I'm looking forward to going to Grace in the morning and seeing more people that have been great friends. I'm off to bed... it has been a long day.

Back to DC Tomorrow

Well, here it is over a month later and I'm already heading back to DC tomorrow. Man, it feels like I just got home! We had a chance to see some of our very good friends while I was here: David, Kate and the kids; Miki, Sean and the kids; Jill N; Jill R; all of our family... but we never got a chance to visit with our very good friends Joy, TJ and all their kiddos! It's been too crazy guys, we'll see you when I get back! We love you and thank you for everything!

We did get to go on that fabulous cruise... and yeah yeah... I know the pics aren't up yet. We have been mega crazy! We had to move back in and then leave, then come back and finish unpacking and we completely redid our home office setup. Then Holly started back up at work again this week while I tried to rest a little bit and take care of other odds and ends around the house. I spent a pretty good amount of time yesterday and today packing and tomorrow I head off at 12:05pm CDT. Thanks to Matt O, in advance, for picking me up at Dulles.

Anywho, my thoughts are all over the place today. I just wanted to let y'all know that we haven't forgotten about you, our loyal readers, and we'll be back on the blog-wagon soon.

Seizure #3

Happy Easter everyone.

Roger had another seizure about 1:15 a.m. today. It happened almost like the other two, started at his right foot and traveled up to take over his whole body. We were both asleep and he felt his leg convulsing. He exclaimed he was having a seizure which woke me up. I think he said it twice because I think I thought I was dreaming, but he can't remember how many times he said it. I also wasn't expecting him to have another seizure and being completely asleep meant I wasn't ready. Roger is scared and very disappointed. He is concerned about going to DC by himself next Saturday. He's on the highest therapeutic dose of his anti-seizure medication which the doctors rarely see seizures. And we're both confused by why he had another seizure. He also had two more months and he could start driving again. Now he has to wait until October unless he has another seizure.

He bit his tongue which hurts and is tired and weak especially on his right side. He feels like he is limping a little. The same thing happened each seizure before. He was tired and weak for a few days. He said he felt like he ran a marathon which is technically what his brain did. We just got home from trying out that new church. It was good but I'm looking forward to a regular Sunday message since Easter is always a special message and can be different from the pastor's usual style. Now we are on our way to Roger's parents for Easter dinner.

Would you please pray for healing from the seizures for Roger, for peace and safety while he is in DC and guidance with the Army MEB process? Thank you so much for your prayers.

One Year Ago Today

At 12:15 a.m. this morning, Roger said to me it was one year ago today that he came home from the hospital. I thought no it's tomorrow, but then I realized that it was after midnight and agreed with him. I remember thinking it was awesome he was going to be home for our anniversary, April 5th. We weren't sure when he was going to be released from the rehabilitation hospital. They would not release him until he could escape a burning building on his own so his release depended on his improvement. It was great that he was able to be home for our third anniversary. So tomorrow we will celebrate our fourth anniversary at Christopher's World Grill in Bryan, Texas which is where we celebrated our first anniversary.

We're Back!

Well, we got back from our cruise on Sunday afternoon. Roger & I had a great time. We had so much fun. We highly recommend cruises for vacations. You'll get to see all the pics very soon. Roger is reconnecting our desktop computer as I type (on the laptop) after "blowing it up" on Tuesday in which he uninstalled the operating system and all applications and reinstalled it all. Don't worry, he backed up all our pictures and music and docs. So we'll have those cruise pictures up soon with more details regarding our cruise adventure to come!

We have been constructing cabinets and tables and shelves and a tv stand all week. We decided to redo our office. Before we left for the cruise we downloaded office planning software from Ikea, designed a new office and drove up to Round Rock to the new Ikea and bought it all. Getting it all to fit smartly in the back of our truck took some thought and patience, but we finally got it all in there, covered with a tarp and tied down. The weather has been typical Texas spring weather. Lots of rain, thunderstorms, tornado watches, all the good stuff. But we don't mind. We need the rain bad! Roger and I were just talking today about how the weather was so much better in the Caribbean. Duh! It did rain on us in Jamaica, but we were soaking wet already from our excursion so we didn't care. And a little Red Stripe on the way back to the ship helped us feel better in the pouring rain on our tour boat. I'm telling you we had a blast! I didn't want the cruise to end. We're already talking about our next cruise.

So...this is my first blog since we moved home and I have to say I love being home. Love, Love LOVE being home in our own house. We have been getting it all back in order. We weren't able to mow our grass yet. Not only has it been raining every day keeping the ground too soggy to mow, but our lawn mower which has been sitting in our garage for two years won't start at all. We think we might have left some gas in it which is bad. So we took it down the road to have it fixed along with every one else in Austin trying to mow their grass this spring. Every place we called is backed up at least three weeks with lawn mower repair. So Roger is going to borrow a neighbors lawn mower until we get ours back which will be after he returns to DC.

I also love being back in Austin. We have tried very hard to visit most of our favorite restaurants (without going out every meal) and we still haven't gotten to them all. It's so green and lush here. And so slow. I miss that the most about the South. I will say that I do not miss the Austin traffic. It has not gotten any better since we left even with the creation of several new toll roads (don't even get me started about the toll roads). I think that Austin's traffic is worse than DC Metro traffic. Roger and I got caught in traffic for the second time today and it sucked. From what I can tell so far, afternoon rush hour in Austin starts at 3:00 p.m. and ends at 8:00 p.m. Add on more time during a thunderstorm. I don't even want to know what morning rush hour is like. But I guess I will find out very soon. I return to work on April 9th in NW Austin although we live in SC Austin. I will have to use one of the worst highways traffic wise. And I don't have many other options other than adjusting my work schedule or working from home as much as possible. We'll see how bad it gets before I ask my boss to let me work from home all the time. I can already tell it's not going to be fun.

But I'm still glad to be home. I can't wait for the weather to clear so we can enjoy the outdoors more. Although it's already hot here. Actually it's been hot here since we got back. That's Texas for you.

Okay, I've been rambling enough for now. I'm going to see what else I can get done tonight. We "plan" to be finished with the office by tomorrow. We can't wait so we can enjoy all our hard work. Sunday we're going to try a new church which also meets in a local school. We're excited to see how it is. And our good friend Buddy from DC will be visiting us Sunday afternoon. He's our first visitor from DC and we're super excited about that. Okay, Okay, I know I said enough already. I'm going now. As my South African-American friend says, "Chat to ya later!"

Almost done unpacking and starting to relax

We are still getting unpacked here in Austin. Holly and I have pretty much unpacked the entire house except for the office. We've decided to give the office an Ikea makeover in order to make it more functional for two of us to work in. In the process of unpacking our stuff from Virginia back into the house, we've gotten rid of a lot of stuff. Holly says there are ten moving size boxes in the garage now that we'll be selling in a garage sale sometime soon.

The weather has been beautiful, even though we got quite a bit of rain early in the week. But Central Texas is already in a drought, so we really need it. The wild flowers are already starting to bloom, so maybe we'll get some nice pictures here in the next week or so, especially of the bluebonnets. We're getting to a point where we can relax a bit and enjoy our home. I sure have missed our home and am looking forward to spending the next month here.

Holly's dad is doing very well. He said he was going to go hunting with his grandson, William, but it has been so rainy that we haven't heard if that happened or not. Matt's mom, Sandy, is still undergoing chemo and is stable right now. Please keep praying for her cancer to keep dying off. And I am feeling very well. This time last year I was starting to walk again and getting good use of my arm. It is still hard for me to just comprehend what happened to me just one year ago. God is good. Lately though, I have been having weird twitching in my right foot around my big toe – which is where both of my past seizures started. It is just twitching of the tendons and muscles on the side of my foot, and my right toe also will twitch slightly to the left and back again. It is not like constant jerking activity, so I don't think it is seizure-like; but maybe healing in that area of my brain? I'm just not sure and am going to have to call my doctor and ask him about it. It is tolerable during the day, but is most noticeable at night when I'm laying in bed trying to fall asleep. I can just feel the twitching until I finally doze off. Please pray that it is nothing serious. That's all for now!

Monday, March 13, 2007: Update on My Dad and Reflection on Being Home

My dad had a doctor’s appointment on Friday with Dr. Bond his primary care manager. His blood pressure was 87/55 and his weight was 131. He has gained nine pounds. That’s great. As a result of blood work from this visit, Dr. Bond discovered my dad is anemic and prescribed a multivitamin with iron plus an extra iron supplement. He also told my dad only 75% of people who go through what he did do not survive and 80% usually lose a leg. So my dad said he’d quit griping about his feet, but if you know my dad even a little bit, you know he’ll keep griping. At his appointment today Dr. Kirby, Cardio/Thoracic Surgeon, gave my dad a very thorough exam and told my dad that he looked good. His blood pressure was 98/65. And my dad told him no more cigarettes. My mom said she thinks he means it this time. I hope so! His legs still get tired easily and his feet are still recovering from the gout. He is on antibiotic for that and aspirin for blood thinner, plus the multivitamin and iron supplement now. He’s doing good and planning to go hunting this weekend with his grandson William. I know, he probably shouldn’t, but you can’t keep him cooped up inside too long.

Thanks again for all your prayers. I think my dad will make a slow but complete recovery and has decided to stick around a little longer. Please pray for continued healing, rest, strength, provision and peace for him and my mom.

Well, we’ve been home four days now and it feels so nice to be home. When we arrived we walked through the house by ourselves before everyone showed up to help unload and it was interesting and kind of neat. Our house is a little smaller than we remembered, but just as cute as we left it. And we left a lot of junk here! At first the thought of setting up house again was a little daunting. But that feeling has since left both of us. Thanks to de-cluttering an area before we unpacked and doing the same to what we were unpacking has made the idea of setting up again not so overwhelming. We are getting rid of tons of stuff. Part of our garage is full. Roger wants to have a garage sale, but I’m lazy so I say take it all to Goodwill or Salvation Army. That’s how lazy I am, I don’t care about making money off it. But it’s all coming together. We are almost finished unpacking everything. We really missed our house and are remembering how much we love it.

It is great being home and being in Austin. It’s still the Austin we love, but a lot has changed and we think we can handle all the changes. I was worried about all the development I read about before we moved back and was concerned the Austin I fell in love with years ago would be gone. But I don’t think high rises in downtown or an explosion of retail can take the weird out of Austin. And that’s just what we like.

Keep Austin Weird!

We are HOME!

Well, we’re home. I can’t tell you how good it feels to be back in my very own home. We pulled into the driveway at about 3:30pm and immediately started unloading the trailer. We had it about half unloaded when my dad and friend Denise showed up and they helped us unload the rest. We just put the boxes in the garage into different piles according to the rooms they belong to. We decided to tackle the kitchen first and to dust and make sure everything mechanically is working, including all the light bulbs. As we started going from room to room, we noticed that we had left many things behind. We both began to wonder… if we were able to live with just the stuff in the trailer over the past two years in VA, why would we need the rest of the stuff left in the house? I think that over the coming days, we’ll take a hard look at what we really do and don’t need and try to get rid of a lot of junk. I see a yard sale in the near future!

Our friend Jill, who was in DC recently, also came by for a short visit to say Hi. She brought me a six pack of Shiner Bock, the best beer in the world. We really only got as far as unpacking the kitchen, so we have a lot of work left this coming week. Holly, my dad, Denise and I had dinner at Texas Roadhouse and I broke down and had a steak. I think I jumped the gun because now my tummy feels a little twisted. I think I’m going to wrap this up and get to sleep. It’ll be nice to sleep in our own bed in our own house.

Tomorrow will be another busy day. We have to return the trailer, pick up our mail, wait for the cable guy to hook up the TV and Internet, and just do more unpacking. Thanks to everyone for your prayers – they got us here safely. Now please pray that we can get resettled without getting frustrated. -Roger

Almost Home!

We made it safely to Bryan at noon and will be heading out to Austin shortly after 1pm. We should be in Austin around 3pm. Driving has been good as is the weather. I can’t wait to get home!!!

On our way to Austin

I slept well and fell okay this morning. I do have a bit of a headache, probably from being slightly dehydrated and not getting a whole lot of food in my system yesterday. This morning I had two slices of toast, some 7-Up, water and Gatorade to try to get something in my stomach. Since I feel well enough to travel, we're going to head out shortly to Bryan to see Holly's dad and then Austin. We plan to be in Austin NLT 3pm. Those of you that have volunteered to help unload the trailer - we'll post another update later today with a better ETA.

Really... I mean REALLY sick

Holly’s sister’s kids woke us up this morning as they got ready for school. I decided to get up for a while and Heather was nice enough to make me a small breakfast. The kids left, and I went back to sleep around 8am and woke again around 11:30am. I decided to take a shower but my stomach felt bad. I took some Pepto and showered anyway. An hour later I felt even worse and took more Pepto. Then it hit me… hard. I must have gotten food poisoning from something at breakfast. Heather said her stomach was upset too and we were the only ones that ate eggs. I felt bad and Holly ran some errands with Heather. While they were gone, it got worse. From about 2pm to 7pm I think I threw up three times and had to use the restroom for other duties maybe ten times. Anyway, I haven’t had to visit the restroom for about three hours now, so I had a little bit of 7-Up, Jell-O and saltines. My stomach doesn’t feel 100% better, but I think the worst is over and if I can keep that little bit of food down, tomorrow should be better. So, our leaving tomorrow for Austin hinges on how I feel. I haven’t had much to eat today so I have no idea how I will feel tomorrow. We have another four hours of driving ahead of us and a stop halfway in Bryan to visit Holly’s dad. If we decide to head out, I hope this doesn’t reoccur on the road. Please pray for me and our safe passage to Austin. I’m going to brush my teeth and try to get some sleep.

We're in Lufkin, TEXAS!

Wow - what a long day... we left Clarksville around 8:45am and just got to Holly's sister's in Lufkin at 11:30pm. We drove 721 miles today which is only six miles more than we drove Saturday... according to the GPS, at least. But it took us much longer - I'm not sure why. Today's drive was a whole lot easier than Saturday's: minimal wind, good weather, good roads, well coordinated stops. Maybe it was the transition from I-40 and I-30 to US59 - who knows. All we know is that we are in Texas and all the long driving is behind us. This puts our total mileage at 1,436 and 26 hours and 19 minutes of driving with an average speed of 56.7 MPH. We're chillin' tomorrow and will be in Austin on Thursday. Thanks to everyone for your prayers thus far! We're going to grab a bite to eat and get to BED.

You know you are in the “real” South when…

You know you are in the “real” South when...

· There’s a sudden appearance of numerous dead animals on the side of the road and dead bugs on your windshield.
· The land becomes completely flat and the highways are lined with crops or swamps.
· State troopers and sheriff’s deputies are hiding behind brush or overpasses waiting to nab the next speeder, aka “revenue”.
· The roads are so bad you don't know if it’s your vehicle with a flat tire or the potholes, "repaired" potholes or gaps in the pavement making all the noise.
· The billboards quote scripture (i.e.: Acts 16:31), ask you eternal questions (“If you died today, where would you spend eternity?”) or just proclaim who is in charge (JESUS), aka “The Bible Belt”.
· Flags, yellow ribbons and red, white and blue bumper stickers appear on every vehicle passing you because the South is more patriotic than any other region in the “Union”.
· You ask for sweet iced tea at a restaurant and you don’t have to add sugar to it and you can actually get “real” southern food.
· teh further south you drive, the trucks get bigger, the temperature rises and the road side stores get more and more interesting.

406 mi to Lufkin, TX

We’re at a Love’s truck stop near Palestine, AR. We’ve driven a total of 1,027 miles from DC and have 406 to go until we get to Holly’s sister’s house. We should be there near 11pm. The weather has been great and the driving easy. It’s finally somewhat flat and it’s not windy so we don’t have to stop for gas so often. And it’s about 70 degrees now – and they’re getting snow in DC on Wednesday… Ha!

Off to Texas!

I wish we were "get up before the sun rises and be on the road before the crack of dawn" people... but we are not. No way. I don't think we ever will be. It's just shy of 8am and we'll probably be on the road through Nashville, Memphis, Little Rock and finally to Lufkin aroound 8:30am. I assume we'll be there around 9pm. The weather looks good - near 70 this afternoon en route... so I'm wearing shorts, but it's only 40 right now. I hate mornings.

Still in TN

We’re still here in Nashville at my sister’s house. We decided to take an extra day of rest and take a chance to spend more time with Ariana. The weather here is quite nice – over 60 today. We’ll head out to Lufkin tomorrow and we’ll be home Thursday. If you’re in Austin and can help unload the trailer Thu, send me an email.

Our friend Megan sent me some pics from our last night in Virginia. You can see those pics here: Megan’s Pics.

Lastly, I took some very cute pictures of Ariana taking a bath and there are some other misc pictures of all of us. We’re having great fun here in Clarksville, TN!

Safe in Clarksville, TN

We made it to my sister’s house in Clarksville, TN safe and sound. We pulled in at about 10:15 CST, we moved from Eastern time to Central time when we neared Nashville – so we gained a needed hour. It was kinda funny – we pretty much ate junky road food all day long – when my sister asked us if we were hungry we asked her, “Do you have any salad?” I ate a big salad, her Chinese leftovers and some fruit. We got to see Ariana and we’re headed off to bed. We ended up driving about 713 miles and averaged about 55 MPH – not too bad for driving about ten hours total.

We drove into a great sunset as we entered TN. Check out the pictures – it was quite stunning and seemed to go on for an hour as the colors just changed and changed.

Saturday Evening, March 3, 2007

Well, we’re still on the road. We have 147 miles left on I-40 then 198 miles after that. The driving is a little tough this time around. We’re pulling a bigger trailer this time and the hills and crazy strong winds are killing our speed and gas mileage. We won’t make it to Roger’s sister Mirna’s house until after 10:00 p.m. As I was driving I literally watched the gas gauge wind down. So far we have filled up two and a half times. Thank the Lord we saved some money on the trailer because we’ll be using it all for gas.

Roger’s driving now. I was a little nervous about letting him drive. It’s not that I think anything will happen, but I’m more concerned about what to do and what the end result would be if something did happen. So after three attempts to get some lunch (Sonic-power was out in town, Chick-fil-A sign led us to a mall, finally a Sonic that was open), I was frustrated and agitated, so I let Roger drive. Shortly after he began driving my eyelids started getting heavy and I felt myself get tired. Then I realized that I couldn’t sleep with him driving so I was only getting a little rest letting him drive. I’m going to be tired when we get to Mirna’s. I hope we can sleep in late. Roger slept for a bit maybe 30 minutes total while I was driving.

Starting out this morning was challenging. We left later than we wanted to due to all the things we had to get done. Then we noticed the back tires seemed lower than the day before. So we drove down the street to a convenience store with free air and filled them up. Thank goodness we did because when we got there the rear passenger tire looked scary low. After we got started on Hwy 66, we noticed that we now only had about half a tank of gas. All the running around we did on Thursday took more gas than we thought. So that meant we were going to have to stop sooner than we wanted. Then of course, our own selfishness got the best of us at times, so we weren’t having a ton of fun at first. But of course, we laughed at each other enough to get ourselves right. This doesn’t mean we haven’t had a challenge or two since, but adventure can’t be perfectly smooth.

Okay, more later. This is too long as it is for a moblog.

390 mi to TN

Just before 3pm and we’re still on I-81 just south of I-77. It has been very windy and we are pretty much heading into the wind. We’re going through the gas like it’s going out of style. I think we’re getting about 250 miles a tank, which is just over 16 MPG. 319 miles behind us and 390 to go, so we’re almost half way. We’re averaging 57.8 MPH. More than you need to know, eh?

551 mi to TN

We’re on I-81 where it meets I-64 and it’s just after noon. The good ole GPS says we’ve traveled a grand total of 156 miles and we have 551 to go. It says we’ll be in TN around 8:30 pm, but that doesn’t include stops. The trip has been good so far. We had to fill up the tank on the way out of town and we also had to air up the tires since I totally forgot and one of the rear tires was looking pretty low. It was too – it was supposed to be 35 PSI and it was just over 25. I took some pictures and uploaded them. Check them out on Flickr (link on the right.) By the way – this is totally cool being on the Internet in a moving vehicle!

Off to TN!

Good morning. We're up and heading out the door to my sister's in TN. Yeah yeah... it's almost 8 - whatever. The drive should take about 10-12 hours. It'll be a long drive and since I can get Internet access on my laptop through my phone, I thought I might try some Mobile Blogging, or MoBlogging, as they call it. Check back on the blog throughout the day. If I can't get a post up, I will add pictures from my phone to our trip's Flickr set - look there instead. I'll let you know when we get to TN safe and sound.

Off to bed - long day Saturday

A big thanks to Buddy, Amanda, Ryan, Derek, Jumoke, Pili, Charles, Megan, Ruben, Esther, Ashley, Matt, Julie, John, Tamra, Jana, Kezia, Naomi... your help providing materials, ideas, muscle while we packed everything up and loaded the trailer has been such a blessing to us. All we have to do now is wake up, take our last few items down to the truck and drive off. We had a nice meal at El Pollo Rico (which we're going to miss so much since it's so close and sooo yummy) and then we watched just a little TV and talked. Then our great friends presented us with a scrap book full of pictures from our two years here, and goodbyes from many different people from church. We looked at the pictures, but didn't really get a chance to dive into it. We'll enjoy reading it when we get home to Texas. Thanks again to everyone that had a hand in this wonderful gift.

Our time here has been awesome. I can't believe that we're leaving and that one year has passed since my brain surgery! Time has absolutely flown by. It just ticked past midnight and now it is March 3, 2007. One year ago right now my parents and Holly's mom were here and I was trying to get to sleep knowing that I would undergo brain surgery the following morning to remove my tumor. I didn't know it at the time, but the months following the surgery would be the most trying of my life. But here I am, one year later, driving off on one year to the day of that life changing day. Sometimes, it never seems like it happened. But every day I look in the mirror and I see the scar and my thin patch of hair from the radiation. It reminds me of what happened, and how far I have come. But I didn't do it alone. My wonderful wife, Holly, was there by my side every single day. She is my rock. And our family from Grace lifted us up during that time too. God gave you to us so that we could get through that time. In turn, we gave something back to others that are able to take our experience and somehow get through something in their lives just a little bit easier. I'm happy that God used me for that purpose. I will go through it again if I need to, because I feel I have helped more people having experienced this than anything else in my life. And it has made me a better person in the end.

The next few months will be a challenge for us, but it's nothing we won't be able to handle. But for the next 40 days, I'm on vacation... my first in two years. Man, am I looking forward to it! Lastly, Holly shared with you that I am on the selection list for a promotion to E-7/SFC in the Army. This is great news since it means more dinero and it just feels good to know that I made the cut. I had to take what the Army calls a DA Photo (Department of the Army Photo) and submit it with my promotion packet. I thought I'd share it with you. Good night.

We're Done Packing and Loading!!

Believe it or not, we've completed packing and the trailer is loaded and ready for us to leave tomorrow morning. The U-Haul place did not have a 5x10 trailer so we got a 6x12 trailer for a lower price! It was amazing and an answered prayer since it was going to be a tight fit. We're cleaning out the fridge and then going to get a bite to eat before going to bed at a decent hour. We plant to be on the road by 7am. What a relief that we're done!!

Back on the blog!

I have been off the blog quite a bit here recently. With Holly's dad getting sick and having to pack, there hasn't been much time for anything else. Remember that post I put up two weeks ago on my birthday? We got released early from work into a hellacious commute home. Well, that night we were expecting freezing rain, instead we got about seven hours worth of sleet! Pure sleet.In the end we got about four inches of ice. It was like a white Slurpee everywhere. Work delayed our starting time two hours and we trudged back in. The sleet storm was amazing. It was so windy that the sleet was blown onto the windows - it sounded like someone was literally filling up a bucket of pebbles and tossing it at the window, filling it up and tossing it, over and over. It was so LOUD! I didn't sleep very well at all - it was a very interesting night.

Later that same week we found out about Holly's dad's illness and we decided it would be best for Holly to get to Texas to be with him ASAP. At the time, we didn't really know what the outcome would be, so I rounded up a whole bunch of our friends and we did some big time packing all day Saturday. He was doing better on Sunday and I slacked off on the packing, but he declined again on Monday and we picked up the packing again. I think we ended up packing up about half of the apartment. I hated to admit it, but I decided that we should pack more than less "just in case."

Last week we packed again on Saturday and then little by little throughout the week. Pictured above is one of the piles of boxes in the dining room (forgive the quality of my phone camera.) The pic on the right is the office. We got a nice surprise six hour long snow last Sunday that laid down about four inches of thick white wet snow. It was beautiful, but then it started to rain. We were tempted to go out and play in it, but then we'd just end up sloppy wet - not so much fun. We hit full stride this week and as you've read from Holly's posts, it's been just nuts. I think we got ahead of ourselves today and there are still things than need to go into boxes, but all the boxes are sealed up. We'll have to figure out how to fix that tomorrow.

After the load we ended up feeling leery about whether everything is going to fit or not. If it doesn't, we might have to ship some boxes home - that would stink. Here's a shot of the mock load in the apt - what a pile, eh? Anyway, we're tired and ready for some shut eye. We're supposed to get some pretty serious rain tonight - I just hope it doesn't keep me up. By the way,Tamra's mom is doing a little better. She's off the breathing machine and able to converse a little, but she slept for most of the day. They just don't know how extensive the damage is to her brain yet. She need to get more rest before she can really be evaluated. Please continue to pray for them. And as Holly said... more tomorrow.

One Day and A Wake-up

Oh my...Roger and I are exhausted. Almost delirious. If there wasn't so much to do, we'd be completely delirious. And if it wasn't for our friends Ruben and Megan, we'd for sure be delirious. It's been a hard day. We had several errands to run. We really needed two full days off to get those last minute things done and visualize what we were really facing boxes and loading wise. But we only had one day and we tried to accomplish it all even if there were slight variations in our plans. One disappointing item was our Goodwill run. We had about six bags of goodies for Goodwill they happily accepted. But they would not take the bedside toilet and shower transfer bench left over from Roger's recovery. They stated some kind of liability/sanitation excuse and sent us on our way. This was our third attempt to get these items to needy hands. Roger immediately called a friend and there may be a solution. But if not, we may have to discard of them which we were hoping to avoid. We were hoping someone who really needed them could have them.

After a day of half hazard attempts at accomplishing last minute errands, Ruben and Megan came to our rescue to help us finish packing and accomplish a mock trailer load in the dining room to see if everything would fit. It's going to be tight, but we are going to try our hardest to get everything to fit.

Roger and I both will feel a ton of bricks lift from our shoulders after the trailer is completely loaded. Please pray the Lord will make room for all our stuff and we hit the road covered with His peace.

Until tomorrow...

Good News All Around

Well, we have lots of good news from all around. As you know, my dad went home from the hospital Tuesday afternoon. My mom says he cat naps all day, but he needs a lot of rest. I talked to him yesterday and he says he and his legs get tired very easy. I'm a tad confused with this, but they sent him home with no medications. I asked my mom many questions regarding this but she didn't ask upon his release about meds. Just seems strange to me that a person who just had the serious surgeries and close to death experience that my dad did would be released from the hospital without medications. Anyway, my sister Heather and niece Elizabeth are there today and tomorrow to harass my dad and ensure he's doing what he's supposed to do.

We spoke with our friends John & Tamra Rich this afternoon and Tamra's mom Cheri is doing much better. She is awake and alert and talking some what. She is still heavily sedated and needs lots of rest. Please continue to pray for her.

Roger found out from his First Sergeant this afternoon that he has been added to the promotion selection list for Sergeant First Class. Which means it's pretty much a done deal that he will be promoted. Perfect timing. He was very excited to hear this news. He was waiting for this information for a while. He submitted his packet at the end of January and hadn't heard anything until today.

Okay, I'm getting the look from Roger. I need to get off this computer. We have a few more errands to run before the rain hits. Tonight we will finish finalizing the packing and hopefully mock the trailer load in the dining room. Please pray we get everything done and it all goes smoothly!

"Going Home" My Dad Update: Tuesday, February 27, 2007

My mom just got a call from my dad at the hospital. They are letting him go home this afternoon. My mom said he sounded really good over the phone. He's been wanting to go home so bad. My mom thinks he will rest better at home.

He has physical therapy scheduled for the rest of the week and a follow-up appointment with his regular doctor, Dr. Bond on March 9th. He is also going to get a B-12 shot for his stomach problems. If this works he will get one a month from now on.

Although this is great news, I'm leary about my dad being completely ready to go home. I'd prefer him to stay in longer and heal more. I know the doctors wouldn't let him go home unless they thought he was capable. But I know my dad. Please continue to pray for his health, for wisdom to take it easy and follow up with his doctors and to not fall back on old habits. I'll have to give this to God and trust His will.

One more address change. If you'd like to send cards, please send them to:
2735 Smetana Road
Bryan, TX 77807

Visiting Hours

If you would like to visit my dad, the hours to visit him are between 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. The address to the Med and his room number are below. Directions can be found at http://csmedcenter.com/directions/. If you visit my dad while he's doing physical therapy, you'll have to do it with him. A little exercise won't kill you.

Address for My Dad

Sorry, I forgot to post the new address to send cards to my dad. Here you go:

College Station Medical Center
Patient Harvey Wise Room 228B
1604 Rock Prairie Road
College Station, TX 77842

Since my dad is still very tired and needs all the rest he can get, we are waiting for the go ahead for visitors and the specific times. As soon as we have them, we will post them here with all the details.

Thank you for all the prayers. Happy Tuesday!

Getting Ready

Well, we're almost packed. We've had a lot of friends help us get ready to move. While I was in Texas, many friends helped Roger pack and they packed almost everything. We wouldn't be as far as we are if it hadn't been for them. This weekend was my first time to pack for this move back home and it made it feel more real. Little things have been happening to help us get ready mentally to move back home. Little annoyances, etc. So this Sunday as I'm driving to church, it's snowing like crazy and it just started. So there's snow all over the roads and the plow trucks weren't out yet. So we pull into the parking lot and the snow is deep and it's quite nerve wracking to drive in that. Then when we leave church, our truck is covered with at least three inches of snow. Thank goodness we had one of those ice scraper brushes in the truck. It took us about 3-5 minutes to get the truck drivable. So we proceed to drive to a restaurant for lunch with friends. I'm driving and Roger is directing. Thank goodness because I have no idea what I'm doing. It looks easy, but it's not. Each time I drove in the snow I thought, "I can't wait to get to Texas."

We have boxes every where. Wednesday we will begin to live out of the suitcase. Friday we will load the trailer, with help from more friends, and then drive off on Saturday morning. And there's supposed to be another snow storm on Saturday that we may hit on our way out. We won't have to worry about snow in Texas.

Please pray for our friends John & Tamra Rich. Tamra's mom had an aneurysm this morning near Fort Worth, Texas. She was flown to a hospital in Tyler. Please keep her mom and family in your prayers.

My Dad Update: Monday, February 26, 2007

Today's report from my mom:

Well I got to hospital about 4:45 p.m. Dad's weight is 122 and BP is 90/65. Doc said it's low because he is calm. As you know his knee was swollen and they did an x ray and it is "gout" but the color was not a gout color. They gave him some antibiotics yesterday and it was down and felt better today. I brought dad some pj's he asked me to get them out and I helped him put them on feet and he pulled them up, so he is a lot better.

I think he was tired this past weekend. He had meatloaf yesterday and said it was good. Today's breakfast was tolerable, lunch steak w/gravy and mashed potatoes with sweet peas.

He just wants to go home, he walked from old room to the new room where he has a room mate. Therapist came in today and wants dad to stay another week just for therapy, drive in three times a week or do home therapy. Dad choose the middle one. But he looks real good today.

My Dad Update: Sunday, February 25, 2007

So my dad's not in ICU anymore, but he's in between ICU and a regular room. They still monitor the same as ICU but it's kind of like transition or for all you Catholics think of it like purgatory. He's still very weak and his body is not strong enough so he's waiting to heal, rest and recover before he can go to the regular floor. His blood pressure is still low but stable. He only weighs 122 lbs (remember he's 6ft tall) and the doctors want him to gain more weight. He walked three times today, but his knee is swollen for some reason and it's going to be x-rayed tomorrow. They took out the central line but put an IV in just in case. He's in pretty good spirits, but ready to get out of there. He still thinks he's getting out soon. But we all know it will be a long road. He was finally able to get a visit from his grandchildren. And he played gold fish with Elizabeth and Phillip.

My Dad Update: Saturday evening, February 24, 2007

Well, my dad must be doing well. They moved him out of ICU. He is still very tired and gets tired really easy. He needs lots of rest and lots of sleep. Rest is the key to recovery. Our family is so glad he is doing better. Thank you for all your prayers. Please continue to pray for my father and family. More later!

My Dad Update: Saturday morning, February 24, 2007

My sister and all three of her kids are at my mom's this weekend. They went to the early morning visiting time and he was sitting in the chair when they arrived. His blood pressure cuff was not on his arm so they don't know what his blood pressure was but his heart rate was 80. He is completely off oxygen. He had eggs and cereal for breakfast. And he slept very well through the night because he asked them to give him something to sleep because he was so tired.

He walked down the hall and back but it tires him out due to pulling the stand of IV bags, etc and the stitches in his groin and calf. He may move out of ICU today onto the regular floor. We'll see.

My Dad Update: Friday, February 23, 2007

Friday report from my mom:

BP 116/80 HR 89...Well dad had a BM yesterday about 5:50 p.m. or so. (To which I asked if it was healthy.) Well yes, the nurses have been wanting him to have one but with nothing in him until yesterday (Jell-O and a few carrots), there won't be anything.
Dad said he could not get any sleep because they are always doing something to him. So I talked to the nurse about this and she said she would do all meds and other things early , but they have to draw blood at 5 a.m. because it gets sent to the lab ASAP.
Dad had scrambled eggs (he said they were powdered) and toast with jelly for breakfast. Chicken fried steak for lunch and some kind of steak for supper with green beans and mashed potatoes.
Eddie Hare came by and dad talked to him while I went to truck and got toothbrush, toothpaste, Scope and under arm stuff. This is about it. Dad still looks tired but that comes with it all. Heather, the kids and I will go and see him in the a.m. Dad also sat in chair three times and walked down the hall three times.

Slow and Steady: My Dad Update: Thursday Evening, February 22, 2007

My mom took a nap this afternoon so she missed the 1:30 p.m. visiting time. She slept for two hours and she felt great when she woke up. I'm glad she took the time to rest.

My mom, Bubba & Brandy went to the 5:30 p.m. visiting time. My dad's blood pressure when they first entered was 96/65. The lights were off in his room and she assumed he was asleep but when she peeked in his eyes opened. My mom said he is doing very good.

Remember I blogged earlier that he was supposed to get semi-solid food today. Well, dinner of three meatballs and carrots showed up. And my dad was surprised to get that. He ate two or three carrots and a staff person came in saying that was not his. Then they brought in a dinner with chicken. My dad hates chicken. And again, someone came in to take it away saying it was not his. Dr. Bond said it was okay for my dad to start eating solid food, but Dr. Kirby said not yet. So he got a dinner of two containers of orange jello and water. He's got to take it slowly.

He received two liters of oxygen today and physical therapy. His nurse today, Steve, informed my mom it was physical therapy. He sat at the edge of the bed for ten minutes. May not seem like much, but in his condition, he's got to take it slowly.

My Dad Update: Thursday Morning, February 22, 2007

Praise the Lord, my dad is doing very well. All those prayers are working. At 7:30 this morning, Dr. Amen (pronounced Ah-mean) ordered all the tubes taken out of my dad which means he is not on the breathing machine anymore. Awesome!! My mom said he was told not to talk but then the staff began asking him questions to which he had to answer. They are giving him ice chips for his dry mouth and sore throat. It won't take long for him to get over that. He was allowed to take the inflating shoes off his feet. And a therapist is coming to see him. My mom didn't ask what kind of therapist, but I'm assuming it's a respiratory therapist. He may get semi-solid food this afternoon. And he asked my mom to bring his glasses and a newspaper. My mom said he looks really good. He may be able to leave the ICU in a few days but he will remain for now so they can observe him to make sure nothing like Monday happens again. He still has the central line and nasal cannula in, but I know he's happy to have all that other stuff out.

Thank you all so much for your prayers, love and concern. Please pray for rest for my mom as she is getting worn out. This is taking a toll on everyone. So that prayer could apply to my whole family especially my mom, Bubba, Brandy and Heather.

My sister will be back tomorrow for the weekend with which ever of her three kiddos want to come. Cole has gone to the lake this weekend with his grandmother and hopefully when he returns my dad will be in a regular room then he can see his Paco. Brandy wrote me the following story early this morning and it's so cute I have to share it.

Being 14: "Well when we were in the ICU waiting room the other day with Elizabeth I had the kids playing I spy. Cole had already checked the sign and to his dismay it still said 14. During the I spy game I said I spy the number 14 and Cole took off running Elizabeth had no clue but of course with Cole and that sign he knew exactly where it was. "

Firecracker!

My good friend Kezia emailed me this morning stating that my dad sounded like a firecracker because of how he was fighting to live. So I wanted to share with you all how much of a firecracker he is. And for those of you who really know him, firecracker is an understatement.

On Sunday he was feeling good and when my brother and I were in his ICU room he wanted to show us something and said, "Watch this" very devilishly. He started breathing fast and heavy until the machine that displays all his vital signs started beeping. He was so tickled with himself. I told him he better stop before they kicked us out of there since it was past visiting time already. Then he told us that while he was on the breathing machine he would hold his breath and the machine would make a noise like a duck. I got on to him and he said, "You got to have some fun in here."

Firecracker. We have other words we use to describe him but we'll keep this post clean. :)

My Dad Update: Wednesday Afternoon, February 21, 2007

My sister reported at the 1:30 p.m. visiting time my dad was sleeping peacefully and his blood pressure was 93/64 and his heart rate was 69. Then he began writing a note to my mom and his heart rate sky rocketed to 101 instantly. He wrote, "They like to have killed me 5:15 am." They gave him a breathing test at 5:15 a.m. It must have done him in and he was not too happy about it. He got agitated and I guess a little fussy so he was given sedation so he'd sleep. I wonder if we can get some of that for when he comes home. Just joking (not really). :) As they were giving him the sedative, he wanted to make sure my mom didn't leave that note in there for the nurses to accidentally read. It does seem kind of strange to wake up an ICU patient with lung issues at 5:15 a.m. when they need as much rest as possible to give an exhausting breathing test.

As long as nothing happens, both tubes will be removed tomorrow morning. He will have to stay in ICU a few more days for observation. Then they will move him to the regular floor.

My Dad Update: Wednesday Morning, February 21, 2007

Here's the 9:30 a.m. visiting time report from my sister and mom. My dad's blood pressure was 115/84 and his heart rate was 85. He is doing very well. So well they will try to take one of the tubes out today and may try to wean him off the breathing machine. There is no fluid in his lungs and he is taking in 100% oxygen. Everyone is very happy about how he is doing today. There will be more updates this afternoon. Your prayers are working. Thank you so much for praying for my dad. Our God is an awesome God! Please continue to pray for him and my family.

My Dad Update: Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Sorry I couldn’t post earlier. I flew back to DC this afternoon so I haven’t been able to post until now.

My mom and I went to the 9:30 a.m. visiting time. His nurse Diane said he did well through the night and his blood pressure and heart rate were better than Monday. When we arrived his blood pressure was 136/89 and his heart rate was 90. His heart rate had been over 100 all weekend. But his heart rate fluctuates between 90 and 100. When I walked in his eyes were halfway open and he looked like he was staring at the ceiling but I’m pretty sure he wasn’t seeing anything. It kind of worried me and I hustled over to his side and watched his chest to make sure he was breathing. Diane said that he was a little more awake and the doctor’s said that was okay since he wasn’t trying to fight it like yesterday. This didn’t last long though. She said he coughed periodically and still had some excess saliva. Diane also told us they lowered the breathing machine again (16 to 8) meaning his lungs were clearer and he could take in more oxygen on his own.

I left at 12:30 p.m. to drive back to Austin to catch my flight. My mom and Aunt Sharon were there for the 1:30 p.m. visiting time. His blood pressure was 129/88 and his heart rate was 102. His urine bag was half full. I know you are wondering why I would share that information. The only way for the fluid in his lungs to clear is for him to urinate it out. So the more he urinates, the better. Diane said it would take a long time for all the fluid to clear and he needed a lot of rest. He didn’t have any real changes from the morning visit but he was better than yesterday.

Heather and Elizabeth made it for the 5:30 p.m. visit. Bubba, Brandy & Cole were there also. Heather said she felt a lot better being there. It was very hard on her to not be able to come right away. She had been upset and emotional about it since we told her Monday morning. His blood pressure was 133/95 and his heart rate was 95. His sugar level was 168 which is good since normal is below 200. He still looked good and he was awake. He held their hands. My mom asked him to squeeze her hand and he did. He responded by nodding or shaking his head to their questions. My mom was told there may be more fluid in his lungs and they will suck it out if needed. And he wanted to get out of bed.

Elizabeth went home with Bubba, Brandy & Cole. My mom and Heather intended to stay for a short visit at 8:30 p.m. Before they got back there he wanted to get out of bed and he was awake, uncomfortable and maybe a little agitated from all the stimulation. So they gave him more sedative because he was trying to breathe over the breathing machine. So they did not stay long because they wanted him to sleep and rest. His blood pressure then was 125/88 and his heart rate was 97.

This is going to be a long road for my dad. We knew he was going to remain in ICU and the hospital for a while and after this little set back he definitely will. Please continue to pray for my dad and my family. Pray for peace and rest for us all and for the Lord’s strength and healing for my dad. Thank you for all your prayers and love. We love you all.

My Dad Update: Monday Night, February 19, 2007

Here is more information regarding what happened this morning. Dr. Kirby told us this evening that all the fluid in my dad’s lungs was from the surgery on Thursday. He said they put a lot of fluids in him during the surgery and they knew that it would eventually catch up with him. And since his heart and kidneys are so weak (the ECHO performed this morning showed his heart is only working at 15%), it all dumped into his lungs. About 5:30 a.m. the nurse noticed his oxygen level had decreased and he was having trouble breathing and his heart rate and blood pressure were elevated although he was sleeping so well. So they put him back on the breathing machine, sucked as much fluid out of his lungs as possible, did some blood tests and the echo, heavily sedated him and gave him medicine to help his kidneys work better. This stabilized his heart rate and blood pressure. The blood tests showed that his heart was weak and they did the echo to check on the flow of his blood, etc. His nurse Diane said he was super white at that time. When we arrived he was pale but not as white as earlier.

He was a little better at the 1:30 p.m. visiting time. But there were no results of the echo yet and his blood pressure was at 104/80. At the 5:30 p.m. visiting time the nurse said he was doing a lot better. They were able to decrease the amount of supplied oxygen because his lungs were clearer and he was able to take in more oxygen on his own. They also gave him medicine by IV to help his heart work stronger. They will begin giving it to him in pill form tonight so when they are ready to take the IV’s and such out, it will be in his system. That may be a medication he may have to take for a while. We also discovered during that visit when we rubbed his arms and talked loudly it would stimulate him too much and he would try to wake up from the sedation and it would make him uncomfortable. And his response was kind of scary to us because he would open his mouth like he was gagging, arch his back and he would shake like a shiver. We didn’t like that and his nurse told us that it happened even when they stimulated him from changing tubes, etc and bathing him. So we all decided we’d be a little quieter and not rub his arms. It was very hard to see him do that. And yes, friends in the waiting room said, “The Wises not talk? Not likely.” Dr. Lammoglia who reviewed the echo is also on board now. I say the more specialists involved the better.

Before my mom and I went to Whataburger (Thanks Eddie) for some dinner, we ran into Dr. Kirby. He explained the echo results and what caused the fluid. He said they just have to wait for my dad to urinate it all out and they didn’t need any complications but now they have this one. He told us my dad can’t have any more complications and the only concern is the fluid on my dad’s lungs. He said he will have to stay on the breathing machine 2-3 more days then they should be able to take it out. He was disappointed to come in and see my dad was still in ICU and not on the regular floor. He was positive about my dad’s recovery.

At the 8:30 p.m. visiting time, his blood pressure was 121/85 and his coloring was very good. It was the best coloring I’ve seen on my dad in years.

My mom is getting exhausted. She has a hard time saying no, so I’m going to have to say no for her. Since I’m leaving tomorrow and will not be able to create emails for her and she will not be able to forward or reply to emails and return as many calls, please check this blog for updates (http://www.mommaerts.org/, click on “blog”) beginning today. As soon as things quiet down and after she rests she will return to doing all that. Also, while my dad is in ICU and on the breathing machine, please refrain from visiting the ICU. He needs complete rest. She wants to visit with everyone but it’s taking a toll on her. Thank you so much for understanding and for your patience at this time. We will update this blog every day.

Please keep those prayers coming! Please pray for the Lord's peace for my family. We really appreciate them and need them.

My Dad Update: Monday, February 19, 2007

The ICU nurse called this morning at 7:40 a.m. to tell us that my dad’s oxygen levels were going down and he was having trouble breathing during the night. His lungs are filled with a fluid and they put the tube back in his throat and put him back on the breathing machine. They gave him medication for sedation. His heart rate is stable and he is so sedated that he is not aware of who is there. Dr Kirby, the vascular surgeon and Dr. N, the lung specialist were both there this morning. Please lift my father’s health and healing up to the Lord. Thank you.

My Dad: Update Sunday, February 18, 2007

I’m happy to report that my dad is doing very well. He’s doing so well that he may be moved into a regular room tomorrow. Praise the Lord!

While Brandy and I were in his ICU room this afternoon, his nurse Dan removed the tube from his nose. That was interesting to watch. My dad told us that he wanted to sit up and hang his legs down and Dan asked him if he wanted to get out of bed. My dad was ready for that. I asked Dan if he would have to wait until he got to a regular room to get a bath and Dan said he would take care of that later also. He was in better spirits this afternoon. He even talked to a few friends on his cell phone. His brother Russell and Russell’s wife Bea came to visit and my dad was very happy to see them. I know he enjoyed talking to his brother. He held his hand while he talked to him and when we left to allow others to visit he asked Russell to come back before they left. Then his nephew James Keith showed up to visit at the same time we were all there. It has been nice to see so many family members while I’m here. His blood pressure was 104/74 which is great compared to 64/40 on Thursday.

When we returned to visit him at the 5:30 p.m. visiting time, he had already been out of the bed and bathed and was lying in bed covered up with a blanket because he was a little cold from being out of bed. His blood pressure was 131/90. Every time we visit his blood pressure is better. He said he felt so much better to be clean. He looked better too. They even changed all the sheets on his bed. And they removed all the IV’s and other stuff except the central line and the nasal cannula that delivers oxygen through the nose. He sat in a high back chair while he was bathed and the sheets were changed. I asked him how it felt to stand up and walk and he said it was a lot easier than on Thursday when he had no feeling.

He’s excited about the hope of moving out of the ICU. He really wants to see his grandkids, especially Cole since he wants to see his Paco so bad. On the way to the hospital at the 1:30 p.m. visiting time, Cole rode with my mom and I and he said, “I hope the sign says three today.” My mom and I looked at each other out of the corner of our eyes because we knew the sign was still going to say no one under 14 allowed in ICU. It was sad because we knew that once again he would not be able to see his Paco. So we recorded a video of Cole with my digital camera giving Paco a message about getting better and that the sign didn’t say three yet. It was so cute. My dad watched it and loved it.

We also got a huge delivery of food and beverages from the Smetana Ladies. You wouldn’t believe what they brought us: chicken spaghetti, potatoes au gratin, salad, rolls, garlic bread, cherry cobbler, cake, two pies, soda, ice, plates and forks. It was amazing and perfect timing. I was starving when they showed up. And of course everything was delicious. It was great to see friends that I haven’t seen in a long time. I was able to see my good friend Christy who I haven’t seen probably since my wedding and meet her little boy Britten for the first time. He looks just like her. Thank you Dorothy, Betty, Pat, Trisha, Christy, Marsha, Regina and Ann.

It was a great day. Our God is an awesome God. What joy and happiness He gave us today. I feel great knowing my dad is doing so well and getting better and better each day. I was also very glad to hear him say “I hope so” in response to my mom’s question if he thinks he can kick the nicotine addiction while he’s in there and to hear him tell his brother that he was going to have to take better care of himself. It warms my heart to know he isn’t giving up. Thank you Lord. And thank you friends for your prayers. They are working. Please don’t stop.

My Dad: Update Saturday, February 17, 2007

Well, I flew into Austin this morning. It felt so weird to be in the Austin airport. I can’t describe exactly what was weird about it, but it was like deja vu or something. Very strange. Then I drove to Bryan. I was starving when I left the airport and knew I wouldn’t last an hour and a half to eat in Bryan. So I went through the drive thru in Bastrop. I knew I was in the South when the girl working the window was wearing a banana clip. I haven’t seen a banana clip in years. I didn’t even know they were still being made and sold. I thought to myself, “I’m definitely in the South.”

I missed the 1:30-2:00 p.m. visiting time and went straight to my mom’s. I actually went to my brother’s across the street from my parents because the weather had left their long dirt road in a state that my mom thought my little rental car wouldn’t be able to make. My brother Harvey Jr (aka Bubba), nephew Cole and I drove to my mom’s. There she and my sister-in-law Brandy were cleaning up the hospital bed my parents’ had from my dad’s first bypass surgery. Once we got it cleaned, assembled in the house, mattress dressed and a table next to it for stuff, we drove to the hospital for the 5:30-6:00 p.m. visiting time. We waited about 30 minutes before the line started outside of ICU to go in.

My mom Helen, Aunt Sharon and I went in first. My dad was sleeping very well. We talked to his nurse Dan (who is exceptionally nice) and he informed us the trach tube had been removed at 11:00 a.m. and that he had been doing very well all day. I was a little nervous on the way here at how I might react to seeing my dad all wired and plugged up, but he didn’t look as bad as I thought he would. We surrounded my dad and stood over him talking about different things then all of a sudden we saw his left eye open. He looked at me and blinked and I asked him if he could see me. He said yes and then asked me why I had come. I told him that I wanted to see him and since it was a three day weekend and I wouldn’t be able to come at all until after we moved to Texas in two weeks. He told us that his throat hurt to talk and breathe. He sucked up his saliva when he needed with a stiff tube kind of like when you go to the dentist. We talked small talk for a while and read him some cards then some old family friends, Mr & Mrs Alderete, showed up outside his ICU door. So my mom and I left so they could come in. We went back to the ICU waiting room for a bit and then Bubba and Brandy went in for a bit. My nephew Cole wanted to go in so bad, but the sign on the waiting room wall said no one under 14 was allowed in ICU. He asked why the day before and they explained it to him. He asked when we first got into the ICU waiting room if the sign was changed to 3 yet. It was so sweet. So his mom told him as soon as Paco (that’s what my nieces and nephews call my dad) left ICU and was in his own room Gram (what they call my mom) would come pick him up and take him to see Paco and that maybe they could watch Open Season together. Too cute.

We visited for longer than the 30 minute limit and had more than the two person maximum. We finally left and went to Bubba and Brandy’s for grilled steaks, baked potatoes and salad. It was a great dinner. I was starving.

We told my dad all about the hospital bed and furniture being all set up for him at home. He seems to think he’s not going to be in it long. I don’t think he realizes just how sick he is. He was not aware of how many incisions he had so I don’t think he knows the extent of his problems. Now that the trach tube is out and he’s not so sedated, his doctors should be able to explain more to him. He won’t like it, but he’ll have to deal with it. My mom over heard him tell Mr. Alderete that he was going to have to change. So maybe he is learning from this experience. That’s one prayer I’ve been praying. We’ll see Lord.

Tomorrow I am going to ask his nurse what’s going to be done about his digestive system. I had wondered what was going to be done with the failing kidney and Brandy found out it was not going to be removed. They won’t remove it unless it is harming the body.

My dad also expressed to us that he’s not in pain when he’s sleeping, but when someone wakes him up he’s aware of the pain and they have to give him something for it. On Friday he wrote on my mom’s note pad, “No visitors, they wake me,” “I hurt when I am awake, let me sleep” and “I hurt when not asleep, don’t wake up.” So he doesn’t want any visitors right now for the pain reason and also because he’s exhausted. The ICU is very strict about visitors. They only allow visitors four times a day for 30 minute sessions. They really want their patients to rest. Rest is the key to recovery. We learned that with Roger. But we’ll let everyone know as soon as he has left ICU and is ready for visitors.

If you would like to send your regards, please send cards only to the following address:

College Station Medical Center
Intensive Care Room 6, Patient Harvey Wise
1604 Rock Prairie Road
College Station, TX 77842

My mom is doing well. She’s a trooper. Must be where I get it from. She has been tired though. She receives tons of calls every day. And yes, she answers and returns them all and tells the same story every time. And of course, we have tons of food. She really appreciates all the love, concern and prayer. My parents are truly loved by many. They are pretty cool parents. :)

Holly in Texas

Holly got into Austin on time at 12pm CT. She picked up her rental car and is on her way to Bryan. I spoke to Holly’s sister-in-law, Brandy, this morning and asked her about Harvey. They decided to leave the breathing tube in last night and he is stable, but still under observation. We’ll have more information later today after Holly gets there and is able to get a full picture of what’s going on. Our great friends, Matt and Julie, gave me and Holly a ride to BWI this morning at 6am. Then they helped me get the truck to the dealer to fix a blown light in the instrument cluster and to get it ready for the return drive to Texas. Then we had breakfast where we saw Kezia and Jana, who will be helping with packing later. Later today, all those folks, and another good friend of ours, Tamra, will come over to help me get as much packed up as possible. I think we’re going to have to pack all weekend since it’s almost 3pm and we haven’t even started yet. We’re going to pack as much as possible just in case we need to return to Texas earlier than planned. Our plans are up in the air right now and I’m feeling a little dazed here in VA. Please pray for us to get everything in order and please keep on praying for Harvey. More later.

Friday Update

My dad is doing a little better today but he is not out of the woods yet. He is asking for the trach tube to be taken out and it should be taken out tonight. I know he will be happy about that. His digestive system has basically shut down so he is being fed via the IV tube. It will take a few days for his digestive system to start up again since he was so malnourished. He is trying to write with his left hand since his right is covered with tubes, etc. The doctors expect a full recovery as long as there are no complications. But with a failed kidney, possibly more blood clots that the doctors couldn't get, malnutrition and potential lung problems, complications are possible. He will be in ICU for a while and he could be in the hospital for a long, long time. My mom is handling it very well. She has been there most of the day. My sister-in-law has been there since this afternoon and my brother visited tonight. My sister is on her way there now. I am flying there tomorrow morning and staying until Tuesday. So several friends are going to help Roger pack this weekend. THANK YOU!! Please continue to pray for healing for my dad and a thorough recovery. Praise the Lord he got to care when he did. Thanks for all the prayers. We need them.

Holly's Dad

My dad Harvey had to have emergency surgery today. His legs went numb at home after he felt a little sick. He called my mom at work to take him to the hospital. They made it to the emergency room in College Station where a cat scan was ordered and he was hooked up to many devices. The doctors suspected some type of blockage and once the results were given, blockage in the aorta, he was sent straight to surgery. My brother Harvey Jr and his wife Brandy were able to make it to the hospital and see him before his surgery. My dad was very upset about the surgery and got quite emotional knowing he was going to have to be cut again. He had a triple arterial bypass about ten years ago.

Surgery lasted about 4 hours. The surgery went well, but things were not good. Turns out my dad had many blockages, one developed today, one of his kidneys is basically dead and hasn't functioned in many years, he is malnourished due to his gastrointestinal problems he never returned to the doctor for last fall and they are sending a lung specialist to check out his lungs. They cleared out all the blockages including several in his legs, he is heavily sedated in ICU on a respirator and breathing tube. He will be in ICU for many days and in the hospital for at least a couple weeks. The doctors were very upset about the state of his health. He is very weak and the recovery will be very slow and long. Thank the Lord he got to the hospital when he did. I can't believe he was able to go this long with all those issues.

My dad is very stubborn and is to blame for his condition, but I'm sure my mom feels bad when she gets interrogated by the doctors and they complain and roll their eyes because of my dad's unhealthy habits. But if you know my dad even a little, you know talking to him is like talking to a fence post. I pray that he changes his habits and lifestyle because of this. Please keep my father in your prayers. He is very sick and needs all of God's healing to make it through this. And please pray for peace for my mom and siblings. Thank you all.

Big Three-Two, Thank GOD!

Today is my thirty-second birthday. I feel blessed to be able to celebrate the passing of another year. I didn’t do a whole lot of celebrating though. In fact, I think today was the lowest key birthday I have ever had.

I started the day off late. I just couldn’t get out of bed. It wasn’t that I could hear my bones creaking or anything, I just didn’t want to get up. I woke up in the middle of the night around 4:30am and saw that it was lightly snowing. I went back to bed, but when my alarm went off I could hear the sound of cars driving through sloppy wet streets. The snow had turned to rain. So, I just wasn’t eager to get out of bed. Finally, I did. Both Holly and I got a late start. By the time I left for work, it was snowing steadily and I descended down into the metro for the long ride to work.

The ride itself was uneventful, but when I got to the last station on my commute, where the shuttle bus takes over, I had to wait… and wait… in the cold… and in the snow. Luckily, there was an overhang that provided me some shelter from the elements. The bus took so long to come that my Team Lead even called to see if I was still alive. I called back and assured him I was.

Finally, the bus came – and after waiting a few more minutes for more passengers from later trains, we were off. I had a feeling it was going to be a short day – the weather just seemed to be getting worse. Sleet and freezing rain were in the forecast – the worst kind of weather any big city can expect. I didn’t even wear my uniform because I figured it would be a waste of time to get into it and then back out again.

When I arrived at work, I took care of a few things and fit in a quick lunch with my friend Julia. She even bought me lunch – that was so nice of her. I treated myself to some fried chicken and a Dr. Pepper. This was a real treat, because Holly and I have been trying to eat healthier food these days. And fried chicken and sugar laden soda aren’t exactly on the menu!

I got back to work and managed to get a few more things done when the word came out that the Federal Government was closing up shop at 2:00pm (except for essential personnel – which I am not.) We got notice at about 1:40pm and I only had a few minutes to finish what I was doing before gathering my things to head out. It was important for me to head out ASAP because 5,000 people leaving a building at the same time and hundreds more leaving the base, and maybe half of them also using the metro, meant only one thing – MEGA traffic.

I made my way outside and onto a shuttle bus that only had standing room in the back – but we were told that we could not stand. So, off the bus I came and waited in the cold, and in the sleet, for another bus. Finally, one came, and I made sure I was getting a seat, which I did. The bus was packed and every seat was taken. There were hordes of people waiting for shuttle buses, so this driver said people could stand (wha?!?) The bus pulled away from the shelters, around the parking lot, out of the gate and onto the road… we were on our way! Or so we thought. Now we could see the disaster that lay before us… traffic – not even moving – brake lights as far as the eye can see. So we sat, and sat. Five minutes went by… then ten. Some people decided to walk the mile to the metro station in the sleet – they got off of the bus. I wasn’t going to risk walking in the icy cold with an unsteady right leg. So, I waited. The bus moved in feet – one at a time. It was unbearable. More people got off the bus. I convinced myself that I wasn’t in a hurry. But after waiting for half an hour and moving only – I’m not kidding here – only fifty feet or so – I began to grow impatient. The line of cars to the north gate was clearly over a mile long. The line to the south gate was meeting up with the line to the north gate! The south gate was over a mile away.

I then remembered that when I first started working there, I used to take the metro bus to and from work sometimes. The nearest bus stop to the metro rail was just outside the main gate, but the gate was under construction. I asked a few people if the gate was open to pedestrian traffic and they said it was. I whipped out my Windows Mobile Smartphone and went to the metro mobile website. I tapped in my starting point and the station as the ending point. Bingo! The W4 bus would be at a stop in fifteen minutes. I gathered my belongings, asked the bus driver to let me off, told the others on the bus of my plan and asked if anyone wanted to join me, but nobody did (boy was that a mistake for them.) I walked ten minutes over some pretty slippery stuff but made it to the stop with time to spare. The bus came early and I was at the station waiting for a train in five minutes. While waiting, I saw some very wet and cold people that got off of my shuttle bus earlier and walked the whole way. I felt sorry for them because they walked, but it’s not my fault that I am such a technically advanced problem solver, is it? Ha!

Anyway, I was home in thirty minutes. I just wish I had just walked to the bus stop to begin with. I wonder how long it took the shuttle bus to round the corner and make the mile long bumper to bumper trek to the station. My guess is that it took another hour.

Holly and I just came back from a nice birthday dinner at a seafood restaurant called Market Inn in DC. They’ve been in the same place since 1959. They had a piano player that has been performing there for over 27 years! The food was good, but slightly overpriced for the quality. Their broiled lump crab cake was pretty good though. But I don’t think I’d ever go there again. After dinner, we came home and now we’re going to bed. Like I said, it was an uneventful day. I actually think I spent most of it commuting! We are expecting more freezing rain tonight – in fact, I can hear sleet hitting the window as I type this. It is 25 degrees F right now and the temp is not expected to rise above freezing until Thursday, so tomorrow should be a nasty day. I’m personally hoping for a day off or at least a delayed opening.

By the way, I did have a big birthday party bash on Saturday. I hope to have pics from that up soon. Stay warm, wherever you are.

30 Days and a Wake UP

Yes I am counting down. I don't think I would have even noticed otherwise except Roger and I were abruptly awakened at 3:30 this morning by another baby crying it's head off for over an hour. You got to love living in a high rise apartment building. You know, I totally sympathise with the parents and don't blame the baby at all. But we went through this last summer for three months with our next door neighbors who, I hope they don't read this, were clueless about babies and we shared a bedroom wall with them and the baby. It was great. Not! I learned a lot about babies during that time. They can set their own schedule even if you don't try to at all. The baby next door to us would cry every 3 and half hours or so starting at 11:00pm the night before and at least for an hour each time. It was great. And somehow they were able to sleep through it every night. I really felt sorry for that baby. I don't know if that's normal and I don't want to find out anytime soon. I was so happy when they finally moved out.

I do believe God is preparing us to move home. The last two times we were supposed to move, we didn't have a preference. If we moved, we moved. But each time it became clear that it wasn't time to move yet. It's a different story this time. Numerous things are happening that are making our single family home in Austin more and more appealing. And I have to say that I'm ready to go home. I will miss many things here, but as the wise King Solomon said,

For everything there is a season,
And a time for every matter under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away;
A time to tear, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate,
A time for war, and a time for peace.

It is time.

Christmas Day? and Looking Forward

Holly and I are still gearing up to head out March 3rd. I’ll be taking 40 days of leave and currently am scheduled to return to DC alone to out-process from my work and report to Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC). Next week I have an appointment with my Neurologist who is going to write up some Medical Evaluation Board (MEB) paperwork. When I go to WRAMC, they will likely transfer me to a Medical Hold Company and I’ll be at their mercy until they decide what to do with me. We hear the process could take anywhere from a month to three months to six months. We really have no idea at all. The obvious outcomes from the MEB are: they keep me in the Army with limitations and some type of disability, or they decide to medically retire me with some type of disability. I still don’t have full use of my right leg and I still have seizures, so I’m hoping they’ll give me some type of disability. As for staying in or out, I’m just not sure what I’d prefer yet. Anyway, there is a lot still up in the air, so stay tuned.

I did book a 7 day Western Caribbean cruise on Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines this week that Holly and I will be going on some time in March. We are really looking forward to that! It’ll be our first.

And lastly, I finally posted pictures from Christmas Day. I’m kinda’ working backward, I guess. Not sure why, but it seems easier. As you know, Mirna, Joey and Ariana came to visit us. We opened presents in the morning and then headed over to our dear friend, Megan’s house, for some great fellowship. We ate, played games and had a gift exchange. It was tons of fun! Click here to see them: Christmas Day 2006.

Pregnant!

Ha! Not us silly... my sister is having another baby! Today she is six weeks and six days (or so her doc says.) Mirna writes,

"Morning sickness this time around has been calm compared to 2 years ago when I was pregnant with Ariana, so I have to believe from a mothers intuition that this one is a boy. I feel great and only queasy at times and doesn't last to long, I pray it will stay that way. Please keep us in your prayers for a healthy pregnancy and for a job for Joey in Austin this Spring. Joey has decided to get out of the Army. His career has hit a brick wall and it's time to do something else. He was excepted by a Professional Recruiter named Cameron-Brooks, Inc. They work with only Junior Officers who are ready for a career change , they are based out of Fredericksburg, TX. We have a conference in Charlotte,NC in late March for 5 days and this will help in a lead for a job in TX (God Willing)."

Prayers for my sis would be appreciated.

Sandy Update; Freezing Wx and Return Date

I haven’t updated you on Matt’s mom, Sandy, for some time now. Here are the highs and lows…

• 11/18/06 – Completed radiation but white blood count (WBC) is too low for chemo.
• 11/20/06 – WBC is good enough for chemo for following week. All chest tumors are now gone. Skin is red and peeling like crazy and mouth and nose are sore and red.
• 11/27/06 – WBC still good and got chemo. Still peeling but still no chest tumors.
• 12/12/06 – WBC too low for chemo. Still red and sore from radiation.
• 12/18/06 – WBC still to low for chemo.
• 12/20/06 – WBC borderline for chemo but doc approves it.
• 01/03/07 – There is concern that the cancer has spread to the other good breast. Biopsy and MRI next week. WBC is extremely high – got chemo but now there is a lump in right arm.
• 01/17/07 – 2 of 3 biopsies are positive for cancer. MRI results were improvement in the left armpit area but spreading to the right breast and armpit area; also cancer in the left chest. Doing old IV chemo and a new IV chemo and a new drug that technically isn't a chemo but is an antibody type drug that doesn't allow the cancer to form new blood vessels to feed it (I recently heard about that in the news.) Off of oral chemo. There are plenty of new side effects with the new meds, but she’s is feeling pretty good regardless.

It was a surprise to everyone that the cancer has spread, and although it is a downer, it certainly has not crushed their resolve to fight this thing off. She still has the will and as long as we all do and keep on praying and sending our best wishes to her, she’ll make it. Please keep praying for Sandy, Mike and the rest of the family.

As for me, I’m feeling fine. I have really not been very anxious at all recently regarding more seizures. But I have made a few changes in the way I conduct day to day things. For example, I no longer walk right next to the drop off to the tracks on the Metro. I stay a good distance away from the end of the platform until the train slows down. The last thing I need is to have a seizure and fall onto the tracks like that dude in NYC did! And now that I'm physically feeling better again, I've started working out in the gym again doing weights and cardio. Sure feels good to get moving again!

We got about 1.5 inches of snow yesterday – it started around 1pm and stopped around 8pm. Then we had freezing rain during the night. It is nice to finally get some snow here. Many of you heard about all the snow and ice in Austin last week. My good friend Jill took some pictures. Click to see those pics: Austin Blizzard 2007. She also came to DC back in Dec for a conference and we had a chance to hang out a bit. Click this link to see those pics: Jill in DC. We had a really good time. Jill, it was great to see you again!!

Lastly, Holly and I have picked a date to leave DC and head back to Austin. We’ll be driving out of DC on Saturday, March 3, 2007… more details on that to follow soon.

Much Better

I felt much better today. I got a late start, but I really slept well (that's why I got a late start) and went to work and actually got some stuff done. Thank God! We're looking forward to the three day weekend. Holly and I need to go pick up a bunch of stuff that we took over to our friends John and Tamra's house while my sister was in town. Then we need to do some shopping and exchanging of gifts and maybe dinner with friends. It looks like Sunday and Monday might be rainy, so who knows what we'll do. The temps here have finally dropped to normal and we hear that they might get even colder in the next couple of weeks - we'll see. Maybe we'll finally get to see some darn snow.

My good buddy Ryan sent me a link to some pics he took of me, him and Matt O from the spring of 2005 when we went to a Beer Festival up in Maryland. Click here to check them out - pretty funny. By the way, the last few pictures look kinda gray like a storm was coming... it's because it was. We barely made it to the car before the skies opened. We drove him in a downpour. Ahhh... good times...

Feeling Slightly Better

I’m feeling much better today. I slept through the night without waking up. My head is still congested, but I’m going to work tomorrow. I think my doctor did the right thing with my treatment plan. Thanks doc!

So, while at home today I uploaded tons of pictures from the past few months. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting links to sets of pictures for you to peruse. The first set is from just a few weeks ago. My sister, Mirna; brother-in-law, Joey and cute as a button niece, Ariana, came to spend the holidays with us. They got here on Dec 23 and left Jan 2. Initially, they were going to come just for New Years weekend and we were going to sit Ariana as they were going to go to a wedding in PA. But after they decided that they could not drive to both TX and then to DC within a week, they decided to just come here! We really enjoyed spending time with them. And it was so fun to be able to spend some quality time with Ariana because the next time she’ll be so much bigger. I’ll have more pictures from Christmas Eve and Day up soon. Enjoy!

Relief in sight?

I went to see a doctor today about my continuing crappy health. I got an Air Force doc today and was pretty happy with my experience this time around. She listened to all of my symptoms and past issues and thought hard about what could be going on. She took a look in my mouth and was astonished to my uvula was so swollen it was almost touching my tongue! Okay, that sounds pretty gross.. you know what a uvula is, don’t you? It’s that little thing that hangs in the back of the throat and looks like a punching bag. It it all swollen thanks to my post-nasal drip either caused by allergies or a cold. Anyway, this explains why I felt like there was a ball in my throat when I swallowed the night we went to the hospital and why I have been having trouble sleeping. The darn thing blocks my airway and is just a nuisance. She prescribed some 800mg ibuprofen tablets to help with the swelling and gave me a full ten day course of antibiotics just to make sure I don’t have anything. Like most doctors, she didn’t want to have to give me an antibiotic if I don’t need it, but in my case, she didn’t want to take anymore chances. They also did a blood test to make sure there’s nothing funky going on – the doc didn’t cal me today so I’m assuming there’s nothing to worry about there. Anyway, I still feel crappy but I’m hoping that tomorrow I’ll feel a lot better. I sure am sick and tired of being sick and tired!

On a more pleasant note… I did have a chance to have some fun this past weekend. Holly’s company has a suite at the Verizon Center and they occasionally have tickets available. She snagged a few to the Georgetown vs. Notre Dame basketball game there on Saturday. I snapped a few pics with my camera phone and posted them. They look okay for a phone cam. Click the picture to see the rest. The suite was nice… it had its own restroom, lots of locked cabinets where the good stuff is hidden, a nice sitting area, a bar sitting area and about 20 very comfortable stadium seats. Man, those things were the most comfortable seats in an arena I have even sat on! Anyway, the guys and I had a good time. Holly and I are going to check out a Wizards vs. Celtics game in a few weeks – should be fun!

Happy *sniff* New Year

Happy New Year 2007 from Arlington, VA! And what a better way to bring in the first full week of the new year than with a nasty cold and trip to the emergency room for relief.

I started to feel a cold coming on last Thursday and it stayed pretty mild through the weekend. Last night (Sunday) my throat started to feel sore. I went to sleep and twice Holly woke me up to ask if I was okay. She said I was making a murmuring sound. After that, I felt like my throat would close up on me and I would struggle for a breath and it would wake me up immediately and scare me a bit. Well, I let that go on for two hours or so and I finally decided I had had enough torture. I got up and wandered around in the dark for a while, but I decided I wasn’t getting any better and I didn’t know why I felt that way either. So I finally broke down and woke Holly up and told her that we needed to go to the ER.

We drove through the drizzle to the ER at Bethesda and I tried my best to explain to the staff what I was feeling. I’m not quite sure I did a good job explaining how I felt though. The doc took an X-Ray of my throat and they also tested for strep, both were negative. They gave me a nebulizer of Albuterol to puff on for a while and then the doc told me that he was diagnosing me as having bronchospasm. I’m not exactly sure he was right, but whatever… I was feeling better.

We drove back home in a steady rain through some rush-hour traffic and made it home around 6am. We went back to sleep for a while but after a few hours, I felt like my throat was closing up again! Then I thought that I might be allergic to something in the apartment or something. I got up and took my allergy pill that I take every morning and I was able to go back to sleep. So, maybe this funky weather is just messing with my allergies or something?? I mean, it was a record high of 73 Saturday and then today we had rain, wind and temps dropping through the 40s. Tomorrow (Tuesday) it is supposed to only be 44 with a chance of more rain. Some of the cherry blossoms have started to bloom in the area. It’s just nuts for my body. Anyway, I have another appointment with a doctor at my primary clinic tomorrow just to follow up and get more meds to dry me out.

I’ve been having a hard time staying healthy recently. I think what I have been through is a big factor. And I have a lot of work to do at work and having to stay home is not good. I’m trying to get all of my work done and transitioned over before I leave. Please pray that I get better so that I can concentrate on wrapping things up here!