Surgery a Success; “Fire-wise”ing Finished till Spring

Monday, Nov 28

For Nov 27 CPAP. Reported figures. AHI= 0.35. Events: 1 CSR, 2 H, 14 RERA. Time on 5 hrs 48 min with (max = 19 L/min). Oximetry: SpO2 spurious one to 77, 3 events <88% with avg., 91.3%. Pulse avg. 56.6, low 47.

Today started at 6:30 expecting the work crew to be here to start at 7:30. They did not arrive until 9:30 a.m. John got a lot of work in before they arrived, and I left about 11:00 a.m. for my dental surgeon’s office in Yakima, an hour away. I was going for a stability test to see if the implants were ready to support a gold crown. They were.
1-collage-x-raysurfaceviewimplants11-28-16Left photo is the X-ray of the two implants. The one on the right is smaller because of the room in my mouth. Each will eventually be covered with a gold crown. Right photo is the view inside my mouth. Both were taken at the 11-28-16 appointment, and shipped to me via encrypted email. Much amazing technology.

I will not get them done until next year, and then I think my insurance limits me to one per year. Therefore, this will be a long process. I will be happy to be able to chew on both sides of my mouth. The work of the dental surgeon is over, and my regular dentist in Ellensburg will set the crowns in place. Actually, the regular since 1988 dentist retired so this will be the new regular dentist.

I hope to get my teeth cleaned yet this year, if they can work me in.

I did not get out until 12:48, and then was hungry, so stopped at Burger King. It was not that great; I should have gone to Costco’s deli. At BK, I had elongated chicken nuggets and fries. I brought most of it home. John had the remaining fries with dinner, and we put the chicken in with our leftover chicken strips for eating later.

On to Costco, where I filled up my car still at $2.299 / gallon. I noted on my way back through town that the lowest price now in EBRG is $2.429; saving me about $1.70.
Then I went in and started by getting Claude Finch (Costco’s computer technician salesman) to help me learn a little more about the computer laptop I wanted, answer some of my questions, and to help set up the way to buy it. I carried the paperwork to the cashier, and they processed it, took my money, and had a person deliver it in person to me, after she checked my paid receipt.

I suppose this is the place to describe what I bought. With all that is happening this week, I will not get around to linking to our home network and can’t really use it until that is done.

For my interested technical friends, here is what I bought:

Dell I5378, 5000 Series 2 in 1.
13.3″ Inspiron Laptop 13
Intel core I7-7500 U
Storage: 256 GB SS drive, Battery 42 Hr, 3 cell
Wireless 802.11 ac + Bluetooth.
4 Dual band 2.485 GH2
Weight 3.44 lbs.

The price when I looked at the in-store model last Tuesday (Nov 22) was $849.99. I brought all the information home, to look on line to see what was available and find out about the unit. John helped me with that chore.
Surprisingly, a new flyer for Costco arrived with the price for this computer starting Nov. 28, the day I have to be at the dental surgeon’s office in Yakima. The price is marked down $150 and I had already decided I wanted to buy it.

Here is a photo of the laptop and its keyboard.
2-collage-laptopkeyboardIt has an SD card slot on the right side (out of sight here), and 3 USB ports (one 2.0 and two 3.0), plus some others.

While there, I also bought myself two sets of socks (3 pr. in one packet; 4 in another) both on sale (one of them called lounging [for good reason] socks are very soft and look nice, but have “ribs” in them), so using them to walk or exercise in are not fun. The other pairs will work out all right, after I cut the elastic in the band. I also bought us two more Kirkland fruitcakes and a ~ 8# Pork Loin Roast for $8.00 off. Limit was one (at the price / lb., of $1.99).

Then off for Ellensburg. My first stop … I didn’t find the person there. Second stop I skipped until tomorrow (Super 1). Third stop was at Wood’s Ace Hardware to pick up the case of filters, mentioned last week. On home, getting here just before dark.

I had enough light to see that John filled the new hay shed. He accomplished a lot today, and I haven’t had a chance to see it all.

I finished sending the music out and have had two replies thus far; also printed copies for 4 people. We had to put in a new black printer ink cartridge and it was our last, so we ordered a couple from Amazon. Later in the week, I had to print 3 more copies for members of the group.

I need to decide on a Bluetooth or wireless mouse (and anything else I might need for my new laptop). That did not get done.

Tuesday, Nov 29

For Nov 28 CPAP. Reported figures. AHI= 0.66. Events: 1 CSR, 4 H, 11 RERA. Time on 6 hrs 4 min with (max = 13 L/min). Oximetry: No report. I neglected to start the oximeter properly.

John took an extra 10 mg BP pill (Lisinopril) this morning, and it had a good effect on his next morning BP. We need to ask our primary care provider if he shouldn’t move up to 30mg/day. Others we know are taking more than that. The first dosage (5mg) didn’t work for John.

We had breakfast, and I washed dishes. The chipping crew arrived at 8:00 and left after an hour, talked to John, and didn’t tell him they were leaving or if they’d be back, but they drove off.

Two of the guys returned later and we found out what happened. One had a job interview at our local Fire Department.

I worked on References and the last pages of the thesis and wrote Terri and Kathleen that I am done; the thesis needs to be uploaded by 5:00 today, and I will not be around.

I left at 1:00 for town. I made 4 stops today before coming home. The major reason for going was for Jazzercise; four of us were there with our leader. Also, I had to buy more canned cat food, the last day it was marked down. I then went by Bi-Mart to get strawberry preserves on sale and to check numbers.

John had to add a chicken wire guard to the new hay shed because the horses found they could stand on tiptoes, reach over and around a post, and pull the top bale off.

It was getting darker on the way home. Once here, I got a fast tour of the yard and all the guys and John had done. I took a few more photos.

We cleaned up a lot of things tonight, and started on John’s washing his body with Dyna-Hex 4 before the operation. The plan is to get of all the free-riding little critters. I continued taking his BP and it was lower tonight with the additional pill taken this morning.

Wednesday, Nov 30

For Nov 29 CPAP. Reported figures. AHI= 0.56. Events: 2 H, 12 RERA. Time on 3 hrs 34 min with (max = 10 L/min). Oximetry: SpO2 low of 77 with CPAP off, 46 events < 88% with avg., 90.3%. Pulse avg. 56.9, low 50. This demonstrates the need of using the CPAP to keep Sp02 above 88%, but without showing you more graphs, the results on Friday's numbers are totally different and make one wonder. 3-spo2-reviewchart_11-29-16-on-offcpapIn addition, this is the report from SleepyHead with CPAP merged with the Oximetry.
4-sleepyheadchartnov29-16If I compared to Friday this week, we’d get totally different graphical results while the CPAP was off. Very strange indeed.

Today, we were joined by a singer from our Thursday group, to pick up the Christmas music and stay to sing with us at Food Bank. It was a good session, and we had the audience participating on several of the songs, notably Jingle Bells and White Christmas. She will be back to join us the rest of the December weeks.

I have needed to get the Serial Number from the back of computer and today I succeeded in getting it and also the DELL service tag #. Both are now stored for future reference.

I still need to do the Costco Concierge paperwork and call CITI about an extension of the warranty for an additional 2 years.

A neighbor told me his cost for DSL via the phone company was lower than mine. I called our provider (Fairpoint Communications) and talked to Sadie. She cannot lower my rate. I need to call back in 4 months and see if there is a retention rate reduction. This has happened before, and they never lower it. I wonder if I’ll ever hit it by accident. I guess I could call every month for the heck of it.

Thursday, Dec 1

For Nov 30 CPAP. Reported figures. AHI= 0.44. Events: 2 H, 9 RERA. Time on 4 hrs 35 min with (max = 11 L/min). Oximetry: SpO2 low to 86 spurious with removing oximeter at 3:30 a.m., 0 events < 88% with avg., 91.1%. Pulse avg. 55.9, low 50.

I was up at 3:00 a.m. to turn on the oil-filled electric heater in our bathroom with a shower in the back of a cold house. John planned to get up at 4:30, take another DYNA-HEX 4 soap wash and shower, to be at the local hospital for a 6:30 a.m. check-in at the front desk. We made the trip around to the Outpatient Division, where I spent many hours back in 2009 and 2010, with daily IVs for bacteria in my blood (twice for 9 weeks each). Many of the staff still know me from then. Two of them were helpers for John’s prep. They involved me (I don’t know if this is usual or not, or why the staff didn’t do it), but the curtain was closed and I was given a diagram and 6 soap pads (VERY COLD) that I had to use on John’s neck, upper body, arms to fingers, back, buttocks, legs to toes, and then the groin area. Once that was done, we had to put on his hospital socks (XL, but too tight) and his gown, tied in the back. I was to notify them when completed.

The surgical nurse (Sue) came in and introduced herself, and Kristi, Lin, and Jamie were there for various reasons, such as setting up the IV and hooking John up to the automatic BP and other vital signs machine that displays beside the bed. Then Randy, the anesthesiologist, came in to set up John’s sedation.
5-collagebeforesurgerynurseanesthesiologistSue on left, Randy in middle, getting John ready to go to surgery.

Randy asked John a few questions, and then John had a form to sign (which he did, but says his comment will be that he should have been given a copy of the form before, when he had time to read it). He has no idea what he signed. John was ready to be wheeled to the operating room at 8:00 a.m. I left to attend to my own affairs before returning to the outpatient lobby. They had my cell phone to alert me, but I figured it would be a little after 9:00. We would not know until the surgery was over whether he would have to go to a different room for recovery, or be wheeled back to the same room we started in, and where we left his clothes and glasses.

Meanwhile, I went back by the lab to be sure my favorite phlebotomist, Kim, would be there to draw my blood for an INR. Unfortunately, I had not signed in at the front desk at 6:30 when John did, and there were no people around. I had to wait through three people, to have my paperwork completed, so I could be admitted to the lab. This was after I went to the cafeteria, and enjoyed a breakfast (scrambled eggs with cheese, two pieces of bacon, and a pancake). I had taken my computer, so after I ate, I checked my email. I didn’t stay long because I needed to get back to the Lab for my blood draw. The wait was not too long, and that freed me up to return just a few steps to where I needed to be. They were ready for me very soon. John had not required going to the recovery room.

I sat for a few minutes in a recliner in Outpatient Services before Kristi came to get me. I was able to get John’s glasses for him and hear a little about what he remembered and how he was feeling. His sedation must have started very quickly, because he did not remember leaving the room, where I saw him rolled out. He remembered nothing about anything during the operation. Lin (nurse) showed me the patch dressing over the wound, and went over some information with us, while we waited for Dr. Harris to return to speak to us.
6-collagedr-kennethharrisaftersurgeryvisitDr. Harris came in and John asked him how big the piece of mesh was. He held up his hands to show (and you can hear the conversation in the video below).

Dr. Ken Harris Talks to Us

After he left, we finished more of the departing paperwork, and this time I had to sign that I had read and understood.
7-collage-aftersurgery-vitalsscreennurseclosingstepsThe collage above shows the vitals screen as John was coming out from under the aesthetic, and his blood pressure was lowered significantly. Screen shows 42 for pulse and that, too, is a few beats low. Occasionally it is 44 but usually up towards 50. On the right, nurse Lin, is talking with him and removing some of the things so we can leave.

Below is a before and after.
8-collage-before-afterjohnsurgery12-1-16John in the waiting room at 6:30 a.m. before admission to Surgical Outpatient services (they abbreviate, SOP, which I find strange). On the right, he still has his intravenous hookup on his left hand, but Lin removed it. We were ready for the trip home.

I helped him get dressed, and then I left to bring the car to the front door, and Lin wheeled him out in a wheelchair (normal protocol).

We came home and John began resting. He never really had any bad pain as predicted. We were both very tired.

I had to leave at 1:00 p.m. because I was expected to stop by the pharmacy for his pain meds and other OTC things, and I needed to get to the Rehab with music for December for our Fiddlers & Friends group with setup at 1:45, play from 2:00 to 3:00, and then home. I finally laid down for an hour nap and slept almost 3 hrs. It had been a long day.

Friday, Dec 2

For Dec 1 CPAP. Reported figures. AHI= 0.38. Events: 3 H, 11 RERA. Time on 7 hrs 52 min with (max = 16 L/min). Oximetry: SpO2 spurious one to 82 that happened while removing CPAP, 0 events < 88% with avg., 91.6%. Pulse avg. 56.7, low 48.

We were greeted by a fiery morning sky at sunrise.
9-collage-fierymorningsunrise-12-2-16Then early morning, 8:40 a.m., 4 of the crew arrived for their last day of fire-wise work.
10-collageearlyarrivalfrontbackcrewof4-lastdayWe decided later to go feed the male outside cat, and put out hay for the horses, down farther in the pasture. That done, John went to get the mail and paper, which came after dark last night. As we were coming back, two of the crew came out in the chipper rig (as seen above) through the orchard, to take one fellow back to town so that he could leave for the Puget Sound area before Snoqualmie Pass got messy. Two workers stayed. The fellow returned about 10:40, and I took a video of the trip around the house I had missed earlier.

Fire-wise Crew west of house

They were kind enough to close the backyard gates so John (or I in this case) didn’t have to lift them. They were going to chip a couple of short stacks of brush along the driveway before leaving. It was getting late for me to leave for my Christmas party, and I wouldn’t have been able to get by them. Just before I was to leave two of the fellows came down to the front yard, and John and I talked with them and thanked them for all they had accomplished. If the program is funded in 2017 we should get a crew for at least one more day. They will go to the Upper County area next week for a day or two and that will finish this season. November weather was good to them, and us. They left and so did I, to get to the senior center for the Christmas party lunch and fun.

I had fixed croutons from buttered English Muffin bread toast, this morning, with the idea it would go nicely with the main course — soups. From John’s chili-making stash, I took two cans each of red beans and black beans for the F.I.S.H Food Bank food donation collection. For my “white elephant gift” I took 3 Christmas potholders (2 matching), and a little figurine statue of Santa Claus holding a World Globe. All were carried in a bright Santa Claus themed gift bag.

My largest contribution to the party, besides enjoying the food, was to be the recording photographer for the AAC’s Facebook page (it is at Ellensburg Adult Activity Center). Check it out if you have a Facebook account. On that Facebook page, the staff publishes many photos taken at each event. What was very special was seeing our little friend Haley (our mascot for the music group) dancing. You will be able to enjoy viewing a few videos below.

Here’s Haley: Watch some of the videos farther down to see her in action, with other children — she’s 3.5 yrs old, Ewan (little drummer boy) is 5, and his sister, Isla is 3. The first is the daughter of our flute player, Amy Davison, and the other two belong to Maren McCosh, who actually was the AAC SAIL teacher when I joined the class in 2010.
11-haleydavisoninsilentnightcostume Haley

Our meal today was a choice of two soups: Meatloaf-vegetable or Taco soup. I picked the meatloaf-vegetable particularly because of the thickness and the large blob of mashed potatoes in the middle. They also served us each a large plate of goodies (crackers, ham, & cheese, mixed green salad, fruit salad, Jello & celery), and they brought a platter of desserts to the table. The people who attended the potluck party donated most of the food. Katrina offered and Erica fixed a plate of desserts to send home to John and were happy to hear he survived yesterday’s surgery.

I will show a couple of photos I took or was in and then add a few videos of our entertainment, by Polynesian Dancers for Christmas songs.
12-collage-nancyaac-startfinishHere I am showing my costume at the start and on my way out the door, I posed with my white elephant gift (a microwave egg cooker).

I took photos of the crowd, most of those will likely be on the Facebook page for the senior center. Ate lunch, and then photographed and videotaped the performance.

Here are some links you may enjoy following:

Maren McCosh Introduces Haley 3.5, Ewan 5, & Isla 3

Haley, Ewan, & Isla Dancing Tahitian @ AAC 12-2-16

Haley, Ewan, & Isla Perform Silent Night Hawaiian Style

Little Drummer Boy (Ewan) with other dancers

Here’s a cute final collage with the children and Santa Claus:
13-collage-santakidsaac-withho-ho-hoFirst shot and the on the right, they are all saying HO HO HO !

On my way home, I went by Hospice Friends to wish Janel a Merry Christmas and request 6 Ensure drinks. John is supposed to drink lots of liquids for healing, and these are nutritious drinks. [He bought a couple gallons of orange juice with pulp, so I will have to drink the Ensure.]

While I was there, she gave me my thank you receipt for a donation we gave for the Tree of Life program (Christmas tree), which will be lighted tonight, in honor of those community members who have passed over the rainbow bridge. I received one porcelain Christmas ornament I am going to give to Carole Pritchett for her own tree. Our picks were two folks we knew well, Robert Pritchett (from our music group, Kittitas Valley Fiddlers & Friends), and Peg Robotham (from our Kittitas Valley Trail Riders club) that we were in for many years. We went on many trail rides with Peg. Our horses liked each other and paired well together. Peg actually was one of the original founders of the Hospice Friends organization, and a grandson was my student at CWU.

Here are the parts of the Pritchett memorial, including the porcelain version and a paper one to hang on the Tree of Life. Tonight is the ceremony, but I’m not going.
14-collage-pritchetttreeoflove2016Paper one on left, gift box in middle (our name spelled wrongly), and porcelain ornament on right.

While I was gone today, John took photos of the Fire-wise work. Just after he finished, Lance Downing from the Kittitas Conservation District came to see the work completed by the chipping and falling crew. So, John got more walking, showing Lance around so Lance could also photo document it. We will send our photos taken over the past 2 weeks. Maybe they can find a use for them.

At some point today, when I was home, John took two Percoset and had a reaction. Here is his story he told his sister Peggy and me:

Percocet (acetaminophen – Oxycodone side effects)

About pain:
When Nancy had open-heart surgery the medical staff were sure she would have a good deal of pain afterwards. They gave her a big heart shaped pillow to hold, especially when she coughed. Lo, she had very little pain (except from the chest drains, and once the stitches were removed, that pain stopped).

This week, the medical staff at Kittitas Valley outpatient surgery thought I would have pain after the doctor cut open my left side to insert a mesh to repair a tear in my plumbing. Lo, I had very little pain.

In anticipation of my pain, I was given a prescription for Percocet. This pill is mostly acetaminophen (325 mg) with 5 mg of Oxycodone. The directions say to start with 1 or 2 and then more after 4 to 6 hours. I took 2.

Forty minutes later, I experienced most of the “non-serious adverse reactions” listed on the micro-font printed, double-sided, 40,000-word compendium, folded and mutilated into a ¾-inch square and ½-inch thick, and glued to the top of the bottle.
I was still reading this micro-massive document when I began to experience mild nausea, near vomiting, upset stomach, and dizziness. I did not notice blurred vision, and I did not have dry mouth. The text says some or all these effects are more common if one is ambulatory – a technical term for walking around or capable of walking around. Of course getting to the bathroom sink (just in case) did require being ambulatory.

After a couple of minutes of looking at the sink, I returned to a chair in the den, sat down, and stretched out. Being no longer ambulatory, I was soon feeling better. About ½ hour later I was in good shape, more or less just as I had been before taking the 2 little bluish-green (aqua) [Hex: #00FFFF; needed for web pages to get this color] pills – that I really did not need.

Interestingly, Nancy can take these things without any of the “non-serious adverse reactions” that I experienced. Go figure.

John decided he was not going to take any more Percoset, took some Naproxen Sodium, and will continue with it and Acetaminophen (one tablet).

Not too long after I got home, John cut up some apples that we took to the 3 deer (mom and twin fawns). Then we walked to 2 different hay bale sources, and put several flakes in several places (feeders and on the ground). It is good to have the horses moving rather than standing in one place.

We skipped the Christmas Party in Dean Hall at CWU, put on by the Anthropology and Geography departments. We found out the next morning Morris Uebelacker was there, and we were very disappointed we chose not to go. John is still recovering but able to walk and eat, so we could have. We missed another in 2009 when I was in ICU in Yakima Regional. The first one I attended was in 1988. Oh, well, we’ll be there next year, hopefully, though the folks I know and worked with are dwindling. John knows just a few.

John felt up to fixing Nachos for supper tonight, and we enjoyed them.

Saturday, Dec 3

For Dec 2 CPAP. Reported figures. AHI= 0.83. Events: 1 CSR, 5 H, 14 RERA. Time on 6 hrs 3 min with (max = 17 L/min).
Oximetry: SpO2 minimum was 86 (2) & 2@87; those were the 4 events < 88% with overall avg., 91.8%. Pulse avg. 53.9, low 50.

15-3-deer-in-for-breakfastWe started at sunrise with 3 residents waiting to have their morning treat. John obliged and threw them a bucket full of cuttings. Mountain Ash trees are pretty but the limbs break easily and outgrow their strength. In past years birds have gotten most of the fruit but John wanted the tree trimmed back, and did so before his visit to the hospital. They would eat more than they get. Now they are resting under the walnut trees, so we had to circumvent them and go out the back door with Annie to throw hay into the feeders and over the fence for the horses.

Now we are resting before going to town for the Super 1 juice sale and inexpensive eggs (68 cents/dozen) and a good deal on cheddar cheese [raincheck on the last]. It was only a 5-hr sale, with some good prices on a few things we normally use. Early afternoon, John started a low-oven roast of the pork loin I bought Monday. It cooked from about 2:00 to 8:00 p.m. It was my-sort of tender – enough to take a serving with a fork; no knife needed to “shred” it. We had a baked potato with the cauliflower, mushrooms, and onions, also in the roasting pan. I cut up a large Bartlett pear that we halved. Great dinner.
Today, otherwise, was a stay at home day. I’m processing the photos I took at yesterday’s party.
We went out to feed the horses, and came back to feed the cats. It was a long walk for me because I went a different route from John, who had to send the horses by Annie and me. We did not expect them to follow us down into the pasture after feeding them in the corral where their water tank is. There’s still water in the irrigation ditch, so they are drinking from there.

After feeding in the other spot, Annie and I went back to fix food for the cats, and John went to pull garden hoses into the pole barn for storage over winter. He had drained them but they had not been put away.
Okay. I took care of 3 outside and 1 inside/outside cat. We never got our mail tonight. It is now delivered after dark. Morning will work.

Sunday, Dec 4

For Dec 3 CPAP. Reported figures. AHI= 0.40 Events: 3 H, 15 RERA. Time on 7 hrs 33 min with (max = 11 L/min). Oximetry: SpO2 artifact to 79 right at start, 0 events < 88% with avg., 92.1%. Pulse avg. 57.6, low 49. 16-doe-youngbuckyoungdoewatchjohnHere we are waiting for John to bring the branches of berries. Mom is in the rear (dark spot on left cheek), and the buck twin is in the middle, little doe in front. It has been good to watch them grow from little babies with white spots.

Mt. Ash tree berry limbs thrown to the deer

This morning was chilly. I hope it does not snow tonight, but it might. We fed the horses and John got yesterday’s mail.

Back from morning chores. About 9:50 a.m., John laid on the bed and I removed the fat gauze pad and the surgical dressing (except for the Steri Strips holding the incision. Those come off on their own later.)

Blog creation will take up a bunch of our time today. We decided to pass on the Community Christmas Party we normally attend at the Swauk-Teanaway Grange east of Cle Elum. They serve turkey, dressing, potatoes, and people bring side dishes. It is a nice feast. We will go next year with our “ugly” Christmas sweater and my Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer sweatshirt. People at the senior center asked me where it was this year (because you can see in the photos above, I wore a different one). Now I have to dig it out, and wear to other events at the AAC in December (and elsewhere in EBRG).
We’ll end with a story of the Liberty Bell and the company that originally made it. John found a note in the paper and more on line, was fascinated, and we decided to share.

The photo of the Liberty Bell is by J. Fusco for the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC).
liberty-bellA company that has made large bells since 1570 made one (ordered in 1751) for the Pennsylvania State House. This was 36+ years before the Constitutional Convention and Ratification, 1787–1789, and the United States of America. A news story this week claims the Whitechapel Bell Foundry that made the Liberty Bell is going out of business.
Not so fast!
That bell cracked and local Philadelphia workers melted down that bell and cast a new one. After nearly 90 years of use, that bell cracked. A repair was tried in 1846 but was not successful. The weighty object became a symbol rather than a bell – made in the USA.

Should you care to know what the sound was, go here:
The Bell as Ben Franklin Heard It

Cold weather coming and snow (lots in the mountains), not much here.

Hope your week was fine.

Nancy and John
Still on the Naneum Fan