Oh, We have a Blog, I Forgot...

Sorry about that, its been crazy.

Not really of course, but when one goes from an army of nurses, a bevy of residents, interns, consulting doctors and the chief surgeon, a slew of housekeepers and who knows who those other people in scrubs were...down to me and the big guy; you get the picture. 

The computer was neglected as was my hair, the shower, grocery shopping and picking up the mail! Some things just aren't that important in the grand scene of things. 

Since he has been home from the hospital we both were on a huge learning curve of how to do this and what to do with that. And today, at the post-op visit, this and that stayesd at the hospital! Rejoicing in the air, do you hear it. 

For example: Those of you who know what a J. P. Bulb is, why didn't you tell me? I will happily tell those of you who want to know and then that you may file it away in the trusty file 13. For the rest of us, just skip the rest of this paragraph. 

A J. P. Bulb is a plastic bulb with a tube attached to it that hangs out of your body collecting the body fluid that fills up the cavity left behind after a surgery. And Raymon's collected a lot of fluid. "Wow Mr. Fullerton, that's the most fluid we've ever seen!" (that was so comforting...)

This tubie thing protrudes out of the side of the body.  Raymon's job was to monitor the J. P. and empty it when it got full, write down the time and amount. Remember the quote? Thus we set the alarm for 12:30 AM and 3:30 AM too. It helped. Some.

I am really happy the J. P. Bulb is no longer in this apartment. (FYI:  J. P. invented the thing and no one in the hospital remembered his name. I don't think they liked the thing either.) 

Oh, now we have new stuff to learn. No problem. 

And he is now on a full regimen on physical reboot! 

Curiously, we have been on the surgical circuit since February, either thinking, testing, doing or recovering from it. You have been along with us. 

The recovery / adjustment period for Raymon is already taking on a life of its own. We see a new lifestyle ahead. But as with all such things, it is a reinvention. 

May God cover you with his mighty hand.

We're Home....

As in the old college days, we pulled an all nighter!

Or it seemed like it. 

He in his room and I in my newly assigned Hos-tel room for wives! How about that? Since Raymon had to stay longer than expected and I was traveling back and forth... well, the staff took pity on me. 

The room was clean, had the basic needs and I was glad of the quiet. But as they say, home is best.

His night, like the night before was restless until the "shot". Then he slept well. I gotta get me some of those!

Raymon really wanted to go home but we were unsure. On advise of his surgeon we left. All of his nurses and several other care assistants suggested that he stay.

So the opening act is concluded. 

Its a New Day..# 2.

Same ol', same ol'... except for surprising discoveries.

Why would a 6 foot 4 inch guy have low calcium? 

Where did that leaking bump on the back of his head come from?

When told that his still had numbness in his legs, his surgeon said, "um, never heard of that before."

Didn't I tell you that Raymon was two in two billion. We've traveled this road before. 

Everything seems okay only some things are not cooperating like they should, yet. No one is particularly concerned. In fact, with some exercises, nutrition and time, all should be fine. 

Currently there is no agreement as to a coming home date. However, majority does not rule here, the surgeon does. He thinks tomorrow may work given this and that. 

That fact that high wind and rains are predicted will make for an interesting time.


Note: They most graciously brought me a dinner tray. Big mistake. Sweetie has had nothing but ice chips for 2 days. I gave it all to him. :-)

It Went Well

Yesterday, June 10, 2013 was the surgery.

Raymon says to say "Hi."


Since I overnighted in the room, I could not get to the ol' computer to blog my great wisdom. As you remember, the hospital does not have WIFI so blogging isn't possible. Or emailing. Or as so many as of learning via my phone server, calls over one minute. 

But watching over my guy is / was.

So it is later Tuesday and I am home. Typing away.

After surgery he was put on the after surgery floor. Somehow this makes a major difference. During the last surgery, the hospital was tremendously overcrowded and he was put on the seventh floor. Those 7th floor poor folks were run ragged with the needs of post-op and regular patients.

With Raymon on the post-op floor, which appeared designed with post-op in mind, he also received more timely (in my mind) care. But as the wife, I really have to be fair...no one could be good enough!

But these folks came close last night.

Except for the clock. That thing could have been removed. In fact when I find the suggestion box or a strong screwdriver, I think I just might make some adjustments. It was silent movement, no problem there. It was simply large with one of those cage faces on it. And it is the first thing your eyes see when you open them, so matter where you are in the room. It would be helpful if taking a pulse, but since nurses wear watches that take fork lifts to put their arms anyway...this clock is simply for decoration. And it is most annoying. 

Why? Bbecause it shows every minute you are laying in the bed, even if you believe you have successfully navigated a slice of time, that clock tells you plainly that it has only been 20 minutes since you last looked. Trust me, that did not help Raymon through the night. Every time he opened his eyes, half awake even, he was jerked alert to see only one hour had passed since he last looked. 

Those of you who have seen Raymon of late know that he remains his tall self. Only add a few more pounds to that. Not much, only middle-age stuff. Then remember the charmer, maker of self- appreciation, and knower-of-forthrightness within him. Add it up and just try to refuse to give this sweet man a hand. Yeah, right, like you could either! 

My solution? Kiss him bunches, put him to work on his new exercises, glance at the clock and then go home!

Tick Tick Tick...

Everybody ready?

We are almost ready. I think we are delaying the inevitable. Oh, the big stuff is done, like agreeing to do it! But I just realized that we need to stop the paper for a couple of days. And I need to really clean the house, not the straighten up kinda clean; the mop / dust / and bleach the bathtub clean, ho hum. Oh, and a manicure.

So much has been going on here between surgeries. A young couple gave birth to their first, a beautify baby boy yesterday. Another first born, our new ECC Creative Group took its first steps last Sunday. We joined the Creative Group--it is the fourth home group of the Everyday Christian Church. (When we arrived, there were two. God has really blessed the work here. It has been a joy to witness.) The recent Memorial Day picnic turned into a bunch of folks from church gathering for an afternoon together. The day of baptism, five, was astronomical. And that number grew to seven as the day continued. The math tutoring and tennis camp happened we hear! I enjoyed a weekly ladies bible study and together we were blessed by visiting angles.

The brand spanking new juicer we purchased this week to begin our super healthy new life style has been returned. I ordered the wrong juicer. It's jet size motor looked efficient but somehow the squishier part was bigger than the refrigerator and thus a tad too big for our NYC kitchen.

In truth, I think I ordered the wrong juicer subconscienously in order to sabotage the juicing prospects. Don't let me mislead you, truly we both are seriously looking forward to this. We've purchase the fruit and veggies, played around with recipes and everything, except the actual juicing part. Blended veggies make a decent dip by the way.

These last days prior to hospital hour include a play, a luncheon with long-time NYC friend we've not yet gotten to visit since we've been here, another friend's granddaughter's 1st piano recital, post-surgery clothing, laundry, banking, meal delivery for couple with new born in the church, last full worship service for a while for Raymon and depending on weather (rain coming though), outdoor stuff.

Raymon is ready.

So many have been praying here and in Texas.

Praise God for His glory.