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I'm posting far more updates and pictures to Facebook. If you want to see them, but are afraid to create an account for yourself, ask me about the "friend" account I setup in Mandy's name. You can view all of my posts that way, without giving away ANYTHING personal about yourself, not even your name. If you're interested, please call me, and I'll get you started.

Chilly

A little chilly on the patio at Egg & I this morning. At 59°F and with a light breeze, I need a flannel shirt, and our little shorthair Mandy needs a blanket. I'm looking forward to my raisin bread French toast and hot coffee! Today is a mini-milestone day for me - two new things in my life of the last three weeks: 1) I finally can wear a shoe! and 2) I finally got a shower! Enough with the sponge-baths, already. 

The Gauntlet

This is the main lobby that Mandy and I will have to pass through, to get into the Kindred facility tomorrow afternoon. The papers are in place with Kindred, so we're good to go, except for these few steps...

This panorama picture was taken while standing at the main entrance. We have to get through the glass doors on the far right, past the receptionist desk. I'm calling it, "The Gauntlet". I gave the report from the Vet (healthy, has her shots, not a threat) to the charge nurse at Kindred last night. When I told her that I realized it was my responsibility to find a way past the MCA people on the first floor, she said, "If they give you any trouble, call me, and I'll come down and talk to them." I can't really ask for any better support than that.

Dialysis this morning

They said K is in dialysis this morning. Judging from my visit last night, she's still overwhelmed and not ready for stimulation from visitors. But I'll keep bothering her every night after work. It's my job.

Miserable

K says she had a miserable day, got meds 4 hours late, asked to talk to case manager, but never saw her, lots of that kind of stuff. The good news is that she seems alert and moving better, in spite of the bad stuff. They still say "no dogs" because they're leasing this part of another company's facility, and that's the rule. But we may have found a chink in the armor. — with Kristan Attardi Hushing at Kindred Hospital Aurora.

Missed a chemo dose

Kristan finally got her chemo med last night. The nurse at Littleton Hospital had handed it to the ambulance driver, who didn't give it to the Kindred people when they transported her on Tuesday. Then the ambulance company called the house yesterday (luckily Jen was there), said Kristan had "dropped her pills in the ambulance", and arranged to deliver them to the house. So, I made a detour back home and picked it up, before visiting her last night. Sigh. I thought the Kindred pharmacist had gone home for the evening, so I gave her one pill, and told the nurse, as I handed her the pill bottle. Then the pharmacist came to the room and bawled me out for messing with her meds. Like water off a duck's back...

K at Kindred

Kristan was moved to the Kindred Aurora facility, room 2019, Tuesday afternoon. It's at 700 N Potomac St. The main entrance is at the southwest corner of the Aurora Medical complex. Once you're in the Kindred area, take the elevator to the 2nd floor. She called me this morning - the first time she's had the energy to initiate a call. They should be giving her dialysis sometime today, not sure of the time. Check out this virtual tour of the facility.

Tired

I fell asleep 3 times during the drive home from Kindred on Tuesday evening. Dumb. Luckily all three times, it was at a stoplight. I woke up at the green light, with nobody in front of me any more...

Monday morning dialysis

They took K for her regular MWF dialysis this morning. Should be coming off sometime after noon.

Beautiful morning

I'm sitting here at our kitchen nook table, enjoying some plump sweet blueberries and luscious strawberries, and watching several multicolored hot air balloons rise over Chatfield Lake in the distance. Very cheery sight. Nice way to start the day, before we walk with Ken down to Blueberry's for breakfast. Kristan has been sleeping a lot, which I'm pretty sure is a good thing. She was very suppressed by the pain meds yesterday, rambling on about things she was imagining, and I'm not sure she fully appreciated that her brother and my sisters were leaving when they did. I am hopeful that she's feeling a little better, since she's been moving around a bit more. Amy and I were able to kidnap her in a wheelchair last night, and run her around the hospital. We stopped by the hospital entrance, and finagled a way to get Mandy in through the one-way-out doors that late at night, so they could visit for the first time in two weeks. We noticed her telemetry RF link started beeping, not long after we left the floor, no doubt complaining about being out of range of the collection hub. I figured they would come looking for us soon, so we kept moving. Her nurse finally found us, as she was cuddling with Mandy in the downstairs lobby of the North tower, and broke up the love fest, but we would've been heading back soon anyway.

Grand Exodus

My sisters, and K's brother and sister in law, all left today. Sad to see them all go, especially on the same day, but that's the way it happened to work out.

S still protecting the toe

Took a fun walk in my new Chacos with Mikele, Otamay, Ken, Freddie to Blueberry's. John and Mel met us there. Sad to think all our visitors are leaving tomorrow. I will definitely be having family withdrawal tomorrow night.

Sleeping a lot

She was sleeping this morning when I stopped by, so I just left her with a little nuzzle and a kiss on the forehead. Then I met up with family (Otamay, Mikele, John, Michelle) at the hospital cafeteria at lunchtime. Stopped at the room first. K was just having her bed wheeled back from a CT scan. I got a "hi" out of her before she fell back asleep. Left another moist spot on her forehead as I was leaving after lunch. The latest talk is that the neurosurgeon doesn't like the positioning of one of the screws in her neck, and wants to back it out a little. So she will remain in the hospital for at least "a couple more days".

Still in pain

K was still in a lot of pain and very uncomfortable all day yesterday, struggling to find the (apparently nonexistent) comfortable position. But she does eventually wear out from the pain, and fall asleep for awhile. Saw her at lunchtime, and I would like to think she looks a little better, although clearly squinty from the pain. One of the neurology docs visited while I was there, said this week should be the worst of it. They've got her off the PCA and back to pain pills, preparing to discharge her in the not so far future. Mikele and Tam are driving around the metro area today, in search of a good place she can discharge to, and still get good 24 hour care.

S toe's getting better

My Podiatrist doc says my toe looks even better than expected. I can start using my shoe again. Stop icing it! Only soak it once a day. Call if problems. C-ya! :-) — at Orthopaedic Physicians of Colorado.

Back in room

She's in her room finally. Spent a lot of time in recovery. In a lot of pain. Options are limited, with all the existing baseline pain. Not a happy girl. She seemed a tiny bit more comfortable as we were leaving. Her CNA tonight is an angel.

Surgery done

She's out of surgery, will be up in a room on 4th floor in about a half hour. Sounds like he thought it went well.

Surgery this afternoon

K had dialysis this morning, just got back up here a little while ago. The neurology doc stopped by to tell her they'll be taking her to surgery around 4:30 this afternoon.

Neck surgery rescheduled

K will have the neck surgery Monday afternoon, maybe around 5pm. The heartbeat is still an exact 80. She's struggling with the pain issue. They never seem to understand (or be able to alleviate) this, and even less so this time, even though they canceled her usual pain med, which they blame for triggering the recent heart events.

ICD Installed

K had two more heart stoppages (ventricular fibrillation) yesterday, rolling back her eyes and passing out each time. The Cardiology docs made the heart issue the top priority.

She had surgery last night, to install a temporary pacemaker wired through a vein in her leg. Then this morning, they installed a permanent ICD (combo pacemaker and defibrillator). She has been sleeping comfortably since then.

She'll be getting her dialysis treatments in the hospital.

The neck surgery is deferred until Monday soonest.

Defib

Dialysis yesterday. Cardio doc just told us the seizure she just had was tachycardia. She needs a defibrillator. Maybe will do that after the neck surgery.

Surgery planned

Kristan was having a rough time yesterday afternoon, fighting over dietary constraints. If they constrained her diet for all the conditions she has, she wouldn't be able to eat or drink anything, even a glass of water ... The Neurosurgery doc's office finally called me back last night, and provided some details of the upcoming surgery Friday morning. He will be fusing the C1,C2 vertebrae, to stabilize them. Titanium screws and a plate may be involved. They'll take her out of her room at 7am Friday, surgery starts at 9am and will probably finish by noon.

Really bad news

Kristan broke her neck in a fall Sunday night. Fell asleep while on her scooter, and fell off into a wall. We found out at the ER Monday night when going in for a CT scan. It's the C2 vertebrae. They say we are lucky she's not already quadriplegic. They've called in a neurosurgeon.