Life's Simple Pleasures, Or the Joy of Sleeping in One's Own Bed for the First Time in Three Weeks

When you have a month as challenging as the one we've just been through, you learn to appreciate the little victories when they come. Case in point, Wednesday night, Paul decided he was ready to make the trek up the stairs to our room. I have been dreaming (or not, since I haven't slept well) of this moment for three weeks. Don't get me wrong. Most of the beds I slept in were relatively comfortable. But there's just something about sleeping in your own bed, in your own room; nothing else can compare to that feeling of rightness. Ah-h, home at last!

Paul started outpatient physical therapy today. I'd love to tell you it was fun, but that would be a bold-faced lie. He continues to make progress with his mobility and the pain in his leg is getting less intense. Yesterday we went to see Dr. Mills, an orthopedic surgeon, about Paul's right shoulder. Several weeks before his leg surgery he injured it lifting a huge drill. At the time, it was sore, but now that he is using it more to scoot around and support himself on crutches, the injury seems to be aggravated. The doctor believes Paul has a torn rotator cuff; an MRI on Monday will either confirm or negate this diagnosis. So, the PT is working on Paul's leg and shoulder. The pain in his shoulder is actually worse than that in his leg!

We we're heading to SLC on Tuesday night, as Paul has a follow-up visit with Dr. Jones on Wednesday. We'll be home later that night. Speaking of Dr. Jones, I just got off the phone with him. He called to say that the pathology reports from the surgery came back looking great. They were able to get clean margins in the bone and the muscle. This is the best news possible! We are so grateful for the excellent care that Paul has received from all the medical professionals involved in his treatment.


Last night, I was helping the boys get their costumes ready for their Halloween parties at school today. Everything was in order for Hayden (Obi-Wan Kenobi) and Jacob (Robin Hood), but Cameron couldn't find all the components to his Yoda costume. We looked, and looked, and looked, but had no success. Finally, at ten o'clock, I dragged out the old sewing machine, dug through my stockpile of fabric, and rather hurriedly constructed a new outfit for Yoda. Thank goodness Cameron still had the hat with the green ears; there's no way I was going to make another one of those! It was bad enough the first time. In the event that a similar incident happens next year, I think we'll follow Parker's cue and send them to school wearing name tags that say, "Hi, My Name Is DAVE."

In the words of the poet, Brian Wilson: "I wanna go home."

Paul was released from the hospital at 5 o'clock Thursday, just in time to hit rush hour traffic in Salt Lake City. But we didn't even care! We were so glad to be heading home. We stayed the night in Ogden at Mom and Dad Carling's, then drove to Rexburg today. We stopped halfway to let Paul walk around and stretch before coming the rest of the way. We got here just a few minutes before Jacob's bus.

Thursday morning before heading to the hospital, I made a quick stop at Krispy Kreme to grab a few dozen donuts to thank the staff at Huntsman. They were so great (the nurses, and the donuts). We really did receive excellent care while we were there. I say "we" because they made sure I was taken care of too. Paul is doing really well. He graduated from using a walker to crutches before we left. The physical therapist trained me to help him with his exercises. He was very impressed, even suggesting I abandon my pursuit of an English degree for Physical Therapy instead. I don't think I'll take his advice, though. I don't like people telling me I'm mean. Paul had a visit from Dr. Andtbacka, the surgeon who removed his tumor and lymph glands last December. He said he had heard Paul was at Huntsman again and wanted to see how he was doing. Paul's good friend, Shane, stopped by last Wednesday and again this Thursday afternoon. As usual, the topic was motorcycles and cars. Some things never change!

To facilitate a more comfortable ride home, I traded my car for Carol's minivan. That way Paul was able to have more room and keep his leg elevated. Lynn will come up on Saturday to switch vehicles and put the stair railing back up. We took it down long ago after some little boys, who shall remain nameless (coughTylerandParkercough), hung on it and stripped the screws out of the wall.

Paul is resting comfortably on the living room couch as I type this. The boys are home from school now. I am so happy to be home! Thanks to all of you who had any part in making it possible for me to be with Paul throughout his stay at Huntsman. It was comforting to know that our family was being watched over and cared for while I was trying to do the same for Paul.

Paul's next assignment is to continue regaining his strength and start out-patient physical therapy. It will be a long, slow process, but he's very motivated, and as Aunt Marilyn said, "he's a stubborn Dutchman."

"I've got (almost) no strings..."

Well, we're down to one tube (for IV fluids). Paul got rid of the oxygen last night, and they took the heart rate and oxygen monitor off this morning. He's had physical therapy twice today. The therapist said he's improving every time. We can go walk whenever Paul wants to without a nurse coming along. He walked down the hall and sat in the waiting area for a while this morning. He is able to get in and out of bed with very little help on my part.

Dr. Jones stopped by this afternoon and removed the bandage from his leg. He was very impressed with how good the incision area looks. And as an added bonus, Paul's leg is feeling a little better, now that his skin isn't being pulled. The doctor says there's a good chance for Paul to be released tomorrow! We are so anxious to get back to real life. Everyone here has been wonderful, but it's not home. Thank you, everyone who has been helping our family through this adventure. We love you all and are so grateful we have so many family and friends to depend upon.

In the words of the poet, Billy Joel: "I'm moving out" ...or at least down the hall.

If moving closer to the elevators is a sign of progress, then Paul's making it. He's out of the Special Care hallway, down the hall in room 5516. They also disconnected several monitoring devices, took the heavy bandages off his leg and removed the drains. He was up and walking this morning before I got here. Dr. Jones stopped by this morning and they talked about Toronto, which is where Paul served his mission and the doctor did some of his medical residency.

The physical therapists came this morning, as well as after lunch to work on his leg. He's getting stronger and doing better each day. After he rests for a while, the nurse will take him for another walk.

The boys are home and back in school. Grandma and Grandpa Carling are staying with them, at least until Wednesday. Then Tyler and Brandi will take over. Today is Hayden's thirteenth birthday and it really stinks that we aren't there to celebrate with him. I think Grandma has some plans for tonight. And when Paul and I get home we'll have a belated celebration. So really, it'll be like having two birthdays!

In the words of the poet, Tom Petty: "The waiting is the hardest part"...except for everything that comes after that.

Paul has had a rough couple of days. He was scheduled to go into surgery on Friday at 7 a.m., but since he was running a fever that morning (not an unusual occurrence after an embolization) they decided to wait a while. They finally took him in just before 9 a.m. Doctor Jones gave me strict instructions to not stay in the waiting room the whole time. Parker, Tyler and Brandi came to the hospital with me just before 7 a.m. After Paul was taken to surgery, we went upstairs to get some breakfast, then back to Paul's room to grab a quick nap (four hours of sleep just isn't enough to function on).

Around noon, Angie and Carol (sisters-in-law) came to take us to lunch. We drove to Gardner Village with the intention of having lunch there, but decided against it when we realized there were 70,000 others with the same idea. We walked around for about half an hour, then spent another half hour trying to get out of the parking lot. The teenage boy/traffic controller might have been a factor in that whole fiasco. We drove to the Gateway and had lunch. During the time we were away from the hospital, a surgical nurse called every two hours to give me updates.

After lunch we went back to the hospital to wait. Brent and Lynn (Paul's brothers) both came after work. The nurse called at 5:45 p.m. to say all was going well, they were just beginning reconstruction, and she would call me in another two hours. We decided to go have some dinner at Old Spaghetti Factory. While we were eating, Dr. Jones called at 7 p.m. to say they had finished and Paul was in recovery. We finished our meal and went back to the hospital.

We waited until almost ten before Paul was back in his room. He was heavily sedated and still on a ventilator, a precautionary measure to make sure they could maintain his airway through the night. Sometimes when patients receive as much fluid as Paul did during surgery, the throat tissues swell. That decision led to a miserable night for him. He was nauseous and vomiting, which led to concern that he had an ulcer or some other source of bleeding, since they saw evidence of old blood. The vent and suction tube made him gag and feel like he couldn't breathe. Around noon, after a particularly distressful episode, which was horrible for me to watch, they finally removed the ventilator. He's breathing fine on his own, although they do have him on oxygen. He had four IV's, not counting his port. Now he's down to one, plus his port.

Because of the suspected bleed, the Gastroenterology team wanted a nasogastric tube placed, so they could empty the contents of Paul's stomach. The nurse tried three times, the only result being a lot of pain and a bloody nose. Then he tried putting it down Paul's throat, but that failed, too. This was also hard to watch. The medical team decided that they wouldn't keep trying.

In spite of taking an hour longer than they thought it would (nine hours instead of eight), the surgery was a success. The doctor was able to remove the whole tumor without having to cut into the tumor itself. He was very pleased that it came out in such a neat package, and commented that whoever gave Paul a blessing beforehand did a good job. I said yes, that and Paul has a wife who asks specific prayers. He agreed and said that general prayers get general answers, but specific prayers get specific answers. And I had prayed that the tumor would be in a nice, neat package that would be easy to remove.

So, now it's Sunday morning and we are waiting for the GI team to come scope Paul. It may be today or tomorrow. One of the doctors told us that there were eleven people waiting to be seen, all needing to be scoped, and some of whom were at risk of bleeding out, so Paul is a low priority at this point. On the bright side, the pain is under better control. I spent the night here in the hospital on a fold out couch/bed in Paul's room. I wasn't much help, but I think he felt better having me nearby.

A man from the LDS branch at the hospital came to let us know they will be holding Sacrament meeting on the first floor. But since Paul isn't mobile yet, they will bring the sacrament up to us. Mom and Dad Carling are planning on bringing the kids up after lunch, then going home to Rexburg with them so they can get back in school. I will be staying here with Paul for the next few days, at least. If things change, we'll let you know. I have been doing my best to keep up with my school work. Fortunately, my classes are accessible online, so it hasn't been too difficult.

The physical therapists came in around three this afternoon to get Paul up for the first time after surgery. He was able to stand, take several steps (with the aid of a walker) and sit in a chair. He spent about two hours there, resting comfortably (Phenergan tends to have that effect on him). Then the therapists came back, helped him stand, take a few more steps, and get back into bed. He's also been working on some exercises he can do in bed. He is very motivated and willing to work hard, no matter how painful the process may be. While he was having a nap in the chair, Dr. Jones came and asked if I'd like to see the post-surgical x-rays of Paul's leg. The subject of school came up in conversation and, as it turns out, he was an English major in college. So we had an interesting discussion about our favorite poets. He even printed out copies of two of his favorite poems for me to read. I knew there was something about him that I liked!

Bow to Your Sensei...

Paul had the embolization procedure on his tumor at 1:30 p.m. today. He came out of the dressing room looking like a Tae Kwon Do master, and was even willing to let me take his picture, knowing full well that it would go straight to the blog. He's such a good sport. His surgery lasted about three hours and was a success. The doctor made a small incision in his left leg and followed the vein up and over into his right leg. Then he deployed tiny pellets into two of the blood vessels that fed the tumor. The doctor observed what they call "tumor blush," which indicates a good supply of blood to the area. After the procedure, this was no longer the case, which is what we wanted. The doctor was happy with the results and Paul did really well. He was awake through most of the operation and they had to ask him to quit lifting his head up to try and see the images on the screen.

He was in an observation/overflow room until a room on the floor became available. Now he's in room 5520. For dinner Paul had fish and chips, grilled vegetables, onion rings, apple juice and Key Lime pie. The food here is the best! I may have to bribe the bakery for their iced lemon cookie recipe - it's quite possibly the best cookie I have ever eaten. After dinner Paul had an MRI on his leg in preparation for surgery on Friday. They have decided to keep him here until then, which will be easier than trying to get him home to Mom and Dad's then back early Friday morning. Also, they will be able to manage his pain better than I could. He still is having quite a bit of that, maybe even more than before. But the nurses have done a good job trying to keep him comfortable. I am staying at the "Brent and Angie B&B" tonight. It's very late, I'm tired, so good night, y'all!

This is the view from Paul's room.



The bathroom is nicer than mine.



The room is furnished like a nice hotel, rather than your typical hospital.



BTW - I've discovered the secret ingredient in the iced lemon cookies - but I'm not telling!

Coffee at BYU-I?

Thursday I went to the Pre-professional Conference sponsored by the English Department at BYU-I. The keynote speakers were Marilyn Arnold, David Kirby, and Ana Maria Shua, all of whom are successful authors. Ana Maria Shua was my favorite speaker at the conference. She is from Argentina and has written dozens of books, many of which have been translated into English. Upon being introduced, she stood in front of the standing-room-only audience and said, "I don't like to lecture, so I hope you have lots of questions for me." She was very generous in sharing what she has learned over the years about writing and getting published. After attending several workshops in the morning, I took a break to go to my science class, meet with my study group, then get something to eat before the afternoon workshops.

When I walked back into the Hinckley building after lunch, I was hit with an overpowering odor that smelled exactly like, could it possibly be, COFFEE?!? For a second I thought maybe University Catering had provided it for some of the guest speakers who aren't LDS. But common sense overruled that thought; after all, we're talking about an LDS university here. Just then, a young man came out of the cultural hall, where the luncheon for the invited guests was held (obviously, I was not one of them). I asked him what they had been served for lunch, thinking that perhaps something on the menu just smelled like coffee, maybe roast beef or something. He told me they had cold cut sandwiches. I asked what the terrible smell was and he laughed and said that someone had burned some microwave popcorn,


set off the smoke alarm and caused the building to be evacuated. I'm glad it wasn't me!


And speaking of smoke alarms...we just got back from a weekend spent at the Providence Inn Bed and Breakfast near Logan.


It's listed on the National Historic Register, and it's a fun place to stay. What makes it truly fabulous, though, is the fact that it used to be an LDS church, in fact the church, where fifty years ago a young couple by the name of Ray and Beverly Carling had their wedding reception! All six of their children and spouses came and stayed Friday night. Mom and Dad stayed in the Bridal Suite.

After a delicious dinner provided by a local caterer, we spent the rest of the evening talking and laughing. In the morning, as we were dressing for breakfast, the smoke alarm went off. Paul went downstairs to make sure the place wasn't really on fire, while I ...dare I say it...continued getting ready - I figured if it were a real emergency, someone would be yelling for us to get out, right? Later at breakfast, we discovered the culprit. Julie had taken a really hot, really steamy shower which triggered the alarm. When it went off, the office called her room and asked, "Did someone just take a really hot, really steamy shower?" Apparently this is a recurring issue with that particular room.

After we ate, we went to the hundred-year-old home where Dad was raised. The current owners generously allowed us to have a tour (Cathy had arranged this in advance). Then we went to the Logan Temple


(Mom and Dad were married here on October 8, 1958) where we did sealings for about 120 sets of our ancestors, some of whom had been waiting for 350 years to be reunited. For lunch, we drove to Maddox restaurant near Brigham City, the site of their original wedding luncheon, where Mom and Dad were surprised


by many of their brothers and sisters. The food was great and the company was excellent. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for your example of enduring love.


TEST RESULTS

I talked with Dr. Hancock about the results of the CT/PET scan and MRI that Paul had last week. Both look good! The CT/PET did show some activity in the right leg, but that was expected. The sternum area that had lit up on the previous scans showed significant improvement. But there was a new area, on Paul's right shoulder, that lit up. I asked Dr. Hancock if an injury would show up on a scan. He said yes. I told him about Paul pulling/tearing the muscle in his shoulder a few weeks ago at work. I really like it when there are logical explanations for unexpected results.

The only constant is change.

I was thinking this week and most of the next would be fairly relaxed,


with plenty of time to get ready for Paul's surgery next Friday. It's amazing how quickly a few phone calls can change things. I have now officially switched into overdrive.

Paul has a CT/PET scan tomorrow afternoon, followed by an MRI of his brain on Wednesday morning. Huntsman called this morning. They want Paul there on Tuesday morning, October 14Th, to meet with Dr. Alene Burdett in the Interventional Radiology clinic. These are the people who will be doing the embolization of the blood vessels that feed the tumor in Paul's leg. Then on Wednesday, they will perform the actual embolization procedure. He will be admitted as a patient from then until after his leg surgery, probably at least through the weekend.

In the meantime, I will be working like a madwoman, trying to make arrangements for the boys, meals while we're gone, getting the laundry done (can you say "Mt. Everest?"),


and whatever else I can think of that needs to be taken care of before we leave, as well as while we're away. Oh yeah, and I still have classes to attend, an all-day Pre-professional Conference for English majors on Thursday, homework, and two midterm exams to take.


So, how was your day? :o)

UPDATE: Thanks to the generous nature of one of my professors, I only have one midterm exam to take. The other has been moved to later in October. Thank heaven for small blessings!

ANOTHER UPDATE: We decided that since the boys are out of school, they should come with us to Utah. They'll be skipping classes on Thursday and Friday, but I doubt they'll miss much work, being the first two days back after Harvest Break. We may have to get creative in arranging transportation back home if Paul isn't released from the hospital by Sunday night. I'll miss classes on Tuesday and Thursday, but have very understanding professors who are willing to work with me.

Meeting Dr. Jones (not this one)

Paul and I went to Huntsman Cancer Institute yesterday for a consultation with Dr. Jones, Kevin, not Indiana. The appointment went well. We feel confident in his knowledge and abilities, and as an added bonus, he is a very likable person. He explained the options for treatment, which, as it turns out, are just slightly different from those presented to us by Dr. Hancock:

1) Do nothing - an all-around bad option, for the reasons I previously discussed.

2) Insert a metal rod into the femur - this would serve to strengthen the bone, but do nothing to address the problem of the tumor or the pain being caused by said tumor.

3) Remove the diseased portion of the femur, as well as the tumor in the soft tissue, along with surrounding tissues that are involved. Replace the femur section with a metal "bone," which would be held in place with cement.

We are going with option #3. Paul is scheduled for surgery at Huntsman on Friday, October 17. He'll likely need to go a day earlier to have some preliminary work done in preparation for the surgery. The doctor said Paul will stay in the hospital anywhere from two days to a week, depending on how quickly he recovers. Incredibly, he will be able to bear weight on the bone right away, though he may not feel like doing so. It will take some time for the muscles and other tissues to recover from the trauma of the surgery. He'll use crutches, then graduate to a cane for support.

Dr. Jones told Paul it would be fine for him to go skiing this winter, just later in the season. The only post-surgical restriction he placed on him was this: no marathons. Paul was heartbroken, as you might imagine (not!). But until the surgery, he can't ride a bike, motorcycle, pogo stick, go kayaking, climb ladders, any activity that could lead to a fall or put undue stress on his leg. I am going to have to hide all the keys to the motorcycles. Paul kept asking Dr. Jones, "What about..." Finally, the doctor just said, "You can walk." The nurse, Nancy, suggested I get Paul a shirt that says,"I'm only allowed to walk." Someone else suggested that I have my name and phone number printed on it, so people can call and report any incidents of noncompliance. I'm sure these measures won't be necessary, right, Paul?

While we were in Salt Lake City, we went to Primary Children's Hospital and saw David and Melanie's beautiful little Emylie. She was so peaceful, calm and alert. Her nurse was very kind and gentle with her. We hope she continues to make progress so she'll be able to go home soon! Before Paul's appointment, we went to the 6Th floor of the HCI and had lunch at the Point restaurant. The food was good and the view was fabulous! It's the highest point in SLC. Too bad the air quality was so poor.



It made me appreciate living in Rexburg even more, that and our lack of TRAFFIC! It took us over thirty minutes to exit I-15 at Layton, buy some Krispy Kreme donuts and get back on the freeway. We probably covered a distance of less than 2 miles.