Saturday, November 9th, 2002
(DF) On Saturday morning we were up very very early to head on over to Albany
Medical Center and catch the Trading Spaces - you love to hate! marathon.
Unfortunately, when we arrived at 8:15, it turned out that the marathon was
not on. So there we were, up awfully early for this time of year, in the
surgical waiting room. So we watched two episodes of SpongeBob Squarepants
instead. Neither my mom nor I has actually seen it with sound before so it
was quite a treat.
Following that we decided to go shopping. I stayed in the car while my mom
went to the grocery store. My mom has a habit of wandering and getting lost
in stores and therefore took forever and a day to finish. I decided to
collect toll money from the cup holders and head on over to Subway. However,
as I was lodging my note to my mom in the car door she came out of the store
so we were able to go eat lunch together.
Once we arrived back at Fisher House I was super exhausted from my early
morning routine and I went down for a nap. My mom put away the groceries,
did some laundry, and who knows what else. She's mum on the subject.
After I woke up my mom and I tried to watch some television. But
unfortunately I began to have a coughing fit that lasted almost 20 minutes.
Coughing super hurts because of the recovery from the heart surgery. At this
point we decided to go to the emergency room at Albany Medical Center because
I was running out of breath. After having ARDS, my mom and I don't want to
mess around with anything dealing with my breathing.
In the emergency room, it was busy and bizarre yet again. There was a
practically newborn baby crying and crying for a couple hours which was
really heart-wrenching, and our little area was next to the area where there
was a crazy lady with a bad temper. At one point she told her daughter that
if she didn't get herself a doctor's appointment by Monday, then the patient
wouldn't talk to her until her daughter died. That's pretty crazy,
no?
One pleasant surprise during our ER trip was that the Trading Spaces - you
love to hate! marathon started at 8 PM not am. And since the emergency room
is not necessarily known for it's timeliness, we got to watch all three
hours.
During my stay I had a chest X-ray (normal) and they checked my pulsox for my
blood-oxygen saturation, which improved when I walked around the emergency
room. They also fed me (thanks Albany Med).
In the end it was decided that my coughing is probably due to a viral
infection. Over-the-counter cough suppressants were recommended and I'm just
supposed to let this infection run its course.
Today my mom cooked scrambled eggs which I enjoyed and kept down. Then I
napped for about a gazillion hours and woke up for lunch - tomatoes and
cheese on English muffins, eaten outside on the picnic bench. This I
enjoyed, but unfortunately did not keep down. I threw up all my lunch and
probably a significant portion of my breakfast, all while coughing that
horrible painful cough. I'm ready for the viral infection to go
away.
Today my mom baked a cake, did more laundry, and heated us mashed potatos and
spinach souffle for dinner, which I have thus far kept within and not without
me. Oh yeah, and before dinner my mom fell asleep while we were listening to
The Good Earth on CD. At least Wang Lung's family is no longer starving,
although the prospects of him selling his daughter seem pretty high at the
moment. With my mom asleep on the bed, I covered her up, put out the lights
(with the switch, not by breaking them) and then withdrew myself to the
common room to spend some time online at the public computer. And now I'm
online again and my mom and I are off to go watch Shall We Dance?.
Hasta luego and good night, Daniel and Toni Fox
Monday, November 11th, 2002
Hello, hello, and Happy Veteran's Day to all! Daniel and I were up
relatively early for us. His day started out with a coughing fit, while I
was doing laundry (sheets and towels), for a family whose father was having
surgery this morning. To pass the time while Daniel's anti-nausea medicine
kicked in we listened to more of The Good Earth. A light breakfast followed
and then Daniel took his first full shower since the last surgery. Boy, was
he bright and shiny...(and smelled good too).
We listened to several more chapters of The Good Earth...(it's fascinating
but I remembered it as a bit more cheerful). We're over halfway through and
although the family is no longer destitute, money is sowing seeds of
discontent...wouldn't you know?
Daniel decided to try a piece of cake as a primer for lunch, while I unloaded
the dishwasher. All seemed to be going well until he excused himself from
his perch on the kitchen bench and retired to the bedroom. When I came in a
few minutes later he greeted me with a pitcher of returned cake...(for some
strange reason he thought I would want to see it, rather than just hear about
it). Keeping food down is becoming a challenge again.
Shortly thereafter Dr. Perez-Tamayo called as a follow up on our visit to the
emergency room on Saturday. He spoke with Daniel and was very reassuring.
Dr. Perez-Tamayo believes that the hoarseness of Daniel's voice will
eventually go away and is due to the size of the tubes in his throat during
surgery. However, he did say there is a slight possibility it will be
permanent, which would rule out opera singer as an occupation...(since
Daniel's singing can best be described as "enthusiastic", this is not an
issue of concern). He also believes that the coughing is not uncommon
following surgery because of all the left over junk in the chest cavity.
Coughing can also trigger vomiting and Daniel's gag reflex seems to be very
sensitive (to put it mildly). Since Daniel is keeping down about two of every
three meals and not feeling nauseous he believes it will subside in time.
Dr. Tamayo has cut his blood pressure medication down to once a day and
Daniel is being weaned gradually because he no longer needs it after the last
surgery...yes!
Daniel was so encouraged by the news that his symptoms are normal, that he
suggested we go out to eat. Speaking seems to aggravate his coughing so he
asked me to tell him about my college years during dinner. Although I don't
think I impressed him with my intellectual pursuits (or lack thereof), I was
able to fill him in on some of my social escapades and tell him about the
great friends I made. I even gave him the uncensored version...pretty much.
When we returned to Fisher House Daniel was spent and went straight to
bed...at 5:30. We'll see if he sleeps until morning. Tomorrow we start PT
and OT at Sunnyview...back to a semblance of a routine. Hopefully we'll also
catch some of the therapists and staff that we enjoyed during our stay. For
now it's time to set my alarm for the 3:00 a.m. meds...hope you had a three
day weekend and enjoyed every minute of it! For now, goodnight and sleep
well...Love, Toni and Daniel
Tuesday, November 12th, 2002
Happiness
(DF) Today started, for me, around 5:30 when I awoke from an odd dream and
couldn't get back to sleep because odd clanging noises were coming from the
kitchen. I went out to investigate but found nothing. So the noises were in
my head . . . *ponder*
bang bang
Then my mom woke up frantic ( TF...I prefer the phrase, "in a bit of a rush")
at 7:45, having overslept. Unfortunately the alarm didn't go off so we began
the day hurrying to get ready to go to physical therapy. I had a coughing
fit and on the way to the car, periodically stopping to throw up little bits
of breakfast. And then we were in the car and at Sunnyview. My therapist
Colleen asked why I was late and I told her, and also told her that I had a
virus. She wouldn't treat me for fear of infecting other staff and patients.
Then my mom came around and straightened both of us out; I cough because my
chest is irritated from the surgery and I throw up because I cough and have a
horrible gag reflex. So Colleen saw me for a very short period of time.
(TF) Actually, Colleen asked if we misunderstood when our appointment began
and did we now understand she would only be able to see Daniel for 30 minutes
instead of an hour. I smiled and told her we knew we were late, we were
sorry but our alarm didn't go off, throwing up sometimes slows us down and we
only expected 30 minutes because we knew she had other patients. ("Do I look
like I have stupid written on my forehead?" was left unspoken)
shoot shoot
(DF) Then I went down to the lobby to lay down for my 30 minute break before
occupational therapy. While sitting there, I saw my old recreational
therapists Kim and Ruby, my neuropsychologist Dr. LaBarge, a couple of the
nurses and stafff. On my way up to OT I saw my old OT Tracy. We talked for
a little bit and she showed me around to the outpatient offices seeing as I
was a country bumpkin in these parts of Sunnyview. Then we bid a sad
adieu.
Happiness . . .
After Sunnyview, a quick trip to Burger King, and an adventure getting lost
on the thruways of Schenectady. We decided to take in a movie on our way back
to Fisher House and we idled away half an hour listening to music before
going in to see Michael Moore's anti-gun flick Bowling for Columbine. It's
actually a pretty long movie, well done, but a little too liberal for even
ME. My dad would hate it, and this is to him: (please don't see it, you will
just get mad). I would recommend it to anyone who considers themselves just
a little bit socialist.
(TF) And I wonder why anyone in their right mind would agree to let Michael
Moore interview OR film them. Some good questions were posed but many of the
answers on both sides seemed too simplistic for me.
. . . is a warm . . .
(DF) Then, famished, my mom and I came home and she ate some leftover ribs
from TGIFridays and I ate some Eggplant Parmigian. I lay down for a rest
after watching an episode of People's Court with my mom (one of the cases: a
woman suing a nailstore for $3000 because they didn't give her a $6
manicure). Then I woke up, we watched Friends, and went for dinner.
YUM
Now off to listen to the Good Earth. Hopefully Wang Lung will ditch the
harlot Lotus.
. . . is a warm gun, yeah. (for all you Creed fans and whatnot, that's a
Beatles song)
(TF) Take care all, Love Daniel and Toni
Thursday, November 14, 2002
We didn't write yesterday, did we? Sometimes the days sort of blur together.
Let's see...yesterday Daniel started out the morning with a coughing fit.
After about 20 minutes it subsided and we headed off to the kitchen for some
scrambled eggs and such. Dorothy, one of the volunteers, was here baking so
we helped out in the kitchen with dishes, making frosting for cupcakes and
wherever we could be useful.
Daniel and I took a break to watch a little TV and listen to a bit of The
Good Earth. Just enough for him to relax and take a nap. I wandered out to
the kitchen again to see if there was anything I could do and then browsed
the Internet. I found Pajamagram and picked out my favorites...
Once Daniel woke up we listened to several more chapters of The Good Earth.
We should finish today or tomorrow. Sometimes I just wish I could step into
the book and shake Wang Lung for not appreciating O-Lan, but I suppose he
will have to come to that (like so many things) on his own.
With so much coughing, and having run out of pain medication (we're down to
Tylenol), Daniel decided on chicken broth for dinner. The thought of taking
anything more that might return on him was too much to contemplate. However,
I did make him some mashed potatoes (real ones) later and he was able to keep
them down. And the bonus is, I have enough to last until we leave...
This morning it was up and off to Sunnyview for OT and PT. We managed to
arrive on time and Daniel did some shoulder stretching and calf stretching
for OT. PT consisted of mostly exercises in place, marching (hello Apache
Marching Band), steps, etc. He was exhausted when he came to the gym to find
me. I was on the infamous treadmill...I found it isn't conducive to try and
write while walking. Although I thought I made great notes I can't read any
of them.
Afterwards we headed to Starbuck's and Burger King before driving back to
Fisher House. Daniel immediately went down for a rest, while I am washing
all his bedding. He thinks maybe the blankets and sheets are dusty and that
may be irritating his cough...and I'm willing to try anything to give him
relief. At this point his stamina is nowhere near where it was after the
bone replacement. It is difficult to know where the fine line is between
encouraging him to get up and move to clear his lungs and increase his
strength or to just let him nap. If there is a formula, I certainly haven't
hit upon it. I think we both may be a little discouraged and worn out at
this point. Tomorrow will be better but for right now we're just going to
let ourselves sink into an afternoon funk.
It's now evening and we're ready for bed. Dinner didn't sit too well (I even
cooked), so while Daniel spent some intimate time with his throw up pitcher I
ran to the local Price Chopper (grocery store) to pick up bland foods.
Chicken broth, canned fruits, cranberry juice and ginger ale. When I came
back Daniel was ready to do his exercises from PT while I made the bed with
fresh linens. We completed the night with a trek around the outside of the
Fisher House to build stamina. I carried the folding chair so Daniel could
stop and catch his breath halfway through our walk.
The rest of the evening holds Friends, Survivor, Will and Grace, and then
bed. We have to be in Schenectady by 9:00 a.m. and for us that is really
pushing it. We send our love to all...Toni and Daniel
Friday, November 15th, 2002
If Jim is doing the update it can't be good and it isn't.
Toni called me at 7:00 pm her time and she and Daniel have been in the
emergency room since 11:00 am. Daniel will be re-admitted tonight to fight a
viral infection. He will be treated with broad spectrum anti-biotics and
fluids.
Today's drama started with Daniel awakening with a fever of 102.7. Toni says
he was racked with coughing and throwing up and had shortness of breath. Dr.
Perez Tamayo said to take him to the emergency room. The emergency room
isn't the fastest or most efficient place in the world unless you are
bleeding or dying and Daniel didn't fit those categories. They have
determined that his lungs are good and the x-ray was good. The
fever/infection does not appear to be related to the aortic patch. (That is
the only good news today.)
The hospital stay should only be a day or two and, hopefully, will not affect
his date of return. If I hear from Toni later tonight I will send another
update.
Jim