FAQs

When is my surgery?
Check in is at 6:00. Surgery begins at 7:30 and should last 2-3 hours.

What do I do to prepare?
No food or water after midnight the day before. No metal (earrings, rings, hair bands) worn the day of.

What about medications before surgery?
No aspirin-type medications (Advil, Aleve, Aspirin, Excedrin, etc.). If you need pain relief, Tylenol can be taken - but not after midnight. Continue taking your anti-depressants.

What about medications after surgery?
Prescriptions for any pain meds deemed necessary will be giving to your family member after surgery. They can get them filled there at the hospital for you to take home with you. Continue taking your anti-depressants.

Will there be any follow-up appointments after surgery?
One week after surgery will be a Wound Check appointment, to assess the progress of your incision. Six weeks after surgery you will come in for more X-rays to determine how well you are healing.

Will I have to wear a neck brace?
A brace will be given to you after surgery; most likely a soft one (more comfortable) but that depends on how the surgery went. You should wear it as often as possible to minimize movement, but can take it off to allow the wound to air out.

How much time off can I expect?
Absolute bare minimum will be one week. Doctor would prefer two weeks, but if you’re doing well and your wound checks out good, he may give you permission to go back to work early – probably half days at first.

Can I drive after surgery?
If you must, but it would be better not to. Keep your neck brace on – and know that it restricts movement so drive accordingly.

How do I take care of myself afterwards?
Keep the wound dry (special bandages will be given for use in the shower). Don’t lift over 10 pounds (thankfully my girls are just under that). As soon as possible, start walking around the neighborhood – but take it easy; don’t over-do it. Minimize movement as much as possible. Get off the pain meds as soon as you can.

What if I start to bleed?
Butterfly bandages will be placed on the incision right after surgery: there will be blood dried onto them – but don’t panic! If the blood you see is dark red, it’s old. Do panic if you see bright red – that’s new blood, and you should go directly to your doctor to have it taken care of.

I heard that I won’t be able to talk afterwards?
The doctor will have to move aside your esophagus and voice box in order to gain access to your spinal column, so you can expect “some discomfort” after surgery. This can last up to two weeks! Ice packs can be applied to help reduce any swelling, which will help ease your sore throat. Eat soft foods.

I’m very nervous!
Dr. Kralick is the best Neurosurgeon there is – you’re in very good hands.

I Like This Backpack

While sitting at the trailhead in my car this weekend, waiting for my friend to show up so we could go hiking, I transferred all my “stuff” from my old backpack to my new one.

My new backpack was the one I’d bought specifically for my Amazon trip: it’s small, made of recycled material (shredded milk jugs!), and fits me a lot better than my old one.

In the process of switching things over, I made a very exiting discovery: $200.00!

Apparently, I had tucked the money in there during my trip and then forgot about it. I do that: I spread my money around in various places when traveling so that if something gets stolen I will still have money. It’s also quite common for me to forget about it, too.

It certainly made for a great surprise!

My Weekend Was Great!

Saturday, I met my friend Tina at the McHugh Creek Trail parking lot where we left her car and took mine back down the road to the Potter’s Ridge parking lot. Then we set off on foot back to her car, 4 miles along the coast up on the cliffs.

It was a beautiful day: clear blue skies and just enough wind to keep the mosquitoes away. There was a lot of activity on the trail, both human and animal. We didn’t see any actual bears but did see a lot of bear scat, some of which were quite fresh. Some of our fellow hikers told us about a Black Bear sow and her cubs hanging out along the trail, but thankfully she was gone by the time we passed by that section.

Neither Tina nor I are in that great of shape, but we had fun regardless. We ambled our way down (up?) the trail, chatting and catching up on all the news the whole way. I took tons of pictures, of course – and even managed to get some really good shots in.

When I eventually got home again, I headed off to the used car lot downtown and – get this – BOUGHT MYSELF A NEW CAR! Well, new to me at least. It is a used vehicle, but it only has 1,675 miles on it – so it’s only barely used.

It’s a 2012 Toyota Yaris LE, and is the exact car I’ve been looking for. I got a great price on it, too. I’m very happy with it.

Sunday morning, I headed over to Rob’s house for some sourdough pancakes! His son Trey is up for the summer, so I got to give him a ride in my new car. He was suitably impressed, especially when I showed him the single front windshield wiper = that’s just way too cool.

Michael’s Craft Store was having a super sale on paper (5 for a dollar, regularly 79 cents a piece) so of course I had to stop in on my way home. $13.00 later, I walked out to my car with a bag full of some really cool sheets to make envelopes with.

When I got home, Mother was waiting for me – early, of course, but I didn’t mind. We went to the museum together and walked thru their Pole to Pole exhibit. I hadn’t seen the new Smithsonian Alaska Exhibit before, either, and was very impressed. I think they did a really good job with that one.

Once we’d seen as much as we wanted to we stopped in at the café there and had a cup of soup and a pita bread appetizer, then headed on over to Rob’s house for a visit. Mother hadn’t seen his house all fixed up so he wanted to show her all that he’d done on it.

By that time I was ready for a serious nap, much to the delight of my two girls.

Floating the Kenai River

For my birthday this year I got to go on a float trip down the Kenai River!

Rob has a new-to-him boat that he wanted to get wet before his kids arrive for the summer, just to make sure everything was good to go. So we hooked the trailer up to his truck and headed off down the road last Sunday.

We pulled in at Cooper Landing to put the boat in the water and get all our gear in order, then drove the truck & empty trailer down the road to the Russian River Confluence where we planned to end our trip. From there, we hitched a ride in a random pick-up truck back to our boat.

Mind you, we’ve got Daisy with us too! The truck we ended up hitching a ride from was one of those smaller ones. Picture Rob crammed into the back camper, literally underneath a mountain bike and some camping gear while I’m up front with Daisy “sitting” on my lap not 3” away from a complete stranger (those who know me well can imagine just how uncomfortable I was in that situation).

It was actually kind of funny…

We made it back to the boat safe and sound, and started on our way on the river. The Kenai was quite swollen with a lot of water, so the rapids were quite a bit more fun than normal.

Daisy was so cute; she has her own PFD (Personal Flotation Device) even, that provides a convenient suitcase-like handle on her back. This comes in VERY handy when she forgets where she is and leaps to chase after the birds that fly by. At one point, she barked at something on shore only to have it echo back at her: she got scared and had to run to daddy for protection! When we got to the rapids, she got scared again when she saw them coming – and again had to run to daddy for protection.

The fish haven’t quite hit the river yet, but we could tell it wouldn’t be long. The eagles were beginning to line up along shore, just waiting for lunch to be delivered.

And ducks! Who knew there were ducks in a river? For some reason, I just assumed they would only be in a lake…

The float took us about 3 hours; not very long, actually – but it was a good one.

“I’m In Minor Freak Out Mode”

That’s a quote from my brother when he found out he and his wife are pregnant with twins - but I think it applies to my life at the moment, as well.

First, there’s the surgery. Well, surgeries to be exact. My neck will be operated on in a couple weeks followed by up to 2 months in a brace. Once that is over, I get to go back under the knife to fix my shoulder. God knows how long that recovery process will take.

There goes all that summer hiking I was planning.

One side effect of the neck/shoulder problems I’m having is that I can barely drive my car anymore: it is a manual stick shift, and it’s my right side that hurts. So I am looking in to buying a new car, this time getting an automatic. This means a lot of shopping around, as well as some creative banking to ensure that I can afford it. To that end, I am getting a Home Equity Line of Credit which involves an awful lot of paperwork and planning. At the same time, I am switching insurance companies to get a cheaper monthly bill. And of course, I am selling my Nissan.

I can’t seem to find the exact car I want here in town, so now I am looking at buying one outside and having it shipped up – which of course means shopping around to find the perfect deal that justifies all this bother as well as finding a shipping company to get the car up here in once piece.

And now, to top it all of with a big fat cherry = my cat is sick again!

She has been struggling with kidney failure for the past year or so, but had been doing really well – or so I thought. Just the other day, she took a turn for the worse. I rushed her to the vet’s office as soon as they could squeeze me in – and 5 hours later brought her back home $500 poorer.

Thankfully, she’s doing okay now. She’s happy to be back home again, and has a new collection of medications to help her live out the rest of her life comfortably and pain-free.

Speaking of living pain-free, everybody I’ve spoken to who has had the same surgery I’m going to have has told me that it’s well worth it. I should notice a difference right away; once I recover from the knife, that is.

All Over the Map!

I’ve been collecting auto insurance quotes from numerous companies to get a feel for what my payments will be on a 2012 Toyota Yaris (full coverage: Comprehensive and Collision). The responses I’ve gotten are all over the place!

It really does pay to shop around, it seems.

Allstate:
$957.50 for 6 months

Progressive:
$440.00 for 6 months

Amica:
$1086.00 for 6 months

State Farm:
$587.63 for 6 months

Geico:
$659.00 for 6 months

Can you suggest any company I might have missed?

My Neck

So, I go in for pre-op on Wednesday, June 20 = they’ll explain the process, fill out all the paperwork, and do the blood tests

Surgery is scheduled for Friday, June 22 = check in is at 6:00 am, surgery will begin at 7:30

I have no idea how long recovery will be, but I’m hoping to be home that evening and will have the weekend to see how it goes…

For those who don’t know what’s going on, I have two vertebrae (C5 and C6) that require some attention. Dr. Kralick will go in thru a tiny slit in my throat, file off the bone spurs that have grown in all directions (they are putting pressure on my spinal chord), place bone grafts from a cadaver, and tie the whole thing together with a metal plate.

Insurance Quote

Hi Ruth,

Here are the break downs of the vehicles. Basically since it is a new vehicle, of course we do recommend collision and comprehension since the vehicles will obviously be worth much more.

With comprehensive and collision ($500 collision/$250 comp):
     2012 Toyota Yaris - $957.50
     2012 Honda Fit - $945.58

Without comprehensive and collision:
     2012 Toyota Yaris - $390.50
     2012 Honda Fit - $382.46

Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Thank you,
Allstate Insurance Company

How Do You Spell Relief?

First the bad news:
     The $30,550.00 figure that I got from the doctor for my neck surgery is only for his services. There will be separate bills from the hospital, the anesthesiologist, the nurses, the janitors, the candy striper, the drug supplier – pretty much anybody who even glances in my direction while I’m in the hospital. I had thought my bill would only be $10,037.95… but no – that’s only part of it…

Now the good news:
     My insurance has a yearly Out of Pocket Maximum of $5,500, which includes my deductible of $2,500.00. On top of that, the company I work for will reimburse a major portion of that deductible ($2,000.00); so, in reality, my expenses will only be about $3,000.00 = FOR EVERYTHING!

Maybe I can afford that new car after all…?

The Meaning of Flowers

January -- Carnations; represent pride, beauty, admiration and gratitude.

February -- Iris; the three upright petals symbolize faith, valor and wisdom.

March -- Daffodil; symbolizes rebirth and new beginnings.

April -- Daisy; joy and playfulness is associated with this bloom.

May -- Lily; symbolizes purity of heart, honor and majesty.

June -- Rose; each color of the rose has a different meaning, but it is often associated with love and beauty.

July -- Delphinium or larkspur; symbolizes an open heart and strong attachment.

August -- Gladiola; a symbol associated with strength and moral integrity.

September -- Aster; a symbol of elegance and an amulet for love.

October -- Marigold; associated with affection and grace.

November -- Chrysanthemum; signifies optimism and happiness.

December -- the poinsettia; symbolizes good cheer and happiness.

Put These on Your List

The following is a list of books you might enjoy – if you haven’t already read them, that is.

Lost in the Jungle
     By Yossi Ghinsberg

King Leopold’s Ghost
     By Adam Hochschild

The Firecracker Boys
     By Dan O’Neil

The Children’s Blizzard
     By David Laskin

Ada Blackjack
     By Jennifer Niven

The Worst Hard Time
     By Timothy Egan

Triangle
     By David Von Drehle

The Windows of Heaven
     By Ron Rozelle

My Lobotomy
     By Howard Dully

Rats
     By Robert Sullivan

The Mummy Congress
     By Heather Pringle

Locust
     By Jeffrey Lockwood

A Sense of the World
     By Jason Roberts

Blood River: a Journey to Africa’s Broken Heart
     By Tim Butcher

How Ironic is That?

I had my appointment with the neurologist yesterday – not exactly how I wanted to spend my birthday, but you take the appointment that’s available or wait months for the next opening. And what an appointment it was, too. I was in there for 4 hours!

The news is pretty much what I expected: I do need surgery. I have two discs that have blown, two vertebrae that have bone spurs, and the entire neck has lost its curvature. The doctor will go in thru a tiny incision in front of my neck, shave off the spurs, repair the discs, graft in bone from a cadaver, and secure the whole thing with a metal brace. The procedure should take no more than 2.5 hours, so if I go in first thing in the morning I might actually be home that evening.

Mother says I will now have to travel with a note from my doctor explaining the metal in my neck!

This whole thing will be quite expensive – again, pretty much what I expected. The doctor’s office gave me a list of expected expenses to be charged; I called my insurance to find out what my coverage would be and then created a spreadsheet in Excel (gosh, I just love that program!) to calculate my portion of the bill.

Wouldn’t you know it: the total was almost EXACTLY what I have in my savings account! Almost to the penny! It’s like somebody knew, and arranged to have it just perfectly so.

Good Things To Come!

Coworker: “So… hypothetically… if somebody were to make you a birthday cake, what would it be?”


Me: “Hypothetically? Hmmm… Probably an angel food cake with fresh strawberries.”

Coworker: “Oooo! With whipped cream on top?”

Me: “Yeah!”

Something to Look Forward To (NOT)

I’ve been experiencing a great amount of pain lately in my shoulder, to the point where I can barely drive my car anymore (I drive a standard), so made an appointment to see an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Laurence Wickler, who took x-rays and ordered an MRI – two of them, actually; one for my shoulder and one for my neck.

If you have ever had an MRI before you know how awful they are, and having two of them done at the same time just made it exponentially worse. I was in that horrible machine for a very long time: 25 minutes for the shoulder and 45 minutes for the neck. I had taken some Zanex ahead of time so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but it was still all I could do to hold still and not panic. On top of that, the position I had to be in to get the best picture of my shoulder was extremely painful and left me sore & achy for days afterwards.

The people at the imaging center were very understanding, and made the whole ordeal as bearable as they could – but then somehow managed to send me on my way with only half of the results!

I didn’t know that until I showed up at Dr. Wickler’s office the following week for my follow up appointment. That meant that I had to wait for the imaging center to send a courier over with the rest of my results before I could get a clear picture of what’s going on.

It’s not good, but then I could have told you that before the MRIs. My shoulder has some torn ligaments, but they’re so badly damaged that Dr. Wickler can’t fix them. He can, however, fix the bone spur that is putting pressure on the nerve. We decided that I would come back in sometime in the fall for the procedure, since I don’t want to miss out on all the summer activities (hiking, camping, biking, etc…).

The neck is a whole other deal, and Dr. Wickler was very quick to point out that he does not “do” necks. He recommended me to a neurosurgeon, Dr. Krolik, for a more detailed examination of the problems – but stated that in his opinion that my neck is in far worse shape than my shoulder is.

As you may know from previous postings, I had a bad fall when I was a child which injured my head/neck rather severely. The MRI taken just last week shows considerable damage that is just getting worse by the day. More than likely I will need surgery on that as well.

So now I am just waiting for Dr. Krolik’s office to let me know when my appointment is, and am making a mental list of all the things I’ll need to do to prepare for the recovery period.
     1. get computers set up for left-handed operation
     2. get preapproval from insurance company
     3. get information on renting an automatic car for the duration
     4. make arrangements to have Mother come take care of me for the first few days
     5. ensure an adequate supply of chocolate and tea will be on hand

Very Cool

I helped unload the truck the other day after going shopping at the pet store. At one point, I called to him and said, “Want to see something cool?”

He walked over, saying “What’s cool?”

I pointed at the bag of dog food. “Pick that up for a second.”

He complied with a question on his face, so I explained “That’s how much weight I’ve lost!”

It was a 40 pound bag of food, and that was indeed exactly how much weight I’ve lost.

“Isn’t that cool?!” I said.

Earthwatch: Amazon Riverboat Exploration

At long last, I finally got my write-up finished. In my defense, there was a lot to do right away after I got home.

First I had to get all 975+ photos loaded up onto a site where I could then share them with all the other volunteers. This was harder than it sounds – well, okay… not hard exactly, but it sure took a lot of time. I started one evening when I got home from work – and didn’t get finished till well into the following afternoon! I loaded them all and just left my computer on to chug away at it till it was finished; thankfully it never once locked up or froze or anything!

Then I had about 2 weeks to create a presentation for the Eagle River Nature Center about my trip. This meant that I had to contact Earthwatch’s main office down in Boston to ask them for their most recent presentation template – only to find that I had the most recent one. I felt it should be updated, however, so I combed through all the information they had online and picked out all the pertinent facts to plug in to the appropriate spots in the power-point program I had. Once I got all the general information updated, I then started in on the Amazon trip, tagging on 5 more slides at the end. I’m rather pleased with the results, truth be told. I got some good feedback on it, too.

By this time my brother was chomping at the bits for me to get to work on the travelogue. He is my Webmaster, having created it for me a few years ago as a birthday gift. He works heavy construction, so gets the winters off and was looking for something to occupy his time. Plus, spring was getting on (eventually) and he knew he only had so much free time left. If I didn’t get my part done in time, he wouldn’t be able to get his part done till the following winter!

I don’t know if any of you have ever tried your hand at writing; if you have, perhaps you have the same problem I have. Namely BEGINNING a story. That is the hardest sentence to write! I can sometimes just sit there for days on end with the proverbial blank sheet of paper in front of me, just waiting for that sentence to appear.

Thankfully, a computer is a little bit nicer to an author in that we can now start in the middle of a story and edit things out, rearrange things, go back to the beginning and rewrite things – all of that – so much easier! We no longer have to worry about that first sentence quite as much as before computers.

But, as I said, at long last I finally got the write-up completed. The next step was to go through all 975+ photos and pick out the best ones to complement the story – not an easy task, but it was fun to relive the entire trip over and over again – and then think of something witty and informational to say about each one.

The end result can be viewed here:     Amazon Riverboat Exploration

Daisy's Ordeal

Daisy is a good puppy, really she is. But she has this one really bad habit: she eats anything and everything she can get her mouth on.

Friday, Rob had a bunch of guys over at his house working on a truck. They were changing out the tires, replacing the brakes, that sort of thing. While changing the tires, they suddenly realized that 4 of the brand new lug nuts were missing – and highly suspect that Daisy ate them.

All day Saturday & Sunday, we kept an eye on her – hoping that she’d pass them thru on her own. She seemed to be okay, although she did develop a rather severe case of diarrhea and did not seem too interested in drinking. She still played with her ropes and bones, just like normal – and her visit with Grandma was full of Frisbees and walks.

Monday morning Rob said that when he let her out for her morning bathroom break, she didn’t go. So he went home at lunch to let her out and found that she’d messed in her kennel. This meant that runny poop was all over her, her blankets, her toys, and her kennel = which smelled just nasty. So, he got her in the shower and cleaned her up – then hosed down the kennel and got that cleaned up – then put her blankets and all the towels thru the wash – and then put her back in the kennel and went back to work.

I stopped by her house on my way home at 4:30 to let her out and found that I was too late – she’d made another mess. So Rob rushed home from work and did the whole routine again. Daisy was clearly upset about it all, but seemed to be okay otherwise – but he noticed some blood in the mess, and she is drooling (highly unusual for her) a bit.

He had to put her back in her kennel again because he had promised to help a friend out that night. And of course when he got back home, he found another mess to clean up so had to go thru the whole routine yet again.

I haven’t heard yet this morning, but I am going to assume that he slept on the couch last night, getting up every 2 hours or so to let her out, thereby hopefully preventing yet another accident.

I also hope that he takes her in to the vet to get those lug nuts out before any permanent damage is done!

Books and Movies

He and I have started a new thing together, involving books and movies. It’s been quite fun, I must say!

First, the book:

When he threw his back out he would lie on the floor to stretch it out. To help pass the time I started to read to him from the book I had just gotten: Burial Ground by Michael McBride. It’s a lot slower going than just reading to myself, but it’s so much fun we’re continuing even though his back is better. Each day I go over to his house and read a chapter or two (or three if I’m feeling up to it) while he cooks me dinner. We talk about the characters, speculate on the plot, and compare notes to my own experiences of the Peruvian Jungle (where this book takes place).

Second, the movies:

Some time ago, I bought the DVD set of Game of Thrones, an HBO series on TV. I saved watching it until he got his big screen TV hooked up in his new house – that was about a week ago. We’ve been watching two episodes a night ever since, and are both TOTALLY hooked. What a fantastic series that is! It’s really hard to believe its on TV – it reminds me a lot of The Lord of the Rings trilogy from a few years ago. Sadly we’re almost done with it, and I’m fairly certain that season 2 won’t be available on DVD for a while. Happily, though, I just heard that it signed on for season 3 – so we have a lot to look forward to.

And there are always more books to read.

That Lady at the Coffee Shop with the Star Trek Lunch Pail

I stopped in at Café del Mundo yesterday after work to treat myself with a cup of Ibarra Chocolate (which is so much better than Ghirardelli Chocolate, being more spicy and way less sweet) and write some letters. I’m behind in my correspondence and thought I should get caught up since I’m back in the card-making mode.

I ordered my chocolate, found me a good table, and got all spread out ready to start writing. It’s actually a nice little café, with wooden tables and a friendly atmosphere. There were a lot of people there; some chatting with friends, some reading books, and some surfing the internet. And guess what: they sell gelato!

At the table just kitty-corner to me, I noticed a man I thought I recognized. I wasn’t quite sure, since I was seeing him in profile, until I overheard him mention D.C. – and then I knew for sure who it was.

It was our Senator Mark Begich.

He was there with his wife and a couple of other people who may have been either news reporters or fellow politicians: I noticed one guy was taking notes as Mr. Begich spoke.

I sat at my table and wrote my letters and then read my book for a while until I finished my cup, then gathered up my things to leave. On the way out the door, I stopped by his table and said, “Excuse me – so sorry to interrupt – but I just wanted to Thank You for what you do for us. It is appreciated.”

He was very kind, and said “Thank you” with a smile on his face.

And then he commented on my Star Trek Lunch Pail, saying his 7 year old son would love that.

Yes. I have a Star Trek Lunch Pail. I’d completely forgotten about it; but it is my letter-writing kit, so I would have it with me. And he would notice it, wouldn’t he?

At least he will remember me, even if it is as “that lady at the coffee shop with the Star Trek Lunch Pail.”

I’ll Have My Cake and I’ll Eat it Too

I had to do some grocery shopping yesterday to restock my kitchen, so planned to stop in at Fred Meyers on my way home yesterday. I was just about to get into the turn lane when I remembered that I’d said I would check in on a friend’s house while he’s gone – so I just kept on going straight.

“I’ll just stop in at Target instead.” I thought to myself.

As I was pulling away from his house later on, I suddenly remembered why it was I wanted to go to Fred Meyers: they have the good bread there!

“Well, shoot. I guess I’ll just stop by the coffee shop/bakery on the way home instead. They have good bread there, too.”

Unfortunately, they also have pastries there. So, on the way in, I kept repeating to myself “I will NOT buy a pastry. I will NOT buy a pastry.”

10 minutes later, I walked out of there with my loaf of bread in hand – and of course, a pastry. How can you go to a bakery shop and NOT buy a pastry, I ask you!