One For The Road

I figured I would do one more post before we left out for South Carolina. I won't be posting tommorrow because we will be on the road. We are leaving here at 8:00 a.m. and should be home around 5-6 p.m. Besides, our internet won't be set up until Friday morning. On Friday I will be posting some pics of Isaac's arrival back home. It promises to be special. Also, just a reminder that we will be having a drop in for Isaac at my parents house on Friday Night from 6:30-8:30. Bring your own food. Also, please see my post about the drop in from the other day in regards to contact with Isaac. We will have fireworks at 8:00 p.m. Everyone will be around back in the basement at my parents house.

Wow

Wow! That is pretty much all I can think of at this moment. This past 15 months has been the wildest ride we could have ever experienced. We have experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Some of the high points include the day Isaac received his new cells. Just thinking about his second chance at life is almost overwhelming. Another high point was seeing all the presents pour in for Isaac's Christmas Train Project. I will never forget that day when we delivered the gifts to all the kids in the hospital. In particular, hearing the one little girl scream out in excitement over the Dora The Explorer doll she had just received. This too was an overwhelming experience in a good way.


Unfortunately, we have experienced some lows as well. We have met many wonderful families while in the BMT area. The toughest thing we have seen has been watching families experience the loss of a child. Each of these kids were special. Each had their own unique personalities. Each of them faced their sickness with courage that I have never witnessed anywhere else. These kids were concerned for each other, joined together by a common experience. We have pictures on our refrigerator of drawings and coloring book pages that some of these kids sent to Isaac. They will be missed. They have impacted our lives.

There was the night Isaac lost over half of his blood volume and the subsequent week stay in ICU. I will never forget the feeling when the doctors told us that Isaac wasn't well enough for a transplant. I will always remember the nights of 106 degree fevers and wondering if he would be ok. I will remember the good reports and the bad reports and taking two steps forward and three back.



I remember the nights that Isaac and I would go for a wheel chair ride each night at 11:00 p.m. down the empty halls of the hospital. I remember the night that he had projectile diahrea and it went all up the wall. I remember how he laughed while I was on my hands and knees cleaning it up and gagging the whole time. I remember the smiles on his face when he would be opening the boxes of gifts that were going to the kids in the hospital. I remember our little chubby Isaac that was full of steroids. I remember the day he finally was released from the hospital.




And finally I will always remember the day hat he got to come home February 1st 2007.

Always Wear Clean Underwear

You remember growing up when your mom always told you to wear clean underwear? She would always say something to the effect of, "you might have an accident and have to go to the hospital. And you need to have on clean underwear". I never quite understood this and still don't. I have watched The Learning Channel when they have the real stories from the Emergency Room and I have never once seen them bring in an accident victim and check their underwear. Chances are they wouldn't be clean anyway because as soon as you see another car about to crash into you, you usually mess your pants anyways. Usually the first thing they do is cut your clothes off of you and get you into one of those lovely backless gowns. (Funny story about backless gowns. Once, I was making a hospital visit to one of the sick people at our church. I was on the geriatric floor. I just had left the room of the man I was visiting when I heard a bunch of people yelling. It seems as though this gentleman in his late 80's was trying to escape his hospital room. As I rounded the corner, here he came with a couple of nurses running down the hall about to catch up to him. And yes he had on a backless gown. The bad part though was that he had his backless gown on backwards. Thus, creating a frontless gown which is exactly what I wanted to see. My memory is still scarred by that event.)

But anyway, on to the purpose of my post. I would like to add to the list of things your mom should have told you. Just like you should always wear clean underwear, you should always remember to clean your ears. I had a bit of a scary moment today. I woke up thinking I should get a haircut. Melissa got me an appointment with her hairdresser. Halfway through getting my haircut. I had a paralyzing thought. Had I remembered to clean my ears? Was this lady looking at big puddles of yellow wax? Was there enough wax in my ears to make a small incense candle? I was horrified. All I could think about was me lying in a hospital bed with dirty underwear. Why didn't someone remind me to clean my ears?

The hair cut ended and immediately rushed home. I went straight to the bathroom looking for a Q-tip. Relief. My ears were clean after all. It was a great feeling knowing that I hadn't grossed out the hair dresser. But then I wondered, how many nasty ears does a hair dresser look at in a given day? If you're a hairdresser, I would love to hear your nasty ear comments.

Drop In

A lot of people are wanting to see Isaac when he gets home and he has been wanting to see everyone. We have been thinking of how we could do this without exposing him to a lot of germs. We have come up with a solution. This Friday from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. we are going to be having a drop in for Isaac at my parents house in Easley. The address is 243 Saint Paul Road Easley,SC 29642.
In order to keep Isaac away from the germs, he will be upstairs and and everyone else will be hanging out in the basement. Everyone can go up on the back porch and talk to Isaac through the window but we can't let everyone be around him becasue his immune system is still very low. The drop in will be a bring your own burger or food and soda. We will have a couple of grills going and we will cook your food, whatever it is you bring. At 8:00 p.m. we are going to have fireworks. The only thing I ask is that you don't park in the front yard(Dad tends to freak out about his grass. He doesn't have a computer so he'll never read this). We will have areas marked off for everyone to park.

Ghost or No Ghost?

Ok so I was sent this link today. I had seen this before and hadn't really paid close attention to it. I watched it again today and it looked real to me. You have to look really close at the side of the car to see it. Also, turn your volume up about halfway and you can hear a weird noise as well. Let me know if you think it is a ghost or not. Here is the link .http://www.princeton.edu/~ccaro/mist_or_ghost.html

Dilemma

Isaac is back out of the hospital and at the rental house. He decided he wanted something from Applebees for lunch. Melissa called it in and sent me out in the 17 degree weather(I am patting myself on the back right now for being willing to brave the cold frozen tundra and put food on the table. Well, that is if you consider to- go food from a restaurant like putting food on the table. I didn't actually have to kill it and skin it or anything but just the fact that it is 17 degrees outside makes it seem more like I am a neolithic provider. Plus, I have always wanted to use the word neolithic in a post.)

Anyway, back to my post. So I pulled up to the to-go parking spot. Usually they will come out and take your money and then bring out your food. This time was different. No one came outside so I got out and went in. I paid for my food and then got in the car. I was almost back to the house and it hit me. I hadn't left a tip. Then another thought hit me. Am I supposed to tip on a to-go order?

Don't get me wrong here. I am not someone who skips out on a tip. I always leave 15% and many times I leave more depending on the service. One of my pet peeves is to be eating with someone and them try to stiff the wait staff. But as I thought about this on the way home, it really made me wonder. I never tip at Burger King or Wendys. I don't tip the pizza place when I go to pick it up. So when is it appropriate to tip on a to-go order at a restaurant? Is it always? Is it only when they bring it out to your car? Is it never on a to-go order?

I would love to hear your opinions. Leave a comment and let me know what you would do.

Pack Your Bags

After hearing from Isaac's primary doctor this morning, we are officially cleared to head back to South Carolina this coming Thursday. Unless something major changes, we should be heading out Thursday morning and arriving back in SC around 5-6 p.m. We will be in town for a couple of weeks and then we will be back up here. This will continue for several months, going back and forth. But that is fine. We are just glad to get to be home some.

He is currently still in the hospital and has been experiencing some soreness from the surgeries. He is scheduled to be released today. This will be a tough day for him with all the soreness and getting up and moving around.

Insanity

Marko had this on his blog the other day. This looks dangerous, but more than that, it looks insanely fun. This had to be a student pastor who invented this. http://www.ysmarko.com/?p=1265

Great News

The results are back from the liver biopsy and it is not rejection or GVH. If everything goes smooth tonight, he will be released from the hospital tommorrow.

Some people have wondered what he was having done surgically at this stage in the game. Basically, they had already scheduled him for surgery to remove the pheresis line. This is one of the last steps before he is released to go back to South Carolina. In the mean time they decided ot do a bone marrow biospy. Then this past week his liver numbers were elevated and they wanted to be sure it wasn't rejection so they added the liver biopsy to the list of procedures he was already getting.

Now to the best news of all. If everything holds good this week, Isaac will be released to come back home to South Carolina. This could take place as early as this Thursday. For the next few months we will be splitting time between South Carolina and Cincinnati. A couple of weeks back home and then back up here. This will continue until he is able to be fully released to be at home. This is still a huge step for him. This will mark the first time that he and Melissa have been home in 15 months. We will update for certain as soon as we know more.

Out of ICU

Things are starting to normalize. Isaac is out of ICU. The weird part is that neither Melissa or I freaked out when he was taken to ICU. He has had internal bleeding twice before and this time they were able to catch it before it progressed to far. Also, Isaac was being taken care of by his "personal surgeon" Dr. Alonzo and this put us at ease. She was the doctor that performed his liver tranplant five years ago and she has done several other surgeries on him. She knows his case history and that is the most reassuring part for us. We won't know the results of the liver biopsy until this afternoon. I am going to take a shower now as I am beginning to smell like the chair I slept in over night. And that chair smells like all the hundreds of other people who have slept in it over the years. It's kind of an amalgamation of hundreds of peoples body odor. So basically, I kind of smell.

Quiet Night

Once everything got settled down around 2 a.m., Isaac had a pretty quiet night. He was on morphine so he was able to rest some. It is 8 a.m right now and everything seems pretty stable. The doctors are pleased with how he progressed overnight and depending on his blood counts, he probably will be leaving ICU and going back to a regular room. Overall, it was a rough day yesterday but it is something that we have grown accustomed to.

Out of the O.R.

Isaac is out of the Operating Room and back in ICU. It is about 1:15 a.m. He had a blood leak on his liver where they had performed the liver biopsy. He had 570 ml's that they suctioned out of his stomach. He is in a lot of pain right now. More updates tommorrow.

11:00 PM Update

Isaac has been taken to ICU. He has some internal bleeding. They are prepping the Operating Room and he will be going back into surgery in just a few minutes. He has received one bag of blood and is about to get another. He lost most of his color and his blood pressure had dropped. He should be in surgery for a little while. I will update throughout the night if we get a chance.

Another Update on Isaac

Isaac has given us a little scare this evening. His blood pressures have contined to drop and they working to determine whether or not he has any internal bleeding. More updates later.

Isaac Update

Isaac got into recovery around 5p.m. . He is doing ok. He is sore and will have to sleep on his side tonight to allow the incisions to heal. He was given some platelets to make sure his jugular vein and his liver doesn't bleed. We won't know the results of the liver biopsy until tommorrow afternoon. We'll post more as soon as we know more.

My New Hero

Ok so some friends from Alaska sent me this link this morning. This guy is my new hero.
If the link doesn't appear, you can copy and paste this link http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?s=5860591.

Still Waiting

Right now Isaac has ben admitted and has finished his ultra sound of his liver. They are running a little behind in the Operating Room. He should be going down to surgery in a couple of hours.

A Tribute to Dikembe Mutombo

As I watched last night's State of the Union Address, I took particular interest in the part where President Bush paid tribute to NBA player Dikembe Mutombo. (I know that some of you are shaking your heads right now. I mean who would have thought that I have a penchant for political discourse? Seeing that sometimes my posts detour off into redneckesque frivolity, I can understand that many would think me to be a backwoods hillbilly with no greater World View.) But anyway, after seeing that President Bush had paid tribute to Dikembe, I began to wonder what I could do to pay hommage to such a great individual. Then it came to me. Why not build a snow man of similar height to honor all of Dikembe's achievements. So, thanks to our new snowfall this morning, that is exactly what I did. "Snow Dikembe" stands roughly 10 feet 6 inches tall. "Snow Dikembe" has received tons of attention this afternoon from passersby. I feel this is a great way to honor such a great man.

Debunking the Myth

So most of my southern friends have long heard the myth that southern drivers can't drive in the snow like northern drivers can. I had heard this time and time again but I had never had a chance to see it in action because I have always been in the south when it snowed. As a result, all the southern drivers that I have seen don't really know how to drive in the snow. Well this morning thanks to an overnight blizzard that dropped an inch and a half of fresh snow, I got to see exactly how our northern bretheren perform in the snow. After spending an hour to make a 15 minute trip to the hospital, I realized that both southern and northern drivers are equal in their inability to handle the frozen tundra. They truly are as bad as drivers in my beloved state of South Carolina.

Another thing I noticed was quite interesting. Have you ever noticed that there are some people who refuse to brush the snow off their car? I saw a few people drving this morning with snow still piled on their car from Sunday's snowfall. It's almost like they are being braggadocious. They are essentially saying to other drivers, "Look at me! We got more snow 10 miles north of you." It reminds me of the people that go offroading and refuse to wash their vehicle as if to say look how mudddy I can get. I just dont get this.

That's about all I have for right now. Isaac has surgery tommorrow.

Random Musings from the Aquarium

Today, we took Isaac to the Newport Aquarium. While there, I had a couple of random thoughts flutter through my mind and I thought why not share them with the blogging world.
What is it about Nachos and Cheese that makes me want to go to a minor league baseball game and eat ice cream out of one of those little baseball helmets that the ice cream comes in? I had some nachos and cheese today and it made think about going to see the Greenville Braves. Then I remembered that the Greenville Braves left town. Besides by the time I drove from Cincinnati to Greenville, the ice cream in that little baseball helmet would already be melted and probably look like milk curds.

The second thing I wondered was..... do you think that the fish are happy in the aquarium? They seemed kind of melancholy. You know, like they were pensive for some reason. Of course I would be too if had to swim around in a two foot by two foot box all day. I'm quite sure I wouldn't be able to swim in a two foot by two foot box being that I am 6 foot tall and 185 pounds(ok I am actually 189.(well if I'm truthful 191( Actually it is 194 lbs. I stop there). If I were able to even get in a two foot by two foot box, then I bet people would pay money to see me do that. Now there is a money making idea to ponder. I wonder.................... Na. It's already been done. There was a guy in the 1980's from India that used to fold himself up into a two foot by two foot box. He was on the TV show "That's Incredible" one time. I think it was the same episode where the guy memorized the phone book.

Thirdly, I don't really enjoy aquariums all that much. The fish just stand there(err swim there). No action takes place. Like they don't try to eat each other or anything. So I thought of an idea that would make an aquarium more exciting. Actually, it would be part aquarium/ part restaurant. The top floor would be a restaurant called "Angler's Paradise". The patrons would come into the restaurant and purchase a fishing ticket for what kind of seafood they would like to eat that evening(guppies, sea bass, shrimp, lobster, shark etc.). They then would be given the proper fishing gear, depending on what they purchased and then would proceed to the angling area. The angling area would be a big huge aquarium with fishing platforms where you would catch your dinner. Underneath the restaurant would be the aquarium. It would be called "Death of Nemo". There you would be able to watch as the sea creatures spend their last few minutes in the friendly confines of the giant glass haven. Now that would be exciting. Imagine watching a 20 lb sea bass being reeled in for diner. Now that is aqua entertainment.

The last productive thought I had today was this. It only works for people who have kids 2 years or younger. Trust me though, this will save you lots of money over the years. After we went to the aquarium today, we stopped at Pet Smart. As I walked in, I began thinking, if Isaac was young enough then I just could lie to him and tell him that Pet Smart was the aquarium. If he was like two years old, I could just tell him that we were going to the aquarium every week. The best part is Pet Smart doesn't charge $15.95 to look at their fish. As he grew up, he wouldn't know any better and I would have saved tons of money. I mean, they have the same stuff. They each have fish that do absolutely nothing exciting. They each have tons of tanks. Just tell your kids that the rest of the store is the gift shop. By the time they are old enough to figure it out they would be tired of going to aquariums anyway.

Well my brain has done enough pondering today. I think I'll go eat and add to the 194.

Two quick updates

Just a couple of quick updates. Isaac will be in surgery this Thursday. He will be having his pheresis line removed(this is the one that went in through his jugular vein). He will also be having a bone marrow biopsy as well as a liver biopsy. The liver biopsy is being done because his liver numbers are elevated. They are going to be checking for rejection. If it is rejection, they will be treating it with medicines. Anytime he has the liver biopsy, he has to be admitted overnight to make sure there is no bleeding. If there is rejection, he will be admitted for at least a week. Hopefully, they will find that is viral related and not rejection.
In other news, it is supposed to snow again tonight. We received a lot of emails from jealous southerners regarding the snow. We really hate to rub your nose in it.(Just kidding, we are enjoying the fact that our southern friends are the red headed step children of the snow world.) That is all for now. I may post later on today.

A Letter to the Snowmen Purists

So some of you saw my Snow Man yesterday in the pics with Isaac and Melissa. And by now I know there are some of you out there that are upset with my representation of the Snow Man. I imagine I am going to get some nasty emails telling me that my Snow Man isn't accurate and true to "Frosty" form since mine is a four snow ball snowman and not a traditional three snow ball snowman. The people that will say nasty stuff like this are the same people who have never gotten out into the world and experienced the diversity that life has to offer. I imagine these same people would call me a heretic for saying that there are camels that actually have two humps. The reason they would say this is because all they have ever seen at their local zoo is a one hump camel and therefore have assumed that they are the only ones that exist in the world.

But back to my four snow ball snowman. He is different. He was created that way. Kind of like that cow in the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum that has two heads. Or that man in England that has 6 toes on each foot. Or like that snake in Mozambique that had two heads. Or like that cat in Hoboken,NY that has seven teets. I could go on and on here but you get the point. It is a fact that my Snow Man is a four snow baller and that isn't going to change.(Well actually in a few days it will because the temperature will rise(from greenhouse gases) and he will die a slow wet death) So to the Snow Men purists you need to get out and live. There is diversity in the world and diversity in snow men. You need to learn to accept it and move on.

Thoughts on a snow man

Join me tommorrow for my thoughts on a snow man.

More Snow Pics

Snow Pics

Out of the Hospital

Isaac was released from the hospital around noon time today. He is feeling pretty good. He never felt bad or looked to bad while in the hospital. They mainly just had to get his electrolytes settled. He was excited to be getting out of the hospital because he was wanting to get back to the house and play in the snow. He had a blast even though he only stayed outside for about 15 minutes. We have to be very careful since his platelets are low. He basically sat on the sled and I pulled him around the yard and he threw some snowballs at us. I will have some snow pictures for all of our snowless southern friends later on tonite as well as pics of the snow man that gave me a hernia.

The Worst Part

I have decided that the worst part of being in the hospital is that when Isaac has to go to the bathroom(number 2), he has to go in a hat. The hat is a little plastic thing that sits in the lid of the toilet. The worst part is that I have to handle this hat and there is no water in it to diffuse the smell. Isaac seems to find the fact that I start gagging rather funny. Tonight, Isaac requested that I send out a couple of pictures of said hat to some friends. Enjoy guys! That was from Isaac to you. And he is laughing hysterically right now at the thought of you seeing it on your phone.

In the Hospital Again

Isaac had a rough night last night. He spent most of the night sick to his stomach and unable to sleep. The home health nurse came this morning to draw labs. His liver numbers were a little lower which is good but at the same time his Potassium level had dropped to what the Nurse Practioner said was a critical level and possibly the cause for his vomitting. Because of this we were told to come in to the Emergency Room where he received Potassium through his Central IV lines. We were in the ER for 5 hours and he was admitted. We will be here at least through tommorrow. I will be doing the night shift and Melissa the day shift. I would rather me not get any sleep than her because she likes sleep and if she doesn't get any sleep then............... I will stop right there before I spend another night on the couch. He is feeling good now after the Potassium and hasn't had any more vomitting.

Isaac Update

This whole process has been filled with ups and downs. We are thankful when the ups outweigh the downs. Yesterday, some of his blood numbers were up which is great but at the same his engraftment was down and his liver numbers were up which was not good. As it stands now, they will draw labs again tommorrow. If the liver numbers are still up then they will be doing a liver biopsy next week. He is already scheduled for surgery on Thursday. They will be removing his pheresis line and he will be having a bone marrow biopsy. The pheresis line is the one that they had to put in through his jugular vein. I am not sure how they get it out but hopefully they won't have to go back through that way.

Ice Sculpture

So last night's experiment didn't end with a snow covered yard but it did produce a quite astounding master piece of fine Ice Sculpture. This work was done in the Baroque Style of art and Ice Sculpturing. I call this piece "Frozen Lawn Relaxation". It is available for sale in the gallery of The Front Yard.

No Snow No Problem

So the weather forcasters called for snow here in Cincinnati last night. I sat around patiently until around 3 a.m. waiting for the snow. And as usual with weather forcasters they were wrong. Late this afternoon, we took off on an adventure to locate where it had snowed. Much to no avail we were unable to locate said 70 percent chance that it had snowed. Anyway as we were heading back to the house, Isaac and I decided that we were going to try and create our own. Actually, I was going to get out the hose pipe(garden hose for our northern bretheren) and since we are living right under the flight path(1/2 mile away) of Cincinnati Airport, I was going to spell out a word(for all the air travelers overhead to see) by spraying water mist in the air(It was in the mid 20's this afternoon) and letting it fall on the grass, hence creating our own snow. Taking a page from Charlotte's Web I was going to spell out "Some Pig". Well, I started doing this and about 5 minutes later my hands were freezing to the hose pipe. So then I decided I would rig up a contraption(See attached photo) and put the nozzle on mist and create a yard full of snow. I turned on the faucet and went indoors for about two hours. While I was indoors, apparently the wind picked up and the fine mist had blown on the driveway. So instead of creating a yard full of snow, I have successfully created a 30 foot bobsled run that ends abruptly at the garage door. Since the wind was blowing so hard and for fear that we may never get out of the driveway again, I have changed my ambitious plans for a white yard and instead will be making a georgeous lawn chair ice sculpture. I will take pics in the morning after it has had time to cure.

Alas, The End of the Man Jeep

All things must come to an end. And so tonight I took one last long journey in the man Jeep. No it hasn't died or crashed or dropped a driveshaft or threw a pinion gear(I don't know what a pinion gear is but it sounds like garage talk so I included it this post). I just felt it was time to get rid of the Man Jeep. Melissa wouldn't ride in it with me because I had to give her boost to get in it because it was so tall off the ground(actually, I would just pinch her on the butt and she would jump right in. Ok so now I am big trouble when she reads this because I told all of you that I pinched her on the butt to make her jump in the Jeep. Oh well the couch is pretty comfortable after all.) But anyway, me and the Man Jeep made a little journey up to Columbus,OH tonight to pick up some stuff. We had fun. It was like old Jeepin times. I couldn't have scripted a more memorable drive for the Man Jeep. It was cold out and on the way back me and the Man Jeep encountered some dastardly weather. It was snowing sideways, but there were no worries in the Man Jeep. That was his element and he savored every last moment. But, like I said, all things must come to an end and therefore the Man Jeep goes to the auction block tommorrow. He is going on my favorite site, ebay. There he will be bought by someone who will let him live the way he was designed. He will run free in the mud pits of the Ohio Valley. Alas good bye Man Jeep. (P.S. I hand crafted the beautiful roof rack that sits so galliantly upon the Man Jeep.)

3 Hour Tour

Two weeks ago Isaac was given clearance to go as far away as three hours from Cincinnati. Since then we decided to make one day trip each week to get away from all the hospital stuff. It isn't a vacation or anything but it is good for all of us to get away from the Cincinnati area and see some new things since we have been up here for almost 15 months. So today, we were off to Louisville,Ky. It was rainy and foggy but we still had fun. Here are some pics from our 3 hour tour.

Should I Shake Him?

Today, Isaac and I went got out of the house for the first time since he was in the hospital last week. He had been wanting to go to a couple of train stores in Cincy. So off we went into a pretty rough area. We ended up in the part of the city that I had told him we couldn't go to because of the crime in that area. I figured with it being a Saturday morning that all of the drug dealers would still be alseep. I was right, everything was pretty calm. No one was really out and about and plus we passed a cop about every two blocks. We finally made it to the train store. We went in and we were the only customers. There were 5 elderly gentlemen(between 70-90 years old) working in the store. It is always fun to go in one of these stores because they instantly all start talking to you at once. It's kind of a funny thing trying to carry on multiple conversations with 4 or 5 people at once. And the great thing is that none of them could really hear my reply to them so basically I would nod my head, laugh a little, and say yes sir, all the while having no clue to what they were talking about. The weird part happened as we were about to leave. There was one of the older men sitting behind the counter at the cash register. He was sitting reading what looked to be an inventory list or something. He was reading along and then whamo! He was out like a light. He went into an instant sleep. He didn't fall out of his chair but his head slumped over and was out to the world. There was no dozing off period, he just went straight to sleep. I was in an awkward position. My first thought was that this man has just died. I need to do something. I thought, should I shake him? I tried the loud cough to get his attention but that didn't work. The whole time the other men were just carrying on about their business. They just stepped around him and kept on working. Then finally I saw him breathe. I was relieved. In my mind I had been thinking this guy is dead and I'm gonna have to do CPR. I had wondered if his breath would smell while I was doing CPR. My mouth had never touched the mouth of another man. That thought alone had me thinking that this guy was gonners. Anyway, it turned out for the best he continued to breath and sleep. We left and so ended our adventure for today.

Anderson Library Guard Shootout

Thanks to my connections within the public library system, I have been able to attain an unauthorized and possibly fictional account of what went down at the Library that day. In case you didn't get to check out the story, a few days ago an Anderson Public Library Gaurd fired shots at a lady after she apparently ran out the door stealing a book. Just this past week, Anderson reinstated the death penaltly for late fees, over due books, talking during quiet hours, and replacing a biography book in the autobiography section. This gaurd was right on task with his shoot first, get Ann of Green Gables back later attitude. Here is the transcript.
(Library Vice plays the roll of the Security Gaurd. Patrons will represent just average people reading books in the library. Suspect will represent the book stealing fugitive. The librarian will play herself)

Librarian: Yes may I help you?
Patron 1: Yes I'm looking for a self help book that deals with male pattern balding.
Librarian: Why yes Mr. Baldy that is right over here in the fiction section.
Librarian: I am going to have to ask everyone to be a little quieter. As the great philos sophizer(I had to throw in a little Keannu Reeves from Bill and Ted's excellent adventure) Barney would say. Let's all use our indoor voices.
Library Vice: (In a loud authoritative voice) All right people!!! Shut it! She said shut up.
Patron3:(talking to the librarian) I'm here to return a book. I believe it may be late.
Library Vice:(Talking on his radio) Yeah I've got a code 74. It seems as though this suspect has an overdue book. I may need back up. All right mister, spread em. (He begins to frisk the elderly gentleman returning the book) Anthing in your pockets that may cut me. You got any needles, Geritol, Denture Cream or anything else I should know about?
Patron3: But I was in the nursing home recovering from hip replacement. I didn't mean to return the book late.
Library Vice: Shut it old man.
(about this time, the Library Door alarm sounds)
Library Vice: You stay here old man, I've got a code 111. I'll be back for you.
(Library Vice bolts for the door)
L.V.: Stop!!
(begins foot pursuit and heavy microphone breathing(He is actually being filmed this week for Cops:Library Vice Division).
L.V.(Calling on his radio) I need back up. Suspect is running west on aisle 4 of the parking lot. Suspect just passed a blue Hyundai and is runnning for a white Cabriolet. Suspect has a bulge in the side pocket of her jacket. It's It's It's..... Everybody get down. Everybody get down. She's packing! She's got a paperback copy of a Tale of Two Cities. (calling over the radio) Permission to use deadly force.
Radio Operator: That's a negative Ghostrider the paddock is full(sorry, I added this part from Top Gun)
L.V. Shots fired! Shots fired! Suspect is getting away.


This is where the transcript ends.
As always all book stealing suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law(or shot on site with said stolen book)
Just us next week for"Book Mobile SWAT"

The Library

This is why I don't go to the Library or Libary as some people pronounce it.http://www.wyff4.com/news/10716405/detail.html

Slow Week

So this has been a slow week. Isaac and Melissa have been recovering from the stomach stuff. We have pretty much just hung out here at the rental house. I wish I could tell you some stories of grandiosity but not much has happened aside from Isaac's day hospital visit today. So, what has been going on this week? Well, since I have no grand tales to tell, I'll take a few minutes to tell you about the mundane happenings around the house here in Florence. Let's start with Sunday. Melissa was sick. Isaac was sick. I sat around spraying Lysol. Oh yeah I went to the Krogers Store. I bought 12 cans of Chicken Noodle Soup, 6 Bottles of Gatorade, one bottle of Ginger Ale, one bottle of sprite, and two cans of Lysol. I didn't eat any of this stuff. It was for the sick folks here at the house. As a matter of fact, the only thing that I did eat on Sunday was half a pack of Ritz Crackers. I figured I was going to get sick so I got a jump on emptying my stomach by not putting anything there to start with and I figured that instead of puking, I would go straight to the dry heaves. On Monday, again I tried to put the fake out on the stomach virus. I did have a couple of slices of pizza. I ate the slices in four big bites figuring it would come back out quicker that way. By Tuesday, I had lost 6 pounds and decided that if the stomach virus was gonna get me then he might as well get a fat me. So i had Cinnamon Rolls for breakfast, a whole pizza for lunch, and four seperate and autonimous snack times for supper. I felt sick then. It wasn't the virus. I think it was just a case of the old tummy jumblies. That leads us to today. I had a Burger King Value meal for breakfast, a couple of snack times, and Smokey Bones for supper. Well that's about all for my mundane week so far. I'll try and contrive some fabulous story for next time.

Emergency Room?

Ok so I have been thinking about the whole concept of the "Emergency Room" ever since this past Friday when Isaac had to go in for vomitting and diahrea. In order for the hospital to admit him, we have to go through the ER. Anyway, Friday we headed off to the hospital. We got in the parking lot and let's just say that it was good that we carry a spare bedpan in the back of the car. He was experiencing some nasty stuff in more ways than one. I just feel sorry for the guy who had to empty the trash can in the parking garage that day. We made it into the ER and they took us to triage. The first thing I notice is that for it to be an Emergency Room, there aren't many people in there that look to be in a state of Emergence. I notice a few sniffers, some sneezers and a couple of hackers but nothing that looks to a degree of Emergenceiness. There are no mangled people, no bones pertruding or nothing of that sort.

We get back into the triage and they go through about 30 minutes worth of questions and seem to be in no hurry. Well, Isaac looks at us and says I've got to diahhrea. So we look to the nurse/30 minutes of questions lady and say we need to get a bed pan and quick. She looks at us and keeps on asking questions. He says I'm about to go. We look at her and say again we need a bed pan and quick. She is in no hurry whatsoever and continues to stand there. After about another minute of her just standing there, he uncorks. Let's just say I would hate to be the person that had to clean up triage that day. Which leads me to to this. Does Emergency Room really mean Emergency anymore? In their defense, I imagine they see hundreds of people each week that aren't experiencing an emergency but rather something that a trip to the drug store could cure. I also discovered that it probably wouldn't be good for me to work in the emergency room either because about the first time someone asked me for a bed pan I would probably freak out and take off running down the hall yelling for a Code "Uncle Jed". Come on, you have to know what Code "Uncle Jed" is. You know, "out from his rear came a bubblin crude, black gold, Texas tea" . Well that's about all I have for right now. I'll leave you with this and you'll be singing in your head the rest of the day...... Next thing you know old Jed's a millionaire, kin folk said Jed move away from there, said California is the place you oughta be, so they loaded up the truck and moved to Beverly, Hills that is, swimming pools, movie stars.......... Ya'll come back now. Ya hear.

Pics from Limberlost and Update

Isaac got out of the hospital yesterday afternoon. He is doing better. They believe it was a stomach virus. He is feeling better and playing. Melissa is not doing too good though. She has been sick today with the same stomach thing. I have used a couple of cans of Lysol hoping I won't be next in line. Here are some pics from our Amishville trip the other day. Notice the hitching post at Mickey D's and the tag on the back of the buggy.

Return to the Land of the Limberlost

Yesterday, Isaac got to go for a three hour get away. This is the first time in 14 months that he has been more than 30 minutes away from the hospital. After hearing of my story from the Amish country the other day, he decided he wanted to go there. So we did. We went back to the Land of the Limberlost. We rode around for a few hours just checking out the Amish area. We saw a one room Amish school with about 30 kids playing outside. It looked like something right out of Little House on the Prairie.(Not that I watched that show when I was a kid. Well maybe a few times. I didn't really like Nelly though, she was pretty much spoiled. Half Pint, now she was my favorite. I liked Mr. Olsen too. He was too hen pecked though. He really should have stood up for himself more. Anyway back to my story..) We stopped at a McDonalds in the town of Berne and behind the restaurant was a line of hitching posts where the Amish would park their buggies while they ate their Mickey D's. Who'd of thunk it? Amish eating with Ronald.(I took pictures I will post tommorrow but I am at the hospital with Isaac and don't have my camera.) We stopped in several Amish stores along the roadside. It was a step back in time. No lights, no electricity, no electric heat. They used natural light and wood burning stoves for their stores. We visited the horseshoe putter on person. Not really sure what you call him. We were at the Amish hardware store and a couple pulled up in their buggy to get a new wagon wheel. Pretty cool to see. We stopped at the Amish bakery and the food was delicious.

Two things that really struck me about the Amish: 1. They probably were the nicest people that I have ever met. 2. They displayed a level of humility that I don't believe I have ever seen before. I would like to be like that.

Some interesting facts about the Amish
1. When a couple gets married, they spend their honeymoon night at the home of the bride's parents so that they can get up at dawn to help with the morning chores. And yes the brides parents stay at the house also. Not more to say here.
2. An Amish young man keeps his face clean shaven until he is married and then he will grow out his beard but never a mustache. Mustaches are forbidden.
3. The largest population of Amish is in Ohio and not in Lancaster,PA as many people believe.
4. Their church services meet every other week in one of the family homes. But when they do meet their service starts at 9:00 a.m. and lasts til noon.
5. They have nothing inscribed on their grave stones but rather they have a map that is passed down from generation to generation telling who is buried where.
6. And last... this is my favorite.... On the morning of a wedding, several ladies arrive at the family home just after dawn and begin food preparation which usually consists of 250-300 pounds of chicken. Now that is one meal I want to go to.

Back in the Hospital

We awoke this morning with Isaac experiencing vomitting and diahrea. He has not ran a fever as of yet and is going to be admitted. If all goes well we will be out tommorrow. They believe it is a stomach virus. With him being a BMT patient, they usually will hospitalize him just to be on the safe side.

Sissy? Again

So after my recent post on men with small dogs in their man bag/pouch, my friends the Holders have come up with this wonderful picture of exactly what I was talking about. The sad thing is that he had this picture taken months ago before I even posted about this. His wife was kind enough to post it on her blog crystalholder.blogspot.com . Please drop them a comment and let him know how Sissy he is. The sad thing is that he takes the dog to doggy day care and to get its nails done.

Check in Tommorrow

Melissa,Isaac and I had an interesting day out today. Check back tommorrow afternoon for "The Return to The Land of Limberlost - Part Deux". I am tired and going to bed.

The Big Crash

Today I took part in an age old ritual that occurs this time of year. I started off my New Year with riding my bicycle again. I used to ride about 12 or so miles a day but last February I pulled a Forrest Gump and just stopped. I didn't start riding every other day or anything like that, I just stopped. Since that time I have picked up a few pounds and lost a few breaths. I think it really hit me when I was playing basketball a few weeks ago and was winded after H. Today though, I began to ride again. And for the first time, I experienced what one would describe as a dramatic crash. I was going about 25 miles an hour and suddenly I leaned to the right and down I went. I wasn't wearing my helmet. Luckily for me, the boxes in my basement cushioned my fall. Yeah, I was riding in my basement on my stationary trainer(it's too cold up here to ride outside) and I got tripped up while standing on the pedals. Doesn't sound too dramatic does it? Sounds kinda clutsy dorky. Well that's where my imagination comes in. And thanks to my imagination, I'll provide you with an embellished third person account of "The Dramatic Crash". (The scene is set at Le Tour de France in the etages mountaigne( I think that's French for mountain stages). And the story begins......... (remember this is being told in the third person and is not me telling these dramatic events) Sammy Clary was in fourth position as he passed the 72 km mark. The peleton is dropping further behind this frenzied pace that this breakaway of four riders has set. As the breakaway approaches the summit of L'Alpe de Huez, Clary appears to be making a pass. He is now up to second place in this, the 16th stage of Le Tour de France. We'll be back after these messages from our sponsors. (At this point a new Chia Pet commercial airs featuring a new cyclist Chia. Simply apply the Chia paste to the legs of the cyclist and watch him grow manly leg hair. Ch Ch Ch Chia.....commercial ends) And we're back. We have just witnessed a horrific and dramatic crash. After, cresting the top of the hill, Sammy Clary and Jans(pronounced Yons) Fleiterik of team Hergossi became entagled when an over enthusiastic fan was run over while trying to hand Fleiterik a bottle of steriods laced water. The crash sent Clary careening off of a 45 foot cliff. Luckily, several boxes had just fallen off of the back of a UPS truck and were there to cushion his fall...............The End. Now doesnt't that sound better than I fell off my stationary bike in the basement.

The best thing that I saw in 2006

The best thing that I saw in 2006 happened on December 31st at 11:45 p.m.. Melissa, Isaac and I were laying upstairs in the bed watching the New Year getting ready to arrive, when I asked him if he wanted to try and climb the stairs in the house we are renting. This is a big deal for us. We had made a deal with him that we would give him $20 when he was able to climb the stairs by himself. For those of you unfamiliar with his story that would sound relatively simple. Climb 10 or so stairs and you get $20. When Isaac was in the hospital, he went through chemo and was on high doses of medicines that broke down his muscle tissue. He got to the the point where he couldn't walk at all and was in a wheel chair for most of the summer. Gradually his muscle tissue built back up until finally he could walk without his walker. He experienced a couple of big falls because his muscles would just give out on him. Anyway, he got out of the hospital and we moved into a rental house while he still continues his treatments. The house is two stories and for the first couple of months I carried him up and down the stairs. He eventually got to where he could crawl up and down the stairs and let's just say that this has been better for my back. As incentive for him to keep working at getting his muscles back, we made the $20 deal with him. So last night at 11:45 p.m., Isaac walked all the way up the stairs by himself. It was like watching him take his first steps all over again and was the best thing that I saw this past year.