Greetings Everyone,

Our last group of three visitor's left yesterday - so now we are back to tackling projects.  However, we did take time to go visit some of our cabin neighbors -- all of them have a very good sense of humor.

While visiting Clancy - I couldn't resist taking a photo of his bird house sitting on the ground. 

Our other neighbor's - Vincent and Nancy have difficulty getting cell phone reception from their cabin.  In order for them to make a call - they need to walk up the hill behind their cabin to get a signal. So -- to make a call in comfort - they took a lawn chair up the hill and created their very own out door phone booth - which Ernie's nephew, Leo found to be .. just perfect for placing a call from his cell phone. 

On our walk across the island - we discovered someone decided to post a sign - identifying the exact location of 'our' islands' International Airport. 

As we continued our walk on the trail behind Tater's cabin - we came upon a pile of bear scat containing berries.  The scat is old  -- it was all dry and didn't smell.  No one has seen a bear recently - so we suspect this scat is from the Black Bear seen a few weeks ago

Yesterday we took this trail (below) to visit with Vincent and Nancy.

Nancy graciously set-up lawn chairs on their deck - so we could have a front seat view as we visited -- while watching Vincent tackled making a barrel stove for their new sauna. 

Later - we returned to our cabin - so that Ernie and Leo could finish their sauna project. Below - Leo is taking measurements so that Ernie can make the cuts to go around the loft window.

I believe we have another orphan moose on the island.  The new little moose has been staying around our cabin for the past few days - just eating and eating. 

 I'm not too surprised that she is eating so much - she appears to be on the skinny side.

 Below - she decided to take a break from her feasting and laid down to rest just under our side cabin window.  I've already named her Button - because she is as cute as a button. 

Take care and thanks for checking-in!

Visitor's and Projects ...

Greeting's Everyone,

Our summer took off with a visit from the relative's.  Below a few of us ham it up for the camera in front of Jeanie's cabin - our version of the 'island cancan.'

Ernie's cousin Pam, myself, Jeanie & our guest, LaVonna

LaVonna's husband, Mark enjoyed our sauna so much - that he enhanced his experience by completing his sauna with a cold swim in the lake.

As we know, Ernie love's projects - so he put his nephew Steve and Steve's wife, Pam to work.  Hauling Kirby's 24 ft ladder down to our cabin.  Erine hauled the front of the ladder via the 4-wheeler while Steve and Pam trotted behind holding the other end. 

After our visitor's departed - I took a break and canoed around the island. Very relaxing!

During our active summer - a pair of Swallows came to take up summer residence in the bird house above our main entryway.  The pair are constantly flying about catching mosquitoe's and other flying insects.  The bird family doesn't seem to mind our comings and goings - they do check us out now and again - but mostly ignore us.  Their babies are nearing leaving the nest - so it's fun to see them poking their heads out to see which one of them will be the first to get food from a parent. 

Shortly before our four visitor's departed, Ernie's other nephew, Leo arrived from California to help Ernie out with projects.  Below - they removed a door and are in the process of closing the opening.

Since Ernie is still in his 'knee recovery' - having Leo to assist has been a tremendous help.  As I like to say " Ernie is faster that a turtle yet, slower than a rabbit."  When we first returned to the cabin, Ernie used walking sticks to maintain his balance on all the uneven ground.  He is now walking without the aid of his walking sticks but, still must be catious about falling or jarring his knees.  All in all, he is doing quite well.  However, that didn't prevent him from putting Leo to work - painting, leveling the back shed deck, chopping wood, hauling and assisting with other related projects.

Below, Leo is painting the eves of the cabin and calking the logs where needed.

Below, both Ernie and Leo leveled the back shed deck - digging out the holes and putting in new cement blocks.

Of course, any old bones they happened to be dug up were given to Leo to snack on.

When Leo wasn't busy - he'd tackle splitting wood for our winter woodpile.

While Ernie and Leo caught-up on various tasks and projects - I took time to wander around taking pictures - including the one below of all the dasiy's blooming in front of our cabin.

Between projects -- we managed to get out and do some Salmon fishing.  Below Leo and Ernie are filleting fish.

Above - our friend, Mike boated by to say hello and swap fish stories while Ernie and Leo filletted fish.

Below - we also managed to get out and take Leo for a boat ride around the lake.  While we were in one the nearby coves, we spied a big Black Bear walking along the hillside.  Speaking of bear's - a Black Bear was spoted on 'our' island a couple of weeks ago.  Some folks saw bear scat (poop) with seeds in it - but our neighbor's Vince and Nancy actually saw the bear near their outhouse and took some photos - a good looking bear about 175 - 200 lbs.  Currently, we don't know if the bear has left the island or is still roaming about - so we all remain 'bear alert.'

Today, a little moose came to our cabin - twice - once in the morning and later in the evening.  We didn't see it's mother anywhere about - but will remain catious.  The little moose visited us for about 5 minutes this morning - just wandering around eating.  This evening it showed up and stayed longer - hanging out down by our boat - sniffing and checking it out.  Hmmmm - I'm wondering if we may have another orphan on the island? 

Hopefully - this little moose is just out exploring while mom is busy elsewhere and will return.

We haven't seen Maggie for awhile. So she may have left - but we thought that once before and she showed up.

Take care - and continue to have a wonderful summer!

Back Home ...

Greetings Everyone!

We've returned - and its great to be home again.  Upon our return - we discovered that our 'floating deck' -- in front of the workshop had 'heaved' -- subsequently, Ernie had to remove the door to get into the workshop.  Below -- Ernie is shaving the door.  Yes - he has lost weight - down 30 lbs.

Below is our boat - without it's canopy top -- the canopy collapsed from the winter snowfall - and weight load stress.  We'll be returning to Anchorage for a scheduled custom made canopy replacement. In addition - our boat motor will be replaced - since Ernie sold our 2-stroke motor - and the buyer is scheduled to get the motor before we take the boat in for the canopy replacement.

We thought the little moose - Maggie -  would have been gone when we returned -- but here she is!!  Maggie survived another winter and is now going about her business of eating.  She is small for a moose - must be a runt.  Maggie is also shedding her winter coat and looks a bit shaggy - and her attitude is cranky!  The other day I saw Maggie aggressively charge a Robin - her hooves were thrashing out at the bird - as she rose on her hind legs -- hopping towards the Robin to strike it -- all without success.  Maggie then went stomping off into the trees - snorting and huffing grunts of annoyance. 

We definitely will be alert to her whereabouts when we are in the yard!!

Besides Maggie - the rabbits are still here as well.  They seem much cuties - because they don't act aggressive towards the birds.  Although we've seen a rabbit or two - the rabbit population is down.  We generally see 8 -10 rabbits in the morning - but only see 1 or 2 now.  The owls and coytotes had a very good winter.

We also discovered that Superman lives on the island - we saw him hauling a phone booth past our cabin on a boat. A real phone booth!!  Now - to see him zip into the phone booth and change!

I believe we'll have an interesting summer before us -- Take Care - and we'll keep in touch!

Left Knee Problem ..

Greetings Everyone!

I've delayed postings on Ernie's progress - because well, his left knee seems to have 'stopped' making any progress.  We were hoping things would improve - but not so.  A big disappointment to both of us - especially for Ernie.

Although his left knee is lagging, Ernie's right knee is doing fantastic.  It exceeds his left knee in it's ability to flex, bend and stretch - and has progressed to the point of being at the one year goal!

However, the left knee has 'stopped' gaining and is loosing flexibility.  Ernie can only bend his knee now at 82 degrees - a far cry for the normal goal of 90 degrees at this point in time. 

Why? It seems the left knee has developed 'considerable scar tissue' which makes it very difficult to bend or flex - the scar tissue build-up is suspected of being the result of Ernie's two set backs with his left knee.

Now what?  Ernie will go back into the hospital on Friday, April 20th for out-patient surgery to have 'a manipulation under anestishia' - which means - Ernie will be 'put under' and the doctor will 'force' Ernie's left knee down - hopefully, not breaking any bones.

After surgery, the same day - Ernie will be discharged to go directly to  physical therapy and begin intensive physical therapy.  From our understanding, Ernie will go every day to PT for two weeks and have lots of homework. 

Although we are both a bit down from the news - we know Ernie absolutely must have the ability to bend his knee in order for us to return to our life style at the cabin. 

Below is a photo of Ernie walking the halls of my brother's condo.  He is using a cane now which has made a big difference in his mobility - other than a stiff left leg.

In spite of all the gloomy news today - we extend a HUGH HEART FELT THANK YOU  to our friend, Mike!  He took it upon himself to bring our 4-wheeler in from the cabin to be repaired and serviced.  (Mike towed it across the lake ice, loaded it onto his snowmachine trailer and brought it into Anchorage).  Having the 4-wheeler up and running again will be a tremendous asset when we return. Thank you Mike!! 

Also - a few followers had some questions - so I'll answer those questions.

Has Ernie lost weight?  Yes, he's lost 25 lbs.

What do I do besides care taking?  Well - my brother is a bachelor - so I've taken to spring cleaning his condo. (My brother works on the North Slope, he's seldom here and he's given me permission to 'feel at home').  I'd be spring cleaning at the cabin if I were there - so spring cleaning my brother's condo is the next best thing.  I also read, run errands, take Ernie to his PT, assist him with home PT, call family, think about writing a book, spending time with Ernie joking and making things up.

Thank you everyone for your support, emails and phone calls! 

Moving Along ...

Hello Everyone!

Physical therapy continues and is moving along.  At Ernie's last session - the surgical tape strips were removed.  Now Ernie's scars are exposed to continue the healing process. 

Below - Cortland - the physical therapist - is inspecting Ernie's knees to access the healing stage so that he can determine how far to push Ernie during physical therapy.

For the curious - Ernie will have scars on each knee - the left knee scar is 7 3/4 inches long and the right knee scar is
8 1/2 inches.  Not sure why - possibly because two surgeons operated on him.

Today, Ernie's PT exercises were  expanded to include equipment workouts - designed to strengthen muscle, bending, flexing and stretching.  Below - Ernie is on the bike to bend his knees through rotations.  Interesting enough however, he was only able to do  2/3rds of a revolution. 

When the physical therapist found out that we have access to a professional grade workout bike (thanks to my brother's condo workout room) - he assigned Ernie bike homework - three times a day.  With the weekend coming up - that will give us two days to see if Ernie can complete one or two full revolutions on the bike.

Below - Ernie is on a sliding bench that he has to push back and forth with his legs.  Cortland is giving Ernie instructions on how many repetitions to complete while his toes are pointed upwards. 

Below - Cortland has changed Ernie's toe position - outward - so that Ernie can push back and forth using hip muscles.  (Cortland has a timer and measuring instrument in his hand)

 Below - Ernie's feet are at the bottom of the 'board' - pushing back and forth using the balls of his toes.

 Ernie continues to progress.  His right knee can flex/bend at 120 degrees and his left leg can now flex/bend at 90 degrees and both knees/legs are relatively 'flat' when he lies down.  We believe Ernie's jump in progress has been due to Cortlands' homework assignments - for both of us. 

After PT today, Cortland told Ernie he might want to consider using a cane to walk short distances - and to continue using his walker for longer walks - down my brother's condo hallway - which is 150 feet round trip.  As Cortland said "... we are very lucky to have distance, stairs and equipment ..." to get Ernie back to a full recovery.  So a BIG thank-you to my brother!!

 We'll keep you posted - in the meantime, have a Happy Easter Holiday!!!

'Our Physical Thearpy' .....

Greetings Everyone!

Ernie's out-patient physical therapy has begun!  Correction - 'our physical therapy' has begun.  And to think I thought my role would be to drive him there  - sit back and read a good book for an hour in the waiting room.

Not only did the physical therapist - Cartland - give Ernie homework - but I too was assigned homework.  Who would have thought?  At home, Ernie is to 'step-up' the flexing and stretching routine for each leg and increase his walking distance.

My homework - three times a day - is to massage Ernie's legs, manipulate his knee caps and apply intensive cold therapy! The physical therapist showed and instructed me on how to therapeutically massaging Ernie's legs and how to move his knee caps back and forth - up and down - left and right.  At first I was a bit hesitant - but I realized it was all for the good and learned something new.

After those demonstrations, I was taught how to apply intensive cold therapy (ICT) to each of Ernie's knees.  The process involves wrapping cold towels and flexible cold ice packs around each knee and leaving them in place for 20 minutes.  According to the physical therapist intensive cold therapy is needed 3 times a day to reach the deep muscles and tendons - which traditional icing does not do.  ICT is designed to reduce swelling and blood pooling more quickly. Oh yes - I cannot forget - as Ernie goes through ICT - I have to cover him with a blanket because he does get very cold.

Below the physical therapist - Cartland - takes Ernie through a routine of flexing and stretching.  Although Ernie appears to be taking it easy - he's focused on breathing techniques to get past the 'pain point' - I think he must be thinking of the rhyme '... smell the flowers (inhale) and blow out the candles (exhale).'

Near the end to the therapy session - electrodes are applied to each of Ernie's knees.  They are designed to emitted low electrical pulses to relax the muscles, breakup blood pooling and increase blood circulation.  The black/blue pads are Velcro straps that will hold the flexible cold ice packs in place around Ernie's knees.

Ernie is doing much better since our last blog.  The tiredness is going away - which means the iron pills (3 times a day) and high iron diet are doing their job.  The physical therapist is pleased that Ernie is ahead of schedule with flexing - the goal is for Ernie to have 100 degrees flexibility at 3 months.  Currently, Ernie can flex his right leg at 113 degrees and his left knee at 85 degrees.  By the end of PT - in May - he will have both knees flexing over 100 degrees - but he will need to continue working towards the range of 125-130 degrees.

In addition, Ernie is now walking short distances without his walker. He reached the point where he was carrying his walker as he walked rather, than pushing it along. He still has to use the walker for longer distances however, but we suspect he'll be using a cane soon.

Take care - and thank you for keeping us in your thoughts.

Bionic Man ...

Greetings Everyone!

Ernie has successfully completed in-home physical therapy (PT) - and would you believe he had to pass a test before  graduating to out-patient PT?

He had to demonstrate to the in-home physical therapist that he could stand without loosing his balance.  Then, while standing he was gently pushed left, right, front and back and then, had to reach way out in front of himself - first to the right - then, left -- all while maintaining his balance.

Afterwards, Ernie had to demonstrate that he could get up and down from the toilet, and get in and out of the shower (using a shower stool) without any assistance. From there, he had to demonstrate the new techniques he learned in PT for climbing up and down the stairs without using a crutch.  He basically walks up and down the stairs - slowly flexing his knees - using the handrail for support.

Last - Ernie was given a verbal test to reflect his knowledge that he knew the signs of blood clotting and infection.  Evidently, these are two events that can occur up to a year after surgery. 

Ernie now moves to out-patient PT - beginning Wednesday.  His PT is scheduled for three times a week for eight weeks. A schedule that takes us into the first week of May.  Quite a schedule with lots of homework!  Ernie however, is bound and determined to have us at the cabin after break-up - so PT is his absolute focus for a full and complete recovery.

Today, Ernie saw his doctor - as scheduled - and x-rays were taken of his new knees!   Below is a view of both Ernie's knees -- on the inside.  Rather amazing!!

Below is a side view of Ernie's left knee. 

His knee caps were 'shaved' on the bottom so they would fit accurately over his new knees.

Below is Ernie's right knee - same thing with the knee cap. 

The doctor told Ernie all looks well and fits correctly.

Below is a view of Ernie's knees - looking down.  You can only see his knee caps and muscular knees.

Ernie's next doctor visit wont be until April 19th - so that's a good sign.  All in all Ernie is doing well.  He tires easily and feels run down most of the time - and that's because he anemic.  The doctor said Ernie would feel that way for a couple of more weeks - in the meantime - Ernie is to continue taking iron pills three times a day - and eating lots of greens rich in iron.  It's a good thing he loves spinach.  Liver would be ideal - but Ernie can't stand liver - so a steak will have to do.

A big thank you to everyone for your calls and offers to run errands.  My brother was down from the Slope for a week and ran many an errand to stock us up.  The biggies was getting Ernie's handicap parking sticker at DMV and stocking us up on chipped ice for the 'ice man' - which Ernie uses daily to control swelling.

Again, thank you!

Staples Out ...

Hello Everyone!

On Wednesday, Ernie had the staples removed from his knee insisons -- a total of 66!  We found that amusing because Ernie turned 66 on his birthday - March 17th.  We were wondering if his doctor put 66 staples in to humor Ernie??  Not sure, but Ernie will ask his doctor when he goes in for an office visit Tuesday.

Below is Ernie's self-leg poritrate of his stapled knees before the staples were removed.

Below the staple removal gets underway.

After all 66 staples were removed, Ernie's insions were covered with surgical tape. He will need to continue wearing the compression stockings for 3-6 months.

All thumbs up!  Ernie is moving along and progressing with in-home physical therapy.  Below he is tackling the task of walking up and down stairs.  Next Wednesday he will start with his out-patient physical therapy.  We've been informed that Ernie will be doing physical therapy for eight weeks, three times a week - ending the first week of May. 

As you can see, Ernie is able to stand on his new knees - he does use his walker for walking however - just for balance.  It's amazing - to see him recovering quickly - considering that he had two set backs.

Thank you everyone for your calls, emails and well wishes to Ernie!

Two Steps Back ....

Greetings Everyone!

I've not posted for the past couple of days because Ernie had two set-backs. 

The first occurred when his physical therapist was here - her standard procedure is to take Ernie's vital signs before starting his exercises. One vital sign - is Ernie's intake of oxygen. After she - Sondra completed Ernie's vitals - she started with all the bed exercise Ernie needs to do in order to achieve flexibility and muscle tone.

From there she had Ernie sit up, get out of bed and walk with his walker.  At that point Sondra and I noted how hard Ernie was breathing - almost gasping for breaths.  So she put Ernie back into bed and took his vital signs.  His heart rate and blood pressure were way up - and his oxygen level was very low.

Sondra called Ernie's doctor and left a message - and told me to keep an eye on him after she left. Later, we received a call back from the doctor - instructing Ernie to go to the emergency room.  So Ernie and I got him up and managed to get him down 24 stairs, into the little truck and to the hospital.

At the hospital Ernie was hooked-up to a heart monitor and put on oxygen.  The ER doctor was concerned that Ernie had a blood clot or was developing a heart problem.  So a number of test were administered - Cat Scan, EKG, chest x-ray and blood draws. 

The end results - NO blood clots or heart problems!  However, the blood test showed Ernie was low on iron (anemic) - a result of blood loss from surgery.  Subsequently, his blood was not efficiently carrying oxygen through his system - thus, the labored breathing.  Ernie was told to continue taking the iron pills prescribed by his doctor and given various breathing exercises to follow.

Ernie was discharged from the hospital - and we returned home - slowly climbing back up the 24 stairs.

The next morning - on Ernie's birthday (March 17th) Ernie was doing fine in the morning - BUT  later was 'hit' by severe pain in his left leg. His pain medicine and ice packs were not working! His knee began to swell and his pain escalated. 

We knew that he had to get him to the ER - again - but Ernie couldn't use his leg because of the swelling and the extreme pain. There was no possible way to get him down the stairs - so we call the fire department (911).

The paramedics showed up - and it took them 20 minutes and six men to get Ernie down the stairs - mainly because they had to be extremely cautious maneuvering the stair angles. Ernie arrived at the ER via ambulance --on his birthday.  Below - Ernie in the ER room - no cake and ice cream.



The one good thing about having gone to the ER the day before - was the same doctor and nurse were assigned to work with Ernie - and both were able to see the difference in Ernie's left knee right away. 

After assessing the situation - the doctor suspected 'blood pooling' around Ernie knee.  Blood pooling - from my understanding - is NOT a blood clot - a blood clot is located in a vein or artery and can travel within the body.  Blood pooling is blood seeping into an area and staying there - not uncommon after surgery.  In turn, the pooling blood causes the tissues to swell - and the body has to absorb the pooled blood on its own - then, the swelling will go down.
Below is Ernie's swollen knee.  The band-aid is covering an injection site - where the doctor inserted a needle to aspirate out blood - but got nothing.  This was one of the indicators used to confirm the pooling of blood on the joint.  If there was no pooling blood - then, Ernie would have a different problem. Blood samples were also taken for testing to see if Ernie could possibly have an infection.  Results won't be available until early next week - so we wait.

Finally - we returned home after 2:00 AM.  Although it was late, we humbly celebrated Ernie's birthday with two 'Skinny Cows' - a circular ice cream sandwich.

Take care everyone!



Physical Therapy Really Begins ...

Greetings Everyone!

Ernie is moving along - slowly, but determined.  Tomorrow will be one week since his surgery -  hard to believe.  He still has pain and sleeps a lot.  When he's awake - he is either on the passive motion machines, walking, doing bed exercises or on the 'ice man'/ice packs. 

As you can imagine, his appetite is simple - no big dinners or pizza at this time - just soups, eggs, oatmeal, jello, Popsicles,cottage cheese, fruits, yogurts, and lots of water and juices.

Above is the 'ice man' - the electrical ice pack machine which Ernie uses throughout the day.  Those flat looking pads have little plastic bubbles that the ice water flows through - via the blue hose.  Chipped ice and water go into a cooler  - and recycled through the hoses into the bubble pads. It's a pretty nifty machine. However, we use a lot of ice - so I'm glad its cold out - because I can stash bags of crushed frozen ice outside in a cooler.

The thing in the back ground is one of Ernie's passive motion machines - each one weighs 40 lbs - and Ernie has two -- real fun to lift and place under Ernie's knees throughout the day.

This is what the 'ice man' looks like when its hooked up. Ernie has his legs propped up on pillows - the pillows offer a different position - while Ernie is bed he has to lay on his back or in a siting position - with his legs stretched out - so the pillows offer a bit more comfort.

Today, Ernie had his first in-home physical therapy (PT) session.  In the above photo Ernie is lifting his legs with a bed sheet - leg lifts. He also worked on bending his knees - and ouch!! Although it hurts for him to bend his knees - he MUST - so that he can regain a normal walking gate. 

The therapist, Sondra measured Ernie's knees for the 'degree of bend' so that he will know what to work towards - the goal is to have a 60 degree bend - right now he has a 30 degree bend. The degree of bend will increase throughout therapy - but at two weeks - post surgery - Ernie should work towards a 60 degree bend.

Ernie is scheduled for in-home PT three times a week for two weeks - then, out-patient PT for six weeks. Although the road to recovery will be challenging - Ernie is determined to reach his physical therapy goals so that he can walk without pain.

Again, our heartfelt thanks to our followers for your words of encouragement and support!