True Grit ..

Greetings Everyone!

Sorry to not have gotten back sooner.  Ernie was discharged from the hospital late Friday afternoon - and its been non-stop since then. 

Our first big challenge was for me to haul all of Ernie's recovery stuff out of the hospital - they sent him home with a very fancy blue electrical, circulating ice pack machine  - more like a high-tech ice cooler, loads of 4 x4 sterile gauze, surgical tape, 2 pairs of compress stockings, discharge orders, prescriptions and a walker.

Ernie - all happy to be leaving the hospital.

  I helped him shower at the hospital - and I should have wore my rain gear - live and learn.

Before Ernie was dressed, the nurses instructed and showed me how to prepare Ernie's knees for the shower, and how to change his bandages. 

The second biggest challenge we had - was stuffing Ernie into the front seat of a small Toyota truck.  In case some of you didn't know - our truck blew its' transmission the day before Ernie was scheduled for surgery.  So our truck sits at the mechanics waiting for us to move forward with repairs.  I actually don't know if stuffing Ernie into a small truck would have been any different than trying to lift and shove him into bigger truck.  Feat accomplished however!!

The third challenge was getting Ernie up 21 steps and into the condo! I expected us to take a good hour to climb that 'mountain' - but Ernie just held onto the stairs side rails and went right up - albeit slow.  He rested on the landings and achieved an awesome task in about 20 minutes.

Our first night at the condo was interesting - we both had to figure things out together - like when to use the ice machine, tracking his medications, exercise schedule, when to put him on the 'passive motion machines' and how to get Ernie in and out of bed without killing him. 

 I must admit though, we did have a rather lengthy recovery pamphlet - given to us by the hospital - on what to do and not to do at home to assist Ernie in his recovery. What is not in the pamphlet - is that Ernie would be waking up frequently throughout the night because of discomfort - which he did - every four hours.

I'd then do a few things at the same time -- hook him up to the ice packs or passive motion machines, give him his meds and gently stroke his knees to relieve the discomfort. 

All aside, Ernie is doing well.  Today Ernie accomplished a total of  750 feet - using his walker.  He's continuing with his walking and knee exercise which he does daily, and religiously.  On Monday, the physical therapist will be coming to the condo three times a week - and from what we hear - Ernie will be more challenged to accomplish physical recovery goals.   

In case some of you were curious - these are what Ernie's knees look like right now.  His surgical sites are swollen, black and blue, and he has a number of 'staples' holding things together.  The staples will come out on March 21st. 

 In the above photo - I was changing his bandages - "dressings" - and his compression stockings.

Well, from here on out - we will be at the condo.  The doctor will not approve Ernie to drive for three months, no traveling for eight weeks and no jumping.  So - we will take one day at a time.

Again, we thank each of you for your support, thoughts and well wishes. 

Take care and I'll keep you posted.

Knees' on the mend ..

Greetings Everyone!

Today was a challenge for Ernie.  He was introduced to his first physical therapy session and had the opportunity to try out his new knees -- to see what they feel like.  The first time he walked this morning - it took a lot out of him - baby steps and sheer determination to 'peg-leg walk' about 50 feet. By the time he returned to his bed - he was sweating from head to toe - as though he had run a marathon in less than two hours!

In the afternoon, Ernie had his second physical therapy session.  It was much easier for him and he was able to slowly walk half-way around the orthopedic ward.  As with all knee replacements, he will need to use a walker for a few weeks.  One of Ernie's best assets is his upper body strength -- which he'll need to use a lot of to support his body. 

The man behind Ernie - is the physical therapist - he's holding onto the orange belt strapped around Ernie. 

The physical therapist was quite pleased that Ernie was able to get up and move about - it seems that not everyone who has had a double knee replacement can stand and walk the second day. 

Well, this is what Ernie's knees look like in the hospital - all bandaged up.  His legs are resting on a 'passive motion machine' that slowly moves back and forth - like he's on a bicycle.  The machine is used to reduce the chance of getting blood clots, keeps the ligaments from 'binding' and to reduce scare tissue.  Ernie will need to use the passive motion machine for about three weeks.

The white booties are 'compression boots' - they gently squeeze Ernie's feet then, relax - they are another device to reduce blood clotting.

In the above photo - Ernie is speaking on the phone to his son - with his 'self-administering' pain machine by his side.  He's on some pretty strong meds for pain - the nurses use a key to open and close the machine, and some code to regulate the dosage and frequency.  With all the pain meds he's taking - Ernie will doze off in the middle of a conversation - or forget what he was talking about.  He's still on a clear liquid diet - because the meds make him nauseated and dizzy at times - one med even makes him itch.  Some of the stuff he tells me is funny - like - "... you know they have me on heroin."

Tomorrow, he will be taken off of the self-administer pain machine - and be given pain meds orally.  He'll also be able to take his first shower.  He may come home as well - but we are not sure.  He still has to do the stairs in physical therapy and be free of the dizzy spells.  So we will see.

I'm prepared for Ernie to return home.  I've done all the grocery shopping, stocked up on items and obtained the items the doctor told me to have on hand.  Home by the way, is to my brothers' condo here in Anchorage -- because we cannot return to our cabin until after break-up. 

Again, thanks to each you for your concern, support and calls.  I'll keep you posted. 

Successful..

Greetings Everyone!

Ernie's surgery went well and he's now on the mend.!

After surgery, the surgeon told me that Ernie's knees were 'pretty bad' but that he has great 'bone structure and very good ligaments' so his new knees will serve him well.

While Ernie was in recovery - still under anesthesia - he kept telling the nurses that he had to leave because there was a blizzard coming and he had to move the boat.  Obviously, our cabin was not far from his thoughts.

Ernie is in a hospital room by himself and zoning out.  He's under heavy medication for pain, circulating cold water packs are on each leg and he's hooked-up to machines to monitor his vital signs - and to a separate machine that allows him to push a button for self-pain-administration. Ernie can only push the pain button every eight minutes - the dosage and intervals are set and locked - so Ernie cannot push the button non-stop or over dose himself.

This is not Ernie - but it's such a refreshing picture - and like Alice In Wonderland - I feel motivated to include a picture.  I trust some of you reading this can recognize the person and location -- ???

I would like to thank each of you who have called, texted or emailed me on Ernie's progress.  Your prayers, positive thoughts and friendship 'shout-outs' are greatly appreciated and heartfelt.  I've relayed all of your sediments and well wishes to Ernie - during his lucid times - and we are greatly humbled by all of your expressions of friendship, love and concern.

Take care - I'll keep you posted

Surgery Day Cometh ...

Greetings Everyone!

We've been in Anchorage - preparing for Ernie's knee surgery.  He's been busy doing  pre-op, physical and hospital registration.  Ernie will have surgery at Alaska Regional Hospital, Wednesday, March 7th at 9:00 am.  The doctor expects to have Ernie in surgery for about 65 minutes. 

After surgery Ernie will go to 'recovery' for about an hour or so - then, up to his room.  We expect Ernie to be in the hospital for three days.  He'll be discharged when he can demonstrate to the physical therapist that he can walk up a flight of steps.

So what does a 'total knee replacement' mean?  It's actually a cartilage replacement with an artificial surface.  Ernie's knees' will not be replaced, as is commonly thought, but rather an artificial substitute for the cartilage is inserted on the end of the bones.  This is done with a metal alloy on the femur and plastic spacer on the tibia and kneecap.  This will create a new smooth cushion and a functioning joint that does not hurt.  Hopefully, Ernie will not experience the knee pain that's he's been having for the last couple of years. 

So what does Rocky have to do with Ernie's surgery?  Absolutely nothing - but like Alice In Wonderland - "What's a book without pictures?"  -- so I've just inserted a picture.

Oh yes, on the eve of Ernie's surgery - our truck's transmission went out.  So now our truck sits at the garage - after being towed - and we'll need to deal with the truck problem while Ernie is in the hospital.  We do have a full moon so I'm not sure if that has anything to do with the truck.   We are just thankful the truck didn't breakdown while we were out of Anchorage.

Well - I'm off to assist Ernie with his 'surgical shower' this evening.  He needs to shower with a surgical soap - tomorrow morning he will repeat the process and then, label each knee with his doctor's name.  I suppose this is 'surgical art' per the doctors' instructions - it adds to the fun.

How are we doing?  Ernie is mentally ready and fully expects to have pain from surgery - and he's a bit nervous going into surgery - but who wouldn't be?.  I'm fully prepared to be Florence Nightingale - and feel a bit nervous too - having the man I love go through the procedure.  All in all, we both are looking forward to having this unique adventure behind us - and recovery before us.

Take care - I'll let you all know how Ernie is doing.

Snow & More Snow

Greeting Everyone!

We've been getting a LOT of snow this year - and its been fun to take advantage of it --- cross country skiing and snowmachining!  The snow turned to the powder kind a couple of days ago - so its perfect.

Our cabin - showing off the snows.

Another view of our cabin from the lake.

Friends - Nancy and Vince stopped by to invite us to join them on a snowmachining adventure out on the lake.

So - we all took off and went zooming around.  We went up lake, just past the glacier but turned back because of overflow.

Ernie took this photo - left to right - me, Nancy and Vince.  The snow is quite powder like - so we had fun going fast across and around the lake.  Ernie got his Arctic Cat snowmachine - a heavy workhorse model -- to go 60 mph.  Vince got his machine to go faster and at times, all we could see was a 'roster tail' of snow flying from behind his machine.

Of course we had to check out the Upper Landing - lots of deep snow.  The parking lot and road down to the ramp were not plowed.  Making it fun to zip around.  Ernie is coming down towards the ramp in the above photo.

Taking a rare moment to check out Gull Rock. 

Yesterday, we celebrated Leap Year with our friends, Gunther, Bridgett, Kirby, Vincent & Nancy. Our event started out at Gunther and Brigetts' cabin with three yummy homemade pizzas and two salads.  Bridgett tried her pizza skills - and succeeded - in making a pineapple and Canadian bacon pizza for Kirby - which we all ate. After stuffing ourselves, we 'leaped'  over to our cabin on snowmachines for peach cobble, jokes and more conversation. 

During our conversations - the idea came up that next year - we'd have a 'stations of the cabins' event to celebrate the coming of Spring.  Each cabin site - with an owner present - would have a task for participants to complete.  Not sure what the task would be - suggestions ranged from shooting a bow & arrow at a designated target to seeing who could flip a pancake the highest into the air.  It was even suggested that we have a day long breakfast!

Before we went over to Gunther's cabin - we stopped to visit our friend Kenny to see how his work was coming along with his water pump and to remind him of the 'leap year party'.  Kenny however, had a friend who had come to help him for the day and would be taking his friend, Tim back across the lake - so he wouldn't be coming to the party. 

 What surprised me most about our visit with Kenny and meeting his friend --- is that Tim knows and works with my brother on the North Slope!!  My brother is an avid Sea Hawk fan and Tim is an avid Packers fan.  What a small world!  

Now on a note of a different tune -- Ernie and I will be leaving our cabin for this year's Spring Breakup.  Ernie is scheduled for  'double knee replacement surgery' on March 7th -- so we are going into Anchorage and expect to be there until May or when the ice goes out from the lake - whichever comes first. 

We are sad to leave our home - but Ernie has been having too much pain with his knees for the past couple of years and his mobility is slowing down.  So it's time for surgery.  I will keep you posted through our blog as to his surgery and progress.

Gunther and Bridgett will remain on the island though break-up and our friend, Kirby may also stay.  Of course, Kenny and Clancy will be out frequently.

Take care everyone and I'll keep you posted on Ernie's progress.

Lot's of snow ..

Greetings Everyone!

Overnight and throughout the day it snowed, then melted and snowed again.  So Nancy and I decided to cross country ski around the island.  Vincent zoomed around the island a couple of times to make us a ski trail and waved us off as he zoomed across the lake to the upper landing to check things out. 

However, because the snow became 'wet' from rising temperatures - Nancy and I had a slow time of it. We did make it though!

As I played, Ernie took advantage of the new snow on the lake to make a propane run into Kenai.  On his return trip - he stopped to take a photo of the island.

On his way over to the lower landing, about a mile out - Ernie came upon what appears to be overflow.  He stopped and tested the ice and it was quite solid but had slush on top. 

While waiting for Ernie to return, our other island friends showed up.  Gunther and Bridgett were skiing around the island but the snow was quite wet - so they came in for afternoon coffee and debate if they should try to continue skiing or have Gunter walk back and get his snowmachine.  As we all discussed the pros and cons of skiing on wet snow -  Ernie showed up with the propane.  Gunther then went out to help Ernie unload the propane bottles.  Afterwards, Ernie took Gunter home to get his snowmachine so they didn't have to ski or walk. Perfect timing!

Hopefully the temperatures will drop for a few days so that we can enjoy the snow by getting out and snowmachining or skiing.

Tomorrow is February 29th - Leap Year!  To celebrate - a few of us will be getting together for a once-in-a-four-year dinner.  We'll 'leap' from one cabin to another for appetizer's, dinner and dessert - only we'll use snowmachines to make the 'leap'. 

Take care!

Friends, Fun & Projects

Greetings Everyone!

As we approach the month of March - activity has picked-up.  Two other cabin owners have joined us.  Nancy and Vince  will be here a few weeks and the other couple, Gunther and Bridgett will remain until the fall.  Plus there have been other cabin owners coming out for a few days to a couple of weeks.

Pumping water from the lake -- the traditional winter method. 

After using the auger to cut into the ice - we 'hit' water at two feet. 

Our friend Kenny took on the challenge of drilling a Sand Point Well through his cabin floor!  It took him a few days of drilling and pumping out brackish water - BUT - by golly - he was successful!  Kenny now has water flowing out of his interior cabin well!  What a feat! 

To prepare for summer boating activities - our friend Clancy is building himself a floating dock. 

 He plans to have it completed and ready to moor his boat in May. 

How many islanders' can you get on a snowmachine?

Well - four (left to right - Nancy, Bridgett, Deb and Ernie)

Standing - (Left to right - Vincent and Tom)

Out of sight - Gunther - who took the photo.

Yes, that Tom is the 'bear man' - he's come to his cabin for a few days.

Take care everyone!!