Ah.....home again!

Well, Felix made it home today around noon.  I was a little worried how that would go since before he went into the hospital, it took 2 people to get him down some steps and into the car and today it's snowing in Hutch.  I guess part of his therapy yesterday was just getting in and out of the car, in preparation for going home.  Louise, decided to have Felix go through the garage entrance, even though the steps are a little more treacherous than through the front door, but the snow made that a better choice.  Before the in hospital therapy, there would be no way he would have been able to traverse the garage steps, but obviously the therapy has helped alot.  It sounds like he will continue to have physical therapy at least a few times a week at home and will soon start cardic rehab, which will also involve some physical therapy......Well, more when I know more and thanks for all the well wishes and prayers, I know my parents really appreciate it...........JR

Checking out!

Well, sorry for not posting in a while.  I really had no news.  It looks like Felix has progressed enough that they are going to let him go home this Friday.  He still has a lot of work ahead of him but he is definitely better.  He will still be getting some at home care physical therapy for a while and will be starting cardiac rehab soon.  More details as I get them...........JR

better now

Well, it sounds like Felix finally was able to stop the flow of #2 and get some rest tonight.  While we were there Nick drew a picture of Grandpa laying in bed and I thought it was so good that I had to post it.

more info

Well the doctor came by a little while ago.  He's going to see what they can do about the loose stools and he also gave us a little more info on how rehab works.  The doctor feels that Felix probably will only need to be in inpatient rehab for another 6 - 10 days.  He said the staff meets on Tuesdays to discuss each patient, where each therapist gives input on each patient.  At that point, it's decided when a patient should be ready to go home.  So, this Tuesday, we should have a pretty good idea of when Felix will be coming home......we'll keep you posted...........JR

not a great day

Well Felix is having a bad day today.  Something upset his stomach and he had diaharea most of the night and this morning.  He's too wore out to try to have him do any walking today.  It's normally a rest day anyway, but we were going to get him up and walk him anyway.  Now with him being wore out and the threat of accidents he'll get his rest day.  He's sawing logs (sleeping) right now.  I'll be going home today so unless I can get Louise to update the blog, you'll be getting second hand information as we call in for updates each day...........JR

Light weight contender

I forgot to mention that when they weighed Felix on Friday he was only 138lbs and I'm sure that he had gained some weight already since he was back from San Diego!  All he talks about is eating some of Louise's chili relleno and potato salad.  He did have some chili relleno one night but so far we haven't seen any signs of the potato salad yet #$&**@!  Looks like I'll have to wait till I'll have to wait until my next visit.  (Get that smile off your face Henry!!!).........JR

Strip Uno

Well here's Felix relaxing with one of his favorite card games, Uno, along with Louise, penguin (a gift from Jacob) and not shown: Margret, John, Nicholas, and Jacob.  I guess we took it too easy on him with the first game because he won!!!

Schedule

Here's a look at what Felix's typical week day is going to be like for the next 1-2 weeks:

• 7:15 am  Wake up (vital signs, washcloths, toileting) up in wheel chair for breakfast
• 7:30 am  Breakfast
• 8:00 am Occupational Therapy arrive for dressing and activities of daily living
• 9:00 am Physical Therapy/Speech Therapy
• 11:00 am Back to room -- toileting
• 11:30 am Lunch
• 12:00 pm Rest period
• 1:00 pm Toileting/Occupational therapy/Physical therapy/ Speech therapy
• 3:30 pm Toileting/Rest period
• 4:30 pm visitation time
• 5:00 pm Supper
• 8:00 pm Toileting/Showers 
• 9:00 pm Bedtime

Off to the races

Well Felix had some more physical therapy this morning. He's really doing a lot better already. Looks like he'll be up and going soon and ready to work out in the garden that Henry and I got started for him.

Flower boy

Well, here he is finally awake and in his garden paradise thanks to Pat, Marc, Henry and Bev. Felix says thanks even though his expression might not show it!!!

First day of therapy

Well Felix had his first day of therapy today. First physical therapy, some speech therapy (I think the speech pathologist thinks he's hopeless!!!!) We had hoped he would speak perfect English!!!. Then Occupational therapy. Here he is after some therapy.

Room info

Felix is in room 4111 direct phone 620-513-4111

rehab

Well, today we finally got to see a physical therapist. After evaluating Felix, he thought it would be beneficial and give Felix a jumpstart if we checked him into the hospital for in-patient rehab. He would get physical and occupational therapy twice a day. Felix also had an appointment with his primary physician. He also concurred that it would be a good thing for Felix to get some in-house therapy. So.......this afternoon we checked Felix into the Hutch Hospital (Promise Regional Medical Center) Room 4111 where he'll be going through therapy for the next couple of weeks. The nurse made the mistake of telling us that we could spend the night in the room and Felix already told Louise that he would sleep in the chair and she could sleep in his bed!!! He just never gives up! Hopefully, I'll have some news on his therapy in the next day or two.......JR

Status

Sorry, I haven't posted in a while. I've been trying to figure a way to get some pictures on here but Louise's PC is so old and slow and she only has a dialup connection, that it's impossible. I also can't pick up a broadband connection out here with my laptop....so I guess you'll have to do with just a little text. I really don't have a lot to say. Felix has good days and he has bad days. The last 2 nights he's had bad nights, which translates into bad nights for Louise. I think that sometimes he dreams he's better than he is and he actually will try to get out of bed at night, but he just can't do it yet. Other times, he's just uncomfortable and can't get resituated by himself, so he wakes Louise. Sometimes, he gets pretty loud and then I wake up and become involved. I'll get back to that.....

During the day, we get him up to walk, sometimes with a walker (which is almost impossible to use in their house with all the opsticles (tile floors with deep grout lines, rugs, furniture...), sometimes we just get him up and hold his hand and just walk with him, sometimes we use a belt that the physical therapist, in San Diego, gave us and just have a hold of it and make him do most of the work. He is getting better walking. Yesterday, he even walked about 10' without any help. I was just there to catch him if he lost his balance. He's still very weak but his biggest problem right now is balance.

Today, he sees his doctor and also we finally will see a physical therapist to tell us what we need to work on to get him around faster. Felix, can't get up out of bed or a chair, on his own. It's very difficult to get him out of the house because we have to take a few steps with him and right now that's nearly impossible without 2 people to help. Louise, doesn't want me to build a ramp (it would have to be pretty long to keep the slope at a minimum) so Felix is going to have to get better quick or Louise is going to have a hard time. I have to get back home after this weekend, so it will just be the two of them at least for a while.

Now back to the nights. Felix can be a real $#!+ at night. He gets confused at night and sometimes doesn't quite know where he's at or what he can do or can't. If Louise gets 2 hours of continuous sleep, it's a good night. I don't know what will happen if she gets sick! Felix is getting pretty frustrated. He wants to be more self sufficient sometimes and sometimes he just wants Louise to do everything for him. Yesterday morning he was feeling sorry for himself. He told us that he wished we would have just left him in Mexico. Louise was also frustrated and said she wished that was the case because she'd be here and rested! The last 2 mornings I've chewed him out like he did so many times to me when I was little. Today, he was getting upset because he couldn't do something and took it out on us and I had to threaten him that to sit down or I would sit him down. I think he knew I meant it. It makes me a little teary eyed when I think about it. I long for the day when he can kick my butt.

Well, sorry for such a downer of a blog. I guess I'm just expressing my frustrations. Hopefully, I'll have some better news for you after he works with the Therapist and sees the Doctor......JR

Home at last, The Great Adventure

Well, yesterday we had our adventure getting Felix from San Diego to Hutch. Rita took us for a quick drive tour of a little of San Diego so Felix could see something more than just a hospital room and whatever was outside the window. Then, it was off for our (Felix, Louise, and John) little adventure. It first starts with our luggage check-in. We chose to check as much luggage as we could so that we would have our hands mostly free to handle Felix. When Felix and Louise went to Mexico, they didn't have to pay to check luggage since it was a flight out of the country. But......since this was a domestic flight we were hit with an additional $70 in charges to check our luggage!!! What a rip! Then it was off to the security screening. I had to wheel Felix in a wheelchair to a special area and park him there to be screened specially, since he had a defibrillator implanted. Louise and I then had to go through the regular line. Well, I got stopped and my luggage got completely searched because I forgot I had a can of pop in my backpack. After, I got thru, I went to see if they had finished screening Felix. When I got there, they insisted that he stand up so they could pat him down..... (thank you George W), so I had to help him stand. Then, after that we had to wheel him over to a area where they could scan his shoes. (After all, Felix looks like a dangerous terrorist). Then, it was off to our gate. Before our flight, I had to help Felix with a restroom stop because we knew that it would be next to impossible to have him use an airline restroom. Now it was time to board the plane. The airline wheeled Felix up to the door of the plane and we had to move him to a special wheelchair that fit in the aisle. The chair had so many straps on it that it looked like we were sending Felix off into space. The problem with these special chairs is that they assume the rider can easily bend his legs to place his feet on the small foothold. That was impossible for Felix. His legs are so stiff that you'd think he had rigor mortis in them. I finally had to hold his feet while they backed him down the aisle. At least it wasn't too far, only 2 rows back from the door. Ahhhh!!!, finally on our way to DFW. For some reason the plane was very cold. Even I was cold and that usually doesn't happen. Felix had 2 blankets on him and was still cold. Typically, when the airline handles a handicapped person, that person is loaded first and unloaded last. When we left San Diego, our flight was 20 minutes behind and we didn't have a whole lot of time between flights. We decided that we needed to have Felix walk (with our help) the short distance to the exit. As we began, pulling up to the gate, we realized that they were not going to use the same door that we came in on, and instead use one at the front of First Class. That meant we had about 10 rows to get past now. We just decided we had to go for it and Felix said he was up to it. When the plane stopped, I hopped over Felix, got him up and had him wrap his arms around my neck. I then picked him up on my back and carried (dragged) him for as long as he could take it (about half way). He then slowly finished the remaining distance. At the plane entrance, they had a wheelchair ready and they wisked us off to catch our next flight. When we got to the gate, they were already boarding and were ready for us. They had even changed our seating assignments so that we were in the front row (after first class) I usually gripe about American Airlines, but they sure were helpful in this case. We were a little nervous about just getting onto the plane because we had hoped to have a bathroom break in between flights but Felix was ok with it and had no problems. Finally, we made it to Wichita and we got Felix out of the plane and into a wheelchair, where the airlines had one more shot at Felix. This time the person pushing the wheechair wasn't paying attention and bumped his arm in the doorway. His skin is so thin that it ended ripping a big gouge in his arm even through the sweatshirt he was wearing. He really didn't care. He was just glad to be in Wichita and closer to home. We had a shuttle waiting for us when we arrived to get us home. After we got Felix into the van. We took off and he sat quietly and awake for the whole trip (2 things that are hard for him; being quiet and staying awake while sitting). The next thing we heard out of his mouth was "There's 56th Street". Soon we were home...more later.

Heading home

Well it was a long night. We didn't get Felix released until around 9 pm. Then we had to find a 24 hour drugstore to pick up his prescriptions. The hospital called it in for us and we were told we could pick up in about an hour. Called the drugstore and they said another hour. We got to the drugstore and found that not all of the prescriptions had been received. So by the time we finally got the prescriptions and got back to the condo it was midnight. Felix had a pretty good night - only had to get up once. He's up and ready to go this morning. John and Luise will have their hands full if Felix get stiff on them - but I'm sure they'll make it work one way or another. They will arrive in Wichita around 9:30 pm. John will fill us in on all the travel details. Thanks again to everyone for their support and prayers.

Release Date

We'll be going to the hospital shortly and finishing all the paperwork to get Felix out. Someone is going to come in and check and make sure his difibullator is working. Plane reservations have been made and they will be back in Kansas tomorrow evening. Thanks to all of you for keeping Felix in your prayers. John will be posting to the blog to let us all know about their flight home.

They're going to let him go!!!!

Well we were determined to stick around tonight until we finally got to see Felix's primary physician. Dr. Ewe said that Felix would probably be released sometime on Thursday. So our plan is to head back to Hutchinson on Friday. Felix and the rest of us were sure glad to hear the news. It's been a long month. So tomorrow we'll pack Felix and his "waffle boots" up and ship him home!!!!!

Another good day (Wed 3/4)

Well Felix had a pretty good day today.  He got to take his first shower.  He really liked that.  (and so did we!!)  He took a couple of pretty long walks with his walker and later we hope to have him do at least a short walk without the walker.  We're still waiting to get the all clear from his primary physician, so he can go home.  She's hinted that maybe they'll release him on Friday.  We're still hoping that maybe they'll release him late on Thursday.  He is getting  pretty good at walking now but he needs some practice at getting out of bed.  (actually, he wasn't that good at getting out of bed before his hospital stay).  

Sorry for the boring post....but in this case boring is good......more later

Well it's Tuesday evening.  I (John) flew in this afternoon.  Looks like Felix had a good day.  He so far has taken a couple trips around the halls, doing pretty well walking (with a walker).  Not too bad for someone who hasn't been out of bed in a month.  He's in good spirits and we all have hopes that he might get released on Thursday.  We have our fingers crossed.  I brought a pc cam and was able to connect with Margret and the boys so they could see and talk to their grandpa.  I think Felix liked it and I know Nick and Jake appreciated getting to see their grandpa.  

His blood pressure is good.  His blood sugar is good.  He's gotten up and gone to the restroom (with help) instead of using a bed pan, so today he feels good about his progress and I think his physical therapist was also pleased.  That's all for now.....more later

Another Monday

Another Monday in ICU. Felix was sitting in a chair when we arrived this morning. He is looking good and his blood pressure is great. The therapist came in and worked with him on standing up and sitting down over and over again. The therapist told us that we can continue to work with him throughout the day which we will do. The Cardiologist came in and was going to talk to the other doctors about getting him moved out of ICU. That's all for now.

Sunday morning in ICU

Felix is doing better. The doctor decided that he needs some blood (calling it a transfusion) because his blood pressure is too low and his blood count (8.6) is a bit lower than it should be. They usually recommend blood transfusion for blood count below 9.0. Felix wasn't too happy about this news - he thinks all of these treatments are the reason why he can't walk. So he's complaining a lot. Hope to have him off of oxygen and walking before the end of day (not too sure there is anyone around to do therapy). So depending upon how he reacts to new blood and if he can get some movement going will impact when he can be released. Hoping for a Wednesday flight home which might be too optimistic, but we can always dream.

Saturday morning 2-28

Well it's Saturday morning. Felix is feeling better, but two days in bed has set him back on his movement and walking. It looks like he'll be spending another day in ICU. We got his bed moved so that he can look out the window. He has a beautiful view of the city and the ocean. The sunset last night was fantastic. It is a beautiful day and the sky is clear and you can see a long way into the distance (We can even see Mexico!!!) When we told Felix he could see Mexico, he said why would he want to see Mexico. Hope to have more progress today - if not, it will put off his release date again. We're all tired of sitting around in the hospital. Couldn't ask for better care, but it would be nice to get home.

Friday morning

Felix is much better today. His blood pressure has been stable. He is being given Vancomycin and Flagyl Metronidazole for his Cdiffricile Colitis (infection caused by antibiotics). They are going to keep him in the ICU today and possibly move him out tomorrow. He ate a good breakfast and is sleeping. Hopefully by the end of the day he might be ready to get up and move around a little. More tomorrow.

Thursday afternoon - back to ICU

Felix had a set-back. He has an infection in his bowels which is causing his blood pressure to drop very low. They decided he needs to move back into the ICU for closer monitoring. The doctor had planned on releasing him tomorrow, but now plans on keeping him over the weekend. Hopefully he'll recover quickly. Hopefully we'll get him back up on his feet soon.

Thursday Morning

Sorry I didn't post anything yesterday. The wireless connection in the hospital is difficult. Felix did get up and walk on Tuesday night/afternoon. Yesterday was a very good day. He got up twice yesterday. The second time he walked without the walker for the second half of the walk. He actually does better without the walker, but has to start with it. The challenge for him is getting up into a standing position. The therapist was able to get him to stand up several times. When we tried a few hours later, he wasn't cooperating. He was pretty tired; so maybe that was his excuse. The cardiologist and pulminalogist both said that Felix was good to go as far as they were concerned. We made an appointment to see the doctor who installed the defibrillator on Tuesday for his last checkup with him. We only need to the ok from the Primary Physician and the Cardiac Surgeon. Both of these doctors are looking for him to be up and moving well before he leaves. Well - that's about it. I probably won't be posting anything more today. We have to pack up and move to new lodging tomorrow for a couple of days. Thanks for all of your prayers.

Tuesday 2-24-09

Another day in San Diego - Felix had a pretty good night. He ate a really good breakfast and had a visit from a therapy dog. The dog's name was Dakota and he is a Bernese Mountain Dog. He's a really beautiful and gentle giant of a dog. The doctor came in a removed his drainage tubes and said that it was now up to the therapists. The therapist (Paul) showed up and was showing Luise and Henry how to help Felix get up and walking, but Felix decided not to cooperate. So they put him back in bed and Paul left. Paul said he would be back this afternoon and hopefully Felix would be up to getting up and walking. It is now around 3 pm and Felix wants Paul to show up "NOW". So hopefully he'll show up soon. Still hoping to get home this weekend, but might not be until beginning of next week.

Monday Evening

After a 2 1/2 hour delay Felix went into the operating room to have his new defibullator put in. The surgery went well. They did have to stop his heart in order to test the unit, but it worked well and immediately restarted his heart. (Doctor wanted to reassure us that this was part of the procedure ((Kill him and bring him back to life!!!!!)). When he got back to his room he was a little bit groggy, but recovered very quickly. So now he has his card showing he has a difibullator and can get onto a plane. Hoping to get him up and walking within the next few days. Will keep you all posted.

Monday - Defibrillator

Well today is the day the will put in a defibrillator. Surgery is scheduled for 1 pm. If everything goes well they will just numb the area and insert the unit. Henry's example is that it is similar to putting garlic under the skin of a chicken. Felix liked that example. Felix was doing well when we came in today and walked further. The therapist said it would be at least another 3 days after surgery before he would be released. Well my battery is running out - so I had better get this message off.

Sunday morning

Well Felix was upset with us when we came in this morning. They had moved him to a private room and I guess someone told him that we could have stayed all night. Of course it doesn't make any difference that there was no place to sit (they brought in 2 folding chairs). Felix insists that we are to stay in the room and we can eat and sleep in the room. We are not to leave. Henry told him that we would stay if he would get out of bed and walk (we weren't going to sit around and watch him lay around). Since there are only 2 chairs, I came out to the waiting room to write this message (he did ask why I was leaving). Anyways - I think the move to a new room confuses him. The therapist came by and took him on a nice walk (around 50 ft). His oxygen level and blood pressure were very good after the walk. We'll try and get him up several times today and get him moving more. Surgery tomorrow for the defibrillator. Luise is telling Felix he has 3 days to get up and be able to walk onto a plane. We'll see if that does the trick or not. More later.

Saturday

I wrote a long message but it appears to have been lost in internet space. So I'm going to write a shorter one and see if I can get this one to post. On Monday afternoon they will be putting in a defibrillator. This must be done before he will be released to travel by plane or car or anything. The surgery only takes approximately one hour. So we hope to have him up and moving quickly. If everything goes well, he might be able to head home to Kansas by the end of the week. Well let me send this and I'll write more later.

More info on Operation

The operation went well. We went in to see Felix and he knew we were there, but was still a bit groggy. We got word tonite that they removed the ventilator and he was complaining about paid (which is a good thing). We'll send more news tomorrow.

Operation Complete.....Finally

I just talked to my mom and she said everything went well. My dad had one bypass and the valve replacement. They had to get the vein for the bypass from his chest. In about an hour, she'll get to go in and see him. more later...........JR

Weds - Surgery Day

We're waiting for Felix to be taken down for surgery. He's in good spirits and ready to get it done. They should be picking him up in about an hour. All of the Doctors that came by yesterday said that he was ready for surgery and doing great. After surgery he'll begin therapy and then when he is able to get up and walk on his own he'll be heading home to Kansas. The hospital staff say this could be within a week after surgery. Felix is hoping to set a new record and be out sooner than the week. If you know Felix - you know he would be the one to do it. More after surgery.

Surgery scheduled

Felix has been scheduled for surgery tomorrow (Wednesday) at 8:30 am. He will have an aortic valve replacement and coronary artery bypass. They will be using a pig or cow valve. Surgery takes approximately 4-4 1/2 hours. Felix is doing well and anxious to have the surgery and get well so he can return home. Luise is doing fine - she's still standing. They are going to show us a video of the procedure and what will happen before and after. The staff here at the hospital are absolutely fantastic. Felix had several #2's yesterday - so we advised the new nurse that she might want to think twice before giving him any stool softeners. More later.

Monday - Presidents Day

Physical Therapists showed up and are working on getting him up and moving. Told him they want him to walk 2 miles. We got him up; he ate breakfast by himself; got him back into bed and had him wash himself. They will come back and work on him some more later. Dr. Huang came in and said he's looking to do surgery maybe Wednesday or Thursday. They are going to do a scan to take a look at the heart and area around heart to see what Dr. Huang has to work with. The valve will be replaced with a metal or pig/cow skin/tissue. Metal requires use of blood thinners, but is smaller and lasts longer. Dr. Huang right now thinks the pig or cow tissue would be better for Felix because he bruises enough now and with blood thinners any cuts would bleed easily. Dr. Huang is also going to look at the veins for the bypasses. Leg veins are no good. There is one in the chest that they are looking to use and possible veins in the arms. He'll come off of all the medication and blood pressure medicine today which needs to be done before surgery. That's all for now.

Sunday

Felix is getting stronger every day. He's sitting up and eating lunch and breakfast on his own. He's continually flirting with the nurses and they all come by to see him. Henry and John headed home today and Bonnie is leaving tomorrow. We don't anticipate Felix having his heart surgery until the middle to late in the week. Will keep you all posted on what's happening. Our hotel stay last night was very sleepless - there was a very loud group next door who didn't quit partying until around 5:30 am. There was a group at our hotel and the hotel across the street who were having tailgate parties. Not sure what the parties were about, but they were quite loud. That's all for now.

The King!

John just sent this picture by phone. This morning when they came to the hospital, felix was sitting up and in a chair! Great news.
xxooMO

Friday the 13th

Felix is eating more and was able to do several "#2's". Haven't seen any of the doctors today. Hope to see the surgeon today and get a date for the surgery. We had to move out of the condo we were staying in. John and Rita managed to use every square inch of trunk space to pack the luggage for 5 people. We are moving into a hotel (one room) for 4 nights. This will be a real test of everyone's patience and ability to get along and share one bathroom. Henry will not be allowed to bring a book with him when he enters the bathroom. John will not be allowed to #2 at the hotel. Bonnie will have to wear the same clothes for the 4 days (no way to get her luggage out of trunk). More later - after doctors show up.

GET WELL GRANDPA

Just a picture to make you smile.

We Love You, Margret Nick and Jake

No more tubes

Well, he got the breathing tube removed yesterday and the feeding tube this morning. He got to eat some "real" food today. (pretty much baby food consistency). Now they are waiting for him to produce a good #2 (poop).

Weds progress

It's Wednesday morning and we're at the hospital. They took Opa/Felix off sedation and he's awake and responding. The plan is to ext abate (remove ventilator tube) in the next few hours. More later.

Felix ICU

Felix is in ICU. They are trying to clear up the infection in his lungs. As soon as he is well enough they will be performing open heart surgery to replace the left aortic valve and at least one bypass. He's still on a respirator but hopefully tomorrow if his lungs get better they will take him off of it. All of his family is here (Mother, Henry, Bonnie, Rita, and John) .......more later