Wow, 2 posts a month!

Yeah, I'm at a new low in posting I think but I've got an excuse....  Talk about a dull life!  I used to have a dull enough life but recently I've been sitting around taking pain pills that make me sleepy.  Now, if that isn't a recipe for dull I don't know what would be.  

However, recently I've gotten off the pills and I've even tried driving.  The driving isn't going too well though because I'm having trouble turning my head and sometimes you've just got to do that in traffic.  Happily my wife is an excellent driver so our local restaurants haven't missed out on too much of our business.  I have a nap in the morning then we go out to lunch then we come home and I have a nap in the afternoon.  Now that I'm off the pills I'm hoping to go back to a mere 8 hours of sleep every 24.  

Recently I've been reading about people who don't want to be vaccinated for COVID or even wear a mask to prevent the spread and some of the reasons they give.  The big one is always that it is a violation of their rights.  Bah, humbug!  We have laws that you must wear a seatbelt in your car; there's a violation of your right to get thrown clear of the accident.  We have laws that you must have a driver's license; a clear violation of your right to endanger others.  We have laws regarding ownership of property; another clear violation of your right to take what you can.  As Arnold Schwarzenegger pointed out 'with freedom comes rights and responsibilities' including caring about your fellow citizens.  He also pointed out that 'freedom and duty have always gone hand in hand'.  Yea, Arnie!

As some of you may remember, we had solar panels placed on our roof a couple months ago.  It's early still but so far things seem to be working well.  Our electric bill has gone down to the $20 minimum payment that our electric coop requires.  That means we are generating more power than we are using.  We'll see how things are going in six months when it is cold and there are fewer hours of sunlight.  There were a few hiccups along the line with the electronic tracking but they seem to have been worked out.

Anyway, that's all the news from dullsville.  Keep safe and keep washing those hands! 

Quite times have become even more quiet!

 I've written several times about how it's pretty quiet around here.  Well, this is a new high in quiet!  This morning I went in to the grocery store with my wife; almost the first time I've left the house since coming home late last Saturday night.  We've had a nurse from Home Health come by; she said she didn't see a lot for her to do but she would come once a week for a couple weeks just to check on me.  We had a trainer from Home Health come by; he said I didn't need him at all and he wouldn't return unless we requested it.  We went to visit my local doctor; he had nothing to say except to suggest that I should give up drinking.  

So that is my new excitement:  having someone tell me not to drink.  You can imagine how that goes over!  Of course I've got lots of drugs to help me through all this:  NOT.  I have acetaminophen 650mg and methocarbamol 500mg FOUR times a day but that's it.  The methocarbamol is a muscle relaxant but the dosage is only 1/3rd of what I saw on the Mayo Clinic website.   The acetaminophen is a pain reliever, of course, and if you are sitting around in a cervical collar all day; yeah, you'll probably have some pains so I'm not unhappy about having it prescribed.  Still, in my mind these are pretty minor drugs to be taking given that someone just put a big old screw in my neck to hold it together.  At any rate, things seem to be all fixed up and I'm hopeful that I'll be out of this collar soon!  I've got an appointment with the surgeon on Tuesday, the 10th, so I may get some answers then.  

We have been continuing in the Southern Nevada heat wave with most days being around 115F (46C).  While I was having fun in the hospital we had severe RAIN storms here!  There was a fair amount of damage to homes and businesses caused both by the amount of water and the strength of the accompanying winds.  Gee, and I missed it!  At least our two cactus plants got some water while I was laid up.  

We have a street called Lost Creek Drive.  Every two or three years there will be an eruption of water just downhill from Lost Creek Drive.  I have to admit that I'd be a bit uncomfortable if I lived on that street.  That creek is clearly NOT lost forever.  

That's all I've got to whine about today.  Hope you are having great times.  But keep washing those hands and mask up if you need to.  Take care.

NOT my idea of a good time!

 Back on Friday, 7/23 we decided we would need more alcohol than we had in the house to get through to our Malta trip.  So, it's off to Vegas getting home about 15:30.  We sat down with a couple of glasses and proceeded to relax by watching some of the mindless stuff now found on television near you. 

At some point, I have no memory of the next couple of hours, I got up, most probably to get another drink, and fell headfirst on the floor.  My wife must have given me a quick checkover then called 911.  Our Ring doorbell camera have two strong slim guys carrying an old fat one out of his house at 19:47.  We went to our local hospital emergency care unit then where loaded onto a helicopter for a quick trip to UMC in Las Vegas.  I woke for a couple minute while in the copter but didn't really wake until I'd been at UMC Trauma for quite a while.

In the morning I was told that I'd broken both the C-1 and C-2 vertebra and was taken to another unit for 'storage'.  My wife showed up and we talked about things with various people.  It turned out the most positive outcome for a situation like this is to use a large screw to attach C-1 to C-2 then let them grow together forever more.  So that was our plan.  

To make a long and aggravating story short, it was 23:00 hours on 7/29 before the screw was installed!  During this entire time I was confined to my bunk.  If I needed the lavatory, it was via a bedpan or a drip that was installed on my penis.  Food was delivered, medication was delivered OFTEN and blood pressure checks, etc were also applied every 2 or 3 hours.  The procedure itself took 6 hours from the time I was picked up until I was released to Post-Op. 

Friday the 30th was full of some 'meetings' where we were taught about broken vertibrea, etc.  We started talking loudly about leaving and finally about 14:00 on the 31st were given permission to go home.  It was 18:00 before they got their paperwork done but at least we made it home and I celebrated the beginning of August in my own bed!

So,  the first thing is that I've got several doctor's appointments in the next couple of weeks.  I've also got a shiny, new walker so that if I feel uncomfortable I can use that for support.  We've canceled our Malta trip hoping to reschedule at some point but have no idea just now.  

I've got to get out and take some photos!  Thanks for stopping by; keep washing those hands!