Monday, December 28, 2009
Christmas with Karen
Greetings Troupers,
I thought I would share how our Christmas get together went with Karen. Despite the possibility of bad driving, Jay and I went out the evening of the 23rd, and somehow got extremely luck and missed all of the bad weather. We started out at about 4:30 pm and in addition to the great weather, by the time we got near any major cities there wasn't very much traffic at all, which was wonderful.
We didn't get a whole lot of sleep since we arrived a bit after 2 am, but we got enough that we were able to get up and go to breakfast with Melinda, David, and Ronnie, before they left for Cincinnati. Ronnie is getting so big! I got to hold her for a little while, but I couldn't do it for very long because I hurt my shoulder. It was nice though :) and she enjoyed the books we got her (and more importantly, playing in the wrapping paper!). She also loved the pictures I showed her of the cats and dogs we live with here in NY - she pointed at the dog and said 'Vau Vau', which is the German noise dogs make ^_~
After they left we pretty much just hung out; at one point we found the old checkers/chinese checkers board in the closet and Karen and I had a silly 2 person game with the marbles - it would have been more interesting with more people, but Jay hadn't played before and dad wasn't interested so we just chased each other across the board. I won, although it was close, and Karen had better moves than I did. We also went to FRY'S, which of course I love, because Jay decided he wanted a GPS, so Karen gave it to us for Christmas since she hadn't really been able to go shopping. <3 GPS...
On Christmas morning we had more presents; Karen and Dad donated to our washer & dryer fund (for the new house) and I had gotten some stuff for them. I gave Dad some mixed nuts and a cheese & cracker basket that I had Wegmans put together for him. Jay gave Karen an L.L. Bean giftcard and I gave her the hand held Vacuum she's been wanting - she said Morgan is scared of the upright, but that hopefully she will not be scared of this little one.
Most people won't have heard about it, but we usually do a very elaborate Christmas breakfast, including a phyllo-dough ham loaf, scrambled eggs, champagne, and Ben & Jerries ice cream. I know it seems very strange, but it all goes pretty well together. This year however, since it was just 4 of us and Karen wasn't really up to much, I decided to just make an egg casserole. So we had that, the ice cream, and some sparkling grape juice. Then for Christmas dinner I made a lasagna, as that is one of my specialties and it is MUCH easier to make than our usual turkey with sides. Despite the fact that the meat that we thawed out from the freezer was actually really bad, we were able to find another package that was ok and the meal went mostly as planned.
Overall it was a very pleasant day, and we ended it by watching some classic Doctor Who episodes and going to bed.
The next morning Jay and I were going to drive back, but we decided to have a pancake breakfast. We got up and prepared the batter, and then I woke up Karen and Dad. Karen started to make pancakes, but unfortunately it turned out I shouldn't have let her do that because (we think) she got over heated, and she actually passed out next to the stove! Fortunately I was able to catch her before she hit anything, but it was very scary.
At the time of this writing, as far as we know, it was just overheating that caused it, not her head injury. She hadn't eaten or drunk anything, she hadn't taken her medication (I think she was off on the time, actually), and she was sort of going back and forth from the frying pan to the oven with pancakes, which possibly changed her blood pressure. She was only out for a minute and she was able to get herself to the couch after a bit, where we gave her stuff to drink and we all ate breakfast in the living room so she wouldn't have to get up. She was feeling better by the time we left and Dad said they'd mention it at her appointment today. As far as we can tell it was not related to her other problems; hopefully they'll confirm that. Let's just say I was really glad that I have training from the military in how to handle that kind of thing though!
After we ate and made sure everything was settled, we loaded the car and headed out. Amazingly our drive back was almost as good as the drive out, except for some fog east of Jamestown. Overall the trip was very nice and I'm glad we went.
As I learn more about Karen's out patient stuff, I will relay it to you guys but for now she's staying at Granny's for a couple more weeks.
Hope everyone had a great holiday, and keep on troupin'!
I thought I would share how our Christmas get together went with Karen. Despite the possibility of bad driving, Jay and I went out the evening of the 23rd, and somehow got extremely luck and missed all of the bad weather. We started out at about 4:30 pm and in addition to the great weather, by the time we got near any major cities there wasn't very much traffic at all, which was wonderful.
We didn't get a whole lot of sleep since we arrived a bit after 2 am, but we got enough that we were able to get up and go to breakfast with Melinda, David, and Ronnie, before they left for Cincinnati. Ronnie is getting so big! I got to hold her for a little while, but I couldn't do it for very long because I hurt my shoulder. It was nice though :) and she enjoyed the books we got her (and more importantly, playing in the wrapping paper!). She also loved the pictures I showed her of the cats and dogs we live with here in NY - she pointed at the dog and said 'Vau Vau', which is the German noise dogs make ^_~
After they left we pretty much just hung out; at one point we found the old checkers/chinese checkers board in the closet and Karen and I had a silly 2 person game with the marbles - it would have been more interesting with more people, but Jay hadn't played before and dad wasn't interested so we just chased each other across the board. I won, although it was close, and Karen had better moves than I did. We also went to FRY'S, which of course I love, because Jay decided he wanted a GPS, so Karen gave it to us for Christmas since she hadn't really been able to go shopping. <3 GPS...
On Christmas morning we had more presents; Karen and Dad donated to our washer & dryer fund (for the new house) and I had gotten some stuff for them. I gave Dad some mixed nuts and a cheese & cracker basket that I had Wegmans put together for him. Jay gave Karen an L.L. Bean giftcard and I gave her the hand held Vacuum she's been wanting - she said Morgan is scared of the upright, but that hopefully she will not be scared of this little one.
Most people won't have heard about it, but we usually do a very elaborate Christmas breakfast, including a phyllo-dough ham loaf, scrambled eggs, champagne, and Ben & Jerries ice cream. I know it seems very strange, but it all goes pretty well together. This year however, since it was just 4 of us and Karen wasn't really up to much, I decided to just make an egg casserole. So we had that, the ice cream, and some sparkling grape juice. Then for Christmas dinner I made a lasagna, as that is one of my specialties and it is MUCH easier to make than our usual turkey with sides. Despite the fact that the meat that we thawed out from the freezer was actually really bad, we were able to find another package that was ok and the meal went mostly as planned.
Overall it was a very pleasant day, and we ended it by watching some classic Doctor Who episodes and going to bed.
The next morning Jay and I were going to drive back, but we decided to have a pancake breakfast. We got up and prepared the batter, and then I woke up Karen and Dad. Karen started to make pancakes, but unfortunately it turned out I shouldn't have let her do that because (we think) she got over heated, and she actually passed out next to the stove! Fortunately I was able to catch her before she hit anything, but it was very scary.
At the time of this writing, as far as we know, it was just overheating that caused it, not her head injury. She hadn't eaten or drunk anything, she hadn't taken her medication (I think she was off on the time, actually), and she was sort of going back and forth from the frying pan to the oven with pancakes, which possibly changed her blood pressure. She was only out for a minute and she was able to get herself to the couch after a bit, where we gave her stuff to drink and we all ate breakfast in the living room so she wouldn't have to get up. She was feeling better by the time we left and Dad said they'd mention it at her appointment today. As far as we can tell it was not related to her other problems; hopefully they'll confirm that. Let's just say I was really glad that I have training from the military in how to handle that kind of thing though!
After we ate and made sure everything was settled, we loaded the car and headed out. Amazingly our drive back was almost as good as the drive out, except for some fog east of Jamestown. Overall the trip was very nice and I'm glad we went.
As I learn more about Karen's out patient stuff, I will relay it to you guys but for now she's staying at Granny's for a couple more weeks.
Hope everyone had a great holiday, and keep on troupin'!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Even better
Karen will be going home with Dad on Friday the 18th, not the 22nd!
Not much else, if you need to mail something to karen just email me.
Not much else, if you need to mail something to karen just email me.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Quick update
Hi everyone,
I don't have anything new to say really but I wanted to let everyone know I may not be around much to update for the next week or so - we are closing on our house tomorrow and I know I'll be busy with packing after that.
My husband and I are planning to go out and spend Christmas with Karen, although we aren't planning to be there for more than a couple days - that could change depending on weather though! Hopefully we'll be ok getting out there though. Anyway we'll be out of internet access for those couple of days also, probably.
I talked to her on the phone again today and she sounded good, other than asking me when I had told her I'd call again - I guess she thought I would call back last night but I had told her today. She was pretty sure she was just confused about it though, which is good.
Ok nothing else today, gotta go pack some more boxes!
I don't have anything new to say really but I wanted to let everyone know I may not be around much to update for the next week or so - we are closing on our house tomorrow and I know I'll be busy with packing after that.
My husband and I are planning to go out and spend Christmas with Karen, although we aren't planning to be there for more than a couple days - that could change depending on weather though! Hopefully we'll be ok getting out there though. Anyway we'll be out of internet access for those couple of days also, probably.
I talked to her on the phone again today and she sounded good, other than asking me when I had told her I'd call again - I guess she thought I would call back last night but I had told her today. She was pretty sure she was just confused about it though, which is good.
Ok nothing else today, gotta go pack some more boxes!
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Great news!
Hey everyone,
Sorry I didn't put this up sooner, but I had a military obligation this weekend.
I talked to Dad the other day and Karen is going to be released to outpatient status on Dec. 22! I hear our sister Melinda will be in town by then, so hopefully she and Dad can get Karen settled at Granny's house in Indy pretty easily.
More later, got stuff to do!
Sorry I didn't put this up sooner, but I had a military obligation this weekend.
I talked to Dad the other day and Karen is going to be released to outpatient status on Dec. 22! I hear our sister Melinda will be in town by then, so hopefully she and Dad can get Karen settled at Granny's house in Indy pretty easily.
More later, got stuff to do!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Happy Saturday
Good morning folks!
I meant to write this last night but I didn't get around to it. I managed to catch Dad on the phone yesterday, and he said Karen is still making vast improvements. They went to the doctor Thursday to have her knee checked out, and they decided it was healing nicely enough that she got a new leg brace that allows her to bend her knee.
Dad said she can now walk on her own very well. On the 15th she has an appointment to have her spine checked out and hopefully they'll let her take the neck brace off then.
Additionally, Dad said that she is much less confused, and has less 'word salad' going on, which is comforting to hear. I guess her eyesight still gives her trouble though, so she doesn't read books or anything yet. I sent her a bunch of photos around Thanksgiving and I guess she enjoyed looking through some of them the other day, but was too tired to look at all of them.
So she is on the mend and doing quite well. Dad said they expressed a minor possibility that she might be released from the hospital before Christmas!! I don't want to get my hopes up too much, but that would be wonderful.
Thanks again to everyone who has visited her and helped out with tasks that we couldn't do. It means a lot!!
I meant to write this last night but I didn't get around to it. I managed to catch Dad on the phone yesterday, and he said Karen is still making vast improvements. They went to the doctor Thursday to have her knee checked out, and they decided it was healing nicely enough that she got a new leg brace that allows her to bend her knee.
Dad said she can now walk on her own very well. On the 15th she has an appointment to have her spine checked out and hopefully they'll let her take the neck brace off then.
Additionally, Dad said that she is much less confused, and has less 'word salad' going on, which is comforting to hear. I guess her eyesight still gives her trouble though, so she doesn't read books or anything yet. I sent her a bunch of photos around Thanksgiving and I guess she enjoyed looking through some of them the other day, but was too tired to look at all of them.
So she is on the mend and doing quite well. Dad said they expressed a minor possibility that she might be released from the hospital before Christmas!! I don't want to get my hopes up too much, but that would be wonderful.
Thanks again to everyone who has visited her and helped out with tasks that we couldn't do. It means a lot!!
Friday, November 27, 2009
Thanksgiving Smile
Vince sent me some pictures of Thanksgiving with Karen and our Dad; apologies to EK who had to be cropped out, but the layout on this site kept cropping KAREN out which sort of defeats the purpose of this ^_~
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Karen's Thanksgiving
Hi guys, happy Thanksgiving! Hope everyone had a good holiday :)
Thought I'd do a quick blog post on what little I know about Karen's Thanksgiving. Dad informed me earlier today that he ran out of minutes on his cell phone, which is a bit disconcerting, so I won't be able to really get in touch with him much until Dec. 7, I guess. Anyway, he wasn't able to take Karen to our aunt's house like he had hoped, but from the cacophony I heard in the background, I'm not sure that's such a bad thing. I suspect it might have been really confusing for her; I am pretty sure most of the grand-kids were there.
I was able to call later (after bouncing around the nurse stations a couple of times) and talk to her about 9 pm; I was bad and didn't call her back earlier like I'd planned because I kind of fell into the internet for a while. Any way, at least I got to talk to her and say Happy Thanksgiving :)
She didn't have a whole lot to say on her own, although she did say something that is sort of funny (although it's also an indication that her wires are still crossed): she told me she was lying in the 'art museum', and that they'd just given her an amoxycillin (I cannot spell drug names, sorry) 'speckled heart'. I think she meant they'd given her some sort of pill, although I don't know what for; possibly just follow up anti-biotics or something. Anyway it was sort of amusing, hopefully she'll think so later and I'm not just being callous.
I asked and she said that dinner was ok, and she was happy to have dad, Vince, and Sherry there. I told her about our dinner, which hopefully wasn't too torturous, but she got sleepy near the end, so she said good night and we rang off. Sadly I guess Melinda didn't get to talk to her earlier, but I told her she said hello also.
She is sounding pretty good, even though she's still confusing words. I just sent her a big package of photos (from Kodak, so she's seeing them even before I have, other than in digital form), so hopefully those will give her something to do.
A lot of the pictures are just kind of random stuff I've taken pictures of on vacations and whatnot, and a lot of them were stuff where Karen was there; I'm hoping that she can kind of use them to jog her memory and word associations, so depending on what the doctors say about that, visitors might want to ask her if she wants to show any of them and maybe explain what they are :) (I'll have dad check on that, but I bet they'll think it's a good idea.)
Anyway hope everyone had a good day, and keep on troupin' :)
Thought I'd do a quick blog post on what little I know about Karen's Thanksgiving. Dad informed me earlier today that he ran out of minutes on his cell phone, which is a bit disconcerting, so I won't be able to really get in touch with him much until Dec. 7, I guess. Anyway, he wasn't able to take Karen to our aunt's house like he had hoped, but from the cacophony I heard in the background, I'm not sure that's such a bad thing. I suspect it might have been really confusing for her; I am pretty sure most of the grand-kids were there.
I was able to call later (after bouncing around the nurse stations a couple of times) and talk to her about 9 pm; I was bad and didn't call her back earlier like I'd planned because I kind of fell into the internet for a while. Any way, at least I got to talk to her and say Happy Thanksgiving :)
She didn't have a whole lot to say on her own, although she did say something that is sort of funny (although it's also an indication that her wires are still crossed): she told me she was lying in the 'art museum', and that they'd just given her an amoxycillin (I cannot spell drug names, sorry) 'speckled heart'. I think she meant they'd given her some sort of pill, although I don't know what for; possibly just follow up anti-biotics or something. Anyway it was sort of amusing, hopefully she'll think so later and I'm not just being callous.
I asked and she said that dinner was ok, and she was happy to have dad, Vince, and Sherry there. I told her about our dinner, which hopefully wasn't too torturous, but she got sleepy near the end, so she said good night and we rang off. Sadly I guess Melinda didn't get to talk to her earlier, but I told her she said hello also.
She is sounding pretty good, even though she's still confusing words. I just sent her a big package of photos (from Kodak, so she's seeing them even before I have, other than in digital form), so hopefully those will give her something to do.
A lot of the pictures are just kind of random stuff I've taken pictures of on vacations and whatnot, and a lot of them were stuff where Karen was there; I'm hoping that she can kind of use them to jog her memory and word associations, so depending on what the doctors say about that, visitors might want to ask her if she wants to show any of them and maybe explain what they are :) (I'll have dad check on that, but I bet they'll think it's a good idea.)
Anyway hope everyone had a good day, and keep on troupin' :)
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Greetings
Hi folks,
Just a small update again, but since I hadn't written anything in a while I figured I should do that.
Yesterday I got to talk to Karen for the first time in a couple of weeks - mostly because I either kept calling while she was in a therapy session, or Dad would call me when he was leaving the hospital. So it was good to talk to her for a while and she's definitely a lot more herself than the last time I talked to her.
She said she's pretty comfortable in the hospital, and that the food is ok, and that she's really been enjoying all her visitors. I'm really glad so many people have been able to be there with her, I'm sure it's helped a lot. She's also enjoyed all the pictures people have sent. I plan to go upload a bunch of stuff later today and send prints to her, since I guess she'd like to have some more.
We also talked about Morgan and Sage, and I'm betting she really misses her kitty, but she was happy to hear about them both. Lastly, I told her we were close to closing on our house, and she was pretty excited about it. She tried to ask me about our mortgage, but she couldn't quite get the words right. I was able to figure it out by asking a couple of questions though.
Overall I think she's made a ton of progress from the last time I talked to her, even with the return to the ICU, and I am very happy to hear how much better she sounded. I've heard from Ed, Mike, and Vince as well from their visits, and everyone has been so supportive to her and Dad and I. It's really awesome how everyone has come together. Thanks guys!!
-Ro
Just a small update again, but since I hadn't written anything in a while I figured I should do that.
Yesterday I got to talk to Karen for the first time in a couple of weeks - mostly because I either kept calling while she was in a therapy session, or Dad would call me when he was leaving the hospital. So it was good to talk to her for a while and she's definitely a lot more herself than the last time I talked to her.
She said she's pretty comfortable in the hospital, and that the food is ok, and that she's really been enjoying all her visitors. I'm really glad so many people have been able to be there with her, I'm sure it's helped a lot. She's also enjoyed all the pictures people have sent. I plan to go upload a bunch of stuff later today and send prints to her, since I guess she'd like to have some more.
We also talked about Morgan and Sage, and I'm betting she really misses her kitty, but she was happy to hear about them both. Lastly, I told her we were close to closing on our house, and she was pretty excited about it. She tried to ask me about our mortgage, but she couldn't quite get the words right. I was able to figure it out by asking a couple of questions though.
Overall I think she's made a ton of progress from the last time I talked to her, even with the return to the ICU, and I am very happy to hear how much better she sounded. I've heard from Ed, Mike, and Vince as well from their visits, and everyone has been so supportive to her and Dad and I. It's really awesome how everyone has come together. Thanks guys!!
-Ro
Thursday, November 19, 2009
For those needing the RHI mailing address
Karen's room is 401 Left, and the RHI Mailing address is 4141 Shore Drive, Indianapolis, IN 46254, and the phone number to the hospital is 317.329.2000.
Dad and Ed both said Karen has been doing well with her rehabilitation therapies, and that she's doing particularly well with the walker - I guess she was able to go 80 feet on her own a couple of days ago. Dad also said they've got her on a combination of Ritalin and something else to keep her more alert, which seems to be helping. I guess she was able to talk on the phone with Melinda and used some complete sentences :)
Speaking as a former Ritalin taker-ADD person, I'm intrigued by the fact that they're using that for her. I was never a big fan of that stuff but it does work...
Dad and Ed both said Karen has been doing well with her rehabilitation therapies, and that she's doing particularly well with the walker - I guess she was able to go 80 feet on her own a couple of days ago. Dad also said they've got her on a combination of Ritalin and something else to keep her more alert, which seems to be helping. I guess she was able to talk on the phone with Melinda and used some complete sentences :)
Speaking as a former Ritalin taker-ADD person, I'm intrigued by the fact that they're using that for her. I was never a big fan of that stuff but it does work...
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Karen Facts
Evening, everyone;
I was going through some old emails that bounced between Karen's old D&D group (the original!) and I found this, which I thought was kind of cool. It was sent on December 5, 2006.
1. What is your occupation? Paid: Adjunct Faculty at Ivy Tech
Community College; Bicycle Sales and Mechanic at Bikesmiths;
Webmaster for GradGrants Center at Indiana University; CycleFit
instructor. Unpaid: Writing dissertation in English Literature;
Webmaster for Bloomington Symphony; Musician in Bloomington Symphony
2. What color are your socks right now? No socks, I'm barefoot
3. What are you listening to right now? Dvorak Cello Concerto;
Morgan meowing for food
5. Can you drive a stick shift? Not very well
6. Favorite color to wear: blue
7. Last person you talked to on the phone? Heather D.
8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Yes, and I learned
more about her
9. How old are you today? 40
10. Favorite drink: Tea
11. What is your favorite sport to watch? Pro Cycling (a challenge
to find in this country)
12. Have you ever dyed your hair? Only once, with the non-
permanent stuff
13. Pets? Cat, Morgan
14. Favorite food? pizza (homemade or Avers)
15. What was the last movie you watched? Casino Royale (2006)
16. Favorite day of the year? Christmas; any beautiful Saturday for
cycling
17. What do you do to vent anger? Yell
18. What was your favorite toy as a child? Bike (trike when
younger) and my sandbox
19. What is your favorite, Fall or Spring? Fall (good cycling weather)
20. Hugs or kisses? Hugs from most, kisses from that special someone
21. Cherry or Blueberry? Blueberry
22. Do you want your friends to email you back? Yes
23. Who is most likely to respond? Rochelle
24. Who is least likely to respond? One of the Mikes...?
25. Living arrangements? Morgan the cat allows me and my housemate
Josephina to share her townhouse
26. When was the last time you cried? When I heard about Rob C's death
27. Who is the friend you're sending this to that has been your
friend the longest? Melinda
28. What did you do last night? Graded, watched TV, worked on
Christmas gifts (hey, it was MONDAY).
29. What is your favorite smell? Baking bread
I was going through some old emails that bounced between Karen's old D&D group (the original!) and I found this, which I thought was kind of cool. It was sent on December 5, 2006.
1. What is your occupation? Paid: Adjunct Faculty at Ivy Tech
Community College; Bicycle Sales and Mechanic at Bikesmiths;
Webmaster for GradGrants Center at Indiana University; CycleFit
instructor. Unpaid: Writing dissertation in English Literature;
Webmaster for Bloomington Symphony; Musician in Bloomington Symphony
2. What color are your socks right now? No socks, I'm barefoot
3. What are you listening to right now? Dvorak Cello Concerto;
Morgan meowing for food
5. Can you drive a stick shift? Not very well
6. Favorite color to wear: blue
7. Last person you talked to on the phone? Heather D.
8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Yes, and I learned
more about her
9. How old are you today? 40
10. Favorite drink: Tea
11. What is your favorite sport to watch? Pro Cycling (a challenge
to find in this country)
12. Have you ever dyed your hair? Only once, with the non-
permanent stuff
13. Pets? Cat, Morgan
14. Favorite food? pizza (homemade or Avers)
15. What was the last movie you watched? Casino Royale (2006)
16. Favorite day of the year? Christmas; any beautiful Saturday for
cycling
17. What do you do to vent anger? Yell
18. What was your favorite toy as a child? Bike (trike when
younger) and my sandbox
19. What is your favorite, Fall or Spring? Fall (good cycling weather)
20. Hugs or kisses? Hugs from most, kisses from that special someone
21. Cherry or Blueberry? Blueberry
22. Do you want your friends to email you back? Yes
23. Who is most likely to respond? Rochelle
24. Who is least likely to respond? One of the Mikes...?
25. Living arrangements? Morgan the cat allows me and my housemate
Josephina to share her townhouse
26. When was the last time you cried? When I heard about Rob C's death
27. Who is the friend you're sending this to that has been your
friend the longest? Melinda
28. What did you do last night? Graded, watched TV, worked on
Christmas gifts (hey, it was MONDAY).
29. What is your favorite smell? Baking bread
Message from Ed
Good morning everyone,
Sorry I haven't updated much this past week but there hasn't really been a lot to tell until now. This morning however I got a message from Karen's friend Ed, as he had been up to see her yesterday. I am reposting it with his permission :)
"Hi Rochelle,
Kathryn and I went to visit Karen on Saturday. We got to RHI about 10:00 and stayed until noon. Amazingly Karen was awake (and mostly alert) the whole time. We were there for her only therapy session of the day. The session was with a speech therapist. The goal of the session was to get Karen to eat about 4oz. of pudding; that part was a success. She was able to eat and say word or two between bites without aspirating any food. As you know they plan on trying the swallow study again on Monday. I hope they can remove that feeding tube! Her memory is still a work in progress. She is clearly trying very hard. She could not get the date. But she did remember some things about Tiffin. She is/was teaching 3 classes (gotta check that). Tiffin has 2000 students (that is correct) etc. BTW - Karen was definitely happy to get a chance to eat some real food although the chocolate pudding was sub-par (at least according to Karen :)
It was a gorgeous day here yesterday, diffuse sun with temperatures in the mid 60's. The staff allowed (and encouraged after we asked) us to take Karen on a little excursion outside around the grounds. I think she enjoyed being in the sun for a bit. I asked her some questions about the seasons. Asked her the season. I gave her 3 choices Summer, Fall, Spring. She chose summer.
Karen definitely is Karen and I believe that with enough interaction she will come out of this OK."
Dad also said he was pleased with her progress yesterday and that she seemed much more awake while he was there also. Hopefully they will be able to remove the feeding tube and give her some REAL food tomorrow!
For those who've held off on cards/flowers, she should be at RHI for quite a while and while I don't know her flower preference, I expect she would like anything people choose to send.
Thanks again everyone for your visits and concerns; I especially am glad there are people besides Dad who can come be with her. I'm hoping to get back out there sometime in the coming weeks although it depends on what's happening with my house closing.
Sorry I haven't updated much this past week but there hasn't really been a lot to tell until now. This morning however I got a message from Karen's friend Ed, as he had been up to see her yesterday. I am reposting it with his permission :)
"Hi Rochelle,
Kathryn and I went to visit Karen on Saturday. We got to RHI about 10:00 and stayed until noon. Amazingly Karen was awake (and mostly alert) the whole time. We were there for her only therapy session of the day. The session was with a speech therapist. The goal of the session was to get Karen to eat about 4oz. of pudding; that part was a success. She was able to eat and say word or two between bites without aspirating any food. As you know they plan on trying the swallow study again on Monday. I hope they can remove that feeding tube! Her memory is still a work in progress. She is clearly trying very hard. She could not get the date. But she did remember some things about Tiffin. She is/was teaching 3 classes (gotta check that). Tiffin has 2000 students (that is correct) etc. BTW - Karen was definitely happy to get a chance to eat some real food although the chocolate pudding was sub-par (at least according to Karen :)
It was a gorgeous day here yesterday, diffuse sun with temperatures in the mid 60's. The staff allowed (and encouraged after we asked) us to take Karen on a little excursion outside around the grounds. I think she enjoyed being in the sun for a bit. I asked her some questions about the seasons. Asked her the season. I gave her 3 choices Summer, Fall, Spring. She chose summer.
Karen definitely is Karen and I believe that with enough interaction she will come out of this OK."
Dad also said he was pleased with her progress yesterday and that she seemed much more awake while he was there also. Hopefully they will be able to remove the feeding tube and give her some REAL food tomorrow!
For those who've held off on cards/flowers, she should be at RHI for quite a while and while I don't know her flower preference, I expect she would like anything people choose to send.
Thanks again everyone for your visits and concerns; I especially am glad there are people besides Dad who can come be with her. I'm hoping to get back out there sometime in the coming weeks although it depends on what's happening with my house closing.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Back to RHI
Greeting Troupers, sorry for the late update and not posting for a few days, but there really wasn't much to report.
I spoke to Dad earlier and he had just arrived at RHI again with Karen. She has been holding steady on an activity/speech level, although I suspect that she's been somewhat more active later in the evening after he's left. He mentioned that Mike G. has been by lot and that he is grateful for his company for her - he said it sounds like she's been benefiting from the talks they've had.
Dad asked me to ask people to hold off on flowers and gifts for another day or so to make sure her insurance will allow her to stay in Indy, but it looks pretty good for that. I do not know at this time where exactly she is at RHI but I'm sure the staff will tell potential visitors. As before, please call ahead so that you know when she is at therapy.
Dad had to get off the phone earlier and never called me back, because the doctor had just come in, so hopefully tomorrow I might have a better update.
Keep on Troupin'!!
I spoke to Dad earlier and he had just arrived at RHI again with Karen. She has been holding steady on an activity/speech level, although I suspect that she's been somewhat more active later in the evening after he's left. He mentioned that Mike G. has been by lot and that he is grateful for his company for her - he said it sounds like she's been benefiting from the talks they've had.
Dad asked me to ask people to hold off on flowers and gifts for another day or so to make sure her insurance will allow her to stay in Indy, but it looks pretty good for that. I do not know at this time where exactly she is at RHI but I'm sure the staff will tell potential visitors. As before, please call ahead so that you know when she is at therapy.
Dad had to get off the phone earlier and never called me back, because the doctor had just come in, so hopefully tomorrow I might have a better update.
Keep on Troupin'!!
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Improvement
Morning Troupers!
Spoke to Dad this morning, and Karen has been moved from the ICU to a 'lesser' ICU, although I'm not entirely sure what that means, but anyway it is good news! He said she is basically about as responsive as she was when she was moved out of B'ton hospital, which is pretty good. Sounds like she might be up to some visitors, although I would suggest calling the hospital to be sure.
I haven't gotten to speak to her yet myself but Dad sounds much more relaxed now, so she must be recovering. Hopefully she'll get to go back to the rehab place soon.
That's it, hope you're having a nice weekend!
Spoke to Dad this morning, and Karen has been moved from the ICU to a 'lesser' ICU, although I'm not entirely sure what that means, but anyway it is good news! He said she is basically about as responsive as she was when she was moved out of B'ton hospital, which is pretty good. Sounds like she might be up to some visitors, although I would suggest calling the hospital to be sure.
I haven't gotten to speak to her yet myself but Dad sounds much more relaxed now, so she must be recovering. Hopefully she'll get to go back to the rehab place soon.
That's it, hope you're having a nice weekend!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Other sites?
I know some people have set up other sites about Karen's plight, and I was wondering if we could index them here. I'm sure there's some way to list them be it in a post or within the site layout. Could people please comment with the site addresses? Thanks.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Sorry
I should have updated this earlier today, but since I sent out the email I wasn't really thinking about it.
Dad called me before six this morning to tell me that Karen tried to get out of bed by herself last night, and she fell and hit her head again. She has been admitted to the Methodist Hospital ICU and we don't know how long she'll be there. Apparently all her other injuries are pretty much ok still; they did a couple of CT scans on her vertebrae, but they did say she had another tiny bleed; about the size of a grain of rice.
She is somewhat responsive although not nearly like she was. Dad said she can wiggle all the fingers and toes at least and that she nodded a few times. She's got a feeding tube for now as well.
We don't really know what this means in the long run, and Dad and I really appreciate everyone's support.
More tomorrow...
Dad called me before six this morning to tell me that Karen tried to get out of bed by herself last night, and she fell and hit her head again. She has been admitted to the Methodist Hospital ICU and we don't know how long she'll be there. Apparently all her other injuries are pretty much ok still; they did a couple of CT scans on her vertebrae, but they did say she had another tiny bleed; about the size of a grain of rice.
She is somewhat responsive although not nearly like she was. Dad said she can wiggle all the fingers and toes at least and that she nodded a few times. She's got a feeding tube for now as well.
We don't really know what this means in the long run, and Dad and I really appreciate everyone's support.
More tomorrow...
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Karen moving
Hey all, I just spoke with Dad and he said they were moving Karen to the Rehab facility in Indy. I guess they decided it would be better to wait and do the surgery when she is more alert.
She is moving to the Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana (website http://www.rhin.com/). She will be in Ward 4, although we don't know a room number yet. I'd say probably she should not have visitors until tomorrow at the earliest, as I'm sure the move will be pretty tiring for her. Dad will be moving to our grandmother's house on the east side of the city. I have a cell number for him so if you need to contact him, please email me and I will reply with it.
As far as I know it will be ok to send cards and flowers to the new place.
Please let me know if you guys have any questions!
She is moving to the Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana (website http://www.rhin.com/). She will be in Ward 4, although we don't know a room number yet. I'd say probably she should not have visitors until tomorrow at the earliest, as I'm sure the move will be pretty tiring for her. Dad will be moving to our grandmother's house on the east side of the city. I have a cell number for him so if you need to contact him, please email me and I will reply with it.
As far as I know it will be ok to send cards and flowers to the new place.
Please let me know if you guys have any questions!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Cash for Karen
Greetings Troupers,
Forgot to put this up before, but Karen's friend Mike G. set up a Paypal donation page to help offset the costs of Karen's accident. It can be found at http://sites.google.com/site/cashforkaren/home
I loaded it in Firefox and the donation button didn't work, so he's going to work on fixing that, but it does appear to be ok in IE. Haven't tried any other browsers.
Mike says Karen is doing pretty well, although we do need to get my father to track down her glasses - I thought he was going to try and bring them over a couple days ago but he must have forgotten. I'll let him know tomorrow. He told me today, also, that he got a prepaid cell phone so I may send out his number to some of you that may need it, although I'm sure he won't want me to just post it here.
Mike says he's looking into getting her bike replaced somehow, as he's pretty sure that crashing it won't be covered by insurance. Hopefully he'll have good luck with that - I know it was her favorite one!
Have a good evening, I'll let you know more when I do!
Forgot to put this up before, but Karen's friend Mike G. set up a Paypal donation page to help offset the costs of Karen's accident. It can be found at http://sites.google.com/site/cashforkaren/home
I loaded it in Firefox and the donation button didn't work, so he's going to work on fixing that, but it does appear to be ok in IE. Haven't tried any other browsers.
Mike says Karen is doing pretty well, although we do need to get my father to track down her glasses - I thought he was going to try and bring them over a couple days ago but he must have forgotten. I'll let him know tomorrow. He told me today, also, that he got a prepaid cell phone so I may send out his number to some of you that may need it, although I'm sure he won't want me to just post it here.
Mike says he's looking into getting her bike replaced somehow, as he's pretty sure that crashing it won't be covered by insurance. Hopefully he'll have good luck with that - I know it was her favorite one!
Have a good evening, I'll let you know more when I do!
Monday, November 2, 2009
Change of plans
Hey folks,
I spoke to Dad briefly tonight, and apparently the Bloomington Hospital wants to keep Karen there until they can perform some surgery for the fractured face bone. Not sure how long yet that will be but he said that people can continue visiting until we know the details.
So I guess go help keep her spirits up, and thanks!
I spoke to Dad briefly tonight, and apparently the Bloomington Hospital wants to keep Karen there until they can perform some surgery for the fractured face bone. Not sure how long yet that will be but he said that people can continue visiting until we know the details.
So I guess go help keep her spirits up, and thanks!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Happy Halloween Troupers!
Hello everyone, I hope you're all having a good Halloween; I wanted to say something about it because I know that Karen loves this holiday almost as much as I do, and if she were able she would definitely have her witch's costume on!
I called her room earlier and spoke to Dad; he said she's doing about the same as yesterday but also that the nurses have noticed she perks up after about 6 pm - maybe I was right, 9 AM was just too early for her! She's always been such a night owl :)
Most encouraging was that he was able to hold the phone up for her for a few minutes, and I was able to say hello and talk to her a little bit. She mostly just said yes, no, or uh-huh, but she was engaged in the conversation enough to know what I was talking about. She sounded as if she was feeling pretty well. I told her I had talked to David, our brother in law, and that he said hello and I think she was happy to hear that.
Not much else to report, since the hospital staff is on the weekend staff so they don't do as much.
Hope everyone has a safe and fun evening, and I'm interested to hear about costumes! (I'm going as Charon the Ferryman, because I was inspired by a 60% off sale ^_~)
I called her room earlier and spoke to Dad; he said she's doing about the same as yesterday but also that the nurses have noticed she perks up after about 6 pm - maybe I was right, 9 AM was just too early for her! She's always been such a night owl :)
Most encouraging was that he was able to hold the phone up for her for a few minutes, and I was able to say hello and talk to her a little bit. She mostly just said yes, no, or uh-huh, but she was engaged in the conversation enough to know what I was talking about. She sounded as if she was feeling pretty well. I told her I had talked to David, our brother in law, and that he said hello and I think she was happy to hear that.
Not much else to report, since the hospital staff is on the weekend staff so they don't do as much.
Hope everyone has a safe and fun evening, and I'm interested to hear about costumes! (I'm going as Charon the Ferryman, because I was inspired by a 60% off sale ^_~)
Friday, October 30, 2009
Oops I almost forgot
Addendum: they removed the chest tube today which is really good progress.
Also this may be silly and something she doesn't really need, but I'm going to try and scour Halloween sales tomorrow for black cat plushies; I thought since she can't really have Morgan for a while, maybe she'd like a couple substitutes. By no means am I looking for an avalanche of plushies but I might not be able to find any... so if anyone happens across a good one let me know :)
Also this may be silly and something she doesn't really need, but I'm going to try and scour Halloween sales tomorrow for black cat plushies; I thought since she can't really have Morgan for a while, maybe she'd like a couple substitutes. By no means am I looking for an avalanche of plushies but I might not be able to find any... so if anyone happens across a good one let me know :)
Home safe
Evening Troupers,
I'm safely back in NY, despite an apparent effort by the B'ton hospital to sabotage me - I think my coffee I bought there this morning was decaf, which would explain the headache and general ICK feeling I had until I bought Starbucks in the afternoon. I was actually afraid I was getting a Migraine, and that I was going to have to stop and sleep in the car for a while but apparently the coffee was all I needed, and I got in about 10:30.
I talked to Dad and he said they probably won't move her to Indy for a couple of days, so I assume she'll stay in that same room until then. I'll update if that changes.
Unfortunately, she did not remember me waking her up briefly and saying good bye this morning, which makes me a little sad, although I know I certainly don't remember things said to me when I'm half asleep, but I had also written her a note saying good bye and Dad read it to her and she appreciated that. She was pretty zonked out all day I guess.
The speech therapist said she was 'sharper, but less responsive' today; it seemed to me that she just wanted to sleep this morning and I guess that kind of lasted all day. Hopefully tomorrow she'll be feeling a bit more alert.
Dad said he thinks getting her glasses to her might help her with her vision; we're pretty sure they're in her stuff that I passed over to him. I guess he was concerned that she had to hold the pictures close to her face, although since they are small I don't think that's really all that unusual without glasses.
Things I learned on the way back today: Do not order the actual 'food' at the Dairy Queen on 70 East, at the exit with the candle outlet. Also, if you have cruise control, people will follow you to maintain their speed, even if they're only 4 feet off your bumper!
A little background on the DQ, Karen and I have stopped there a couple of times for ice cream in the last year, so I guess it's a little tradition we started. I stopped there today and I decided to try a sandwich... it was pretty scary. Overall it was edible and it didn't make me sick or anything, but... almost $5 for a 'grill' sandwich that had rock hard toast, tons of mayo, and cheese that looked like plastic... not a good thing.
cheers,
-Ro
I'm safely back in NY, despite an apparent effort by the B'ton hospital to sabotage me - I think my coffee I bought there this morning was decaf, which would explain the headache and general ICK feeling I had until I bought Starbucks in the afternoon. I was actually afraid I was getting a Migraine, and that I was going to have to stop and sleep in the car for a while but apparently the coffee was all I needed, and I got in about 10:30.
I talked to Dad and he said they probably won't move her to Indy for a couple of days, so I assume she'll stay in that same room until then. I'll update if that changes.
Unfortunately, she did not remember me waking her up briefly and saying good bye this morning, which makes me a little sad, although I know I certainly don't remember things said to me when I'm half asleep, but I had also written her a note saying good bye and Dad read it to her and she appreciated that. She was pretty zonked out all day I guess.
The speech therapist said she was 'sharper, but less responsive' today; it seemed to me that she just wanted to sleep this morning and I guess that kind of lasted all day. Hopefully tomorrow she'll be feeling a bit more alert.
Dad said he thinks getting her glasses to her might help her with her vision; we're pretty sure they're in her stuff that I passed over to him. I guess he was concerned that she had to hold the pictures close to her face, although since they are small I don't think that's really all that unusual without glasses.
Things I learned on the way back today: Do not order the actual 'food' at the Dairy Queen on 70 East, at the exit with the candle outlet. Also, if you have cruise control, people will follow you to maintain their speed, even if they're only 4 feet off your bumper!
A little background on the DQ, Karen and I have stopped there a couple of times for ice cream in the last year, so I guess it's a little tradition we started. I stopped there today and I decided to try a sandwich... it was pretty scary. Overall it was edible and it didn't make me sick or anything, but... almost $5 for a 'grill' sandwich that had rock hard toast, tons of mayo, and cheese that looked like plastic... not a good thing.
cheers,
-Ro
"Early" morning update
Hey Troupers,
I'm sitting by Karen's bedside this morning before I leave for NY; she is kind of half awake and has already had a couple other visitors. I'm trying to stay quiet until I tell her good bye though. The nurse who came in and checked her breathing said it was a bit shallow but that it sounded good. We are hoping they will take out the chest tube today, which will facilitate the choices for the rehab facilities, since some won't take her with the extra hardware.
Speaking of those facilities, we haven't made a choice just yet - I know we said they might move her today but I'm kind of thinking that won't happen, since Dad has to get some more info on the centers. He said he would ask his sister to go research them a bit today. I will hopefully find out more tonight or in the morning, after I get home.
I got this this morning from her friend Mike G: "I had a great conversation with Karen tonight about Smallville, all her great cycling friends, Morgan etc. She even looked at some pictures that a friend had brought in of her trip to see Melinda. It was absolutely great! She smiled a lot and even chuckled a bit. "
Our family is so appreciative of everyone's efforts to pray for her and show their support - I especially want to thank Todd for letting Dad stay with him, Colin and Lynn and their family for gathering Karen's stuff and also letting me stay there a few nights; Duane and Jennifer for offering up the house with a bed for me to move to, Kevin and all her other rider friends for telling us the details of what happened and for taking such great care of her till we got here. Thank you Mike for coming by the hospital and engaging her in the Smallville conversation! Also Vince and Sherry for taking care of her work concerns and ESPECIALLY for taking care of Morgan - we all know how much that cat means to her! Lastly, I'd like to thank the unknown Green County EMTs and the Doctor who were riding in the Hilly - it sounds like she might have been in a really bad spot if they hadn't been right on scene out there. If anyone knows who they are, please pass it on!
I'm sure there's more people I'm forgetting and I apologize for that, but I've had so much to keep track of that I know I'm losing a few things.
I'm heading off to NY in a few minutes but Dad will be out here for pretty much as long as she needs him, and I may come back in a week or so depending on his needs and her progress. I'll keep the updates coming as I am able.
Cheers, and keep up the good work :)
-Ro
I'm sitting by Karen's bedside this morning before I leave for NY; she is kind of half awake and has already had a couple other visitors. I'm trying to stay quiet until I tell her good bye though. The nurse who came in and checked her breathing said it was a bit shallow but that it sounded good. We are hoping they will take out the chest tube today, which will facilitate the choices for the rehab facilities, since some won't take her with the extra hardware.
Speaking of those facilities, we haven't made a choice just yet - I know we said they might move her today but I'm kind of thinking that won't happen, since Dad has to get some more info on the centers. He said he would ask his sister to go research them a bit today. I will hopefully find out more tonight or in the morning, after I get home.
I got this this morning from her friend Mike G: "I had a great conversation with Karen tonight about Smallville, all her great cycling friends, Morgan etc. She even looked at some pictures that a friend had brought in of her trip to see Melinda. It was absolutely great! She smiled a lot and even chuckled a bit. "
Our family is so appreciative of everyone's efforts to pray for her and show their support - I especially want to thank Todd for letting Dad stay with him, Colin and Lynn and their family for gathering Karen's stuff and also letting me stay there a few nights; Duane and Jennifer for offering up the house with a bed for me to move to, Kevin and all her other rider friends for telling us the details of what happened and for taking such great care of her till we got here. Thank you Mike for coming by the hospital and engaging her in the Smallville conversation! Also Vince and Sherry for taking care of her work concerns and ESPECIALLY for taking care of Morgan - we all know how much that cat means to her! Lastly, I'd like to thank the unknown Green County EMTs and the Doctor who were riding in the Hilly - it sounds like she might have been in a really bad spot if they hadn't been right on scene out there. If anyone knows who they are, please pass it on!
I'm sure there's more people I'm forgetting and I apologize for that, but I've had so much to keep track of that I know I'm losing a few things.
I'm heading off to NY in a few minutes but Dad will be out here for pretty much as long as she needs him, and I may come back in a week or so depending on his needs and her progress. I'll keep the updates coming as I am able.
Cheers, and keep up the good work :)
-Ro
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Moving rooms tonight
A little news, the ward decided to give Karen a private room, partly because we had them bring up a recliner for Dad, and partly I think because she's been getting a ton of visitors. The new room number is 4110.
Cards and flowers can be delivered here, although since she's hopefully moving to Indianapolis soon flowers should maybe wait until she's in the rehab center.
Please feel free to pass this blog on to anyone you know that might want to track her progress. Also, thanks again to everyone here in Bloomington (and beyond!) who have offered up help to Dad and I.
Cards and flowers can be delivered here, although since she's hopefully moving to Indianapolis soon flowers should maybe wait until she's in the rehab center.
Please feel free to pass this blog on to anyone you know that might want to track her progress. Also, thanks again to everyone here in Bloomington (and beyond!) who have offered up help to Dad and I.
Introduction
Welcome to Karen's Troupe, a blog intended for use by all my sister Karen's friends and family. My hope is that this site will the main artery for updates on her progress.
As most people now know, Karen was riding her bicycle with the Hilly Hundred in Bloomington, IN on October 24, 2009, when she was involved in an accident where she collided with an SUV.
As of this writing she has been at the Bloomington Hospital since the accident; first in the ICU and then on the fourth floor in the orthopedic/neurology ward. She is making excellent progress and hopefully will be moved to a rehabilitation center in the next couple of days, most likely in Indianapolis although that is not concrete yet.
I am driving back to New York on Friday Oct 30 but will try to keep this updated as much as possible.
As most people now know, Karen was riding her bicycle with the Hilly Hundred in Bloomington, IN on October 24, 2009, when she was involved in an accident where she collided with an SUV.
As of this writing she has been at the Bloomington Hospital since the accident; first in the ICU and then on the fourth floor in the orthopedic/neurology ward. She is making excellent progress and hopefully will be moved to a rehabilitation center in the next couple of days, most likely in Indianapolis although that is not concrete yet.
I am driving back to New York on Friday Oct 30 but will try to keep this updated as much as possible.
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