The Weekend Arrives

Friday night and another weekend is upon us, thank God. Unfortunately, I think this weekend will consist almost entirely of preparation for next weekend and Jacob's graduation/recovery/going away to college party. It will take the better part of the week just to clean up after Leo.

So, I'm driving home today, the radio on, and I hear another in the interminable string of stories about Michael Jackson. Every time one of these stories comes on the commentator will refer to the "pop icon" and I cannot help myself, but I always hear "Popeye Con". This is strange, because I definitely consider myself to be pro Popeye despite the fact that I find canned spinach revolting and I can't really commend his taste in women. I mean the only person who could really be in the cons would probably be Bluto (or Brutus, whichever).

But I digress, back to the subject at hand...

Jacob continues to improve as evidenced by the fact that he has pretty much returned to ignoring his parents, like any healthy 18-year-old male. Pictures below are from Denise, taken Wednesday at his surgery follow-up, stitches removed from his scar revision.

On Monday a new chapter starts; he visits his dentist. I don't expect a lot of dental work yet, this will probably be mostly just an inspection and a cleaning. The major rebuilding will probably be a while yet. At some point he will need an implant or a bridge to replace his missing front tooth and he may need some crowns on some other chipped teeth. The surgeons have said that most of that can wait six months or a year. We'll see what the dentist has to say about that.

Then another follow-up with the surgeon next Wednesday. Hopefully we are on the home stretch for most of his treatments. Knock wood, two weeks from tomorrow we expect to have him on his way to HSU.

The Braces Come Off!

Another post-surgery follow up today and things apparently well. Unfortunately, I was not able to accompany Jake to his appointment because of a work conflict, so I have to take Jake and Denise's word for what happened.


The doctor removed the stitches from Jake's incision and after a little confusion also removed the braces from his teeth. Denise was asked to leave the room for the removal, presumably because the process was going to be somewhat unpleasant. They numbed Jake's whole mouth with a bunch of Lidocain and then yanked out the braces. Jake described the process as crazy and apparently the doctor did, in fact, have to yank them out. The braces were wired through his gums, so getting them out is no piece of cake.

Since I could not be present, Jake sent the following self portrait from his phone.

The photo is, shall we say, less than flattering. I am told that Denise also took some shots, so I will have to transfer them off the camera and post them later.

More later, tonight I am tired.

Happy Birthday Jake's Mommy

It's Sunday and Jacob is continuing to do well, taking his antibiotics and occasional pain meds, but not showing any major ill effects from the surgery. His eye is still swollen and discolored, but I think it's actually starting to look better. We're looking forward to his follow up with the surgeon this Wednesday. Hope to see his surgical braces removed soon.

Today is also Denise's birthday and I have been correspondingly slaving in the kitchen most of the day, starting with what I considered to be a damn fine breakfast, regardless of what the birthday girl may have thought. Chile rellenos (again, what can I say, I have a boat load of Anaheim chiles from the garden and need to use them for something), papas con chorizo (OK, I hate to admit this, but I used vegetarian chorizo at the specific request of the birthday girl; and I really hate to admit that it actually tasted pretty good) and my own take on Belinis (2/3 champagne, 1/3 blended frozen peachs, simple syrup and peach schnapps.) Breakfast is pictured here, with Jake sticking his big broken face into the middle of things.


The boys gave their mother a gift she's needed for a long time. She has a poster from the 1957 Santa Barbara Old Spanish Days Fiesta. Growing up in Santa Barbara, it holds a special place for her. Unfortunately, its special place was thumb-tacked to the wall in our office. So, the boys stole away with the poster one day and had it professionally framed. An excellent idea (mine I think.) She seemed to like it...The boys also fulfilled her birthday activity wish by accompanying her and Leo to the "dog beach" in San Diego. I was spared the trip, because someone had to prepare the birthday dinner. Apparently I lucked out. The dog beach was reportedly a zoo, albeit featuring only two species, Canis familiaris and Homo sapiens, and too many of both. Leo had a good time, but then Leo has a good time anytime other dogs are involved.

While everyone else was off to the beach I worked on dinner. Denise requested barbecued chicken, a fairly involved recipe incorporating a dry rub, a couple hours in the smoker, homemade BBQ sauce and all pretty well worth the effort. I decided to accompany that with a Thai Noodle Salad, modified slightly to incorporate some of the stuff we've been harvesting from the garden. And for dessert, a nectarine and peach crisp prepared outside in the Dutch oven. Again, she seemed pleased...

As for my gift for Denise, well, I've been a little preoccupied with other stuff lately, so my gift is still a work in progress. I'm building her a potting bench for the garden. So far it is just plans and materials to be assembled, but then we've been married 27 years plus; if she's not used to disappointment by now she never will be.

Somewhere along the line I have apparently displeased my spouse, because tonight she is punishing me with her movie selection, "Hotel for Dogs."

The horror...the horror...

Viva los Mariachis

OK, the boys and I decided to hell with the garden vegetables. Vegetables are what food eats. That's no way to celebrate a hospital homecoming.

Mexican food; now that's gotta have Umami. So, it was dinner at La Casita where Friday night is Mariachi Night and always entertaining.

This particular mariachi group takes requests. As we were dining we heard them doing something of a Sinatra tribute, "My Way" and a couple others.

This prompted me and Nick to speculate on some potentially interesting requests. I know from previous experience that these guys do some Santana (but not "Europa" although the accordion player was willing to give it a shot), Johnny Cash ("Ring of Fire") and Disney ("It's A Small World").

So, we'd like to hear a mariachi cover of any of the following...

"On the Street Where You Live" just because the Mariachis played it in "Joe vs. the Volcano."

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana. I mean, if the Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain can do a cover, why not a mariachi version.

"Watching the Detectives" by Elvis Costello.

Anything by Joe Cocker, but probably "You Can Leave Your Hat On" would be our first pick.

If none of that flys, well, "You Can't Always Get What You Want."

Unfortunately, we had arrived late and they finished their final set before making it around to our table. Our requests will have to wait until next time.

Home and Umami

Here he is, home from the hospital! Needs to wash his face; he still has Betadyne on his jaw. It's a little hard to tell from the photo, but his scar looks much better, especially above his hair line where the doctors removed a big section of scar tissue. You can see some of the discoloration and swelling on his left eye, where they rebuilt the orbital shelf.

This episode went way better than previously; in-and-out in less than 24 hours. I spent the night with Jake, which turned out to be absolutely unnecessary. He was perfectly self-sufficient and slept most of the night in any case. Denise had left about 8:00PM last night to go home and sleep and returned shortly before 5:00AM this morning. I was home by 6:00, slept pretty much through until shortly after 9:00AM when Denise called to say that Jake was free to go any time. So, that 3 hours of sleep, coupled with the sleep I got at the hospital worked out to just about, oh, 3 hours and 5 minutes total. The seating accommodations were not precisely comfortable. Amnesty International would have a conniption if you tried to make a detainee sit for any time in one of those.

I was able to entertain myself with miscellaneous activities; Angels baseball on the telly followed by John Wayne in Chisum, assorted web browsing, watching air ambulances come and go from the helipad outside Jake's window, a little Jethro Tull on the iPod and a sort of gymnastics program incorporating various combinations of chairs, pillows and physical contortions in search of the elusive comfortable position.

The funny thing was my one stretch of 5 or 10 minutes of uninterrupted sleep. I was watching the Angels vs. Twins, the Angels attempting an unlikely late inning comeback. I was thinking 'it would be nice if the Angels could tie and send the game to extra innings, if only to give me something to do for a little longer. So, bottom of the ninth, Angels trailing by two, two men on base, two outs, the Twins closer on the mound. Exciting stuff! I wake up, 5-5 in the bottom of the tenth! Crap, I missed all the excitement. Maybe baseball really is boring?!

At that point Jake decided to go for a walk, his first since getting out of surgery. We got back in time to see the announcer interviewing Mike Napoli, who apparently had just gotten the game winning RBI.

Back to Jake, the doctors were apparently very pleased with the outcome. It will be a while waiting for the swelling to subside so that we can see the actual results, but so far he looks good. He was sent home with Vicodin, an antibiotic and some eye lubricating ointment. So far he is not experiencing a lot of pain. Or maybe he just has a high pain threshold, either way, he hasn't been using much in the way of pain killers.

Freed of the hospital Jake wanted something to eat. Last night, he and I had discussed Tommy's as an option for lunch today. Unfortunately, it was a little early for lunch when he was discharged and Tommy's required a pretty significant detour from our homeward route, so we decided to head home and pick up something when we reached Temecula.

We had selected Tommy's chili burgers through a scientific analysis. Since Jake currently has no sense of smell, and, since smell is such an important component of the complete "taste" of food, Jake really has to rely on the five basic tastes. I have apparently been out of the loop on this, being still under the impression that there were only 4 basic tastes; sweet, salty, sour and bitter. It turns out that there is a fifth, Umami, a borrowed Japanese term meaning something like meaty or savory, the sort of flavor you get from meats or cheeses, etc.

Now, I ask me, what could better exemplify meaty and/or savory than a chili burger? And what greater expression of the chili burger than Tommy's? And so our quest began for an Umami-oozing Tommy's burger. Sadly, Temecula sits within a veritable Tommy's wasteland, the nearest stores being 35.57 miles (per Mapquest) away.

No Tommy's, no problem. Googling "Temecula chili burger" delivered several hits for Billy B's Famous Chile Burgers. How could we miss? It's "Famous" after all! The food was, in a word, HORRIBLE. OK, horrible is not exactly right. Maybe it was Voldemort or 'The-Food-That-Must-Not-Be-Named!' To be fair, the chili, excuse me, chile burger was only mediocre, but everything else was pretty bad. Denise ordered what turned out to be the most vile fried zucchini. I had to dissect one for forensic analysis; I think their zucchini was pickled.

Had I been a wee bit more observant I would have caught the 'E' in 'Chile'. No self-respecting purveyor of burgers would spell chili with an 'E'!

Maybe something fresh from the garden for dinner, something to purge the Umami.

Speaking of the garden, a small sampling of our harvest...


...the heirloom tomatoes from which prompted some clowning byJacob.

More updates to come.

Up in His Room!

So, he's finally out of recovery and up in his room. Back on the 8th floor, 8300 unit this time, instead of 8200.

He looks GREAT, especially compared to how he looked after his first surgery. He's awake and happy and chatting, although he'll probably conk out pretty soon from the morphine. Here he is busily texting away on his phone and sipping apple juice.

More good news; another window bed! What were the odds? The only downside is that it is really hot outside and I'm getting baked, but he has a very nice view of the mountains (at least what you can see of them through the smog.)

His left eye, where they revised the orbital floor looks very good, but then there's probably a lot of swelling to follow. And his forehead scar revision looks fantastic, as you will see for yourself.

So far, so good. Hopefully he'll get an early release tomorrow and we can get him back home.

More later.

Out of Surgery

Patient is doing fine!

For some reason they paged us over the intercom to come to the desk, instead of just sending a text page status update. Briefly struck one of my paranoid chords.

Now waiting for him to be transferred to a room so we can see him.

Into Surgery

Got a page a few minutes ago.  Jake was in the surgery @ 12:35 and doing fine.

Off to Surgery Again

Checked in at the hospital this morning. Got to spend a half hour or so with Jake in the surgery prep area where he donned the obligatory hospital gown and took care of the paperwork and Q&A.

We walked him to the OR a little bit ago, said our "I love yous" and "See you in a bit" and then headed downstairs. Picked up our pager from the patient services folks, so now we are just waiting for status updates.

Here's a quick pic from prep. He muttered "Cheese" through his teeth, so there's not much of a smile.



I had to get this shot of his jauntly little fedora.




More as soon as we hear something.

Surgery Tomorrow, Hospital Survival Tips Tonight!

We have the surgery schedule; we need to be at the hospital by 11:00 for surgery at 1:00PM. Denise and I will be there with him, so Nick and Leo will have to hold down the fort at home.

By this time tomorrow evening Jake should be on his way to recovery. For tonight he's requested meatloaf and mashed potatoes, some nice wholesome comfort food before he starts his fasting at midnight.

I will have my laptop, so I'll post an update as soon as we have news.

Hospital Preparedness

Since we are going to be re-entering the hospital, albeit for a considerably shorter time than previously, I thought I would post some of the tips we learned during our recent stay. It's good to be prepared; as I see it, the disaster you prepare for is the one you're least likely to experience. So, here goes, not in any particular order...

• Sunglasses
  Silly as it may sound, you are likely to need shades in the hospital. Firstly because when you stagger out of the hospital into the broad light of day after a full night of bedside support, the morning sun will likely blind you. More importantly, they are great when you are trying to catch some rest during the night. Slip them on to cut down all the ambient light (it's not like these rooms are ever really dark) while still allowing you to keep an eye on the patient and the comings and goings of his various caregivers.
  
  
  
• Layered Clothing
  This is normally the prescription for cold weather survival; multiple layers allow you to add or remove items incrementally to stay warm or cool as needed. It's not all or nothing. Why would this matter in a hospital? Well, Jake's first full night in the hospital, after the ER, was in the RAU (Rapid Admission Unit). The temperature in that unit was roughly naught. Kelvin. I spent the night in a t-shirt and shorts freezing my but that's enough of that. So, second night I came prepared; jeans and a long sleeve shirt. Unfortunately, Jake was moved to the 8200 unit, where in the interests of the comfort of his octogenarian roommates, the temperature was roughly that of the womb, although slightly less humid. It was hotter than hell, and the staff didn't seem to take kindly to my wandering around in briefs.
  
  
  
• Slippers/sandals
  Same as the previous item, these are very handy (er, footy?) for your comfort. Just be careful the nursing staff doesn't drop a syringe through the top of your foot.
  
  
  
• Headlamp
  It's pretty difficult fumbling around in the semi-dark, trying to attend to your personal patient without disturbing the rest of the crowd. Hospital rooms do not afford the best reading lights in any case, so during those long sleepless nights the headlamp makes for easier reading. I think the staff were actually jealous; one of the surgeons even commented regarding my Black Diamond lamp that we were very well prepared.
  
  
  
• Smartphone
  A phone is kind of obvious for keeping the rest of the family and friends up to date, but the smartphone allowed me to keep people in the loop through emails and the blog.
  
  
  
• Laptop
  The laptop is obviously a better option than the smartphone for keeping up with communications, but it had the added bonus of access to entertainment; Pandora, Netflix, Ken-Ken, etc. And I could charge my phone off one of the USB ports.
  
  
  
• AirCard
  Don't expect to be able to access a WIFI connection in the hospital, so bring your own broadband card if you plan to use a laptop.
  
  
  
• iPod with External Speaker(s)
  The iPod probably seems obvious for tunes, but the surprising thing was the little battery operated speaker. We brought the speaker for Jake because he could not use earbuds with all the damage to his head. It turned out that I couldn't use earbuds either, because when I wore them I couldn't hear Jake asking for help. I discovered that I could set the little speaker near my shoulder and set the volume loud enough so that I could hear my music or whatever, without bothering the neighbors and still hear Jake when necessary.
  
  
  
• Neck Pillow
  You can steal pillows from your son while he's conked out from morphine, but he's going to want them back when he wakes up. Regular pillows don't fit so well within the constraints of typical hospital seating, so one of those little airline travel pillows is probably the hot tip.
  
  
  
• Battery Operated Fan
  To cool the patient or yourself as needed (see previous note re. octogenarian thermic requirements).
  
  
  
• Universal TV Remote
  When your roommates are watching something particularly annoying you can take matters into your own hands.
  
  
  
• Hip Flask
  The are plenty of general anethetics in the hospital, but they're kind of picky about restricting their use to the patients. Bring Your Own!
  
  
  
• Frozen Margarita Maker
  Come to think of it, why settle for a flask.
  
  
  
• Surgical Scrubs
  It's surprising where a stethescope and a set of surgical scrubs will get you in a hospital. Say "STAT" alot and you'll have the run of the place in no time.
  
  

Monday, July 20

Well, today I was standing in the family room and noticed that a spider had built a web from the handlebars of our stationary bike to the curtains and back to the seat of said bike. Clearly we are not getting enough exercise. And this during Le Tour de France when we could have the TV on and pedal away like part of the peloton.

Jacob had his pre-surgery visits with the surgeon and the anesthesiologist. Nothing too exciting there, just the preview of what to expect, signing the consent forms and stuff of that nature.

The surgery is scheduled for Thursday. Don't know the specific time yet. They make up the surgery schedule on Wednesday, so we have to call in tomorrow afternoon and find out our time slot. I hope it's relatively early for Jake's sake; he's supposed to start fasting, no food or drink, at midnight.

The plan is that the surgeons will be repairing the shelf under the orbit of his left eye, going in under his eyelid, so there shouldn't be any visible scarring. They are also going to be cleaning up the scar on his forehead, so that it will be less noticeable. I think it'll still be adequate to excite all those women who are ostensibly turned on by that sort of thing.

Surgery is expected to take a couple hours, then a couple more hours in recovery and then he'll be admitted for the night. Barring any complications I expect he'll be discharged sometime on Friday. Of course, he'll be dealing with the post op pain and swelling and all, but hopefully the recovery will be a little bit easier on him this time.

We did take the opportunity while visiting the OMS to ask about getting copies of Jake's medical imaging. We were informed that all the really cool imaging (CT scan, MRI, etc.) is property of the medical center, not the surgeon's department. Consequently, we have to hit up the hospital staff for copies while we are in there.

We're really interested to get a look at all the hardware in that boy's head. I asked the surgeon about it and he said there's quite a bit of screws and plates and what not, but everything is relatively tiny, titanium, and supposedly not likely to set off the metal detectors at the TSA.

That is good news, because we may have to fly Jake home from college for some future follow-up visits, depending on how everything works itself out.

Saturday, July 18

Well, my reference to "Le Tour" as "some silly little bicycle race" in Thursday's post seems to have irritated my sister Jackie to the point where she is punishing me with silence. She is somewhat fanatical about the whole thing. Whereas I will occasionally watch the replays without a clue as to what's going on, Jackie will get up at o-dark-thirty to watch it live. She could probably tell me which rider has the "maillot vert" at this very moment (Thor Hushovd, I think) and I didn't even know there was a green jersey.

Anyway, why do I need to watch a bunch of guys riding around in France, when Jacob's bike riding is so much more engaging. To say nothing of his driving. But apologies to Jackie in any case.

So, it is the weekend and it is going to be HOT. This is one of the main drags with having young men for offspring. It would be nice to get up and out early and have some fun before the day heats up. Unfortunately, Jake won't likely roll out of bed until 10:00 or so, with Nick right behind him at Noon-thirty or thereabouts. Oh well, we have our screen printing project that will probably keep us busy and out of the heat for a while.

(Oops, here comes Jake now and it's not even 8:30.)

Speaking of screen printing, I proposed the following for our first T-shirt attempt.

Jacob does not seem to be amused by my proposal. Oh well, I have other ideas.

Thursday, July 16

So tonight I am sitting here with a glass of very cheap Zinfandel, there's some silly little bicycle race on the telly (they are interviewing a "Lance" somebody) and I'm reflecting on how history has a way of repeating itself. Apparently, Jacob had a little fender bender today in the parking lot of the local market. It's just about the 3-year anniversary of Nicholas' pre-college fender bender. Apparently it is a freshman right of passage for young Hanten males; jack up your insurance rates just prior to embarking on your collegiate journey.

The good news is that Jake just backed our truck into some guy who had "parked illegally" behind him. There is supposedly no damage to our truck, which I have yet to verify. The other party has already contacted our insurance agent to repair what Nick calculates to be $22 in damages. I don't think Nick has a particularly good grasp on the state of the auto body repair market.

Anyway, small potatoes. What's another insurance bill?

Side note: Jake just told me he thought Casablanca was stupid. I'm going to hit him in the head.

More tomorrow, I have to go sulk and watch The Treasure of Sierra Madre.

Whoo-Hoo!

The "Super All-In-One Value Speedball Fabric Screen Printing Kit" that I ordered online showed up today. It's only a matter of minutes before custom printed T-shirts are rolling off our production line. For those of you who don't recall or weren't following at that time, refer to my "Off to the OR" post from June 18.

Actually, I expect that there will be considerable trial and error before we get a successful print, but whenever we get something presentable we'll post a photo.

The other thing that started showing up this weekend? The medical insurance statements. We have a sort of informal pool going, but I'm guessing a quarter of a mil before all is said and done. I'm going to try to keep a running tab, just to see how close we get.

So far...

$250 - OMS visit in the Loma Linda ER

$17,835 - ER at Inland Valley Medical Center

$180 - Additional expense from IVMC

$2,336.50 - Ambulance

$3,643 - Additional expense from IVMC

$170 - Trauma MD at LLMC

So, if my calculations are correct, $24,414.50 so far. Of course, that's the gross amount billed. Since the providers are "in plan" they get paid significantly less by our insurance carrier and our responsibility is, well, not peanuts, but way less than the $25K it works out to.

Doesn't matter, cuz I'm using the gross amount for purposes of our little pool. I'm adding this all to Jake's tab to see if he will eventually become the "$6 Million Man."

Tip for parents: You might want to consider cash incentives to encourage offspring to engage in less risky behavior. Maybe the balance of whatever you don't spend of your annual insurance deductible. "Here's 50 bucks, put on that helmet." "I'll give you $300 to NOT attempt that BMX hip transfer!"

(A hip transfer is, we think, what Jake was attempting when he cratered. Note that the rider in the video is sine galea. I believe Bell Helmets had the tag line "If you've got a $10 head, wear a $10 helmet.")

Thank You!

I have been meaning for some time to post a thank you to everyone who has supported Jacob and the rest of us through this last month. I have to say it really seems like it has been a much longer process than it has, but the love and support we've received from everyone has eased the way immensely. This is long overdue, but I wanted to recognize everyone in a single post to try to convey some idea of the overwhelming level of support we've received. The problem has been that the list of contributors won't stop growing.

So here goes, thanks to...

Friends and Neighbors

Lori Matley drove us to the high school graduation ceremony and saved us a huge parking headache.

Brian, Tina, Kayla and Will for the get well wishes and welcome home banner awaiting Jake on his return from the hospital.

Becky and Rick from next door for the Jamba Juice gift card. Being a pharmacist, Rick is Denise's go to person for any prescription related Q&A.

Susan from across the street who served us a delicious chicken and pasta dinner.

Bev and Gary Voechting, another Jamba Juice gift card and the plant potted in a bicycle helmet was too funny.

Gina and Giovanna for the beautiful company and fabulous barbacoa.

Laura and Jerry for the visit and well wishes. Laura turned us on to Muscle Milk and went out of her way to deliver a batch. (We have since been able to pass that favor along to a neighbor whose brother-in-law is on a liquid diet while recovering from Guillain-Barré Syndrome.)

Mike, Jane and Michael for lunch at the Yardhouse, Jake's first venture out into public after the hospital.

Everyone who's posted well wishes to the blog especially to Lia and family for their international get well wishes.

Nick's friend Amanda for visiting and helping to entertain Jacob, including providing his first opportunity to get back behind the wheel after leaving the hospital.

Jake's buddies Pendar, Brandon, Giovanna, Ryan, JD, Keith, Mike for keeping him company and providing entertainment in the form of video games, trips to the movies, getting him out of the house and everything else they've done.

Larry and Alma Pim for everything from babysitting Leo, driving Nick to the airport, keeping an eye on our house, the occasional (OK, frequent) offering of beverage, housecleaning before Jake's return from the hospital, shopping trips, pit barbecued pork ribs and probably a dozen other things. (Of course, they owed me for surgery performed on Guns, but I think they overdid it. I probably should keep quiet about that, I could get in trouble for practicing veterinary medicine without a license!) Oh, for those who have not met him, Guns is the short one in the following picture. That's Jake on the right, his brother Nick and Nick's friend Alex prior to the Prom in 2006.

And thanks to Donovan Pim for the loaning Jake his sippy cup.

Jake's School

Jake's high school counselor, Debbie Searl, for her kind words and the entire Chaparral High School Class of 2009 for their recognition of Jacob at the graduation ceremony.

Jerry Lance and the Grad Night team for remembering Jake at the After Party, the get well card and gifts.

Our Co-Workers

All my friends and co-workers at The Toro Company both in Riverside and Minnesota and everyone who contributed to the flowers and the care package; cloths, magazines, games, snack foods, medical supplies, general anesthetic (scotch and wine), t-shirts, and Visa gift cards!

Linda and her husband Chris for a fabulous homemade Italian dinner complete right down to the bottle of red.

Barb and Jeff and Clint and Cris and Melinda and Phil and the entire GM team and everyone else who has expressed their concern and offered assistance.

Special thanks to Bill and Donna for the great support that they've given throughout this thing.

My staff, Richard and Michael, and my boss Tim for carrying the load while I have been slacking off.

Denise's co-workers at the Visiting Nurses of Inland Counties for their much appreciated gift and for their support and understanding. She is grateful as well to her patients who have all been so concerned and understanding in her absence having been through their own life altering illnesses and traumas. A big thanks to Suzanne for being her go-to nurse for all her questions about feeding syringes, narcotics, rashes and supporting her in her inevitable "melt-down."

Honorable Mention

The distillers of Glenfiddich scotch, Maker's Mark bourbon, Cazadores tequila and the Stone Brewing Company (makers of Ruination IPA) all of whom contributed an occasional opportunity to unwind. Stone in particular, brewing just down the road in Escondido, CA, allowed me to "Think Globally but Drink Locally."

Medical Staff

I tend to bitch about my little pet peeves surrounding the medical establishment, but the care that Jake receives is really excellent. Everyone has been fantastic; the doctors, nurses, technicians, aides, et al of the Loma Linda Medical Center, especially those in Neurosurgery and Trauma, intermediate care- Unit 8200. I don't know how they felt about Denise, Nick and I being around 24/7, but if we were an irritant to them they never let on.

Family

Leo for unabashed affection and the occasional comic relief.

Jake's Grandma (my Mom) for the love and support and the stuffed bear (which actually turned out to be a pretty good makeshift neck brace).

Denise's sister Pam for the visit and care package.

Nick, for being the good boy that he is, helping with shifts at the hospital, shuttling Denise and me all over the place and being there to receive my occasional email rant venting all my frustrations.

My sisters Terry, Linda, Jean, Kathy and Jackie, for the Ghost Busters video game and everything else. They have helped with everything from words of support to visiting with Jake at home and the hospital, sitting with us through the surgery, cleaning our house, caring for the garden, feeding us, keeping Mom up to date on the blog (she's not online) and staying with Jake so that Denise and I could get back to work. Terry even contacted people in her network from her career at SDSU to get us help in managing Jake's admission to Humboldt State, should it become necessary to defer his enrollment.

Special Recognition

Ryan, Brandt, Chase for getting Jake the help he needed to survive the crash.

I cannot begin to express how much all the support has been appreciated.

Thank You All So Much!

We have had so much help from so many people that I may have inadvertently missed someone and, if so, I sincerely apologize. Please feel free to remind me.

I hope you will understand when I say that my greatest wish for all of you is that I will never have the opportunity to return this particular favor.

Breakfast

So, this morning I was totally stoked, the first weekend since Jake's been cleared for soft foods. An opportunity to flex my culinary muscles (atrophied though they may be) with something like a real, sink your albeit broken teeth into, breakfast.

"So, what'll you have? Biscuits and gravy? Chili Omelet? Chile Rellenos? Multi-grain Waffles? Sourdough Pancakes? Hmm? Whatever you want!"

"I just want a smoothie."

Aaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!!

Tuesday, July 7

OK, quick update today. One of my co-workers has requested more pictures, so here's one of Jake taken at the orthopedic surgeon's office yesterday.

And, she also specifically requested more of Leo in the blog, so here he is, extremely unhappy about modeling one of my work shirts.

I think he thought he was being punished and admittedly he's not the first to suffer from my taste in clothes.

Tonight, following Jake's clearance for a soft food diet, I slipped the surly bonds of the blender and served a dish of lasagna. It's nice to be able to prepare "real" food again.

Jake had lost about 20 pounds, we think, but I would guess that the weight will start coming back pretty quickly now. He still can't completely taste his food though, so maybe it will still take a bit of effort. He's apparently been working hard on his bite; the range of motion in his jaw has already increased about 20% since yesterday, so he should be back up to the Double-Double in no time.

Monday, July 6

So, we had a reasonably uneventful Independence Day weekend. I had a flash of inspiration on the 4th that allowed a little barbecue fix. I figured out that Jake could probably handle some barbecue beef, based on how he'd handled some other stuff. I loaded up a crock pot with a bunch of beef and barbecue sauce and let it cook all day. Nick, Denise and I had BBQ beef sandwiches and grilled corn on the cob, while Jake had the BBQ beef (minus the bread) and mashed potatoes. I also made Jake some creamed corn soup with some of the fresh corn. He ate quite a bit of everything, so I guess he was pleased.

On Sunday we spent the afternoon at my sister Jackie's in San Diego. It was a pleasant afternoon, good food, and excellent Margaritas courtesy of Jackie's hubby, Mike.


Today, we had follow-ups with both the orthopedic and facial surgeons.


The visit with the ortho MD was pretty much uneventful, except that we showed up about 8:30AM for our 9:05 appointment and finally saw the doctor at about 10:15.


Jake had x-rays of his neck in both flexion and extension, which the doctors said would give a better picture than what they got with the MRI. The verdict was that everything looks good, "two thumbs up" per the orthopedic resident. They attributed his ongoing neck pain to soft tissue damage to the muscles of his neck. They speculated that Jake could continue to have neck pain for about 3 months and estimated about 6 months for a full recovery. They said he is clear for physical activity and suggested swimming as his best bet for staying in shape. (Unfortunately we forgot to confirm that with the facial surgeon.)


Since they were running so late at the orthopedic office we had to hustle over to the Loma Linda School of Dentistry for Jake's follow-up with the facial surgeon. We figured that was the more important appointment and were told that if we were over 15 minutes late we'd have to reschedule. (You have to love medical offices; when the doctor's an hour an a half late for your appointment it's all "Oh, please be patient, the doctors are very busy" and then you're 15 minutes late and "You inconsiderate SOB, you'll have to reschedule!" But I digress.)


As it turned out, we were just about right on time, due to my superior driving ability and my failure to yield for any pedestrians foolish enough to stray into my path.


The follow-up went well. The doctor's were all pleased with Jake's progress and he got some surprising good news; he now only has to wear the bands on his surgical braces at night and he can start eating some regular foods. He's cleared to chew as long as the foods are not too hard, so things like burgers, dogs and fries (all the major food groups) are OK, although he may need to cut them up quite a bit before he can consume them.


The doctor also wants Jake to start working on stretching out his mouth so that he can start eating normally again and gave him a sort of make shift gauge to use to measure his progress. (A big stack of tongue depressors taped together.) The doctor suggested that Jacob should work toward the target of an In-n-Out Double-Double; when he can get a Double-Double in his mouth he'll have adequately recovered his range of motion. That's cool, because it's a target that Jake can easily visualize, he's had plenty of experience.

One problem that Jake has had is that he has yet to recover his sense of smell. The one doctor was explaining that with all the facial fractures it is not uncommon to damage the fine nerves around the nose that connect to the main olfactory nerve. The doctors said that those usually recover over time. For now, that makes it hard for Jake to fully taste the flavors of his food. On the plus side, he has nothing to fear when his brother says "Pull my finger."

There was bad news from the doctors, although it was not unexpected, that Jake will need a follow-up surgery on the bones supporting his left eye. His left eye socket is larger than the right, as a result of all the fractures, and consequently the eye sits lower and is more deeply set in his face. The doctor recommended that sooner was probably better, so he has been scheduled for another visit on July 20 and then surgery on the 23rd. Unfortunately, we had originally thought that the surgery would be on an outpatient basis, but it turns out that they will want to keep him in the hospital overnight.

At least theoretically, he should be recovered from that surgery in time to head to Humboldt in August, but we'll need to keep our fingers crossed.

To celebrate the relaxation of his dietary restrictions Jake requested chili fries for lunch. Nick joined us at the Red Robin in Temecula. It was very nice to be able to sit down to lunch with Jake for a reasonably normal (at least normal for him) meal.

Thursday, July 2

It's hard to believe it's only been 3 weeks since Jake's accident. It felt like months at times. And to see his progress makes the whole thing doubly unbelievable. He's started getting out and about again, yesterday over to his friend Brandon's and the other evening out with his friend Giovanna to see "The Hangover."

The next big hurdle will probably be to get out behind the wheel. I don't think there's any reason he can't drive at this point, other than maybe a still stiff neck that might prevent him from being able to check his blind spots. But I don't see a problem; he'll be driving a truck, so anyone riding in his blind spots will do so at his or her own peril.

I am off work today (mandatory furlough day) and tomorrow is a company holiday. Under normal circumstances I would probably be planning some sort of barbeque for the 4th of July, but I think that pulled pork or baby back ribs or smoked brisket might violate Jake's rights under the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of these United States, not something to be taken lightly on Independence Day. I think I will be going with Chile Verde, which Jake should be able to handle by pushing the envelope of his liquid diet.

Over the course of the preceding weeks, people have occasionally asked about whether Jake was wearing helmet or why he wasn't wearing a helmet. One of the hospital staff asked Jake what type of helmet he was wearing and he replied "hair and flesh" or something to that effect.

Clearly he should have been wearing a helmet, but I can't say the outcome would have been significantly better. For all we know a helmet might have saved his face but broken his neck.

In any case, I was past caring about that as soon as we saw him in the ER. I mean had he broken his arm and "Oh, by the way, wasn't wearing a helmet" he still wouldn't be sitting from his ass chewing. As it was he had followed the rule that I, my friends and siblings used to espouse; "If you're going to have an accident doing something stupid, make sure you're hurt badly enough to avoid a beating."

And I am certainly not in the position to cast the first stone. I mean, who among us (all right, what MALE among us) hasn't done something that in retrospect didn't seem pretty dangerous, at best moronic and maybe completely insane.

A small example; as kids, my friends and I came up with the bright idea to simulate carrier landings with a flexi-flyer and a rope. This was a version of the Flexible Flyer sled, but with wheels - it was Southern California after all. The plan called for the pilot to ride face first down our hill while two other kids held the rope "arresting gear" across the sidewalk. As the sled approached, the rope would be raised, catching the wheels and stopping the sled. Now I can hear some of you (mostly women) saying "This sounds like a bad idea" and, sure enough, the over-zealous arresting team yanked the rope too high, up and across the pilot's neck. I don't remember the kid's name, but I pretty clearly recall the sound that escaped his throat and the resulting rope burn. If we had just had a slightly thinner rope and a slightly steeper hill we could have gone for the full decapitation.

It is a male thing; we are afflicted with testosterone; a dangerous substance which should be used wisely. The cruel joke is that it is most prevalent in young men, for whom wisdom is not frequently a strength. As males we achieve Wisdom by surviving all the testosterone induced catastrophes of our youth.

In the end I don't think I would change any of what's happened even if I could. If he'd avoided crashing that particular trick he might have killed himself on a harder one. As it is he can hope for a full recovery and a new found share of wisdom.