Progress....is good!

 While I am aware that today is April 1st, AKA April Fool's Day, and all sorts of nonsense is to be expected, I will take the High Ground of the Mature and abstain.

As was taught me at Army Command and Staff College, I will use BLUF as my outline.  Beans, that means Bottom Line Up Front.  Tell them what you're gonna tell them. Tell them, then tell them what you told them.  

ARRRRRMMMMMEEEEE Training Sir!

 

Ok, Now that I've got that Monday Humor out of my system, on with the post.

 

Let's start with the most important thing going on in my life right now.  Mrs. J has completed the Chemo part of her cancer treatment. (Well sort of, she still will be taking Chemo pills while undergoing radiation, but at least she doesn't have to take the drip Chemo.  That's what kicked her pretty hard about four or five days after receiving each treatment.)

 

But, this past week, she got the final treatment report from her Chemo Doctor.  I'll list the Doctor-ese terminology for your entertainment.

See if you can interpret these results.

1. "Tumor has markedly decreased in size."

2. "No convincing evidence of residual viable tumor present."

3. "Near complete response to therapy"

4. "No evidence of regional nodal or distant metastatic disease within the pelvis."

 

I score myself about an 80% on this test.  I got the first three but only the "No Evidence" part of the last one. That having been said, and while this isn't the final exam, Mrs. J "done good" !

Let me just say...Thank You, Lord! And...Thank all y'all for your prayers. It ain't over, but measurable progress is reassuring for a change.

Radiation starts this Thursday.  Hopefully, that will nuke what's left of the little bastiges and She, I and the rest of the family, can get on with life (AKA Being Goofy with Grand Kids).

 

Getting to be goofy with your Grand kids, isn't that pretty much the definition of Life?

Finally, the Pikler update.  (I know that's high on several lists and I am making progress.)

The lighter rungs are actually white, not blue.  Stupid Cell Phone Camera!

 The short leg is finished and turned out fairly well.  Maybe a little paint touch-up is all that's required.

The long leg proved an old wood worker adage.  One can NEVER have too many pipe clamps.  This took all I had and I still could have used a bit more.  Paint is going to need a bit more touching up than the first.  The triangular pieces in the foreground are the parts that keep the thing together.  Need to fairly precisely drill 3 holes going all the way through both pieces.  Screws through one vertical side to secure it, then a nob screwed through the triangle and the short leg to stand it up and allow it to be collapsed for storage as needed.  Accuracy, read careful drilling, will be required.  Once the holes are drilled, the project will be handed over to my graphic artist (AKA Mrs. J) to paint the final logo on it.

This will be that logo.

Source

 

Hopefully, the next picture of this project will have a little Girl on it.

Peace out, y'all and, once again, Thanks for the Prayers!

 

...Soon it will be Christmas Day!*

 Well, Campers, I hope your Holiday Season has been Joyous, Restful yet Fun, and Grateful so far  and continues that way through the remainder of the season.  It's been fairly busy, not with any protecting the country level priorities (important as they are) rather with a lot of protecting the Family level ones.

Way back at the start of the year, one of our visitors asked, as she was leaving, if she could rent both cabins this year during the Holidays.  She and her Husband are Grandparents and she wanted both so she could celebrate with her 3 generational family.  10 people and a Dog or Two.  As new Grandparents ourselves, it sounded like a wonderful use of the property, and it was far enough out that neither cabin was reserved, so Mrs. J approved the reservation.

A few months later, the "issues" with LJD cropped up and long term housing was going to be needed while she was in hospital.  Mrs. J blocked reservations for one of the cabins so Little J and LJW could have a place to stay while the adventure was going on.  Unfortunately, one reservation slipped through her view.  Way back in October, she had received a call from the Grandparents asking for an Early Check-in.  As she perused the reservation book, and saw the December two cabin reservation, she got a bit concerned.  We had "double booked" the cabin.  We had a quick PowWow with LJD and LJW about moving into our house for a couple of nights.  They agreed and that juggling session was successful.

Now, normally, an early check-in is 2 PM (4PM is the norm).  But, she approved it.

Since checkout is NLT 11 AM, that gives us 3 hours to turn the cabin.  A bit tight if things are very messed up, but since we've got multiple sets of sheets and towels, quite doable.

Usually.

Unfortunately, the version of English used to describe  "Early Check-in NET 2:00 PM" is different apparently in various parts of the country. 

The plan of attack in turning the cabin is for the House Cleaner to  "Clean" and make beds, gather towels and washcloths etc.  Essentially supplies are provided by us.  So, Myself and/or Mrs. J, visit the cabin, pick up the dirty stuff and bring it back to Casa Juvat to wash and fold.  This weekend, as we're bringing the clean laundry we notice a blanket is missing.  

Now, weather in TX has still been pretty warm, but a cold front was scheduled for this weekend (and boy did it!), so a blanket was probably called for.  When, and by whom, the blanket disappeared, is somewhat impossible to ascertain, so it's off to Wally World we go.  Pick up a new blanket and return home.  It's now about 11:30.  Previous guests had left about 9:45, so House Cleaner was done with the reset.  All we needed to do was put the blanket on the bed.

Come on to the property and who do we see?  You got it, the next guests.  "Well, you said we could check in early!"  Mrs. J did a very diplomatic explanation on why they couldn't check in right now, but could in about a half hour.  "But, you said...."

"OK, you can leave your stuff in the cabins.  Why don't you go downtown to the "Burg" and do some shopping, while we finish resetting?  It'll take us about 30 minutes."

"Harrumph, Harrumph....well ok"

Later, I carefully, diplomatically, politely and quietly stated that "...maybe we should change the verbiage on the site to read "...Early Check-in is available with verbal approval by the owners.  Under no circumstances is it allowed earlier than 2PM"

We'll see if that makes a difference.

"Juvat, sounds like your blood pressure was a tad high."

Why, yes, Sarge, it may have been.

So...On to happier topics.

 

This picture does a great job applying "Happy" to my outlook

As does this one.

14 Months, Walking, Talking (some of which is understandable) and funny as all get up.

And, I'm happy to say, that LJD is doing quite well also.

The "Saints of the NICU"** are doing a fine job of trying to reduce everyone involved level's of stress. 

 

Not only does LJD seem to be enjoying her first "Christmas card photo", no doubt the two nurses involved in setting it up enjoyed it, and the sounds of laughter when the picture arrived on various phones in our house were pleasing also.  So...Good Job, Guys!

Other good news on that front, She now weighs over 9 lbs.  Also, the discussion with the Charge Nurse about Nurse rotation was agreeably resolved.  LJD has a crew of 5 or 6 nurses that will tend to her.  Something I didn't understand about the feeding issue discussed before didn't involve nutrition per se.  Rather it involved breathing.  

I probably knew this, but it's so basic that I didn't employ that data in trying to understand the problem.  There's no problem with breathing when she's being fed through the nasogastric (NG) tube.  The food goes through the NG tube directly into her stomach and air from the nasal canula can still come in through her nostrils.  However, when she's trying to bottle or breast feed, she's got to learn (suck, swallow, breathe as the speech therapist calls it) how to suck a little, swallow a little, breathe a little and since lungs are the last organ to develop in a preemie, they are hard pressed to deliver enough air to her as is.  Stopping breathing to suck on a nipple...

So, she, and the person feeding her, have to establish a rhythm.  Suck for a few seconds, swallow, and breathe for a few seconds.  Rinse, repeat.

The 70ML requirement I mentioned last week is the nutritional goal and a way to measure how well she's balancing that rhythm.  Sensors will keep track of O2 levels, and Milk consumed will measure for the other.  I believe the 70ML number comes from the amount of milk she takes thru the NG tube now and is based on her current weight.  

Which, now, makes sense to me.

She is improving, Mrs. J and she, last Wednesday, were able to tag team their way through 30MLs.  A definite improvement.

On a tertiary level, yet still critical, progress on Mrs. J's Christmas present passed a Major Milestone this past week.  I've still got the usual, and tedious, sanding (lots and lots and lots of SANDING (gratuitous comment made by Little J after he proofed the Baby Data) and touch up process.  But, I might just make it.  

Pictures will be posted next Monday, I promise!

Merry Christmas to All y'All and Thank You, Lord for your Son!

*  YouTube Video Location

**While the Catholic Church has not yet completed the process for Canonization on the nurses, but if I get any say, the Staff of the Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit are shoo-ins.

As, my next post will be up Christmas Morning, let me wish all y'all a Merry Christmas.  I'll take care of the "Happy New Year" next Monday.

Peace out, Y'all!

...The Goose is getting fat

 Well, Beans, as you know, the line that precedes this post's title in the Christmas Carol is "Christmas is coming".  And it is.  Way back in October when I first started my Christmas Projects, I thought to myself "Piece of Cake, got all the time in the world!"

Hah, Puny Human!  Father Christmas has officially shortened the time from October to Christmas Day to 1.9 nanoseconds!

How're those Projects coming now?

Well, MBD and The Rev's projects are complete and ready for wrapping.  Mrs. J's project hit a bit of a snag in one of the later steps and required a bit of re-strategizing.  I'm getting quite good at that lately.  I think the actual pronunciation of the word "re-strategizing", in the original German, is "Failure to plan".  Nevertheless, I think I'm going to still be able to pull this out of my "you know what" in time.  Although, I may run into Santa Claus during his visit to our house when I put it under the tree.  Pictures will be posted on Dec 26 (the Monday after Christmas).

For those curious, the great stove top adventure was brought to a successful conclusion this week.  My former student, now LP Gas expert, successfully installed our new cooktop.  WAAAYYY nicer than its predecessor.  There was a small change in the schedule last Monday when he was originally scheduled.  Apparently, when a back hoe digs a hole through a gas line,  repairing the gas line takes priority over a stove top installation.  

Who knew?

So, it got installed on Tuesday.  Did you know it's possible for eggs and sausage to be cooked on a stove top without burning?  I had no idea! Muy Delicioso!

This past week I also got a chance to hone my plumbing skills.  I was feeding the horses in the barn one night a little after dark.  (Yes, Beans, when my work shop got power, we also added it to the barn.  No more stumbling over who knows what in there.)  I'd just given the horses their hay and thought I heard the sound of rain on the roof.  I asked myself how it could be raining since I'd seen the moon in all its glory during my walk from the house to the barn.

A little more investigation showed this.

 Remembering the procedure used when I first installed this plumbing masterpiece 5 or 6 years ago, (the procedure involved, I think, 4 trips to Lowes for different sized/different threaded pieces), I decided I'd ask someone there who might know what I needed.

The part on the right was left over from the prior installation.

I cleaned the parts up a bit, tucked them in a zip lock bag to stop the spread of infection (or maybe just dirt) and went to see my friend in the plumbing section.  Who'da thunk? Talk to someone who knows what he's doing?  A rare moment of brilliance on my part!.

In any case, two threaded PVC pipe adapters, one Hose thread to Pipe thread adapter and a short piece of PVC pipe, threading tape and PVC glue later ($8.59, Beans) and Voila'!  

 

Ze Horses, zay are happy!

Merlot was anyhow.

 

Cabernet just wanted breakfast.

I got to fly a solo mission this past week also.  Thursday's are Mrs. J and my day to visit LJD and give Little J and LJW a break.  She and I are just about ready to saddle up and drive down to San Antonio when she glances at the calendar and notices a note on Thursday's date saying "Mrs. J. - Dentist 1100".  Well...Nuts.

So, with a certain amount of trepidation I go visit LJD unsupervised.  After several wrong turns in the lower levels of the hospital and several helpful question answerers, I find my way to the NICU.  Check in with the folks outside the NICU, get cleared in, scrub up and don my hospital garb.  (Those little bitty things called germs, bacteria and viruses are not good things to bring into an area with very vulnerable babies. I'm good with that pre-visit scrub down.) Check in with the nurse who's assigned to LJD and two other preemies and get filled in on her status.

She napped through the entire visit, so I didn't get a chance to hold her.  Holding an infant is not one of my strongest attributes, so I had a bit of mixed feelings about that situation.

She's apparently doing quite well.  Her breathing rate (minimum goal of 2.5, 1.0 is normal) is hovering at 1.0 or so.  So, that's great news.  Her lungs aren't quite developed enough to get enough O2 out of regular air, so she's getting that as a supplement.  That supplement will not be a factor in getting her released and she is quite likely to be on O2 for a while.  One of the key remaining readings she needs to reach before release is she's got to down 60 ML of milk per day 2 x 66 ML bottles per shift (oops had a version mix up last night), which is a bit problematic right now as she's transitioning from the nasal feeding tube (yeah, Beans, I know, that sounds horrible).  Little J and LJW are able to feed her and get quite close to that number, but they know her mannerisms and know when to push and when not to push her to drink.

Little J and LJW decided the NICU needed a bit of Lighting up.

 

Unfortunately, the NICU is a very busy place and LJD doesn't often get the same Nurse to care for her day to day.  So, great as they are (I've pronounced them Saints before and stand by that assessment), they're not as tuned in to what LJD is trying to do.  So, they tend to think she's full when she pulls away from the bottle and marks that down as 60 minus X ML of milk (e.g. missed the goal).  

 But...she is progressing.

The next morning after RTB, I was sitting at the kitchen counter enjoying an iced coffee and pondering what I needed to be doing to prep for Christmas.  Looked up and saw this.

The lines are painted on the windows to keep birds from trying to fly through them.  Yes, Bird Brain is a valid description.

 

The bird, a female pretty as it was, must have been an omen.  Mrs. J soon interrupted my day dreaming and re-prioritized the day.  "Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree, I've got to put you up right now!" I think that's how the Carol goes.

New Tree this year, our multi-year old lighted tree was so coated with dust that all of us end up sneezing and such.  Hence...

On a final note before I begin to open that Christmas Tree box. I saw two things that gave me a chuckle at the restaurant we go to for our usual Sunday Brunch. (Corner of Main and Adams, Cletus.)

Yes...Well!

And this, I saw the saying as a bumper sticker on the same wall as above, but, think I'm going to order this shirt with it from Amazon.

Amazon

Peace out, Y'All!

News and Weather, juvat style.

 Well, Campers, it's been a comparatively busy week here at Rancho Juvat.  Not that anything new is going on, more of the usual routine, albeit with a deadline approaching.

First, on the first order of importance.  LJD continues to show improvement.  Last weigh-in had her at 6 lbs 12.6 ozs.  Virtually all her other measurements are now within expected ranges.  I'm not a Doctor, nor have I played one on TV, but I've been told that with Preemies, the most important and last area of development is Lung Capacity.  Specifically, a couple of measures of Oxygen usage.  

One is FI-O2, this is a measure of the ratio of oxygen supplement to regular air provided in her breathing apparatus.  Since the amount of Oxygen in the air you and I are breathing right now is ~21%, that's the goal they're shooting for her.  While no measure of human being activities is ever a straight line, and her's certainly complies with that theory, she's been trending down for quite a while.  Last measure was 30%.   She's been below 35% for a week or so.  So, good news/progress.

The other measure of Oxygen is the supplemental Oxygen Flow rate.  The goal here is a sustained rate below 3.0 Liters/Minute which will allow her to begin breast/bottle feeding and no longer need a feeding tube.  Again, she's making pretty steady progress.  Visit before last, she was at 4.3, this last one was 3.5 and she's been down to 3.0 a couple of times, so, again, good news/progress.

From my non-medical observation perspective, she's beginning to show a little personality.  E.G. beginning to fuss a bit when she doesn't want to do something.  The Physical Therapist is a prime recipient.  Having been at the kind hands of a few of those in my days, I understand that.  But...things are going well.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  If there are Saints walking on the Earth today, I firmly believe they're wearing NICU Garb.  Thank You Lord!

On a lighter note.

Get it?

Summer appears to be officially over down here in the Lone Star State.  Woke up this morning, got ready for Church, walked out of the house at the usual time and...spent the next 10 minutes or so, scrapping frost off the windows.  

Yes, Sarge, I know you Rhodies go sunbathing and skinny dipping at this temperature.  Down here, we refer to this as  "COLD!".  Fortunately, however, another weather event that occurred this week had dissipated.

I believe the technical term for this WX phenomenon is "Rain".  It's been so long since I've used the term without a negative in front of it, I've forgotten.  It is interesting how fast the brown grass started showing some shades of green. 

I decided that, given the circumstances, even the Wicked Witch would go out in it, so I wandered out to look at the rain gauge.  Just under 1.5" at that point, got a total of 2 for the day.  So...we got that going for us.

On a lighter note, one must enjoy humor where it presents itself.  Even if that happens in the parking garage for a major hospital.

I've seen it a few times there, so either it's someone visiting a long term patient, or a health care professional.  If the latter, I think that person and I could get along quite well.  

If I weren't his patient.

Since it was so cold today, Mrs. J decided to give me an early Thanksgiving (No, Beans, not early, early, early Christmas) present.  I got a chuckle out of it.  Course, it's also completely true.

Gift construction is progressing at an acceptable pace.  A couple of them are in the final finishing coats process, so apply then dry, is taking time.  Once those are done, and all the flippin' sanding dust is cleaned up, the big one will commence.  Might be up all night Christmas Eve, but hey, if Santa can pull it off, so can I.

Headed over to College Station this afternoon, to visit MBD, SIL and MG.  No real reason, just haven't seen them face to face in a while.  Video phones are better than what we had when we were stationed overseas, but they still haven't figured out a way to give your grandkids a hug via one.   So...comment responses might be a bit brief/late.

Peace Out, y'All!  Don't let the Bastiges get you down!  

Pun-Day, Pun-Day

 Ok, Ok, Officially...I got nuttin'

Been kinda a crappy week... literally.  Septic problems at the Guest Houses.  Folks, when the sign says "We're on a delicate septic system, please flush ONLY the toilet paper we provide and avoid dumping bacon grease down the drain"  the translation means "flush ONLY the toilet paper we provide and avoid dumping bacon grease down the drain".  Any further translation will result in "Bad" words being used.

Paid a fairly significant amount of cash to have a plumber show me how to drain the drain field pipes.  Gonna pay an even more significant amount to have them come back and trench the drain field to find where the clogged pipe is and then fix that.  

Guess who's gonna pay for that?

Nope, not me.  Future Guests are.  Wish I could thank that person, in person!

So...In order to get my usual happy-go-lucky me persona back, I spent some time going through our Family's Dad Joke Thread. The Family has been trading Dad Jokes for several years. Gotta bunch of yukster's in that crowd, I do.  But...It's good for a laugh so that will be the subject today.

Hope you enjoy!

For the Mathematicians out there.

For those tight fisted ones out there.

For those of you "Well Dressed" guys out there.

 

Something for those of you "older" guys to consider doing the next time you visit "That!" doctor. I'm going to.

Speaking of Telemarketers.

For those of you High School Football stars out there.

For the Plumbers out there. (And those of you who wish you were plumbers so you could get one too.)

My septic guy doesn't have one...yet.  It may be my Christmas present to him this year.

For the Star Trek Fans out there. (A three-fer)

If you don't get it, you're not a Star Trek Fan. Skip to the next section.

Now that was FUNNY, I don't care who you are!

For the Computer Geeks out there.  (You know who I'm talking about, doncha?)

For the younger readers out there.

For the "Chefs" in the group.

For the Californian's out there.

For the Texan's out there (You know this is true, doncha')  Read ALL of it.

This probably won't apply to ANYONE reading this blog, but there are some "Out" there and it fits them to a "T".

 For those of you in the North East, beware.

Thanksgiving is coming soon.  Think I'm going to try this Turkey Recipe.

Yes, Beans, I'll make sure Mrs. J doesn't have the carving knife in her hands when I bring it to the table.

Speaking of wives.  Important Safety Tip.

Finally, a "Thinking" man's coffee cup.

Not really a Pun or a play on words, rather....WORD!

There...I feel much better now.

Now that I got that off my chest, a little mellow music to calm the savage beast.

 For those checking up, LJD is down to 3.5 liters of supplemental O2 needed to breathe.  The ventilator has been removed and her lungs are pulling that O2 level on her own, no mechanical assistance.  Was at 4 liters last week.  That measurement is one of the key ones for "Going Home".  Zero, AKA breathing on her own, is the goal.  NICU staff is VERY happy.  I understand little of what they try to explain other than "She's doing Good!".  That's good enough for me.

Peace out, All Y'all! I promise I'll be in a better mood next Monday.