Back...to the OR!

It's a boy!

2008-08-05T13:27:00.001-07:00

Well, no post here in a long time...and due to the theme of this blog, no news is good news. However, this post has nothing to do with operating rooms or MRI's or any such nonsense. This post is a happy occasion, showing you the pictures of Chili's new baby brother Fungo (a yellow lab from Temecula, CA). We've only had him a couple days, but he's already quite enamored with Chili (and Chili is doing his best to deal with the non stop attention). So without further ado....here he is...more pictures soon...(NOTE: You'll also notice Chili's summer hair cut in the second picture. Yep, he got buzzed)

random update

2007-11-08T21:06:00.001-08:00

in case there is still anyone out there looking at this blog, here are a few pictures of how we spent halloween. cheree and paul are sporting their literally last minute "runner" costumes. cheree is wearing tags from many half marathons she's run. paul ended up as a somewhat 70's or 80's runner. we're at cheree's school halloween carnival fund raiser. we volunteered and were in charge of a couple of attractions during the day. there's also a picture of the pumpkins we carved (again, last minute) and well, chili eating a bat.

a half is still a lot

2007-10-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

Cheree completed her fourth half marathon of 2007 last weekend. She ran the Nike self guided half. We mapped out a course that started by my old place in La Jolla, went down to PB, around Sea World and back to PB, finally ending at our old favorite breakfast place in PB. It was just me on a bike escorting Cheree through the 13.1 miles. She later uploaded her race from her Nike chip up to the Nike website. Proceeds from this half marathon went to fight leukemia.

If you look closely in the picture, you'll see Cheree keeping pace behind me on Crown Point Drive in PB. After these 4 half marathons Cheree is ready to take a break from half marathons. She'll still go running, she's just gonna keep it to 6 or 7 miles max (which is still a heck of a lot in my book).

ring of fire

2007-10-22T22:36:00.001-07:00

We've got fires going south of us, to the east of us and north of us...but we're ok. The fires have affected close friends of ours. Some have been evacuated, some have lost homes. We're hoping for the best, prepping for the worst (though we're about 20 miles from any evacuation areas and it's not expected to get anywhere near us -- however, we keep hearing the different fires are 0% contained)

Check out the trip gallery!

2007-10-03T22:14:00.001-07:00

No annoying login or account signup or anything like that. Just click and view.

http://picasaweb.google.com/sandiegoreds/ExploringThePacificNorthWestElliottAndElliott?authkey=m5GbS0l6q6g

trippin'

2007-10-02T20:47:00.000-07:00

The tour of the Pacific Northwest was great. We had a great time at our cousin's house in Portland, a nice train ride to Seattle and a great time in Seattle visiting with my Aunt and taking in a Mariners game. I'll be publishing a web album soon with photos, but here is one of us with Aunt Armie in the new family wine bar.

a turn of events

2007-10-02T20:43:00.000-07:00

well...got good news today. The unlikely has happened...It turns out that the CT scan showed things look much better than they did in the x-ray. No OR for me, just another x-ray in 3 months to check on things. Hooray screws!

un-screwed

2007-09-26T07:50:00.000-07:00

Saw the Neurosurgeon yesterday. After I reviewed my x-ray from last week I thought yesterday's Doctor visit was just a formality where he'd say "It looks pretty much like it did a month ago, let's keep things the same and check on it again in a month or so."

However, the Doctor came into the room with a scowl on his face. Knowing that wasn't a good sign (I'm pretty intuitive) my heart quickly increased it's pitter patter in my chest. He took me into his office and showed me on the x-ray where the top screw looks "looser" and the middle and bottom screws look like they have "void areas" around them, possibly indicating that they've been doing some moving of their own. He wants a better image of everything that's going on, so he filled out a slip to get me a CT Scan ASAP next week. Once he's able to look over the CT Scan he'll be able to give me his recommendation. The way I understand it, our options will be:

Go back in and put in a bigger screw on top
Go back in and take out the whole plate and screws. I'm not sure if this involves replacing it with a whole new set or not.
Leave things as they are, because it's not as bad as the x-rays looked (not likely)

The GOOD news he had for me was that since I'm not experiencing neck pain it's a good sign that I'm healing properly.

So, in summary, the saga continues and it's looking like once again I'll be "Back...to the OR". That would make 4 trips this year. Yikes. I should have gotten one of those frequent customer cards where they could punch out a hole each time I get cut open and I get a free MRI or something after 5 surgeries.

I don't know if this involves going back into a neck brace. I really don't want to be back in one, so I'll do what I can to avoid that. The recovery from the plate operation was a PAIN last time. I couldn't eat, sleep or swallow for like 3 or 4 days.

Well, after work today we are off to explore the Pacific NorthWest. I figure it should be a lot like the "Oregon Trail" game lots of us played back in elementary school. Oregon Ho!

hey dad....wanna have a catch?

2007-09-16T19:31:00.000-07:00

Remember that scene from Field of Dreams where everyone gets all misty eyed watch Kevin Costner "have a catch" with his dad? Well, I had my own emotional catch moment today, but maybe no so "hollywood-ized" as the one that took place in the cornfield.

Today I played catch for the first time since my surgeries. The last time I played catch was when warming up with friend and teammate Scott Anderson. I was getting quite concerned as I couldn't even hold onto the ball in my glove since my nerves were so whacked out and I had lost so much feeling in my left hand.

Thankfully, when I played catch today (again with Scott) I was able to catch and throw without any problems. I didn't even drop a one (which I normally might do even before I had the nerve problems). I didn't do long toss or anything, but it was nice to get out there and play ball (in a way) again. I still won't be able to play baseball until next year but I'm well aware of how things come in baby steps after surgeries. (Note: That is not the father from Field of Dreams in the image above. It's shoeless Joe. I couldn't find a picture of Kevin and his father having that catch. Bonus points for you if you realized this before reading this footnote).

an odd hall of fame streak.

2007-09-10T13:17:00.000-07:00

My flight back to San Diego yesterday reminded me of the last time I flew back to San Diego. Back in March when I was flying back after a ski trip, we saw Tony Gwynn (San Diego Padres Hall of Famer) in the airport, and then on our flight back home. Tony and the whole SDSU baseball team were on that flight. (Side note: Tony Gwynn deserves credit for being one of the nicest people on the planet. Not only did he sign pictures for everyone who asked, he even got out of his seat and took a picture next to a woman who didn't want to leave her spot in the "B line" for the flight).

Yesterday, after my surprise trip to Oakland (update coming soon) I saw yet another Hall of Famer in the airport. This time it was none other than the handlebar mustachioed closer Rollie Fingers. Sure, it could be someone who looked just like him, but c'mon - how many people look like him!??

on to the PT

2007-08-29T19:49:00.000-07:00

I've now reached the physical therapy stage. I've been twice now and put through the different stretches, exercises, machines, electric shocks (yep), and back massage table-machines....and I'm doing better. My neck range of motion has already increased quite a bit since my first PT session 1 week ago. I'll be there again next Wednesday. In other news, my mother will be visiting in September. It will be nice to have her down here in a much better state than I was when she visited after surgery. If you're reading this mom, leave the expensive shoes behind...Chili hasn't matured THAT much in a couple months. In one month Cheree and I will be flying to Portland to visit family and then we'll be off to Seattle via train to see the city and go to a Mariners game. Should be fun! PS...just because I can, I added a video to this entry. New blog feature!

Update: A some of you have noticed, the video doesn't work. Well, all I can tell you is it works on my computer when I preview it before uploading it. So I'm pointing the finger at the blogspot.com developer. Feel free to stop by my place to see the video. The 15 second of Chili goodness is well worth your trip...no matter how far away you are.

the trifecta

2007-08-19T16:58:00.000-07:00

Today Chili and I went to Balboa Park to see Cheree finish the "America's Finest City" 1/2 marathon and thus complete the 2007 trifecta of 1/2 marathons in San Diego (Carlsbad, La Jolla and this one). Her time wasn't what she was hoping it would be, but that's understandable because it was HOT out there. Chili and I were sweating just standing on the sidelines. Cheree's sister met her at mile 10 and helped cool her down with fluids, Cheree's friend Morgan met her a little after that to help her run to the finish and Chili and I gave her cold water after the race was over.
Cheree ran the first part of the marathon with friend (and fellow San Diego Red) Dave Bradfield (pictured above).

In me news...I got the call for physical therapy for my neck and will start my sessions a week from this Wednesday. At the end of the month I'll be taking new x-rays to see if that pesky screw has moved more.

saw the doc again...

2007-08-07T11:36:00.000-07:00

Today was the 2 month checkup since the last surgery. I brought with me the x-ray that was taken last night. On the way out the door I looked at it and told Cheree it looked like a screw was coming out (insert your own "he's got a screw loose" joke here).
Well, come to find out there is a screw coming loose. What is unknown is if it still coming out or if it just came out a little and stopped there. I will be taking another x-ray in a month so he can compare it to this one. If it continues to get worse, he'll have to go in and fix it. Ugh.
I will also be starting physical therapy soon. I'll have 2 sessions a week for 3 weeks.

As for as sports are concerned...he wants me to wait at least 4 more months before playing baseball. And I can forget about skiing this year, unless the snow lasts until May of '08. I can start to increase the weight I lift at the gym, but I'll talk more about that to my physical therapist.

I also asked him about the "weird sensations" I get on my right hand and forearm. It's not numbness, it's just like heightened sensitivity sometimes. He told me there are medications (that were made for seizures) that claim nerve regeneration, but they come with a list of potential side affects, and he doesn't believe that much in them anyway for my condition. He recommended getting mega-vitamins. Cheree has taken on the assignment of setting up my vitamin schedule. He believes that over time it will continue to get better (as it slowly has been).

I've noticed that my hand seems to prefer warmth. When I wash my hands in warm water it feels better for a while. One day I was holding some ice for Chili for a while. After I gave the ice to him, my hand felt cold for longer than expected.

So...I'll continue to post as events warrant. good day to you

been busy...and that's ok with me

2007-07-24T17:12:00.000-07:00

So it's been a while. But really, no news is good news...right? Our friends Mike and Rachel came to San Diego this weekend to visit Chili. And while they were here we did things with them as well. We went out to dinner, I made a dinner for them, we went to a friend's combo-party (graduation, job, passing the bar, getting married, curing cancer....one of these might not be true), went to Dog beach in Coronado, went out to breakfast with friends, watched the moto-gp world series race (won $3, thank you casey stoner of australia) and played plenty of wii. Good times were had by all and of course...it went by all too fast.

As for me...I'm doing well. Symptoms are getting better all the time. I still have light sensitivity in my right hand and arm, but it's been so good the last week I hardly think about it most times.

good weekend

2007-07-09T18:04:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a good one. We had lots of fun, my symptoms didn't bother me much and I got to see a friend from out of town. We took the beast to dog beach on Saturday, and then went to a Padres Braves game where we were given very nice seats by friends of ours. I put away an "RJ Slugger" hot dog. It's a mammoth hot dog that is the equivalent of 4 hot dogs, according to the concession stand guy.
That night we went out for a late dinner (after we finally got appetites back)where our entire meal was comped without us even complaining about anything. Sure they forgot to bring out our appetizer, but to be honest I had forgotten about it myself. There's no eats like free eats.
Sunday I went to see my baseball team play the last game before the playoffs. Later that night my friends Jason and Jeremy came over for some BBQ and Wii action. Jason was in town visiting Jeremy. So just think folks, if you visit me from out of town you TOO could end up with a picture on this blog! Oh, the prestige of it.

saw the doc again...

2007-07-05T08:43:00.000-07:00

My appointment with my neurosurgeon on tuesday was uneventful. And with the year this has been, that's a great thing. He looked at the MRI and said everything looks fine. He also said that the fluid buildup I had is almost gone.
The only bad news was that I have to wait another month before starting physical therapy for my neck. He said it's a standard 2 month wait from the final surgery.

Cheree and I took it easy for the 4th. We avoided going to any beach areas and instead stayed close to home. We took Chili for a 3 mile walk (with a stop at dog park) in the morning, and then we took him for a long walk at night (with a stop at coldstone for us).

Until the next update...

I Love LA

2007-07-02T09:18:00.000-07:00

Well...I don't really love LA, but that's the song they play when the Dodgers win. We heard that song yesterday after the Dodgers blanked the Padres 5-0 up in LA. This surprise trip was a little thank you to Cheree for all she's done for me over the last couple months.
Cheree is also modeling her new Dodger jersey. She plans on wearing it again in a couple weeks when she goes to San Francisco with her sisters and mother to see the Dodgers take on the Giants at ~~PacBell~~ ~~SBC~~ At&T Park.
This game was our first trip to a ball game this year. We'll be going again on Saturday to see the Padres take on the Braves in San Diego, thanks to our friends the McCoys.
This was a good weekend. We went out to dinner with friends on Friday night, then had a bunch of friends over Saturday night where we BBQ'd and played Wii sports for hours. I hate to brag, but yours truly did win the Wii homerun derby. Then yesterday we dropped off Chili at his friends house and headed up to LA. Symptoms continue to slowly improve.
Tomorrow I meet with my Neurosurgeon to go over last week's MRI and hopefully start a plan for Physical Therapy.

out of my way...i am a motorist

2007-06-22T09:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I drove for the first time in 2 months. Cheree let me user her car (Nissan Maxima) instead of my bumpy 4Runner. I gotta tell ya, that is one smooth ride with more power than I'm used to. Maybe I'll milk this for a while. For those of you that know San Diego; I drove from our house to downtown, to la jolla, to Poway and then back home. Not a bad road test. Today I'll be driving up to Vista and back.

One client told me I look fantastic yesterday and that you'd never know I had been through all this, while other clients couldn't believe how thin I was. Today's weight at the gym: 168. Target weight: 175.

Cheree and I have decided we need to go somewhere this summer. We're not sure where, but it would be nice to spend a weekend in a new city and see a new ballpark.

Well...off to Vista!

P.S. Bonus points to the person who can tell me where the Title of this post is quoted from.

recovery

2007-06-19T19:21:00.000-07:00

Well, we took "the beast" to the ocean this past weekend. As soon as he's released from his leash he jets into the ocean and starts jumping around in the water. He's no longer that puppy that was afraid to follow me into the waves his first trip to the ocean.

Tomorrow is my LAST DAY with the brace. Thank god. Really, I've only been wearing it while in cars lately. I don't have full range of motion with my neck or anything, that will come after I start physical therapy (hopefully soon).

I went in for yet another MRI this morning. This one was for Dr. Zubay to be able to see how it's looking after a couple weeks since my final surgery. They gave me earphones to listen to the radio. As soon as that MRI machine starting knocking my chances of hearing anything on the radio were shot.

I spoke with a client today who is a veteran of a couple neck surgeries. She had the same kind of symptoms I still have (strange sensations in my hands) and told me I just need to give it a few months and it should go away. I don't expect to ever be fully back to normal, but I keep hope alive that I'll be as close to it as can be. Really the only thing left that bothers me is the odd sensations in my fingers, mostly my right hand. I also still have some strange sensations in my right forearm. The symptoms felt better this weekend, especially on Sunday. They're not as good now, but I'm hoping progress continues on ~~it's~~ its journey.

(dangit, 33 year's old and I STILL can't get the whole it's/its thing right! Thanks for the correction Mom)

Quick update

2007-06-13T12:19:00.000-07:00

Not too much to report. All the glue is off of my front scar. There's a small white thread coming out from the corner of the scar. We're stumped as to what that is. Dr. told us there were no stitches. Perhaps they left a sponge in me. Dr. is off surfing now, I'll check with him when he gets back.

I've been to the gym 3 times now. I do my usual bike routine (25 minutes) though at a lower level. The leg exercises go OK. I had to use the tiny weights for upper body stuff. People must be looking at me with my stick frame and wonder why I'm trying to tone up.

I weigh myself at the gym. Last Friday I was 163. Yesterday it was 165. Normally I'm around 180. I think I'll try and stop at 175. I'd better start eating better if I want to achieve that goal.
All these big meals I've been having lately haven't exactly been loaded with veggies. More like loaded with cheese and/or meat.

I have one week left with the neck brace. Not that it's much of a nuisance now. I don't wear it to sleep, I don't wear it while working and I don't wear it while on the couch. Basically I wear it on walks, trips to stores and while in a car. Cheree is unsure as to why I'll be able to drive next Thursday when I still won't have full range of motion (I'm about half way there now). I just tell her, "who cares, let me behind that wheel".

The only problems I'm still experiencing are related mostly to my right forearm and hand. I get odd sensitivity in both areas. Almost like they're overly sensitive. Tender to the touch. I remember having this before after the last surgery, so I'm hoping it goes away like it did last time. I haven't woken up in the middle of the night with my hand feeling like it's frozen since my last surgery (it happened somewhere around 3 AM that night in the hospital). I'm still typing OK and working remotely. Eating has gotten MUCH better. The swelling in my throat has gone down considerably. The days of Oatmeal breakfasts and Top Ramen lunches are behind me. How did I live on that stuff every day in College?

saw the doc...

2007-06-07T11:13:00.000-07:00

Today my friend Nadi (the new attorney and new husband of Jen) picked me up and took me for my appointment to see Dr. Zubay. Dr. Zubay took a look at the new front scar and said it has some clotting behind it, and that coupled with some swelling of the muscles in my neck is what's causing my odd voice and swallowing problems. Both of those problems have been getting better and will continue to do so as the days go by. He suggested I use a warm compress a couple times a day on it to help.

Other highlights from the visit:
1. 2 more weeks of the neck brace. It's been 6 weeks since my first surgery, so that'll give me 8 weeks total.
2. The front scar looks worse than it really is. The glue on it makes it look worse. In a few days I'll get into a practice of washing it and picking at the glue. He showed me another patient there who had the same scar as me and his looked MUCH better.
3. The X-Ray from last night showed that everything is looking fine, 3 titanium screws and titanium plate and all.
4. I can start to work out now if I'd like. Really just stuff on the bike, leg stuff and light (15 lb. max) arm stuff. Of course, this will have to be in evenings when Cheree can drive because it's a long walk down a big hill to get to that gym.
5. I'll be doing another MRI in a few weeks and meeting with him to go over it.

It's feeling good. Things are getting better and I feel like I can see the light at the end of this long tunnel. I was having problems sleeping, but after Dr. Zubay OK'd me to sleep without the neck brace on Tuesday I've gotten good night sleeps since then. There will be physical therapy to get the neck back in shape, but that's a ways a way.

i'm back (again)

2007-06-03T17:36:00.000-07:00

NOTE: Chili felt slighted by my last post about him so he wanted to prove he could be a good boy today and sleep on his pillow while daddy watched the A's game. So here's the proof in a picture.

Well, it's another pretty scar and I'm done with another surgery. three down and zero to go. we meet with Dr. Zubay on Thursday to review an X-Ray of this latest surgery and discuss where we take it from here. I'm SO glad I didn't end up in ICU again. It was just one night in the hospital this time. Thursday after surgery I forced down about 3 bites of Orange Jello. Friday I ate about nothing. Saturday I was able to eat Oatmeal, some top Ramen, a pear, a buritto (bad idea, it was a bit dry and rough to get down) and some ice cream.
I was breaking my muscle relaxer pills in half to make them easier to swallow. Bad idea. Bits of the pill were breaking off and staying in my throat, causing me to cough and feel sharp pain. I'm just gonna toughen up and swallow the whole pill from here on out.
If you're not squeamish, here's what the newest scar looks like: http://www.sandiegoreds.com/images/shared/neckscar.jpg
Today I ate more Oatmeal (and much faster than yesterday) and ate some Pick up stix orange chicken (nice n' greasy = goes down easy) for lunch. I skipped the rice, egg roll and fortune cookie (first time ever) due to their coarse tendencies. We picked up the food at the pick up stix in Hillcrest. There was a parade of little dogs dressed up in clothes. We saw an army dog, plenty of dogs in dresses, a cat dressed as a cowboy, and random others. We should have entered Chili into this event, though he may have tripled the maximum weight limit.
After barely being able to talk much on Friday or Saturday it's getting a little better today. My throat and neck are still swollen and sore, giving me a much different voice, but hopefully that will go away soon.
Sleeping is MUCH harder after this surgery. I'm waking up about every hour needing to adjust my head. If I try to sleep on my back I constantly feel the need to swallow and that leads to non stop discomfort.

Couple observations from the hospital...as I was being wheeled in for my surgery I saw my Neurosurgeon walking by. I told him "we've gotta stop meeting like this." Nothing like pre-OR humor, I learned it from MASH...When Dr. Zubay came to see me the next day, his first observation...."are you growing your hair out?". Not the first thing I'd expect to hear, but reassuring that he wasn't freaked out about my condition...The one night in the regular hospital room was just about as noisy as the ICU. My roommate (appendectomy) had an ICU machine that was beeping about every 30 minutes, waking us both up. He also took some Ambien and had a couple of rough dreams. And to top it all off, they were cleaning the floors for about 3 hours with some industrial machines outside our room. Fun!

And then there were none

2007-06-02T14:33:00.000-07:00

Well, Paul's 3rd and final surgery was performed on Thursday, May 31st. The surgery went well and he was sent home Friday, June 1st around 1pm. He is now in the comfort of our home but very uncomfortable. The surgery was to put 2 plates in the front of his neck to counteract the 2 missing bones in the back. These 2 plates are expected to fuse with the second and third and third and fourth bones in the front of the neck, creating one long bone in the front so that his head does not eventually lean to one side because of the missing 2 bones in the back. (was that clear???) Needless to say, there is swelling in and around the area where the 2 plates were inserted. This swelling puts pressure on the esophagus, making it very painful and difficult for him to swallow, as well as to talk. The doctor says this is normal and will eventually go away as the swelling decreases, which should be about 2 weeks.

Paul is a trooper. He is up and moving around and hasn't complained one bit. He isn't eating much because of the discomfort, so he says. Maybe he's just afraid of my cooking skills??? I offered to buy him some baby food but he said no. I think after these first few days, hunger will eventually kick in and he'll get past some of the pain in his throat, or the fear of me cooking. Either way, he's on the road to recovery.

Your thoughts, prayers and support are greatly appreciated and continue to help us make it through this grueling time of our lives. I wish you all the best in health and life.

Love,
Cheree

2007-05-30T17:02:00.000-07:00

Chili is now a wanted man*. He took it upon himself today to show off around his house guest (Stewie) and show how he could do whatever he wants. Including eating cupcakes. Yes, Chili hit the cupcakes you see in the previous post. Not just 1 or 2, we believe he pretty much ate "Birthday" and most of "Paul" too. This is after a dinner time offense last night. Tsk tsk, he had gone so long without a food offense.

Note: as I ate one of the 2 remaining cupcakes, (how nice of him to leave us each with 1 cupcake) Chili watched with a "Lemme have some" look on his face. I ate 3 cupcakes the first night and felt a bit sick afterword, I don't know how he can put away 10 of those things.

My neck problems are leading to waistline problems for Chili. Too few dog park trips and too many cupcakes are leading to an expanding belly for the pup. I'd better get well soon and get him back out there.

In other news, surgery has been moved up to 12:00 tomorrow. Should be over by 2:30. And I SHOULD be home on Friday.

*note: cash award not valid until 2080

big weekend

2007-05-29T07:32:00.000-07:00

All kinds of activity (well...compared to recent days) for us this weekend. Friday night we went out to dinner with friends to celebrate Ink passing the bar exam (first try!) and the sudden announcement that Ink and Jen were runnin' off to Vegas to get hitched. They left yesterday. We are in charge of the well-being of Stewie, their chihuahua/yorkie(?) mix. He and Chili played some good tug of war battles yesterday.

Saturday we went to Costco and spent way too much. We got a Queen sized AeroBed, so those of you who felt our twin bed wasn't big enough to stay on, we've ditched it and replaced it with the AeroBed so come on down.

Sunday we went to Macy's at Horton Plaza (thanks for the gift certificate mom and dad) and I picked up a new dress shirt and new jacket. Monday we had a BBQ lunch with our friends Jeff and Sarah.

We also celebrated my birthday this weekend. (The picture above is me with some soon to be eaten cupcakes that Cheree made). Cheree gave me a Wii, so come on over for some Wii Tennis, Bowling, Baseball, etc.

Today and tomorrow it's back to work. Then Thursday it's time for the last surgery.