Wow. I haven't updated. Figures.
Robbie is doing better. He got his trach removed today. It will take a while to heal, but at least he doesn't have a gaping hole in his neck anymore. He did have an infection, but they've been giving him mega antibiotics, and he seems to be over it now. The doctors thing he will be going to rehab on Tuesday. Just pray that he doesn't get sick again. I'm ready for him to be in rehab - I keep hoping that I will be able to study for the bar exam more easily once he is out of the hospital.
On the other hand, Robbie getting out of the hospital and going to rehab makes me more and more scared and apprehensive about what my family is going to do. We obviously have to move. Everything used to be falling together nicely on the building a house plan - but since someone started a nasty rumor around town, things have been kinda hard. Someone told my little sister that they heard that no one cared about Robbie and my dad just wanted to make some money so they weren't going to support anything we did. I pretty sure anyone who actually knows my family realizes that is the farthest thing from true. It really hurt my dad to hear that someone said that about him. He's been really hurting over this whole situation anyway. My dad is pretty much the greatest guy i know. I've seen him give his last 5 dollars to someone he thought needed it more than he did too many times to count. I really want to be like him when i finally grow up.... (when does that happen anyway? I'm already 25!).
Things are sucking royally on the bar exam front. I haven't studied in a couple weeks and i'm getting so far behind, I don't know if i will be able to catch up. I created a study corner in Daniel's room and am hoping that will help me concentrate.
Tonight I have to get the study area completed, look at plane tickets and hotel rooms, and look for a 5k with better timing than the one i was planning on running.
Tomorrow I have to:
find a lamp somewhere (Good Sam??)
go running
ortho appt
STUDY for at least 4 hours
go see Robbie in Columbia
check on my school loans
make some phone calls while driving
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Andy Talks With Me
Robbie talks! After over three weeks of near silence, it's great to hear his voice. Even if he is his old grouchy self. I'm pretty sure nothing about his personality has changed - I don't know if that's a good thing, we were hoping he come out of this a sweet, nice little boy.... Yeah right!
He's been in stepdown since Saturday evening. Stepdown kind of sucks because the nurses aren't very attentive. Apparently he is being moved to Rusk (the rehab center) tomorrow, although i'm not certain of that. They said they were going to move him today, and they lied. Maybe they're lying about tomorrow too!
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I haven't been studying. I've been way too distracted by everything going on. I haven't been getting very good sleep as the 4th floor is not nearly as accommodating as the 3rd floor. The hospitality staff is kinda snooty on this floor also. They come in and steal our pillows and blankets anytime after about 5a.m. If you get to go to the bathroom at like 6am, when you come back, all of your stuff will be gone!! And if you know me at all, you know that i'm not intending to get up for the day at 6a.m.!
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In response to the question about the "raffle" tickets, I'm pretty sure they are going to be available at a few places in town in the next week. I think everyone is still working on getting it set up. If not, i'll be sure and let everyone on here know how to get a hold of some. Seriously, who doesn't want to win a new truck! Especially, when you're chances are probably about 1/3000 or better! Even if you don't need a truck, you can always sell it and buy cool stuff! Everyone wants new stuff!!!!! And i think there are going to be a few other smaller prizes in addition to the truck.... Details to come...
He's been in stepdown since Saturday evening. Stepdown kind of sucks because the nurses aren't very attentive. Apparently he is being moved to Rusk (the rehab center) tomorrow, although i'm not certain of that. They said they were going to move him today, and they lied. Maybe they're lying about tomorrow too!
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I haven't been studying. I've been way too distracted by everything going on. I haven't been getting very good sleep as the 4th floor is not nearly as accommodating as the 3rd floor. The hospitality staff is kinda snooty on this floor also. They come in and steal our pillows and blankets anytime after about 5a.m. If you get to go to the bathroom at like 6am, when you come back, all of your stuff will be gone!! And if you know me at all, you know that i'm not intending to get up for the day at 6a.m.!
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In response to the question about the "raffle" tickets, I'm pretty sure they are going to be available at a few places in town in the next week. I think everyone is still working on getting it set up. If not, i'll be sure and let everyone on here know how to get a hold of some. Seriously, who doesn't want to win a new truck! Especially, when you're chances are probably about 1/3000 or better! Even if you don't need a truck, you can always sell it and buy cool stuff! Everyone wants new stuff!!!!! And i think there are going to be a few other smaller prizes in addition to the truck.... Details to come...
Friday, June 20, 2008
It's stupid and boring and i feel like i'm going insane
I haven't updated lately, probably because everyday feels exactly like the last. It's hard to believe I haven't been to Richland in 20 days. It's also hard to believe that Robbie has been in the I.C.U. for 20 days....
In other news, Robbie should be moving out of the I.C.U. early next week and going to the rehab center. I keep telling him that they are sending him to rehab to take care of his crack problem. That makes him smile. He's doing so much better, it's amazing. Things are still hectic with planning for his return home and making sure he has a place to come home to and such, but I know it will work out.
I've been studying off and on since last Tuesday. A couple of days I haven't gotten anything done. I was doing better before Erica got her newest job placement at the hospital. She works during the day, so we aren't going to the library anymore. A couple of weeks ago, I was feeling really guilty about my California plans, but now i am back to realizing how good it is going to be for me to get away from here. Robbie will be okay and will be taken care of. I just have to keep reminding myself that it is not my job to run my family. My parents really can take care of it, I just have to let them.
I've been negotiating with Stacey to come and visit in July and be my life coach. I really need a life coach if I want to pass this bar exam.... I guess it's not really Stacey that I need to negotiate with, it's Stacey's parents... and they drive a hard bargain - or no bargain.... Jerks!
I got a card from Jaimee/Bryan/John/Clo. It was really sweet and if any of you read this ever, I really appreciate you thinking about me. I'm feeling like spilling today, so bear with me, while I give you the drunken spew on my relationships with these four rockstars.
Clo - I love Clo! What more can i say. I'm really proud of her for graduating and doing such a rockstar job of taking care of her family. I think sometimes she gets taken advantage of because she is just that nice.
John - John and I haven't talked much in the last few years, but I feel okay about that. When we do chat, things are kool. I sent him a fun text a few weeks ago about about how studying for the bar exam is like death in a box. I know he's going to make a great attorney, because he's a great guy.
Jaimee - Jaimee and I have our issues, as everyone knows. But i'm really grateful for how nice she has been since i've been in Columbia (facebooking Andy, organizing that card, letting me cry on her). It was really nice to catch up with her about law school and such. I think the biggest problem is that I listen to gossip too much and let my feelings get hurt a little too easily. I should really try not to do that, because I really like talking to her when we just let things go.
Bryan - Ditto with the gossip and letting my feelings get hurt thing. I've been a little hard on this boy, probably because I love him to death. In the future, I'm going to try not to attempt to cut people off when i'm upset, especially when i don't even know if the stories i hear are true or not. His niceness and positive messages (especially in that card) make me feel really crappy about myself, and I don't even know how to apologize.
In other news, Robbie should be moving out of the I.C.U. early next week and going to the rehab center. I keep telling him that they are sending him to rehab to take care of his crack problem. That makes him smile. He's doing so much better, it's amazing. Things are still hectic with planning for his return home and making sure he has a place to come home to and such, but I know it will work out.
I've been studying off and on since last Tuesday. A couple of days I haven't gotten anything done. I was doing better before Erica got her newest job placement at the hospital. She works during the day, so we aren't going to the library anymore. A couple of weeks ago, I was feeling really guilty about my California plans, but now i am back to realizing how good it is going to be for me to get away from here. Robbie will be okay and will be taken care of. I just have to keep reminding myself that it is not my job to run my family. My parents really can take care of it, I just have to let them.
I've been negotiating with Stacey to come and visit in July and be my life coach. I really need a life coach if I want to pass this bar exam.... I guess it's not really Stacey that I need to negotiate with, it's Stacey's parents... and they drive a hard bargain - or no bargain.... Jerks!
I got a card from Jaimee/Bryan/John/Clo. It was really sweet and if any of you read this ever, I really appreciate you thinking about me. I'm feeling like spilling today, so bear with me, while I give you the drunken spew on my relationships with these four rockstars.
Clo - I love Clo! What more can i say. I'm really proud of her for graduating and doing such a rockstar job of taking care of her family. I think sometimes she gets taken advantage of because she is just that nice.
John - John and I haven't talked much in the last few years, but I feel okay about that. When we do chat, things are kool. I sent him a fun text a few weeks ago about about how studying for the bar exam is like death in a box. I know he's going to make a great attorney, because he's a great guy.
Jaimee - Jaimee and I have our issues, as everyone knows. But i'm really grateful for how nice she has been since i've been in Columbia (facebooking Andy, organizing that card, letting me cry on her). It was really nice to catch up with her about law school and such. I think the biggest problem is that I listen to gossip too much and let my feelings get hurt a little too easily. I should really try not to do that, because I really like talking to her when we just let things go.
Bryan - Ditto with the gossip and letting my feelings get hurt thing. I've been a little hard on this boy, probably because I love him to death. In the future, I'm going to try not to attempt to cut people off when i'm upset, especially when i don't even know if the stories i hear are true or not. His niceness and positive messages (especially in that card) make me feel really crappy about myself, and I don't even know how to apologize.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Confessions of a Hospital Drama Queen
I love gossip and rumors. Especially ones that say my brother is dead, or that his girlfriend is out sleeping around and hates him, when really she's at the hospital crying everyday. People can really be jerks sometimes.
By the way... does ANYONE read this? and if so, will you please admit to it by leaving a comment. I'm lonely and don't have a lot of time to chat online or talk on the phone, but it's nice to know that people (besides Erica) like me.
In today's/yesterday's news, my brother's nurse last night was acting all dumb and confused and didn't understand why my parents wanted a consult with the doctor. Duh - because he's a parapalegic and doesn't know it yet, isn't that a good enough reason to get to see a doctor around here? Anyway, she told me that he knew everything about his injuries already and we were all pretty pissed about that if it is true b/c we don't even know when they told him or who told him. So this morning Marisa and I were in there hanging out with Bub and he was in a good mood and chatting with us about random stuff and I asked him about his legs. He told me that he moved them once and that he was in the hospital until they fixed them. I almost started crying because he only knows that they won't work and he thinks it is going to be fixed. We pretty much left immediately after that so I could go talk to my parents.
Later today, we finally got a doctor and Mom, Dad, Mandy, and I went to a conference room to talk to him. He showed us pictures of Robbie's injuries before and after his surgery and explained everything. We then decided to go into Robbie's room and talk to him right then with the doctor. Robbie was sitting up in his turtle shell cast thing and they showed him the same pictures on the screen and the doctor explained that he would never walk again. He looked shocked and said, "Never?". That was pretty much all he said about it. It was nice that they let all of us in the room when they talked to him instead of the normal two at a time rule. We were all crying a little, but it really was time that he knows about this so that he can start moving on with his life.
I haven't spent any alone time with him yet, but probably will later tonight. I know he's upset, but hopefully he realizes that things will be okay, their just going to be quite a bit different. Life doesn't always turn out the way we expect, but that doesn't mean that it's a bad thing.
As Robbie said a couple of days ago, Everything happens for a reason. I hope he still believes that.
By the way... does ANYONE read this? and if so, will you please admit to it by leaving a comment. I'm lonely and don't have a lot of time to chat online or talk on the phone, but it's nice to know that people (besides Erica) like me.
In today's/yesterday's news, my brother's nurse last night was acting all dumb and confused and didn't understand why my parents wanted a consult with the doctor. Duh - because he's a parapalegic and doesn't know it yet, isn't that a good enough reason to get to see a doctor around here? Anyway, she told me that he knew everything about his injuries already and we were all pretty pissed about that if it is true b/c we don't even know when they told him or who told him. So this morning Marisa and I were in there hanging out with Bub and he was in a good mood and chatting with us about random stuff and I asked him about his legs. He told me that he moved them once and that he was in the hospital until they fixed them. I almost started crying because he only knows that they won't work and he thinks it is going to be fixed. We pretty much left immediately after that so I could go talk to my parents.
Later today, we finally got a doctor and Mom, Dad, Mandy, and I went to a conference room to talk to him. He showed us pictures of Robbie's injuries before and after his surgery and explained everything. We then decided to go into Robbie's room and talk to him right then with the doctor. Robbie was sitting up in his turtle shell cast thing and they showed him the same pictures on the screen and the doctor explained that he would never walk again. He looked shocked and said, "Never?". That was pretty much all he said about it. It was nice that they let all of us in the room when they talked to him instead of the normal two at a time rule. We were all crying a little, but it really was time that he knows about this so that he can start moving on with his life.
I haven't spent any alone time with him yet, but probably will later tonight. I know he's upset, but hopefully he realizes that things will be okay, their just going to be quite a bit different. Life doesn't always turn out the way we expect, but that doesn't mean that it's a bad thing.
As Robbie said a couple of days ago, Everything happens for a reason. I hope he still believes that.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
cancer - 2pts, environment - 1pt
I'm pretty sure Nalgene is trying to kill me.
I'm not really okay with them stopping sales and production of all their BPA covered, cancerous bottles, but not recalling all the ones I already own.
I'm determined to hold onto them until there's actually a recall and I can get them replaced with new non-BPA covered bottles, which are probably still cancerous but we don't know about the cancer yet so they're currently safe to drink from.... kinda like Splenda - It will kill you, we just don't know where you're cancer will be yet (finger?, brain?, liver?) and how long it takes to get it....
I dropped my maybe safe Nalgene of Erica's and it didn't break. What a surprise! But, the McD's straw I had inside did break. Then i had shattered straw throughout my tea. Is that safe to drink? Am i going to get cancer from small shards of ingested plastic! Should i become like a bubble person to be safe? Wait, no...bubbles are plastic!!!!!
I'm not really okay with them stopping sales and production of all their BPA covered, cancerous bottles, but not recalling all the ones I already own.
I'm determined to hold onto them until there's actually a recall and I can get them replaced with new non-BPA covered bottles, which are probably still cancerous but we don't know about the cancer yet so they're currently safe to drink from.... kinda like Splenda - It will kill you, we just don't know where you're cancer will be yet (finger?, brain?, liver?) and how long it takes to get it....
I dropped my maybe safe Nalgene of Erica's and it didn't break. What a surprise! But, the McD's straw I had inside did break. Then i had shattered straw throughout my tea. Is that safe to drink? Am i going to get cancer from small shards of ingested plastic! Should i become like a bubble person to be safe? Wait, no...bubbles are plastic!!!!!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
There's a tea stain on my moral character
Oh, I forgot to mention this but I started studying for the bar exam again. At some point I realized that I have to take the bar regardless b/c i can't get a refund, so I better at least make an effort to study a little.
I'm approximately 2 weeks behind at this point. So if i do 2 days worth of work everyday, I will be caught up by July 01. That's my goal - I can't go into the Fourth of July holiday behind schedule. The only problem is that I only get about 4 hours of studying done a day. At this rate, I'm not catching up at all, I'm just getting more and more behind. I'm taking suggestions for how to get caught up... or what things to skim or skip over. But i'm not leaving Robbie. The things I'm completely inflexible about are: 10am visits with Robbie, and 8:30pm to 11pm visiting time. The rest of the day can be worked around, I think.
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In other news, Robbie has had pneumonia pretty bad, which doesn't help his breathing at all. On Thursday we had a strange visitor, a chaplain from the Christian Motorcyclists of America. He talked to my mom for a bit, and then went in to see Robbie with her and said a prayer. That was really nice of the CMA, I guess they just go around looking for motorcycle wreck victims... Weird job.
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On Wednesday, I had some crappy luck. I broke my flip flop (not a fit flop, although i'd like to have some of those, if anyone's feeling like making donations to the Rachael get skinny club) while I was at the library. It wouldn't stay on my foot at all as I shuffled across MU's god awful large scary campus toward the vehicle. I'm pretty sure at least 12 people stared at me like I was homeless. I probably look homeless anyway, I haven't showered since who knows when, and I haven't done my hair for about 2 weeks! I look like a zombie! As i was walking out of the library with my broken shoe, I noticed a trail of something coming from my backpack. I had hidden an iced tea from McD's in my bad to get out of the library (since you're not supposed to have those kinds of cups in the library at all) and I guess it got smashed. Erica and I had to stop outside and empty out my big student backpack and clean everything. Thank God that my expensive BARBRI books didn't really get wet, but one of my notebooks was virtually ruined and the letter I have from the California Bar that says I have good moral character now has a giant tea stain on it. Great....
I'm approximately 2 weeks behind at this point. So if i do 2 days worth of work everyday, I will be caught up by July 01. That's my goal - I can't go into the Fourth of July holiday behind schedule. The only problem is that I only get about 4 hours of studying done a day. At this rate, I'm not catching up at all, I'm just getting more and more behind. I'm taking suggestions for how to get caught up... or what things to skim or skip over. But i'm not leaving Robbie. The things I'm completely inflexible about are: 10am visits with Robbie, and 8:30pm to 11pm visiting time. The rest of the day can be worked around, I think.
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In other news, Robbie has had pneumonia pretty bad, which doesn't help his breathing at all. On Thursday we had a strange visitor, a chaplain from the Christian Motorcyclists of America. He talked to my mom for a bit, and then went in to see Robbie with her and said a prayer. That was really nice of the CMA, I guess they just go around looking for motorcycle wreck victims... Weird job.
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On Wednesday, I had some crappy luck. I broke my flip flop (not a fit flop, although i'd like to have some of those, if anyone's feeling like making donations to the Rachael get skinny club) while I was at the library. It wouldn't stay on my foot at all as I shuffled across MU's god awful large scary campus toward the vehicle. I'm pretty sure at least 12 people stared at me like I was homeless. I probably look homeless anyway, I haven't showered since who knows when, and I haven't done my hair for about 2 weeks! I look like a zombie! As i was walking out of the library with my broken shoe, I noticed a trail of something coming from my backpack. I had hidden an iced tea from McD's in my bad to get out of the library (since you're not supposed to have those kinds of cups in the library at all) and I guess it got smashed. Erica and I had to stop outside and empty out my big student backpack and clean everything. Thank God that my expensive BARBRI books didn't really get wet, but one of my notebooks was virtually ruined and the letter I have from the California Bar that says I have good moral character now has a giant tea stain on it. Great....
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Morphine
Robbie got a tracheotomy today. You know where they make a whole in your throat....it's kind of gross, but his face looks a lot better without the ventilator and feeding tube. They said it will be more comfortable for him in the long run, but right now he hates it. It's taking him a while to adjust to having a gaping hole in his neck....I wonder why!
Robbie wrote "Aaron peed out the window" today. He was really concerned about Mom taking care of it. Weird, huh. When we left, he said he was fine because Aaron was going to spend the day with him. I think Aaron is an odd person for him to be hallucinating about, but who knows what Robbie is thinking. Probably the morphine!
I'm pretty sure he also told the nurse to "put some more of that crack" in his tube. Ha!
Robbie wrote "Aaron peed out the window" today. He was really concerned about Mom taking care of it. Weird, huh. When we left, he said he was fine because Aaron was going to spend the day with him. I think Aaron is an odd person for him to be hallucinating about, but who knows what Robbie is thinking. Probably the morphine!
I'm pretty sure he also told the nurse to "put some more of that crack" in his tube. Ha!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Writing Class
Robbie's been a lot more calm lately, they were able to untie him and he's been awake a little bit more. Since he's still on the ventilator, he uses a lot of hand signals and is able to write on a notepad to tell us things. This morning when we went in, Robbie had written to his nurse over the night, it said, "Where can i get a bath at?".... isn't that cute!
He also asked where he sleeps, he's probably still convinced that he's not in his own room for some reason. They think maybe he remembers leaving for an x-ray or something but not coming back and that's why he doesn't realize that he's in his own room.
9 Days in I.C.U. and Counting
Still haven't studied for the bar exam....
He also asked where he sleeps, he's probably still convinced that he's not in his own room for some reason. They think maybe he remembers leaving for an x-ray or something but not coming back and that's why he doesn't realize that he's in his own room.
9 Days in I.C.U. and Counting
Still haven't studied for the bar exam....
Bad news
So we woke up this morning, and Robbie was on the ventilator again. That really sucks. Apparently he just wasn't breathing very well and needed it over the night. They said that maybe some of his confusion yesterday was related to a lack of oxygen. I hope so. I had a hard time sleeping because I was so worried about him. I can't stand him thinking that I'm not taking care of him and making sure that no one is hurting him.
They also said that Rob has a mild case of pneumonia and are giving him a lot of antibiotics. He's been asleep most of the day. He doesn't do very well on the ventilator, he will never stay calm, and they have to keep him tied down to the bed so that he won't pull it out. That can't be very comfortable. I don't think i mentioned this before, but Robbie pulled one of the tubes out of his lung one day... it wasn't that big of a deal, they were about to take it out anyway, but I'm really afraid of him hurting himself. Sometimes he gets really mad and confused and tried to get up and flail his already tied down arms and such. Once i had to hold his arm from his face with both hands while screaming for a nurse. Just because he's hurt and sleeping most of the time doesn't mean that that boy isn't hella strong.
Don't underestimate my brother.
They also said that Rob has a mild case of pneumonia and are giving him a lot of antibiotics. He's been asleep most of the day. He doesn't do very well on the ventilator, he will never stay calm, and they have to keep him tied down to the bed so that he won't pull it out. That can't be very comfortable. I don't think i mentioned this before, but Robbie pulled one of the tubes out of his lung one day... it wasn't that big of a deal, they were about to take it out anyway, but I'm really afraid of him hurting himself. Sometimes he gets really mad and confused and tried to get up and flail his already tied down arms and such. Once i had to hold his arm from his face with both hands while screaming for a nurse. Just because he's hurt and sleeping most of the time doesn't mean that that boy isn't hella strong.
Don't underestimate my brother.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Traveling Through La La Land
Robbie got his ventilator out today. They told him to be quiet until his voice is stronger, but he's having a lot of trouble doing so....
Here are some Robbie quotes...
"Rachael, you don't understand, you have to help me, I'm LAYING on a PERSON." - while holding my hand and looking seriously into my eyes.
"When am i going back to my room?" - Rob
"You are in your room, look, you see that poster, that means you're in your room." - Rache
"No, this isn't my room. I don't share my room with three people." - Rob
"Where are these three people?" - Rache
"Two of them are in the closet." - Rob
"Wow, big room." - Rob
"Yeah." - Mandy
"One bed...." - Rob
"Yeah." - Mandy
"...Three people." - Rob
"I wish those dogs would stop barking, they kept me up all night." - Rob
"Yeah, they kept me up too, It's so annoying." - Rache
(Rache's mom hits her.)
"Mom, they just broke a window! Go fix it!" - Rob
On a serious note, this was a really hard day for me, in addition to all of the funny stuff Robbie was saying, he made me feel terrible. Apparently, I'm the one he's mad at, and the one that has to fix things for him. He had me about 2 inches from his face, holding his hand, and looking at me so seriously, saying things like....
"You have to help me, get me out of here. You don't get it, they are trying to kill me, they are starving me to death, they haven't fed me the entire time I've been in here, and I hurt and they won't do anything about it. I want to be moved to the Lake tonight and you have to do it. If you love me, you'll take care of me, and get me moved right now."
I really want to help me, but right now helping him is calming him down and reassuring him that he's exactly where he needs to be. This is the best hospital for his injuries.....
Here are some Robbie quotes...
"Rachael, you don't understand, you have to help me, I'm LAYING on a PERSON." - while holding my hand and looking seriously into my eyes.
"When am i going back to my room?" - Rob
"You are in your room, look, you see that poster, that means you're in your room." - Rache
"No, this isn't my room. I don't share my room with three people." - Rob
"Where are these three people?" - Rache
"Two of them are in the closet." - Rob
"Wow, big room." - Rob
"Yeah." - Mandy
"One bed...." - Rob
"Yeah." - Mandy
"...Three people." - Rob
"I wish those dogs would stop barking, they kept me up all night." - Rob
"Yeah, they kept me up too, It's so annoying." - Rache
(Rache's mom hits her.)
"Mom, they just broke a window! Go fix it!" - Rob
On a serious note, this was a really hard day for me, in addition to all of the funny stuff Robbie was saying, he made me feel terrible. Apparently, I'm the one he's mad at, and the one that has to fix things for him. He had me about 2 inches from his face, holding his hand, and looking at me so seriously, saying things like....
"You have to help me, get me out of here. You don't get it, they are trying to kill me, they are starving me to death, they haven't fed me the entire time I've been in here, and I hurt and they won't do anything about it. I want to be moved to the Lake tonight and you have to do it. If you love me, you'll take care of me, and get me moved right now."
I really want to help me, but right now helping him is calming him down and reassuring him that he's exactly where he needs to be. This is the best hospital for his injuries.....
Friday, June 6, 2008
Surgery....Finallyl
Some of the nurses here are jerk faces. The nurse tonight came out and talked to us and asked that only immediate family visit Robbie until after his surgery. My dad said, "I have a lot of kids, they'll all be up here, so any kids that are here are mine." I guess that covers all of Robbie's friends as immediate family, right?
But the visiting has slowed down a lot since the nurse proclaimer of her superiority to my parents wishes. I'm pretty sure the only reason she complained is because most of the visitors are 18-22. But they've been pretty quiet and respectful and they're definitely not hurting Robbie at all. Mandy (Robbie's long-term girlfriend) and Ryan (a friend) have been staying at the hospital with my mom and I. Marisa (Christa's sister... and Robbie's friend) has also been staying in Columbia. She comes over to the hospital everyday to visit. I like having her around, because I know her more I guess.
Robbie's surgery was originally supposed to be on Tuesday (3rd) but it got postponed because he now has tubes coming out of both of his lungs. It looks pretty gross because gunky blood and stuff drains from them. But they said it would make his lungs work better to get them cleaned out. The surgery actually happened on Friday (6th). The doctor said the surgery would take between 6 and 12 hours, but it was finished after only about 4. They said that everything went smoothly and as expected. And they're hoping to have the ventilator out tomorrow, then Robbie will be able to start talking and being awake instead of sedated all day.
Mom and I went and got him some balloons from the gift shop, one of them says "This balloon will keep you busy until you are better..(Turn Over)," and says the same thing on the other side. I thought it was kinda funny and much more Robbie-ish than the ones that say "Get Well Soon" and "God Bless You" and have flowers and girly things on them.
Robbie's poster is getting messages all over it. It's cute, although i'm very unhappy with the performance of those Crayola Markers. Some of them were running out before the poster was even finished. I thought about returning them and saying that they weren't even one time use quality. Maybe i should call Crayola and complain....or maybe they have a website where i can do it.....
Still no bar exam studying.....
But the visiting has slowed down a lot since the nurse proclaimer of her superiority to my parents wishes. I'm pretty sure the only reason she complained is because most of the visitors are 18-22. But they've been pretty quiet and respectful and they're definitely not hurting Robbie at all. Mandy (Robbie's long-term girlfriend) and Ryan (a friend) have been staying at the hospital with my mom and I. Marisa (Christa's sister... and Robbie's friend) has also been staying in Columbia. She comes over to the hospital everyday to visit. I like having her around, because I know her more I guess.
Robbie's surgery was originally supposed to be on Tuesday (3rd) but it got postponed because he now has tubes coming out of both of his lungs. It looks pretty gross because gunky blood and stuff drains from them. But they said it would make his lungs work better to get them cleaned out. The surgery actually happened on Friday (6th). The doctor said the surgery would take between 6 and 12 hours, but it was finished after only about 4. They said that everything went smoothly and as expected. And they're hoping to have the ventilator out tomorrow, then Robbie will be able to start talking and being awake instead of sedated all day.
Mom and I went and got him some balloons from the gift shop, one of them says "This balloon will keep you busy until you are better..(Turn Over)," and says the same thing on the other side. I thought it was kinda funny and much more Robbie-ish than the ones that say "Get Well Soon" and "God Bless You" and have flowers and girly things on them.
Robbie's poster is getting messages all over it. It's cute, although i'm very unhappy with the performance of those Crayola Markers. Some of them were running out before the poster was even finished. I thought about returning them and saying that they weren't even one time use quality. Maybe i should call Crayola and complain....or maybe they have a website where i can do it.....
Still no bar exam studying.....
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
WAKE UP, ROBBIE!!!!
Robbie continues to have tons of visitors. Sometimes I wonder how many visitors I would have if i were in the I.C.U., but that's a stupid thing to think about. Robbie has a lot of good friends.
Because I'm kind of bored and don't want to study for the bar, and because we all want Robbie's room to look warm and inviting when he wakes up finally (and you're not allowed to have live things, like flowers), I finally decided against getting a pet cockroach on a leash (like ANTM) to keep him company. I'm sure the hospital would have LOVED my kind gesture. So i went to Walmart and bought some Crayola Brand markers (they work they best...) and a posterboard. Wendy helped me color a poster that says, "Robbie, We (heart) you!". There is plenty of space all over for his friends to write little notes and stuff. It's kind of like a gigantic card. I hung it up on his bulletin board.
Also, I had a bunch of "i am loved" pins/buttons in different languages and colors from Helzberg Diamonds when i went ring shopping with Jason and Erica.... or more accurately Jason, Mom, and I went ring shopping with Erica.... I had jokingly suggested putting them all over Robbie's face so that it might wake him up, but i don't think he would be very happy about me putting pins through his face. I would have pinned them on his gown - but he's been naked for days....
So i put the pins all over the poster. It's cute. I'm sure he'll think it's doofus-y when he wakes up, but I don't care. I love my Bubby!
**Disclaimer: Anything that embarrasses Robbie in this post should never be spoken of to his face, and I may call him Guy, Rob, Robbie, Bub, Bubby.... and it all means the same thing. Don't get confused!
Because I'm kind of bored and don't want to study for the bar, and because we all want Robbie's room to look warm and inviting when he wakes up finally (and you're not allowed to have live things, like flowers), I finally decided against getting a pet cockroach on a leash (like ANTM) to keep him company. I'm sure the hospital would have LOVED my kind gesture. So i went to Walmart and bought some Crayola Brand markers (they work they best...) and a posterboard. Wendy helped me color a poster that says, "Robbie, We (heart) you!". There is plenty of space all over for his friends to write little notes and stuff. It's kind of like a gigantic card. I hung it up on his bulletin board.
Also, I had a bunch of "i am loved" pins/buttons in different languages and colors from Helzberg Diamonds when i went ring shopping with Jason and Erica.... or more accurately Jason, Mom, and I went ring shopping with Erica.... I had jokingly suggested putting them all over Robbie's face so that it might wake him up, but i don't think he would be very happy about me putting pins through his face. I would have pinned them on his gown - but he's been naked for days....
So i put the pins all over the poster. It's cute. I'm sure he'll think it's doofus-y when he wakes up, but I don't care. I love my Bubby!
**Disclaimer: Anything that embarrasses Robbie in this post should never be spoken of to his face, and I may call him Guy, Rob, Robbie, Bub, Bubby.... and it all means the same thing. Don't get confused!
Sunday, June 1, 2008
A chilling effect on studying...
This week has been rocky.
On Sunday, June 01, my little brother Robbie was in a motorcycle accident. We heard about it a little bit after it happened, from some of Robbie's friends. It was really frustrating because I tried to call the highway patrol and ambulance district and couldn't find out any information.
When we got to the hospital, we found out that Robbie's back is broken and his spinal cord was completely severed at the 8th thoracic vertebrate. In non -medical terms, that means that probably will be paralyzed from about his belly button down. There are plenty of miracle cases out there where the spinal cord fuses itself back together and people are able to walk again, but medically there is not any way to fix the problem. In a few days, Robbie will have surgery to fuse his 6th through 10th vertebrate together with rods and screws. This surgery will make it so that he can sit up.
Everyone is taking this news pretty badly, but the guys seem to be the most affected by it - mostly my Dad and brothers. It's really important that everyone stays positive, especially when Robbie get's told about the injuries.
There were a lot of visitors today. Plenty of people that I don't even know - all that I do know is that they all love Robbie and are praying for him.
On Sunday, June 01, my little brother Robbie was in a motorcycle accident. We heard about it a little bit after it happened, from some of Robbie's friends. It was really frustrating because I tried to call the highway patrol and ambulance district and couldn't find out any information.
When we got to the hospital, we found out that Robbie's back is broken and his spinal cord was completely severed at the 8th thoracic vertebrate. In non -medical terms, that means that probably will be paralyzed from about his belly button down. There are plenty of miracle cases out there where the spinal cord fuses itself back together and people are able to walk again, but medically there is not any way to fix the problem. In a few days, Robbie will have surgery to fuse his 6th through 10th vertebrate together with rods and screws. This surgery will make it so that he can sit up.
Everyone is taking this news pretty badly, but the guys seem to be the most affected by it - mostly my Dad and brothers. It's really important that everyone stays positive, especially when Robbie get's told about the injuries.
There were a lot of visitors today. Plenty of people that I don't even know - all that I do know is that they all love Robbie and are praying for him.
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