Dan, Dan The Surgery Man -- IS HOME!

GOT THE BED... HE'S COMIN' HOME.
Thanks to Dode and Jer Holdsworth!
A big thanks to everyone that called me today and offered your help.

Dan saw his surgeon today and was pronounced recovered enough to continue his healing process at home. Hooray!

Below are some final pictures. Check back with the blog to hear from Dan himself about his experience--directly from the horses mouth (so to speak). Dan cannot drive for two weeks or lift or do stuff like mow the grass. He cannot fly for a month. So normal is still "out there". But at least now he can continue on the road to normal at home!

Final night visitors.

Dan's nurse Baljinder, removes his staples.

Dr. Balousek gives Dan the okay to go home!

Dan, Dan The Surgery Man Needs Help!

Hello! Tuesday-- Dan gets to come home and they told us he needs to stay on the same level at our house and cannot climb stairs. Nancy showed up at the hospital and drove me down the hill to buy a mattress set tonight. There is no way they can deliver it for us.

Soooooooo...

Dan and I are in desperate need to get a the set of mattress' picked up at the Sleep Country Warehouse in Kent and brought to our house (also in Kent).

We have a van but not a truck. If you can help please let me know ASAP. Call my Cell phone--253-347-2679. I have the receipt that will be needed in order to pick them up!


Thanks!
Kathy

Dan, Dan The Surgery Man Update #7

GOOD NEWS---

"Dan, Dan The Surgery Man" goes home tomorrow!
(Tuesday June 5th)

Dr. Balousek saw Dan this morning and said he will remove the staples tomorrow. I knew he was doing much better when he kept borrowing my computer to check his email and even sent some to the staff at Sunrise.

Dan was visited by both the Physical Therapist and Occupational Therapist and has been pronounced good to go home. He will not be 100% for awhile and we will be making some adjustments at home to help his transition and healing process, getting around for himself. Below are some pictures of him doing some physical therapy and clowning around with Dannika.

Dan and his physical therapist doing the "Electric Slide".

Doin' the Stairs.

Hangin' with Danna.

Dan, Dan The Surgery Man Update #6

Sunday Day Five:

Dan's fifth grade class made him a "Mr. Sluggo" get well slug which is hanging over his bed watching over him as he sleeps.

Dan spent a bit of a short night (me too), but the good news is that he is now TUBE-LESS! No IV and no catheter! After a breakfast of bacon and French toast, He got up close and personal with "Mary" his nurse assistant and was able to take his first shower. Having such a short night, becoming tube-less and then a shower pretty well wiped him out so after a visit with Nancy, his sister we both took a nap and slept through the shift change.

We were sleeping so soundly that the nursing staff did not even wake us up. They have these nice big recliners that fold flat into a comfy sleeping couch. I have been able to sleep next to Dan's bed each night.

Jesse showed up for a visit and Dan's door was closed, so the poor boy waited in the waiting room for 45 minutes until we woke up. Jess stayed through dinner and they watched some more baseball.

Dr. Balousek has been out this weekend and he will see Dan again tomorrow. I am hoping he will let us know how much longer Dan has to stay in the hospital. Last time we saw him on Friday, he said "maybe Dan could go home on Tuesday. He is able to walk short distances with the walker but not ready to run any races yet. He still has some pretty bad headaches but he says; "After all, I did just have brain surgery."

It is very nice to hear him laugh occasionally and see his smiling face! Thanks to all of you for your emails, blog comments, good thoughts, prayers and support.

Our church had their big Spring Praise concert and both Dan and I missed participating.

Next blog tomorrow--Day #6 at Valley Medical Center.

Dan, Dan The Surgery Man Update #6

Happy Saturday!

Bath time this morning.

Here is Dan with his nurse Denise and Patient assistant Devi. The removed the bandage over his stapled incision and have a special "cap" type shampoo. Devi put the cap on and gently massaged his scalp to clean his hair and incision. Dan reminded her: "Remember I had brain surgery. My brain is stapled in up there." Devi replied that she was very gently rubbing his scalp. He responded: "If you feel any chunks of my brain come out you will stop right?" She just laughed.


Dan clowning around at bath time.

Dan had a pretty good night last night. Still making baby steps towards recovery. Doesn't have much appetite still and continued pain, but through it all his wit and sense of humor continue to shine through. His physical therapist Tui, came by and they went for quite the walk! Here they are off down the hall (note Dan's new Post Surgical Hair-do.) She had to re-adjust his walker three times cause he is such a "tall drink of water".

Dan out for his jog with Tui the physical Therapist. He says he is up to at least 4 miles! (They didn't measure today.)

Dan was happy I spent the night last night to "protect him from all the 'hospital vampires'. We have decided that I will sleep at home tonight and come back early tomorrow. I told him I was willing to stay, but he feels confident enough that he can speak for himself now. (Even though he doesn't always make sense--at one point he thought our beloved "Commander in Chief" was Bill Clinton. A minute later he said, that's not right, oh yeah it is really "George W. Shrub".

Of course here I am the "faithful wife".

Scroll down if you want to see a picture of Dan's incision. He has staples that run from his right ear all the way to the top of his head. Warning...Not for the faint of heart! Actually, once healed you will never really notice it since it is pretty much all behind his hair line.

Here it is in all its glory!

Dan, Dan The Surgery Man Update #5

Dan has finally turned a corner this evening!

Visitors are Welcome!



He got his "bandage beanie" removed and the best news from the doctor is that the results of the angiogram are in...the aneurysm is NO MORE! It is gone. Dan had a CAT scan this morning and physical therapy this afternoon. He was not hungry and able to eat most of the day and slept in between pain pills. At one point when Danna was here the nurse ordered him some ice cream. They brought it in and it sounded pretty good so I started helping him eat some. Apparently I was too slow cause on the third bite I was talking to Danna and holding the spoon of ice cream in front of his face. He grabbed my hand and shoved the ice cream in his mouth. I thought he was going to snap the plastic spoon off! He only ate about a total of 5 bites but enjoyed every one.

Before they took him down for his CAT scan the nurse came in to talk to him about what "activity order" the doctor had left for Dan. This led into a discussion of Weight Watchers (who award 'food' points for activity. Dan declared that some activities should be worth Weight Watcher points even in the hospital. He reminded them that at 5:30am he actually got up for the first time and used the commode. He smugly stated that should be worth 'double points'.

Then this afternoon he walked with a walker one hundred and forty-one feet! His physical therapist today was named "Claude". He got Dan sitting up on the bed and then using a walker had him take a little tour out of the room around the waiting area down the hall. He allowed him to sit down to rest in the middle. Then he got out a long rolling ruler with a wheel on it. Dan looked a little alarmed at first and asked if it was a cattle prod to make sure he finished his walk! Claude told him that he could walk back to his room and get into bed and you should have seen Dan go. He was like the horse who smelled the barn. That wore him out and he slept for two hours.

He decided he wanted pancakes, bacon, coffee and OJ for dinner. I was delighted that I had talked him into eating so I happily ordered them. When they arrived I said "Your food is here!" He rolled over and looked at me and said "I'm sleeping now." But fortunately, he woke up a bit later and actually was able to eat!

He and Jesse watched the Mariners tonight.

Pictures from Sunrise Elementary--Thanks Suzzette!

"Dan, Dan the TEACHER Man"

"Dan, Dan the HUSKY Man"

"Dan, Dan the AVENGER SLUG Man"


"Dan, Dan the PIRATE Man"
(AKA ~ Cap'n AR)

Dan, Dan The Surgery Man Update #4

Hello from DDTSM.

Thanks to those who have been able to post comments. Using this Blog is much easier to keep track of people's responses to be able to read them to Dan.

Yesterday was pretty rough. The doctor decided it was a good day for Dan to get another angiogram to be sure everything was working with the clip on the aneurysm. That meant no food (which was fine since he hasn't eaten yet) and he had to lay flat for 5 hours on a hard gurney. So pain-wise that has been his worse day for his back and head. But morphine seemed to do the trick.

He has not been awake and alert much at all yet and is still confused. These two pictures were taken this morning. His doctor will remove the bandages today and said MAYBE he will be able to come home by Tuesday.

Dan's brother Dr. Bob headed back to Colorado this morning and I will be doing the day and night shift from now on. This morning the day shift nurse brought him his pain meds and he said she was his "new best friend". Dan is still very disoriented and keeps asking me if he is going to have surgery. When he realizes it is Friday he keeps trying to piece together the days he is missing. He can't quite do it yet. He still has a lot of pain due to air that got trapped in the cranium during the surgery. It takes a while for the spinal fluid to replenish and the air to be absorbed. Until then he still has "whopper headaches".

Dan is resting comfortably here and happy to be able to stay on his side to ease the backache. I asked if I could take his picture and he just waggled his fingers at me.

I am hoping the next blog will show him more alert and with out the "Q-Tip".

Dan, Dan The Surgery Man Update #3

Feel free to post comments by clicking on the link at the end of this blog. When Dan is awake I will read them to him!

Hello to all friends and family. Here is the latest on Dan.
Sorry--he is not up for visitors yet! We will let you know when he is.

Sitting here in the hospital without much else to do, I decided to create a "BLOG" where I can post updates and later pictures of Dan's progress and his "Adventures in Brain Surgery".
Dannika is bringing in her camera this afternoon and we will take some pictures to post this evening. Right now I am sitting next to Dan's hospital bed and he is sleeping. Again.
(No complaints from me about this since I know that if he can sleep, that means he is comfortable.

He is using less pain medication but is still VERY woozy and not eating. His doctor was here just a while ago and decided that since he has not been up and around yet, today would be a good day for him to do a follow-up angiogram. They will take him down and do the procedure at 3pm today. It means going up into the large artery in his groin all the way up to his aneurysm site. They will inject dye and take lots of pictures to inspect the area around the site to be sure it is completely sealed off. His doctor wisely decided get this done now since it means lying flat for 6 hours after it is all over. (Since that is all he can do right now anyway.)

They did come in and have him sit on the edge of his bed this morning briefly. He was able
to tolerate it for a short time. They want him to eat and sit up again, but now that he is going to have the angiogram, he is not allowed to eat anyway.

Here is another picture--Dan and his big sister Nancy having fun with goofy "hats". Maybe we will have to get him some to cover up his bandages!

Dan, Dan The Surgery Man Update #2

Wednesday Night May 30th

Hello from Valley Medical Center!

Sorry if I repeat information--PLEASE share this blog address.

I am sitting next to Dan post surgery and he has finally been moved to the Neurological Wing and out of ICU. The surgery to correct his aneurysm was around six hours long and difficult but successful. His doctor says he has a "very tight brain". It was difficult to get to the aneurysm to clip it. (We always knew Dan's brain was special--packed full of facts and funny information.) He spent 24 hours in the Intensive Care Unit and is now in a regular hospital room. He is still in a great deal of pain and has not been able to sit up or eat anything yet. But the Neuro-Surgeon is pleased with his progress and says "No worries, one step at a time."

Through it all, Dan has kept his sense of humor. He has difficulty talking clearly and still has very thick white bandages wrapped all around his head so he looks like he is wearing a white beanie. The nurse commented that she thought he looked pretty good and Dan's response was "Yeah, for a Q-tip." His brother Bob, who is a pediatrician from Colorado, is here until Friday and has been a tremendous source of help and information. When we don't understand something or are not sure what questions to ask, he has been very handy to have around. Before the surgery, Dan and I decided to always have someone here as an advocate and Bob took the night shift last night. He went home to sleep all day and went to see the third Pirates movie with Dannika and Jesse our kids. I will stay until midnight tonight and come back in the morning to relieve Bob again for the "Day Shift". Dan's sister Nancy was here this morning and then back here after work tonight. She and Bob went and picked up pizza for the crew which we ate while Dan dozed on oblivious.

We finished our pizza and Dan woke up a little. His evening nurse named "Jing" came in and gave him more of his pain medication. As she left she said "Call me if you need anything." To which Dan quietly replied: "We'll give you a "JINGLE". Jess and Dannika and I all burst out laughing. The nursing staff think we are nuts.

Jess will be back at work tomorrow, but Dannika and Bob and I will be around during the day.
I think tomorrow will be a bit tough for Dan. They have been pretty easy on him so far, but tomorrow I think they will be pushing him to sit up and try to eat. His doctor comes in after lunch, so the next update will be tomorrow afternoon. I am happy now to be in a room where I can use my cell phone and my laptop again.

Thanks for all of you thoughts and prayers. Dan is improving SLOWLY and is definitely not up for visitors yet. He still falls asleep mid-sentence from the meds. He is such a party animal!

Take care and again our thanks!

Dan, Dan The Surgery Man Update #1

Tuesday Night, May 29th

Please forward this Blog address for those
interested in continued updates!

http://dandanthesurgeryman.blogspot.com
Hi all!  Please forward this!

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers for Dan and all of us. 
We arrived here at the hospital this morning @ 5:30am and Dan
finally got taken into the pre-op area at 7:30am.  The
anesthesiologist told us the surgery would take 6-8 hours
not the 4 hours that we expected) and it did turn out to be
at least 6 hours.

My Mom and dad are here and insisted on staying at a local
Howard Johnson's down the road from the hospital.  They didn't
want to be a bother and they are happily ensconced in the hotel
and will stay for two nights.  It is nice to have them here. 
Dan's brother Bob(Doctor Bob)arrived here Monday and is staying
with his sister Nancy.  They all showed up here at the hospital
along with Dannika and Jesse this morning to wait with us.

Dan finally was released from surgery and moved up to the ICU
around 3:30pm. They told us to take off and get some food while
they got him settled. We sat in Red Robin restaurant and called
were able to update as many of you as we could.  I was not able
to reach anyone at Sunrise Elementary(Dan's Elementary family)
so I am hoping to reach them later.

It is now 6:30 and he is still struggling with waking up and the
anesthesia. The nurse has called his surgeon and he will see Dan
soon. I will continue this email after I talk to him.  His head is
wrapped in a heavy white bandage and he is having some pain but is
starting to respond finally.

-----------------
Well, I just saw Dan and the surgeon said he is coming along.  He is
really starting to wake up more now--unfortunately that means he hurts
big time. The nurse keeps asking him how many fingers am I holding up??? 
His mouth was so dry from the oxygen mask that she could not understand
when he said "Two."  So he finally held up two fingers and wiggled them
and made them hop like bunnies across the bed.  I was trying hard not to
giggle.  Now his neck and head are really hurting and they are pumping
him full of morphine to help ease the pain.  It isn't helping yet but he
does doze off every once and a while.  Dan was totally right when he
predicted that he wouldn't really be conscious until Wednesday.  When
David Wells our church Worship and Arts pastor came and prayed with him
before the surgery he said he wouldn't wake up until Wednesday and it
turns out he is probably right.  But sleep seems to be the best medicine
right now (with a side of Morphine.)

Bob will spend the night in the hospital tonight and Danna and Jess will
stay late.  I will go home pretty soon tonight and come back early.  If
all goes well, Dan will be out of ICU in the surgical floor by tomorrow
and then continue the road to "normal".

Will continue with the updates each day.  Thanks for your thoughts,
prayers, emails and calls!