We have arrived in the Mile High City...

Please read again...Mile High City, NOT Mile High Club!

Dad and Mom arrived at Craig Hospital yesterday around noon. They met with the docs and

had a pretty quiet night. Today, however, was a busy day. He had CT scans, ultrasounds, x-rays and the whole nine yards. He is now getting a couple unit of blood as he was a little anemic...which doesn't surprise anyone because of all the blood they keep taking out of him. Dad calls them the vampires!

Dad does have a roommate, Erik. He is a dentist from California and he has been here 2 weeks. It sounds like he had some similar issues as Dad does but he has made tremendous gains since coming here. We are certainly going to follow his lead!

Mom is set up in a hotel-like room in the building right next door. Her luggage arrived at Kenny and Linda's house and they are bringing it by tonight. Mom is quickly catching on to my habits (blame it on the 10 days we spent together.) There are no drawers in the bathroom and she needed some storage containers. She claims she thought "what would Suzanne do?" and grabbed the colander from the kitchen...i was very impressed!

I have only been here for 2 hours and can already tell the staff is wonderful. Mom is completely involved and they are already teaching her how to deal with some of the issues. One nurse just showed her how to re-connect the vent tubing if it jiggled loose...she said she wanted Mom to

feel comfortable and empowered. As Mom was learning this, another nurse on the other side of the curtain was teaching Erik's husband Ty how to do some suctioning. (Ty, by the way, is

hysterical...he was just talking to us about Erik's "incubation." No, Ty, no little baby chicks...intubation! :)

On a side note...I have noticed that so many of the staff members are in wheelchairs themselves...talk about understanding what Dad is going through (I am making assumptions as to their health conditions...I apologize if I am offending anyone.)

I'll do some more research and give y'all more information tomorrow. In the meantime, I have posted a couple pictures below from Craig's website...http://www.craighospital.org/

mom is in a room like this

this is the "broken man", the logo of Craig Hospital...to read more about it, check out http://www.craighospital.org/about/BrokenMan.pdf

Love to everyone! Suz

P.S. I brought Mom her own pair of "body by victoria" undies (refer to the post with the top 15 ways you know you have been at the hospital too long" if you don't understand this joke.) Anyway, watch for a pic of those to appear soon.

Leaving...on a jet plane!

Dad and Mom are at the airport about to get on the plane. Whew! I think we all should take a Xanax to get through the transition.

Thought I would take this opportunity to steal from my sister and cut and paste her writing into the blog...while you read, enjoy another favorite from John DENVER (are you noticing a theme)

WE ARE ONLY GOING FORWARD......

That is what Mom wrote on Dad's door in ICU a few weeks ago and that is what we are doing. Mom and Dad are off to Denver tomorrow morning to move forward with his recovery. The rep from Craig Hospital in Denver came to assess Dad yesterday and was very optimistic on the progress he would make there. She was certain that they can get him off the vent and start working on other things. I think that is what Mom needed to hear and I really think it made her feel better hearing it from someone from the outside. An private jet ambulance will take them to Denver and things will begin to move forward just like Mom wrote on the door!

It was a bittersweet night at the hospital tonight as we all went for our last dinner in the cafeteria. We all know this is what is best but I have to be honest and say it is going to really be hard not having them here with us. Even though they need to get out of that room they have been in for 6 long weeks they were still just 5 min. away. We have become very close to some of the nurses and it was hard to say goodbye to them and hold back the tears. We are already planning visits and are anxious to see more and more progress each time.

As Mom said as I hugged her goodbye this has made us that much closer and stronger and together we WILL move forward!

Thank you to everyone for all your prayers and good thoughts, keep them coming as we have a very long road ahead.

What do you get when you cross...

What do you get when you have Amy Winehouse and John Denver collaborate on a song? You get a country boy who doesn't want to go to rehab. That is the exact opposite of Dad!

Marty is a city boy who is officially going to rehab...in Denver! Yeah! It is way past time for this chapter to be over and for a new one to begin...and it will begin on Wednesday! The suitcases have been shipped and the air-ambulance has being summoned.

Things are looking up! The rep from Craig Hospital (she met Dad and Mom in DSM today) is certain they will be able to get Dad off the ventilator and he will be able to regain more and

more function. Yippee! Good news!

I'll keep y'all posted.....thanks for the continued prayers and positive thoughts!

love, suz

wanted to leave you with one more Denver connection...

oh, by the way, alison came up with her own "funny things to ponder" when we were off to a basketball game...she asked "why do we sit in the stands?"

Inauguration Day

If you visit Dad in the next few days and would like to spark a fabulous discussion, I am sure any one of these events will help...On January 20 in history, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Bill Clinton, George W., and Barack Obama were all inaugurated. The Howard Stern Radio show also premiered on this day. If you want a little advice, I would go with Stern over Obama...

Dad had another bronchoscope this morning after a not-so-hot chest x-ray. He will have another x-ray at 4:00 tomorrow morning and we will know more about how things went. Someone is also coming in to beat on his chest to help loosen the gunk. I hear that he likes this only slightly more than the beloved vest.

Honestly, when we started the blog, I assumed he would be at a rehab facility by now. This whole ordeal has certainly gone on longer than anyone (including Dad) had expected. It really is hard to be so far away and not be there to hear what the docs have to say. I talk with Mom and I can sense she is just getting frustrated with my relentless questions (hey, welcome to Lonnie's world!) We are going back to Des Moines this weekend...perhaps I will run into a few docs and be able to lay off Mom for a bit.

Talk with y'all soon!

xxxooo etc.

Suz

Happy Birthday, Dolly!

Happy Birthday Dolly Parton!

What does this have to do with Dad? Absolutely nothing! His days have been nice and quiet so I am really reaching for things to write. But, being the relentless "BS'er" that I am, I was bound and determined to find a connection. So, here it is...because Dad can't have Dolly, he has to settle for the next best adult play toy...the "Smartvest!" Yep, he is still loving it! Ten minutes twice a day...can't get much better than that!

By the way, it is also Jean Stapleton's birthday. She won three Golden Globes for her role as Edith Bunker.

Dolly only has two golden globes!

Did I say that it has been quiet these last few days? Dad was off the ventilator for twenty hours today and his lungs seem to be doing very well. He still needs to build up his calorie intake before he can have the peg feedings discontinued. He pretty much gets anything he wants to eat...today he feasted on a corned beef sandwich and Tiff's homemade pumpkin pie. Mom is mixing protein powder into whatever she can...rumor has it Tiff mixed it into the pie filling. Eating more will help build up Dad's strength which will help his healing. He also does physical therapy twice a day to build up muscle strength.

He has also been working with a new trach collar and is now better able to talk. Although he says it is uncomfortable, he was able to give Mom a "to-do" list and tell her to put on the season premier of 24. I also know that he talks about me a lot...after all, I know I am his favorite! :)

As you can tell from the rambling, it is getting late and my medication has worn off so I will make a long story short...Mom says Dad continues to crack jokes and she is seeing the twinkle in his eye more and more. We are holding each other up as we muddle through this together. Your continued prayers make everything so much easier!

Blessings to you and yours,

Suz

Will Smashburger give us a discount for referrals?

It was a quiet day in balmy Iowa...33º. Loni is a girl after my own heart when it comes to sleeping late but had to live vicariously through Dad this morning. She let him sleep until 10:30 before waking him with her usual banter. She gives Dad a hard time about everything and he reminds her that she is ornery and crotchety because she is left handed.

We all know how much Dad likes to accessorize but apparently the vibrating vest is not on the list of this season's "must haves." What I don't understand is that it comes with a remote, a power cord, and a generator...what else could a man want? But, we have to look at the big picture. If it does it's job and helps the airflow in Dad's lungs, it will be worth it. Perhaps if Alison bedazzles it, it will be more fashionably tolerable.

Dante and Frances Toriello visited today. In her usual fashion, Frances came bearing special gifts and prayers. Rob came later to watch the football game and brought more Smashburgers for lunch. I have to try one of these to see what the hype is. Does anyone think that we will eventually get a royalty if we keep talking about Smashburgers in the blog?

We have been down a long road and honestly thank you all for supporting us as we climb on.

Hope you are enjoying the music...although the words have no significance, it is sung by Smashmouth...thought we could stay on the "smash" theme.

Blessings, Suz

Dominos and Pinot Noir

Today was a much better day for both Dad and Mom. Due to the complications yesterday, the doc put Dad back on the vent and is taking a few steps back in the weaning off process. His chest x-ray did look better this morning so the steps will be smaller these next few days.

This afternoon Dad got the "privilege" of wearing a vibrating vest designed to loosen the gunk up in the lungs. Well, I guess it was not the most comfortable device in the world. Elisa called me laughing, telling me that Dad was saying he was going to kill me (I had asked the doc about it this morning.) She put Mark (the nurse) on the phone and I asked him if the vest was really as uncomfortable he was making it out to be. Mark's response..."I am not uncomfortable at all!" Smart ass....but, Dad only had to wear it for 10 minutes...we'll have to wait and see if it is tolerable. Sorry, Dad!

But, the good news...the club guys came over for dominoes, pinot, and cussing. Rob was Dad's official domino mover which, in hindsight, was perhaps not the best idea. Now he has a better sense of Dad's strategies and game plans. I told Mom that she should have been the domino mover, but I guess the cussing part kept her out of the room!

After the boys left, Dad ate some hamburger and green jell-o for dinner and an early night of FOX news. Sleep tight....

A better day...that's great to say!

Blessings,

Suz

Thursday

Another little set back today...although Dad had been off the ventilator most of these last couple of days, a chest x-ray showed that he had more mucus building up in his lungs. The pulmonologist will be in tomorrow morning so, meanwhile, Dad is back on the vent. But, it was Smashburgers for dinner and some good TV watching.

A quiet, short post...I hope to have better news next time.

suz

The weather in Iowa

Another little known fact...on this day in 1912, the official weather in Washta, Iowa was -47 degrees F. What a difference 98 years makes! We are finally starting to warm up into temperatures above freezing. Better late than never...we just wish the temperatures and snow would have cooperated a little more when Sari and Amy visited a couple weeks ago and when Jeremy was here last weekend. Below is what Michelle was dealing while driving to work last week. ugh!

After Dad's birthday hoopla, today was a quieter day. He was off the vent for 18 hours yesterday and 20 hours today. They are also counting calories more with Dad and working to get him to eat more and use the tube less. Again, we'll take the small steps while we work hard to get to the next big step in Chicago. Little by little, day by day, prayer by prayer...

About a year and a half ago, some more carcinoma was discovered on Lonnie's lip. It was about six months earlier that he had surgery to remove the original spots. When I told Mom that more was found, she was very upset and told me, "I've been asking G-d every night to keep it from coming back. I don't understand it. Why did it have to come back? Why isn't He listening to me?"

I thought about her questions for a minute and it suddenly dawned on me that perhaps G-d was listening to her but just not answering in the way we were expecting. Although our whole family was reeling, I told Mom that we were thinking about things in the wrong way. Honestly, if my husband had to have cancer, I truly wanted to thank G-d for giving it to him on his lip, where it was easily treatable. After all, you can live without lips. So, Mom and I started to thank G-d at night for our blessings.

To make a long story short, I am going to take my own advice. Thank you, G-d, for letting us keep Dad. Sure, some of the parts may be a little broken now, but I would rather have a wrinkled $100 bill than no bill at all. We can iron out the wrinkles.

A dear friend of mine died this past weekend of the same type of cancer that Lonnie had, although hers started in a different spot. Despite the illness, her love, faith, and compassion never lessened. She taught me so much about love. A little Voyce told me I should end this post the way she ended every written communication...

"We thank G-d for putting each and everyone of you in our lives and blessing us with so much to be thankful for. Luv ya all so much :<} Blessings this day to all of you and all of yours."

Happy Birthday, Dad!

You know, Dad, next year your birthday will be 1.11.11....we can celebrate (in Mexico, remember!) at 1:11 p.m!

So, in honor of Dad's birthday, Rob Tully brought in Smashburgers and Smashfries for the entire staff of the C/TICU. On behalf of all our family (yep, ladies, you are now considered family!), thanks Rob! Dad ate 1/2 a burger. He is building up his appetite but it is still pretty small. From what I understand, he is getting nutritional supplements through the tube at night. I know I am not a doctor, nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, but this doesn't make sense to me. If I ate all night long, I wouldn't be hungry during the day either. (Okay, if you are laughing at this now and saying to yourself, "Yeah right, Suzanne. Who are you kidding? You would totally still be hungry!" you can officially put yourself on my blackballed list of friends!) But who am I to question the experts!

The staff also honored Dad with a huge bunch of balloons and a yummy cake from DQ. I heard it was a huge cake and apparently there is enough left over that Dad can continue to enjoy it for the next 6 days!

I know that Rob's visit really lifted Dad's spirits today but I am pretty sure he is getting sick of his surroundings. No one can even begin to imagine what he is going through emotionally. I can only assume that he is going through the stages of grieving, although he has to do it quietly.

As for Mom, she continues to amaze everyone with her strength but I know she is struggling (who wouldn't be.) I stayed with her at the hospital last night and when I got down to Dad's room this morning, she was a little zoned out. I asked her what was wrong and she said, "Everyone else (in the ICU) gets to go home. Why do we still have to be here?" I think that is the million dollar question we all have right now...why did this have to happen to such a good guy? We have all been in situations where we say to others who are going through a crisis things like "G-d does things for a reason....We make plans and G-d laughs...You are strong and will make it through this together...When one door opens...We don't know why bad things happen to good people...etc. etc...etc..." As much as we know that all of this is true, the basic WHY question still remains for all of us. Intellectually, I know this is all part of the grieving process, but it still sucks. Yep, I said it out loud...THIS SUCKS! THIS SUCKS! THIS SUCKS!

What have we learned so far? "Good" doesn't ever really mean good...it is completely subjective and relative to what else is going on. So is "normal." But I have also learned that we will get through this. Things won't ever be "the same" and we won't ever be "all right." But, again, those are relative terms. Things will be different. Perhaps we need to take a step back and see that we don't want things to be "the same." Maybe we just need permission to ask those questions, listen for those answers, and give ourselves time to create a new normal.

Wow...this post got a little heavy, especially considering it is Dad's birthday. Thanks for listening to me...it was very therapeutic to write and if Mom ever figures out how to get on the blog, it may be therapeutic for her to read!

Where does this leave us for today? It leaves us blowing out the birthday candles, putting the last one to go out completely under our pillow, and making a wish that all the Rosenfeld's will grow to love the new normal.

Love to you all!
Suz

Dad's Birthday Eve

One of the benefits of writing the blog is that I get to be the first to officially (one day early) wish Dad "Happy Birthday!" I am sure there are a million and one places that Dad would rather be to celebrate but he has to know that he is surrounded by love.

Jeremy got into town on Friday night and left earlier this afternoon. All the nurses knew instantly that he was Dad's son! I had to keep reminding them that he was married (love you Chrissy!) Jeremy did bring Dad's clippers from home but, funny, trimming his beard and mustache was not a job he wanted any of us girls to do...I guess that means Mark wins by default.

Emily (TB)

Allison

(two more hotties from the ICU that won't be trimming Dad's mustache...)

Dad had a lot of visitors yesterday so today he "played possum", as Loni would say. He was in the chair a bunch (thanks, Allison, for setting him up in the big one!) and did eat a little between his long possum naps...although what the hospital served him was not as good as the Ember burger he had last night. Rumor has it that Smashbox french fries are coming later this week.

Medically, Dad is stable. The final CDIFF test came back negative and we also know he did not have pneumonia. He is still on the vent at night, although they are cutting that back by two hours each night.

So, we are just waiting for rehab....although Amy Winehouse does not want to go, we can't wait!

Birthday prayers for Dad, please! :)

We love you all!

The cigar club takes a field trip...

Minus the cigars and dominoes, a bunch of the guys showed up promptly at 3:00 (their usual meeting time) to have club! They all "yellow gowned up" (I wish someone had taken a picture) and Mom promptly left, not wanting to find out what really happened during club time. It seemed obvious to all who were there that today was one of Dad's best days since the middle of December. The spirit of the mind is so important for the healing of the body.

But wait...there's more! Dad is moving his hands/wrists back and forth so the dominoes may need to come on the field trip soon.

The supplements they are giving Dad through the feeding tube are really taking away his appetite. But, the docs are starting to cut the supplements back and he is eating more during the day. The green jell-o made two more appearances today, both at lunch (with a hamburger patty) and at dinner. I wouldn't be surprised if the waitstaff from the local Culver's would walk in with a deluxe burger for one of their favorite regulars.

Jeremy got into Des Moines tonight and I wonder what trouble the two will get into tomorrow. Jeremy doesn't have the best track record in hospitals so we'll have to wait and see...

So, I would like to update the old saying...when life gives you limes, make margaritas! Even if he is not squeezing the limes, we will all be drinking them soon!

Fake it 'til you make it...

A wise sage told Mom that sometimes it is just easier to "fake it 'til you make it." That's what's happening!

Here's a little known fact about Marty...you know the green jell-o with pears that is on all hospital menus? Dad loves it! Now that he is eating more and doing well on the swallow studies, he was able to feast on green jell-o with pears. Yum-o! (not!) I wonder what it would taste like if the nutritionist made up a special batch of Dad's favorite tapioca flavored with green jell-o (is it lime flavored?!?!?) and garnished with pears.

The pulmonologist looked at Dad's latest chest x-ray and his left lung is looking better. He is off the vent during the day and back on at night. They will start to wean him off it at night and when he has been off for a full week, Dad and Mom will be off to rehab at RIC in Chicago. The second CDIFF test came back negative...only one more to go! The best news, besides the green jell-o of course, is that Dad's physiatrist, Kurt Smith, felt some movement in Dad's wrist today. Little by little...

Dad, enjoy the football game and the jell-o. I don't know if you are a "roll tide" or a "hook-em horns" guy but whatever the outcome of the game tonight, it doesn't matter because Iowa won!

stay warm everyone! love suz

by the way, as lonnie would say, "another hot nurse" pic below...

seriously, michelle, could you put a picture of you on facebook instead of this dog (although he looks like the smartest dog on earth!)

Hawks Win

Dad's fever came down so Mom gave permission to have Tully come over to watch the Hawks in the Orange Bowl last night. Hawks win (much to Wiggins' dismay!) The other good news...the first culture for CDIFF came back negative so we are almost finished wearing our lovely yellow scrubs. More good news...2 docs felt more movement in his triceps!

I have not gotten the update from Mom yet today so I will post more later. In the meantime, make sure your speakers are on.

"In spite of everything Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?"

Don't you love the title of today's post? That came from Susie Smith, a pre-surgical nurse who was one of the last ones to give Dad a wink before his heart surgery. The wink was either to wish him luck or to remind him that she was his girlfriend at Hubbell School so many years ago...only she knows the truth. Mom got a great chuckle, which was exactly what she needs about now. Thanks, Susie! We can now stop disliking you simply out of spite because you dated him first!

Dad is running a slight fever and still struggling with the gunk in his left lung. He is back on the vent to try to keep it from building up. Depending on the next chest x-ray, he may have another bronchoscope tomorrow. But, by being on the vent, he has been able to get enough breath behind his vocal cords to do some talking today. Is anyone really surprised that he said, "This is a bitch" followed by "This sucks." I think that this is the first time in many years that the entire family agrees with Dad 110%!

So, a little set-back but we are all happy to take a step back as long as it comes before two steps forward.

We are loving the comments....i am glad it worked to change the settings.

Good night and enjoy the play!

suz

A quiet couple of days

Besides all the bells and whistles from the alarms systems at Mom and Dad's going off (Patrick is in charge of fixing that), the last couple of days have been quiet. Dad had a couple of bronchoscopies done to remove gunk from his left lung. Because of these, they put him back on the ventilator just so he could rest a little and begin to work up the strength to get rid of the gunk on his own and also to be able to have the breath to talk.

We are hoping now that the long holiday weekends are over, all the docs and therapists will be able to get together and better assess things as a team. This will help to develop a game plan for therapy. We'll keep you posted.

Until then, prayers!

suz

P.S. I bunch of you have asked me about leaving comments. i just changed settings so you can now comment (i think!) without having an account on google or anywhere else. instead, you can type your comment and then toggle down to anonymous...but, please leave your name in the comment itself or we won't know who wrote it.

This setting allows anyone to comment but it also allows more spam. Because of this, you will have to verify by typing the secret code word before you click "publish post." You will then get a message that it will be posted after it is reviewed. I will take care of the rest. Thanks so much for your patience!

Happy New Year

We have decided that we want to ring in 2011 in Mexico instead of Mercy! I was going kiss Nurse Tabby at 12:00, but I didn't want to steal the thunder from her cutie pie hubbie!

Tabby

So, much to everyone's dismay (i say that to raise my self esteem!), I left Des Moines today to come home to my kids. I know Dad was glad to finally have Mom all to himself because when I went in to say good-bye, she was rubbing his back. He had the same glossy eyed stare that he always gets when she scratches.

The good news is that there is not a lot of new news. Medically speaking, Dad is pretty much where he needs to be...in fact, some of his numbers are better than when he went into the hospital. He continues to have little trouble breathing on his own and has been off the vent for a couple of days and nights now. He is spending more and more time sitting up in the chair and working with the physical therapists.

Although the x-ray swallow test will not be until Monday, Dad's nutritionist (aka: Tiff) is keeping him fed on all his favorites. Apparently the pumpkin pie I got from the cafeteria was not adequate enough for her. Instead, she brought homemade rice pudding made just the way he likes it...with Truvia and without cinnamon. I have a feeling that she will be cooking up a storm so if you have any special requests, you may want to put the bug in Dad's ear because she doesn't just cook for anyone!

If Tiff is the nutritionist, that naturally makes Elisa the entertainment director. She has added number 16 to the Top 15 Ways You Know You Have Been at the Hospital Too Long. When Loni (the super nurse who likes to give Dad grief) was looking at a pic of Elisa's new babe, she said, "So, this is Isabelle Grace?" Elisa replied, "Yep!" Um, no, the babe's name is Avery!

Loni (she will claim she is Dad's favorite!) She is a trouble-maker which is why we get along so great!

It seems that the plan is for Dad and Mom to transfer to Chicago for rehab in the next 7 to 10 days. After the long holiday weekend, we will know more about the time line and specific details. Actually, the timing for the planning will work out okay because Dad should have a different tube in his trach which will allow him to talk. After all, he is the expert in this field.

We'll talk soon.

xxxooo etc.
Suz

P.S. While posting the pics just now, Lonnie said, "What's with all the hot nurses there?" I think he is starting to feel a little queasy and wanting a trip to the ER.