BagOfNothing.com

• Keith is looking for names for his back brace and walker.  He’s usually pretty clever with coming up with ideas, but I think the drugs are affecting his brain. Right now he calls his back brace his corset.
• He thinks he is never going to poop again.  In case you weren’t aware, a side effect of pain medication is constipation.
• I left Keith alone for about an hour and he dropped the remote.  Thank goodness for the DirecTV app on his phone that allowed him to change the channel.
• I changed his bandage on his back tonight.  It was the first time either one of us saw the stitches.  Care to know how many?  Click here to count.
• Despite being off of his baby Aspirin and supplements for 2 weeks before surgery the surgery team noticed how thin his blood was when they cut him open.
• According to Keith’s FitBit this is how many steps he’s taken since surgery.
  • Saturday:  346
  • Sunday:  368
  • Monday:  495
  • Tuesday:  694
• Keith wanted the kids out of the house this afternoon because he was afraid they were going to bump into him.  So we went on a bike ride.
• Keith wrote a note for the kids and put it in their lunchbox on Friday (day of the surgery).  DaughterGeeding found hers today.
• He received the Flu shot and Pneumonia shot the day he was discharged.
• I should have noted that Keith makes his Rice Krispie Treats with peanut butter and they are delicious!
• I love Big Red (the drink), but only drink it about 3 times a year from various restaurants.
• Eating cereal out of a cup is much more efficient than a bowl.  When you are finished eating the cereal, you have the cup to drink the remaining milk.
• Keith thinks the Olympics will only be broadcast on Amazon or Netflix.

• Sorry I didn’t update the blog earlier.  I was a little tired last night.  Wonder why???
• The patient moved into the living room which boosted his spirit a bit.
• Nights are long for him.  It’s hard for him to get comfortable.
• Before going to bed Keith took an Ambien.  When I woke up at 1:00 to give him his pain medicine I noticed there were homemade Rice Krispie Treats in our kitchen.  I didn’t make them.
• Lots of talking in his sleep last night.  Words and phrases that I remember are “Cuba”, “Sorry about that guys…fickle women”, “Jane Fonda”, “Let’s go with this wood because it has been treated.”
• DaughterGeeding wants cardboard boxes and gift cards to Lowe’s for her birthday.
• BoyGeeding received a fishing pole from a neighbor friend yesterday.  Looks like we will be going fishing this spring and summer.

• After 2 nights in the hospital, Keith is home!
• The first night was pretty rough.  Per Keith’s request, the catheter was removed during surgery so that he would not feel the pain when it was removed.  At 2:00 in the morning a catheter had to be inserted because he was having such a hard time urinating.  Keith stood at the toilet for an hour with the urge to urinate, but it just never came.  The nurse had trouble inserting it so the charge nurse was called.  It was finally inserted after a couple of tries.
• The next day was spent sleeping to catch up from the night before.  He talked a little bit in his sleep.  One thing I remember him saying was that he gets the capitals of Oklahoma and Nebraska mixed up.
• As much as Keith did not want to inconvenience anyone I called my mom that morning to help me.  She took DaughterGeeding and BoyGeeding to Geeding Manor so that I could be with Keith all day and help him.  Thank you, Mom!
• That night he asked that I stay with him in case it was another bad night.  I went home to get a few things and check on everyone.  To be safe, I asked for hospital security to walk me to my car.  She seemed very perturbed to leave whatever she was doing to help me.  She didn’t even walk me all the way to my car, just watched from the door!  Granted, it wasn’t that big of a parking lot.
• That night went much smoother, but still a lot of nurses in and out of the room.  Right when I would fall back asleep another person would come in to do something.  The catheter was removed during the day so he did get up a few times during the night to use the restroom.
• Keith would not be discharged until his pain was under control and he passed gas.  I don’t know how many times a nurse would ask, “Have you passed rectal gas?”  This is quite comical if you know Keith because he does not have any problem passing gas!
• The doctor that performed the surgery saw Keith this morning and asked Keith how he felt about going home.  With a tired smile on his face he said, “I want to go home.”  We were out of there by 11:00.
• Instead of DogGeedingII greeting Keith with a wagging tail he barked and growled at the old man using a walker.
• Our experience with the hospital staff was not that great.  The day of the surgery everyone was very friendly, introduced themselves, and explained what was going to happen.  Once they moved Keith up to his own room the nurses were either spacey, inattentive, annoyed to be there, or not as professional as other nurses that we have experienced at other hospitals.
• Keith’s pain has been as high as an 8 and as low as a 4.  I have set my alarm to go off every 6 hours to give him his medicines.
• Typical Keith–When we arrived at the hospital and were waiting in the hospital Keith pulled out a bag of magazines, powdered donuts, and other snacks for me.  He wanted to make sure that I was taken care of.  Always putting the needs of others above himself.
• Sorry there aren’t any pictures.  I forgot how to post them.

First of all I want to thank all of you for your thoughts and prayers while Keith was in surgery.  Thank you also to those who called, texted, or made a comment on his blog regarding his surgery.

I’m not sure how much personal information Keith wants me to share with you so I’ll leave that to him when he returns to blogging.  The surgery went very well and he was up walking by 2:00.  He is in pain, but does have that morphine button to push every 10 minutes along with other medication they are giving him.

As much as he wanted to come home tonight, he is spending the night at the hospital and will probably come home tomorrow.  Not sure when he will be up for blogging so maybe if you’re lucky I’ll post some Bag of Randomness!