I hadn't realized that it had been so long since I posted anything. You are probably wondering if we are still alive!

Bill had his bone scan Monday and it showed nothing wrong with the bones in his right leg. The dr. did say that he could see that something had occurred but was recovering. Other than that he couldn't see anything. His blood numbers have all been good so there isn't any infection anymore and the appointment with the infectious disease doctor has been cancelled.

He's been walking some without his walker and his leg has not given him any problems. He's been told we can't go home until he is much stronger and walking without the walker more. So, he's been trying.

Tuesday we drove to St. Augustine. Took the scenic route down that goes along the coast and then crossed the river and came back by the highway. All of the roads in Florida are so nice and most of the major ones divided.

Don and Shirley came Wednesday to spend Thanksgiving with us. We had a nice dinner and a good visit. They had to leave Friday so we went out to eat Friday morning at the beach and then walked on the pier for a little while before coming home.

Yesterday we went to the fitness center and Bill worked on the bicycle for a little while and then came back and did nothing. I did get Skype set up on my computer and got to see the grandkids last night. Also talked to Phillis even though she couldn't get her video to work.

Today we plan on going north for an hour. Since they have told us we could go that far we're just going to drive for an hour and see where we get and then come home. Aah, such is the life! I really need to do laundry and mop the floors, but that can wait until another day!

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. We are truly blessed this year and have so much to be thankful for. I'm so thankful for all of our friends and family who are supporting us through this "valley work" as Mom put it. You've made the journey easier to navigate.

This week has gone really fast and has had some progress made. Bill had rehab on Monday and things went well. He's still not able to use a lot of the equipment because of his leg and foot, but he's putting in lots of time on the bicycle and the weights.

Tuesday we went to Jacksonville Beach and walked on the pier. They have a fishing pier that is almost a 1/4 of a mile long and we walked to the middle of it. Sat and watched the fishermen for awhile and also watched the surfers. It was a pretty day but the breeze on the water was pretty cool. He did really well considering it was not an easy walk with the walker.

Wednesday he didn't feel well when we got up so he didn't go to rehab. But he saw Tina and Dr. Yip and got good reports from both of them. His labs were good and it looks like we're on track to get home by Christmas. It depends more on his leg now than anything. We told Dr. Yip we were having trouble finding someone to install a switch to deactivate the airbags in the car and he said he can now ride in the front seat and not to worry about the airbag. He said it was mainly because his breast bone was healing and wouldn't be able to protect the pump. But, it has healed enough now that it would be more dangerous not to have the airbag. We also asked how far we can venture out and as long as we stay within an hours drive we're good. So, we're going to try to see some of the area now just to break the routine.

Today was rehab and we also saw the physical medicine and rehabilitation dr. about his leg. The area that had gotten so red before and caused all of the problems is now peeling, which is a new symptom. It's also still very tender. The dr. took more xrays but he's inclined to agree with the neuro guys that it may have been an infection. The bone scan is Monday and Dr. McCullom wanted to see what the xrays and scan showed before making a definite decision. He would prefer to do an MRI and nerve conduction tests, but he can't have either of those.

It was a long day today, even though we were able to come home in between rehab and the dr. but we didn't get home until almost 6. By the time I got supper fixed and his dressing changed we were both tired. Bill has already gone to bed and I may not be far behind him.

So, that's been our week in a nutshell. Don and Shirley will be here Wednesday for Thanksgiving. We don't have a lot planned but for those of you who know us well, we're such party animals!

Hopefully we'll know something about the leg by Wednesday when we see Dr. Yamani and Tina and get a better timeline for coming home, even if we have to come back. Bill is determined to be home for Christmas!

All for tonight! Have a good week-end!

Again a few days of not much happening. Got a good report from Dr. Hosenpud Wednesday. Pump speed adjusted again since there is a software glitch at the speed it had been set to. The numbers were jumping all over the place and it was updating the readings every minute so there was no history. Also took him off another medication.

Rehab has gone well this week although he was really worn out yesterday and his leg was really hurting him. It's hurting now where it was numb before so Dr. Hosenpud thinks that it is recovering from the damage during the surgery. He has not had a problem with his calf and foot for a few days even though it is staying swollen most of the time. The bone scan is scheduled right before Thanksgiving so we will know something before long.

His drive line site was getting irritated this week so we had to change the way the line is laying. He also can't wear a belt anymore unless he wears his pants at his hips instead of his waist. To him that is extremely uncomfortable. He also can't wear his holster belt because of the way it lays on the drive line. So, he's back to wearing the vest that doesn't fit well. The batteries also don't stay stable so they move a lot which throws off his balance. Hopefully when the drive line heals completely and the wound closes he will be able to wear the belt again since the drive line will have a little more play in it.

We've not done anything today except watch movies. I don't think we watched an entire movie at any one time. It seems like we turned to each one in the middle of it. Do you think we are getting bored?

Hopefullly it will be warmer tomorrow and we can walk some. We did take a long walk Thursday and he did fine. Walked about 15 minutes around one of the blocks here and he wasn't winded at all when we got back.

All for tonight. Have a great night.

Y'all are probably wondering where I have been. Sorry I haven't posted anything for so long. Things go in spurts now and some days nothing happens. I don't think anyone really wants to know how many loads of laundry I've done. Anyway, a few things have happened.

Don and Shirley left Saturday morning and Bill and I took a walk and found how to get into the fitness center. Most of the machines there are for weight training but they did have a recumbant bicycle he could ride and he rode for about 5 minutes. With the 5 minute walk to the center and the 5 minute walk back he got a pretty good workout. Didn't do much of anything else the rest of the day.

Sunday wasn't quite as good a day. He slid off the bed while he was trying to record his pump readings. His right foot and leg would not work properly at all for most of the day and he fell once in the kitchen when he was in the middle of a step. Didn't hurt himself but is really getting discouraged that they have not found out what is wrong with the leg yet.

Monday at rehab he was told to use his walker all the time until they know what is going on with the leg. He was doing pretty good following those orders until this evening.

We haven't done much today. I did do laundry and 2 sets of books. We had to buy a new printer so made a trip to Walmart. We walked around there for about 20 minutes and then took the long way home. It was a beautiful day so we enjoyed the day.

Bill has gotten a little dehydrated today. He's still under his limit and doesn't want to drink anymore. But if he doesn't he'll have trouble walking tomorrow. I've noticed that when he is dry his pump numbers are low. Tina had told us that was why the numbers were off. He also gets dizzy and that's when he starts stumbling. But, stubborn man that he is doesn't believe me, or chooses not to believe me to keep some control over the situation. I know it is frustrating for him to have someone telling him what to do for every little thing, but if I didn't he wouldn't drink anything all day and then wonder why he didn't feel good.

Tomorrow we see Tina and Dr. Hosenpud. Bill wants them to say definitely that we will get to go home for Christmas. I told him today that if he forces them to make the decision right now the answer will be "no". He's definitely not ready to go home physically. I just don't know what it will take to get him to understand that.

Other than this, it has been a quiet few days. We've watched movies and tv and not much else. Will let everyone know what happens at the dr. tomorrow.

As usual steps backward instead of forward today. Bill's right foot has not been behaving itself at all today. He just about fell in the bedroom this morning and again in the kitchen. Luckily I was standing behind him and caught him as he found the fridge.

He didn't do much in rehab today. They had a class on blood pressure and did very little exercise but he did have Debbie look at his leg again and she was going to talk to Tina. We also saw Tina and she didn't adjust his pump speed because I told her that the numbers were all over the place again this morning.

He did much better at home this afternoon, but was told to use his walker or make sure someone was walking with him. We went out to eat again this evening and he did fine going into the restaurant but his leg really went crazy as we were leaving and he just about fell twice more even using the walker. Once I was able to grab his arm to steady him and the other time he fell backwards into me. I've learned to just stiffen up so that I don't also fall. This is really getting worrisome to both of us.

Other than this we've had a good visit with Don and Shirley. Went to eat on the beach last night. Didn't see anything of the beach of ocean but the restaurant is really nice. We don't have any plans at all for the week-end
other than just getting better. We'll know more Monday after therapy and talking to Tina again.

Have a good week-end!

Got a good report today at the dr. Tina took out the stitch that was holding the drive line in place even though the wound has not completely sealed around the drive line. She said it will eventually close, just takes time. Now it will be much easier to clean and dress.

Dr. Yip adjusted his Coumadin because his blood was a little thick and then made some adjustments to the pump. Bill is still staying a little dehydrated and he's having some "suction issues". The way he described it is: there is a line that goes into the ventricle of his heart that pulls the blood in for the pump to push through his heart. Sometimes, such as when he is a little dehydrated in his veins, the line gets pushed against the wall of the ventricle and the blood can't get pulled in. He said it's kind of like when the curtains get sucked into a vacuum cleaner. Then once it's cleared out it starts working right again. So, since he had been having several issues of this (and he can't feel when this happens nor has he had any alarms) they lowered the pump speed to see if that helps. He has to have his history read Friday after rehab to see if this has helped. He was also told to drink, drink, drink even though he doesn't want to!

He's only using his walker when we are out in public as a precaution. Around the house and walking in the complex he's not using it. I do hold his arm when we are walking outside but in the house he's doing quite well.

Dr. Yip also said that it is still very possible that we can go home for Christmas. It all depends on how strong Bill gets between now and then. He also said they need some lead time to get everyone at home trained on how to respond to any emergencies.

All in all a good day. We've made a trip to Walmart this evening and ate at McDonalds. Don and Shirley come tomorrow for the week-end and we are looking forward to seeing them.

Probably won't have an update tomorrow unless something happens. But I will let you know how it goes Friday after rehab and the history download. Hope everyone has a great evening!

Not much has happened the past few days. This stage of recovery is very boring!

Bill had rehab yesterday and did well with it. We also walked some in the afternoon. Carrying all the weight of the batteries and the system controller (the part that is connected to his heart) is tiring. The batteries each weigh 2 1/2 pounds and he wears 2 of them all the time. The controller also weighs about that much and getting the weight distributed is the tough part. He has a vest he can wear but the batteries put all the weight on his shoulders. The controller always sits at his waist. He has a utility belt that he's been wearing that is better. The batteries sit in holsters on each side like a gun belt.

Didn't do much today. Or I should qualify that as Bill didn't do much today. We took the car in to get a recall taken care of and then came home, paid bills and I mopped the kitchen and bathroom and did laundry. We took a walk and then dressing change, supper, cleaned up the kitchen and I'm pooped! Bill did pair up socks for me.

Tomorrow is a longer day. No rehab because of a scheduling conflict but labs and then the nurse and dr. Hopefully Tina will take out the last stitch around his drive line.

Thursday Don and Shirley are coming for a couple of days. It will be nice to see them again. We've spent more time together this past year than we have since we've been married!

All for tonight. Bill's already gone to bed and I'm off to join him. Goodnight everyone!