Grandpa

 

No, this is not my grandpa--unfortunately all of my grandparents passed away when I was young.  But this man was kind of like a grandpa to me.

My best friend, CJ and I have been friends since she was born.  She has been like a sister, her parents like my parents, and her grandpa like my grandpa. 

My fondest memories of him were trick-or-treating at his house.  He would run around the kitchen filling our bags with apples, double-mint gum, quarters, and anything else he could find to keep us there longer.  He always seemed so happy to see us and made us feel like we were special.

Ironically, I went to Grandpa Sherbahn's funeral viewing on Halloween. The best memories of him were being shared at the time of year that I remember him best.  He was 94 years old.

For 92 years of his life, Grandpa Sherbahn lived a vibrant life as an auctioneer, Angus supporter, State Fair Director, WWII vet and many other amazing roles.  He was a special man who touched many people and he will be missed.

I am sorry that I wasn't able to attend his funeral service, so I will pay tribute to him now.  I was glad to have known him, and look forward to sharing fond memories of him with CJ and our families for years to come.

A frustrated Blogger. A happy scrapper!

Well, I haven't posted in a while because I have had trouble posting pictures and other various computer failures.  I am a third year teacher and I am currently on my third classroom computer!  Uggg--I think I have a black thumb when it comes to technology.  Anyway, although I was reluctant to post anymore without pictures, I had a blogging request :) So, here it goes. . .

This past weekend was fall break from school--yippee!  I had been looking forward to this for weeks, not only because I wanted a day off, but because I had plans to attend a 24-hour scrapbooking retreat called "Croptoberfest."

On Friday, my best friend CJ (whose grandfather had passed away that morning--more about him later) and I left around 5 and drove an hour to this retreat.  We moved in at least 6 big boxes/ bags of materials--including our awesome Cricuts (more about them later, too, I'm sure).  We were in the basement of a woman we had never met before and we totally covered her ping-pong table with scrapbooking wonderment!

We ate pizza, got to know the other women around us, and scrapped all night!  At 4:00 am I finally took a nap for two hours--woke up at 6 am and continued on until around 2:30 in the afternoon when we organized our stuff and headed home!  When I got home, I kept scrapbooking as I added titles to some of the pages.

I made a scrapbook for supper club, a scrapbook of JohnDeere's broken head, and many other wonderful creations!  It was soooooo much fun!!! 

Scrapbooking is so important to me because I love family history.  I wish that my parents or grandparents had scrapbooks of when they were younger so I could see what they were like, not just know their names.  I think I may have convinced my mother to let me scrapbook her life--she doesn't think it's very exciting, but I do--I had to promise her I wouldn't show it to anyone: I will lock it up in a safe until she dies, but then I will show it to everybody!  (Sorry, mom!)

Note: I have been scrapbooking for 10 years, and I have 10 books.  If I live to be 80 and I keep up this pace, I will have over 70 scrapbooks!  Isn't that crazy?  What will happen when I have kids?  I will have to build a bigger house--not for them, but for all their scrapbooks!

Finally going home

Regular Room/ Home Wednesday

            I met JohnDeere around 7:00 again and he said he had slept better.  I went down and got breakfast to go because I didn’t want to miss anything that was said.  Soon I met a nurse, Sherry, who said he couldn’t go home until his pain was controlled.  She and I had a come-to-Jesus meeting: I said “If he’s here where it is obnoxiously loud, people bother him every ten minutes, and it takes ½ an hour for him to get medicine, his pain won’t be controlled.  I don’t want him to leave before he’s ready, but if all he needs is rest–he can’t get that here.”

            She said, “I agree with you, but with a head injury we like to watch them closely for a while.”

            “I was told that would be 72 hours and that was mid-night!”

            “Oh. . .ok. . .”

            We ate breakfast together then Dr. Young and a trauma doctor both came in and said he could go.  He slept well through the morning.  At lunch, he ate while I went to the cafeteria for one last time.  I took some things to the car–and with a thankful heart, I turned in my room key and paid my $60.00 bill (for my 3-night stay).

            Later, while he was sleeping, I got a little anxious, so I went to ask the nurse if there was a checklist he had to complete and what was left for him to do before going home.  She said there was a checklist and he was finished with it!  All she had to do was type up his discharge papers–she guessed it would be around 2:00 before she was finished.

            She said that when he woke up, she would unplug his IV and he could get dressed.  This happened around 1:00 and I was so excited to see him out of the gown and in his sexy shirt–which I brought him on purpose.  He went back to rest–a volunteer brought him some cards–the nurse gave us some instructions–he signed some papers and I went to get the car as a volunteer pushed him to the front door–it was 3:40 p.m.

            The sunlight seemed to bother him as he waited for me, but he laid his seat back and settled in as I battled school bus traffic on State Street.  I stopped at CVS because he needed more pain meds.  He also asked for some sun glasses and a Mountain Dew.  I got him all fixed up and we made it home around 5:00 p.m.  He went straight to the recliner and settled in.

            Before too long, Heidi and Randy stopped by to say “good bye” before going back to Indianapolis for work tomorrow.  Heidi volunteered to come back next week to take him to his first appointment.  Then Dan Peters, Mr. Painter’ best man and JohnDeere’s fellow tailgate rider, stopped by.  He said that Andrew hadn’t been driving recklessly, but maybe a little faster at the turn then he should have.  Dan was able to grab the tailgate strap as he watched JohnDeere slide to the edge, grab for the corner of the bed, and then fall–landing first on his lower back, bouncing back up (still conscious), and then landing on his head and going limp.  I was glad to hear the story from his point of view.  He felt guilty for not being able to do anything, but we were just glad he hadn’t fallen also.

            When Dan left, I took my socks off, put on some pajama pants and fell asleep on the couch.  I was awakened by my mom who had brought us supper: Johnny Marzetti casserole, garlic bread, and brownies.  She talked to JohnDeere a minute while I baked the casserole and put away the dishes she had washed for me.

            JohnDeere and I ate, then fell back asleep–until about midnight when we went upstairs to bed.  JohnDeere had a difficult time getting comfortable as he went from chair to bed to chair to couch and back to the bed, but we both slept in and even though we were awake several times during the night, I felt more rested than I had at the hospital.  It was so nice to be home.

Regular Room--Tuesday

Regular Room–Tuesday

            When I finished getting ready I was still a little early (they said breakfast was served around 7-7:30 and I wanted to eat with him–or I at least knew he would be awake then), so I called Mom and let her know everything was okay.

            I headed over around 6:45 and he was still sleeping when I got there, so I tried to sit by his bed and take a nap.  I was fairly awake, though, and my chair made a loud squeaking every time I moved.  So, at 7:10 I left him a note that I was going to eat breakfast (I had bacon, tator tots, and a yogurt parfait).  When I got back he was still sleeping and hadn’t had breakfast yet.  Before long a woman came to check on his roommate–she flipped on the lights and spoke to the man like he was deaf–her volume hurt my head and I could tell by the pained expression on JohnDeere’s face that he couldn’t stand it either–I finally stuck my head through the curtain an asked her to lower her voice.  I would have thought someone who worked at the hospital would have been more aware of other patients–but, the neighbor’s nurse was loud, too.  I was getting frustrated.

            Breakfast came and JohnDeere ate ½ piece of toast, a strip of bacon and all of his eggs.  Then he went back to sleep and I wrote.  I was worried I would forget some things, but so far I think I’ve done okay.

            Soon, Tom, Emily, and Alex came to visit.  And, not long after they left, Grandma and Grandpa stopped by.  Grandpa had an appointment for his pacemaker, so they were in town.  We chatted in the waiting area while JohnDeere slept.  Grandma told me about Emily’s troubles she had had with pregnancy and Grandpa talked to some woman about the medical helicopters.  She said her son was training to be an air medic–you have to have at least five years of ER experience before you can work in the Samaritan.  They went in to say good-bye and I stayed in the waiting room.  After a few minutes, Grandpa came out and motioned for me to get up.  “They’ve got him up,” he said as I saw an IV pole followed by JohnDeere and the therapist coming out of the room.  I followed as he walked all around the nurses stations in our wing of the hospital.  He walked pretty quickly and without holding on to anything–I was surprised.  He didn’t seem weak or dizzy at all.

            They had him sit up in his chair when he returned from walking, and he stayed sitting up to eat his spaghetti for lunch.  Soon after he was finished, he went to the bathroom and cleaned up some.  Then he took some medicine and went back to sleep.

            This seemed like a good time for my lunch and as I headed out to the lounge I met up with My mother-in-law, Mater, Heidi, and Randy.  We all had lunch together, then My mother-in-law and Mater had to leave for work.

            I visited with Heidi and Randy for a while.  In the meantime JohnDeere met with a speech therapist who gave him some cognitive tests.  Then, because I knew there would be visitors in the evening, I went back to English Hall to take a nap–it was about 3:45.

            I got back around 5, checked on JohnDeere, and sat with him while he ate his cheeseburger that I had special ordered for him.  Then Randy and I went to eat dinner while Heidi stayed with him.  While we were eating, a woman from the hospital called asking me about who was driving so they could inform our insurance of any “third party liability.” I lied and told her I didn’t know who it was, so I would have more time to think about it.  The idea of our insurance “going after” Andrew didn’t seem fair–I was so distraught over this that I could hardly finish my Panini.

            Right away, Randy and I went to talk to this woman in person.  I told her, “I know I may not be the one who makes these decisions, but my husband decided to sit on the tailgate of a pick-up.  If he had decided to sit in the front seat we wouldn’t be hurt.  I don’t think the driver is any more at fault than my husband–so I do not wish to pursue his insurance.”  She said, “Ok, I will note that in your file,” and I was relieved.  Then, another woman in the office, who had been listening in asked “Who’s your insurance company?”  “Anthem,” I replied. 

“Ok, just to let you know, they are notorious for saying they won’t pay if they think someone else is at fault.”

“Oh, they’ll pay–I’ll do whatever I have to make sure that happens.”

            Later, I realized that Randy had used his fancy cell phone to record the whole conversation and he said he was proud of the way I said I’d deal with Anthem later. 

            Still slightly riled up, I headed back to the lounge and prepared for lots of visitors: Heather Hannan, a friend from college, came to sit with me.  Then Kyle brought Irene (the exchange student who had lived with Sherbahn’s and was visiting from Ukraine for CJ’s wedding), Chris and Martha Trier came, JohnDeere and Mindi Landrigan, and Bill and Priscilla showed up later.  It was nice to see so much support especially from Chris and Martha.  A few year’s ago, Martha’s brother, Daniel Bolinger, fell on some ice, his head, and stayed in the same section of the neuro ICU that JohnDeere was in.  At Christmastime her family had to decided to take him off of life support.  I know it was difficult for her to be there, but her personal understanding was very comforting.

            My in-laws came later and visited a little with everyone.  Our visitors cleared out, My in-laws checked in on him.  I filled them in on what happened that day and informed them the we would hopefully be going home the next day.

            They saw me off the English Hall and told me that since we were planning on coming home the next day, no one was planning on coming up–but they would meet me at home.

            I took a shower and went to sleep with far fewer worries than the night before.  I was ready to go home–it had been a grouchy day for me.

Regular Room--Monday

Regular Room–Monday afternoon

            I knew a regular room would mean a higher patient/nurse ratio, but I never imagined that it would be so bright and loud; I forgot about the possibility of a roommate, and boy, did JohnDeere get a doosey or what!?!

            The man was a loud talker and complained about everything.  To top it all off, there were about five other people in the room.  I knew this wouldn’t be a good place for him to rest, and the nurse I trusted, even though she was bossy, just plopped him in the bed and left–without showing us where his call button was or plugging in his compression socks.

            Once he was settled (acutally I can’t remember for sure–it might have been between lunch and when he was moved, but it doesn’t really matter), Heide took me home to get clean clothes for me and something for him to wear on the way home (which hopefully would be Wednesday).  They had told me they usually kept someone 72 hours (11:59 Tuesday), but if they had a set-back the 72 hours would start all over again.  Anyway, it was nice to get out of the hospital and breathe some fresh air.  It was good to see home and I was so glad I had straightened things up the week prior.  That was one stress I really didn’t need right then.

            When I got back, I checked in on him.  It was then that I learned the story of his roommate.  His wife told me he was a farmer south on state road 13 near Somerset.  He had been driving a loaded grain semi when had come up behind another farmer pulling a gravity wagon behind his tractor.  As most of us would, he passed the tractor.  Just as he was passing, the man driving the tractor decided to turn left.  That is when they collided and JohnDeere’s roommate’s semi load crushed in behind him as he split the tractor in half.  The bizarre thing about this accident story is that just before JohnDeere left the ICU, a whole bunch of people (who because of their rural attire Heidi claimed looked like friends of JohnDeere’s--only younger) filled the lounge.  It turns out they were there for the young man who was driving the tractor.  We heard one of them talking that when he got to his friend, the engine block–of the semi–had split and fell on the young man.  He was crushed and covered in oil–it was even running in his mouth. The friend turned him over to drain the oil.

            So, now we knew that the young man who was covered in oil and being kept in a drug-induced coma was there because of what had happened with JohnDeere’s complaining-femur-fractured roommate.  What a strange coincidence.

            Next I was readied for supper with Jewel and Brad.  As we gathered our stuff for the trek down to dinner I recognized the Juillerat’s pastor, Bud, and his wife heading toward the elevator.  At first I thought it was another amazing coincidence that they were visiting the same floor of the hospital that we were on, then I realized that they had come to visit JohnDeere.  Pastor Bud greeted me with a warm hug and his wife said a prayer as we all held hands.They left and I went to eat.  I don’t think there was much more excitement that evening: the family all left and I went back for a second night at English Hall–and my first night alone with JohnDeere at the hospital.  But, I was confident that he would be ok–and comforted by the phone in my room–a direct link to him.  I slept really well, but decided to keep my normal routine and set my alarm for 6 a.m.

STICU Day 2

Neuro STICU Day #2

            I woke up around 4:45 and I was worried about him, so I used the phone in my room to call the nurses station.  They said he had had a lot of pain during the night, but was not doing a very good job of pushing the button and letting them know.  The nurse said that whenever she saw him tossing and turning she would go in and ask him if he needed medicine.  She was frustrated with himtrying to be a tough guy.  I explained to her that he wasn’t just trying to avoid help–he’s just a “non-complainer.”  I know that in the past he’s had a sore knee or finger or something for three weeks before he says anything–his philosophy is usually “don’t complain if there is nothing you can do about it,” which he always used against me since I am a constant complainer.

            Anyway, she told me he was going for his 3^rd CT scan soon, and that if I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss the doctor, I should probably be there around 6 a.m.  So, I decided to get dressed and head over there right away.

            When I arrived, he confirmed that he hadn’t slept well.  He also told me that the had gone for a CT scan, and he had eaten some toast–so far he had kept it down.  I went out to sit with My mother-in-law and wait for a doctor to read the scan.  I took a nap in a chair.  The doctors made their rounds between 7 and 9:30, so I expected to be called back during that time, but I wasn’t.  As soon as 9:30 hut and visitors were allowed back, I went and checked him.  He was awake and talking some more.  He said that the doctor didn’t comment much on his CT scan, but ordered an MRI, for a 3D view.  If that looked good, they would send him out of ICU and on to a regular room.  I was comforted by this move because I knew it meant he was doing better, but I was also worried that he wouldn’t have as much attention in a regular room.

            When I went to report to My mother-in-law, Heidi and Randy, Jewel and Brad, and Mater had arrived.  I gave them a report, we chatted, and then we decided to go to the cafeteria for lunch.  Heidi went with me to tell JohnDeere we were going downstairs.  His lunch was waiting for him, so I helped him cut his steak–he had kept down his toast from breakfast, and I was hoping these few bites of steak would be ok.

            After lunch we waited for a room to become available.  Jewel and Heidi visited him, then I went in as he stood up (for the first time), was lowered into his wheelchair, and we all paraded with him to the fifth floor continuing care unit.  I went with him as he was settled into room 1524–Bed #2..

STICU Day 1

The STICU (Surgical and Trauma Intensive Care Unit) Day #1

            I don’t really remember what we did while we were waiting for them to get him settled in, but I do remember lots of people sitting around trying to sleep in their chairs and I wondered why so many guests would be spending the night.  Soon, after talking to Shawn, the night nurse, I realized that family was not allowed to stay with a patient in the ICU.

            At about 3:00 a.m. was when we finally called back and asked to see him–we realized later they were not very good about notifying us when they said they would.  Anyway, he seemed to be resting well.  Shawn–a dark haired guy with earrings and a sports smock asked about medical history.  He also informed us that we could call and come back to visit anytime buy only two at a time and only for a few minutes at a time.  He also said a CT scan was ordered for later in the morning and that a doctor would be around in the afternoon to read it–but he could tell us earlier if there were any changes.  That made me feel good because I felt like I would have answers soon.

            At 3:30 a.m., My mother-in-law and I headed back to the lounge.  I grabbed a sheet and pillow, sat down by a fish tank, Mom pushed another chair up to build me a bed, and I settled in.  It was hot, bright as day, and I was worried, but I slept a little.  At 5:30 I woke up to go to the bathroom and an empty feeling in my stomach kept me from falling back asleep.  I noticed My father-in-law was also awake, so we soon went to check on JohnDeere and then on to the cafeteria for breakfast.  I couldn’t tell if I was hungry or nauseous–and nothing sounded good, but I ate an omelet anyway.  JohnDeere had Jello for breakfast in his room.

            We rested some, then I went to talk to him.  He asked me what happened.  All he remembered was sliding on the tailgate and then waking up in ICU on Sunday morning.  I explained how “The Great” had helped him and the helicopter had flown him here. 

“You know you’re in Fort Wayne, right?”

“Well, yeah (with a smart aleck tone). They took me for some kind of scan, do they know what’s wrong with me yet?”

While I was eating he had had his second CT scan. I explained to him that he had a fractured skull and he would have to be there a couple of days.  “Shit” was his one word response.

            I headed back out to relax and began to write my lesson plans.  Fortunately I had my laptop, planner, and a good idea of what needed to be done, so I pretty easily cranked out a weekly instruction manual.

            Then the family started showing up–first Aunt and cousin (after a morning of youth hunting), then Grandma and Grandpa (who, because of Grandpa’s pacemaker have been here often).

            [Later in the day: His doctor, who was supposed to read the CT scan around noon was not very timely.  My mom forced me to go eat lunch around 1:00 p.m. and then I finally go to talk with Dr. Kachman.]

            At around 11:00 a.m. I got a text from CJ– they had already left the reception when the accident happened and I thought that everyone had agreed not to tell them about it until they got back from their honeymoon, but Mr. Painter’ parents, Dennis and Peggy, had).  I was upset that they would have to worry about this while they were supposed to be having a romantic trip, but they assured me they were glad to know now rather than later.  They went in to visit with him and he asked them when they were leaving on their trip.  That’s when things got a little messy. . .he got the “I’m going to puke”-look on his face.  Mr. Painter yelled for CJ to grab a trashcan–she found one and as she was brining it up, JohnDeere’s vomit-filled broken head was coming down.  This fiasco was mostly successful except he puked on her hand and she gave him a fat lip.  This was actually his most gruesome superficial injury.

            It was actually after the CJ/Mr. Painter projectile vomit that I talked with Dr. Kachman.  He said that the CT scan showed no change and according to him JohnDeere could be moved to a regular room.  He said, “These results make me happy, and if I’m happy you should be very happy.”  He was wearing a tan suit jacket and a tie with hippy flowers on it–this suited his white-haired persona much better than the leather jacket he donned in the ER!

            I was very happy with this news, but the nurse quickly brought me back down to Earth. She said that doctor Kachman really had no say in when JohnDeere moved because he is actually a Another hospital doctor.  He had ordered another CT scan (#3) for the morning–Then a The hospital doctor would review it and make a recommendation.  I was not excited to wait another day, but she assured me that these doctors would come earlier in the morning so they planned to have his scan done by 7:00 a.m. so everything would be good to go as soon as possible.  I left him to rest for a while.

            Back in the lounge, Pastor Bill and Priscilla Wood had come to visit.  We talked a while and they gave us a card and a church bulletin.  Then My in-laws decided to go home to get cleaned up.  Soon after they left, Dave and Beth Metzger stopped by.  They didn’t go back to visit JohnDeere, but they did pray with Mom and I.

            When they left I went back in to check on him.  The nurse came in to remove his IV that they had given him “in the field” because he had complained about it hurting.  To JohnDeere’s unpleasant surprise, the 1 ½ inch wide tape being ripped from around his arm was one of the most shocking pains.  Then she un-bandaged his right elbow and cleaned out the cut.  This also got an ouchy response.  She gave him some pain meds, and I went back to the lounge.

            Soon we met up with Dan and Eileen Ransbottom.  They actually heard about the fall from a Mrs. Beery.  Her son, who lives in Missouri, had read about it on Heather’s Facebook page.  He called and told his mom who called and asked Dan and Eileen what they knew about the Wise boy’s accident.  It was news to them.  All Eileen could talk about was how handsome JohnDeere had been a few weeks ago at the church’s 125^th Anniversary celebration.  When they went into see him, she kissed him.

            Later that evening, My father-in-law and I checked in on him and he threw up a second time.  The nurse had given him anti-nausea medicine, but it wasn’t helping because it wasn’t his stomach that was making him sick, it was his head.  I was very worried about the fact he couldn’t keep anything down.  And he was feeling very hungry.

            Late that evening (or at least it seemed late) “The Great” and Kyle, Vester and Mouth came to visit.  I told them about him puking on CJ and we looked at Facebook pictures of the wedding.  It was very difficult to look at all the fun things that happened just hours before our shock–the handsome pictures of him in a tux represented an old JohnDeere and an old life that I wasn’t quite sure I would have back yet.  And pictures in the parking lot made my heart sick.

            Soon after everyone left, I found a few sheets and pillows.  I set out for a loveseat–covered my eyes and ears with a sheet, and tried to get my legs situated on the three-foot sofa.  I successfully managed to block out the light and most of the noise when I heard My mother-in-law talking to a family and admitted to myself that I had to go to the bathroom.

            As I headed that direction, I stopped to talk with My mother-in-law and the family.  I soon understood that they were the parents of the young man who was in an accident at Grace College. He had been walking with a young lady who was a freshman volleyball player at Grace.  They stopped to sit on a hammock, which, unbeknownst to them was fastened to a rotten tree.  The tree snapped and landed on the couple.  The girl was killed and the young man was moved to the trauma ICU.  That was a week ago.  His family seemed in good spirits and they were thanking God for all the progress he was making.  They told us he had to have bonds from his pelvis to make some new vertebrae for his neck.  He was on a ventilator, and paralyzed from the waist down.  They told us that they had travelled from Iowa to be here and that their son would have to be in ICU for three more weeks and then to a rehabilitation hospital for a while after that.  They were a wonderfully nice family and since that accident was close to home, and Chellie knew the young lady from sports (she was from Wabash), I was interested to hear their story.

            When we were finished talking with them, I complained to my mother-in-law about being hot (she and I share an aversion to temperatures over seventy degrees) and then I tried to settle in.

            Meanwhile, My mother-in-law spoke with Grandma who suggested I stay at the school of nursing.  She told My mother-in-law that it was just right across the street, it costs only a few dollars a night, and she stays there any time that Grandpa has heart stuff.  My mother-in-law presented the idea to me and said that she would stay in the lounge.  I was reluctant to stay by myself in a strange place, but I knew my stinky feet could use a shower, and my must-have-8-hours-of-sleep-a- night body was running on fumes.  Company and adrenaline had kept me going through Sunday, but Monday would be a different story.  I gathered my clothes and make-up and we headed for the front desk where they had a key waiting for me.  AS the woman explained the room/accommodations to me and gathered up some toiletries, I began to cry.

            This is really the first time I had had a chance to cry, and as I let my fatigue escape my body, and the relief of a potential good-night’s sleep replaced it–tears just silently slid down my cheeks.  A security officer picked me up and showed me to my room.  As I set my things down and started pulling bobby pins out of my wedding hair-do, sobs came for a different reason.  I shook with fear and said out loud: “God, please make him ok.”  As I showered and readied for bed, the tears kept coming.

            Fortunately, I could crank the air conditioning and when my head hit the pillow, I was quickly asleep.  Even though my bed was so soft in the middle I thought it might break, and my pillow was only slightly softer than a brick, I slept–uninterrupted for almost six hours.  I was so thankful for that “full” nights sleep.

The Emergency Room

 

The Emergency Room

            There were a few things I noticed as we entered the ER.  First was that there were a lot of people back there.  When we got to his room, there were two women in there.  JohnDeere was wearing a neck brace and had several wires coming off of him to a monitor.  The room reeked of vomit as I noticed his bag of clothes, along with his boots, sitting in the corner.

            I went to his bedside when the women left, but I didn’t know what to say.  I just touched his arm and told him I was there and I loved him.

            Soon a doctor came in and told us that he had three skull fractures and that other doctors would be in to check him otherwise.  The phrase “he will probably get worse before he gets better” still rings in my head as they mentioned swelling and the possibility of having to drill a hole in his head to relieve the pressure.

            While we were waiting, I was comforted by the fact that he could horizontally spit a “loogie” into a plastic tray with normal force–it was then that I was sure he’d be ok!–or at least I was less worried.

            A trauma doctor looked him over next and said they he had no neck or spinal injuries–he had minimal scrapes–on his elbow, shoulder, and back–but as far as trauma was concerned he was ok.  Next, a neuro-surgeon would talk with us.

            The neuro-surgeon–Dr. Kachman, came to discuss his CT results with us.  He said that JohnDeere had three skull fractures, but only minor contusions and very minimal swelling.  They would be moving him to neuro-ICU and ordering a second CT scan for later in the morning.  The doctor said if it didn’t get worse, he was probably going to not need any surgery, but if he had swelling/pressure build up, that they would have to put a pressure gauge (he called it something different) into his skull–to monitor swelling and help administer medicine.  I hoped that didn’t have to happen. 

            While we waited, I could hardly stand the smell, so I reported to our friends in the waiting room often.  At one point all of our friends left and my mom came back to the room.  She says it was really hard to see big, strong JohnDeere just lying there like a blob of jelly.

            His speech was muffled and confused; he asked if he could “flip his wager” and said “Junior and Jim.”  At another point he said he “wished he could yell ‘bathroom’–why can’t I yell?”  It was then I realized he had to go to the restroom–and fearing they would give he a catheter, I informed an ER nurse.            She brought him a plastic urinal. She asked if I thought he would be more comfortable if I helped him–I told her that I wouldn’t be very comfortable. . .so My mother-in-law and I stepped out of the room.  A minute later the nurse came out claiming a false alarm–I guess he got nervous!

            His bed seemed so small and uncomfortable as the bars cut into his biceps, but it wasn’t long before he was moved to a new room and I followed him there.  The entire evening he had been fighting a neck brace, and after an adjustment from an ER nurse–and a warning from me that it was as comfortable as it could be: “Don’t move!”  He still asked the nurses, while being transported, if he had to wear that thing on his neck.  I heard them say “yes” in unison as they took him to his room and directed me to a lounge area.  They said it would take awhile to get him situated and they would let me know when he was set.

The "Oh Shit" Chapter

The “Oh Shit” Chapter (as named by Mater)

            I wasn’t three steps out the door when I had to refocus my eyes to realize that the helpless-motionless blob on the asphalt was JohnDeere.  I immediately turned around and walked back into the reception hall–I can’t stand to see things that are in pain, so I had to look away.

            As I covered my face, I sobbed (without the tears–I had sweat out all of my body fluid while dancing).  I just kept repeating “Oh my God” as I sent–“please let him be alive” prayers over and over.  Right away Chellie–and I think Jackie–came to me.  Chellie told me he was ok and supported me as my body shook.  The Jackie gave me the details:

            They had been riding in Kessie’s truck, taking the trash to the dumpster–then Dan (Jackie’s husband) and JohnDeere plopped on the tailgate to go get the leftover food.  Somehow, for some reason, JohnDeere fell off tailgate and landed on his head.  He had been passes out for a minute, but had never stopped breathing.  They had called an ambulance and “The Great” was checking him out.  I t took me a few minutes before I could go to him, and I was terrified that I would find a paralyzed vegetable surrounded by a puddle of blood, but of course I was overreacting.  When I got to him, he was moving–trying to sit up even, and talking–and fortunately the only blood was a small spot from his elbow.

            Seconds later the first responders arrived–after answering a few of their questions–someone convinced me to change out of my bridesmaid dress and prepare to go with him to the hospital.  I called my mother-in-law, Chellie called Mom, Mouth said he would get the truck home, and many other’s looked on.  After they had him strapped to the gurney was the first time I heard someone say ( I think it was Pam) that they had called the Samaritan. A moment of panic went through me as I argued “but that’s only for really seriously injured people.”  Pam responded by saying it was standard for anyone with a head injury–and that The hospital would be the best place for him.  Right away I wanted to know how I would be able to make sure he was ok if he was being taken away and I couldn’t go with him.  Pam and an EMT told me I would just have to wait and find out when I got to the hospital–of course I wasn’t comforted by that answer.

            “The Great” volunteered to drive me to the hospital and we were able to follow the ambulance out of the parking lot and as we pulled out, I asked “The Great” “What are the chances that he will be messed up for the rest of his life?”  Looking back I realize that she never really answered my question.  She told me that his eyes/ pupils were the same size (which is good), but slow to respond which could be bad.  She said he could move all of his limbs and that he was going to the best hospital so he should be okay.

            After we turned at the first intersection, the procession of ambulance, fire truck, police cars, and us all stopped.  I panicked as I saw someone get out of the fire truck, but “The Great” reassured me that they often stop so they can start an IV.  Soon we took off again.  I noticed that I was shaking involuntarily as I felt nauseous.  I also noticed that “The Great” was nervous; gripping the wheel with two hands and trying to hurry, but not speed.  I remember passing a billboard at the body shop that said “Hit a deer–we’ll fix your car and give you a turkey!”– It made us giggle!  Once we were downtown “The Great” realized she had driven all the way through Fort Wayne with the bright lights on.

            When we arrived at the hospital, she found a nice close parking spot and we rushed to the information desk.  They told us that he was not yet in the system, but that he possibly had just landed, and they would be taking him to the ER, so we went there.  Soon a short little lady greeted us, brought me JohnDeere’s keys, wallet, and phone–and told me she had already scanned his license and insurance card and that someone would come out soon to get some more information.

            While we waited for others to show up, and to get more information, we watched a hunting show with birds and wildebeest.  I was, for some reason, annoyed by it.  Soon, My mother-in-law walked in followed by My father-in-law–still in his Troxel uniform.  We gave them an update and they told us that they had been at Jerry and Jackie’s helping Eli load up his horse when I called.  They drove here so quickly that they were pulled over by a police officer just outside of Fort Wayne on US 30 near Sweetwater Sound.  They readied license and registration as the officer slowly made his way to the truck.  The officer asked “Are you having a good night?”  My father-in-law answered, “Actually, not at all–they just took my son to the hospital and I’m trying to get there.”

“Really?”

“Yes. . .”

“Go!!”  And the officer let them drive away.

            Soon after they arrived, my mom and Kyle came in, and then Vester and Kessie.  It was at this point I realized “The Great” still had her bridesmaid dress on.  The short lady came back and told me he had been vomiting–I then sat down with a man who entered employer information into a computer.  Soon someone allowed my father-in-law, My mother-in-law, and I to go back and see him.

           

Broken Head--Introduction

Through the miracle of find and replace, I was able to change names and other personal information in my Broken Head story.  I will post a new chapter each day.  Sorry, I don't really have any pictures to go along with most of the posts.

It all began with gel and hair spray–remember this as an important component of the story.

            JohnDeere and I stood up with CJ and Mr. Painter at their wedding on September 25, 2010 at Our home town United Methodist Church.  Us girls showed up at 9:00 a.m. to have our hair done.  I took my laptop to make a CD to play in the sanctuary while people were being seated, and I brought some papers to grade to keep me occupied since I was sure there would be down-time.  Of course there wasn’t any extra time because we were all talking and doing our make-up, but hey, I made an attempt.

            Around lunchtime I went to help Pam get things around.  I talked to the boys as they headed out to inspect A friend’s wrecked truck.  The night before, in the Collamar curves, after a night of partying, he ran off the road and hit a tree. 

            They came back, we ate, I made JohnDeere’s hair pretty, we went through the ceremony, stood in the receiving line (my feet hurt so badly I wanted to cry–so I begged Chellie to switch me shoes as she went through the line), finished pictures at the church, then headed to the reception hall (PAL Club, A neighboring town).

            When we arrived at the reception, we took more pictures, ate, and I gave a speech about how marriage is like a wedding cake.  I said that even though both people represent different layers of different flavors, their ultimate job is to support each other and keep it sweet!  Little did I know that I would soon eat those words–literally.

            We finished off the night drinking and dancing.  JohnDeere and I had fun as we worked up a sweat “dirty” dancing–then he was my own personal air conditioner as we slow-danced and he sweetly blew the sweat off my brow.

            Everybody seemed to leave early and we started cleaning up around 10:00 p.m.  We threw away all of the tablecloths, put up the tables and chairs, and cleaned up all the vases.  As things were finishing up–around 11:00–we’re nothing if not efficient–I was in the kitchen searching for leftover snacks.  I loaded up a coffee filter with Chex mix and headed back into the main room to see what else needed done–secretly hoping they said “nothing; you can go home.”

            As I munched and walked across the room to find someone (it seemed like no one was around) I noticed a few people walking out the big door at the other end of the building.  I passed Lydia (Mr. Painter’ niece) and I said, “Where are they going?”  She said that her dad had come in and said something about a guy falling out of a truck and they were going to see.  I asked, “They’re going somewhere/leaving–or do WE have an emergency?”  She said, “I think it’s here,” so I headed out, too.  I knew if it was at the reception it meant someone I cared about was involved.

Busy

I am pretty busy right now with school and my scrapbooking hobby.  My next scrapbook will be of John Deere's broken head--it has only taken me a year to get around to it.  Sunday I typed up the pages from my journal that I kept while he was in the hospital.  I considered putting it on here, but I have some pretty specific and personal details.  So I guess I will just have to print copies for anyone interested in reading it.

I also have spent a lot of time getting ready for the Meats Judging season.  Yes, I'm an English teacher, but I help the FFA chapter at my school with a Measts team.  People look at me pretty funny when they walk by my room after school and see giant pictures of raw meat and animal carcasses projected on the screen.  Last Saturday we had a "Meat Meeting" barbeque at my house.  It was cold and windy, but fun! We grilled steak and hung out.  I was glad to have a chance to meet many of the students' parents.

My Master's Degree has kind of taken over my free time as I am in week four of my 6th course.  Only four more to go and I will be finished--I will be a much happier person in April when I am done!

Parent teacher conferences are this week--sarcastic--yeah!  Next week I am taking my students to see a live production of Julius Caesar--then we have fall break.

Over fall break, I am going to a 24-hour scrapbooking "crop" with CJ. I can't wait!  I just got a Cricut Expression--actually it should be delivered sometime today.  I am sure it could keep us occupied for 24+ hours. 

John Deere is working harvest hours (7:30-6 weekdays and 7:30-4 on Saturday).  He now has fireman training two nights a week, so there are some days when I don't see him at all.  I miss him and worry about him working so much.  Today I said it would be nice to have a day to sleep in and do nothing--he said maybe Christmas!

 

The Story of Ricky Retardo

Doesn't he look like a winner?!

 Last spring John Deere and I got feeder calves--actually one was for us and one was for Chellie's tenth year of 4-H.  I picked Fiesty Bob--he was cute and awesome. Chellie picked another one that died three days later.  When John Deere went back to the farm to find a replacement--he brought home Ricky Retardo!  Ricky had droopy ears and a twisted body, but he was the only one left that was alive and not spoken for.  He was scared of his own shadow and would have a spaz attack any time we got near him.  He was infuriating.

Imagine this with vibrating eyes-- 1/2 a second before he flopped over!

One rainy day--not long after we released the young calves into the "feedlot" I walked out to check on them.  They were resting in the barn and I apparently scared them because they hopped up and ran outside.  Feisty Bob was smart enough to stop after a few steps--when he realized that I wouldn't hurt him.  Retardo, on the other hand, did not put his brakes on until he saw the barbed wire fence--well, it was raining, he was running on cement, and by the time he decided to stop he had built up enough momentum that he fell and slid underneath the fence.

He stood up, bewildered, and realized that he was not where he was supposed to be.  He tried walking back through the fence as I called John Deere and said "The dumb one is out!"-- he told me he would be home ASAP! 

Ok, so in the meantime I just have to keep Ricky Retardo from freaking out and running away.  I attempted to sneak up to him with a halter-he was small, so if I could just get close enough to put him in a headlock, I think we would be ok.

Well, just when I almost had him, John Deere came down the road in his noisy truck and Ricky Retardo took off!  He ran all around the barn yard and 1/2 way through the field before we finally body slammed him up against the barn, put a halter on him, and drug him back to his pen.  (Don't tell PETA).  I was sure he was going to die--his eyes vibrated in his head for the next few hours as he calmed himself down.

Fortunatley, he didn't die.  Chellie showed him at the fair where he was on his best behavior--then, so we wouldn't be stuck with a stupid 1500 pound animal, she sold him.  Unfortunately, a friend of our family bought him--they didn't realize his namesake--Good Luck!

Note:  I know many of you have heard this story before, but it seems like we can all use a good laugh every now and then!

Our little corner of the world

 I am not as devoted as Prairie Mother when it comes to posting--especially not devoted enough to post a weekly Sunday devotion, but I do want to talk about how much my church family means to me.  As a child I attended church regularly until my step-dad was upset by the church taking a female pastor.  After that we didn't go back as a family.  I went sporadically as a high school student with my friends, but never had a home church until 6 years ago. 

 When John Deere and I started dating, he took me to church--the church that his parents and grandparents have attended for years.  I loved it and have since been baptized there.  But, our church is very unique.  First of all, we only have two children-- I am the only woman at my church who is not a mother, and only one of two who is not a grandmother.  Even though we do not have any chronologically young, we are young at heart!  Our Sunday school class is currently working through a series of books aimed at teenagers and loving every minute of it!  Yesterday we covered only 1/2 of a lesson on dating!

 Pictured above is our former pastor.  He is the sweetest man--and his tell-it-like-it-is personality is priceless.  I could say that about most of our members.  I have never been part of such a "church family"-- actually in the past when people referred to their "church family" I thought it was kind of bogus--in my experience as a youth the congregation was just a bunch of people who sat near one another to listen to a sermon--this place is very different.

With such an elderly congregation--with few new members, I worry about the future of our church. But, while we are together, I will enjoy everyone of them and thank God for my church family!

Broken Head

"The Great", CJ, Meg, and Me

 Just about a year ago, my best friend, CJ got married.  John Deere and I were both in the wedding.  It was a really fun day: getting dressed up, eating lunch together, taking crazy jumping pictures, and the like.  When the reception was over CJ and her new hubby--lets call him Mr. Painter left for home and we all stayed and cleaned up.  As the reception hall cleared out of trash and people, I set out to look for John Deere in hopes that we would be heading home.  Well, I found him lying on the cement.  He had fallen out of the back of a pickup truck while they were taking trash to the dumpster.  "The Great"--our fellow bridal party member and nurse, was checking him over, others were standing around waiting around for the first responders. They transported  him in an ambulance then loaded him in a helicopter.  We found out later that he had fractured his skull from ear to ear--like a broken-head-band.

I kept a journal of his ensuing hospital stay and recovery.  It was the scariest time of my life, but I am posting today to say thank you to God for bringing him back to normal.  He really answered my prayers that week--which I was sending to Him on rapid fire.

Also, to anyone who reads this, thank you for helping me (and him) get through this.  I don't know what we would have done without all of our friends and family there to help us.

John Deere, Chellie, and Mouth

Plow Day

 Every year for the past six years, our community has joined with the local Amish community to hold a Plow Day benefit for local families struggling with disease.  Every year the money raised goes to either an English or Amish child who is suffering with cancer or other incurable diseases.  This is truly a family event for us:  John Deere blacksmiths, my in-laws run a rope maker, distant family gathers from the community.  This year, my husbands aunt from almost an hour away even brought her kids to the event.  It is truly amazing to see community gathered like this.  I have included some pictures.  I know that the Amish do not condone photography, especially of their faces, so I tried to avoid that, but it is really hard when they are everywhere in support of the cause!

 Amish and English kids stood in line for hours, even in the rain, to make a rope!

 They had a man vs. horse pull.  It took 36 big men to pull these two huge horses backwards.

 You should have seen the look on the horses faces when they couldn't move forward--They were obviously not used to that.

 The two horses in the previous picture pulled an International M with no problems--imagine what these 12 horses could pull!

 I thought this was funny!  Of course there were lots of tractors there pulling, but they weren't nearly as fun to photograph!

 Amish boys were very excited to see what John Deere could create

My brother-in-law tries to catch a girlfriend. . .

Supper Club

Well, I have realized that I am too busy to be a very faithful blogger, but Friday--when my students are taking vocabulary quizzes and finishing up odds and ends from the week, I have realized that is a good time to blog--so I will catch you up on the week--mainly Tuesday:

Tuesday night was supper club.  Since my group of friends are all being married off and becoming domestic and boring, we decided to go out once a month to a place we have never been before.  This month it was Noa Noa--a sushi grill near home.

It was awesome!  I tried sushi that was tempura fried, and a really pretty one covered in orange sprinkles--which I later found out were fish eggs.  My main course was macadamia nut encrusted mahi mahi with grilled pineapple and banana--awesome!  One of my friends got swordfish and raved about it!  John Deere got the wood grilled red fish and he loved it, too.  I left with a "Jenny Craig's downfall" cheesecake and hopes to go back soon.

I apologize that I don't have pictures--my camera and computer are still not cooperating.  I hope to get some soon and then I may be motivated to blog more often. 

Hope all is well with everybody and if you get hungry for something new, try Noa Noa!

A Busy Week

Wow-- has this ever been a crazy week!  I was hoping to upload some pictures of lots of things yesterday, but the camera and computer were not cooperating--maybe next week.

So--this is how it went this week:

Monday: it was a Monday--ugh!  But, it was also my birthday--yay me!  The husband took me out for dinner and then we visited with some friends until past my bedtime.


Tuesday: The husband had a meeting, so I tried to catch up on grading, housework, etc.  Not much was accomplished because I wanted to go to bed early.

Wednesday:  Woke up at 4:30 because John Deere had to go to work early--he was headed south with a coworker to try and complete a two day project in one.  I was headed to Chicago with a group of students for a field trip--what a day we had ahead of us.

My class went to the Hull House Musuem at the University of Illinois--Chicago campus.  It was a cool experience into the life of Jane Addams, a social activist and welfare pioneer in the 1900s who worked with the very poor immigrant populations of Chicago at the time.  It made me think of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle when we were there.  After that we took Chicago's downtown walking poetry tour.  I was in charge of leading 15 15-year-old students through downtown Chicago, but it was awesome--they are such a good group!  I will post pictures later of all the cool city sights.  But now, my class is making a poetry tour of our town. They had to pick a place and write some poetry, later we will record it in our own voices and make an MP3 file and map that anyone could use.  We hope to give it to the Chamber of Commerce and public library so others could take our tour!  I am soooo  excited about this!

Thursday: Last night we closed on our mortgage re-finance.  We have cut our payback time in half with almost 1/2 the interest rate.  We are super excited to be saving tens of thousands of dollars, and we will have our mortgage paid before we are 40!!  Awesome


Friday:  The goal is just to make it through school today.  Lots of vocabulary quizzes and jeans day mean I am pretty comfortable.  I also have to post my last assignment for the course I am currently taking.  I am now officially 1/2 way done with my Master's degree!  Thank goodness for one year online programs!
It is cold-- 42 now, high of 60 today, so when I get home I am going to make some chili and unwind from this crazy week--maybe do some scrapbooking!

Tomorrow it is off to Indy to see Chellie for Parents and Family Weekend-- Maybe Sunday will be relaxing?!?

Hiking

 Camping means hiking!  Usually I just mosey along and look at the scenery.  This year, I went for it.

 I wanted to use hiking as a way to get some exercise, so I led the pack on our first hike through the sand hills.  Later I slowed down and took some pictures, but not as many as usual.

 I grew up on the river, so this was not really an extraordinary state park for me, but the trails were nice and the weather (at least for part of the weekend) was beautiful!

 They had an awesome pine plantation from when the park used to be someone's farm.  I couldn't believe that there was no underbrush here.  These trees were my favorite.

Well, Kansas people--here you go, I hope this doesn't make you miss the trees too much!

My nephew-- Ham!

 This is one of my husband's (and mine, too) nephews--let's just call him Ham.  I think I took more pictures of him than anyone/anything else on the camping trip--he is so photogenic even when he is grouchy.  He has the cutest mad face.

 As the third child in a family of four kids--the most recent being a pretty little girl--Ham is easy to overlook.  He is such a well-behaved little guy that sometimes we didn't notice when he was about to get into something ornery.  He loved the fire ring, the cook stove, and anything shiny!

 He also caught onto one of his uncle's hats and carried out his little gangster persona.  You can't tell from this picture but I think he is a budding Colts fan!

 Ham loves balls even more than he loves having his picture taken. These watermelon were wonderful toys until some crazy adults decided to eat them.  How dare we take his ball!

Uncle John Deere loves Ham.  He hogged him all weekend--Monday morning, when Ham was upset with his mother, John Deere took him and cuddled him for over an hour.  They entertained each other with funny noises and funny faces.  Uncle John Deere is convinced that he has some special kind of baby magic.  I call him "The Baby Whisperer"--hopefully that sticks around for when we have our own kids!