Outing

Just wanted to throw a pic up that did not involve a hospital room.  

For a change of scenery we made a break for Northern VA to spend some time with my family.  I think Bink liked getting a change of scenery.  We actually went to a shop to paint our own pottery.  He was unhappy with his painting so I promised to take him back some time when he had better use of his wrists.  

Enjoy.

B. & E.

Seriously?

A little over two hours each way and three doctors appointments later and we are home again. Needless to say, we are both a bit tired at this point.

First appointment of the day was for the wrists. Bink was hoping to get cleared to drive, but alas it did not happen.  His wrists look good and he will begin rehab on them.  He no longer will have to wrap his wrists, but will have to keep the splints on.  We head back in three weeks for another evaluation.

Second appointment, burn recovery.  They felt that things were looking good.  Still a little more red than they thought he should be, but healing.  Back in three weeks for another follow-up on this one.  Looks like Bink will be starting scar therapy at that point.

Last appointment of the day was for his spine. We thought this would be a simple follow-up, but ended up learning that he had in fact broken his back (where the initial comment was a compression fracture).  The doc said that usually he would have been braced while still in the hospital, but the burns prevented this. The same still holds true.  Bink has to take it easy and we will return back to this doc after the first of the year for another evaluation. 

Today was not as good a day as some.  Bink was so excited about wanting to drive again and that didn't happen.  Compound that with news about his back and he was a little bummed.  But, we knew that that would be the case.  

Bink is in the market for hobbies to occupy his time, but we can't think of any.  If you have any suggestions, please share. 

Take care everyone.

B. & E.

Bink's Gone Wild

Made you look. At first he said he would do a girls gone wild type of shot to show off his tank top, but I wasn't fast enough with the camera. Instead you get the mundane. He has developed two bald spots that we all speculate as to why they are there. And, he says he has more acne now than he has ever had in his life (from the lotion to keep his skin from cracking).

It's odd not to post every day after having done so for a while. Fortunately there is not a lot going on though. We have not made any return trips to the ER since last week and are hoping to keep it that way.

We do head to Allentown tomorrow for three appointments. It's funny we both would love to have doctor's closer to home, but at the same time feel it is a worthwhile drive knowing how good those in Allentown are. Bink's big hope for tomorrow is that he gets the OK to drive.

An update on my car theft stuff. Good news, I think. They caught the person who took the belongings from my car and when we are in Allentown, we are going to jump in to the police station in Bethlehem to claim my jackets and jewelry. I am pretty excited about that.

Updates hopefully tomorrow

Status Quo

Well, not much to post this week with regards to Bink.

He refers to himself as a houseplant. He says that all he has to do is sit in the corner and occasionally get watered. To say that he is a little stir crazy is a bit of an understatement. Something about not being able to what he wants when he wants that has made him a little nutty. Trust me, he realizes the alternative and is extremely grateful that he is where he is, but I think that he just never thought he would spend this kind of quality time with the couch.

Healing wise, his pink tank top is starting to get a little tight, itchy and scabby. That means it is healing though.

Take care.

B. & E.

Lessons Learned

I am starting to step back and think about the things I have learned through this experience.  I thought I would share a few of the general things I am taking away from this whole experience.

1. Do not put off preparing legal documents.  We have been talking, since we were married, about drawing up wills, power of attorney, etc.  We always assumed that because we were relatively young we need not worry with such things.  WRONG!  If you have not done these things, stop putting them off.

2. Never underestimate the strength of your friends and family in a crisis situation.  When you feel like you are going to lose your mind, they will be there.

3. Sleep is overrated.  I know that new mothers have told me this, but having not yet had children I did not get this.  Adrenaline will keep you going.  On the flip side, not sleeping will catch up with you so do what you can to catch a few zzzz's.

4. Wedding vows are more than words.  You never know when they will be tested.

Trust me when I say I have learned many other things, but thought I would share these.

E.

Attention Seeker Alert

I thought to myself this morning that I was going to back off on blogging every day and go to every other or so.  But, then someone decided to try to get a little more attention today.

We started this morning as usual.  Bink opted to shave and then get in the shower.  After about ten minutes he yelled for me.  He was on the verge of blacking out.  So, I helped him sit down in the shower and after a couple of minutes he was back up and telling me he was okay.  Being that I am a little overprotective at the moment I declared that we were headed to the ER.  Bink begrudgingly agreed to go, despite not wanting to go at all.

So, five hours later we are home again.  We are told that, thankfully, nothing is wrong.  Or at least nothing was found.  We are scheduled to be back at the doctor's this week so we will have him take a peek as well just to make sure everything is kosher.  

I think he just wanted another fancy hospital bracelet.

Take care everyone.

B. & E.

Here's Bink!

Day 18

Sorry for the delay in getting anything posted. Since we got home we have been on the constant move. Neither of us realized just how hectic it would be once home.

Yesterday we were back in Allentown for the first of many follow-up visits. We felt like we had just left. We met with the orthopedic doc who performed the wrist surgeries and the burn recovery center. Both offices were pleased with the progress to date. Bink is still healing, but has definitely come very far.

Yesterday we stopped at the CCEDC and today we stopped in to Trinity for a visit. We have both been floored by the generosity of both of our respective colleagues. There is the unfortunate reality that sometimes you forget just how loved you are until something awful happens. Both of our workplaces have been fantastic in looking out for us and making sure that we get any help we need. Neither of us could have anticipated the outpouring of assistance we have received. When Bink first woke up, one of his comments was that we really did not have that many friends. I think everyone has proven otherwise to both of us.

For those that have not seen Bink since the incident, I am guessing you want to see a picture. I will try to get one tomorrow and post it.

If anyone is interested, here are a couple of links that are pretty interesting (okay, interesting to me):
Lehigh Valley Hospital Burn Center: http://www.lvh.org/burncenter
BioBrane: http://www.uwhealth.org/servlet/Satellite?cid=1116338384509&pagename=B_EXTRANET_HEALTH_INFORMATION%2FFlexMember%2FShow_Public_HFFY&c=FlexGroup

Thank you again to everyone. I don't think that we will ever be able to say thank you enough.

B. & E.

Day 15

WE ARE HOME!!!  Ecstatic does not even start to express how we are both feeling.

Last night was a little rough.  I had gone back to the hotel to grab a shower and check out in anticipation of our departure.  In the hour it took for me to pack up and shower, my car was broken in to.  Yep, I'm serious.  Whoever it was got a bunch of clothing, two of my winter jacket and Bink's escape clothes.  The only two things about which I was really upset were Bink's game day hat and the jewelry that Bink had given me for my 30th birthday.  Fortunately a few items were recovered and about 5 minutes ago I finally went through what was returned and am happy to report that the game day hat is not lost.  PSU is still being supported by Bink's hat that his namesake gave him almost two decades ago.  He wasn't worried about the hat, he was just happy to be on his way home.

Among the things taken last night, my house keys and apartment keys.  In the line of fab people that have helped us out through this, Andy Wray came over and changed our locks.  So, for all of you out there with keys, FYI.

I am pretty excited about crawling into my own bed, so is Bink.  Take care everyone.  

B. & E.

Day 14 - Part 2

Fingers crossed folks, we may be getting out of here tomorrow.  

Bink didn't spike a fever today which was fantastic news.  Also, almost all of his BioBrain came off today.  It was much like a scab in that as the skin that burned began to heal, the BioBrain dried out and started to peel off.  Bink is pretty excited at the prospect of getting a shower instead of a sponge bath.

Hopefully tomorrow's post will come from Burnham.

E.

Day 14

We chatted with the physician's assistant today.  It looks like our target escape will be on election day.  We were again reassured that his wounds are healing well, but that we will be facing many follow-up visits on a variety of things.  He is having to stay in the hospital at this point because of his infection.  Again, not a wound infection but more of a flu/pneumonia bug that was exacerbated by the nine days of ventilation.

Bink has really been complaining about how bland the food at the hospital was.  Honestly I don't think anyone likes hospital food, but he was despising it.  Because he has not been eating I picked him up a bacon cheeseburger, but he was too tired to eat it.  Yesterday I picked up some McDonald's in an effort to bribe him to eat.  He has come to the conclusion that it is not the food that is bland, but in fact his taste buds are a bit off.  Knowing that, he is going to just gut through the food a little more happily at this point.

Hopefully just a few more days.  We both want to be home in time to vote!

E.

Day 13 - Part 2

According to a few folks that saw Bink at the beginning of all of this, he looks fantastic. It really amazing what modern science and fabulous care can do for a person.  He really looks like himself, just a little pinker and a scalier.  Reflecting on the fact that you could not tell it was his two weeks ago to seeing him today is fascinating.

His sutures were removed from his wrist today.  That brightened up his day a tad.  I think for him it was some visible progress.  Because he does not remember/know how he looked when he started a last week, he doesn't see the change that those of us looking at him do.

Indications today were that had he not still been fighting this respiratory infection, he probably would already be at home right now.  Hearing that makes us both even more anxious to get home, but we have to be patient because he really is receiving amazing care.  

I think that the target date for escape is looking more and more like Monday.  The escape will actually be to our house amazingly enough.  I have been provided with tutorials on caring for his wounds so he will be in kind of okay hands.  His BioBrain really is like a scab that dries out as it heals and you cut off the edges as they become unattached.  I love picking at things, so this should be fun!

Take care everyone.

E.

Day 13

Happy November everyone.  We are still hanging in here.  

I spent the night at the hospital last night at Bink's request.  The night was fairly uneventful. He is still running a fever at this point.  I think what is making it the worst for him though are the hiccups to which he has been subjected since they woke him up on Tuesday.  As it stands, if he is awake, he likely has the hiccups.  Really, that is not anyone's idea of a good time.

We are still really hoping that they tell us to go home tomorrow.  We both just want to be back in our own space.  I think that he particularly is feeling like an inmate, but with less privileges.

Hope everyone had a safe Halloween and 3rd birthday.

E.