Over one hurdle - surgery is done

I said I wasn't going to turn this into a medical blog, but I have dozens (probably hundreds ... ) of people who have asked for updates on my husband's condition, and this seems to be the easiest way to get the information to everyone. Better than posting massive updates on Facebook and emailing scores of people.

If you missed it, here's the first post that explains how we got here.

It feels like a month, but it was just a week ago that Bob drove himself to the clinic. And quickly ended up in ICU. On Monday of this week, they felt he was well enough to be in a regular room, and things were looking up. But everything was still rather nebulous. Maybe he would need surgery, maybe not. Maybe they've have to open him up, maybe they could go in through small holes. There were a lot of maybes and not a lot of firm plans.

Yesterday was the longest day of my life. I got a call at about 1am that Bob was being moved back to ICU because his breathing had gotten so bad. I couldn't sleep, so I went to the hospital where I guarantee you neither of us slept.

They said that one of his lungs was accumulating fluid and it's possible he aspirated something, but he couldn't cough anything up because of his stomach pain.

So they decided to drain the fluid from his lung and got him started on breathing therapy through the oxygen mask. He was conscious but stupid from lack of sleep, pain, and lack of oxygen.

The doctor came in and said uh oh, he's too sick for the scheduled surgery on Friday. Bob wasn't getting enough oxygen even with the oxygen mask at full volume and there's no way they could put him under in that condition.

So they said the surgery would be delayed until he could breathe better. The downside was that he couldn't eat and they didn't want to give him IV nutrition because that can ruin your liver if you're on it too long. They wanted to wait until after surgery to get him on the IV food. Which meant it would be a few more days of no food, which wasn't something he could afford since he had already lost too much weight.

Then the doctor suggested putting him on a ventilator. He said that they could go down the ventilator tube and clean out his lungs better and that after a few days he'd be ready for surgery, so maybe they could still schedule it for Friday.

Okay, fine, that sounds good.

I went home to take a shower and check on the dog and when I got back to the hospital an hour later, he had the breathing tube in, he was sedated, and they scheduled the surgery for later that day. Since he was on the ventilator, the machine would breathe for him during surgery and the doctor decided it was better to do the surgery right away instead of Friday.

Well, okay.

They took him into surgery some time after 7pm and he was back in his room at about 9 pm. They removed his spleen which had died after they plugged the aneurysm, and cleaned out the blood clot which was behind his stomach and cleaned up some other bits and pieces. No doubt poked and prodded here and there. I mean, you're in there, you might as well look for alien implants and spare body parts. They doctor actually drew a little picture. The stomach is here ... we flipped that up ...

Hmmm ... not exactly a romantic picture of my husband, but the non-emotional side of me found it ... interesting. It's amazing what modern medicine can do.

Everyone told me he did really well during surgery - didn't lose a lot of blood, his vitals were okay - I mean, they're doing some major renovation, so there were some variations of blood pressure, but he never went critical. He came back to the room and one of the ER nurses was positively beaming and even a little teary-eyed about how good he looked.

He's going to remain sedated until they're ready to take him off the ventilator. They said they'd do that as soon as his gut decided to start functioning again. Maybe a day or two. And then he can start eating again and they'll be getting him back on his feet to move around.

It's still going to be a long road. He wasn't eating well before he went into the hospital and he needs to gain some weight. He needs to recover from major surgery. There's always a risk of infection. They're doing biopsies on the material they removed, just to make sure there's nothing else we need to worry about. He needs to be up and walking around as soon as possible and I'm sure that won't be fun for him.

Still lots of things to worry about, but the surgery was the first big hurdle. I can't tell you how terrified I was when they were wheeling him down the hall, but I knew he was in good hands.

After the surgery was over the doctor told me that he'd sleep better tonight knowing the surgery was over and that it went well, rather than "turning like a rotisserie chicken" and wondering if things were going to get worse if he waited until Friday for the surgery.

I really believe it was the right decision to go ahead. If we waited, that would have been more days with no food and more days with a dead spleen in his gut.

Now, he's moving forward instead of moving back.

As for me, I was blubbering like a baby when I got home. Exhaustion and worry have taken a toll, but I sleep well last night and I feel more like a human today. I'm still tired, but it's a kind of tired I can deal with. I feel a little less crazy.

I'm sure there are more hurdles coming, but we've made it this far. We'll get through it.

I want to thank everyone for their comments, emails, messages, good wishes, prayers, smoke signals, and everything else. I don't know if I'll have a chance to thank all of you individually, and to be honest I'm still making my way through reading all the comments. I need to take breaks because I get all teary when I read them, and then I can't see. I love you all.

Hopefully all the news from now on will be good.

Oh, and that photo? That's Bob, shortly after we met. That's one of my favorite photos of him. Other people might tell you that he looks a little ... okay, a lot ... older than that now. But to me, that's what he always looks like. Maybe my eyes are getting old, too.

Is This The Best Chicago Mix Popcorn Ever?

Guest post  by Frank Shin
Life Moves Pretty Fast

Sometimes fate is a funny thing. I was lucky enough to visit Chicago, for the first time, with my 9 year old daughter this summer. We did the usual touristy things like visiting the Aquarium, seeing Navy Pier, Millennium Park, and of course, trying Garrett's Chicago Mix Popcorn.

If you're not familiar, Chicago Mix is a blend of sweet caramel corn and savoury cheese corn. I'm usually a strictly sweets lover, so when I first heard what the combination was, I was pretty wary. But, walking into Garrett's and smelling the freshly popped corn, I was willing to try a sample.

Experiencing the Chicago Mix is probably like what Mr. Reese first experienced when he put together  chocolate and peanut butter - a match made in heaven. Somehow the sweet and savoury create a synergy that each on its own doesn't quite reach. That bag of warm, freshly popped Chicago Mix was one of the best things we have ever had! Sadly, in Canada, the difficulty in getting Garrett's, although remotely possible, is extremely expensive, circuitous, and certainly not fresh when it arrives.

Here's where fate comes in. . .

This week, on a random trip to our local Costco, way off in the back corner, amongst pallets of bottled water and toilet paper I literally walked into a small display of Cretors Chicago Mix Popcorn!



G.H. Cretor?
Admittedly, I'd never heard of Cretor's before, so I hesitantly turned the bag over, not believing anything could come close to Garrett's. The bag and label certainly was enticing, evoking old time marketing. Cretor's also had the mandatory backstory, actually laying claim to inventing the popcorn machine in 1885. They also make their own caramel in old school copper kettles and melt their own  cheddar cheese (no artificial powder!) for the cheese corn. Finally they had all the right buzz words - Gluten free, Kosher (although I'm not Jewish), and "all natural".

How's It Taste?
With little cajoling from the kids, I threw a bag into the cart, and as soon as we got home, broke into it - for scientific research only. My initial impression was certainly positive. The kernels were all fully popped and extremely large mushroom style. In fact,  I couldn't find any unpopped kernels at the bottom of the bag.

Being a sweets guy, I tried the caramel corn on its own first. Impressive. It had a nice fresh crunch to the outside, then almost melted beneath that coating my mouth with buttery sweetness. For a bagged product, this was pretty good.

I hesitantly threw a cheese corn piece into my mouth. I looked at my hands first - NO orange powder residue! Nice. The cheese corn was just salty enough, and again nice and fresh. No sogginess to be found.

Finally I popped a combination of several of each, the way that Mr Garrett and Mr Cretor intended. The blend of sweet and savoury was just right, and evoked memories of that fresh stuff in Chicago. Of course it wasn't warm from being just popped, but came awfully close. I think I've found a new go-to snack; until I can find another excuse to visit Chicago!

Full Disclosure- I was not paid by anyone to review either product (sadly) and purchased all product on my own. (although if anyone wants to send me more Chicago Mix, I'd be happy to eat it up!)

So, which side are you on - Garrett's or Cretor's? Let me know!

Tomatoes with Feta and Mint

While I am dealing with some family health issues, I've got a bevy of guest posters who will be filling in for me. I want to thank everyone who has emailed, sent messages my every method possible, and commented on Facebook. We're hanging in there, hoping for a quick recovery.

Thanks, especially, to the blogging community and to food folks in general. You're the most nurturing folks I know.

Now, on to the food!

Guest Post by Maurita Plouff
Get the Good Stuff

I'm a tomato fan. I simply cannot get enough of those luscious summer tomatoes. I wait for them, longingly, all year, and once local tomatoes show up at the farmstands, I become a regular customer. There are so many wonderful things to make with truly ripe tomatoes! Sometimes, though, the simplest things have the biggest impact.

This is a twist on the familiar tomato-mozzarella-basil salad. Change up the cheese and the herb, to make a new taste! I encourage you to experiment with different combinations of cheese and herbs; you may find you have a new favorite.

Tomatoes with Feta and Mint
serves 2

2 large heirloom tomatoes, at peak of ripeness
2-3 oz feta cheese
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp best-quality olive oil
2 sprigs fresh mint

Slice the tomatoes and arrange them on a plate or platter. Sprinkle with salt, and drizzle with good olive oil. Crumble the feta over the top, and then scatter with chopped mint.