Add this to your site |
Please visit the HealthCare PSI Blog to read my latest posts on Patient Safety. I know, the subject is serious and you'd rather clean your bathroom than read a post about health care today, but don't let that keep you away. The HealthCare PSI Website is informative, and the blog is far from dull. I promise you'll never be bored. I hope to see you there! - DK
PS. Fun, frivolous Flyover posts can be found below.
"I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him."
-Abraham Lincoln
"Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one."
- Benjamin Franklin
Here's today's Red Friday post - late, but here. As alway, please remember our service men and women by wearing RED on Fridays! Here, U.S. Army Spc. Benji McHugh watches for other aircraft from the ramp of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter in Sharano, Afghanistan, last month. McHugh is a crew chief assigned to Company B, 2nd Battalion, 238th Aviation Regiment.
U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Prentice C. Martin-Bowen
This afternoon, Mitch and I were working quietly in our offices when we heard a horrible noise outside. A 73-year old man passed out behind the wheel of his car, flew down Lone Pine and crashed into our fence, which is a substantial brick, rock and mortar structure. His car flipped and he was trapped in the vehicle. I thought I'd post a few shots of today's mess.
It took the fire department nearly 20 minutes to cut the top off the car and remove the man from the wreckage. He was talking a little when they loaded him into the ambulance. I don't know how he fared.
That's our house behind the rubble.
The neighbors have been stopping by all evening to look at the damage. Tomorrow, bright and early, the insurance adjuster will be here and so will the stone masons. I wonder how long it will take to replace this? Hmm...
"It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones, after all."
-Laura Ingalls Wilder
Each Friday I like to feature a photo of our deployed heroes, just to keep them front and center in your heart and mind. Here, U.S. soldiers search the town of Hayy Al Husayn for evidence of insurgency in Maysan province, Iraq. The soldiers are assigned to the 6th Infantry Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team, and the Multinational Corps Iraq Provost Marshal's Office.
U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Robert J. Whelan
I read a post by Chris Guillebeau yesterday that was so full of spot-on common sense I thought you might benefit from reading it, too. Chris is a young globe-trotting entrepreneur whom I admire because he doesn't get caught up in having to have all the latest trappings before he does something - he just goes out and does it.
So, if you've had a big project on your agenda - doesn't matter what it is - and you've bought into the "someday when I get (fill in the blank), then I'll do this" mentality, then quick - click here and let Chris sweep the cobwebs and the excuses off your dream.
Let's see... we're in week 2 of Sammy's recovery from knee surgery. He gets his staples out Friday. Poor little guy is comic relief for the MIL saga. We were told her stroke three and half weeks ago affected the Brocca region of the brain and that she should improve significantly with therapy.
It has become apparent in the last week that the damage is much more extensive than we first believed; she had a major left brain blow out, not a smallish stroke. Therapy failed. In fact, she's fainted 3 times during therapy, which scared the staff half to death. Oddly, Ruby has no facial drooping or paralysis, as you often expect with stroke victims. She is just completely cut off from the world - unable to speak, read or write and she doesn't understand a thing said to her, either, so communicating with her is nearly impossible. Her favorite past-time - the TV - completely frustrates her. Further, her short term memory is gone, so it's a brand new world every 2 minutes. She sits in a quiet room staring out the window.
She does recognize Mitch, Vicky and me, but becomes upset when we visit and then leave without taking her along. She had to be sedated over the weekend after we went to see her. She expects we're there to take her to lunch, or shopping, or to get her hair or nails done - which was our habit for the past two and half years. It's very hard for Mitch, but we must limit our visits so as not to upset her and trigger another stroke.
We've been shopping for nursing homes and found two excellent ones close by our house that specialize in stroke care. Now, we're waiting for a bed to become available so we can move her to a facility that is more homey and less hospital-like. After that's done, we'll have to close down her apartment, since its become obvious she'll never return to it. I'll deal with that in July.
Mitch has been given 3 weeks off from physical therapy. He had a couple of setbacks this past month because he lifted Ruby following her stroke. That's a no no for fractured wrists and elbows, so therapy will begin again in a few weeks after he has time to rest.
It's been a year of one step forward and two steps back at our house. I'm hoping the second half of 2009 brings peace, rest and forward progress.
"All the energy we spend on our 'shoulds' could be used to do something productive, including relaxing."
-Loretta LaRoche
Support for our active duty service men and women comes in all forms. Here, foster mom Bianca Trombi, coordinator for Hawaiian Humane Society's outreach programs, lounges on the floor with Jambo. Trombi is fostering Jambo, along with his sister Fancy, while Jambo's owner, Staff Sgt. Roxanne Pratt, Headquarters Company, Intelligence and Sustainment Company, is deployed. The Humane Society launched its Pets of Patriots program to help deploying soldiers find a temporary home for their pets.
U.S. Army photo by Molly Hayden
You can find more great photos like this one at DefenseLink Photos.
Our Teddy Roosevelt Terrier, Sam, tore a cruciate ligament in his knee and had to have surgery to repair it last Thursday. This was a big deal, especially for little neurotic Sam who is terrified of flies and his own gastric sounds. We brought him home Friday afternoon doped to the gills and wearing his safety collar.
The little guy gets to take the collar off to go outside. He refuses to put weight on the leg, probably because of all the staples. He also had a benign, but very large, fatty tumor removed from his tummy, so he has staples there, too. His left hind quarter is shaved and all that itchy stubble is driving him nuts.
His staple line looks great; he gets them removed in 2 weeks. Looks like Sam and Mitch are going to have matching knee scars. Mitch's knee surgery was in April - a complication from his cycling accident in February.
Our heartfelt thanks to our longtime friend and brilliant veterinarian, Dr. Pat Parnell and his staff at Animal Care Clinic. You guys are simply The Best!
I found this on Seth Godin's blog yesterday; yes, I read him every day. It was so good I thought I'd pass it on. It's called You Matter. Good stuff.
"We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out."
- Ray Bradbury
U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Wilson talks with a UH-60 Black Hawk Army mechanic during Wilson's recent visit to Forward Operating Base Delta, Iraq. The mechanic is assigned to the 1st Battalion, 150th Aviation Regiment.
U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Joe Thompson
