Happy Thanksgiving!

It's almost Thanksgiving

Which always brings this classic to mind -

Better Than Expected

The way that things have gone with my knee injury and recovery I've learned that realistic (and even pessimistic) expectations are a good way to keep from being disappointed and discouraged. So I went into today's appointment figuring that I would have an x-ray taken, Dr. Brumback would look at it, and he would -

a) tell me things were OK, but it was too soon to tell and he would need to see me again before making any decisions.
b) say things didn't appear to be healing and the infection may be back. OR
c) say things looked OK and we would start physical therapy to strengthen my leg and work on bending it some.

My appointment with Dr. Brumback today went so much better than expected. Not only did he write my a prescription for PT, but he also said that I could stop wearing the leg brace and slowly begin to work on putting some weight on that leg.

He was very pleased with the x-ray and authorized me to do so much more than I anticipated in my wildest dreams. I was expecting to be totally non-weight bearing until mid-December based on his prognosis after surgery in September and assumed that the infection was going to extend that time line into the new year.

I am thrilled. Mom, Dad and I stopped at Chevy's for margaritas and quesadillas to celebrate on the way home.

I'm not out of the woods yet when it comes to the infection and may never be completely. It is most likely to reoccur withing six weeks of stopping the antibiotics, but could rear its head in a year, ten or more possibly. Its something that he said he will always be on the look out for and will factor into the decision for any future surgeries (which will hopefully be a long way off). My next appointment is in six weeks and now I can shift into the next phase of my recovery - physical therapy. Hopefully I can get back in at the same place I was before and work with Jessica again.

It sure is nice to have some good news to share for a change!!

My Typealyzer Results

Andrew Sullivan had a link to a site called Typealyzer that "reads" a blog and tells you about the author. Here are the results to mine -

ESFP - The Performers

The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves. They enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions.

Pretty accurate, I'd say.

I Saw Dr. Higgins Today

This was my final visit to the plastic surgeon and like the previous visits it was entertaining and full of positive information. Dr. Higgins was very happy with how things look and said that if it wasn't for the underlying bone issue I would be cleared for contact sports or whatever else I wanted to do. No need for bandages any more, just the knee brace and crutches/walker/wheelchair.

He was visibly a little disappointed that my appointment with Dr. Brumback isn't until next week. He was hoping to know how the bone was doing and if the infection was gone. He was asking about that before he even looked at my leg. He's certainly not alone in that desire. Hopefully we will know something in less than a week.

I debated putting pictures up earlier because things looked a bit gruesome. Things still aren't pretty by anyone's stretch of the imagination, but relative to how things looked a few weeks ago I think things are looking really good.

So here are some photos so you can see how things look. I've only put thumbnails up so that if you don't care to see them you can ignore them. If you do want to check things out just click on each picture to enlarge it.




The large reddish oval on my knee is the area where the muscle flap was placed and covered with a skin graft. That area is still a bit swollen and will continue to shrink. The color will also fade and become more like the rest of my skin or a normal scar. The third picture is the scar up the back of my leg where Dr. Higgins gained access to my calf muscle to borrow a piece for the muscle flap. The forth picture that shows a big red rectangle next to my Micky Mouse tattoo is the donor site on my thigh where Dr. Higgins took skin to use for the graft. It too will fade in color and eventually just be a normal colored scar.

No one is going to be contacting me to become a Rockette or a leg model anytime soon that's for sure. Good thing I wasn't counting on either of those for a career path.

Hey Missouri finally decided who to give their electoral college votes to

First time since 1956 that Missouri did not go to the winner of the presidential race. With almost 3 million voters the margin was only 0.12%.

So the final tally is 365 to 173 and the map looks like this -



It looks like Hillary as Secretary of State is closer to being a done deal and that Tom Daschle will be Secretary of Health and Human Services and Eric Holder will be Attorney General. So far, I'm liking what I'm hearing.

One Down, Two Left

For his 85th birthday Senator Convicted Felon Ted Stevens got to read in his local paper and possibly on the internets (which is made of a series of tubes - see video) that he has lost his re-election bid.

The key line is at 2:12. Boy we're going to miss him.


It took them two weeks to figure it out, and they are still counting, but the AP has reported that the lead is now insurmountable and that Anchorage mayor Mark Begich will be the victor in Alaska.

Now we just need for Minnesota and Georgia to complete their recount and runoff election respectively.

In other political news, unfortunately the Democrats are being way too nice and letting SUPER WEASEL Joe Lieberman keep his key chairmanship and he will still be caucusing with them. I'm really ticked off about this. I don't care if we get to 60 (which is pretty unlikely) one vote is not worth the cost of allowing this jerk get away with the way he campaigned against the party and especially the things that he said about our president-elect.

There is no easy way to say this.

Danielle moved out on Saturday.

I don’t want to air our dirty laundry, but in the interest of disseminating information and keeping the speculation to a minimum I feel that I need to comment on this at least superficially since it is a major occurrence.

Many of you are aware of the struggles that Danielle and I have dealt with in the eleven years that we have been married. For those of you who don't know the history, a dual diagnosis of mental illness and substance abuse has been a storm cloud that has followed us through our marriage.

Although we still love each other very much, the dynamic that has developed between us as a result of these issues is unhealthy for both of us. I am constantly watching for possible symptoms of relapse and Danielle resents having her feelings discounted as symptoms. Sometimes I am overly vigilant and sometimes she lacks insight into how she is feeling or behaving. Neither extreme is good for us and the struggle has taken its toll on our relationship.

Currently, as has often been the case, we do not agree on what is wrong let alone the best approach to dealing with it. We have reached an impasse and she has decided to deal with things on her own. Initially this is not the way that I wanted to handle things, but I now agree with her that this is the way that it must be.

I do not know if this will be a temporary or a permanent change. Only time will tell.

She has only moved a few blocks away and has offered to be available to assist me with the dogs or to help around the house while I’m still in recovery. It’s nice to know that she is close and willing to help me, but I intend to give her the space that she has requested. I have an amazing support system (that has really been put to the test this year) so I’ll be fine.

Regardless of whether we reconcile or not, I wish her all the best and I will always love her.

PICC Line is gone

and I'm not bleeding like Dan Akroyd (as Julia Child) in that old Saturday Night Live skit.



I can now shower without having to wrap my arm in plastic and duct tape too!

Now if I could just put weight on my leg and bend my knee. All in good time I guess.

Finished with the Antibiotics

As I type this I am about to disconnect the final "grenade" of antibiotics from my PICC line and flush the lines with saline and heparin for the last time. Six weeks was actually up on Tuesday, but the pharmacy sent me enough medicine to take twice a day through today. I spoke to Dr. Campbell (the germ doc) and he said to take it all even though it was slightly over 6 weeks.

Wendy my home care nurse is coming at 9am to remove the PICC line from my arm. Yippee!!

I also finished with the blood thinner yesterday, so no more shots in the stomach. Hopefully it's out of my system already, or will be by morning. The doctors and nurse don't appear to be concerned about pulling the line considering the Lovenox I've been taking, so I'm taking my cue from them. I will feel much better once I see that it isn't bleeding and that the hole has clotted, healed and closed though.

So now I will be completely off of all of the medicine that has been such a big part of my daily routine and anxiously awaiting the appointment with Dr. Brumback on the 25th.

As much as I am happy to be free of the medication I think the wait and see time may end up being more difficult. I won't have the routine of something to do or the medication intervals to keep my mind busy. Luckily I'm feeling much better and getting around is getting much easier. So I'm planning on keeping myself busy with work and hopefully will be getting out of the house more often.

As they say - this is the moment of truth. Is the infection gone or will it return? We'll find out in a few weeks.

Thank You Veterans

If you didn't watch the NBC Nightly News last night you missed a really good story of how the Canadians have been welcoming home their fallen soldiers from the War in Iraq. Granted they haven't had the 4500+ that we have lost, but they have repeated this amazing welcome home for every single soldier that has died.

While our government has been banning photographers from showing us the coffins arriving at Air Force bases and the funerals tend to be private family affairs with a story in the local papers, our neighbors to the north have a very impressive ritual along 100 miles of highway leading to Toronto that you won't believe until you see it.



To the Canadians I say - well done.

I truly wish that we had something like this, but fear that it would get mired down in the "are you for or against the war" debate.

To our soldiers and the families that have lost loved ones - we may not be as good at showing or saying it, but we honor your service just the same regardless of whether we are for or against the war(s).

Today we not only honor those that have fallen, but all those who serve and who have served and their families for the sacrifice that they have made on our behalf.

THANK YOU!

will.i.am's song of celebration

It's a New Day

Just for fun

Smackdown

CNN's Campbell Brown has a few words for the folks in McCain's campaign who are now scapegoating Sarah Palin.....YOU PICKED HER.



So which is it? Was she this bad all along and they lied to us about her qualifications? or Are they trying to protect themselves by putting all the blame on her?

My guess is its a little bit of both.

Something Stinks in Alaska

And for a change I'm not talking about the Governor. (although more on her in a minute)

While we are still waiting for the final verdict on the Senate and House races with both republican incumbents in hot water for corruption (one convicted and one with pending investigations), it would appear that something really fishy is going on with the numbers. Both of these men were trailing by 6-10 points in the polls going into the election and both are leading by slight margins while the final votes are being counted.

Or are they the final votes? With record voter turnout everywhere in the country, an historic election and their own popular governor on the ticket apparently voter turnout was at the lowest ever for a presidential election in Alaska!? Over at Huffington Post, Shannyn Moore lays out the numbers that just make no sense at all.

Mudflats, a progressive blog in Alaska has much of the same data too.

In 2004, 66% of registered voters turned out to vote in the presidential election between George Bush and John Kerry.

In 2008, including the votes still outstanding, only 54% of registered voters turned out.

And the strangest part of all? Voter turnout in the primaries, before Palin was even on the ticket, was up 12% from 2004. We also had more than 20,000 new registered voters.

Curious.

Now for the latest on Gov. Palin just in case you haven't heard yet -

Newsweek has even more on the clothing overspending than we knew previously. She also is reported to have prepared her own concession speech, but was told "no" by McCain's staff. It was his night and only he would speak.

Fox News of all places is releasing information that they obtained off the record and wasn't allowed to release before the election such as -

• She thought Africa was a country and not a continent.
• She refused to be prepped for the Katie Couric interview(s) and then lashed out at staff for how it went and the negative press she got as a result.
• She couldn't name the countries that signed NAFTA (US, Mexico & Canada)

Of course there have been plenty of rumors that she was already looking forward to 2012. Those rumors give us fun stuff like this -

The Onion's Fake Newscast...

Has caused me to re-examine my life.


Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are

Just kidding!

Self-Evident

FiveThirtyEight.com

Check out the way the map and electoral votes went compared with the final predictions over at FiveThirtyEight.com. Nate Silver has quite a gift.

The only state he got wrong was Indiana (and possibly Georgia depending on how the final numbers come in).

Apparently Georgia's numbers don't reflect all the early voting. Even though most news organizations and networks have given it to McCain, the AP still hasn't and there are many votes yet to be counted. Reports are conflicting. Still waiting for something definitive.

The Senate race there is probably heading for a run-off and in Minnesota Al Franken is going to get a recount. He's only down by 570 votes. So Dems could pick up two more Senate seats. (maybe three once Stevens goes to jail)

Regardless of how these squeakers end up, if you want to know what's going on FiveThirtyEight.com is the place to check next election season.

UPDATE: I'm not the only one who thinks so.

Obama Elected the 44th President of the United States

It's a new day in America!

My dad shared this insightful column from the Washington Post with me today. Richard Cohen today argued that the winner in today's election if things went as expected (which they have) was going to be LBJ.

When he signed the epochal Civil Rights Act of 1964, Johnson knew he was also signing away the South and, with it, much of the white vote elsewhere as well. "We have lost the South for a generation," he supposedly said back then. For that generation, time's up.

Barack Obama is often called a transformational figure, and this election, it then follows, is a transformational one. I beg to quibble. Barack Obama is a confirmational figure, and this election confirms what has been gradually occurring in American society ever since that July day when Johnson virtually outlawed most forms of racial segregation in America. We've been transforming ever since.

Change doesn't happen over night. But change does happen. Sometimes you just have to do the right thing and wait for events to unfold. I'm glad that I was around to see this change come about.

I VOTED! Have you gone to the polls yet?

Decked out in my new "THAT ONE '08" t-shirt (thanks Betsy!!) and head to toe in red, white and blue I just cast my vote. (Danielle too)

A special thanks to Dad the chauffeur for the ride!

Now all that is left to do is wait, watch TV and read blogs.

There is a really cool page with a colorful name if you want to refresh your memory of all the high and low lights of this LONGEST campaign ever. Check it out HERE.

Andrew Sullivan, at The Atlantic, has been posting blurbs from readers throughout the day with stories of what they are seeing and experiencing in their states. Check it out HERE.

At Penn State there were 1000+ students in line at 7AM!

A Blogger at TPM Confesses

He didn't vote for Obama today. You've got to read his diary explaining why.

He voted for every race on the ballot except the one at the top of the screen. He thought of all the people who had influenced him over the years, people who did not live long enough to see an African American at the top of the ballot.

When my ballot was complete, except for the top line, I finally decided who I was going to vote for - and then decided to let him vote for me. I reached down, picked him up, and told him to find Obama's name on the screen and touch it.

And so it came to pass that Alexander Reed, age 5, read the voting screen, found the right candidate, touched his name, and actually cast a vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Oh, the vote will be recorded as mine. But I didn't cast it.

Then again, the person who actually pressed the Obama box and the red "vote" button was the person I was really voting for all along.

It made the months of donating, phonebanking, canvassing, door hanger distributing, sign posting, blogging, arguing and persuading so much sweeter.

So, no, I didn't vote for Barack Obama. I voted for a boy who now has every reason to believe he, too, can grow up to be anything he wants...even President.

One Day More!

For election eve I'm posting one last video --


NOW GET OUT AND VOTE!!!!

Paul Hipp strikes again

Take it back!

What's gone wrong?

Nice Weekend

Well, I thought I would give a quick update on how things are going before getting completely lost in the election mania....

Each day the pain in my leg is getting less and less. Consequently it is getting far easier for me to get around the house (with a walker and my right foot off the ground). This also means leaving the house is getting easier so I made three trips to church this weekend.

Saturday morning I attended a memorial service for a member of our congregation who lost his battle with cancer at the age of 53. Rest In Peace - Ken West. I ask for prayers for Kenny and his parents Westy and Eleanor. It was a very nice service and the Presbyterian Women hosted a reception afterwards. Kenny was a fixture in our church community and he will be missed. This spring while fighting the good fight and receiving treatment he cared enough and took the time to carve a back scratcher for me so that I could scratch my foot and ankle and inside my brace. I was blown away.

Sunday I made it to services in the morning and to Youth Fellowship at night. In worship we celebrated All Saints Day and honored those from our congregation that have died this past year. As is often the case "Time with Children" provided comic relief from the somberness of the service. Choir Director, Marc Boensal was charged with the task of discussing the day's theme with the kids. When he asked - "Does anyone know what a saint is?" the reply "a football team" sent ripples of laughter through the sanctuary. Marc handled it well and quickly brought things back on message.

Youth Fellowship was well attended and we watched a movie called Beat the Drum about the AIDS epidemic as it related to a young boy's journey from his small village to Johannesburg after losing both his parents to the disease. I think Sara summed up how the kids felt about the movie before it even started with the question - "Is this a serious movie with a message? because I was planning on a hang out, Princess Bride kind of movie night." The movie was good, although a little hard to follow without English subtitles and 1/3 of the movie spoken in Zulu.

We ate pizza and cookies; talked about the election and spent some time just horsing around. Catherine, one of the middle school students had loads of fun pushing me around Fellowship Hall in my wheelchair while Sara, a senior high student, raced us in the church's wheelchair.

It was really nice to get out of the house again for something other than a doctor's appointment and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing so many friends and co-workers who I haven't seen in weeks (although I wish that the memorial service had not been necessary).

Today, I was visited by Betsy Stewart from church with a wonderful gift that I plan on wearing tomorrow. A lovely white t-shirt with the following logo on the front -