From haldeman at earthlink.net Thu Feb 17 15:01:33 2011 From: haldeman at earthlink.net (Gay Haldeman) Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2011 15:01:33 -0500 Subject: Joe's surgery Message-ID: <5A532DFA-B94F-4F3C-A4BB-865E125DC3C2@earthlink.net> Dear friends and family, Joe went in for his ileostomy take-down surgery this morning, to reconnect his intestines from the surgery he had in September of 2009. We found out only today that the surgeon was planning to do a laparoscopic procedure, so they wouldn?t have to make a huge incision. The surgery went well and Joe is now awake in the ICU. He?s groggy, of course, and keeps asking whether they did the laparoscopy. When I say that they did, he makes jokes about lap dancing. He?ll be in the ICU tonight and a few more days in the hospital while all his innards come back on line. The less invasive surgery will make it much easier for him to recuperate and will probably get him out of the hospital faster. More news when I have it. Love, Gay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailman.mit.edu/pipermail/haldeman-announce/attachments/20110217/5eb9bb72/attachment.htm From haldeman at earthlink.net Fri Feb 18 15:22:21 2011 From: haldeman at earthlink.net (Gay Haldeman) Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2011 15:22:21 -0500 Subject: Joe's doing well Message-ID: <6D082FD4-D61F-4473-BC36-D51A1B409DF6@earthlink.net> Dear All, Joe continues to do well. He's still in Intensive Care, but they'll probably move him to a regular room tomorrow. He's still not allowed to eat or drink, but is up in a chair and has walked some. Most tubes have been removed. They were bothering him more than anything else. Now he says he feels like he's been knifed in the abdomen, which he has. The pain meds are good, he says. He also says that morphine is a real time machine. He looks at the clock, then pushes the morphine button and goes to sleep. When he wakes up, only a minute has passed. He's not sure he likes this. Thanks for all the good wishes. Love, Gay From haldeman at earthlink.net Sat Feb 19 18:15:49 2011 From: haldeman at earthlink.net (Gay Haldeman) Date: Sat, 19 Feb 2011 18:15:49 -0500 Subject: Joe continues to do well Message-ID: Hi, Everyone. Joe continues to do well. Still in the ICU, mostly (I think) because beds elsewhere are scarce. He?s eating a liquid diet and is off the morphine and onto the Percocets so he?s much less fuzzy headed. They walked him a lot today with no ill effects. He doesn?t have much pain either. All his systems are not yet working at full speed, but they?re all working. His spirits are good. So are mine, though I?m tired. Thanks again for all the good wishes. Love, Gay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailman.mit.edu/pipermail/haldeman-announce/attachments/20110219/639ee400/attachment.htm From haldeman at earthlink.net Sun Feb 20 17:18:31 2011 From: haldeman at earthlink.net (Gay Haldeman) Date: Sun, 20 Feb 2011 17:18:31 -0500 Subject: Joe's eating Message-ID: <57F58E6D-A151-4C0B-A0E2-FD3489F3FBB0@earthlink.net> Joe ate his first solid food today, just a few bites, but it tasted good he said. They say they?ll send him home tomorrow, but we?ll believe that when we see it. The nurse reminded him that though he has small scars, a lot of cutting was done inside. He said, ?I?ll just tell people even though I look good they should feel sorry for me.? I biked to the hospital and back, twelve miles. Good for my mental health. Love, Gay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailman.mit.edu/pipermail/haldeman-announce/attachments/20110220/6f5e9a96/attachment.htm From haldeman at earthlink.net Mon Feb 21 15:58:17 2011 From: haldeman at earthlink.net (Gay Haldeman) Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2011 15:58:17 -0500 Subject: Joe's still in the hospital Message-ID: They let Joe out of the ICU last night, into a regular room. He hurts some, but he?s walking up and down the hall between naps. The doc says he?s going to keep him one more night, just to be sure everything?s okay. Love, Gay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailman.mit.edu/pipermail/haldeman-announce/attachments/20110221/01a943ca/attachment.htm From haldeman at earthlink.net Tue Feb 22 15:24:40 2011 From: haldeman at earthlink.net (Gay Haldeman) Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2011 15:24:40 -0500 Subject: A small setback Message-ID: <016A897E-CA39-417D-BD29-0107AA551D27@earthlink.net> Home from the hospital? I knew it was too good to be true. Joe had a bad night last night; it looks like his digestion isn?t active enough yet. Not unusual or unexpected apparently, but a few more days in the hospital. He?s feeling much better now than he was even this morning. Love, Gay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailman.mit.edu/pipermail/haldeman-announce/attachments/20110222/032c6f10/attachment.htm From haldeman at earthlink.net Wed Feb 23 21:56:57 2011 From: haldeman at earthlink.net (Gay Haldeman) Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2011 21:56:57 -0500 Subject: CT scan shows nothing serious Message-ID: <963A7951-9720-4690-9AD6-004F1FDE18AE@earthlink.net> From Gay: Joe had a CT scan today that shows no obvious problem inside. He apparently has an ileus, a part of his bowel that is still not awake yet. After a year and a half it?s no wonder. He?s getting what appears to be standard treatment?a naso-gastric tube (that he really doesn?t like) through his nose into his stomach. It relieves any backup pressure he has in his stomach. He can?t eat or drink for a while. The best treatment is patience. Chewing gum and walking help, but walking is difficult when you?re attached to tubes on both sides of the bed. He says he thought he?d never have to worry about walking and chewing gum at the same time. We?re doing our best, wandering the halls. Love, Gay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailman.mit.edu/pipermail/haldeman-announce/attachments/20110223/ec723c67/attachment.htm From haldeman at earthlink.net Thu Feb 24 21:06:04 2011 From: haldeman at earthlink.net (Gay Haldeman) Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2011 21:06:04 -0500 Subject: Joe sends a few lines Message-ID: <058D8139-AB8A-454E-960C-64A458ED4122@earthlink.net> From Gay: Joe wrote a bit about his experience, below. He?s actually feeling better and the doc thinks he?ll be even better tomorrow. We?ll see. Still no food or water, ugh. From Joe: I had Gay bring this computer to the hospital, so I could write a couple of lines. Not so much pain, as such, but new vistas in discomfort and inconvenience. Having your life completely defined and delimited by bladder and bowels ? without even the compensation of food and drink. I can sometimes suck on an ice cube, but not to excess (seriously!) and get all my water intravenously. All at the sufferance of long-suffering nurses. The problem is an ileus. It?s a digestive Catch-22. I?m not taking in any solid food, but the problem won?t be resolved until there is some solid waste. The stomach keeps producing secretions, which are sucked up through my nose tube. The suction has to stop periodically so medicine can be taken orally, and when it stops I bloat up like a tick. (Never thought I?d come to prefer injections over pills!) Ultimately enough solid waste will appear as a byproduct of this activity, so we can move on to Step n-1, which is a diet of clear liquids and gels.. Step n is Food, after which I Step out. Tree pollen season has started, so the situation is made more interesting by the nose tube being a pollen nexus, so my head is a mass of unreachable itches. It just don?t get much better than this. No actual writing and no high-octane reading, either. Brain is too drug ?fuzzy. Short-term memory shot and reasoning pretty basic. Like, I can follow Sopranos but find Gorky Park a real challenge. Gay brings me watercolor and astronomy magazines, so I can pretend to have a life in those directions. Shouldn?t complain. But I can whine. Joe -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailman.mit.edu/pipermail/haldeman-announce/attachments/20110224/11447bb9/attachment.htm From haldeman at earthlink.net Fri Feb 25 21:30:46 2011 From: haldeman at earthlink.net (Gay Haldeman) Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2011 21:30:46 -0500 Subject: Another note from Joe Message-ID: From Gay: Joe was able to write another note. He?s feeling much better. From Joe: What a difference a tube makes, the songwriter said, at least if it?s stuck down your nose into your stomach. They pulled it out this morning, a procedure that ?s short but has aspects of tooth extraction and tonsillectomy. Not able to go straight from that improvement to eating and drinking, unfortunately. First my bowels have to ?wake up,? an interesting figure of speech. Meanwhile I lounge here in relative comfort, just a little bloated and addled. The abdomen, alas, is a kind of Sleeping Giant. Ugly as hell, asymmetrical, scarred and bruised even though the surgery was laparoscopic. Stuck here until it decides to deflate, which the doctor says will happen with great drama. In the middle of the weekend, of course, when all the MD?s are out with their big-game fishing and Parcheesi tournaments. My culinary universe is defined by the gum sister-in-law Barbara brought me ? I had no idea that the stuff came in so many flavors. They are sugar-free ?Dessert Delights,? in flavors like Strawberry Shortcake, Mint Chocolate Chip, and (my fave) Key Lime Pie. I?m not unhappy, with teevee and nurses and all, but I really miss Wi-Fi. I?m so used to having it that I feel almost like one of my senses is missing. The nose of the Posthuman camel has been withdrawn from the back of the tent. If you see anyone I know, tell them I wish they were here instead of me . . . Joe -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailman.mit.edu/pipermail/haldeman-announce/attachments/20110225/95dfd191/attachment.htm From haldeman at earthlink.net Sat Feb 26 21:34:56 2011 From: haldeman at earthlink.net (Gay Haldeman) Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2011 21:34:56 -0500 Subject: Saturday report from Joe Message-ID: <033F788B-1DA4-4A49-BF77-AE81BA968A6D@earthlink.net> As of Saturday noon, no change. Weaker rather than stronger, not a surprise. Thanks for everybody?s good wishes. Should be out of here in days; less than a week. Lots of good people coming by to visit, and when I don?t have visitors, I do have books. GORKY PARK is turning out a be a good hospital read. No energy for writing yet. Just walking down the hall and back takes it out of me. Maybe after The Big Poop I?ll be able to walk a bit outside?sunny and seventies. Joe PS from Gay: Looks like The Big Poop has started. He began eating a liquid diet and got a real shower today, too. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailman.mit.edu/pipermail/haldeman-announce/attachments/20110226/a708d4f8/attachment.htm From haldeman at earthlink.net Sun Feb 27 16:18:03 2011 From: haldeman at earthlink.net (Gay Haldeman) Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2011 16:18:03 -0500 Subject: Solid food Message-ID: <21104BAF-14DB-4A5A-ABBC-49573A02A5B2@earthlink.net> Solid food today! The doctors advised that I might want to have somebody bring in something real, since the food here is ghastly. So Gay brought me a tuna salad sandwich, absolutely wonderful! I?m still a very leaky vessel, so not quite ready to walk home. It would be unwise to spend more than an hour out of reach of a bathroom. A week of this is plenty, though. Enough bed rest, already! I?m dreaming about that big new eyepiece and hoping to be home before Orion gets lost in the trees to our west. And a house full of guitars, slowly easing out of tune. Gay has cleared off the work table in my art room, ready for oils now as well as watercolor and ink. And the novel. Have to modify my work habits for awhile, since it will be a while before I can bike out ten miles and sit in a coffee house. Maybe I can put a soiled checkerboard tablecloth on the table on the porch and have Gay come out every hour or so to heat up my coffee and ask Whatcha doin?? Joe -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailman.mit.edu/pipermail/haldeman-announce/attachments/20110227/5ef60fb8/attachment.htm From haldeman at earthlink.net Mon Feb 28 17:38:08 2011 From: haldeman at earthlink.net (Gay Haldeman) Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2011 17:38:08 -0500 Subject: Joe's home! Message-ID: <96265D98-EBDD-4548-A7BB-2210E100345C@earthlink.net> This morning the docs? dawn patrol looked and poked and said, ?Well, would you like to go home today?? About eight hours later, I was comfortably curled into my overstuffed recliner, watching the winter sun play through the backyard magnolia. It?s not my favorite tree in the world, since at night it cuts off about a third of the sky. But it is a thing of beauty and purpose, and this time of year, when it glows in the warm sunshine and sways in the southern breeze, I can temporarily forgive its nocturnal obstructionism. I?m not too comfortable, since after all I have had a bunch of people pulling out my guts and making comments (thinking that I was asleep, the fools!) -- but all things considered, I?m doing great! Gay had me checked out of the joint by lunchtime and we went to our traditional post-VA feeding trough, the Steak & Shake. I had most of a strawberry milkshake and a BLT, both heavenly after hospital fare. They settled pretty well. The next few days will be a lot of rest and a little oxycodin. Doc says I can eat anything, and I will look forward to getting back into the kitchen tomorrow. Little energy for that tonight, but fortunately niece Lore?s husband Tim made a casserole of his expert mac and cheese. Comfort food. Weather looks like it will be mostly clear before midnight thunderstorms. So I should be able to peek around with my glorious new 31-mm. eyepiece. Pound for pound, it cost more than a Ferrari. But it will take you farther. Joe -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailman.mit.edu/pipermail/haldeman-announce/attachments/20110228/5d7e15e1/attachment.htm