ProfessorTomoe

You have my sympathies, tOH. Take all the time you need to recover.

Knackwurst on Sara Lee Artisano bread with mayo and German coarse-ground mustard. No need to go to a specialty store; these were Dietz & Watson, made in the USA. Still good stuff. Nom.

The day after my foot surgery, I went with my wife to my son's birthday party (actually just the two of us and he and his wife) at a place called Wabi House in Dallas. He turns 32 on Monday, but this was the only day our schedules met (hence the post-op restaurant trip). The place serves ramen and appetizers. Someone online found it for me when I asked about a place that serves takoyaki locally. It had great reviews, so I talked Mrs. Prof into taking our son and daughter-in-law there. She picked the date, but had no idea that I would break my foot a few days before and have surgery the day before. I managed to make it anyway. The takoyaki got rave reviews from both my son and myself. Mrs. Prof and I both ordered the Spicy Miso ramen, their flagship product. It was excellent - neither of us could finish it all. I had leftovers this morning, and the "better the second day" rule applies in spades with this ramen. Nom. My son ordered Tonkotsu ramen, while my daughter in law ordered Shoyu ramen. Out of all of us, only my son finished his ramen, along with most of the takoyaki. Definitely not a cheap place, but worth it for the service and taste. It was even worth collapsing on the sofa after I got my walker put up. Five stars.

Surgery went smoothly, with the exception of a damned painful IV. The last thing I remember before going under is telling the surgical staff that the anesthesia injection hurt like hell. No big bruise left over, but I've got what looks like a vampire bat bite on my hand. No more hand IVs if I can avoid them. I woke up well and was nursed back to consciousness well, with plenty of crunchy ice, cranberry juice, and graham crackers. They even did a bit of physical therapy with me before letting me go, showing me how to walk on just my heel. They suggested that I not use my rollerator and use my walker instead, since it's easier to stop myself from falling with a walker. I've since taught myself to use my cane inside my house, but I'll still be using a walker outside. If you read Facebook, you would have seen my biggest surprise—I'm down below 300 lb. for the first time since my gastric bypass back in 2010! I've been on Lasix for swollen legs for the past month or so, and it's finally doing its job. It also helps that I haven't been eating a ton or indulging in sweets. The hospital scale registered me at 288. Made me a very happy boy. I did eat a bit more healthy on Saturday. Check the appropriate food thread for details.

Surgery is tomorrow (Friday). I check in at 8am for a 10am procedure. My blood tests and paperwork were done yesterday, so it's all over but the cutting. Mrs. Prof told the surgeon that she was worried about my "brittle bones," so he said he's going to use a heavy-duty plate inside me, along with five or six screws. (The ankle surgeon only used eight screws at most in one of my broken ankles.) I fear I'm going to have one hell of a lumpy bone once this is finished. Healing time is estimated at a month. The up side is that I'll have a much stronger metatarsal in the event that I should stumble again. I'll also have sort of a hard hat in case I drop a bowl of custard on my foot.

Thou speakest the truth. The weather has been relatively mellow as of late. Inside of cloud acknowledged as well and truly polished.

Come on, those of you who didn't give this a heart comment. If you can't laugh at the walking wounded, who can you laugh at?

Hurt my foot a couple of nights ago by stepping on the long bone of the outer left foot oddly. My "hurt" outer toe bone turned out to be a badly fractured 5th metatarsal. My left foot is now in a cast and a boot. The fracture will require surgery with a plate (and a screw, I assume) to repair. Now waiting for the surgeon to contact me.

Can't be sure. My wife hates the doctor and staff at the place.

The infectious diseases doctor removed my PICC line today. For the first time in seven weeks, my left arm is free!

Blog part two: https://dleejackson.lbjackson.com/2018/09/this-august-did-not-like-me-part-two/

Takuma Sato just won his third-ever IndyCar race at the Portland Raceway today, and his first race since last year's Indy 500. Yay!

BTW, to step out of sequence, I have OFFICIALLY had my last IV here at this "skilled" nursing facility. I'm going home after 10am CDT today. w00p!

I'm going to try to cover everything that's gone on this month in my blog. For anyone who is interested, here is part one: https://dleejackson.lbjackson.com/2018/08/this-august-does-not-like-me-part-one/

To whom it may concern: Thank you for the puzzle book. I definitely do appreciate it.

I've been moved from the hospital and into a "skilled nursing center," the functional equivalent of half-way between a hospital and a rest home. My new address for the upcoming week is: Dennis Jackson Christian Care Center 1000 Wiggins Parkway Room #2126A Mesquite, TX 75150 My first encounter with their food today wasn't half bad, so I'm not it such desperate need of pizzas or fruit baskets. I would appreciate something, though, even if it's the cheapest thing in the catalogue, since this place isn't exactly the Ritz-Carlton (not by a LONG shot). Thanks to everyone (e.g., Don) who sent virtual gifts earlier.

A delicious pear, courtesy of @The Old Hack 's fruit basket. Very delicious, in fact.

I'm writing from room 211 in Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, Rockwall, Texas. My swollen feet and lack of equilibrium have landed me in here. I'm on two different IV antibiotics (Zosyn and Vancomycin) that have to be infused 3-4 times a day. This is all thanks to what they're now calling "cellulitis," a bacterial skin infection. How they let it get this far without catching it I'll never know. They're looking to move me to a skilled nursing center as soon as they can get approval from my insurance company. Until then, it's hospital food, needle pokes, and mass interruptions every two hours. These past two months have been very hard. I could use a flower or two.

Going to two doctors today. First to my pain management doctor for a med check, then to my family doctor for a much more complicated appointment. You see, in addition to the BP problems, I'm developing upper respiratory infection symptoms despite being on two of the strongest antibiotics that are made. Also, last night, my right foot decided to swell up like a balloon. I'm confused as all get-out. What the smeg is going on with me?

Had more problems with low blood pressure at a subsequent infectious disease doctor appointment. They were going to draw blood, but when they saw my BP was 105/40, they wound up giving me a half liter of saline instead. I e-mailed my regular doctor and told him I was dropping my blood pressure medicine. I'm now supposed to monitor my BP (on a brand-new Omron BP652 unit, which will replace the crappy CVS brand unit I had) and set an appointment on Wednesday next week if the symptoms continue. Oh, and try to keep Gatorade in business while I'm at it.

My son ate Jon St. John's nachos. If you're familiar with the Duke Nukem 3D series of games, you'll have heard Jon—he's the voice of Duke Nukem. Well, my son and I were supposed to meet with him at the Let's Play convention in Irving, TX this past weekend and give him some more of my Calibrations CDs to give away. We'd agreed to meet up at some point during the convention. The story takes place at lunch, right after we'd sat down at a round table that was just clearing out. The café was packed. We had just started eating when a man and a woman came up and asked if they could join us. That man and woman were Jon St. John and his manager. I thought they were doing it intentionally, so I said, "Sure!" I rose, extended a hand, and said, "If I'm going to shake your hand, I'd better well do it standing." He looked at me and said, "Who are you?" We finally figured out our identities and exchanged greetings. During lunch, Jon got miffed at the café staff over their nachos. He likes crunchy nachos that you can dip into the cheese, but they'd poured cheese all over his chips, making them soggy. My son had also ordered nachos, but had dry chips. He offered to swap with Jon, who after a bit of hesitation, accepted. Later on, Jon told my son, "You made my lunch." So, my son ate Jon St. John's nachos.

It got better after a few hours. I saw the doctor later that day and told her about it. She told me to call the nurse during the week or 911 during the weekend if it happens again, since it might be a sign of a lethal blood clot. I haven't had any pain since. In other news, I've had low blood pressure lately (105/54 at the infectious disease specialist), and I've been thinking it's due to the diuretic I'm on for edema in my legs. I sent my regular doctor an e-mail about it, and he advised me to lay off the diuretic for a few days to see if my BP comes back up.

Don't know what I did overnight, but I woke up with excruciating pain (8.5) in my PICC line path, especially my shoulder. Couldn't even lift my pills to my mouth at first. It's leveled off, but typing is still painful. I sleep on the sofa (Mrs. Prof snores LOUDLY and the cats have claimed my spot, which I've donated), so I don't toss and turn much at night. That shouldn't have caused so much pain, though. Please, oxycodone, kick in!

Mrs. Prof laughed, since she's here almost all the time with me. It's going to take another fall to convince her that I need one, I fear.

I fell last night. Messing around at bedtime (keep it clean), I jumped on the comforter and laid there for a while. When I tried to get my footing off the bed, my feet came out from under me. I landed on my knees, which is never a good thing. I got turned over and eventually got my right knee under me, which allowed me to get up. Time on ground: around 10 minutes. I am officially a fall risk.