Ty, Less One Rib

He is fiercely independent and our family is loving and close in a distant and reserved sort of way.  So there has been a texting battle going on with Ty saying, "Don't come", in about twenty different ways, and me saying, "I'm your mother!"  As it ended up, I let him go into surgery with his dad, Brent, in the waiting room.  We planned to get there the next day in time to check him out of the hospital.  

He was first on the surgery schedule so I expected an update by 11:30.  I called, and that's when I first found out that it was suppose to be a 3 1/2 hour surgery!  I called again after 4 hours and he still wasn't out.  By 5 hours I was having a hard time holding myself together and Brent's voice was so shaky he wasn't helping.  I was a mess by the time I finally got a call letting me know that he was out and okay.  It took 5 1/2 hours because they found a lot of scar tissue outside of the vein and inside.  They took the rib and cleaned things up the best they could, but the vein didn't open up like they had hoped.  Never let your child go into major surgery without being right there!  Even if they're 70!  (I'll be 104 when Ty's 70.  Maybe I'll let him go in without me then.)

The next day we drove to Eugene.  He had already checked out by the time we arrived.  We picked him up from his apartment and took him to dinner.  He was suppose to use his arm, but not lift or carry much weight.  He was taking minimal pain meds and using basic ibuprofen.  He still had iodine all over his arm, neck, face, and chest that wouldn't wash off, and couldn't shower for a couple more days.  The worst part was an external drain coming out of his incision.  He had to keep emptying and measuring the fluid.  He would have that removed six days later.

He caught this problem when he went to the U of O clinic because his arms were different colors.  They still are post-surgery.

The day after surgery with his gross drain of blood fluids.  (He's wearing his Eddie George jersey which made me happy.)

Just a side note.  We're getting ready to eat at The Pizza Research Institute, a funky, vegan place that played hits from the 60s.  I think every college town should have a pizza place with that name.

We met Ty's roommates who we liked, and saw his place which was pretty neat and clean, then took him and his laptop to our hotel for three days. We kept him hydrated, fed, and full of ibuprofen.  He was able to sleep pretty well and rested up.  It was fun watching animated movies (Wreck It Ralph and Big Hero 6) and a Seinfeld marathon.  It was great just being with him, talking, and eating turkey jerky.

We dropped him off at school for a class and some time at his job in the lab taking care of ants, but that wasn't a good idea.  He was there for an hour and a half, but couldn't learn anything, or think, and his teacher wasn't nice.  He was wiped-out.  (He should have listened to me.)  

He needs to be recovered enough to fly to Milwaukee one week after surgery.  His Ultimate Frisbee team, Ego, is going to Nationals.  He needs to be there to support the team - not playing.  I don't think anything will stop him.

Ice Day!

When I checked at 5:00 AM there was no snow.  They wouldn't call a Snow Day, and they didn't.  They should have called an Ice Day.  I have never driven in more treacherous conditions.  My 10 minute commute took 45 this morning.  Federal Way was a parking lot.  Every turn was a skid.  You couldn't go slow enough.  There were flashing lights everywhere.  Everyone on the road between 6:00 and 9:00 had a scary, scary drive.  Walking in the parking lot or on sidewalks was not much better.  Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings. 

Torture

Correcting is not fun.  Grading writing is hard. Giving feedback is time consuming.  Grading 85 student's research notes and references is torture.  I can do one class a night and it takes about 4 hours.  I give these assignments because they need the experience.  We're only halfway there.  Over Christmas break I'll be reading 85, five page research papers on Canada or Latin American countries.  There are always good ones, and entertaining ones, but in the end, it's grueling.

Staying in Rexburg

We’ve been to Education Week at BYU-I a few times.  A wide variety of classes are offered and the presenters are exceptional.  It’s not very crowded, the campus is beautiful, and you can just relax and soak in the spirit. 
The only problem with attending Education Week is finding a place to stay.  One year we stayed in a Quality Inn that we call The Low Quality Inn.  Another year we stayed in a Best Western that has an indoor pool right off the lobby and it makes the whole place damp and smelly.  This year we booked early and found a good price at a new place in town, the Magneson.  It sounded good, but when we pulled around the corner this is what we found:

The Best Western has been sold and renamed.  The pool is still just off the lobby, but they have done something about the smell.  They are on a tight budget though and it showed.  Our key didn’t work, so on the third attempt the girl came to make sure it wasn’t operator error.  Then she gave us another room, but the key still didn’t work.  She finally brought a remote kind of thing with her to our original room and got us in, but the air conditioner wasn’t working.  She tried to get us in another room across the way, but couldn’t get the key to work.  We finally ended up in the second room she offered us, with a key that worked, and an air conditioner that just worked marginally.  We will be going back to Education Week, but not to the Magneson.  As we were driving out of town we spotted a Spring Hill Suites by Marriot.  If that doesn’t work, we’ll be in Idaho Falls.

Oh no! Say it isn't so!

I lost my camera!  It was full of pictures from our action packed weekend with my dad and sisters.  It was full of family history, gravestone pictures.  It was only a couple months old.  It was on our last stop before we arrived back at my sister's house.  I know I took it into the Chinese restaurant on Washington Boulevard in Ogden, Utah.  I sat it on the seat of the third booth by the window.  I called 25 minutes after we left.  I called two more times and my sister went back in four days later and they took out the seat.  I just want someone to post my pictures for me.  Not only is my blog colorless and boring, losing the camera made me lose some of my enthusiasm for blogging and genealogy. 

It's been a week and a half and although I'm still mourning the lose of my pictures, I am on the road to recovery.  I'm watching for the next sale and I'll replace the camera.  I'm also planning a return trip next year to retrace our steps.  Next year we might let my brother come too.  Next year I'll have wonderful pictures to post.