Lizard Lip -- Tues., Sep. 25

Never having had my jaws wired shut before, I didn't know how to eat with this new equipment in my mouth. My upper lip is caked in a big, thick scab. I've named this "lizard lip." With lizard lip it is impossible to sip from a straw. 

So I asked the trauma nurses, "How am I supposed to eat?"

They fashioned a feeding tube for me from a large syringe and sterile urinary catheter tube. It works very well for chicken broth and other clear liquids. See...

Bob says I look like I'm playing a flute. Ha!

Chicken broth down the hatch. Good photo of lizard lip.

The little tube goes back toward the molars, press the plunger and drink.

Some Sunnie therapy.

Today was a tough one. I hurt, I was tired, I had chest pain, I was hot, I was cold, I couldn't get enough to eat, I was a little woozy, basically whiny. If I can't be whiny now, when can I be?

Bob came and visited me at 2:00 p.m. after a lunch meeting. That was very sweet of him. I explained to him that the hospital had neglected to give me a "Wired Jaw" diet, even though the discharge instructions said to follow them. Also my discharge instructions said a nurse was supposed to give me instructions on how to clean my mouth...didn't happen. My mouth feels like a slime pit. (Sorry, that's pretty graphic.)

Does anyone out there in blog land know how to clean a mouth that's wired shut? How about a wired jaw diet? We tried to find the card of the lady who discharged me, but it seems lost. We wanted to call and ask HER.

Here's the deal on the diet. Since I didn't get the diet from the hospital, I thought, "Oh, I'll just eat what they were feeding me at the hospital." Well that's not working out so well.  Chicken broth, one cup, is 50 calories x 3 times per day is 150 calories. Grape juice, one cup, is 160 calories. Apple juice, one cup, is 110 calories. In the hospital I was given jello at every meal--try sucking that through jaws wired with ten bands! Doesn't work too well. And they also gave me some kind of citric juice popsicle; however, with broken teeth and raw nerve endings, iced stuff hurt. Basically that's about 580 calories with the juice and broth. Not near enough. No wonder I feel woozy and weak! So I need ideas soon. I do not do well with dairy or wheat. One option I came up with is Chocolate Almond Milk which I love!! 120 calories per cup, plus dark chocolate. Mmmmm. Had some of that this evening and my tummy grumblies went away.  And my mood improved. 

I also wonder if my bad mood might stem from the pain medication. When I don't take it for a while, I feel much happier. But I do appreciate the way the pain med alleviates the pain. I'm taking it as little as possible. I think next will be right before sleep since it makes me drowsy.

That's how this patient and her lizard lip are doing. I'm going to Google Wired Jaw Diet and mouth cleaning...see what I can find.

Enough about ole puffy face. Next blog will be about the Volkswalk we were on when this happened.

Travel Bug out.

Hope to Be Out of Hospital Today -- Mon., Sep.24

Feeling marginally more human. Will most likely get discharged today and head back to San Antonio. Here's the lovely Susan...At least I can open my eyes now, but lots of swelling. Can't smile, jaw is banded shut.

My greatest thanks to Bob for being here with me. He is such a wonderful man and such a support. He has been so worried and so thoughtful and so loving. Our 30 years together has been full of all kinds of things, but this is by far the worst. 

I'm so happy I can count on you, Bob, through everything.

Thank you to my relatives and friends who have sent such great messages. It means a lot to me.

The trauma doctor just came in and I am being released this afternoon. My lunch of clear liquids is here so I will eat now.

Thanks for checking in.

Susan

I Broke My Face -- Fri., Sep. 21

Literally, I broke both cheekbones, my nose, top of my left eye socket and a small fracture into my skull. Believe me when I say, you just never know what will happen in life. 

Here's what  happened as I remember it.

Bob and I went to Corpus Christi for the weekend. We planned to do two volkswalks and tour the USS Lexington and maybe the aquarium.

Friday evening, 5:35 p.m. we started our volkswalk of downtown Corpus Christi at a hotel downtown. Temperature was perfect at 84 degrees with a nice breeze blowing off the bay.

I will tell you about the volkswalk in another blog. We were 5-1/2 miles into our delightful walk. I was so happy because we saw so many interesting things in downtown and it was such a beautiful evening. After our walk we planned to go to dinner at a seafood restaurant by the water. That was not meant to be.

We were at a stoplight waiting for the "Walk" sign to cross a road. I thought I was standing on the wheelchair ramp to go down onto the street. When the light turned to "Walk," I tried to take a long stride. My foot caught on a curb and I fell so hard and so fast, I didn't have time to put my hands out to stop my descent/protect myself. My face impacted full force on the pavement.  I am extremely lucky I did not break my neck.

Bob was standing next to me and didn't have time to catch me. Again I'll say, you just never know what will happen.

I immediately went into shock. The next thing I remember was a lady from the restaurant across the street running over to see if I was okay. (I wasn't, I was bleeding like crazy and hurt like hell.) She ran back across the street and brought back a bag of ice. I was lying on my stomach. Another couple who were walking across the street from us came over to help too. By this time I was lying in a pool of blood. Head wounds bleed a lot.

Everyone helped me get up from the street. I sat on the curb with the lady from the restaurant and the good samaritan couple while I waited for Bob to bring the truck to pick me up. The lady from the restaurant told us how to get to the hospital. I knew things were very bad because I couldn't close my jaw and my whole face hurt.

At 8:50 p.m., Bob took me to the Emergency Room at Shoreline Hospital. They got me into a room right away. Then my memory is a little sketchy on the round of events there. I remember getting a chest x-ray and a CT scan. When a doctor finally saw me, he put six stitches into a cut in my left eyebrow. They took another CT scan to go with me to Memorial Hospital, a trauma center.

Then they had an ambulance transport me to Memorial Hospital about 1:30 a.m. Photo of my face cleaned up with stitches over my left eye:

At Memorial Hospital they put me in a room in emergency. Bob had followed the ambulance over and was in the room with me. We waited and waited. Finally an intern came in to talk to us. They were going to admit me to Intensive Care Unit and a neurologist, trauma doctor and maxillofacial surgeon would all consult on what surgery and treatment needed to be done.

I was taken for another CT scan. They found a small fracture into my skull above my left eyebrow, and a small amount of air had gotten into my brain. They were very afraid of a meningitis infection, so started me on antibiotics immediately. I was also put on morphine for pain relief.

After that they seemed to forgot about me. Bob and I dozed in the emergency room. A trauma doctor came in to tell us that I would be going to the Intensive Care Unit and they would have a maxillofacial surgeon put plates and wires in my cheeks and wires to secure my teeth. I have what is called a Le Fort fracture.

About 6:00 a.m., Bob left me in the emergency room because we were told I was going to be moved to Intensive Care Unit. He had to go back to the 5er and feed the cats and get some sleep.

I waited in the emergency room until they finally moved me for another CT scan to Radiology, then on to a room in Intensive Care at 9:00 a.m. It had been a little over 12 hours since I fell. Bob came back around noon. He stayed until about 4:30 p.m. and went to feed the cats, said he'd be back around 6:00 p.m. to see me off to surgery.

They monitored me in Intensive Care throughout Saturday, giving me antibiotics and morphine. They wanted the swelling to subside before surgery. At about 6:00 p.m. they took me to surgery. I called Bob to let him know, but he was still about 20 minutes away. I told him I'd see him in the Recovery Room.

Surgery lasted about three hours. I had multiple facial fractures. The doctor decided not to put in any plates. He said the bones will heal better with blood flow from the skin and muscles. Instead he wired my teeth into place and put about ten bands to close my jaw. I can barely move my mouth and my tongue is trapped as my teeth are closed so tightly. I wll be on a total liquid diet for two to four weeks. I also have two broken teeth which will need caps, hopefully before we go to Australia. It hurts to talk and all I can do is mumble and maybe people can understand me.

Here is my photo after surgery:



Lots and lots of swelling. After surgery I was so out of it. I don't remember much at all until around 10:00 p.m. At around 11:30 p.m. I was moved from Intensive Care to a regular hospital room.

Today my face hurt so bad! I've been on pain meds and antibiotics. They finally started me on clear liquids this morning (Sunday). It's the first time I've eaten since 3:30 Friday afternoon.

Bob has been wonderful, taking care of calling our relatives to let them know what happened and taking good care of me too. Mom sent me some pretty flowers. Thank you, Mom.

They wanted to release me today, but I felt so out of it and my mouth hurt so bad, I told them I'd like to stay another day. So I will be checking out Monday morning I will post another blog with photos of our Corpus Christi volkswalk when I feel better. I will not forget Corpus Christi for the rest of my life.

Injured Travel Bug out.

civil Wedding at Rüdenhausen



Photo and Copyright Gabi P.



On Saturday 22.09.2012 the civil Wedding of Prince Dominik zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg and Countess Olga zu Castell-Rüdenhausen took place at the Townhall of Rüdenhausen. The bridal Couple alked the short distance from the CAstle to the Townhall where the short Ceremony started at 11h00 local time.



Photo and Copyright Gabi P.



 Present where also their parents Fürst Johann Friedrich and Fürstin Maria zu Castell-Rüdenhausen, and Fürst Alois-Konstantin and Fürstin Ansatasia zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg. Also the grooms sister Christina von Rohr, née princess zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg and some of the brides uncles. After the Ceremony they posed for the few onlookers before they wealked back to the Castle where a celebration with more guests took place.

The religious Ceremony will take place on 06.10. at Sintra, Portugal where the Family of the brides mother has an Estate.



Photo and Copyright Gabi P.



On a Mission - Thurs., Sep. 20

Mission impossible...almost. I woke up this morning with vertigo. Not good. I did my exercises for vertigo and rested. When I resurfaced two hours later my vertigo was gone. Yay! I hung around the 5er to make sure the vertigo was gone before I ventured out. At 3:30 p.m. it seemed safe to go on my mission to the missions.

First stop, Mission Conception. We had passed by the outside on our Volkswalk in July, but couldn't go inside as it was Sunday and the church is still active. A Sunday service was in progress that day.

Today I was able to explore to my heart's content. These missions are Spanish architecture with a Moorish influence. Here's what I saw.

Back side of kitchen, refectory and library.

Mission wall art (fresco) in library

The church and convento walls of Mission Concepcion are still standing after 250 years. Mission Concepcion  is one of the oldest original stone church buildings in the United States. The frescoes are colorful murals or designs in which pigment is applied to wet limestone plaster, which absorbs the color. Limestone and goat's milk bind the paint. When the plaster dries it hardens back into limestone, and the colors soften into permanency. The art of frescoing was taught to mission Indians. A blending of Christian, Spanish and Native art elements resulted.

Convento corridor.

Looking toward storeroom, porteria and library.

Main church entrance...notice the rose window above the door.

 

The Sanctuary

Pews in nave.

Great door.

A nice couple took my photo .Good shot.

From here, I continued on my mission to see, well, missions. My next visit was to Mission Espada. This mission was established on March 5, 1731.

Mission Espada was the only San Antonio mission where bricks and tiles were made.

Remains of Indian quarters. This was a mission entrance.

Indian quarters.

More ruins of Indian quarters.

Church circa 1740; bell tower (espadana) added in the 1780's

Belltower and door are distinctive Spanish features.

Unique doorway into church.

Granary converted to church from 1773-1776.

Be sure to watch out for the fire ants!

Mission Espada is definitely not as well preserved as some of the other missions, but the church still serves as the heart of the small community nearby; mission descendants continue to worship there.

It was after 5:00 and there was one more mission I wanted to see: Mission San Juan. The gate was locked when I arrived, so I walked around it. Everything I wanted to see was outside anyway. Reconstruction work is currently underway on the church, so it is fenced off.

Acequias.

A 1/3 mile trail to hike with Bob. We'll be back!

Church undergoing restoration work.

 

 

Burial grounds.

Burial grounds.

Driving between missions, I saw a couple of other interesting things: egrets, and I'll share the other one at the end.

Great egret and a couple of snowy egrets in the San Antonio River.

About a week ago Bob drove me past the Stinson Municipal Airport in the evening. I didn't have my camera then, so I came back today to take photos of this great art deco building.

That's a wrap, or, as Bob pointed out, "Mission accomplished." LOL. Good one, Bob.

Hopefully I'll get a laugh too. Here's the other photo op I found driving between missions:

Really???   The End.