Crickett's Journey

February 20, 2015
Crickett had a normal work week.  Felt fine and we made plans to do something Saturday morning.  He went to the basement to mess around in his workshop.  Sanding a table he had made.
We had gone to bed and about midnight he woke up with knee pain.  The pain was in his left knee which has a lot of arthritis and so no one thought anything different than arthritis pain flaring up.  He did not sleep well at all and trying to relieve his pain was unsuccessful no matter what he did.

February 21, 2015
There was no way we were going to be able to do anything that we had planned for today.  Crickett was not doing any better and so he just kept is leg up and iced his knee trying to reduce the swelling.  He was taking way too many ibuprofen for my concerns and that made Crickett angry with me when I expressed the concern. He was in pain and my "nagging" did not help.  I finally convinced him that he should try the naproxen.  Saturday night he had to start his pills for his colonoscopy.  He was not looking forward to this since he now was having problems putting weight on to his left leg.  I brought out the cane I had used when I had my foot surgery.  Watching him start to hop around made me wish I still had my crutches for him.

February 22, 2015
The pills to clean him out were working well but not helping him with his knee pain.  He was now taking several warm baths to help relieve the pain.  I was telling him to take the Naproxen no more than every 6-8 hours and Tylenol every 4 hours.  He was not having any pain relief and not sleeping well.  At this point he was worried that he was going to go through the clean out and not be able to have his colonoscopy.  Third night of next to no sleep for either of us. :(

February 23, 2015
Up bright and early to get him to the hospital for the colonoscopy.  I drove him to the door and he hoped to a wheelchair and waited while I parked the car.  Bringing him in they thought he was having knee surgery.  Got him back to the short stay and the nurse was enjoying the way Crickett was picking on her.  He asked her if she knew a good Orthopedic doctor and she said Dr. Friessen was great.  She told him that she will call as soon as they open and get him in to see the doctor or at least to see Erin his PA.  We had an appointment for as soon as we could get there from being released at the hospital.
Dr. Friesson examined and asked a lot of questions.  There was quite a bit of fluid on the knee.  We thought it was either a torn meniscus or possibly gout.  He did not remember doing anything to tear the meniscus but this is where most of his pain was located.  Dr. Friessen did not want to drain the fluid from his knee yet because he had just had a colonoscopy.  And he really did not want to put him on prednisone because he is diabetic.  We made an appointment for Wednesday morning to have the fluid drained and a cortisone shot.  Dr. Friessen said if the fluid does not look good that he will have the lab look at it.

Of course we had another night of very little sleep.  I prepared myself for the doctor to come back and tell me it was gout.  I did a little research on it and was ready for the news.

By the way the colonoscopy results were fine.  No polyps, healthy colon.

February 24, 2015
His pain increased and I tried everything I could think of to help him relieve his pain.  I even got out my meds from my surgeries and found that Crickett's pain med he was given Tramadol I had also been given.  My directions of taking the med had an acceptable dose that was higher than Crickett's and so before I went to work for the day I told him that if he takes one and that does not relieve the pain within an hour to take another one.  Before the end of the day we were counting down the hours to be seen again and have the fluid removed from his knee.

February 25, 2015
I went into work early and at 9:00 picked up Crickett to take him to the doctor.  I dropped him off and headed to have my allergy shot.  By the time I got back the doctor had the fluid off the knee and it did not look good.  The doctor said he would take it to the lab and give us a call as soon as he know the results.  I took Crickett back home and headed back to work for the phone call.  At noon Crickett called me and said that it was an infection in his knee and that he needed to go into the hospital to have his knee flushed out and than be admitted into the hospital for antibiotics through an IV.  We looked at this as better than having gout which is a lifetime condition.  The infection could be taken care of and he would be done.
Dr. Friessen said that he was putting Crickett on a strong antibiotic and that by Friday if he does not see enough improvement in the knee that he would do another flushing on Friday.  He told us he was consulting with an Infectious disease doctor and the hospital doctor for the best care.
 The strange part of this is that Crickett has not had any injuries, sores or reason for a bacteria in his knee.
The doctor said that when he went into the knee puss squirt out all over.  He said again that he may need to go back in on Friday but that we will just need to wait and see how he does.  The bacteria was still growing and we needed to wait to see exactly what kind of bacteria it is.  He said that the antibiotic he was on should do it because it had a wide range of fighting most bacteria and it was strong fighting.  Dr Friessen said that at any time he does not think that he could care for him or if the infectious disease doctor thought it would be best for Crickett, that they may move him to a different hospital.

February 26, 2015
Crickett has been having a high fever every night since.  When the fever starts his pain gets worse and he is not finding any relief in the pain.  When Dr. Friessen came in to see Crickett he did not have great news.  He wants to go back in and flush it again.  At this time they still do not know what the bacteria is.  The doctor told us that an infection in a joint is extremely painful and not to try and "cowboy up" it.  If pain level is at a 3-4 to request pain killers because it will only get worse before the pain meds can kick in.  The plan was to have the scope on Friday, continue to stay in hospital for the weekend and possibly go home on Monday if everything looks good.

February 27, 2015
Crickett continues to have pain with not much relief.  He has high fevers as high as 104 and the fever completely wears him out.  It seems when he gets some relief it is short lived.  They have now given him a pump for morphine to help him control his own pain.  He was suppose to have the scope at 10:30 but it seems to be delayed.
It seemed like a long wait but they finally came to get him for his next scope.  I asked if they could just leave him in the same bed since it is so painful to move him.  The surgery nurse said no that he had to be in the bed she brought up.  His scream of pain killed me from the inside.  He had tears of pain running down his cheeks.  I went down with him and as soon as the anesthesiologist saw him he said I am not going to wait to put him under I am going to get something right now and it will work fast and he will not feel anything.  As we waited for his surgery room to be ready for him he was put to sleep and than I went into the waiting area.  I could no longer hold back my tears and fears and I broke loose.  It kills me to see this strong man that has always been there for me to be weakened by this pain.
The doctor came out to tell me the good news he received that the bacteria has been identified.  He said that it is a rare bacteria and that the antibiotic Crickett is on now is resistant to it.  They had to bring a different antibiotic from some where else because no one in Muscatine had it.  The doctor thought that it may take until the evening when Crickett would get it.  He than was called in because Crickett was ready for him.
When the doctor was finished he came out to tell me that this scope looked a lot better and that he probably will not have to go in again to flush it.  His hope is once Crickett is on the new meds he will recover and hopefully be able to be released on Monday.  He also said that Crickett will always be his patient while in the Muscatine hospital but that he has done everything he can do for him and if we would like to transfer him to the Quad Cities he could start that process.  I asked him if they would do anything differently there than what they are doing in Muscatine and he said no, not at this time.  I saw a friend of ours and asked her if she would come to talk to me.  She is a nurse there at the hospital.  I wanted her opinion on Dr. Friessen and if this was her husband would you feel comfortable keeping him here.  She said that she would feel comfortable knowing that if Dr. Friessen would feel he was better off else where that he would tell you that Crickett needed to go but if he felt that he can care for him here he would let it be your choice on what to do.  As I was talking with her the doctor came out again to tell me good news.  It was less than an hour and they had received the antibiotic at the hospital and Crickett will be receiving it soon.  I talked with Crickett and we decided he wanted to stay in Muscatine.

February 28, 2015
 The infection is staph.  It is called xylosus and it is rare on humans.  It is normally a skin infection and not sure why it is in the joints.  He will actually be on 2 different antibiotics.  There is a concern about the muscle in his leg.  The doctor talked about an MRI or ultra-sound of his leg.  They drew more blood to make sure there is no bacteria growing in the blood.  Results for this takes a few days.  Being on the right antibiotics we should see improvements.  A good test for it will be if his fever spikes to 104 again tonight.
Unfortunately his fever did get to the 104 but it did not last nearly as long as the other nights.  Crickett did sleep better and has finally eaten something more than jello.  This morning Lori Kautzman called me and we talked about the staph infection and the treatment he is receiving.  She was impressed with all that they are doing for him.  According to everything I told her she feels he is in good hands.  That was comforting for me to hear.  There have been so many people that have called or text me with comforting things to say.  I am so thankful to all of my friends and family for the comforting wisdom and prayers.  Randy, Sally and Brady are here to help me out in so many ways and I am grateful for all they have done to help make this easier on me.

March 1, 2015
Crickett is improving and is anxious to go home.  He is trying and doing everything they tell him that will help to improve his condition.  He really want to go home.
We got some bad news.  There is bacteria in the blood.  They told us it is different bacteria in the blood than what is in the knee.  This is very frustrating.  We don't know where the first bacteria came from and now we have 2 that we don't know where it came from.  They took more blood to watch it.  For the first time Crickett has had a normal temperature.  Later he did get a fever but it did not last long and only spiked to 101.  Crickett has not been out of the bed and is still in pain but getting better.  I just don't see how he will get out tomorrow.

March 2, 2015
Dr. Friessen came to deliver the bad news.  He does not feel that Crickett is any where near ready to go home.  He is in too much pain and he still has the bacteria in his blood.  He wants other tests to be done and Muscatine does not have the equipment to do it.  The biggest concern is his heart.  We have to make sure there is no bacteria in his heart.  Dr. Friessen wants him to transfer to a bigger hospital.  We told him that we want Crickett to go to the University of Iowa Hospital.  We had all kinds of nurses and doctors coming at us that morning giving us all kinds of information.  We were later told that U of I did not have room for him and so he had to go to the Quad Cities.
The ambulance came to get him and they were so kind and gentle with him.  I knew he was in good hands for his transport.  Crickett was so impressed with them he asked me to contact JuneAnne to get their names and to thank them.
I ran home to get an over night bag since the weather forecast was for freezing rain.  I got to the hospital just as he got to his room.  He was not happy.  We were told he would have a private room but they first tried to put him in with an elderly man that was moaning.  He told them find me a private room or send me back to Muscatine.  They found him a private room.  The bed he was in did not work well.  If he would raise his head some on the bed it would just slowly go back down.  I am having to train every nurse and CNA that we ask to get more ice for his IceMan (a unit for his knee to stay iced).  It takes forever to even get someone to come to his room when he needs anything. 

March 3, 2015
Crickett's body has been through so much.  They removed his PICC line in fear that it was infected with the bacteria that they found in his blood.  They tried to put in an IV and had to poke him several times and move the needle around to get it in.  His arms are black and blue all over.  They now have added another med, a blood thinner to help prevent blood clots.  It is a shot in the belly that stings going in.  Really! More pain he has to have!  I know it is for a good reason but how much more does he have to go through.  He blew his nose, after the tears of finding out he is actually not getting better and that he had to be transferred.  He had a bunch of dark bloody snot.  Of course that was not too reassuring to him either.  
He had an TEE done to check his heart.
Good news!  The heart did not show any bacteria.  What a relief!  I hope that they will now focus on the knee and get it better so that he can go home!

The infectious disease doctor he has been seeing is Dr. Nitesh Upadhyay with Metro Infectious Disease Cnslt LLC in Davenport, IA.

March 4, 2015
We are stilling trying to get use to the new hospital and their ways.  Crickett does not seem to be on a regular pain killer.  He always seems to have to call the nurse to tell her, he is in pain.  It takes about 30 minutes before the nurse actually comes to the room and than asks him what his pain level is.  We found out that he has to say 7 in order to receive any and so he has been lying and telling them 7.  The reason for this is because if he does not get pain killer when it is at 4 it usually raises to 7 or more so quickly and takes forever to get any relief.  If he can catch it before it gets too bad than he is able to control his pain.  We were told in Muscatine it was best to control his pain.
The hospital doctor came in with one of our favorite nurses (now) and asked about his pain.  He asked him if what he was on in Muscatine helped him.  The doctor said that he would give him the muscle relaxers he was on in Muscatine and that he will make sure to contact the orthopedic doctor.  A little later Crickett asked for the muscle relaxer.  This seemed to be helping him.  The nurse came back in and said she just went ahead and called the orthopedic and he will be here sometime today to look at his knee.  They have put him on a no food or drink for now in case the doctor will want to flush the knee once again.  Since Crickett has been here in the Quad Cities this is the first time that I have seen him in a deep sleep.  He is getting some much need rest at this moment.

This is also helping me keep a journal of things happening.  I may have information in here that is more for me.  I will continue to keep you updated the best that I can.  I really appreciate everyone.  It is awesome  how I have seen prayers work in all different perspectives.  God is taking care of Crickett and I and it is because of all the amazing people praying for us. 

If you would like to give Crickett encouraging words or make comments feel free to do so on the post.  I will be sure to read everything to him.


March 4, 2015
An Orthopedic doctor came in to see Crickett.  He is a fast talking doctor.  He asks a question but does not wait for your complete answer. He seemed to not really have time for us.  I had several questions for him but did not get to ask.  But the most important one I was able to.  Dr. Collins started to talk about doing another surgery that actually sounded like a pretty abrasive surgery and that is when I was able to ask him if he should have an MRI done first.  He acted surprised that he had not had one done.  My thinking is wouldn't you as a doctor look at that before suggesting the surgery?  Can you tell I am not impressed with this doctor yet?  He told Crickett he wanted the IceMan off of his knee.  He said that this prevents circulation and that will prevent the antibiotics getting to his knee.  Crickett has started another low grade temperature.  His pain is not getting much relief but maybe that is because he wants complete relief (I don't know).  His mood is on the down swing.  Pray for courage and strength to endure this emotionally and physically.  He has been resting better today than he has since he got here.  I am guessing it's because of the new meds. 
It is 5:45 and radiology still has not come to get Crickett.  The nurse came and said that she got a call from surgery and they were waiting for Crickett to have a scope done.  I have no idea why because we have not decided on anything.  We want to see what the MRI shows until we decide what to do next.  Not even sure we will stay here in this hospital.  Although we really do like this nurse. 

I am not happy.  I am confused.  I am pissed.  I want to cry and make it all go away!

Crickett asked me to run and get him some BioFreeze while he is getting the MRI.  When I returned his nurse stopped me before going into the room.  She told me that they had called her while he was down there and asked for something for his pain.  She had to call the doctor hospital medical doctor to see what she could give to him.  Normally it takes awhile before the meds kick in and help him.  In the mean time Dr. Collins came in and asked why his MRI had not been done yet because he needed it done for surgery.  Crickett nor I had agreed to any surgery!  We wanted to see first what the MRI results were and than discuss what was needed to be done.  They did have Crickett sign some papers while he was loopy on some drugs.  Crickett said they were for the MRI.  I did not read them and so I have no idea what they were.  Dr. Collins told Crickett to toughen up because this MRI needed to be done and he pushed down on his knee to get him to straighten it.  This of course caused a lot of pain for Crickett.  The nurse told the doctor "he has to be in a lot of pain, look how his leg is shaking".  She took the doctor aside and said that he can not make Crickett do this procedure and that he had the right to refuse.  So they brought Crickett back to the room with out having anything done.

I don't know what to do for him.  I talked with Rachel Loos to get ideas from her.  She did give me another doctors name for us to request from here.  She also gave me a phone number to try and see if he can be transferred to the University.  I just don't know what the right answer is.  What I do know is that he is in pain.  Nothing seems to be giving him relief from that pain.  He always has been a restless sleeper, trying to get in that perfect position.  I use to tell him to stop trying to find perfection and be satisfied with the good.  But how and what do I say about this.  I am lost!

March 5, 2015
Crickett has lost almost 20 pounds.  Not a fun diet that I would encourage.  His vitals and blood sugar have been fine.  Earlier this morning Dr. Collins (orthopedic from last night) came in to visit him and the nurse came with.  His bedside manner is not the best.  Crickett was very uncomfortable with him coming in.  Especially since we had requested to no longer see him.  Before she left the nurse apologized for him and said she will be back.  She came back in and apologized again.  The nurse told us that she will do her best to resolve this.  The orthopedic doctor that is schedule at the hospital today is Dr. Hussain.  We are told that he is a good doctor and that he has a team of friendly and good assistants.  I went online and looked him up to see if there were any ratings/reviews on him.  I found that he was 4.5 stars out of 5 and that Dr. Collins was a 2.  I do not consider only this, when I look into something or someone but it did make me feel better.
The hospital doctor came in and apologized as well.  He said that he has talked with the nurse from last night and to Sarah his nurse now.  He wants to make sure that Crickett is comfortable with staying here and he told us that he will do everything he can to make sure that he is.  He went over a few things with us and reassured us that Dr. Hussain and his team are very good and that we will like him.  If we were to transfer Crickett to some where else now it will only mean that he will have to wait that much longer for everything because it really is, like starting all over again going to another place.  We experienced it here and he transferred within the same facility.  The nurses and doctors are just starting to know him here.  He was scheduled for the MRI with anesthesia this morning but the anesthesiologist was sent to an emergency and a CNA came into the room just before they moved him across to the bed to take him down.  Disappointing but at least they did not move him and than have to move him again.  Even though it does not seem to be quite as painful for him to be lifted and moved, it still is not fun for him or pain free.  Maybe he is just starting to get use to some of the pain.  So now we wait until 1:00 for his MRI.  I worry some about depression.  He is not his "cheery" self.  He no longer jokes with the nurses and just seems depressed.  I can't blame him.  He is not finding any relief from pain and no answers to why there is pain.  Maybe he is being impatient.  Maybe we should expect to wait longer for better results from the antibiotic.  His fever still spikes.  Not as high but maybe that is because one of the meds he is on has Tylenol as well in it.  Last night I talked with Dr. Frank (Diana's brother-inlaw) who is a doctor with a lot of knowledge as well.  By what I was able to tell him he feels that Crickett is being well taken care of, accept for the rude bedside manner of Dr. Collins.  He told me that the antibiotic (daptomycin) that he is on, is a "Cadillac of antibiotics".  He said that it is important to get this MRI done, which I completely agreed with.  I have only been pushing for it which seems like a very long time.  I understand the importance of the heart being a priority, but since we knew his heart was fine it is time to look into the knee more.  And I also would like for physical therapy to come in and look in at him and give suggests for things that he can work on.  Crickett is at least listening to me and doing some movements that I have suggested and he does not seem to feel like I am nagging him.  However, we do get on each others nerves still.  And he will owe me for over a 1,000 foot massages.  Anyone want to take a turn at massaging his feet?
The MRI took about 3 hours. It gave me a break from massaging and I was able to get some work done with out interruption.   Good news is that the bone is not infected.  But there is a mass of infection still in the knee and so instead of flushing it out which does not seem to be doing it they are cutting it open and cleaning it out.  He will have an awesome scar to talk about.  They are sending stuff to the lab to be sure that it is still all the same bacteria.  I was not able to prepare Crickett for the news of another surgery because he was barely out of anesthesia and they are wanting him in surgery.  Randy and Sally were here and Crickett would come "out of it" some and we would talk and than a bunch of nurses came in saying they want to do the surgery now and Crickett's face just, I don't know how to explain the look on his face.  But when I tried to tell him he got very emotional.  He was scared but who can blame him.  He was not "with it" and than to be told your knee is going to be opened up.  It was nice having Randy and Sally here while I waited for him to be finished and for when the doctor came out to talk to me.  Dr Hussain said that there was a mass of blood building up that the bacteria was loving and growing on.  He really hopes that this will relieve some of his pain.  Of course he is going to have surgery pain but let's hope this helps fight the bacteria and he is able to get better.

March 6, 2015
Two weeks of pain and we now may see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Once again Crickett's spirits are better.  When I came in this morning he was joking with the nurse.  They had pushed the recliner next to the bed.  The nurse told me that physical therapy was coming in today.  Now that is a sign of recovery.  All he had to do, is get out of bed, stand up and walk a couple of steps and than sit in the recliner, but what an amazing feeling it was.  It was not at all pain free, but he said it was not as bad as he thought it was going to be.  He said in the back of his mind when they told him he was getting out of bed, all he could think of was how painful it has been in the past anytime his leg has been moved for any reason.  For that reason he tensed up and at first it was painful but it actually was not as bad as he thought it was going to be.  He is sitting in the recliner relaxing, reading some cards and getting ready to eat something soon.  He has not eaten for a couple of days and actually his appetite is not really there.  He said he will eat something because he knows he should.  He is doing as well as expected for now and THAT IS GOOD :)

Dr. Upadhyay (infectious disease) news is good news.  The blood culture is still negative for bacteria.  They will not hear anything from what was removed last night for at least 3 days.  Dr. Upadhyay said he may be able to go home Monday or Tuesday, we will see how the weekend goes.

We are blessed with so many loved ones thoughts and prayers.  It is amazing how that makes a difference.  Although Crickett has gone through some rough times, we also know that there are so many others out there that have had it worse or that do not have friends, family and God to lean on for support.  We feel blessed to have all of your love.  There is no way I would want to do any of this with out the love of God.  We have felt each and everyone of your prayers.  It is amazing how God can make you strong when you are weak.

It has been a fun evening with the grandkids visiting tonight.  His blood pressure and his blood sugar are high and he has a low grade fever.

March 7, 2015
I am being a little selfish and relaxing a little longer at home today.  I just need a little moment of sanity and peace before I start the day.  I think we wore Crickett out yesterday.  With him starting his physical therapy and with the visits of the grandkids.  Today our plan is to try and get him to eat something.  We are going to pick him up something from one of our favorite restaurants in hopes he will eat.  And than there is also a Hawkeye basketball game today for him and the boys to enjoy watching.  Hoping this all will lift his spirits and for him to continue to move in the right direction of recovery.
We live by Faith and all things are possible with God.  Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.  We definitely have prayed for God to help and strengthen us through everything that is happening and our faith has comforted us to know that he is listening.  We have faith to wait for his perfect timing.

So far it has been a great day with many visitors and Crickett has been out of the bed a couple of times.  Loved having the family here.  Corey, Brady and Crickett watched the Hawkeye basketball game while Zoey, Jax, Emily and I went swimming.  We brought back food and Crickett ate pretty well.  He is exhausted from the day of activity.  But it is a good exhaustion.  He needs this if he wants to go home soon.  I am feeling more relaxed about things and the worries are going away, but it is also hard to totally let my guard down.
Crickett has not really been ready to get on the computer and so I have been reading to him every ones comments.  We enjoy hearing from all of you.  I feel like I am saying thank you a lot, but we DO really appreciate everything, everyone has done for the both of us.

He is starting to rest now for the night.  His pain seems to be controlled by medication finally.  He no longer needs the Dilaudid for pain.  He has gone down to Oxycodone.  He is still using the Flexeril for the muscle spasms and  He has had PT twice today.  It is basically getting up and going to the recliner or restroom with his walker.  He is not able to put any weight on his leg.  The therapist made it sound like he will not be able to put any weight on his leg until he is finished with his antibiotics.  That will be a good question for his Orthopedic doctor.  That is a long time for that leg to get very weak.  Which would mean he will be off work a very long time.  The Orthopedic doctor came in today and took out his drainage tubes.  I was not here when they did it.  It was while I was swimming with the grandkids.  That may be a good sign that they will not have to go back in to the knee to clean again.  Thursday when they did the surgery they sent blood, tissue and I think cartridge samples into to be tested for the bacteria and fungus (and I think something else, but I can't remember).  Hopefully we will hear about those results at least by Monday.  I would love for him to come home on Monday but watching him get out of bed and how much work it is for him and painful, I am doubtful.   He is sleeping good now and so I go home.

March 8, 2015
Crickett said, last night, he slept the best he has since this has all started. Although his blood sugar is higher than normal for him, it is coming down some.  They are going to up his Metaformin so that he hopefully will not need the insulin when he goes home.  I am sure they will watch this for awhile.  His blood pressure has also improved.  He is taking muscle relaxant and not needing the pain medication as often.  Dr. Hussain's PA came to look at his knee and put clean bandages on it.  The incision is healing well.    He sat in the recliner most of the morning and walked (with walker) to the restroom a couple of time this morning.  He is on the move!  It is still painful but by looking at him while doing it, the pain is less or maybe he is just getting use to the pain.   Maybe he will go home tomorrow.

March 9, 2015
As soon as we see all of his doctors I will add information for today.

He is not going home today.  Dr. Upadhyay (infectious disease doctor) feels on his part that he can be discharged. Dr. Pasha (hospital doctor) came in and said that his vitals have been stable for 24 hours and no temp.  He said that Crickett will see a different doctor tomorrow because he is off.  That did not sound like a discharge.  Crickett still experiences pain on the side of the knee that goes down the calf and in the back of the thigh.  They wanted to make sure there were no blood clots and so they did an ultra-sound.  Dr. Hussain was not ready to release him from the hospital yet.  I asked him if he thought maybe tomorrow and all he could say is, "we will have to wait and see".  Dang!  I was hoping for more than that.  We are both ready to just do this all at home.  Hopefully tomorrow I can say he is going home.
So far everything they have taken from his knee has been negative for any bacteria.  So the antibiotic is working.

March 10, 2015
Today is the day!  He gets to go home!
And so we wait for it all to happen.  And it was just a couple of days ago when I thought that I needed to take the stairs instead of the elevator.  I have not exercised for the last few weeks and find myself breathing heavy from walking up 50 stairs.  I should have started walking the stairs a long time ago.  I am guessing I will be working hard for at least a week keeping Crickett comfortable at home.  I will be the nurse, PT, housekeeping, cook and chauffeur while he gets better.    I hope he is ready for this.  If he tells any of you I am nagging him it is only because I want what is best for him.  He may not feel that way at first but I will be the one that reminds him to do his physical therapy.

God is so good!  Even through tough times I know that it was the power of prayer that had comforted me.  I hate the thought that Crickett had to go through so much pain but I am a true believer that God has a reason for everything.  We may not always know the reason especially at first, but things like this can only make you a stronger person.  Because of all your prayers God was here comforting us and giving us strength to endure it all.  God is GREAT and so are all of you!  Thank you!  Thank you!

I will continue to update on here but may not be as often because hopefully there won't be much to report but that he is getting better.

March 11, 2015

First full day home was long and hard. I tried to go back to work for at least 6 hours today but only made it to 4 hours. I was not feeling well and went home in hopes for a nap before the nurse came. I was able to sleep for about 15 minutes and the nurse was here but no antibiotics. The nurse stayed and did some paper work and told me things I will need. When she left I ran my errands and got supplies. So much for going back to work. Still no antibiotics and the nurse had returned. Crickett was without them for too long. The nurse was calling and the pharmacy was calling Crickett. It was quite a day of confusion. Finally the antibiotics arrived and I asked are we going to have to do this everyday. Wondering if the will come or not. The nurse said that we should have the full supply of antibiotics. We opened the box and there was only enough for 2 days. The nurse got on the phone again to see why only 2 day supply. She was told that it is a very expensive drug. I never would have dreamed of how much this is actually costing. The stress and emotions build up.  I was so ready to have the nurse leave so that Crickett and I could just try and have a somewhat normal evening. Crickett woke up in pain and nothing I did would help relieve it. I finally started to remove the brace and he seemed to get some relief. I am wondering was it because the drugs were not in his system soon enough or was the brace just too tight. 

March 12, 2015

Today was an emotional day for me. Crickett seems to be doing better today which is good.  He is working on his therapy to get stronger. He needs to worry about getting better.  When I am near Crickett I am strong but when I am away for awhile I must let my guard down. Because I cried a lot today. 

I do not ask for sympathy I only need understanding. I know I can handle this and it will all just make me stronger. I do know there are others that have it worse but please allow me to cry every once in a while and understand that, right now for me this is what I need. And for now this is hard for me to swallow. I do know that in a lot of ways we are fortunate and everything will work out but I need to go through these emotions. To let them out. To let go of them.  To make me stronger. 

March 13, 2015
This road to recovery seems like a long one.  Crickett had a hard night.  He could not get comfortable and experiencing pain.  He went out to the recliner.  I am not sure if he does that for himself or for me.  He thinks of me even when he is in pain.  He is a good man.
God knows the depth of the burden that he carries.  I may know that he is not feeling well and is stressed with his situation but God knows the entire weight of it all.  I can not minimize what God is doing in his life.  I know God will work great things in the midst of all of this.  I can not keep him from the pain and the trials that Crickett will face but I am doing my best to support him and care for him to get through this as a WINNER of the battle of infection.  God makes sure that we feel every thought and every pray you send our way.  You are all amazing people and I thank you for that.
So today I wore earrings that actually matched my outfit.  I wore makeup again (I do not want to cry today).  And I will keep my smile and I hope I can brighten someones day.
Crickett told me to tell Mary Kay that he does know how you feel with your geographical tongue.  His is very sensitive and everything seems stronger (saltier, sweeter, spicier).  When the nurse comes she said that she will look at his tongue.  Yesterday she did not visit, she only called to see how we were doing.  She felt confident that I could administer his meds since I did so well the first day.  This afternoon Crickett also has a doctor appointment.   
Dr. Wettach was out of town and so Crickett saw Dr. Hostetler for a follow-up on his vitals and medications.  His blood sugar is not under control as well as we would like it.  In order for healing his blood sugar should be controlled better.  He is now going to have to take his metformin twice a day in hopes this will help.  If in a week his blood sugar is not down to 160 regularly he will also have to take the glipizide twice as well.  He is starting to eat a little more and so hopefully this will help as well.  The afternoon wore us both out.  I went into to work early and got home in time to see the physical therapist.  She showed him a lot of things that he can do to get stronger.  She also told him that he should get up and move at least every hour.  When she left we had to start getting ready to head to the doctors office.  Got home and had to administer his antibiotics and his shot.  As soon as I was done I had to go pick up Jax.  We were both exhausted and went to bed at about 8:30-9:00.  

March 14, 2015
Now I am sick.  I can not afford to be sick.  I have been trying so hard.  I do not know how I made it through the morning.  Crickett was so sweet.  He does seem to be feeling better as well.  His knee does not seem to bother him quite as much and he is not getting as many muscle spasms.  He is doing his exercises regularly.  He is working hard at healing fast.  He ate a fairly big breakfast but at lunch he did not want to eat so I made him a small chocolate shake with some protein in it.  Dinner is normally the hardest time to get him to eat.  After his antibiotic and lovenox shot to the stomach he gets an upset stomach.  But today he had some pizza that Jax and I made for him and he ate it all.  He was tired today.  He and I took an afternoon nap, which made me feel a lot better and now he went to bed at about 8:30.  It was a stressful day too.  We received a letter about his antibiotic.  It stated that insurance has okayed it, which is good, but that our cost for the antibiotic is still an outrageous amount of money daily.  He feels like everything he has worked so hard for is going to have to go into getting him well.  He is the provider and has always been a very good provider.  Now that he can not be it is hard on him.  We will be draining our savings and will be in debt forever.  But he will get better and we will work through all of this.  I will probably have to live with my unfinished kitchen for a long time.

March 15, 2015
The night seemed to go okay.  Crickett did get up and move to the recliner at night and than back to the bed later but that has been a normal night.  We both were able to sleep in until 8 this morning.  That felt good and hopefully it will give me energy to go outside and do some yard work that Crickett normally likes to do.  I probably will not do it as well as he does but for now that is okay.  Crickett came to the recliner this morning for a short time and had to go back into the bed because he experienced some pain and could not get comfortable.  He is trying so hard to make it through the day without pain killers and yesterday he did real well.  Unfortunately today is not going to be as good of a day.  He already took some pain killers.   
It was a hard day.  Crickett is experiencing what he calls muscle spasms and he feels if he takes pain killers that it will help him relax and that it will get better.  Basically what it does is puts him to sleep and so he slept most of the day away.  We had Jax for the day and he was not even able to enjoy him.  He also had a couple of visitors and I am glad he was up for them.  His spirits are down right now.  He feels he is not good with taking this pain and all he wants is to be comfortable.  He is determined to get his strength back.  He works hard on his exercises and tries to walk around (with walker) as much as possible.  Anyone out there have ideas on what he can do about these "muscle spasms"?  He has been icing it continuously.  He massages it continuously.

March 16, 2015
This morning he told me he does not want to have the Lovenox shot today.  He is tired of how it makes him feel.  He does wear the one compression sock but that does not help with his other leg.   I went on the internet to see side effects and I read them to him and he told me that he has had black stools.  We go to see Dr. Hussain tomorrow and today his nurse comes to see him at the house.  Hopefully we will have some solutions.  The nurse this morning was no help.  She was basically there only to get his blood work and change his dressing on his PICC.  I guess we wait until tomorrow for the doctor.  
Since he has been home I have been to the pharmacy every single day.  I am sorry for any of you that may work or know someone that works at a pharmacy but I really hate pharmacies right now.  The doctor says they send in a script to your pharmacy.  You go there a couple of hours later to pick it up and they say there will be a 25 minute wait.  I drop off a prescription and they say it will be a 35 minute wait and so I come back an hour later and they say it will be a 20 minute wait.   OR I go into the pharmacy and they say they do not have the prescription the doctor said was sent.  My brain is so fried I don't even know what I have picked up or not.  I told the gal today, "See you tomorrow" as I smiled and left.  I picked up 40 Oxycodone for Crickett today.  I am really hoping this will be the last of these.  Crickett told me he weighed himself and he figures he has lost 30 pounds.  It kills him to not have energy.  He walks around our small little home and it exhausts him and so that can be depressing to him.  He still eats very little.  
Staphylococcus aureus is the most dangerous of all of the many common staphylococcal bacteria.  Staphylococcus aureus is present in the nose of adults (temporarily in 60% and permanently in 20 to 30%) and sometimes on the skin. People who have the bacteria but do not have any symptoms caused by the bacteria are called carriers. People most likely to be carriers include those whose skin is repeatedly punctured or broken.  People can move the bacteria from their nose to other body parts with their hands, sometimes leading to infection.  (Guess what I think about when I read the above?  Do not pick your nose!  LOL!)  The bacteria can spread from person to person by direct contact, through contaminated objects (such as telephones, door knobs, television remote controls, or elevator buttons), or, less often, by inhalation of infected droplets dispersed by sneezing or coughing. (Curious why Crickett was affected by this and not me the sickly one.)  Staphylococcus aureus infections range from mild to life threatening.  The bacteria can travel through the bloodstream (causing bacteremia) and infect almost any site in the body, particularly heart valves and bones. (Which we had the scare of both but thank goodness it did not go that far.)  The bacteria also tend to accumulate on medical devices in the body, such as artificial heart valves or joints, heart pacemakers, and tubes (catheters) inserted through the skin into blood vessels. (Crickett does not have and artificial parts in his knee but it is definitely a weak point in his body with a lot of arthritis.)  Osteomyelitis causes chills, fever, and bone pain. The skin and soft tissues over the infected bone become red and swollen, and fluid may accumulate in nearby joints.  Infections due to Staphylococcus aureus are treated with antibiotics. Doctors try to determine whether the bacteria are resistant to antibiotics and, if so, to which antibiotics.  Infection that is acquired in a hospital is treated with antibiotics that are effective against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA): ceftobiprole, vancomycin, linezolid, quinupristin plus dalfopristin, or daptomycin(This is Crickett's golden med)   If results of testing later indicate that the strain is susceptible to methicillin and the person is not allergic to penicillin, a drug related to methicillin, such as nafcillin, is used. Depending on how severe the infection is, antibiotics may be given for weeks.  If an infection involves bone or foreign material in the body (joints), rifampin is sometimes added to the antibiotic regimen. 

March 17, 2015
Happy St Patrick's Day!  He heads to Dr. Hussain this afternoon.  Crickett is hoping for some answers or relief for his pain with muscle spasm.  And now this morning he is experiencing some pain in his knee.
Crickett was pretty much told that the reason for so much pain is because of the bad condition his knee is in.  He has extremely bad arthritis in that knee.  Of course he already knew that because he has lived with it for many years.  He had torn his ACL around 1985 and because of this injury has developed a lot of arthritis. His future has a knee replacement in it.  He first saw the PA and he asked Crickett if he had remembered him at all.  Crickett did not remember him although he had been in surgery with the doctor and had also came to see him in the hospital.  He told Crickett that he looked so much better now than he did while in the hospital.  And Dr. Hussain came in and pretty much repeated it.  He said the best thing to do is start physical therapy.  Next week the torture will begin.  He had his stitches removed and so he can now get it wet.  His PICC line can not get wet but he should be able to shower or take a bath.  Well............at home he could not lift his leg high enough without pain shooting up his leg to be able to get into the tub.  So much for the good news.  Overall it was a good day but by the end of it he was tired.

March 18, 2015
I found out good news today.  The daptomycin is insured under our medical plan rather than pharmacy.  So instead of having to pay over $1,000 a day of our own money it is a medical expense and so by now he has met his deductible and out of pocket limit and the daptomycin will be paid in full by our insurance company.  That is a huge relief not having to worry about paying a $45,000-$60,000 medicine bill.  When the mail came his disability check was not in it.  So I called and really not happy with the attitude I get.  At first she told me that a check was sent out on Monday.  I said that Denise told me that she was sending a check out on Friday.  And than she said oh yeah there was a check sent out on Friday.  I asked her if they have corrected the amount yet and she told me that the amount is correct and that is what he will be getting.  I was not too happy by than and so I kind of blew up like "raving mad"........my comment went something like...."I do not know how you came up with the math and I had told you from the very beginning when the person asked me how much he gets paid an hour that he drives truck and he gets paid by the mile not the hour.  When Denise had told me that he was going to get paid $_ _ _._ _ per week I knew that was wrong and it is only a third of what he should be getting paid.  When he gets paid $_ _ _,_ _ _._ _ a year and $_,_ _ _._ _ a week anyone can do the math and figure out what you are telling me he is getting paid it no way near the 60% of his paycheck."  I than asked if they had received anything from FedEx because they were going to contact them about his wages.  She said she did not see anywhere anything from FedEx.  And so I called Roxie at FedEx and she is not helpful either.  She told me that she has no control over what they pay him.  I told her that I wanted to talk to the person she had transferred me to the other day because she was more helpful.  She told me that would be Janice and that she was not working today.  And so now Crickett has to call Rachel in HR and she said that she will look into it.  It is ridiculous that a person that has fought for his life now has to fight for money that is rightfully his.  I am so thankful that we have a saving account that has helped us through all of this while we wait for a paycheck.  

March 22, 2015
I had many people make sure that my birthday was a special day and it was not forgotten. My birthday was a nice day.  And this weekend has gone well.  The weather was great until this afternoon.  I did a lot of yard work and was thanking God we had moved to the small house and small yard.  I can not imagine having to take care of almost an acre and a swimming pool and bringing out all of the lawn furniture.  I was only going to do our front yard but I ended up cleaning some of our back yard as well.  Next weekend if it is nice enough I will attempt to mow the yard for the first time since we moved here.  I brought some of the patio furniture out and Crickett was able to sit out on the deck.  He even asked me to buy some ribeye and he would grill.  His appetite is returning and finally by Saturday his upset stomach is gone.  He is still extremely  restless at night.  I see the color coming back in him and overall he looks healthier.  He still has what he believes to be an unusual pain on the left side of his knee.  He will go to see the Infectious Disease doctor tomorrow and than physical therapy.  It may be a hard day tomorrow.

March 28, 2015
It has been a long week for Crickett.  He is always uncomfortable and nights are the worst.  He is proving to me that he wants perfection and he is impatient.  With healing, these two things can be hard to have.  The doctors keep telling him that he is doing so much better and this healing process is going to take a long time.  He has lost so much weight and muscle that he does not have cushion for his bones and so it is uncomfortable to sit or lay down.  He tosses and turns to find a comfortable position and he can not find one.  It frustrates him and he becomes angry.  SAD.  I try to help with encouraging words and inspirations, nightly massaging his legs and feet and just being there for him.  It hurts to see him discouraged and frustrated. He has thick layer of skin peeling off of his foot.  All of the dead skin.  We were going to do a pedicure but a little worried about the cleanliness for now and if he could sit long enough or if they would be gentle enough for his knee.  And so we struggle on.  I told him that maybe this is God's way of teaching him some patience.  If we can come away from all of this and learn something out of it, we will only become stronger and hopefully a better person. 

April 1, 2015

APRIL, how can that be?  Crickett's hope of returning to work by April 15 have pretty much vanished when he realized it was April. He is discouraged by his weakness. It is not that he is not trying everything to get better. He does his exercises given to him by the Physical Therapist. Yesterday he did a few walks outside in our yard while I weeded. He is eating much better and has even gained a few pounds back. He is still using the Walker because he is only allowed partial weight on the left leg. Hopefully next week when he sees Dr Hussain, he will be able to get in a new brace. This brace is getting very uncomfortable for him. The metal digs into his skin. And hopefully he will start to put more weight on the leg and work up to full weight soon. Next week he will see the Infectious Disease doctor as well. Maybe he will be finished with antibiotics than. I think if all this can happen next week he could feel like progress is happening and his spirits will be lifted and only good things can happen from than on. :)

April 7, 2015
Today was the beginning of a busy week.  Some days I lay down to bed and my whole body just completely gives out.  Today I went into work early so that I could get Crickett to PT on time.  He worked hard at PT and said he was tired.  We than had to head to the Quad Cities to see Dr Hussain (Orthopedic).  We were earlier than needed to be and so I went into Hobby Lobby while Crickett took a nap in the car for 30 minutes.  Crickett first saw the PA and he was very excited to see how well Crickett was looking.  The swelling in his knee is down to almost none and all of the stitches and open soars are healed.  I asked about getting him in the swimming pool to do some therapy and he said that would be a great thing for him to do.  I asked if he could get a different brace and  he said he wanted Dr. Hussain to see him and that he may get rid of the brace.  When Dr. Hussain came in the room he wanted to see how Crickett could move the knee.  There is not enough movement in his knee and that concerns him.  He said that yes he could get rid of the brace.  He can put as much weight on to his leg as his pain allows.  Crickett will not damage anything by putting weight on his leg but pain may prevent too much weight and so he needs to do as much as he can.  He needs to get movement in the knee or they will have to do a procedure called manipulation under anesthesia.  It is a procedure where no incisions are made.  But he would be given anesthesia.  While sleeping, the doctor forcibly moves the knee to break up scar tissue.  If he is not bending his knee well enough by the next visit which is in a month he may need to have this done.   The doctor said he would rather not do this.  And so we will add more to our schedule.  He will be getting into the swimming pool at least twice a week to do therapy with Dr. JoAnn :).  Although I will first see if his PT will do Aqua Therapy.  If not he will have to put up with Dr. JoAnn.  And tomorrow it is on to Dr. Upadhyay the Infectious Disease doctor.

April 8, 2015
It was Infectious Disease Day.  The appointment with Dr. Upadhyay went pretty well.  Crickett's blood work has shown good improvement.  Doctor said that he wants the PICC line to come out.  Crickett has antibiotics until Thursday and so the nurse can come to the house and remove the PICC on Friday morning.  Crickett is very anxious for this to happen.  I think of it like a dog getting loose from his chain and the freedom he experiences.  Crickett feels tied down with the PICC line.  We always have to be home around a certain time to give him his meds.  It takes 15-20 minutes out of his evening.  And it restricts his showers.  Exciting news of him getting better.  He will be taking oral antibiotic (Doxycycline Hycl) for 2 weeks however.  And we are not done with the doctor.  Will need to see him again in a month to make sure everything is going well.  And so the bad news is that Crickett will not be returning to work anytime soon.  He has at least a month at home yet.  His job right now is to get his knee bending and to help me out around the house.  I can handle that for now :)

April 16, 2015

April is half over and before you know it May will be here. I thought I was busy before........  Crickett's PICC line came out on Friday (4/10) morning and he had an appointment with Dr Wettach in the afternoon. The doctor wants him to continue all medications at this time. Crickett was really hoping to get rid of some meds. He will remain on these meds at least until his next appointment with him which will be awhile. 

Well I got him started in the swimming pool and he likes it. He is going every day. I think he is feeling like it is helping make progress and so he wants to continue going everyday. Bonus for him is he also sits in the hot tub. So what I have to do, is go into work 30 minutes earlier so that I can leave work, pick him up and take him to the Y. In about 1 1/2 hours he texts me and so I leave work again to pick him up and take him home. Another reason I am thankful we moved to our little house in town. God truly knew what he was doing when he pushed Jen to email me asking to buy our house. 

Yesterday I mowed the yard for the first time since we moved there. I love how quick it is to mow. I cleaned up some leaves and did a little weeding and work in the flower bed. Crickett helped with trimming. He wants to be outside doing all of this himself. He had to stop and rest several times while trimming, but he did it. And what a good feeling. He stayed outside with me the whole time keeping me company :). Great quality time together. We are getting a lot of that lately. Crickett is relearning a few household chores. He is helping with laundry and putting dishes away. Now this may take him awhile to complete but being home all day and not wanting to watch much TV he needs something to do and it helps me out a lot. 

I am starting a 2nd page. The continued story..........http://joannalderin.blogspot.com/2015/04/crickett-continued-journey.html