marylou

Kurt's expecting pictures tomorrow. I spoke with him (or should I say he chatterboxed at me! Jeez!) and he wants to see pictures. He said he might not be able to make it because it's really hard to find Matt's house, and it was agreed that pictures might be a better way to go.

Don't tell my surgeon, but the word of the evening is castless here at mi casa. It was good enough for a broken ankle ten summers ago, it's good enough for a broken wrist now.

Big improvements today. Lots of color in his face, at times very chatty. Memory is very spotty. He knows people, but can remember very few names. Kellie and I were there together for an hour or so, and he really enjoyed getting all of that female attention. We asked him lots of questions when he was awake, and he gave us lots of answers, some right, some wrong. He was extremely sarcastic toward me a couple of times. A move out of ICU is imminent, though he's still going to be very sensitive to getting overstimulated.

That's great news, thanks. My guys were comfortably ensconced in a cabin by the S la S campground (as was I) and the two Daniel guys really felt that they should have done more to keep that situation from developing at all. I forwarded them onto this thread, and I'm sure they will, as I was, be happy to hear she made it out. As Wayne said, the drainage is pretty tight, in any case, thanks to SAR for getting this woman home safe and sound. We were all pretty worried about her safety last night.

Laura has it spot-on. Right now, most of the work with Kurt has to be done by the man himself. Lots of sleep, some visits, and what we can do to keep Frank and Margaret from being frazzled and tired. If anyone needs something to do, from what I know, there is going to be plenty to do in the coming months. This might mean financial help, it might mean helping out with caring for Kurt and his house, and his life in general. Anything we can do to make his re-entry into the world that we know (and maybe take too much for granted) it is going to be welcome and appreciated. Keep sending those good vibes, and stay tuned as the recovery develops. Alli

I was in the area Friday-Sunday. A couple of my compatriots saw the whole situation unfold. When they came down from Daniel, the partner was there with the sherriff, SAR had not yet arrived. That was around dinner time yesterday. The compatriots should be back in Seattle by now, let me know if being put in touch with them might help. Lot of snow still present in that area. Safe travels to SAR and I really hope they found her today.

Hi y'all. I just spent a couple of hours with His Pineyness. His condition is not quite stabilized, so we all need to keep Kurt in our thoughts and prayers. He had to go back into ICU over the weekend. He's fighting a little infection in his lungs, and they've got him on some morphine so he can try to hack up the ick. In addition to his head injuries, he has several broken ribs and a broken collarbone, all on the right side, and these injuries are causing him some discomfort. He woke up for a bit, and he really wanted to talk to me, but I told him he didn't need to talk, and he said ok. He squeezed my hand a lot. He seemed relatively calm and comfortable, and for now his vital stats are good. I didn't ask about this, but the swelling in his head and face looks like it's gone down a lot since I last saw him on Friday. I saw his dad at the hospital, and met Jack (see above) who is just as Mark describes him. I'm not sure that it's a good idea to send a lot of visitors his way until his condition improves, though it's up to Frank and Margaret, and their liason here, Mark McKillop, to make that call. He's not in a regular hospital room right now, and in talking to his nurse, he needs a lot of rest to fight off this infection. One bit of news I'd like to share: everyone I've met at Harborview has commented to me on his excellent manners. He still has his please and thank you. Those of you who know him well know that he is, under that gruff arborial exterior, polite, kind, and patient to a fault. I stopped by his house and talked to his mom and some friends today. His affairs are being taken care of, house is nearly spotless, and it will be by the time they are done. Kurt's condition is still quite serious, his mom is being an absolute rock about getting everything squared away for his eventual return to normal life. I can see from his parents, who I hate to have met under such circumstances, where Kurt gets his kindness, patience, and resolve. I hope I have not said too much, but given how many friends he has on this forum, I think it's important to give you an update. I'll see him again before Tuesday and will try to give news at Pub Club. I am currently knitting up a badly broken wrist of my own, and overdid it this weekend, so will do my best to rest up and come out on Tuesday night. Keep those candles burning for Kurt, he needs lots of love right now. Allison

While it is, in his words, a yuppie fuck fuck bar, seems to me he likes sitting outside with all his peeps on a hot summer day at the Ballroom. While I think Big Time is the right idea, that outside seating aspect has a certain seasonal appropriateness to it....

Because the traffic getting out of the city is just plain gonna suck. I was on the roads at around noon and the around 2, and it's a bad kind of gridlock out there. I wish I could teleport to Fall City and start my drive from there.

You are correct, sir.

Yeah, this was crossways, the way they stabilize a wrist. Imagine dragging a pin through bone soup just reassembled a few days before. I don't know how they put in your perpendicular leg bone pin, but mine was basically driven into the bone soup and the good bone without any pre-drilling, so it was a tight fit. Lots of friction and pulling on the way out. Achiness is all gone. I think what happened is I did too much after days and days of rest and getting that damned pin removed. I did my first good long walk (only 4-5 miles, but after doing serious bedrest) today and I can already tell my legs will be sore tomorrow. I'm probably just being a little impatient on the healing thing. It's been a long time since I had to recover from a serious broken bone, and it just takes a long-ass time. I'm only two weeks in since the accident and it seems like an E T E R N I T Y. Gah! Broken bones suck!!!!

If it's right next to your sternum, it might be a separated rib. I did this once, and it hurt about as much as a cracked rib. Good medical advice upthread though, don't listen to us. If it's a separated or cracked rib, you'd know it, bone pain is its own kind of pain, regular old pain pills will get you through it. Last time I broke a rib, I didn't even see the doc, he just phoned in an Rx for pain meds. If it's not obviously that, get thee to a medical professional.

Saltines with butter. I love them so much I eat half of them while I'm making up a plateful. So bad, so good.

I've been pretty happy with the BD Expeditions. I bent a lower section last year in a talus slope (probably my fault) and BD replaced it for free. The Expeditions have the flick lock at both sections and do not collapse.

I've been really happy with my 2000 Xterra. Bought it this year, does everything I want it to do.

It was a small turnout. I'd have made it longer, but I had to have a pin pulled out of my wrist with a goddamned PAIR OF PLIERS that day, and I wasn't feeling all that good after that. Go figure.

Not in the mountains necessarily, but butter on Saltines is SOOOO yum.

I don't know the answer, unfortunately, but why not spare yourself the misery, if you have time, and just buy one there? Canister stoves are dirt cheap, and stoves that have ever been used can be problematic at airport security. When there are rules, they are not evenly applied. Doing this, in the worst case, you get your stove confiscated on the way home when it matters less, in the best case, you maybe get a cool stove not available here, and have the opportunity to go gear shopping overseas. You never know what other super cool stuff you will find on your shopping excursion. Happy travels.

I find Good Food no longer has good food. Matter of fact, mediocre and overpriced are 2 words that come to my mind. North Cascades Inn in Conrete (south side of 20, just east of Red Apple), well, now you're talking....

I can't imagine pulling a pin out of a pretty recently pretty shattered bone being painless in any situation. Maybe 6 weeks after, but not now.

I have major itchies from the Percocet, which I am still taking a lot of. I understand that is a mild allergic reaction to the drugs. I had a stabilizing pin pop part way out on Tuesday and the attending pulled it out (OWOWOWOWOW) and he said to watch for infection, but it's only slightly pink, no streaks, and just a teeny bit of fluid/moisture on the dresings. I don't think I have an infection, but I'm seeing the surgeon on Monday and will bug him then. The whole pin thing will be a topic of conversation too. Apparently stabilizing pins that are later removed with PLIERS are also common, but my surgeon *forgot* to tell me about this EXCRUCIATING procedure and the after-pain. *freaking surgeons. why not just be honest?* By the way, I was not in long enough to get sick. Hell, I had to ask if it was okay to take off my SHOES before surgery.

I shattered my wrist on 6/5 and had it put back together on 6/8. I'm still sleeping/reading (ie in bed not doing much) probably 12-14 hours a day in order to get things knitted up good. Plus I'm working so hard at healing that I need A LOT of rest. The last few days, I've been ultra sore. My hamstrings and upper back in particular are as sore as if I'd put in a hard day of work. I can't figure out what is causing this. Has any one else had this problem? Is there an explanation? I know I'm moving weird when I am up and about doing things, but this can't explain it completely, or can it? I have a good bed and a range of pillows for proppage and good reading ergonomics. Really looking forward to getting more active in a couple more days. Kind of over the whole bedrest deal.

Isn't there supposed to be a post in there about how "this is why I don't read cc any more"? Or have those people all stopped reading cc?

Oh, oh-kay. I might be a little late, I should let the drugs wear off a bit more before driving. I have a pretty good story to tell about something that happened today.