Simon's Surgery

Simon went to Ann Arbor this last week end to visit his friend from Norway that is an exchange student there. His friends Americanized name is also Simon. Well, they went to the Michigan football game on Saturday and then came home for dinner. Around 8pm, Simon started to have abdominal pain but still went out and played pool and table tennis with Simon and his friend. At 1am Simon woke up with severe abdominal pain and vomiting After being that way for 2 hours he finally called me. He at first told me I could pick him up in the morning but after talking a little more he said that I could come then. I arrived in Ann Arbor about 4:30am and saw there was a light on in the living room so I went to the door and noticed Simon's host mom was on the couch and I didn't knock as she was getting up. Well, she opened the door and I said something to her and I scared her half to death. She hadn't seen me she was just letting the cat out as the cat had woke up. Simon had never talked with her and she didn't know I was coming. I went upstairs to get Simon but he was in the bathroom, poor kid. I got his stuff and when he was up to it, we left. On the way home I was debating if he had a bug or what. But Simon was in the hospital in March with the same abdominal pain and vomiting and they couldn't find anything wrong and then told him that if it happened again that he should go to the hospital. So, I debated in my head what to do, home, Hurley or Mott Children's in Ann Arbor. I decided against home so now, Hurley or Mott Children's. I would feel more comfortable at Hurley and it's closer to home but I don't really like the pediatric surgeon at Hurley and if there is something that is hard to find, what better place to go than Mott, one of the best hospitals in the whole country. So, back to Ann Arbor we go (I was only about 10 minutes away.) After I finally found the ER I pulled in and they had free valet parking and someone from security was right there also. Simon wasn't walking very well and security got Simon a wheel chair and insisted on pushing it himself. We were triaged right away and sent to the peds er. Once we got there, they offered to put Simon right in a semi private room with a 2 year old or we could wait 5 minutes for another bed to empty, and that's what happened. When they asked Simon how much pain he was in on a 1-10 scale with 10 being the worst, he said 9. I was very surprised because he never complained at how much pain he was in and he just lies there. He is one tough cookie. Since he was having abdominal pain they had to put in an IV and give him fluids and drew some lab work. When the tech was going to start the IV he was doing in the part where all the hair is and I couldn't believe it. I almost said something but I figured that isn't the best thing to do just before he poked him. I didn't want to make him nervous and not hit the vein. Well, he didn't get the vein and had to poke Simon again but at least away from the hair in his arm. His lab work came back and his white count was elevated (13) so they wanted to do a cat scan to rule out appendicitis. Simon was suppose to drink one cup of contrast and then in an hour drink another. Poor Simon as he had been vomiting for hours but the last time had been 3 hours ago so maybe it would work. He was able to get the first cup down, only saying something about the taste once. After he finished the cup he was nauseated and in a lot more pain. So, when the doctor came in, I asked if Simon couldn't have something for the nausea and he also apologized for not giving him something for pain yet. Before the next cup of contrast Simon got his nausea medication(Zofran) and some Morphine for the pain. The morphine was a super small does and the nurse pushed it very slow, over 4 minutes but it still gave Simon the weirdest feeling and a headache. That only lasted about 5 minutes and then he started to drink his 2nd cup of contrast. After drinking a small amount, Simon asked me for his bucket and then to remove his hoody that was on top of him and he was so non nonchalant about it I didn't worry too much. Simon then puked up all the contrast. After the nurse called radiology, they said for him just to drink a couple of sips and then take him for his CAT scan. After he returned, the ER resident said that his appendix was thickened and that they were calling surgery. It didn't take too long for the surgery resident to come in and he was talking with us and he got paged and left the room before he was done. While he was out they came in to wheel Simon to surgery and we didn't even know he was going then. Simon had a question to ask the doctor (if the surgery could wait until after soccer season which the answer was no) and we hadn't talked to Simon's parents yet as I wanted to have all the test results back and what they were going to do first. We got a hold of Simon's mom, Liv before they wheeled him out and off to pre op holding for surgery. They let me sit with him there but he wasn't there long and off to surgery he went. It was about 12 noon then but I thought it could have been only 8 as everything seemed to go fast. I was so sure the clock was wrong that when I called Floyd, I asked him the time and I was the one that was wrong. After surgery, the surgeon came out and talked with me and said that everything went well and he had acute appendicitis. I guess that Simon's appendix was pointed downward and that is why he didn't have the typical abdominal pain for appendicitis and had they done a rectal exam he would have had excruciating pain. I was finally able to see Simon again at 2pm when they were taking him back to his room. Once we got to his room we could hear his room mate yelling, moaning and crying and that never stopped the whole time we were there except for when he had his morphine and went to sleep. It made for a very long 24 hours. Of course Simon slept quite a while as he still had a lot of anesthesia in him so he wasn't able to hear his room mate then. When Simon did wake up I ordered him a tray and he sat up and then had some abdominal pain and nausea but he still tried to take a few bites of jello. He then took a pain pill and went back to sleep and was able to sleep through his room mates antics. When he woke up this time, he was hungry. He ate his yogurt, macaroni and cheese and finished his jello and he was still hungry. We thought there was a Wendy's in the hospital and he decided he wanted the big sandwich, the baconator. Well, they closed the Wendy's and he didn't want me to leave the hospital so he had 3 bowls of cereal. He was finally full but now he was awake and all we could do was listen to that guy. We had the tv on and watching poker but in the background, was the guy still yelling and being very rude to the nurses. Simon had told me to go and get a motel room so I could get some sleep the nurse in me couldn't leave, I know the difference when parents are around and not. Finally, at about 2:30am I wasn't able to get any rest with the screaming kid and I knew I had to drive home and had only slept 4 hours the night before I had to do something else. The charge nurse was getting me a list of motels but she offered me a small bench in an empty room and that is what I did and I was able to sleep 2 hours. Simon was asleep at the time so I didn't feel so bad. When I got back he was still asleep but I found out that he hadn't slept the whole time as the kid was yelling again. That room was horrible. When the surgeons made there rounds at 8am they said after he ate breakfast and walked he could go home. I informed him that he had done all that very well and that we wanted out as soon as possible because of our room mate who was yelling at the time and they all laughed and understood. After an hour the nurse came in and I told her if they didn't write the orders soon, that I would just take him home as we had had enough. We finally left at 1 and we were so anxious to get home and have some peace and quiet and some good rest, which did happen. Simon got home and went to the couch so he could have Tivo once again (he really missed that in the hospital) and the OC was on. Right now it is 7 in the morning and Simon is sleeping. He had so much pain yesterday that we decided he was staying home another day and we will take each day at a time. He is out for soccer but will be back before the end of the season. He says he has had such bad luck with soccer so far.
Simon's friend had called Simon while we were in ER because he never knew Simon had been sick and Simon didn't tell him he was leaving so when he woke up and found Simon gone, he couldn't figure out what happened. And he was very nice and came and visited Simon after surgery, along with his host dad, Tom.
Simon has talked with his mom a couple of times but his Dad has been in Denmark so we left messages on his cell phone. Simon had a number for is Dad in Denmark but it was in an e mail and he hadn't written it down. Who would have expected something like this. But he will be able to call him today so he can hear Simon's voice and know that all is well.
This has been quite the experience for Simon and I once again was somewhat of a nurse, poor Simon. :-) But he is now on the road to recovery and should not have this abdominal pain again.
Our experience at Mott Children's was a very good one except for his roommate and I'm glad I decided to go there.

Meganck Wedding and Alicia's Shower

We had a very busy week end with Lindsay Meganck's wedding and Alicia's wedding shower. Saturday started very early with us being up at the VFW hall at 8am to help Marlon set up the tables. Marlon had a diagram all drawn up but Floyd, Floyd Carol and I had our own ideas and we just went to work. All of the hard work paid off as the hall looked very nice. The table decorations Cindy had were very pretty. The wedding was in the church the I went to when I was younger so it was cool to go back there. The food was very good and the party was a lot of fun. I left at 12:30 to come home and get ready for the shower and Floyd stayed there until 2:30 to help clean up.
Then we were up very early Sunday morning to get the basement ready for the shower. Since we aren't down there much, there was a lot of dusting. It didn't take us long to get it set up and it looked very nice.I ordered flowers from my favorite florist and thy helped make the basement look nicer. We played a couple of games, ate and then Alicia opened up the gifts. She received a lot of very nice things and it was so nice to see her so excited. Alicia is a very special you women and I feel very privileged to know her. I can't wait for her wedding that is 3 weeks away.
I am going to post some pictures of Simon and his friends at the wedding and some from the shower so make sure you take a look at those.
Update on my Mom.....when I called yesterday to talk to her, she was making dinner. So much for listening to her doctor.
When I wrote about the updates I should have also included 2 sisters. We feel like Aenne, Tino's sister, is part of the family also. She was an exchange student in Michigan last year and we did get to see her during the year and for her last 3 weeks here in the states, she lived with us. Aenne is back in school in Germany and has 2 more years. She said that school had started easier than she had expected but she hadn't had her math class yet. She is very sweet and does keep in close contact with us. Her nickname is Kimo and we only have fond memories of that and our trip together for spring break.
Jakob's sister, Janna is going to Central Michigan this year and we are looking forward to seeing her during the year. Janna got a job with the school newspaper as a sports writer, which I'm sure Jakob would love to do. She did come down and took the train to Chicago to see one of her friends. It was great seeing her again and we are looking forward to seeing her again soon.
Floyd's brother, Matt's son, Eric is getting married Sunday so it's off to another wedding.
And as always......there is soccer.

My Mom

A few weeks ago my Mom was cleaning a light above the bathtub in her room and she had put a stool in the tub so she could reach it. Well, I guess getting down or out of the tub she fell and hit her head but her left arm took most of the fall. She couldn't use her arm after that and was in pain but she thought it would get better and wouldn't get it checked out, even with lots of encouragement. It's funny because when she thinks Dad needs to go to the doctor or ER, she calls me and has me talk him into it but when Dad calls me for the reverse, she won't listen. Well, when we got to Florida, a new bruise showed up and new swelling near her elbow so she said she would go to ER. Well, they took xrays and said they couldn't find any broken bones. Her arm still was not improving after all these weeks (about 3) so she called her doctor and she went to an orthopedic surgeon and her elbow is broke. The doctor told her if he would have seen her in the beginning, he would have casted her but since it has been a while and the bone isn't displaced he decided not to and she has to wear a sling when she leaves the house. She has strict orders not lift anything heavier than a feather so now Dad will be waiting on her. He has to take over the cooking details so I guess they will be eating out a lot. Mom says she will have to hire someone to clean the house but who is going to do the laundry? I don't know if Dad has ever learned how to turn on the washing machine yet. I wish I had a video camera set up in the house as this should be interesting. :-)
I'll keep you updated on her progress.

Updates on All

Things in the Lincoln household are the same as usual for this time of year. School has started along with soccer. For once, there were a lot of guys who went out for soccer with 19 being on the Varsity and 20 on the JV. On Tuesday, the varsity lost to Mt Morris, the first time ever. So, I'm sure you know what kind of mood Floyd was in. And then last night, a parent suggested to him that there are parents who think he isn't putting the best team on the field. Leave it to parents to think their kid is better than everyone else's. So, now Floyd is hurt and says he will not be coaching next year. I'm sure they will realize how good of a coach he really is when they get a new one.
Well, I labeled this as updates so that is what I will do. To begin with, I was awakened this morning by Stacy telling me she passed her LPN boards. What a great birthday present for her. She still has 1 year of nursing school to go and then she will take her RN boards. But right now she is working as an LPN making much more money than she did doing nails. She is also engaged to Graham and will be getting married on June 7, 2008.
Clayton is starting his second year as the athletic trainer for Byron. He also is going back to school to get his 2nd major as a gym teacher. He became engaged to Melissa 2 weeks ago but they said they won't be getting married until 2009. Melissa started as a special ed teacher at Carmen-Ainsworth this year.
Johannes, Jo or Joi, graduated this last summer and is now an architect. He found a job as soon as he finished and is working in Kempten for the same firm he did his internship for. In fact, they called him and wanted him to come work for them. He and Carmen are now getting an apartment. I don't know what Carmen's job is but she has a degree in Chemistry.
Sullivan or Sully, graduated this last year also with his MBA. He did an internship for Air France this last summer as a flight attendant. That is how we were able to see him twice, visiting him while he was in Toronto and Detroit. Since the beginning of this month, he has been working for Google Ireland in Dublin.
Mikel is in Frankfurt and is going to law school. The last time I talked with him I asked him how much longer he had to go and I don't remember what he said. I was thinking it was something like 4 years. I will have to check with him again. I guess I get confused with 9 boys.
Magne is going to school in Bergen and will be finishing with his bachelors this year and I think it's some kind of economics degree and then he will be going for 2 more years for his masters and I'm thinking that will be accounting to be a CPA. Even though he has explained all of this to me several times, I still get confused.
Aydin has finished his social service year and he will be starting at Berlin Technical University for a degree in engineering. He did very well after our reunion last year he completely recovered from what ever was keeping him from walking. Which I still believe and will always believe, was caused from a virus.
Tino has started is social service year and from what I heard from his sister, he is really enjoying it. He still plans on attending a university in Hamburg next year. He is still with Jule and she is studying to be a teacher.
Jakob was just here for 6 weeks for a visit and is now back home finishing his last year of school. He passed his physical for the service as a T2. They said he was too tall to be a T1. So, now he is trying to figure our what he wants to do for his social service.
Jannik is back in school in Germany for 2 more years. He was just injured in a soccer game so he is now on the sideline for a few weeks. This is his first week back to school so he will now have to get used to German school again.
That brings us to Simon who Tuesday was back on the soccer field for the first time since May. I don't think he really has played much since December when he was first injured. Simon is very thoughtful and has a good sense of humor. He might not bring in the papers, but I can see the carpet in his room. Unlike some of you. :-)
There is one part of my family that I haven't mentioned yet and that is my parents. They are both doing well. They took a Mediterranean Cruise and spent time with Joi's parents in Rome and Kempten. After getting home they both had minor surgeries but now are back at all of their activities. They sure enjoy their retirement. Hopefully, Floyd and I will enjoy our retirement as much as they do.
I miss you all!