Staff Sgt Jason Ross - Marine

Today was another tough day for Jason. They have him on so many different meds that he just doesn't feel well, and he looses his appetite. I kind of push him to eat some food, so that he doesn't take the meds on an empty stomach, and he does eat some, but I know it isn't near enough. We'll be meeting with the doctors again in the morning, and at that time I'll be getting more information, and learning as much as I can about what I should be doing. Speaking of that, there was a dressing change today, and it was with the new Medihoney (sp?) product. I watched how they applied it, and it looked rather easy, so I am guessing that, that will be what we will be using once he does get back home. On the good side, all of his wounds did look better, and it seems they are feeling better, from how Jason is reacting. No visitors today, other than the medical staff, and I think that was a good thing. He was just wanting to rest most of the day. This morning he did start out wi...

Today was definitely a better day than yesterday. Jason still had some problems with his stomach and there were a couple of moments where he felt a little out of sorts, and almost like he had the flu or something. Only he didn't have a fever, and all his vital signs looked normal or better. At one point his blood pressure did seem to drop a little, but that was only for a short while, and within a couple of hours he was feeling much better. By the end of the day, when I had to head back to the house, he was actually feeling pretty good, and eating a very nice dinner. They are talking about him leaving the hospital tomorrow, and then he can get back home and back on track to his recovery and rehab. There a few things that he wants to get done, since he has been in the hospital for so many days here, that he is thinking about taking a few days of leave. This way he can get his personal business out of the way, and then he can focus entirely on rehab, and not have to push to get all t...

Today was a restful day for both Jason and I, and I actually began the morning with a visit to the gym. It was just a short visit, as I don't want to do to much to quickly, I just want to start going more regularly. Jason had some difficulties with his medications, earlier today, but by early afternoon it seemed he was doing much better. I think they were thinking of discharging him today, but I asked them to consider keeping him there one more day, and that also gives me one more day to get the over head trapeze installed. One solid positive is that we now have cable activated at the house. The cable guy, no, not Larry, came by this morning and in a matter of a couple of hours he was done. Jason will be able to watch some T.V. from his own bed now, and at the same time I can watch something else in the front room - if I want to. Not sure that I'll be watching much TV anyway, but at least the option is there now. I do believe Jason will be coming home tomorrow, and he alrea...

Jason's fever went up again today, and in general he is feeling like he has the flu or something. His attitude is still quite positive, and still demonstrating that sense of humor he is known for, though he has been sleeping quite a bit, fortunately. I have been over to see him for the better part of the day and have spoken with the medical staff, and they think they have the infections under control, since most have almost completely gone, and all new cultures are coming up negative. I suspect that he will be back home in a matter of two days, and possibly sooner. When I first got out this morning I headed over to the tire repair shop where they found that there were two nails in the flat tire, with one of those being in the side wall, and therefore unrepairable. That meant I had to purchase a new tire, a Michelin, since the others were all Michelin. The good news is that Semper Fi Fund is reimbursing me, along with all the other things I have needed to purchase. While at the ...

Today is probably one of the saddest days we'll have this year, and comes at on a week that has had more than it's share of bad news. This morning started out very close to the way yesterday started, only I spent just a little more time with Boomer in the backyard, than I had previously. We had a good time chasing around and going after a soft ball. It just seemed like it was going to be a good day. I went to see Jason and told him that David (his brother) had asked to take Boomer for a while, while Jason continued to get stronger, and Jason liked that idea. I stayed with Jason for a couple of hours and then wanted to get back to the house to finish up some laundry and to let Boomer know he wasn't forgotten. Only, when I got home I found that something had happened and Boomer was lying in the corner and not moving. I went over to see what he was doing and discovered he had died. I don't know when he died, or how (the vet suspects he choked on something), only that he wa...

Today was a strange day for me. I had gotten totally used to having Jason here with me and now I'm driving in to visit with him at the hospital again. I have to get the house in order, before I leave in the morning (not much of a chore right now), and also get the dog taken care of, food and water, that sort of thing (somewhat of a bigger chore). Then I head on over to the hospital. Today I went over and saw Jason, in his room, and I happened to get there right after another of his pain episodes. Fortunately the medical team was right there and they were able to get it under control pretty quickly. Then after talking with Jason, he told me that last night they weren't quite so quick in getting it back under control. I know there are some new people watching over him on the floor, due to turn over and such, but I do wish they'd listen to him when he starts telling them what he needs. He is having to reeducate them, and thus making it a little more drawn out, when it comes ...

I'm sure there are a number of you out there wanting to know what is going on with Jason. Well, in a nut shell, he is again an in-patient and again a no-contact patient. He is dealing with another infection, though this time it is no where near the scope that he had to deal with in the past. He has a bladder infection, as well as another abdominal inflammation and all of this causes a great deal of pain and discomfort for him. We figure that Jason will be in the hospital for a couple of days and then be able to come back home, though we have to wait and see what happens. As a little side note, he is in the room that is right next to the room he had previously. The sequence of events went something like this... He went to the ER for the first visit and after several hours they sent him home, and he was comfortable for a few hours. Late this morning I again had to get him transported to the ER, for pretty much the same issue as before. This time, though, Jason was seen by a coupl...

Well, today was an interesting day. The good news is that there is some effort to do reduction in his medications. The bad news is that there is some effort to do reduction in his medications. Jason has been on some of the pain meds for so long there is a bit of a concern that there may be some withdrawal affect, as they reduce the medication. On the other side though, is that there is concern that he might do some damage to his kidneys and liver if he continues to take the medication at the current levels. It is one of those things that you have to trust the medical team, and hope that they know what they are doing. Of course I also have to keep my eyes on Jason and watch for any changes. Well, just as I am typing this he started to have some issues. Things strong enough that I am going to be taking him to the emergency room. Not because its an emergency, just because there is no other place to go, to find out what is going on. I'll try to post more a little later tonight.

Today was one of those days where there really wasn't a great deal going on, so much as time consuming events. The first appointment was with Physical Medicine, and going to see Dr. Pyo (I think I spelled it incorrectly the last time). Well, being that this was the first time going to see him, rather than him coming to see Jason, we needed to find out where he is, or more specifically, where his office is. Well, first off we looked for Physical Medicine - It was located on the 4th floor of the C5 building. He wasn't there, and in fact the receptionist we spoke with didn't even know who he was. Of course she worked in urology so that is an entirely different area. We went down to the 2nd level, and there was actually another Physical Medicine area there as well, but again, he wasn't there. Okay, now we were beginning to wonder what was going on. We figured we'd go back up to the 4th and do a little more looking and perhaps we just missed a sign or something. Just as ...

Okay, I may have to wait until Wednesday to be able to upload some pictures of the newest member of the household, Boomer. The wifi here is great, and free, with one small challenge associated with it. It is slower that the economic recovery, and has very little bandwidth to accommodate picture transfers. I guess I just got lucky the other day when I posted the other pictures, though even then it did take quite a long while to get those pictures loaded. Be of good cheer, and know that pictures are on their way, and you will get a chance to see Boomer. Today was a good day for Jason, that is until towards the end of the day. He started to get some phantom pain on his left side. He hadn't had any phantom pain for several months now, and suddenly his "left foot" was hurting, significantly. Now they did tell us that occasionally that type of reaction should be expected, so we're not too worried about it, at least not yet. He will be going in to see his primary doctor to...

Well, today was a pretty good day for Jason. He had talked about wanting to get moving on a service dog, and would be wanting to start looking at dogs today. He not only looked at dogs, he picked and bought one. Well, technically I guess it wasn't a purchase, more of an adoption as they like to call it. Anyway, Boomer (that's his name) is a 9-week old puppy, and appears to be everything you would expect in a puppy German Shepard mix. He is fully of energy and yet sleeps a lot; everything is new to him and therefore exciting; finding the right food is not difficult, he tries to eat everything. Okay, on that last point, we did purchase the recommended puppy chow for him, and Boomer seems to like it. I took a few pictures of the two of them together, and I will be posting them tomorrow, as I promised Linda that I would show them to her first. Speaking of Linda, she seems to have caught a cold or something and doesn't feel very good right now. She spent a good portion of the da...

Today was an amazingly good day for Jason (and me). We started out with only one appointment, with OT (that's Lynn), and it was actually going to be at the house, as opposed to the C5 building where it is normally done. Lynn wanted to come out to the house and evaluate it for Jason's needs. Before that, though, Jason and I went to the store to purchase groceries, and then he decided that he wanted to go to a pet store. We pulled in to the shopping center, where the grocery store is located, and to our right was a big pet store. So, of course we went inside there first. Jason had a great time, and I think it was the first time he has been around animals and "pets" since he went off, in August, last year. You should have seen the brightness in his face and expressions. He was in his element again, around animals. As it turned out there is going to be an adoption clinic tomorrow, and he wants to go take a look. Who knows, maybe we will find a dog he can train as his serv...

Today did not turn out as we had planned. We both got up kind of early, as we normally do, and ate a quick breakfast. We decided on a quick breakfast because of an early appointment. I was concerned about commute traffic, so I wanted to leave with a little more time than I would normally, because I didn't want to be late. As it turned out, the traffic was all in the opposite direction, and as a result we arrived on the early side, though parking wasn't any easier. Towards the end of his first appointment Jason started to complain of discomfort and finally it was decided to go see another doctor. It was good that we did as he found out that he has developed a bit of a bladder infection. The urology department ran through some tests and has provided him with some medications to deal with it. The challenge with this was that it took a few hours to get through everything, and we still had the other appointment to attend to. We also had to go to the pharmacy and pick up some new m...

Folks, not sure what is going on, bur for the past 30 minutes I've been attempting to get pictures attached and all that happens is a spinning dial. I will try again tomorrow, when I have a little more time. Right now I need to get this done and then get to bed. Jason only had one appointment today, and that was with PT. Actually the appointment was on a verbal request by the therapist to come in at 13:00 (1pm), and then they were going to do some strengthening things. As it turned out, when we got there Jason was starting to feel a little uncomfortable, and some of his dressings had shifted, as they will from time to time. Anyway, I fixed his dressings, and worked with Dawn, the therapist, to get some appointments set up for Jason, and then we went home. I also made a quick run over to the pharmacy, but that didn't take long, so it didn't have any impact on Jason's overall schedule. We are still working with the facilities guys, and they are making some modifications...

Today was the first day without the girls around, and it was noticeable. We had a couple of appointments at the hospital today, and also had the opportunity to take care of a couple of other things, like getting the girls set up with their well baby check up, with the pediatrician(s)(not sure if they each get one, or they will be seeing the same doctor). It is rather amazing the amount of paper work that needs to be accomplished when doing anything with the military, but they do manage to keep track of things and people. OT was good today, though we were just a little late getting in today. We left the house with plenty of time to spare, I thought, then we ran into the road work that was going on. All of a sudden we were just stopped in traffic, and even some of the cars behind us (about five cars back) had to hit their breaks real hard, so that they didn't run into anyone. Kind of scary when you think about it. Just sitting there, and no where to go; so, if the guy behind you ...

I know many of you have been waiting to see some new pictures, and I promise I will have some posted tomorrow. A bit of a crazy day today, as we tried to get in a few last minutes things while Linda was still here. The girls are really going to be be missing grandma after today, heck, right after we took Linda to the airport Stacy started to ask where Grandma was and when was she coming back. She also said she wanted to go to Grandma's house (me too). We all went to Babies R Us today, to pick up a few things and the girls, all three of them, had a great time. Jason and I did our best just to keep up. I guess shopping is one of those things that women are better at than men... usually. After the shopping was done we needed to get back to the house so that the girls could take a nap and the rest of us could just lay down and relax a bit. Besides, Linda still had to do some packing, and we didn't want to be panic packing just before leaving - that's never any fun. On a rea...

Apologies, I nearly forgot the most important thing... We went and had some pictures taken of Jason and the girls, even got a couple of the girls with Grandma. Jackie was getting a little tired by the time we were done with the picture taking, so I didn't get any time in front of the camera. Anyway, in a day or two we will have some very nice pictures of the girls and Jason, and as a celebration I'll even put some out on the blog (that I took, can't use the studio's pictures, they're copyrighted). While at the studio, Jason and I took a small side trip and picked up some Cinnabon, cinnamon rolls. First ones we've been able to get in several months, and they were good. It has been a blessing that Linda has been able to come down and stay with us for these few days, because without her we would not have done the photo shoot. (Okay, now just imagine that the above is in the previous post... ;-)

Okay, we're half way through this month and things are starting to look better. As long as the folks come through with what they told (promised?) us last week, we'll be in pretty good shape. We should be getting some updates on Jason's chair; updates to things around this house; and, finally getting some of the organization of his on going treatments under control. Today was another good day with Jason and the family. We all went shopping, after a nice breakfast, and Jason picked up a couple of things he wanted in the house. One of the things he wanted was a trash can with a lid, that would open by just waving his hand over the lid. We found it at Bed Bath and Beyond. We spoke with the manager and he was able to give Jason a discount. The next thing we would like to do is work out a wireless method for turning off and on the lights in his bed room; Once he's in bed he is stuck with the lights on or off, unless he calls me to make adjustments. I don't mind running ...

Jason had a pretty good day today, and with the out come of the 49er/Saints game (he was a bit torn on who should win), one of his teams is still in the mix. It will be good to get cable hooked up so we can actually watch one of the games, but as with many things, it is a lower priority. Speaking of priorities, one of the issues that we have been discussing with the hospital is rest-bit care for me. With Linda being here right now it seems kind of silly to try to get something set up because she is providing some of the rest. We had not used it previously, and getting a test run in seemed like a good idea, so we made arrangements for that to happen. As a result, Linda and I took off for a few hours (6) this evening, to see just how good the care is supposed to be. They came in and we discussed what was to be done; Jason set some ground rules for how he wanted to be helped; and other tasks were given since most of the time is just sitting around. When we came back to the house, Jason se...

Today was a busy day, in fact probably one of the busiest we have had. It began as a pretty fast paced day, with Linda coming in on an early flight. I had made arrangements for the girls to stay with a neighbor friend (they have two little girls at the same ages so they enjoy going there), so it was just Jason and I to go pick up Linda (a.k.a. Mom). As it turned out, it was a good thing the girls were having a play date with their friends, because the day went into overdrive a short while after leaving the airport. First we went to breakfast. Jason and I were both hungry, and so was Linda. Breakfast was pretty relaxed and then we were off to the hospital. The first appointment wasn't until a little later, so that allowed Jason to take care of some other things - or at least that was what he was thinking. First he was greeted by Christie, from Bethesda, the first OT person he worked with, and the young lady who was captured in that famous drawing of him, while she worked on his ha...

(Everybody - It was pointed out that this one wasn't posted on Wednesday, so I went back in and checked, and sure enough, it still was in "draft" status. I guess I must have been tired or something. Well, anyway, thank you, Karen for letting me know - it is now posted) Today was pretty much a routine day for Jason, in that we got up and fixed breakfast; we made sure the girls were all set; we headed over to the hospital for whatever appointment(s) that he had to do; and, then came back home. The girls didn't get to go over to their new friends house, but that's okay, we enjoy being around them too, and we are getting to a level of routine that allows me to work just a little less hard. Jason is doing well, and he is tolerating the pain much more effectively now. He doesn't ask for his pain medicines anywhere near as often as he used to, and in fact really didn't ask for any until later this evening. The trick is to stay ahead of the pain, so I have to wa...

An interesting little anecdote, about today's date. The military way of righting it is 12 January 2012, or 1212012... Not much, but I thought it was interesting. Jason had a pretty good day with getting all his appointments in, and establishing a regular appointment schedule with PT. Previously he did not have any time set for going to physical therapy, and I wondered about that. It was all cleared up today, and now it will be 13:00 with PT and 14:00 with OT (that's 1pm and 2pm). We had an early appointment today with the prosthetic team, and it was determined that there is nothing they can do right now, and still be able to keep Jason comfortable. We will be coming back every two weeks, and letting them see what kind of progress has been made in his continued wound healing, and apparently Jason is one of those guys that all of the top folks want to be a part of his treatment. At one point there were five other medical professionals (I honestly don't know if they were all...

Today wasn't much different from yesterday, though the actual appointments were with different people. The girls got to go play with their new friends again, and Jason and I were able to get the things done that we needed to do. About the only different thing that happened was that I now have a vacuum available to use, and it was used. Actually most of the house has vinyl flooring, except for most of the upstairs area and the bedrooms. Oh, yeah, I think I mentioned a couple of days ago that Jason shaved off his mustache, well, today he got his first reaction from doing that (besides from me). Lynn commented that he looked better without it and that he looked five years younger. She also went on to say that she didn't particularly care for facial hair, and I said, "Oh, really?" (For those that don't know what I look like, I have a full beard, and at the time she said that, the bear needed trimming - a bunch). She looked at me and was instantly embarrassed, so I had...

We had a pretty good day today, with Jason's appointments being scheduled such that we had plenty of time to get to them, and it didn't interrupt anything else we had going on. On top of that, we have started to get to know some of the neighbors a little better, and found out that one of the couples has a couple of little girls, the same age as Stacy and Jackie, and they got to have a play day with them. We will be doing another day tomorrow as well. The really cool part of the chance meeting was that Charlie, the husband/father, of this new family is also EOD, and he spent some time in Okinawa, just like Jason. As it turned out Jason left before Charlie arrived, so they didn't get to meet until here. They do know some common EOD friends and I think it will provide Jason with another guy he can talk to, who has a common understanding of what Jason is talking about. This also works the other way, in that it allows Jason to be the sounding board for Charlie. The kids had a gr...

Today was close to a carbon copy of yesterday, only Jason did get up for a short while and then transferred to his recliner chair. It isn't quite the same as laying down, but it does allow for him to be more involved yet low pressure on the wounds. I helped him with a shower and dressing change today, and everything looked better than it has in the past, and in fact looked much better than I thought it would... I am very pleased with this. Even tonight, when he went to bed the dressings usually would show some signs of "wear" and they were not there this time. Dinner was very simple - I made hamburgers, and Jason helped. Actually it was his idea again. I was trying to decide on what to make when he suggested just using the hamburgers that were in the freezer. I didn't even know there were burgers in the freezer. They were Bubba Burgers, and I have to admit I was a little apprehensive, as I wasn't familiar with the brand (Jason was), and they turned out pretty go...

Wow, first week of the new year down, and it seems like Christmas was only a couple of weeks ago... Oh, yeah, I guess it was only a couple of weeks ago. Jason had a bit of a rough start this morning, and was uncomfortable so with some encouragement from me he just stayed in bed most of the day. That worked out as it was kind of relaxing for me too. One thing I need to point out... I mentioned that Jason was supposed to be getting his chair and seat this past Friday. It didn't happen. We will be going back in on Monday and talking with the doctor to find out what happened, so I apologize for not mentioning that yesterday. Around 17:00 (5pm) Jason was feeling much better and decided he wanted to get up. To be honest I was a little apprehensive about it at first, then saw how well he was doing and thought it was probably a good idea. He came out to the kitchen and started to cook dinner, by making soup. Jason is a very creative person, and especially so in the kitchen. In high schoo...

Jason was finally able to get his hair cut in today, and I think he feels more like he is supposed to now. I wasn't able to get a hair cut, but I think I can probably get one in on this weekend. Jason was up early this morning and was able to get his clothes, and into his chair, and out to the kitchen all on his own. I was impressed, to say the least. He said it was a challenge, but he managed to get it done, and he was still feeling pretty good comfort-wise. All that is great, and I know it is good to hear about it, though there is a down side to getting into the chair that early. He has a tolerance level that allows him to stay in the chair for so long, then he needs to lay down to relieve the pressure. Today, that time coincided with his visit to PT, and fortunately they have several places where he is able to just lay down. It was actually his first visit with PT, this year, and when he went down he saw several people he knew, and it was a nice feeling going in. We had the girl...

Just a quick update tonight, as things went better today than they have for the past several. Part of the reason is that we finally are getting some things set up and coordinated for helping to take care of the girls, and some of the other chores around the house. Jason took a shower today, and afterward he (drum roll please) shaved, including his mustache. When I saw him, he looked so much more refreshed, and my first thought was that he looked like a Marine who needs a hair cut (he and I have been trying to find the time to get a hair cut for several days now). We were able to take care of some of the chores/errands that we've been wanting to do, with a big one being the change out of the loaner vehicle for the next vehicle. The van we have now is almost identical to the one we previously had so the learning curve was almost null. Its even the same color - white (which means it will also get dirty just as fast). Also we made a new friend today, Bob S., who helped us in many way...

Today started out a little better, but by the end of the day Jason was worn down about as much as I have seen. The demands of keeping up with his needs, as well as those of his daughters has been challenging, but I think we are beginning to get into more of a rhythm, and in a matter of a day or so it should be easier. I'm looking at ways of streamlining our activities so that we don't use so much time to do the different things that we need to do. Like working with the medical folks so that we don't have to go to the pharmacy on a weekly basis, and maybe allow us to have a month supply. Going to the pharmacy, even with Jason's "fast pass", takes about an hour to get a prescription filled. I've hear stories of some of the patients waiting four or five hours to get prescriptions filled. Not sure why it takes so long, in Bethesda it seemed to work much more smoothly and quickly, for everyone. On the good news side today - we were told that the power chair i...

Not the best of days for Jason, as his HO (I think) is starting bother him again. We will be talking with the doctor tomorrow and see if there is something that we can do to make him more comfortable while we wait for his custom seat. The wounds themselves are looking better all the time, and we went in to see the nurse practitioner, and she felt that everything was coming along well. The funny part is that now when we go in I effectively do all the work with the wound care, because I know how to touch, as well as where to touch safely. The medical staff is sometimes less than caring, and I guess I really can't blame them too much. Most of the corpsmen joined with the idea that they would be out in the field "in the action" and when they get placed in a medical office or hospital they get bored. Over the course of these past 10 months I have had the opportunity to work with some who have been absolutely outstanding and others I hope we never see again. Fortunately, the la...

Not too bad of a day, though Jason was experiencing some extra pain, and wasn't able to sit in his chair for as long as he usually does. Fortunately we have to head over to the hospital in the morning, and that should allow for them to possibly provide some ideas/solutions to how he can better cope with it. I got him up and we did some things around the house, and we found that we actually had a little free time. He wanted to get back to his bed and take a nap, and this sounded great to me. After he got up I suggested to him that it would be an opportune time for him to take a shower, and then a dressing change. Because of the holiday, just past, his shower/dressing change schedule got a little out of whack (side note: What is "whack"?). Anyway, he agreed and so the shower felt good and he also looked good after. There were some challenges with the internet, as neither of us could get on, for a few hours (not sure why), but it seemed to clear up later this evening (that...

This blog is dedicated to the recovery and rehab of SSGT Jason Ross, and over the past several months I have, at times, diverted to more esoteric items that really don't have a great deal to do with what my initial intent was. Therefore, since it is the new year, and I have the ability to do so, I am rededicating myself to postings on this blog of JUST Jason's recovery and rehab focus. Having said that... Today Jason got up at just a little before 06:00, as that is the time when I give him his initial meds of the day. A short time after that I helped him get ready for a nice shower, and over to the shower. The bedroom he sleeps in is not a master bedroom in the more traditional sense of the word, and does not have a bath attached directly to the room (none of the bedrooms do). He gets a little PT each time he does this, so going down the short hall provides him a chance to "warm up" a little, for the day. We're working with the housing folks here to get a couple...