Hey cowpuc!

[Yammer Dan]

Prayers Up!!!

[snyper316]

sending prayers to you, You lop eared varmint.

[Drews]

Prayers Up!!!

[snyper316]

Prayers up get well soon and give us update when you can

 

Living life one curve after the other. Vroom scooting, thru the countryside.

[Yammer Dan]

Prayers!!!

[bluestar99]

I just talked to Scott. He has gone through a lot and is at home recouperating. He sounds very up beat. I will let him tell the rest of his story in the way only Cowpuc can tell it!

[slowrollwv]

Thanks for the up date. Hope he is feeling better. Sure do miss reading his posts.

[snyper316]

Yes thank you for the update glad to hear. Prayers continue

 

Living life one curve after the other. Vroom scooting, thru the countryside.

[cowpuc]

The short version - be it ever so humble,, their is NO PLACE LIKE HOME and we are here!!

The long version for the more daring:

Well, THANKS to all your support and by the grace of God we made er folks!! The surgeon prayed with Tip n I (kinda rare these days), they nocked me out and the surgery took about 5 hours. Although I have surgery followup next week at his office, he informed us when he signed me out at the hospital that it will be a full 5 weeks before we have a definitive answer as to whether or not more parts will have to be removed. Of course, we are hoping/praying that they got it all and we dont have return to front line duty in the war against this nasty stuff for a good while!

Surgery recovery went well until it was time to get up and walk around - thats was not much fun. When that all started I was feeling like my hero Wile E Coyote!! Picture him getting splattered on the grill of a semi out in the desert somewhere.. Arms and leg spread out and his torso goes SPLAT and he slowly druels down the front of the truck.. His body bumps off the pavement a few times before it disappears under the truck, bouncing up and down in a good ole fashion well learned coyote body roll, the type still used by bikers out practicing their high speed wheely riding technique. Then Wile E's work apron gets caught on a driveshaft under the truck and the body contact he is absorbing each time he bounces off the ground are now increased exponentially as he finds out the undercarriage of the truck is just as hard as the pavement below him and the rpm's of the driveshaft increases the "bounce" to more of a painful vibration than an identifiable "THUD THUD THUD" of just bouncing under the truck.. Finally the leather apron string lets go and Wile E is deposited like a deflating basketball under the 53 footer being pulled by the tractor.. Before FINALLY being freed from the battle zone he had found himself in, Wile E's hanker chief wrapped around his neck gets caught on the Dock Bumper on the trailer and he is dragged an extra 5 miles just for "kicks" before the noose finally gives way... As that pesky Coyote rolls off the side of the highway in a heep a small thought balloon appears above his head that reads "Ouch"!! Dear Mr Coyote = I can relate = ouch!!! But just like my friend Wile E = I am still here to harass you guys and, very similar to how quickly he returned in seemingly decent condition - my pain loss is almost noticibly better by the hour!!!

With the bad parts gone, other pieces on their way to be dissected, having had nothing to eat since Saturday night and having had very little sleep = I was looking forward to being released Tuesday but that was the day they found out I had a collapsed lung. After a number of trips to X-Ray and then a REALLY interesting one to the CT Room for a "flash" view with stuff that glowed (WOW what a story = you guys will LOVE it!!), it was discovered that at least I had NO blood clots in my lungs causing my breathing issues!!

Ok, the CT story.. To get released from the hospital ya gotta be able to suck a vacuum of "1500" and have over "90" on your blood oxy level.. Blood oxy level was at 80 and I could just barely make the needle on the vac gauge work. Felt like I was hydrolocked. X-rays revealed the lung collapse, a nurse comes in to "flush out" the artery right on top of the muscle on my right arm just before sending me for the CT "flash view" which has to be done exactly correctly with a good flush in order for the stuff they inject inside the lung vessels to see if they are clotted.. She flushed it out, capped it off and away we went. On the way down to the CT room I got talking scoots with the guy pushing my table down.. Fellow gearhead!! We pulled into CT, the tech came right out, got up me on the machine and positioned me, he hooked up the IV, I got my hands in just the right position = he told me to let him know when I "felt" the familiar warmth of the injection,,,, slid in the machine, said I "feel" the injection but it "feels" strange (not the normal zingy around my teeth - more a cool dripping feeling down my arm n back), he comes out, looks and see's the fluid running down the side of the bed under the table I am on..

Rapid Traverses me out of the CT Hub, looks at me and says the IV Valve broke!! He said "I think if we are really really careful, we can work together and replace the valve and redo the injection and still get a good view (alternative being a lung reflush). I said = OH HECK YEA - now your in MY mancave!!!

The 3 of us worked together and after the successful read, we all "fist bumped" and I nicknamed the tech "macgiver" which he LOVED. He looked at me as I was being wheeled out the door and said - thanks for making a mess all over my CT Table - I laughed and told him just the thought of that made my day - grease rags and oil dry are in the corner!!

Still hydrolocked, my surgeon finally was called in.. He looked at everything, talked to me about how I was "feeling" and gave me the news that I had to hang around until all this was resolved.. Said he REALLY thought I was NOT suffering from lung collapse but from lung compression from being filled with air for surgery.. He grabbed a pillow, draped it across my abdomen, grabbed both ends of the pillow and told me to breath in and out the best I could. As I did he "messaged" my innards with the pillow by pushing in HARD against my abdomen! Talk about WOWZY painful!! With eyes tearing up I told him FIRMLY = THAT HURTS! He looked me right in the eyes I said "I KNOW - BUT I GOTTA DO THIS - JUST WORK WITH ME A LITTLE LONGER!!", nuther few minutes (seemed like FOREVER!!) or so and BINGO - my lungs reformed some and I was sucking just under 1000 on the meter (not good enough but wayyy better) and my oxy came up by 3 points (to 83). After an extended stay and thru LOTS of walking, I passed the test and am now home!!

The inside of the operating room looked like something out of NASA!! Wayyyy cool!! I talked with the Anisteesia people about a REAL concern of being strapped down and "irriating" my sciatic nerve damage suffered from back injury years ago. I was told that should be NO problem with this "new" surgery room technology = guess what, THEY WERE RIGHT = not bad at all = got offered Norco painkillers for a take home, felt good enough to pass on em (I dont do well with them anyway - they REALLY tare up my insides), only have taken a few Ibuprovins since home for pain - living on your thoughts and prayers for pain has me feeling pretty dog gone good = THANK YOU and THANK GOD!!

 

On the other side of that coin, something I never really realized was how painful little pockets of air working their way out of the areas around internal body organs can be. I know,, I know that I am known to be hard to follow on my discription of stuff but I swear that somehow that air moved up into my shoulders (right side first). Up my back and into the muscle area of the shoulder!! No drugs = walking and movement seems to help the most!!

So, a general flow chart , how am I feeling (in case your wondering).. Having all those inside parts outside and gone and outside pulled inside and sewn up and peeing into a bag aint the worst thing in the world I tell ya!! I am FINALLY able to sleep more than 2 hours at a time (been a long time) PLUS, if this is permanant - driving/riding cross country and not stopping to pee is gonna make Iron Buttin a piece of cake!!!!

 

 

 

Thanks again for ALL the support - a more compassionate group of lop eareds there has never been!

 

Love ya'll

 

Puc

 

 

PS - a special thanks to FlyinFool for holding off on the powder this week!!

 

PsPs - to ALL people fighting in the war against Cancer - I learned alot - my thoughts and prayers are with each of you - thank you if you are a Medical person for being there too!!

[cowpuc]

As of this moment, you should be starting the surgery process. I know it will be a long day for Tippy and your family and I pray for their strength to get thru it. I especially pray for your strength and the challenges that you will be going thru today and for your recuperation that we all seek.

There is no doubt that with what I know about Tippy and what I have learned about your family, that you have truly been a blessed man. And with that said, we want those blessings to last for a long time more. You have been a great inspiration to all of us in so many ways and we pray that there will be many more days and miles and smiles of you CTFW and we all look forward to many more stories and tales of your and Tippy's adventures.

We love you man.

Randy and Linda

 

Beautiful (repeating Tip!!)!!

Thanks Rand (and ALL) for being there!! WE KNEW IT!!!!

 

O goody I get to look silly right about now but I have a question, What is CTFW? I bet I am gonna get some silly answers or a may just get lucky and get told what it is.

 

You mean other than a string of the 3rd, 20th, 6th, and 23rd letters of the alphabet?

 

Otherly known as Chasing The Front Wheel.

 

This is Cowpucs specialty. he often has no idea where he is going, just keeps following the front wheel and has some wonderful adventures.

 

Actually Snype they are being REALLY easy on ya!! This bunch of lop eared varmints has spoken in "code" for years and I have fought tiredlessly to decipher a lot of it - no breaks for those ol boy!! Do me a HUGE favor and anytime you feel the need to ask something that seems silly,, just ask it brother - YOU are on a roll that can benefit ALL of us

 

Yep leave it for him Dan, he can tell it in the best way possible. Prayers up pucster

 

Living life one curve after the other. Vroom scooting, thru the countryside.

 

Yep, "CTFW" has its very roots solidly implanted in non other than YammerDan!!! We all participated in it functionally but my buddy down yonder in West by God (another Yammer special) is the one who put a tag on it in an effort to help us understand what we were doing :biker:

[cowpuc]

I think I get a little credit in that one but Puc has to tell it!!

 

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

read post above bro!!!!

Got er done!!!!

[DragonRider]

Put some extra special prayers in to the big man for ya Puc, let him know your onrey

but have a big heart. We got you covered brother!!!!!

[cowpuc]

Put some extra special prayers in to the big man for ya Puc, let him know your onrey

but have a big heart. We got you covered brother!!!!!

 

Thanks Lewis - greatly appreciated my friend, thought a LOT about our kids down at St. Judes this week brother. I just scrapped the tip of the ice berg on whats going on, thinking of those little ones in the trenches doing battle with this stuff made me shed a lot of :95:this week!!!

Thanks for ALL you (and others) have done on their behalf too brother!!

[snyper316]

Glad to hear your back to yourself pretty much, that was cool that the surgeon prayed with you. If I ever have to have any surgery's I think that would put me at a little more ease if my surgeon prayed with me. Yeah they like this talk in code thing. Bears with gloves, I am still trying to figure out what I need to catch to become blessed. Eh owell. I was figuring I would get a heck of a story about the CTFW but it is all good. But wow that poor ol Wiley Coyote Loved him but, I always got a kick out of Taz and Tweety. :rotfl:

[Yammer Dan]

Glad ta see ya on here Bro instead of hassling them nurses!! They got sick people to take care of ya know!! Them lungs can be a pain. Bout like trying to start a 56 Pan. Lot of coughing and wheezing and the finally they will start to breath. But by then you are too wore out to do anything about it!!

Really good to hear from you. Prayers will continue. I still have my breathing torture inhaler on my desk. I can pull about 2500 on it without passing out. I keep saying I'm gonna make it go to the top but.... I try to use it every day but if the Warden ain't watching I move it around so she will think I used it!!! Heal Fast Bro!! Praying all the nasty stuff is gone.:7_6_3[1]:

[cowpuc]

Glad ta see ya on here Bro instead of hassling them nurses!! They got sick people to take care of ya know!! Them lungs can be a pain. Bout like trying to start a 56 Pan. Lot of coughing and wheezing and the finally they will start to breath. But by then you are too wore out to do anything about it!!

Really good to hear from you. Prayers will continue. I still have my breathing torture inhaler on my desk. I can pull about 2500 on it without passing out. I keep saying I'm gonna make it go to the top but.... I try to use it every day but if the Warden ain't watching I move it around so she will think I used it!!! Heal Fast Bro!! Praying all the nasty stuff is gone.:7_6_3[1]:

 

You nailed DanL!!! Just like trying to pump up a Pan,, all's gotta be spot on - if that mag taint right she taint gonna go..

After he got me lit, I played around some with doing my own "lung stretchin" getting my starting technique downpat.. I noticed that for some reason the emptier I forced my lungs to go the more volume I could pull.. Only thing is, that also made me cough (WOW was that painful - still is) and the coughing brought up little hard mucus chunks.. Stuff was STRANGE - little tiny 1/4 inch piece between the thumb and index finger could be stretched to wide open of the fingers like a rubber band - never saw nothing like it = NOT GOOD!!!

:think:Got asked by another dear friend about my love for "Cigars" today,, I smiled and said that "love" has disappeared - seeing what I saw put them on the other side of the front line in Enemy territory:stickpoke::stickpoke:

 

Thought of your "flailed chest" injury Dan,,, cant even imagine

 

Thanks again for the continued support - God is good brother!!

[Yammer Dan]

Yeah I still can't understand this Flail Chest thing. 20 months and it still hurts to take the deep breaths. And of course those VA docs pass along so much info. And they have seen me twice since the accident. Neither time did she mention the ribs. She did tell me they were taking away my pain pills. And sent me to a 1st year student for a eye doc. I really don't know a lot about the Flail Chest thing. It is nasty and they just let the ribs heal where they were and doing so cut down my lung capacity. That's why I keep the inhaler around. Try to stretch things back out. Long ways from 1967 when I ran the mile in 4min 30& 8/10s seconds. Sure wish I had them lungs back. You heal up Bro and got fingers crossed we can get together this summer. Not sure what I will be on. But I still got a 1st Gen almost as sweet as yours. And there is that Silver thing. And that Ugly 85. And....... Prayers up for ya Bro!!!

[mirider]

@cowpuc - just read your posting and VERY glad to hear you are home again and recovering from the ordeal. Sounds like things still a little up in the air and Sue and I will continue our prayers for a positive outcome. You and Tip have gone thru some sh-- this past year or so and you both deserve some respite.

 

We are renting a condo for a couple months down here in Gulf Shores trying to soak up as much warmth as we can. My only regret.....left Candy home.

 

Take care my good friend and get well so we can enjoy some hot dogs this summer......

[Sylvester]

I am VERY GLAD and THANKFUL that you are through this step of your recovery. I have been watching the posts from afar and praying for you and Tippy.

 

Be yourself and harass the staff.

 

[Drews]

Prayers Up!!! Nurse :223:Tippy

[videoarizona]

Scott, thanks for the report and pics!

Happy to see you up and around!

Rest easy, my friend. The hot dogs will wait for ya!!

[Dragonslayer]

I was so glad to see your post. We have been sitting around for the past week sending prayers up, crossing fingers and sitting on pins and needles waiting for word. Then true to form your first post contained that descriptive narrative of our old nemesis Mr.Wile E Coyote.While reading that I could only think. THANK GOD, COWPUC IS BACK. Sorry about the pain, just hope the saying " no pain, no gain" applies in this case. Sounds like while the road is long, you still have many miles to go. But, before you know it instead of baby steps you'll be riding the venture down those miles. The place ain't quite the same without you around. Glad to have you back.

[slowrollwv]

Glad to hear from you Puc. I do hope they got all the nasty stuff and can keep it that way. Take it easy and the pain will go away.

[cowpuc]

OUCHY OUCH OUCH OUCH (back under the truck),, night 2 at home,,,,, who on God's green earth would have thunk that restarting a vacated pooping mechanism after a week could hurt that much.. After a longgg hard all nighter fight = back in the trenches again,, FINALLY at 11:45am that battle was WON!! Unreal,, just UNREAL!!!! I probably have lost some of my childhood memories of when I first started going #2 but if the initial startup was this rough ya sure think one would remember it!!!

 

,, sorry, kinda gross,, poor ol @Flyinfool (and all the rest of you lop eared varmints) is probably gonna rue the day that he started this thread and asked how I was doing and what I was up to :happy34:

,,, Putting a whoopin on cancer is certainly not for wusses (IMHO)... My HIGHEST regard for ALL have been there/done that in ANY form or fashion!!!!!

[Yammer Dan]

All them Meds can make that a very interesting trip!! Bout like putting a 16 inch wheel in a 14:backinmyday: inch tire!!