Romancing the Bone

I know, I know. It sounds like an adult movie title. Actually, this refers directly to my appointment tomorrow with someone who will fit me for a bone stimulator.

I'm also aware that bone stimulator sounds dirty to some of you. If I were not in so much pain or so constipated, I might just agree with you.

Oh? You didn't want to know about the constipation? Tough shit.

Bwahahahaha!

Sorry, I'm just full of it right now.

Throw a rim shot in there. I still got it!

So anyhow, back to the bone growth stimulator. Because I had bone removed from my neck, and then had new bone set in there, screws alone will not encourage the old to fuse with the new quickly or sufficiently. The bone growth stimulator will do that. Little pads will be placed upon the back of my neck (which is still very swollen - think the Hunchback less half the hunch.) Signals will be sent from the machine, through wires, to the pad, from the pad, through the skin, and to the tissue below - the bone. We're going to use the machine to act as a dating/mating service for the old bone and the new.

For those of you interested, I did not go the autonomous/autologous donation route. I had cadaver bone placed. With a now well-documented case of degenerative bone disease, it makes absolutely no sense to weaken any of my bones anywhere else on my body. Cadaver bone is perfectly acceptable. And, the bonus is, you can say I'm sort of like the walking dead, if you really wanted to.

I'm so damn generous tonight, aren't I?

Back to the bone growth stuff.

With all the many jasminelive options available to us anymore, the stimulator gives patients a chance to heal better than ever before. Think of these machines as promoting healthier, stronger bonds.

Pretty cool, eh?

Lots to still do here before I can go home. Especially more of that sleep thing. And meds.

I'll eventually post my dilaudid-addled entry, but not tonight. I need to get up and walk again. Nobody to walk out tonight, but that's okay. I had good company yesterday and I'm still smiling over the silliness of our "deathbed vigil" shot. Morbid? Maybe. Inappropriate? Perhaps. Did it make me forget the pain for a while? Yeah. Very much so.

There Once Was A Post

Eventually my stream of semiconsciousness post will make it online. It's big and I think I say some good stuff in it. I think.

Right now, I'm drifting in and out of lucid thought and can only maintain focus for s short time before I start to fall asleep. Most emails have ended up looking like this

You can see why I'm opting to wait on posting something big, right?

We Now Interrupt This Burning Pain To Bring You A Special Report

Thanks for all the great comments! So nice to get those.

I'm really tired and am currently in a great deal of pain. For whatever reason, this last round of meds didn't help as much as the previous sets.

The surgery was completed earlier than anticipate. I was actually in my room by noon. So, surgery, recovery, and the move on up to the 8th floor were all done in just over 4 hours. The swelling in my throat is exactly as it was described to me. I'm on oxygen to help keep my saturation levels in the good range. I have squeezers (sequentials) on my feet to help promote circulation. The machine is somewhat noisy but the benefits completely outweigh the minor irritation of the pump. My collar is very attractive. Gray, hard plastic, a little foam, exactly the sort of thing I know that crazy Paris will be emulating in a couple of weeks.

I've been up walking on several occasions and it feels pretty good to be able to move about freely. Or as freely as one can attached to an IV pole.

My nurses have all been spectacular! I've also been on my very best behavior and I don't think anyone has even considered shooting me yet.

All my medication issues were resolved. The gripe earlier was that they had written for dilaudid to be given as a shot instead of via the IV. Didn't make any sense since the IV is there to facilitate the process. Yes, I bitched to the Smashes about that. I did get the nurse to ask the doc and it turned out that the order was meant to be IV and/or IM depending on how my IV was holding up.

My only complaint now is that no one has bothered to turn down the volume of the IV alarms on other pumps. The confounded shrill coming from other Chaturbate rooms all around me is significant and I can't understand how the patients tolerate it. I had turned the volume down on my pump from the moment it I got hoooked up. I did it in front of the nurse, too, so I know at least one person besides me knows how to do it. I'd go adjust all the others, but it's hardly appropriate for me to do so.

Someone is eating their "lunch" right now. Ham, I think. It smells good. Even if it weren't 2 a.m., I think I'd be craving some. If I can swallow better by my lunchtime, I may have to see if there's ham on the menu.

Thanks again for all the prayers! If you want to give a call and have my cell number, please do. If you're in the area and want to visit, that would be lovely. Just don't expect me to get dressed up, put on makeup, or dance a jig. Leave a message for the Smashes and they can direct you to the hospital and my room.

I'm going to head out to the nursing station to request some more meds. Hopefully, this time they will take and I'll be able to get a little relief.

The Big Day

In two hours I leave for the hospital. I think it's apparent by the timing of this post that I'm starting to feel a little nervous. I feel like I have a million things to do still and not enough time to do them.

I spent part of yesterday in urgent care with Little Dude. Whittling accident. Four stitches for the poor . I teased him and told him that I knew he was trying to upstage his mom, but this was a little drastic. He smiled. He was very brave through the entire ordeal. The only tears came during the third stitch when the doctor hit an area that lacked enough Lidocaine to sufficiently numb the area. Fortunately, it was over quickly.

Well, I guess I should go finish up the few last minute tasks at hand. Thank you for all the kind words and prayers. The phone calls and emails mean the world to me.

I'll be back in a couple of days. Be good! And if you can't be good, be sure to blog it!

Turning Against Each Other

It's amazing, that diverse collection of people coming together at a rally to "stop the war". You'd think that they'd all have the same goal. Yes, most of us would think that. But that's not how these so-called anti-war groups work.

International A.N.S.W.E.R., the ISO, CodePink, Military Families Speak Out, FIST, the San Diego Coalition for Peace and Justice, and Al-Awda were the main groups in attendance at San Diego's "Stop the War" rally in Balboa Park under the guise of ending the war in Iraq. There issues presented aren't just about the war in Iraq though. No, they cover everything.

Let's exploit Hurricane Katrina for our purposes today, they say. And they do. Let's bash the Jews in Israel, they say. And they do. Let's take issue with California Proposition 75, they say. And they do.

How do all these things relate to the war in Iraq? Depends on your perspective. If you belong to one of the active jasminlive groups, they are related. By tenuous threads, no doubt, but still related.

The problem with throwing in all these other things is that you can't please your entire audience. When the "we have to drive the Jews out of Palestine" contingent starts shrieking their demands, a protester rushes the stage and is obviously upset. "I’m TIRED of this CRAP! You people keep bringing this up! This is supposed to be an ANTI-WAR rally, not an ANTI-ISRAEL rally!"

The police have to break up the arguing crowd.

The entire time, the San Diego Chapter of Protest Warrior stands quietly across the street with their signs "Thank You Navy", "Thank You Marines", "We Support the Troops", and their American flags. Even though our group is diverse, we have a clear, united message. We don't lure folks in with the idea that we're gathering for one reason and then slip them a new agenda upon arrival.

It's a study in human behavior, observing the differences between the two groups. One gathering is scattered in message and angry and fighting amongst themselves; the other is calm and fairly joyous in their message and modest numbers.

I'm glad that I don't have to deal with the protesters on a regular basis. I'd need a scorecard to keep up with their many issues. Now that they're publicly at odds with each other, they're not going to garner the minimal support they once had. Plus, I don't think I could handle all the sage-burning.

Sometimes it's good to be clear-headed.

No Way Out For The Stupid

Clark Baker is one of my favorite people. Deal with it, folks. He has such incredible common sense and intelligence that it frightens me.

What inspired this? These words from Clark:

...change is inevitable and growth is optional. If the liberal media keeps doing what they’re doing, they’ll keep getting what they’re getting. Those who haven’t learned from the racial Katrina of the 20th century will not be prepared for the Ritas that threaten all Americans tomorrow.

The emphasis is mine but the words and sentiment are felt by many, including Baker.

Smash and I recently spoke about this, how more than one person has that moment of common sense clarity. You could say that we've all reached the tipping point, and that may well be the case. However, it could also very well be that more than one person is finally willing to stand up and be counted as having a modicum of the good sense God gave us.

What often bothers me about the protesters and the "activists" is that they call themselves "progressive". Well, far be it for me to be the one to point out that standing around arguing about things that can't be undone doesn't result in much progress. The same message, delivered by a different messenger is still the same message. Oh sure, you can dress it up in fancy words, stick some grieving mother's face on it, or find a publicity seeking celebrity to deliver it via a tap danced morse code, but it's still the same damn message. It holds no more weight now than it did when it was refuted several years ago.

Another thing that bothers me about the so-called activists is when I see "Veterans for Peace". I wonder how many of those involved are really veterans and how many are the pardoned draft dodgers of the Vietnam era. For the true veterans, I have to wonder how they could do to a new generation of troops what was done to them so many years ago. Didn't we, as a nation, promise that we would never again treat our military with disrespect? Yes, we did. And, yet, many of those people who are actively denegrating our troops are of that generation. I guess promises don't mean much when you're attempting to build a movement based on victimhood.

Let's take a moment to talk about the victim mentality rampant in the "activist" and "progressive" community. The only way to grow their numbers is to find a new batch of victims. It matters not if they want the help of the "activists". Any victim suddenly becomes property of the radical Left, as if they don't have a choice in the matter. And, if a new victim can't be found, the Left creates one. These folks have nothing meaningful in their lives if they can't be "helping" lower someone to their level.

I am seriously disappointed in the radical Left's ability to think independently. Their arguments are old. Their rhetoric is stale. And, try as they might to infuse their insanity with magic, more and more people are catching on. The Left offers no serene wisdom or great epiphanies. They truly are stuck on stupid with no way out.

Problems, everyone has them. How many of us have solutions? The left doesn't, that's for damn sure. Typical problem - poverty:

(To borrow from "Fly Like An Eagle", with apologies to Steve Miller)

Ooh! That sounds so lovely, doesn't it? But where, tell me, is the solution to the issue of poverty? Yeah, that's what I though. Revolution? Please. And to what other system? Communism? Yeah, that's worked so well for so many. Socialism? Um, sure. That's been great, too.

The extremist Left is great at spinning stories and creating an image of Utopia, but they can't back a word of it up with tangible proof.

They have none.

I wish I had the money to launch a "Don't get stuck on stupid" campaign. Someone else has already done this, I'm sure, and will make a whole lotta dough. Good for them. That's as it should be. I don't mind helping spread the word.

To all who attended big gatherings this weekend to protest the war, the government, and the evils of Democracy, good for you. Thank you for proving that America really is the strongest nation in the world when it comes to Freedom of all kinds, and our ability to accept criticism. Not only did you get to share how truly stuck you are, but you've helped birth a movement, the likes of which you've never seen.

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