Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Sunday, March 22, 2015

An Afternoon At The Theatre, "A Bright New Boise"

"We plop you down in a break room in Boise, Idaho for a little over four days and you watch a story unfold in which five characters' lives change forever. Their stories include polarizing topics, unexpected behavior and unfinished business."

Thus begins the director's notes in Paper Lantern's production of A Bright New Boise, which Chad and I saw earlier today. I'd not seen the show or read the script before so I had no idea what I was in for.

The first thing you notice is the incredible set designed down to the tiniest detail by John Bowhers. The lights go out and you are immediately transported.

The entire cast: Lee Spencer, Beth Ritson, Phillip Wright, Taylor Murphy Hale, and Emily Mark gave outstanding performances. There wasn't a weak link anywhere on that stage. Amy da Luz did a fabulous job of directing the production.

This production was as good as any Broadway show I've seen.

Friday, March 20, 2015

More Post Surgery Update

From: Cheryl Ann [mailto:cinberry@aol.com]
Sent: Friday, March 20, 2015 1:21 PM
To: Gamble, Gloria
Cc: Boles, Larry; Fitzgerald, Catherine
Subject: CAK Update

I had my post op visit today. The incision is healing very well. My blood pressure is fine. The pain meds (and the diclofenac and gabapentin) were what was causing it to dip a bit. It's in a normal range now so nothing to worry about. 

I asked about the fatigue and that too is normal for recovering from surgery. 

I did ask if I could go off the gabapentin. I don't like taking it because it blurs my vision. We did make a plan to ween myself off it. 

I have been cleared to return to work on Monday, part time hours for 2 weeks. I was surprised by that. I did get a little lecture - while the incision is healing well, the muscles need time to mend too. 

Friday, March 13, 2015

Post Surgery Update

-----Original Message-----
From: Gloria
To: Cheryl Ann
Cc: Larry; Cathy 
Sent: Fri, Mar 13, 2015 10:06 pm
Subject: Re: Hello

Wow that is a lot.  It is amazing how bad not doing much can make you feel and the drugs play havoc on your mind and body.  The blood pressure issue is a little worrisome though.  At least the pain has subsided.  Take care and take it easy and keep us posted.  We'll be glad to send you some work if you get bored with all that other stuff!!

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 13, 2015, at 12:07 PM, "Cheryl Ann" <cinberry@aol.com> wrote:
It's been more than a week since I came home from the hospital. 

As far as I know, the surgery went well. At least that's what Dr. Hnilica told my family. Lol. He updated them that the herniation in the L5 lumbar was worse than originally thought. This is what was causing the, at times, severe pain down my left leg/foot. The cartilage between the L4 and L5 discs had "exploded" and was "squeezed" against the nerve. He removed the cartilage and "spot-welded" the rest of the disc together. Again, that's what he told my family. I saw him for 5 minutes in the holding room, as he drew dots on my back. I was in the OR for less than 2 minutes before I was out.

I did stay overnight. Ruth, Tamara, Marcia and Johnetta took very good care of me. It was difficult to sleep with the leg compression thingamajiggs squeezing and the IV machine beeping. I think I slept all of 3 total hours! I mostly flipped TV channels as I didn't think to bring a book. 

Allan and Cade brought me.home around noon on Wednesday and I went straight to bed and slept the rest of the day, aided by my good friend Oxycodone.

On Thursday, my mom came over and made beef stew. I did a couple of very slow laps around the inside of my house, took my Oxycodone and again mostly slept. Oh yea, and Mom taught Cade and I how to knit hats on a knitting loom. 

On Friday Mom came over again and brought a blood pressure cuff. She was worried because I still looked really pale. She also changed my bandage. I wasn't feeling the greatest as she was peeling off the super duper suran wrapping they put on me in the hospital. Since I can't really see the incision, I asked her to take a photo of it. She bandaged me up, I looked at the pic (a small angry looking scar) and then we continued to talk for about 10 minutes. After that I got really light headed and asked her to walk with me to my room so I could lay down. Apparantly, as I got to the side of my bed, I passed out. Luckily I face-planted right in the middle of my bed. Now, I am puny when it comes to blood, scars, and all that icky stuff, so it's quite possible I passed out due to seeing my own incision. (And on an iPhone no less!) It's also possible I passed out due to low blood pressure. 

I've been tracking my blood pressure ever since and it has been low for me. I'm experiencing dizziness and blurred vision, which may be from low blood pressure. It can also be from the gabapentin. According to Marcia, narcotics (Oxycodone) can also cause low blood pressure. But I was taking the gabapentin and oxycodone before surgery and my blood pressure was normal during my pre-op. I haven't been taking the oxycodone much this week, mostly at night so it won't hurt as much when I turn over.

I've read 3 books, knitted 4 hats, played tons of games of Trivia Crack and am on Season 2 of House of Cards. I'm trying to stay up, either sitting in a chair or walking my house, but I do get tired easy. I also can't twist, bend over or lift anything over 10 lbs. (Fun fact, a gallon of milk is 10 lbs.) Also, I'm just not feeling "right." Yes, the pain in my leg is gone (whoo! hoo!) but I still feel off somehow. This and my low blood pressure are on my list to discuss with Dr. Hnilica during my post-op. It's currently scheduled for 10:30 on 3/20, though I'm on the list to call if something comes available sooner. I originally thought I'd be able to return to work on Monday, but I have to wait until after my post-op visit.

Cheryl Ann


-----Original Message-----
From: Gloria
To: Cheryl Ann
Sent: Tue, Mar 10, 2015 4:09 pm
Subject: Hello

How are you doing?  

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Surgery, Slow Recovery

I've been tracking my blood pressure ever since last Friday and it has been low for me. I'm experiencing dizziness and blurred vision, which may be from low blood pressure. It can also be from the gabapentin. According to Marcia (one of my post surgery nurses), narcotics (Oxycodone) can also cause low blood pressure. But I was taking the gabapentin and oxycodone before surgery and my blood pressure was normal during my pre-op. I haven't been taking the oxycodone much this week, mostly at night so it won't hurt as much when I turn over.

I've read 3 books, knitted 4 hats, played tons of games of Trivia Crack and am on Season 2 of House of Cards. I'm trying to stay up, either sitting in a chair or walking my house, but I do get tired easy. I also can't twist, bend over or lift anything over 10 lbs. (Fun fact, a gallon of milk is 10 lbs.) Also, I'm just not feeling "right." Yes, the pain in my leg is gone (whoo! hoo!) but I still feel off somehow. This and my low blood pressure are on my list to discuss with Dr. Hnilica during my post-op. It's currently scheduled for 10:30 on 3/20.

While still a little angry looking, my scar is healing. I'm able to view the picture without passing out!


Sunday, March 08, 2015

Book Review, Scar Girl

I read The Scar Boys because a friend of mine, the drama teacher for Mt. Tabor High School in Winston-Salem, NC was working with his Advance Theatre class on adapting the book for the stage. Len saw the show and provided the cast and crew with advanced copies of Scar Girl. I liked both the book and the show and asked if I could borrow an advanced copy.

First off, the title is misleading. It's not Cheyenne's story, it's all their stories. It's more a sequel of the first book. Cheyenne's arc, which I predicted at the end of The Scar Boys, angered me. I'd have loved for Len to pen a more realistic "resolution" than taking the lazy way out.

The interview concept and format just didn't work. There are interview questions at the beginning of each "part" (i.e. Who do you admire?) then a picture of headphones. The text after the headphones is the contiuing saga of Harry, Richie, Cheyenne and Johnny as told in each point of view, save one. To make sure you know which character is talking, their names preceed their paragraphs. Helpful, yes, but it definitely interrupts the flow of the book.

None of the characters are likeable. Wait. I take that back. Richie is the only likeable character, but he's more of a fringe/comic relief character. We are never really introduced to his story, only how he reacts to Harry's, Cheyenne's and Johnny's arcs.

It doesn't take long to figure out where the story is heading and honestly, I wanted to give up on the book multiple times. I wanted to like this book. Len is such a great guy and The Scar Boys was a good book. But, for me, this book was one big cop-out.

Saturday, March 07, 2015

Since I've a geat deal of time on my hands while I recuperate from back surgery, Mom taught me how to loom hats.

Here's my first customer.

Isn't he a cutie?

Friday, March 06, 2015

Surgery Scar

As far as I know, the surgery went well. At least that's what Dr. Hnilica told Allan and my family. He updated them that the herniation in the L5 lumbar was worse than originally thought. This is what was causing the, at times, severe pain down my left leg/foot. The cartilage between the L4 and L5 discs had "exploded" and was "squeezed" against the nerve. He removed the cartilage and "spot-welded" the rest of the disc together. Again, that's what he told Allan. I saw him for 5 minutes in the holding room, as he drew dots on my back. I was in the OR for less than 2 minutes before I was out.

I did stay overnight. Ruth, Tamara, Marcia and Johnetta took very good care of me. It was difficult to sleep with the leg compression thingamajiggs squeezing and the IV machine beeping. I think I slept all of 3 total hours! I mostly flipped TV channels as I didn't think to bring a book. 

Allan and Cade brought me home around noon on Wednesday and I went straight to bed and slept the rest of the day, aided by my good friend Oxycodone.

On Thursday, my mom came over and made beef stew. I did a couple of very slow laps around the inside of my house, took my Oxycodone and again mostly slept. Mom taught Cade and I how to knit hats on a knitting loom. 

Mom came over again today and brought a blood pressure cuff. She was worried because I still looked really pale. She also changed my bandage. I wasn't feeling the greatest as she was peeling off the super duper suran wrapping they put on me in the hospital. Since I can't really see the incision, I asked her to take a photo of it. 


I looked at the picture and tried not to be too grossed out. Mom and I continued to talk while she bandaged me anew. Still thinking of the picture of my scar, I got really light headed and asked her to walk with me to my room so I could lay down. Apparently, as I got to the side of my bed, I passed out. Luckily I face-planted right in the middle of my bed. Now, I am puny when it comes to blood, scars, and all that icky stuff, so that's probably why I passed out. It's also possible I passed out due to low blood pressure, which is why Mom brought over the BP cuff.