Last one for today

And as i mentioned in times of stress and struggle i have to laugh at myself and make fun of my frustrations. so this is that not so gory picture of me in my hospital room sleeping peacefully. you i covered up my neck but you might be able to see some swelling below my face. you also can't see the staple marks on my face or below my neck. as some of you know i have a pretty strong stomach for tastifully documented invasive surgery so i had to ask one of my dr's the next day what those red marks were on me. turns out that during surgery they drape some sterile covering over the exposed area and to keep this in place they had to staple these coverings to my face and to my chest. How crazy is that?! I was like wow, cool.

Hope you enjoyed these pics from last week. I will be able to post a new pic with each new entry. Please tell everyone i said hello and thanks for all the well wishes. talk to you later,

k

i just liked this photo

Sister took this on Saturday. I just like this picture and the view was equally nice in the evening.

Tek homered just for me

I forgot my glasses, but i used the camera as my eyes. Can't remember if they won or lost this game, but at least J.V. homered!

When i wasn't watching t.v.

I slept a lot, read a little, did some crossword puzzles, played scrabble, played with the controls on my bed - up and down and up and down, drank a lot of water, took my meds, ate my meals, entertained visitors, made friends with other patients in the hall ways. and when i was all alone i thought a lot about everything and everyone. too many thoughts to list, but I especially wondered about recovery. i thought it would be faster and more noticeable, but that hasn't been the case so far. i've learned that when it comes to patience i have none for myself. oh the fights we've had this week....but let us continue...

How i kept busy in the hospital

i spent my first three days propped up on pillows. I walked two or three laps around the floor everyday. Sister checked if i had internet access, but i didnt. thank God Bravo was showing the GodFather I and II and i watched baseball one night.

Friday June 22, around 4P Room 1127B

I've been connected to the internet! these are about a week old. they're self explanatory so i'll keep the captions brief. I lucked out with a nice view. the first night was so quiet, i thought i was all alone.
I had macaroni and cheese for dinner and Norbert Lorscheider was the first of many texts - thanks everyone!

Welcome Lauren Brennan

Hi GUys,

Sending a shout out to Ms Brennan out in PHL. She used to work for Travel back in when I started then I left and then came back. Brennan was our accountant when our team was first dubbed TAFT. And yes Brennan the name has stuck.

I wasn't having a good day so far. I understand that pain is part of recovery, but it seems that everyday it's a little more painful and not sleeping well in an upright position for the week has finally taking it's toll on me. The silly Dr wants me to cut back on my pain killer consumption, but c'mon now, something's gotta give and if one doesn't do it you better believe i'm popping a second...besides if he didn't want me to use them why did he give me so many right....? The pain has finally subsided and i'm no longer on the verge of a melt down as i was this morning. Chin up right? Even if I can only mean that figuratively right now since my chin has been sewn to the bottom of my neck for the time being.

Anyway, my 45 yr old aging hippie, mother of two, soon to be divorced and dating an 83 yr old up in the berkshires friend, Suzanne, has offered to bring me dinner tonight and i can't wait to catch up with her. I used to work with Suzanne back in my bug days when i chased butterflies and dissected catepillars in the name of science....awe good times. Those of you familiar with the who Amherst, MA - do you remember the Black Sheep Cafe (not to be mistaken with the new Black Sheep in Luzern), well i used to love their Greek salads with a knot roll. And next to that is the Fresh Side Cafe where she's picking up some pad thai and spring rolls...so yummy.

Can't wait for Saturday, i will finally be able to share some photos with you.

yours truly,

k

weather report

i'm flattered that Lara thinks i can control your weather from over here. who knows i might know a few people i can call on. i don't have much to report today. I walked this morning. it was hot out there. i had two hard boiled eggs with crackers and grape juice for breakfast. for lunch i had grilled salmon and rice and canteloupe for desert. for snack my mom gave me a popsicle. some family friends are stopping by tonight.

i started writing out thank you cards today. tomorrow maybe we'll stop at the post office for stamps! There's a chipmunk outside the window right now. he's cute. life in western mass perfectly suits my pace right now.

oh jod- could you please add adrienne robie (now adrienne.morin) to the blog?

thanks,
k

this just in

so i was having a bad morning - lots of aches not just from surgery, but i think also from having to prop myself back up to an upright position every hour the night before. anyway walking really made a difference this morning. my mom and i walked for about 15mins before it got too hot and i felt better afterwards. must be something with the circulation. it's so strange to be not be able to feel the surface of my skin now days later, but i am getting a tiny stinging sensation like a sunburn and i think this is a good sign. brother says internet will be fixed this saturday. until then you'll have to wait for my photos.

magnus with a shorter haircut? definitely need to see it to believe it. i forgot the luzern phone back in malden and right now only have the 413-464-3371. yesterday and today were in the 90' s with like 200%humidity and thank God for AC. it's almost 8P now and mom and i just went for another walk and the air is so thick out there. huge T-storm on it's way and that should cool us down... thanks for writing back today and i will keep in touch tomorrow.

Oh and p.s. my thyroid Dr. (not the surgeon) called me tonight with the pathology report: my lymphnodes came back negative and i don't need surgery on the right side!!!!! he was very pleased and we're also relieved! he said feeling will come back slowly after this kind of major surgery so the pain is normal and i need to be patient. i meet with my surgeon for my post op on monday for the official news and more details about the tumor, but so far this is great.

talk to you tomorrow. miss you guys!!!!

k

photos latr

internet's not working too good

I'm alive, but not kicking much

Hi Gang,

I got out yesterday afternoon and made it to my Mom’s in one piece. I almost had sister post another message the other day, but then I decided to do it myself. Thank you everyone in Luzern and Boston for the good wishes and for checking on me. Keep the messages coming as it feels good to be connected to people on the out side. Yeah I’m sort of uncomfortable right now and not looking my best, but that hasn’t affected my sense of humor. I’m pretty stiff from the neck up and swollen on the left side of my chin. It’s really weird, I can’t really feel my left shoulder, but I can tell that’s swollen too. Dr. says I will feel numbness for a few weeks if not longer. Talking doesn’t hurt and neither does swallowing, but opening my mouth big enough to fit a spoon in there does hurt. There is a certain throbbing and headache that comes along with this too and for that I got my pain killers. They say I need to keep walking around and I did walk around the hospital quite a bit, but I’m not supposed to stretch out my left arm much for now – wish it wasn’t so damn hot out otherwise I would be out there walking down the street scaring the little kids…ha ha…Anyway boredom is starting to kick in a little, but only when I’m awake. Mom doesn’t have wireless as I thought so I need to ‘borrow’ it when I can from the neighbor. On the other hand this time has sparked my creativity and I look forward to entertaining you during this work week. That being said…here are some photos from my time in the hospital – and I censored the gory ones….miss you guys tons and look forward to hearing from you. By the way how’s Anders holding up?

Message from Karoline

From Karoline:
"Hmm . . .
Talking hurts bad. I'm asking sister to post this for me. Dr. says surgery went very well. Super tired [something, something]"

From Katherine:
Karoline was super drugged up when she wrote this note. That's why the beginning of the note was more legible than the "something, something" part. If I have time, I'll scan in her note so you can see how funny it looks. It's like she's drunk or on drugs--wait a minute! She is on drugs.

Good luck KP!!!!

Hi KP,

Don't know if you will really have time to check this thing today, so I'll keep it short and sweet...Just wanted to let you know we are all thinking of you!
With love from Luzern,
the gang

Guys,

I feel so smart! it worked! The summer party was fun after a few drinks...not that i would know as water and gingerale were my poison for the night. Oh all right, i had one scotch, but i asked a reliable source (with a medical degree) if it would be ok. i just had one and i sipped it slowly.

My favorite part of the night was when Starr, the newest member of TAFT comes up to me and says"Wow, there are some REAL pole dancers out there! I'm mean I know some moves, but hmmm, wow!" i think that sums up the night. later, k

dumbass i am

Guys,

yeah so i created this account and forgot my username and password. i tried everything, but nothing worked so i had to create a new name. i have nothing really new to report. the summer party was at some high rise on state street- it was a really good location with a lovely view of the city at night.....ah. i took pics on my cell but wasn't sure how to get them from the phone to the pc - you all know technology is my weakness. Well thank God for smart people like Nicole Langone who showed me how this works. we're testing it out - wish me luck....

ciao ciao,

k

oh my goodnesss, i think i figured something out...

will someone pls confirm....i have successfully posted?

highlights of today:
i was at the dr's from 10A - 530P and most of that time was spent in waiting rooms. repeating some more tests this week, but they say i seem to be in good shape for friday.

after all that i got a burrito from !viva burrito! it was good. not sure why burritos haven't made it to Switzerland...guess if it doesn't fit on a pretzel it's crap.

boston is getting a little steamy. the sox are trying to rally back from a 4-9 loss to to ATL in the bottom of the 9th. one out to go, but it's also time to get to sleep...of course i will stay up for the end. ok forget it, that's over.

anyhow, i have requested that scrabble be brought to my hospital room for the couple of days i get to hang out there. they say that i get to (have to)walk around the hospital in my pj's - dr's orders that i walk 2-3 times a day asap after surgery - won't that be fun? anyhow, tomorrow is the summer party. Picture this - sober Karoline, steadily drinking Anders, and a drunken EF...there's only so much gingerale i can drink, so let's hope i find another way to entertain myself.

ok later all,

k

Hi Karoline!

So, we've setup this "Group Blog" in order for us to keep in touch while you're on holidays. Obviously this was all Jenny's idea, the rest of us wanted to buy you a really expensive gift, but she's a manager now you know.

Anyway, we can post stuff here, like photos of... the office.. and the lake. Maybe even Road House if you're lucky? And you can of course respond to our messages etc. by using your own login.

To sum things up; you'd better get your ass back here soon, because this place is falling apart without you. But until then, now we can keep you updated on all the action here in Lucerne. Up to the minute postings about Lara's air-conditioning habits, Luzern After Dark recaps, live weather reports (take that Accuweather!), etc etc. We hope you enjoy reading it!!

Jenny O and Mattias