Listing My Listlessness.

I'm three days old back into my old routine.  For the previous month, the routine was pretty much "take it easy".  There has not been much to prepare for.  One thing I've noticed that is probably quite humorous to an outsider is the confusion I go through when getting ready for work.  There's a list of things I do.  Eat.  Shower.  Iron (if applicable).  Brush teeth.  Shave.  You get it...

The last three days I've found myself walking into a room and taking 10-15 seconds to remember why I went to that room.  Or I will walk into the wrong room because I got distracted by something else, and forget what I was originally looking for.  Now I know this happens to everybody, but it's been somewhat exccessive the last three days.  I'm sure this will subside as I'm "exercising" my brain more each day, but it can be funny or sometimes frustrating.  "Why the hell am I standing in the kitchen???"

On the positive front, our department did not get affected by these immanent "changes" that were coming down on the 1st of August.  As it turns out, no one seems to still know what the hell the changes were.  Why the scare tactics?

Introducing The Hammer Gear.

One Month Later

(and one day).

Today - a new milestone.  Back to work!

This comes with mixed emotions...while it's good to get back into a routine and see my work family, I didn't particularly miss working too much.  But I knew this was coming, and to help ease back into things, I'm working 20 hours this week and 20 hours next week, THEN go back full time.

The last two weeks have been kind of a blur.  Really the whole month seemed to have flown by.  It's interesting because I think my patience was actually tested more the last two weeks.  The first two weeks after the surgery you have the most severe side-effects, however you see more progress.  It's much more defined.  You notice it.  I wouldn't say things have plateaued in the last two weeks, but progress has slowed down.  This is not a complaint, it is simply important for me to recognize this.

I had another MRI 5 days ago for my post-op, and everything looks good.  I was also medically cleared to start being more active - they limited me to lifting 10 pounds, and no bending over to keep blood from rushing to the head.  This of course is all positive news.

Jackie and I celebrated her 30th birthday this last weekend by going to The Elm's Resort and Spa down by Kansas City.  She loved it, and I liked it much more than I thought I would.  We really had a great time and I came out much more rejuvenated than when I went in.

The first day of work was very uneventful.  We had issues with HR still having me in "on leave" status, so I was unable to really do anything.  I'm very happy that I got two weeks approved for part-time instead of one.  It just helps with the transition.  As I alluded to previously, it was great seeing most of my co-workers as well.

I've neglected this blog lately, but hope to be more active.  I tend to stay more up to date when I get in a routine.

I Still Dream of Dad.

Birth:  Mar. 24, 1946 Centerville Appanoose County Iowa, USA Death:  Aug. 18, 2006 Iowa, USA Keith "Sonny" Surber, age 60 of Lake Ponderosa, passed away on Friday evening, August 18th, 2006 at his home following a courageous battle with cancer. His funeral service will be held at 10:00 AM on Monday, August 21st at the Montezuma United Methodist Church with Richard McCulley and Phil DeBoef officiating. Burial will follow at the Jackson Township Cemetery in Montezuma. Following the committal service, a luncheon will be served at the New Sharon Christian Church. Visitation will begin at 1:00 PM on Sunday, August 20th at the Montezuma United Methodist Church. The family will be present to greet friends from 6 to 8 PM Sunday evening. The Keith V. Surber Memorial Fund has been established. Harden Funeral Home of New Sharon is in charge of arrangements. Keith V. "Sonny" Surber, son of Elmer K. and Katie Nikkel Surber was born on March 24th, 1946 in Centerville, IA. He graduated from Tri-County High School in 1964 and served with the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. On June 5th, 1971, Keith was united in marriage to Rosemary Bair in Iowa City, IA. While living in Cedar Rapids, Keith worked for the Welty Way sheet metal company and traveled extensively, visiting Japan, England, Mexico and Canada. In 1976, Keith moved to What Cheer and joined his father in the upholstery business. A resident of Lake Ponderosa since 1988, Keith had worked as a Claims Adjustor with the Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company for the past ten years. Keith was a member of the Iowa Street Rod Association, the National American Motors Drivers & Racers Association, and attended the Montezuma Methodist Church and the New Sharon Christian Church where he was involved with the choir and worship team. He had served as Fire Chief for ten years with the What Cheer Fire Department, was a former member of the What Cheer and Montezuma Lions Club, and a former member of the What Cheer Opera House Board and What Cheer Commercial Club. He took great pride in his 1969 AMX which he restored and had won multiple car show honors and awards. Keith's memory is honored by his wife, Rosie of Montezuma; his sons, Ryan Surber and Aaron Surber and wife Jackie all of West Des Moines; his mother, Katie Surber of New Sharon; five sisters and their husbands, Carolyn (Miles) Brewer of Keokuk, Phyllis (Robert) Graham of Kellogg, Linda (Wally) Anderson of St. Louis, MO, Rebecca (Richard) McCulley of New Sharon, and Sharon (Don) Turnwall of Minneapolis, MN; two brothers and their wives, David (Virginia) Surber of Troy, MO and Kenneth (Denise) Surber of Harrisonburg, VA; a step-daughter, Beth (Creig) Haider of Tucson, AZ; a brother-in-law, Gordon Crow of St. Louis, MO and many nieces and nephews. Keith was preceded in death by his father and a sister, Virginia Crow

Three Weeks Later.

The recovery is still going well.  I've been walking about a mile for the last few days.  Walking inside is easy...still adjusting to open spaces.

I hate being single sided deaf.  Music is my thing.  I play music (just recreational), and listen to music every chance I get.  It just doesn't sound the same.  Not even close.  No, I don't regret the surgery one bit as this is a repercussion I figured would happen.  But it just doesn't sound the same.  I can't hear in stereo anymore.  People talk loud and slow as if I have a minuscule IQ.  This is the only thing that's really gotten to me.

Nobody's Fault but Mine.

Two Weeks Later

Things are continuing to progress.  I'm still dizzy when walking, but I'm getting around quicker.  In the house I'm just fine.  It's only when I'm in more open spaces outside that can be a bit tricky.

I went out to eat for lunch a couple days ago.  I noticed a couple of things.  First, with me being single side deaf, it's hard to hear conversation in noisy places.  Much more than it used to be, even with the limited hearing I had pre-surgery.  Voices tend to get drowned out by background noise.  Hopefully this will get better.

The second thing - my math is a bit rusty.  When I received my ticket to pay for my meal, I stared at the dollar amounts, trying to figure out a tip.  They didn't make sense like they used.  20% is my standard tip for decent service, and I could figure that up with not much more than a glance.  This is something I"m confident that will come back.

As far as my attitude goes right now, it's hard to keep me from being excited and/or smiling.  Now that this surgery is done with...things just keep improving.  No more dreaded future date!

Stitches Out!

Another step today - I got my stitches removed.  I'm still pretty dizzy and stumbled around a little bit...but this is to be expected.

A crazy thing to think about:  I may be in better shape 10 days after surgery than I have in a long time.  About a year ago, I weighed in right around 300 pounds - 305 to be exact.  Today I weighed in at 262 fully clothed.  Also, my top blood pressure number a year ago was around 180.  We were considering going on blood pressure medication.  Now my top number is 120.  120 over 80  In fact, just a month ago, I was right around 150 over 80.  This is pretty encouraging news...especially seeing how I've been pretty sedentary over the last couple of weeks.