No Cancer! Good News

I'm sorry that I didn't write earlier in the week, but we found out on Monday that my thyroid did not have any cancer in it. The disease is called "Hashimotos" which means thyroiditis or inflimation of the thyroid. It was triple checked by multiple doctors to make sure it was clean and all tests came back negative. The thyroid did have to be removed no matter what or else I would have has some major issues. My doctor called some time on Sunday while we were out of town and we got the message on Monday. I'm very relieved to say the least.

As for my recovery, everything seems to be going well. I'm still having some hot flashes (Man-a-pause) and plan to get my meds checked and updated on the 15th. I'm still fighting fatigue in the afternoons and some days I need to go home early from work to rest up. For the most part I'm feeling really well. I'm exercising every day and getting back into the swing of things.

I want to thank all of you one more time for all the support and help during this entire experience. I couldn't have made it through all this without my wife, my family, my doctor and all my friends. Thank you all again very much!

This will be my last post as I sign off, hopefully the last time, on my medical updates. We are going to keep this blog going with general information regarding Keagan and I and our life as we go so please feel free to check in on us from time to time. Thank you all again very much!

Robert

Tired...

I've been back to work now for three days and I think things are starting to catch up with me. I'm really tired. I'm good from the moment I wake (3:00 am) up till about 10 or 11 and then I just crash. Monday I worked a half day leaving work around 11am. Tuesday I worked 10 and a half hours and came home pretty shot. Wednesday I worked 8 hours and totally crashed when I got home. I don't feel very well right now at all. Thinking about getting up and going to work in the morning sounds awful.

To top this all off my neck is killing me. I'm not sure if its from trying to project my (little girl) voice during the workouts that hurts my neck or what, but I have had a headache since I woke up. It starts in my lower neck and works its way up to the back of my head. Aggravating, how much it hurts to turn my head. I have never had a migraine before, but I think I'm as close to having one right now as I ever have been.

Sorry to be so negative, I'm just frustrated. Thank you for reading and letting me vent.

Robert

Zephyr Cove Here We Come!

I went in for my check up today with my doctor and he said everything was looking really good with my scar. He took a look up my nose and down my throat with his camera to look at my nerve and my vocal cords. He confirmed that the never was replaced correctly, however it was not responding to the vocal cord. Currently, I have a raspy voice that fluctuates with certain movements. When I turn my head to the left my voice practically disappears. Straight ahead and to the right it works rather well. I can't raise my voice at all so yelling is out of the questions (Zephyr is very happy about that).

Long term, it may take up to a year to fully recover if it recovers at all. Its too hard to tell as of now how its going to respond. My voice sounds strong in the morning and the more I talk the worse it gets. I think I'm going to have to find an alternative form of communication during my strength & conditioning classes.

Personally I think the raspyness is rather sexy; I was thinking about starting a (900) call line to make a little money on the side! Keagan and I are both doing well and are very excited to get to Zephyr Cove tomorrow. Today was a most busy day I have had since surgery. I was out and about getting some things done today for about 3 hours and was totally spent when I got home. I think its going to take a little time for me to get my 10 hour work day endurance back, but I'm confident I'll get there soon.

Keagan and I got up early today and got a workout in. I walked 5 miles and felt great the entire time (no dizziness). I have one more week of not being able to lift any weights. I wish I could say I really miss it, but my back feels fantastic having gone 10 days now without any load on my spine other then carrying around a 6 pound Pomeranian named Aussie (we are dog sitting - really cute little guy).

I miss my routine and I'm ready to get back to work on Monday. I received my "return to work" clearance form today from my doc so we are all set to go. We are going to see some family this weekend in Tahoe, go on a small (very small) hike in Emerald Bay (where we got engaged), and possible spend some time on the beach (I have too many scars to lay out in the sun).

Thank you again to my "special client" who donated her condo to us for the weekend! Keagan and I appreciate it very much! We owe you one! Thank you to everyone who has written, texted, and stopped by. Your positive encouragement helps greatly. I'll see you all soon and thank you again!

Robert

Feeling Off

Sunday was a odd day. I felt off all day and it progressively got worse as the day went on. My back and my chest provided some pain and my missing thyroid provided me with plenty of hot sweats and flashes. Its more irritating then anything. I'll be sitting feeling fine one second and the next I'm dripping. Very odd, I have not experienced this feeling before.

I woke up this morning feeling even worse. The nausea is back accompanied by dizziness and general fatigue. I'm planning on spending the day watching movies and doing some computer work. I see my doctor on Wednesday for my final check up to get cleared to return to work. Thursday night Keagan and I are headed to Tahoe for a three day mini vacation which was a gift from one of my clients who is letting us stay at her home on the beach. We are so excited! My home town of Zephyr Cove is my favorite place in the world and I can't wait to get back there for three days. We will bring some movies, books, and just enjoy the beauty of the Lake.

People always say you forget to appreciate what beauty is around you when you wake up to it every day, you take it for granted. Even when I lived there, there was not a day that I didn't appreciate the view, the mountains, the clean air, and the lake. I love it there and would love to work and live there again some day.

I'm sorry to the visitors who requested some time yesterday (Sunday). Thank you for understanding. Love you all.

Robert

Weekend Relaxation

After a long day of watching movies and eating pizza with John Perry yesterday I was ready for a good night sleep. Saturday and Sunday bring two more days of rest. Keagan and I got out to lunch today with my boss and close friend Scott Sharrow. We went to Mr. Pickles and talked for a bit. Currently, we are watching Kelly's Hero's, pretty good movie. Earlier this morning we went to the dog park to let Zephyr run a while. The sun was beating on me a bit and I noticed how hard the heat is on my body. I'm very sensitive to the heat, I feel like and old women starting menopause and having hot flashes. Its a little embarrassing but I'm dealing with it.

I miss everyone at work and miss training with my clients. I'll be back to work a week from Monday on June 21st. I hope you are all doing well and have a great weekend. Thank you again for all the support, emails, text messages, and for stopping by to say hello. I appreciate it all!

Robert

Too Good to Be True

After three nights of sleeping comfortable and pain free I finally have some trouble. I guess you could say I was due. We went to sleep at 830 which is a normal time for Keagan and I. I took my meds and got myself in bed as usual with a few pillows set up in different spots. I cannot lay flat on my back due to swelling in my throat. It feels like my wind pipe closes off when I lay flat as well as an increase in my pulse. To make it more comfortable I have to prop myself up a little. My back issues require two pillows under my knees so I have those set up as well. If you can imagine, I'm on my back propped to my right with two pillows under my head, one under my back/left side, and two under my legs. I'm wedged in there pretty well and that has been working since I got home on Tuesday night.

Off to sleep we went and just as quickly as I went to sleep I woke up feeling pretty shitty. As many of you know my chest still give me a lot of chronic pain from my lung surgery last year. That pain has increased as well as that swelling feeling in my throat, I'm dizzy, and now I'm feeling some nausea for some reason.

After surgery on Monday I had a few issues with my arms and chest feeling shaky due to the nerve being affected in my throat. My fingers and arms tingle like they are asleep and my chest quivers. Its a very odd feeling...hard to describe. I'm sitting up now in my favorite spot, my futon, watching some sports center hoping the nausea goes away. I hate feeling nauseous.

I think I underestimate the affects of this surgery a little due to the severity of the lung surgery I had. The slight discomfort and little pain from this surgery is nothing compared to my lung surgery, however I do feel that the chemistry of my body is off. I don't feel right and I think I'm pushing things alittle and need to slow down a bit. I want to return to my regular schedule, get back to work and exercising like normal, but I think I need to slow down.

Thank you for letting me vent. Sorry to complain. I hope you are all doing well and are sleeping comfortably.

Robert

My "BIG" Problem

Keagan and I got up early today and got a little workout in. Doctors orders say I'm supposed to walk as much as possible so we headed to the gym today to get a kick start on my rehabilitation. My paper said to start off small and walk for about 15 minutes. My goal was 60 minutes, which is what I normally do, but I only made it 30 minutes before I started to get really dizzy. I toughed it out another 10 minutes before calling it quits. So all in all 40 minutes for the first day, not too bad. We got home, took a nap, took Zeph for a walk, another nap, Bryan and Ronda came over, another nap, read my book, nap, another walk with Zeph, nap, dinner, and of course...a nap.

Over all it was a good day but here is my big problem. I have not had a BM in 5 days now. I've tried it all and nothing is working. I tried the "Ray Charles" (rocking side to side), the "Iron Maiden" (rocking forward and back), "The Hot Potato" (body squats), and the "Ski Slope" (lean back and tuck - which usually always works). If any of you have any suggestions please let me know. I've taken softeners, eaten cherries, veggie supplements, and dairy products. Still not working. My problem is pretty...."shitty" (ha) if you get my drift so I'm open to suggestions.

I hope you are all doing well. Tomorrow is a big day for my buddy John and I. We are starting "Band of Brothers" at 7am and watching all 10 hours in a row. Non stop! With pizza for lunch. I'm really looking forward to it.

Robert

Good Day

Today was a good day. I woke up feeling great after a full night sleep. I was surprised that I was able to sleep as well as I did with the drain still in my throat. We woke up at 6 and I was ready for the day. I opened all the windows, got some juice, got Zephyr ready for a walk and off we went. My energy level was way up. I felt great as we finished our walk and got in the car to head to the hospital. 20 minute later...crash! I was down for the count. I could barley stay awake in the car. I got my drain taken out and we headed home.

Once home I took and hour nap and felt on top of the world again. I woke and took my first shower in four days. Man does it feel good to get clean. After my shower I was greeted by two visitors, my buddies Chris Kirkwood and Adam Attia. They guys stayed for about 15 minutes and shot the shit with me, it was really good to see them. Minutes after they left...crash again and took another hour nap (I'm beginning to see a pattern here).

Keagan and I watched "The great escape" (boring movie, but good) and had two more visitors Barb and Lindsay Johns. Barb brought me some of her world famous beef jerky! Fantastic as usual. We talked for a while with the girls and this time the crash came while they were here. Before I knew it I was down on the futon. Its odd how my energy just leaves in the matter of seconds.

Keagan and I watched another movie "Click" with Adam Sandler and then took the Zeph for a walk. Another crash and now I'm parked on the futon for the rest of the night watching the Blackhawks and the Flyers in the Stanley Cup.

All in all this is way better then my last surgery. I am fully functional and feeling normal other then just getting really tired quite often. I'm looking forward to a nice relaxing weekend and I appreciate all the text, comments, and emails I have been receiving. Thank you all again and I'll talk to you soon.

Robert

Thank God I'm Home!

First let me say that Dr. Nima Pahlavan is fantastic and is the only reason that I had this surgery at Kaiser Morse. If it were up to me I would have been at Kaiser Roseville, but he felt more comfortable performing the surgery at Morse. He is extremely professional, organized, and efficient with everything that he did for me and I couldn't be happier with him. Thank you very much Nima!

As for the rest of the staff at that facility, with the exception of one nurse (Maggie) who prepared me for surgery, they were awful. They were rude, unorganized, ignorant, scattered, and flustered. They acted like my asking for pain medicine was an inconvenience. No one was on the same page, I had to explain what surgery I had to each nurse as they rotated in. It was a very uncomfortable stay for Keagan and myself and we are so glad to be home.

I put up some pictures of my scare and of Keagan and I. Keagan always makes me smile no matter where we are or what is happening. The surgery went a little longer then planned due to a mistake with my nerve. My thyroid was so large, bloody, and sticky that the nerve was unable to be sensed by the machine. They cut the nerve and had to stitch it back together. My voice is scratchy and weak, however it should get better in time. The drain is still filling up so I had a choice of either staying another night or coming home with the drain in. I'll go back tomorrow morning to have it removed.

I'll write more tomorrow about the whole experience. I'm so happy to be home and I'm ready to lay down and cuddle with my wife. Thank you all again for the love and support.

Robert

One more day

We got word this morning that Rob will have to spend the day in the hospital. He is still having too much drainage and we need to make sure it is all out before he comes home. His spirits are doing okay, i think he is ready to come home. Morse Kaiser is nothing like Roseville. The nurses he had at Roseville tower above the ones he has here. Just not a happy group. We are excited to have him home and hope it is tonight, the healing process has begun as well as the medication for his thyroid. Lets hope they zone in on the right one to begin with! Thank you all for the support and love, hopefully the next post with be from Rob, he is much better at this than I.
Keagan

Surgery Completed!

Alright, it is all done. I (keagan) finally got home about thirty minutes ago. It was a very long day. We checked in at 830 this morning. He was swooped up and taken back to pre-op around 9 am. I didn't see him again till about 315. The surgery went well but took extra long due to a minor mishap. The surgeon nicked the nerve on one side going to his voice box. The had to sew it back together, which took the extra time. They said that his nerve didn't run along the same path as the other and didn't set off the nerve alarm. But his voice it sounding better and getting stronger. The Dr says that it will heal over the next month but may be a little different. He sounds strong and I am hopeful that it will heal correctly. He is resting good in the hospital and assuming his calcium levels are good tomorrow he should be coming home in the morning! yeah!
I am very tired so I am hitting the hay, watching just the best movie ever" How to lose a guy in 10 days!
Thank you all for your support and prayers today.
Keagan

Headed In

The day has finally come and am ready to get on with it. Yesterday was spent working a few hours at the club and spending the rest of the day laying around on my futon with my wife watching movies, snacking, and laughing. I woke up a little earlier then planned this morning with a lot on my mind and figured I would share a bit of it.

By no means do I mean the following as a good bye or to make this situation dramatic; however when ever you have a surgery performed on your body you can't help but think that something might happen. I know I'm in good hands and I'm sure I'll be fine, but I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all the special people in my life. If you are reading this blog then you are included in what I'm about to say.

I am not a organized religious man. I believe in a higher spirit (the creator). My faith in a higher spirit allows me to recognize a blessing when I feel it and over the last 10 years of my life I have felt it. Some of my friends have told me that "I've been delt a shitty hand" but the way I see it is at least I'm still playing the game. I have been surrounded by some of the kindest and warm hearted individuals over the last 10 years that referring to my relationships with them as "shitty" couldn't be farther from the truth.

All of this started with my parents (Richard and Tina) by raising me a special way. They always let me decide, they never told me what I was going to do. They presented the information and allowed me to make my own decisions, to me by own man. Through this style of teaching I learned never to follow the group, to stand and think on my own, and to commit when I felt it was right. Their teaching is my greatest blessing. What my parents have taught me transfers to my decisions in life buy allow in my decisions of who to surround myself with. As many of my clients know, I'm very open about this, that if I feel like I can't work with someone I'll tell them. I want my relationships with my clients to become friendships (not just a business transaction).

After 6 years of working my way from training who ever and when ever just to get by I'm now blessed enough to select exactly who I want to work with, who I want to be surrounded by, and when I want to work till. I'm 29 years old and I have 70 individuals that I work with on a weekly basis that I truly value for their commitment, friendship, and warm heartiness toward me. Thank you for being there when I need you.

Five years ago I had a decision to make of either joining the army or accepting a job coaching a junior college track team at Sacramento City College. Its funny how little decisions echo greatly in life. If the University of Nevada had a men's track team I would never had come to California and if Keagan had decided to go to Long Beach she would never had thrown the Javelin and would never had meet me. All the decisions of my life since I graduated high school in 99' has brought me to where I am today and I can honestly say that I' don't regret one of them. Our choices brought Keagan and I together and I couldn't have selected a better individual for myself. Sometimes the cards fall just right, the peg fits, the timing is right, or what ever you want to call it...that's what Keagan and I have. We just fit...and I love her with all my body and all my heart.

In 98' our families financial situation was not the best leaving me with a decision to make. Did I want to move away from Tahoe for my senior year of school or would I want to live with my brother and finish where I started? I choose to stay with my brother and it was one of the best decisions of my life. Chris and I were always close, but this quality time together brought us even closer. I don't know if I ever really thanked him the appropriate way for letting me stay with him and its never too late to say it. Thank you Chris and Buffy for loving me and letting me live with you two for that time. Things would not have been the same in my life if I had not had that opportunity. Over my high school career my brother came to every football, basketball, and track meet I had. How many brothers can say that? Like I said, I feel blessed.

In 99' I graduated and had to make a choice on where to go to school. Would I forget about track and move to Reno or would I go out of state and find a school with a track team? Off to Arizona I went to live with my sister Amanda. To be very honest we did not have a great relationship, so I was very nervous about living with her. It started off a little bumpy but turned into, as I like to call it, "the greatest mistake of my life." Greatest meaning that without it Amanda and I would never had developed the beautiful relationship we have now. I can call her and talk to her about anything at any time of the day and not think twice. Mistake meaning that I hated every second of living in Arizona. I lived in Tahoe one day (75 degrees with a breeze) and showed up in Tempe the next day (104 degrees at 1030 at night -no wind...ever!). Plus, for the first 12 weeks I did not have a car and had to ride my bike everywhere I went. It was awful, but I would change a second of it. Amanda helped mold me into a much better person and I'm grateful for her and for her husband Rene. During my last surgery my sister took the entire week off to stay and cook for me, clean my home, help me move when I need it, and provided me with encouragement and faith during some well needed and always remember conversation. I love you Amanda. Again, blessed.

I know this is a long blog and if you have read this far know that I truly appreciate you hearing me out. Keagan just woke up and I need to get my things together. I'm nervous but I feel much better knowing that I got a few things out in the open that maybe some or many of you didn't know about me. Thank you all again for the support and for thinking of me. I appreciate it and I'll see you soon.

Robert

Team Atlas Represents Well at American Lung Association's Healthy Air Walk 2010

Steve and Spooner - Spoon ready to strike!

Mark and the mascot from Wooster!

Mike and Janine warming up!

My bride and my little man!

The gang

Shannon Johns getting warm

Tierney and Joel - ready to go

Pammy and sweet Eliee - working those hamstrings

Big Bryan Boggs and Dinger ready to warm up the group

Steve, Pam, and Barb - Proud to be "Team Atlas"

The 22 Members of "Team Atlas" at the 2nd Annual Healthy Air Walk 2010

What a turnout we had today! I was totally blown away by the support from all my family and friends who came out to help raise funds and participate in the 5K walk. I was overwhelmed by how many people were there wearing my logo and supporting the efforts for something I feel so passionately about. We raised over $2,750.00 and had 22 walkers and 8 dogs that all participated in the event. All in all it was a blast and I couldn't have been happier with the day.

Thank you to all the walkers including:

• Pam and Steve Johns
• Barb, Lindsay, and Shannon Johns
• Chris and Emily Kirkwood (soon to be!)
• Bryan Boggs and Ronda
• Mark, Emily, and Rachael Kassenbrock
• Deeds Harris and her family
• Mike and Janine Caldwell
• Tierney and Joel Korotikin

And thank you to everyone who donated!

Surgery Scheduled 8:30 AM Monday June 7th

Got the call today asking me to be there at 8:30 on Monday morning. Keagan and I are ready to get the show on the road. Thank you to all of you for the well wishes and prayers. I appreciate all the support and love you all very much.

I've had multiple people ask me about what kind of movies I like to watch and which ones I have not seen. So I figured I would post a few that I have either not seen at all or have not seen in a very long time. You will be able to tell by the list that I'm an "Action-Adventure-Drama" type guy.

Jarhead
Chain Reaction
Point Break
Ronin
Kingdom of Heaven
Glory
Seven
Godfather (all three)
One who flew over the cuckoos nest
Casablanca
12 Angry Men
Citizen Kane
Blues Brothers
Boondock Saints (1 or 2)
Animal House
The Departed
Casino
LA Confidential

Just to name a few. Thank you again!

Right Around the Corner

Monday June 7th is right around the corner and I have all of my test, forms, and scans completed. I have one more appointment with my doctor on Friday and then we are ready to roll. I'm going to have a very large pizza on Sunday night with my wife for my "last meal" prior to surgery. I'm not allowed to eat anything after midnight and I may not have surgery until late in the day. Not cool if you ask me, I hope I'm the first one at 5:00AM.

Many of you know my personality and know that I have no problem saying exactly what is on my mind. That is how I'm going to be with my posts. I'll put one up every day letting you all know how I'm feeling. As was the case with my last surgery this blog became a form of therapy for me. I will vent, I will complain, and I hope none of you will mind. To be honest I'm looking forward to having a few days off and to myself. I have many books to read, workout programs to write, and some home work to do (continued education) as well as many movies to watch. I'm not one for asking for gifts, but I have seen all my movies a million times so if you know a good one to watch I want to hear about it.

I have not felt 100% now for almost a year. I have moments where I feel great and then 10 minutes later my chest hurts, or I have a hot flush, or I feel sick. The nerves in my chest are very sensitive, even to the touch. Often when someone hugs me I have to bite my lip from them smacking me on my incision. I take some medication that helps a little, however I have recently discovered that if I'm still feeling this much pain almost one year later then it may be a chronic issue that I will permanently have to deal with. I hope this surgery fixes some of these issues. I am confident that it will.

I have a good group of doctors working with me, I have a wonderful support system at home with my wife and family, and I have a wonderful group of friends and co-workers supporting me with anything I need. I want to thank you all for that very much. I hope that some day I can repay you all for you kindness and effort to help me and my family during some trying times.

I look forward to reading your responses. Please don't hesitate to drop me a note or shoot me a text message. I'll talk to you all soon.

Robert

Back to Life

I had a talk with my doctor on friday and he has cleared me to return to work. The only problem I'm still having is trying to sleep. I'm not in pain, I'm just uncomfortable and cannot seem to stay asleep. I don't really know what to do about it.

I return to work tomorrow (sunday) for a few hours and then full time on monday. This has been a long road and I could not have made it through without all the support I have recieved from my wife, my parents, my family in law, the great nurses and doctors at Roseville Kaiser, and all my friends. Thank you all so much, you have no idea how important you all were to me in this recovery. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.

This will be my last blog. Thank you to all of you who followed along. I love you all and thank you so much for everything.

- Robert Linkul -

French Toast and Birthday Cards!

For the first time in a month I slept in my own bed last night. It was fantastic! I had many pillows propped up under me to keep me on a slight angel, but I was pretty comfortable. Keagan and I got up and went shopping. When we got home I made her a french toast breakfast. It was the first meal I've cooked in a month (other then cereal - which I'm really good at if I may say so). We put away all the food and cleaned up the house a bit. Keagan has gone off to work and I have a full day of little tasks to take on. I have calls to make, some programs to write, and a bunch of birthday cards to write. My entire family has their birthday in either August or September. I'm the only one way out in November. So, my first two big tasks I have taken on since surgery where making french toast and writing out birthday cards. I'm feeling really good and I'm very excited to get back to work.

Couple of stories to tell you all about while I was in the hospital:

1. My Chest Tube: Ok, first of all I didn't say any of those things that Keagan said I did!...ok, so maybe I did. I don't remember them though. All I remember is I could feel the doctor cut my side. When he did it I remember thinking to myself "F***ing liar! He said I wouldnt be able to feel anything." Turns out he said I wouldn't be able to remember anything. It hurt pretty bad, but I really don't remember that much of it. Once the tube was in I felt better immediately. Two minutes later it was killing me. I don't know why, but my pain level was at a 10! I was yelling it out at the nurses as they walked by. They gave me a injection of some pretty good stuff and then I felt much better. I had that chest tube in the entire week and it did cause me a lot of pain. I think it was the main cause of most of my discomfort.

To help me deal with the pain they gave me a drug called diladen (I think that's what it was called). Its a narcotic and they told me that I could get addicted to it if I wasn't careful. I didn't think anything of it and kept asking for it any time I was hurting. By my last day I found myself asking for it when I wasn't even hurting all that much. When they would first inject it into my IV I would get this rush of warmth through my body and a odd feeling in my stomach. At first it made me feel sick, but it took all my pain away almost immediately. Any time I would get some pain I would ask for it. I can now see how some can get addicted to drugs. It scared me that at times I wanted this drug when I wasn't in pain. My last two days in the hospital I cut myself off from it and took pills instead. Drugs are a scary thing and I'm glad I've never messed around with them.

2) My Bronchoscophy: I had one of these done before I had surgery and it wasn't all that much fun. Basically, they lube up my nose and throat and shove a camera tube down my nose and into my lungs to look around. I would say on a scale of 1 to 10 the discomfort I felt that first time was a 4. This time, however, was a 10. I hated it! They put some much lube in my nose and throat that I could hardly breathe. Once I was done I had to cough all that crap up. Trying to cough with a chest tube in does not feel good. I ended up swallowing a lot of it and that made me feel sick. All in all it was a bad morning. They did go in and get out with the camera very quickly, but the prep for the procedure was terrible. I hope that none of you ever have to got through that. It is not enjoyable what so ever.

I feel bad for Elizabeth Shults, she came to visit me just as I got back from this procedure. I was really unhappy and they had given me a bunch of that Dilaten stuff to make me feel better. I was tossed! I think she spoke with me for a little while, however I don't remember much of it.

3) Nurses: I know its a big Ben Stiller joke to make fun of male nurses, but I had two male nurses that were awesome. Mike, the cyclist, was 6 foot 7 inches tall and 240 pounds. He was a MP in the military and was a body builder at one time weighing 280 pounds. He was a big dude! Very nice and was always there when I needed him. He understood everything I was going through and always had an answer for any questions I had. He is a good man and I really appreciated his help. He and I had a lot in common both being athletes and had many talks about training and competition. It was really nice to shoot the shit with him, took my mind off my chest tube.

The other nurse was Tony. Tony was not the athletes Mike was, but I got along with him very well. We didn't have anything in common to talk about on a personal level, however he did a fantastic job taking care of me. Unfortunately, for him, he had to deal with me after every major pain producing process I had. He was my first nurse after having my chest tube put in, my first nurse after my bronch, and my first nurse after a small collapse of the lung I had in the hospital. He was patient and calm and did just a great job.

I couldn't be more thankful for those two guys and all the other nurses in that department. Everyone was great!

I also want to thank everyone to came to visit me during my second trip in. I was drugged pretty heavily some times so I'm sorry if I forget to mention your name. Steve Johns came over and talked with me my first day back, he brought me this huge breakfast burrito (it was fantastic by the way - thanks Steve), Bryon and Julie brought me food and visited quite often, Bob and Elizabeth brought her famous cookies and told me some great stories, Mike Caldwell (my father in law) would come over during his lunch break just to hang out and watch a movie with me, Jeannine and Michelle Caldwell (my mother and sister in laws) came over multiple times to visit and tell me stories. I got a daily phone call for Jeannine just to check in on me and make sure everything was going ok. Thank you all so much! I really appreciate it.

I want to thank my buddy John Perry for spending multiple days and multiple tanks of gas coming out to watch movies and keep me company. Thank you John Boy!

And finally, I want to thank my parents. They would both call me at least once a day to check in on me and update me on what was going on with the family. I know it is really hard on them not being here, but wanting to be a part of what is going on. I just want you both to know that I love you and could feel your love from the other end of the country. You two are the best partents a guy like me could ask for. I love you!

Well, I'm off to work on some of my daily tasks now. Thank you all for reading and for the thoughts and prays you sent me. I'm looking forward to getting back to normal life. I plan on starting back to work on sunday for a few hours in the morning. Since I have been home I have only needed to take one pain pill, so I feel like I should be able to be off the drugs by saturday and hopefully be able to drive myself to work on sunday morning. My best to all of you and I hope to see you all soon.

- Robert

I'm Finally HOME!!!

After seven long days of being in the hospital I'm finally back home. It felt so nice to take a shower, wash my hair, and sit in my chair. Keagan has gone above and beyond over the last week taking care of me and doing all the round the house work that I usually do (i.e. laundry, pay the bills, etc). I don't know how I would have handled this without her. I'm blessed to have her in my life.

I'll write more tomorrow about my time in the hospital and tell the stories of my bronchoscophy, my chest tube, and about the nurses who took great care of me. I hope you are all doing well.

- Robert

P.S. I'm hoping to be back to work starting this Sunday. I know you have heard this before. Pending any collapsed lungs or other lung related issues I should be there.

getting better!

Good news, Dr. Moore is back in town, we love Dr. Moore. He saw Rob today and has taken him off suction and might be sending him home tomorrow, pending all looks good. He said that there was no hole? I am not sure, I was not there, maybe he said it was healing very well...you know Rob and his medication. (Just teasing.) So I am so happy to hear that he might be coming home, Also Arden Hills morning crowd, He is cleared for work starting MONDAY!!! He is really pumped about that. But remember he needs to take it easy, so please remind him, he will be so excited it will be hard to contain himself. Thank you all so much for all the love and support, sorry for the delay in messages.
Love, Keagan

Bronchoscopy done!

The bronchoscopy is done and was very different from last time. This one was way more uncomfortable, he is better now that it is done, but he would have liked to not have to do it. However Dr. Peng, the incompetent man who we would not let touch him, is calling the shots till Dr.Moore returns from vacation. So this evil man insisted and it showed that everything was fine. So I am glad we know but they were pretty sure it was fine before, but oh well, it is over. The good news: it was probably just a staple or stitch coming loose and it will heal and is healing on its own now. Probably one more day with the chest tube on suction, one without and then home free. Keep your fingers crossed it all pans out.
Sending my love to you all.
Keagan