Halloween 2017. I hope those candy beggars don't come knocking. We did not decorate. We have the porch light off. We do not have any candy!
At work today they put out bowls of candy because of Halloween. One guy dressed up - Stanley Coleman came dressed as Mister Spock. He is a black man and he had skin-color matched pointy ears, a wig of straight black hair, a sparkly shirt with the Starfleet broach, and leather pants!
Not a particularly busy day today, but lots of people are asking for help to get their myLearning assignment started. I spent the last two hours of the day down on the floor helping.
This evening, after I walked Buddy, Bob and I sent over to Petsmart to get a big bag of dog food (Nature's Balance Sweet Potato and Fish Flavored!), and a box of de-wormer. I haven't seen any worms, but he's chewing at his butt, so we will de-worm just to be sure.
I am loving these cooler nights. I slept so soundly last night - like the dead.
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Monday, October 30, 2017
Cary, NC
It was chilly last night. I had to turn the heat on. Temperature was 38°F this morning when I took Buddy for his walk at 4:30 AM.
Today was a good day, overall. The morning was a little busy - we had three, one-hour meetings in a row.
First George and I met with Tanisha Wilder, the DCU Associate, to make sure we were all in agreement on the process map George is creating for the Job-Instruction-Breakdown (JIB) and Job Aid (JA) processes.
Next George, Sid,Sean, and I met for the weekly TQ Check-In meeting.
Finally George, Sid, Sean, and I met with Rebecca Bowman, the new Assistant Plant Manager to give her a TQ update. She asked many questions that did not have easy answers, or did not have short answers because of the history behind decisions that were made. I was able to shine here by speaking eloquently and answering the question that was asked.
After the meeting with Rebecca, I heated my lunch up, and then I went to the Computer Lab on the production floor to help people get their training started.
Before I knew it time had flown by and it was time to go!
Bobby made some nice pork chops and rice for dinner. After dinner I unloaded the dish machine an put the dishes up. Then I put the dirty dishes into the dish machine.
Today was a good day, overall. The morning was a little busy - we had three, one-hour meetings in a row.
First George and I met with Tanisha Wilder, the DCU Associate, to make sure we were all in agreement on the process map George is creating for the Job-Instruction-Breakdown (JIB) and Job Aid (JA) processes.
Next George, Sid,Sean, and I met for the weekly TQ Check-In meeting.
Finally George, Sid, Sean, and I met with Rebecca Bowman, the new Assistant Plant Manager to give her a TQ update. She asked many questions that did not have easy answers, or did not have short answers because of the history behind decisions that were made. I was able to shine here by speaking eloquently and answering the question that was asked.
After the meeting with Rebecca, I heated my lunch up, and then I went to the Computer Lab on the production floor to help people get their training started.
Before I knew it time had flown by and it was time to go!
Bobby made some nice pork chops and rice for dinner. After dinner I unloaded the dish machine an put the dishes up. Then I put the dirty dishes into the dish machine.
Saturday, October 28, 2017
Zoological Park
This morning I got up and took the dog for his walk. It was 49°F. After getting Buddy walked and fed, we dressed and headed out. We stopped at McDonald's drive-thru for breakfast and then turned on to US 64 West and headed out of town.
We drove through Apex, across Jordan Lake, thru Pittsboro, Ramseur, Siler City, and into Asheboro. We paid a visit to the North Carolina Zoological Park - the world's largest zoo!
The last time we were at the zoo was about a year ago. Bob was still in the wheelchair and I pushed him through the whole park. This time he was able to walk through the park. There are lots of park benches so we were able to take lots of breaks to rest.
Because Halloween is so close, the park was hosting "Boo in the Zoo". There were lots of kids in costumes - little witches, super heros, and one little girl dressed as a hot dog!
After we left the park we stopped at Subway in Ramseur and had sandwiches for lunch. We got the gas tank filled at the Shell on Lake Pine Road, then went to Food Lion to get my lunches for the week and some cash to do laundry with.
Now the dog has been walked and we are about to have salmon fillets for dinner.
Friday, October 27, 2017
Physical Therapy
Today was Bob's last day of physical therapy with Blaire Watson. He has improved tremendously in the 10 months he's been working with Blaire and there is still more he could do, but this is as much as insurance is willing to pay for.
We started the morning with breakfast at Bob Evan's. Then we drove over to east Raleigh to Bob's PT appointment. It was chilly this morning - in the 40's, but it warned into the 70's in the afternoon.
On the way home we stopped at Bojangle's and got the 12-Piece Tailgater Box. Took that home and ate it for lunch with enough chicken left over for dinner too.
Then we headed over to Chapel Hill to a doctor's appointment for Bob. His last primary care physician, MD2U, stopped serving the Triangle area, so he had to find a new doctor. He will be seeing Daaleman, DO for care now.
We will have a quiet night in tonight.
We started the morning with breakfast at Bob Evan's. Then we drove over to east Raleigh to Bob's PT appointment. It was chilly this morning - in the 40's, but it warned into the 70's in the afternoon.
On the way home we stopped at Bojangle's and got the 12-Piece Tailgater Box. Took that home and ate it for lunch with enough chicken left over for dinner too.
Then we headed over to Chapel Hill to a doctor's appointment for Bob. His last primary care physician, MD2U, stopped serving the Triangle area, so he had to find a new doctor. He will be seeing Daaleman, DO for care now.
We will have a quiet night in tonight.
Thursday, October 26, 2017
Morrisville, NC
This morning I got to work, hooked my computer up and started it, and sat down to record training from yesterday. George handed four courseware sheets to me that record people completing the Play To Win Book Review course.
I went to the copier and scanned the sheets in to have them emailed to my computer.
When I first started doing this, I would return to my desk, open Microsoft Outlook, right-click on each message, and save and rename the file attachments to my hard drive. The files have to be saved in the following format - YYYY-MM-DD-PSO-XXX-0000-USERID.pdf. An example would be 2017-10-26-PSO-GEN-0020-VTHIGPEN.pdf.
This makes a lot of typing and work - especially if you have a pile of 50 or 60 items to scan in!
To make this go faster I wrote a VBA macro that changes the attachment file name to the required format and saves it to the hard drive. Then I made a rule that watches for scanned files coming from the copier, runs the macro, then marks the message as "Read", and moves the message to the myLearning folder in Outlook.
Then it is a simple matter to upload them to the Sharepoint Training Scans folder because Sharepoint allows me to do batch uploads.
This has worked very well for me and has saved me TONS of time! Until this morning.
I fiddled with the rules and they would not run. There was a message that said rules could not run in the current Outlook mode. I had no idea what this meant, so I copied the message into Google.com and searched.
Other people have had this problem too. Evidently Microsoft rolled out an update last week that prevents you from calling macros from a rule because they considered it a security risk. Fortunately there is a work-around.
You have to edit the registry using regedit, and add a line that re-enables this feature. I does leave you vulnerable to the security risk, depending on what your rules or macros actually do. But I only run this one rule that calls this one macro, and it saves me a tremendous amount of work. I think I will take the (microscopic) chance.
I have created some very detailed macros in Excel as well and these help me automate the creation of reports. But the macro in Outlook is the only one that is run automatically from a rule.
So, it is done. Fixed. Working again.
I went to the copier and scanned the sheets in to have them emailed to my computer.
 |
| Screenshot of my Outlook VBA macro |
This makes a lot of typing and work - especially if you have a pile of 50 or 60 items to scan in!
To make this go faster I wrote a VBA macro that changes the attachment file name to the required format and saves it to the hard drive. Then I made a rule that watches for scanned files coming from the copier, runs the macro, then marks the message as "Read", and moves the message to the myLearning folder in Outlook.
Then it is a simple matter to upload them to the Sharepoint Training Scans folder because Sharepoint allows me to do batch uploads.
This has worked very well for me and has saved me TONS of time! Until this morning.
I fiddled with the rules and they would not run. There was a message that said rules could not run in the current Outlook mode. I had no idea what this meant, so I copied the message into Google.com and searched.
Other people have had this problem too. Evidently Microsoft rolled out an update last week that prevents you from calling macros from a rule because they considered it a security risk. Fortunately there is a work-around.
You have to edit the registry using regedit, and add a line that re-enables this feature. I does leave you vulnerable to the security risk, depending on what your rules or macros actually do. But I only run this one rule that calls this one macro, and it saves me a tremendous amount of work. I think I will take the (microscopic) chance.
I have created some very detailed macros in Excel as well and these help me automate the creation of reports. But the macro in Outlook is the only one that is run automatically from a rule.
So, it is done. Fixed. Working again.
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Cary, NC
Up at 4:30. Walk the dog. Pour food into his dish and make sure he has water. Get the hashbrowns
out of the freezer for Bobby, and get the eggs out. Then I pack my lunch box. To the shower for a shave and shower. Come out, dress, eat breakfast, and then out the door to work.
Ken, Gigi, George, and Michelle were already at their desks when I got there at 5:45 AM. I got my computer out and started my browser, Outlook email, Skype for Business, and my two Excel spreadsheets that I am tracking the current assignments in. I sent an email message to the entire site warning about the courses Finance assigned to everyone by accident yesterday. I got my PPE training finished up, and then we went to the Daily Review Meeting at 8:00 AM.
We were back upstairs by 8:30. Clint Myrick, the myLearning Admin at Springfield, OR sent an email to all of the PSO myLearning admins letting them know about the courses Finance accidentally sent to over 5000 employees. I guess I was the first person to discover this yesterday.
I am working on Training Histories for each person in the plant. Right now I am working on Compounding. By the afternoon I had visited with each Sanitizer, Pre-Weigh Technician, and Processing Technician on first shift. Now I have to get third shift done, but that will be easy - there are only 7 people on third shift in Compounding.
The Training Histories need to be documented and then entered into myLearning so that when the Processing Technician, Sanitizer, and Pre-Weigh Technician curricula go active, myLearning will see what each user has already trained on and will not assign training that has already been completed.
From 2:00 PM until quitting time at 4:30 PM I was busy in the production floor computer kiosk. All 8 seats were taken and everyone was working on their myLearning PPE assignment. I was in demand to help everyone get the lesson started.
Tomorrow is Thursday, and Thursday is my Friday! I don't have to work this weekend and I am glad!
out of the freezer for Bobby, and get the eggs out. Then I pack my lunch box. To the shower for a shave and shower. Come out, dress, eat breakfast, and then out the door to work.
 | |
| Bob at Tryon Palace, New Bern, NC |
We were back upstairs by 8:30. Clint Myrick, the myLearning Admin at Springfield, OR sent an email to all of the PSO myLearning admins letting them know about the courses Finance accidentally sent to over 5000 employees. I guess I was the first person to discover this yesterday.
I am working on Training Histories for each person in the plant. Right now I am working on Compounding. By the afternoon I had visited with each Sanitizer, Pre-Weigh Technician, and Processing Technician on first shift. Now I have to get third shift done, but that will be easy - there are only 7 people on third shift in Compounding.
The Training Histories need to be documented and then entered into myLearning so that when the Processing Technician, Sanitizer, and Pre-Weigh Technician curricula go active, myLearning will see what each user has already trained on and will not assign training that has already been completed.
From 2:00 PM until quitting time at 4:30 PM I was busy in the production floor computer kiosk. All 8 seats were taken and everyone was working on their myLearning PPE assignment. I was in demand to help everyone get the lesson started.
Tomorrow is Thursday, and Thursday is my Friday! I don't have to work this weekend and I am glad!
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
Cary, NC
There was a thunderstorm last night. I saw the lightning flashing in the clouds before I went to bed. The sidewalk was wet this morning when I took Buddy out for his walk at 4:30 AM. There was a lot of pine straw down in the parking lot too.
After walking Buddy, I come home, put food in his dish and make sure he has water. Then I get the hashbrowns and eggs out for Bob to make breakfast. Finally I pack my lunch box for work. Then I go get my shower and shave while Bob is frying eggs.
Fried eggs, baked hashbrowns, a cup of yogurt, and a glass of tea. Got breakfast eaten. Put on and tie my shoes and I am out the door and on my way to Burt's.
The drive to work is 11 miles. It takes about 20 minutes to get there.
First thing I had to worry about was the Basic Electrical Safety class this morning. I had four people waiting to take it, but the instructor, Robert Hall, the plant engineer, cuts it close. He doesn't come to work until 7:00 AM. At least everyone was ready to go when he got there.
You have to take Basic Electrical Safety before you can take Lock-Out/Tag-Out/Clip-Out. I now have 7 people waiting to take LOTO and have locks assigned.
At 8:00 AM we head down to the Daily Review Room where we have a big meeting each morning. We go over Safety issues that arose during the past 24 hours, we go over Quality, then each line gives a production report - Bottles, Lips, Tins, Creams and Tubes; then on to Maintenance, and Compounding. Then the IM Pillar gives an update on outstanding RFI's. We go over 48-Hour Action Items. Then our attention is directed to the overhead projector screen where the PLT calendar is being displayed. The calendar is read to us. Next we get an update on open Deviations. Finally we end the meeting with Recognition - we try to recognize people who have done a good job or went above and beyond. The Daily Review usually takes about 30 minutes.
I continued working on my FIFO Training presentation. FIFO is an acronym for "First-In, First-Out". It is an inventory management method where you use the oldest materials first and hopefully before they pass their expiration date.
As myLearning Owner I have to create training materials and we have a giant spreadsheet called the Rolemap to help keep it organized. The Rolemap has all of the jobs in the plant laid out in columns with all of the training topics listed in rows below. The Rolemap has 133 roles identified and over 470 training topics listed. So far I have written 72 courses. It will take YEARS to build out the curricula.
When I left the building this evening it was pleasant outside. I had a busy commute back home. The drive back home in the evening takes about 30 minutes.
We had a chicken salad on romaine lettuce for dinner. It was very tasty. Now I am reading email, Facebook, and news. We will head to the bed soon, read some more, and then sleep. Wash, rinse, repeat!
After walking Buddy, I come home, put food in his dish and make sure he has water. Then I get the hashbrowns and eggs out for Bob to make breakfast. Finally I pack my lunch box for work. Then I go get my shower and shave while Bob is frying eggs.
Fried eggs, baked hashbrowns, a cup of yogurt, and a glass of tea. Got breakfast eaten. Put on and tie my shoes and I am out the door and on my way to Burt's.
The drive to work is 11 miles. It takes about 20 minutes to get there.
First thing I had to worry about was the Basic Electrical Safety class this morning. I had four people waiting to take it, but the instructor, Robert Hall, the plant engineer, cuts it close. He doesn't come to work until 7:00 AM. At least everyone was ready to go when he got there.
You have to take Basic Electrical Safety before you can take Lock-Out/Tag-Out/Clip-Out. I now have 7 people waiting to take LOTO and have locks assigned.
At 8:00 AM we head down to the Daily Review Room where we have a big meeting each morning. We go over Safety issues that arose during the past 24 hours, we go over Quality, then each line gives a production report - Bottles, Lips, Tins, Creams and Tubes; then on to Maintenance, and Compounding. Then the IM Pillar gives an update on outstanding RFI's. We go over 48-Hour Action Items. Then our attention is directed to the overhead projector screen where the PLT calendar is being displayed. The calendar is read to us. Next we get an update on open Deviations. Finally we end the meeting with Recognition - we try to recognize people who have done a good job or went above and beyond. The Daily Review usually takes about 30 minutes.
I continued working on my FIFO Training presentation. FIFO is an acronym for "First-In, First-Out". It is an inventory management method where you use the oldest materials first and hopefully before they pass their expiration date.
As myLearning Owner I have to create training materials and we have a giant spreadsheet called the Rolemap to help keep it organized. The Rolemap has all of the jobs in the plant laid out in columns with all of the training topics listed in rows below. The Rolemap has 133 roles identified and over 470 training topics listed. So far I have written 72 courses. It will take YEARS to build out the curricula.
When I left the building this evening it was pleasant outside. I had a busy commute back home. The drive back home in the evening takes about 30 minutes.
We had a chicken salad on romaine lettuce for dinner. It was very tasty. Now I am reading email, Facebook, and news. We will head to the bed soon, read some more, and then sleep. Wash, rinse, repeat!
Update - Continued...
January 2017 - Bob met his physical therapist, Blaire Watson and we began a routine of eating breakfast at Bob Evan's each Friday and then going to PT after. Blaire worked on Bob's balance and endurance. With Bob using a walker, our next goal was to get him walking with a cane.
Even though Bob couldn't get around very fast, that did not stop us from getting out of the house and making little field trips. We took a trip to the Sarah P Duke Gardens in Durham one weekend. On another weekend we went to Asheboro to visit the North Carolina Zoo.
March 2017 - I took a new job at Burt's Bees on March 7. I was moved upstairs to work with the Training & Qualification Pillar, George Pollard. My new job would be to get myLearning up and running on our site and develope new courseware for it.
April 2017 - We bought a spiral-cut ham at Honey Baked Ham and took it to Becky and Bill's house for Easter. We also took a big wash tub full of Burt's and Clorox products decorated with easter grass, jelly beans, and dyed hard-boiled eggs. Everyone loves to get Burt's products!
We made a weekend trip down to Kinston and toured the CSS Neuse, Confederate iron-clad. On the way back we stopped in Goldsboro and ate barbecue at Wilbur's.
May 2017 - On Memorial Day Weekend we reserved a room in Capitol Heights, Maryland at the Red
Roof Inn and visited Washington, DC. We took the Metro to the National Mall. Bob walked through the National Air and Space Museum, then we walked across the mall, and went through the National Archives. After that we took lunch from a food truck, walked down the mall, past the Washington Monument, to the Lincoln Memorial. Bob climbed all of the steps up the front to go inside. Once we were inside we discovered that it has an elevator! We walked across the Memorial Bridge and took the Metro back to our hotel.
On the second day we rode the Metro to Arlington and Bob walked through Arlington National Cemetery. We saw most of the famous gravesites and even toured Arlington House, home of Robert E Lee. I know Bob was tired out after all of that walking.
Because DC is only a 4-hour drive away, we will return another weekend to visit more museums and national sites.
July 2017 - Over the July 4 holiday we made an ambitious road trip. We drove up to Burlington, VT
and toured the Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Factory. We also toured the Ethan Allen home and saw the World's Tallest File Cabinet!
We made a leisurely drive through the mountains across New Hampshire into Maine. We had lobster rolls for lunch, then we stopped for the night in New Hampshire again. The next day we continued across Massachusettes and into Connecticutt. We stopped at Groton, CT and toured the US Submarine Force Museum and got to tour the USS Nautilus SSN-571 too!
Back on I-95 and about two hours later we stopped at Weston, CT where we would spend a couple of days visiting Bob's cousin, Carla Marina. She made a place for us to sleep in her barn and we had a nice visit. Bob got to catch up with her and share some family secrets with her that she did not know!
On July 4th we made a 9-hour dash back to Cary because I had to be at work on July 5.
August 2017 - We traded the Ram pick-up truck in for something smaller, easier to park, more maneuverable, and better on gas. We got a 2017 Fiat 500X with all-wheel drive.
September 2017 - Over the long Labor Day Weekend we took our new Fiat and drove down to
Wilmington. We left Buddy with Becky and Bill and then the next morning we got on the highway. We needed to visit our house in Wyoming, clean it up, and make sure it is ready for another winter.
It took us three days to drive out. We stayed three days. Our friends were thrilled to see us. We cleaned the house, pulled up a bunch of tumbleweed, and then had to return. On the drive back we made a couple of detours. We stopped at Alliance, Nebraska to see Carhenge. In Tennessee we stopped near Knoxville to visit The Lost Sea Caverns.
That was an exhausting trip and I think we will just fly out next time.
That just about brings us up-to-date. It's been quite a busy year and there are still a couple of months to go!
Even though Bob couldn't get around very fast, that did not stop us from getting out of the house and making little field trips. We took a trip to the Sarah P Duke Gardens in Durham one weekend. On another weekend we went to Asheboro to visit the North Carolina Zoo.
March 2017 - I took a new job at Burt's Bees on March 7. I was moved upstairs to work with the Training & Qualification Pillar, George Pollard. My new job would be to get myLearning up and running on our site and develope new courseware for it.
April 2017 - We bought a spiral-cut ham at Honey Baked Ham and took it to Becky and Bill's house for Easter. We also took a big wash tub full of Burt's and Clorox products decorated with easter grass, jelly beans, and dyed hard-boiled eggs. Everyone loves to get Burt's products!
We made a weekend trip down to Kinston and toured the CSS Neuse, Confederate iron-clad. On the way back we stopped in Goldsboro and ate barbecue at Wilbur's.
 |
| Bob and Vince at Lincoln Memorial. |
Roof Inn and visited Washington, DC. We took the Metro to the National Mall. Bob walked through the National Air and Space Museum, then we walked across the mall, and went through the National Archives. After that we took lunch from a food truck, walked down the mall, past the Washington Monument, to the Lincoln Memorial. Bob climbed all of the steps up the front to go inside. Once we were inside we discovered that it has an elevator! We walked across the Memorial Bridge and took the Metro back to our hotel.
On the second day we rode the Metro to Arlington and Bob walked through Arlington National Cemetery. We saw most of the famous gravesites and even toured Arlington House, home of Robert E Lee. I know Bob was tired out after all of that walking.
Because DC is only a 4-hour drive away, we will return another weekend to visit more museums and national sites.
July 2017 - Over the July 4 holiday we made an ambitious road trip. We drove up to Burlington, VT
and toured the Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Factory. We also toured the Ethan Allen home and saw the World's Tallest File Cabinet!
 |
| At Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory. |
We made a leisurely drive through the mountains across New Hampshire into Maine. We had lobster rolls for lunch, then we stopped for the night in New Hampshire again. The next day we continued across Massachusettes and into Connecticutt. We stopped at Groton, CT and toured the US Submarine Force Museum and got to tour the USS Nautilus SSN-571 too!
Back on I-95 and about two hours later we stopped at Weston, CT where we would spend a couple of days visiting Bob's cousin, Carla Marina. She made a place for us to sleep in her barn and we had a nice visit. Bob got to catch up with her and share some family secrets with her that she did not know!
On July 4th we made a 9-hour dash back to Cary because I had to be at work on July 5.
August 2017 - We traded the Ram pick-up truck in for something smaller, easier to park, more maneuverable, and better on gas. We got a 2017 Fiat 500X with all-wheel drive.
September 2017 - Over the long Labor Day Weekend we took our new Fiat and drove down to
Wilmington. We left Buddy with Becky and Bill and then the next morning we got on the highway. We needed to visit our house in Wyoming, clean it up, and make sure it is ready for another winter.
 |
| Carhenge, Alliance, NB |
That was an exhausting trip and I think we will just fly out next time.
That just about brings us up-to-date. It's been quite a busy year and there are still a couple of months to go!
Monday, October 23, 2017
The Big Update
It's been a long time since my last post... shoot, I almost forgot how to get in here to make a posting! As you can imagine, quite a lot has happened.
April 2016 - I was overheard complaining about the lack of safety at the first responder fire training by a Cody Labs HR person in the breakroom. A consequence of this was that I was asked to leave. It felt like a huge weight lifting off of me after that decision was made.
May 2016 - Not having much luck finding a job that pays comparable to what I was making in the cocaine factory, and despite the fact that Kong of Golden Colorado loved me, we decide that we could not afford to live in the Denver area and opted to return to the east to improve my chances of finding a job.
We put the house on the market and began packing. I built a boardwalk front walk from the front door up to the driveway and then we had a couple of loads of river rock dropped in front of the house to make everything look nicer for a prospective buyer.
We gave the bees to Joan and Jim Slater in Powell, and we gave the chickens to Kathy and Jimmy Dale next door. Gordy's son helped us load the 25-foot U-Haul truck on a hot June day.
June 2016 - We left Wyoming on June 3. It took us three days of driving. I drove the moving truck and Bob followed me with Buddy in the Ram. We ended up in Cary, North Carolina in a two-bedroom apartment. The stuff that did not fit in the apartment was taken to Storage King in Apex, NC.
I started my job hunt again in North Carolina. I started to get interviews.
Disaster. On June 14, Bob was complaining of numbness in his left arm and left leg. We stopped at Walgreens and had his blood pressure checked - 140 / 90 - a little high. The next morning Bob woke up nauseous and dizzy. His speech was slurred. He didn't have facial droop and he had good strength in both hands, but this didn't look good. We went to the Emergency Room.
The Wakemed ER is four miles down Kildaire Farm Road from our apartment. Bob's nausea was so bad he couldn't be moved from the stretcher to the table for images. Phenergan was given to him to get the nausea stopped. After they had the images they solemnly said that Bob could not get the treatment he needed at this hospital - Bob would have to be transported to the main hospital downtown.
Bob was taken by ambulance to Wakemed Raleigh and wheeled directly to the Neuro ICU.
The next morning Bob was having trouble swallowing. This got worse as the day went by and in the afternoon he was struggling to keep his airway open. It was decided that Bob needed to be intubated. I was sent home while this was taking place. I walked Buddy and returned later. He was heavily sedated and covered in blankets. His nurse that night was Ivey. There was not much I could do for him and I went home around 2 AM.
The next day a neurosurgeon, Lars Gardner, explained to me what was going on with Bob. One of the cavernous malformations that he'd had since birth had started to bleed some months ago. This one was located in his brainstem. It slowly bled over many months and the brain was able to adapt to it, but now it had grown to such a size that it was causing problems. Because there was so much swelling, they could not operate on it right now. Bob would have to remain sedated while they gave him manitol and decadron - steroids to reduce brain swelling.
In addition to the manitol drip, Bob had saline solution, fentanyl citrate solution, propofol, liquid nourishment, and other products being supplied to his body by metering pumps. A ventilator machine supplied him with moisturized air. He mostly slept. Later DVT cuffs were fitted to his lower legs, and boots to prevent drop foot were put on him too.
I was there everyday. Even though there was nothing I could do. I would go out to the truck and do phone interviews with prospective employers, or call relatives to give them the latest on Bob and get advice.
Another problem we had - Bob's Medicare supplemental insurance was Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Wyoming. Bob called and got a 30-day extension on his policy while he shopped for insurance in North Carolina. His medi-gap policy would expire on June 30. I had to find another insurance policy for Bob.
Mom suggested Cardinal Advisers who arranged her insurance. I met with Meg in their office off of US 64. They had a list of policies and prices. The lowest priced policy was with a company they did not represent, USAA.
On June 29, Bob was taken to the operating room. Becky and Bill came up from Wilmington and waited with me in the waiting room. Doctor Gardner and Doctor Margraf made a hole the size of a quarter in Bob's skull behind his right ear and accessed the lesion between the brainstem and the cerebellum. They made a small incision and drained it and then washed the material inside of it out. The operation was supposed to take about 4 hours - they were done in 90 minutes. It was a success.
July 2017 - I wish that were the end of it, but Bob still had a long road ahead. He had weakened severely while laying on the bed for three weeks and he was still on the ventilator. We did a trial extubation three days after his surgery. He was able to breath on his own, but his tongue kept rolling back into his airway. Heartbreakingly, Bob had to be re-intubated. Now I was asked whether he should have a tracheostomy.
After the re-intubation there was really nothing else I could do for Bob and Jessie, the chaplain insisted that I go home and rest. He escorted me through the hospital to the door to make sure that I went.
The longer someone stays on the ventilator, they greater their risk of catching pneumonia. At 21 days the risk rises to 66%. Bob had been on the ventilator for 16 days. We decided to go ahead with the trach in the hope that it would help him get off of the ventilator faster.
Three days later he was off of the vent and moved to Medical ICU. He was in the M ICU for about 5 days, then he was taken to a Step-Down room on the fifth floor.
Bob was still very weak and he was not getting the physical therapy he needed to get stronger. Laying in bed all day and only getting up every other day was not making him stronger. The social worker started talking to me about having Bob discharged and moved to a Long-Term Acute Care Hospital. I called Jason and Lori in Ohio. Lori is an RN at the Cleveland Clinic and she said that if an LTAC bed was available, then Bob should absolutely try to get it.
On July 12 Bob was discharged from Wakemed and taken to the Duke Regional Hospital in Durham where Select Specialty Hospital runs a hospital within the hospital on the 6th floor. Bob got a private room here and he started to get speech, occupational, and physical therapy. He was very obviously under-nourished, his weight dropped to 112 pounds.
Because he was not getting enough nutrition from the liquid diet, the doctor wished to have a peg tube put into Bob's abdominal wall to his stomach. Poor Bob - so many cuts and punctures. I tried to spare him this, but it turned out that he actually wanted it - he wanted to be rid of the painful nasal tube!
After about a month in the Select Hospital, just as he was standing and about to start taking steps again, he was discharged to skilled nursing. I was sent out with a list to interview various nursing homes with hope of picking the best one for Bob. I selected Raleigh Rehab based on the reputation of their therapists.
August 2017 - Bob was discharged and taken by ambulance to Raleigh Rehab. Because he still had noisy equipment he was given a private room again. So far he'd been very lucky to get private rooms!
The therapists at Raleigh Rehab were very good, but the doctor and the nursing staff were terrible. The doctor was diagnosing patients based off of telephone conversations with nurses!
Bob had a small brain bleed, but the doctor said that it was a temporal lobe seizure. I found him one morning spread across the bed having convulsions. They gave him more Keppra and then sent out for depakote. Right after the depakote, about 45 minutes later, he settled down. Later in the afternoon it started up again. Bob was scared and I was scared. I told the nurse that he was not giving Bob anything else and that I wanted him transported to the hospital so that we could get images and get to the bottom of this!
An ambulance came and I had him transported back to Wakemed because all of his notes and previous images were there.
A small bleed was spotted on his brain. Too small to do anything about, but he was taken off of Lovanox. He was admitted and taken upstairs to the Neuro ICU for observation. Ivey was his nurse again! When Bob was wheeled in, the nurses recognized him and they asked "Is Vince here too?" Of course he is!
The next day I found the physical therapist that worked the ICU, Beverly, and asked her if Bob could be evaluated for admission to the Wakemed Rehabilitation Hospital. Bob was not eligible before because he was too weak, but he might have a chance now.
To go into the Wakemed Rehab you have to be strong enough to do three hours of therapy each day. One hour of speech therapy, one hour of occupational therapy, and one hour of physical therapy.
Beverly and her assistant found Bob to be a good candidate for the rehab hospital and recommended him.
Now I went over to the rehab hospital and found Crane Creech. She gave me a tour of the facility and I explained Bob's situation to her. She said that the rehab hospital was the best in the area and that they had done miraculous things with many patients.
Bob was admitted to the rehab hospital! Again, he got a private room and he had a lot of work ahead of him. My goals for him - he had to be able to handle his ADL's (activities of daily living), and he had to be able to climb the 13 steps to our apartment. I would take care of everything else.
Meanwhile I was going to job interviews. I interviewed at Liquidia Technologies, Burt's Bees, and another place in Durham that specialized in plant extracts. Burt's sent me to Durham Tech to have Work Keys testing done, and then I was called in for a personal interview. I met with Josh Morin, the Compounding Production Manager. I told him about my previous cGMP manufacturing experience at the cocaine factory in Wyoming. During an interview, you must make yourself memorable, and when you tell an interviewer about manufacturing cocaine, you have their rapt attention! I also told him that I wanted a plant tour before I could make a decision.
After spending 15 minutes with Josh I went downstairs and had another interview with Jason and Markus. Josh stuck his head in the door and told them, "After this, give him a plant tour." "But, but SAFETY! We can't give him a tour!" "Do a Risk Prediction, and give him a tour." I got my tour.
I asked the HR person, Courtney Zane, why it was so controversial for me to get a plant tour. She said, "Well, hardly anybody requests it. They just take the job without doing a tour." I said, "Well, Courtney, you guys had me in today to see if I would be a good fit for Burt's, but I am also here to see if Burt's will be a good fit for me. Why would I accept a job without seeing the work area first? Why would I wait until my first day and be surprised?"
Josh called me the very next morning and said that while I had applied for a Sanitizer position, he felt that I was much more qualified for a Processing Technician position. It paid $4 more per hour. He said that he could not offer the job to me just yet - I had to take another test and visit Fit For Work in Raleigh to do a flexibility test as well.
My first day on the job was August 29. I did the onboarding process and then started working and training in Compounding.
Bob meanwhile continued to improve. He really started to get much stronger and better in the Wakemed Rehabilitation Hospital! His peg tube was removed as he began to safely eat and drink again. His trach was removed and bandaged.
Just as he was starting to take steps again it was time to discharge him! This was driving me nuts! Back to skilled nursing. This time he was taken to Hillcrest of Raleigh. He initially had a private room, but soon he had a roomie - 84-year-old Eric Innis. Eric had Andy Griffith for a high school teacher at Goldsboro High School way back in the 50's!
October 2016 - Bob's birthday is October 1. I made sure this was a memorable event for him! I brought an ice cream cake in from Baskin Robbins and had the kitchen staff keep it in the freezer. While Bob was at breakfast with Eric, I went to his room and inflated a bunch of helium balloons and covered his bed with wrapped presents! When he got back to the room he was sure surprised!
At lunch we had ice cream cake. After lunch I wheeled his chair to the truck and helped him get up into the truck. We went to the movies and then went to Olive Garden for dinner. That was an exciting day for him!
Later we took a trip downtown to the Register of Deeds office. We applied for and got a marriage license!
Hurricane Matthew came through and the power went out at Hillcrest. I was kicked out and Bob wasn't going to stay there in the dark by himself eating cold food. So we got his drugs issued and I took him home. I did not know whether he would be able to climb the stairs to the apartment. Up he went, slowly, in the blowing wind and rain. He was soaked when he got into the house, but we had plenty of dry clothes for him to change into!
On October 14 we were married. Becky and Marrissia came up from Wilmington to be witnesses. We had the magistrate perform the ceremony. Later we went to Kanki Japanese House Of Steaks for a big lunch.
On October 28 Bob was discharged from Hillcrest to go home. He came home and he had home healthcare come to work with him. He continued to have occupational therapy and physical therapy for about 8 weeks. Then he got outpatient physical therapy at Wakemed once a week.
November 2016 - Bob said that he wanted to see the NC Outer Banks. We reserved a room at Hatteras, drove up to Elizabeth City, and then out to Kitty Hawk. We visited the Wright Brothers National Monument, and then over Oregon Inlet and down to Hatteras where we spent the night. The next morning we saw the Hatteras Lighthouse and then took the ferry over to Ocracoke Island.
We had lunch on Ocracoke and then took a ferry boat to Cedar Island. From there we drove down to Becky and Bills house where we would stay through Thanksgiving. We truly had a lot to be thankful for this year!
December 2016 - Bob was not able to move heavy packages into the house or wrap gifts, so he ordered gifts and had them delivered to Mom and Bill's house. Mom wrapped everything up for Bob. We drove down to Wilmington and had Christmas there. We had Christmas dinner at Kevin and Marrissia's house. Gavin and Gabby got knitted gifts from Uncle Bob!
We opened our gifts and Mom and Bill's house. Bob got a new computer for Christmas and I got a Roku Internet TV! We brought our gifts back to Cary and moved them into the house, then we got back into the truck and drove to Asheville.
In Asheville we visited Biltmore Mansion and Gardens. Bob was still in the wheelchair, but I pushed him through the gardens. He used his walker inside the big house. Everyone was very patient with Bob on the stairs.
That's about it for 2016. It was a year full of bad things and good things. This update took awhile to write out. I will sit down again tomorrow and fill you in on what has happened so far in 2017.
April 2016 - I was overheard complaining about the lack of safety at the first responder fire training by a Cody Labs HR person in the breakroom. A consequence of this was that I was asked to leave. It felt like a huge weight lifting off of me after that decision was made.
May 2016 - Not having much luck finding a job that pays comparable to what I was making in the cocaine factory, and despite the fact that Kong of Golden Colorado loved me, we decide that we could not afford to live in the Denver area and opted to return to the east to improve my chances of finding a job.
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| 160 Brushland Drive, Clark, WY 82435 |
We gave the bees to Joan and Jim Slater in Powell, and we gave the chickens to Kathy and Jimmy Dale next door. Gordy's son helped us load the 25-foot U-Haul truck on a hot June day.
June 2016 - We left Wyoming on June 3. It took us three days of driving. I drove the moving truck and Bob followed me with Buddy in the Ram. We ended up in Cary, North Carolina in a two-bedroom apartment. The stuff that did not fit in the apartment was taken to Storage King in Apex, NC.
I started my job hunt again in North Carolina. I started to get interviews.
Disaster. On June 14, Bob was complaining of numbness in his left arm and left leg. We stopped at Walgreens and had his blood pressure checked - 140 / 90 - a little high. The next morning Bob woke up nauseous and dizzy. His speech was slurred. He didn't have facial droop and he had good strength in both hands, but this didn't look good. We went to the Emergency Room.
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| Bob in the Wakemed Neuro ICU. |
Bob was taken by ambulance to Wakemed Raleigh and wheeled directly to the Neuro ICU.
The next morning Bob was having trouble swallowing. This got worse as the day went by and in the afternoon he was struggling to keep his airway open. It was decided that Bob needed to be intubated. I was sent home while this was taking place. I walked Buddy and returned later. He was heavily sedated and covered in blankets. His nurse that night was Ivey. There was not much I could do for him and I went home around 2 AM.
The next day a neurosurgeon, Lars Gardner, explained to me what was going on with Bob. One of the cavernous malformations that he'd had since birth had started to bleed some months ago. This one was located in his brainstem. It slowly bled over many months and the brain was able to adapt to it, but now it had grown to such a size that it was causing problems. Because there was so much swelling, they could not operate on it right now. Bob would have to remain sedated while they gave him manitol and decadron - steroids to reduce brain swelling.
In addition to the manitol drip, Bob had saline solution, fentanyl citrate solution, propofol, liquid nourishment, and other products being supplied to his body by metering pumps. A ventilator machine supplied him with moisturized air. He mostly slept. Later DVT cuffs were fitted to his lower legs, and boots to prevent drop foot were put on him too.
I was there everyday. Even though there was nothing I could do. I would go out to the truck and do phone interviews with prospective employers, or call relatives to give them the latest on Bob and get advice.
Another problem we had - Bob's Medicare supplemental insurance was Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Wyoming. Bob called and got a 30-day extension on his policy while he shopped for insurance in North Carolina. His medi-gap policy would expire on June 30. I had to find another insurance policy for Bob.
Mom suggested Cardinal Advisers who arranged her insurance. I met with Meg in their office off of US 64. They had a list of policies and prices. The lowest priced policy was with a company they did not represent, USAA.
On June 29, Bob was taken to the operating room. Becky and Bill came up from Wilmington and waited with me in the waiting room. Doctor Gardner and Doctor Margraf made a hole the size of a quarter in Bob's skull behind his right ear and accessed the lesion between the brainstem and the cerebellum. They made a small incision and drained it and then washed the material inside of it out. The operation was supposed to take about 4 hours - they were done in 90 minutes. It was a success.
July 2017 - I wish that were the end of it, but Bob still had a long road ahead. He had weakened severely while laying on the bed for three weeks and he was still on the ventilator. We did a trial extubation three days after his surgery. He was able to breath on his own, but his tongue kept rolling back into his airway. Heartbreakingly, Bob had to be re-intubated. Now I was asked whether he should have a tracheostomy.
After the re-intubation there was really nothing else I could do for Bob and Jessie, the chaplain insisted that I go home and rest. He escorted me through the hospital to the door to make sure that I went.
The longer someone stays on the ventilator, they greater their risk of catching pneumonia. At 21 days the risk rises to 66%. Bob had been on the ventilator for 16 days. We decided to go ahead with the trach in the hope that it would help him get off of the ventilator faster.
Three days later he was off of the vent and moved to Medical ICU. He was in the M ICU for about 5 days, then he was taken to a Step-Down room on the fifth floor.
Bob was still very weak and he was not getting the physical therapy he needed to get stronger. Laying in bed all day and only getting up every other day was not making him stronger. The social worker started talking to me about having Bob discharged and moved to a Long-Term Acute Care Hospital. I called Jason and Lori in Ohio. Lori is an RN at the Cleveland Clinic and she said that if an LTAC bed was available, then Bob should absolutely try to get it.
On July 12 Bob was discharged from Wakemed and taken to the Duke Regional Hospital in Durham where Select Specialty Hospital runs a hospital within the hospital on the 6th floor. Bob got a private room here and he started to get speech, occupational, and physical therapy. He was very obviously under-nourished, his weight dropped to 112 pounds.
Because he was not getting enough nutrition from the liquid diet, the doctor wished to have a peg tube put into Bob's abdominal wall to his stomach. Poor Bob - so many cuts and punctures. I tried to spare him this, but it turned out that he actually wanted it - he wanted to be rid of the painful nasal tube!
After about a month in the Select Hospital, just as he was standing and about to start taking steps again, he was discharged to skilled nursing. I was sent out with a list to interview various nursing homes with hope of picking the best one for Bob. I selected Raleigh Rehab based on the reputation of their therapists.
August 2017 - Bob was discharged and taken by ambulance to Raleigh Rehab. Because he still had noisy equipment he was given a private room again. So far he'd been very lucky to get private rooms!
The therapists at Raleigh Rehab were very good, but the doctor and the nursing staff were terrible. The doctor was diagnosing patients based off of telephone conversations with nurses!
Bob had a small brain bleed, but the doctor said that it was a temporal lobe seizure. I found him one morning spread across the bed having convulsions. They gave him more Keppra and then sent out for depakote. Right after the depakote, about 45 minutes later, he settled down. Later in the afternoon it started up again. Bob was scared and I was scared. I told the nurse that he was not giving Bob anything else and that I wanted him transported to the hospital so that we could get images and get to the bottom of this!
An ambulance came and I had him transported back to Wakemed because all of his notes and previous images were there.
A small bleed was spotted on his brain. Too small to do anything about, but he was taken off of Lovanox. He was admitted and taken upstairs to the Neuro ICU for observation. Ivey was his nurse again! When Bob was wheeled in, the nurses recognized him and they asked "Is Vince here too?" Of course he is!
The next day I found the physical therapist that worked the ICU, Beverly, and asked her if Bob could be evaluated for admission to the Wakemed Rehabilitation Hospital. Bob was not eligible before because he was too weak, but he might have a chance now.
To go into the Wakemed Rehab you have to be strong enough to do three hours of therapy each day. One hour of speech therapy, one hour of occupational therapy, and one hour of physical therapy.
Beverly and her assistant found Bob to be a good candidate for the rehab hospital and recommended him.
Now I went over to the rehab hospital and found Crane Creech. She gave me a tour of the facility and I explained Bob's situation to her. She said that the rehab hospital was the best in the area and that they had done miraculous things with many patients.
Bob was admitted to the rehab hospital! Again, he got a private room and he had a lot of work ahead of him. My goals for him - he had to be able to handle his ADL's (activities of daily living), and he had to be able to climb the 13 steps to our apartment. I would take care of everything else.
Meanwhile I was going to job interviews. I interviewed at Liquidia Technologies, Burt's Bees, and another place in Durham that specialized in plant extracts. Burt's sent me to Durham Tech to have Work Keys testing done, and then I was called in for a personal interview. I met with Josh Morin, the Compounding Production Manager. I told him about my previous cGMP manufacturing experience at the cocaine factory in Wyoming. During an interview, you must make yourself memorable, and when you tell an interviewer about manufacturing cocaine, you have their rapt attention! I also told him that I wanted a plant tour before I could make a decision.
After spending 15 minutes with Josh I went downstairs and had another interview with Jason and Markus. Josh stuck his head in the door and told them, "After this, give him a plant tour." "But, but SAFETY! We can't give him a tour!" "Do a Risk Prediction, and give him a tour." I got my tour.
I asked the HR person, Courtney Zane, why it was so controversial for me to get a plant tour. She said, "Well, hardly anybody requests it. They just take the job without doing a tour." I said, "Well, Courtney, you guys had me in today to see if I would be a good fit for Burt's, but I am also here to see if Burt's will be a good fit for me. Why would I accept a job without seeing the work area first? Why would I wait until my first day and be surprised?"
Josh called me the very next morning and said that while I had applied for a Sanitizer position, he felt that I was much more qualified for a Processing Technician position. It paid $4 more per hour. He said that he could not offer the job to me just yet - I had to take another test and visit Fit For Work in Raleigh to do a flexibility test as well.
My first day on the job was August 29. I did the onboarding process and then started working and training in Compounding.
Bob meanwhile continued to improve. He really started to get much stronger and better in the Wakemed Rehabilitation Hospital! His peg tube was removed as he began to safely eat and drink again. His trach was removed and bandaged.
Just as he was starting to take steps again it was time to discharge him! This was driving me nuts! Back to skilled nursing. This time he was taken to Hillcrest of Raleigh. He initially had a private room, but soon he had a roomie - 84-year-old Eric Innis. Eric had Andy Griffith for a high school teacher at Goldsboro High School way back in the 50's!
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| Bob with his birthday cake. |
At lunch we had ice cream cake. After lunch I wheeled his chair to the truck and helped him get up into the truck. We went to the movies and then went to Olive Garden for dinner. That was an exciting day for him!
Later we took a trip downtown to the Register of Deeds office. We applied for and got a marriage license!
Hurricane Matthew came through and the power went out at Hillcrest. I was kicked out and Bob wasn't going to stay there in the dark by himself eating cold food. So we got his drugs issued and I took him home. I did not know whether he would be able to climb the stairs to the apartment. Up he went, slowly, in the blowing wind and rain. He was soaked when he got into the house, but we had plenty of dry clothes for him to change into!
On October 14 we were married. Becky and Marrissia came up from Wilmington to be witnesses. We had the magistrate perform the ceremony. Later we went to Kanki Japanese House Of Steaks for a big lunch.
On October 28 Bob was discharged from Hillcrest to go home. He came home and he had home healthcare come to work with him. He continued to have occupational therapy and physical therapy for about 8 weeks. Then he got outpatient physical therapy at Wakemed once a week.
November 2016 - Bob said that he wanted to see the NC Outer Banks. We reserved a room at Hatteras, drove up to Elizabeth City, and then out to Kitty Hawk. We visited the Wright Brothers National Monument, and then over Oregon Inlet and down to Hatteras where we spent the night. The next morning we saw the Hatteras Lighthouse and then took the ferry over to Ocracoke Island.
We had lunch on Ocracoke and then took a ferry boat to Cedar Island. From there we drove down to Becky and Bills house where we would stay through Thanksgiving. We truly had a lot to be thankful for this year!
December 2016 - Bob was not able to move heavy packages into the house or wrap gifts, so he ordered gifts and had them delivered to Mom and Bill's house. Mom wrapped everything up for Bob. We drove down to Wilmington and had Christmas there. We had Christmas dinner at Kevin and Marrissia's house. Gavin and Gabby got knitted gifts from Uncle Bob!
We opened our gifts and Mom and Bill's house. Bob got a new computer for Christmas and I got a Roku Internet TV! We brought our gifts back to Cary and moved them into the house, then we got back into the truck and drove to Asheville.
In Asheville we visited Biltmore Mansion and Gardens. Bob was still in the wheelchair, but I pushed him through the gardens. He used his walker inside the big house. Everyone was very patient with Bob on the stairs.
That's about it for 2016. It was a year full of bad things and good things. This update took awhile to write out. I will sit down again tomorrow and fill you in on what has happened so far in 2017.