Rough Start to 2024

This year has started out with some difficulty.  Regular readers will know that my adult son Justin was born with Duchenne's muscular dystrophy.  We knew the time would eventually come, but we were still not prepared for the last stage of this terminal neuromuscular disease.  Justin, who is 23 years old, stopped breathing at his apartment due to respiratory failure secondary to pneumonia and Covid.  His caregiver immediately called 911, and Justin was resuscitated in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. Once at ER, Justin was intubated and began breathing attached to a ventilator.  After a few days, he was extubated.  After just a few hours, his breathing crashed again, and he was re-intubated.  

At that point, the doctors decided to let him try to gain his strength back for a total of two weeks on the vent for one more try to breathe on his own before going ahead with a tracheotomy which would attach to the vent on a permanent basis.  In fact, Justin did regain some strength and was successfully extubated for awhile.  He was able to eat a little food, talk with us, text non-stop during some playoff football, and seemed to be getting back to where he was pre-hospitalization.  They moved Justin from ICU to intermediate care and eventually to general care.  

During that period, Justin began experiencing severe back pain and needed heavy doses of pain medication.  And then things took a turn for the worse with his blood pressure crashing and then his respiration crashing.  Yesterday, he was back in ICU.  Early this morning, we were informed that he had several overnight respiratory events and was going to be intubated again.  

Justin has been in the hospital for going on four weeks, and it's been a tough ride.  Although all of his muscles have atrophied progressively over his entire lifetime, Justin has a strong disposition and continues to fight.  This disease is relentless, and no one emerges victorious.  We will go to the hospital again later this morning, but it seems inevitable that a tracheotomy and permanent attachment to a vent is going to be inevitable, if he survives this time.  The vent will provide stable respiration, but it's something that Justin wanted to avoid if at all possible.  Two of his remaining joys are eating and talking, and these activities will change.  We don't know yet how much.  

Our winter travel plans have obviously been canceled.  Family comes first.

Driftless Area

Much of southwestern Wisconsin is known as the driftless area:  where the glaciers never covered the land in ice.  It's characterized by steep bluffs and deep river valleys. The Kickapoo River runs through here.  

Kickapoo is an Algonquin name for "one who goes there, then here."  Sixty miles as the bird flies from its source to its mouth, the Kickapoo zig zags 126 miles.  The Kickapoo watershed is nearly half a million acres. 

Recently, Julia and I set off for Wildcat Mountain State Park between the small towns of Hillsboro and Ontario.  We elected to ignore Google Map's fastest route in favor of county highways and town roads that took us through Amish country and beautiful scenery.  

On a weekday, we were the only vehicle in the state park's parking lot.  Trail conditions required some caution with snow and ice on the north-facing slopes and mud on the south-facing slopes. The views on top of Wildcat Mountain (a Wisconsin hill/bluff) and the brisk wind made us feel alive. 

Callie is catching drops from the melting icicles.

After finishing up our hike on the Old Settlers Trail, we drove to the Hillsboro Brewing Company for pizza and beer. 

The pizza was good, inexpensive and was big enough for leftovers on a second day.  As I was sipping my "Joe Beer", a no-nonsense porter with no added flavoring, I spied an interesting sign over by the cashier.

 

 

Of course, I had to ask.  Apparently, the new canning equipment wasn't filling all of the cans full of beer.  Some had as little as six ounces in a can, while others nearly 10 or 11 ounces.  The shorted cans couldn't be sold with the regular labels.  Hmmm, at $12/case, we were pretty excited to bring home a case of "no label" stout.

Harvest

For many years, Julia and I have followed a tradition to harvest our Christmas tree from one of the many area Christmas tree farms.  This year, we tried out a new place:  Miller's Christmas Trees near Rio, Wisconsin.

Julia is always very excited about these excursions.  I might be a little less excited.

I trudged down the rows of Christmas trees in search of the perfect little white pine.

This one will work.

No chain saw  necessary

Next, we were off for a celebratory margarita and dinner at a new Mexican restaurant in Columbus, Wisconsin.

Mine proved to be a little bigger and stronger than I expected.  Since I was driving, Julia offered to use my regular margarita to dilute her jalapeno margarita.  The food was excellent (for small town Wisconsin).

The Sound of Silence

They say that introverts gain energy from reflection and lose energy in social gatherings.  Yeah, that's me.  I like being around people, but it does suck my energy.  This past week, we had a house full of invited guests, and it was great to see everybody.  

But when everyone was gone, I found myself breathing a little easier.  One of the things that I really like about our house is the quiet.  We are a long ways from the road and any neighbors.  In the winter, the silence is palpable.  

Justin ended up in the hospital yesterday with extreme side back pain.  He told the doctor that he had sprained his oblique muscle.  Nope, the doctor said, pneumonia.  So they set up an IV with antibiotics and opiate pain relievers.  Today, he's already feeling better, but I hope they can figure out what caused the fluid in his lung.  

He had pneumonia a few years ago, but it was associated with a bad cold and fever.  This presentation was much different with just the extreme back pain.  Young men with Duchennes muscular dystrophy have two big worries:  heart failure and lung failure.  Justin's heart is in good shape, given his diagnosis, but his weakened lungs are a concern. We're all hoping for a quick recovery.  

Oh, in extended family situations or with people he knows, Justin is definitely an extrovert.

October Snow

The weather has definitely turned cold here in south-central Wisconsin.  With lows in the 20's, highs in the low 30's, and light snow today, it feels more like winter than fall.  

Not much going on this week, so it will be a quick update.  The truck has continued to start each day, although my confidence has kept me closer to home for the time being.  

I spent Saturday afternoon and evening at my son Justin's apartment, watching a movie and a football game.  I also brought requested Culver's.

My outdoor pickleball season is close to the end or has ended.  I might get another day or two in if temperatures approach 50 again.  It's been a great summer, and I comfortably play at the 4.0 level now.  That's good enough for me.

With the weather turning cold, I winterized the Scamp and put it away for the winter.  My attention will now turn to firewood processing and stacking for next year.  This year's stacks are ready to go, and Callie has assumed the position by the stove.

 

We will stay close to home for the rest of the year.  There is a large extended family gathering planned at our house Thanksgiving week.  Allie is headed for Puerto Vallarta that week, but will be home for Christmas.

Some of  this winter's plans are up in the air, but they will include an extended stay at Doreen's place in Bisbee for late winter/early spring.

Road Trip to Dubuque

Julia came back from her early morning workout (4:50 a.m.) full of ambition, as I lazily sipped my cup of coffee. "Let's go somewhere," she suggested.

The weather forecast for home was not promising.  It was supposed to rain most of the day.  In fact, while we were gone, there was significant hail denting cars and rooftops (not ours).

As regular readers of my blog know, we are fans of the Mississippi River and surrounding bluffs.  With the weather front moving northwest, the skies of Dubuque,Iowa would be rain-free by noon.  For this trip, we retrieved Callie's soft-sided, portable kennel and all climbed into Julia's Subaru.  

Ninety minutes later, we crossed into Iowa.  

Quick story:  When my father was a young boy, he decided that he wanted to leave Cedar Rapids, Iowa and sneaked on to a train west.  He got as far as Dubuque before being discovered.  His father (my grandfather) was not pleased.

 As soon as we descended from the Mississippi River bridge, we took the first exit and backtracked to one of Dubuque's riverside parks, which includes a municipal campground.  I haven't stayed there before, but $15 seems like a fair price for a "no electric" site on the river.

Site 56

From the park, there was a paved walking trail with nice views and sitting benches.

Callie letting me know it was time for more walking

We followed the trail along the back bay behind the old Greyhound Park (now a casino).  

 

When the track first opened in 1985, I attended one of the first races.  I was disappointed to learn that the dogs often knock each other down.  I was never a big gambler, but even making a $2 bet on a dog that gets knocked down on the first turn isn't very satisfying.  Wisconsin's dog tracks didn't last very long before going out of business.  Dubuque's track was in operation from 1985 until last year.  

From the river, we could see a lookout way up on the bluffs on the north end of Dubuque.  After consulting a map, we learned that there was a city park on top of the bluff and drove off to find it.  Eagle Point park has an admission fee of $1, and there is a sign on the booth, "Everybody pays."  There was no one there to collect the fee or donation box, so we headed up.

I would have gladly paid $1.  The views were spectacular.

Later, we drove through the Dubuque Arboretum and Botanical Garden.  We drove through some neighborhoods, checking out a new 55+ community going in.  And we had to check out the pickleball courts, which didn't seem too active. 

Before heading home, we enjoyed a meal at 7 Hills Brewing Company.  I can recommend the IPA.  I was tempted to try one of their imperial stouts, but Julia informed me that I would be driving home.

Anyone who says that Iowa is flatter than a pancake hasn't been to Dubuque.  It's a small city that we both look forward to exploring more.  

New-to-me truck update:  The local guy who owns a tow truck and service shop came yesterday morning, tried to start it, and gave me his preliminary diagnosis that it needed a new starter.  ("Click") He verified that the battery was good and ordered a new starter.  Before pushing it out of the shop, he tried to start it one more time, and it started right up.  

From that point, he couldn't get it not to start.  I picked it up and it started right up, and it has continued to start.  The woman at the front desk joked that my truck had a ghost.  I don't know what to think at this point but am hoping for the best.  At least I wasn't charged an arm and leg for the tow and nothing for the shop time.