Shawn's Skull Surgery - 4 Week Update

 

It's been four weeks since surgery, so I updated my before/after photo set with some new pics. I feel pretty good lately, and have stopped taking pain medicine. Nerves still feel weird on the left side, and a bit of pain at times, but so far so good. Still wearing the nose splint at night, but no longer need to during the day which is nice.

First High School Football Game of 2025

This past weekend was the first football game of the year for Paige's high school. They played their big local rival, and Paige went along with a bunch of her buddies. After the game, they came back to our house and Paige hosted a sleepover in her big new room. 

Moving out of Royal Tern

On August 16th, we started our official moving process. The movers came on Saturday and spent the entire day packing things up. They had a crew of six and they worked all day wrapping furniture, boxing up junk, and putting clothes in to garment boxes. Our family spent the day making trips over to the rental house with odds and ends, valuables and breakable things, etc. 

Sunday was the big moving day. It was a bit overwhelming as we got started, especially when we saw the mess that was left behind some of the furniture. Connor's desk had an open back and he liked to prop his dirty feet up on the wall, which was horrible looking once the furniture was removed. Paige had a similar issue with the wall behind her desk, but wasn't quite so unsightly. We had planned to have our handyman work on that kind of thing when he came out the following week, but Grandpa Rick had been asking if he could help, so we asked if he'd be willing to come out and work on it. He drove out with his painting supplies, I dug out our spare paint cans, and he got to work. 

The movers worked fairly quickly and completely filled two large trucks. The hardest part of the day came when it was time to take the ping pong table downstairs. They realized how tricky it was going to be to disassemble it, and I suggested they consider lowering it off the balcony. They loved the idea, and I was too stressed out to watch most of it, but I did get a picture of them and a short snippet of video as they finished the process.

Finally, it was all moved out. All the rooms were bare, and all that was left in the house was Grandpa Rick, painting the walls and touching up the holes.

At the rental, we started the process of unloading and unpacking. It was faster than loading, but as we filled up the rooms and ran out of space, it was stressful. Eventually, many boxes just got shoved in to corners, and it was a hectic mess. 

The movers finished up as the sun was going down, and we snapped a pic with the team before they departed. The Movebright team were hard workers, and the best part were their friendly attitudes. They were all eager to help with whatever we asked, and they were all cheerful and joking with each other. Great guys, and we will certainly use them again in the future if they're available.

Monday, I had planned to work, but realized that was not going to be realistic so I took the day to unpack. Andrea and I spent all day long unpacking, organizing, and working hard. Tuesday I worked all day and then in the evening spent the entire late afternoon and evening unpacking. Wednesday was another long day from sunup to sundown, but as it got late, we realized we were close. 

I noticed our neighbors had their trach out, and after meeting our next door neighbor, I confirmed the Thursday was trash day. I spent the evening breaking down the last of the boxes, and then I got our hand cart dolly and hauled everything around to the curb. It was past midnight when I finished, but it felt good to be done. The house wasn't perfect, but we were able to park in the garage, and all the rooms were uncluttered and comfortable.

So far we have enjoyed living in our new house, and on the 21st we closed on the sale of our house and were officially finished with the process. What a relief!

Final Days on Royal Tern

 

The last couple weeks before we moved were a bit uncomfortable and hectic. The fact that Shawn was still in recovery from surgery certainly made things more difficult in many respects. As our rental house was going to be quite a bit smaller, we sold lots of things we haven't used in a while, and many pieces of furniture that wouldn't fit.

Unfortunately, one of the pieces that had to go was Millie's favorite chair. Millie liked to squish the cushion on one of our living room chairs and strangely liked to prop her chin right up on the hard wooden back. It gave her a nice view out the front door and also out the back across the pond. After we sold the living room furniture, Millie seemed a bit lost, so we set up one of our dining room chairs in the same spot and she eventually settled in to it. 

Overall, those last days in the old house were strange and awkward. We sold the master bedroom furniture, rug, and decorations so the mattress was on the ground until we moved out.

Walking the Lot with Donna and the Builders

Andrea and I recently walked the lot with our builders, mostly to determine how high we could elevate the house so we won't have to worry about flooding. The process is slow, but hopefully in the next couple of months we'll close on the lot and actually start construction.

Paige's Singing and Guitar - The Night We Met

 

I've been trying to learn guitar lately, so I have an even greater appreciation for Paige's natural talent with the guitar. She has taught herself a number of songs and is able to sing along as she plays. I've caught a few performances on camera. I always love to hear the baby sing.

Connor's Fall Semester Move in Day - Freshman Year - 2025

Friday was a big day for Connor and something we've been preparing for a long time. Although he did do the summer semester for six weeks, somehow the Fall Semester at college just seems more "real" and momentous. The summer semester was a good trial run for living in a dorm, and after his experiences, Andrea did some shopping with him to get everything he'd need to make his new place comfortable and practical.

The drive to Tallahassee was a bit awful for Connor and me. We drove in the "Grey Goose" Model Y and Andrea drove "Tessie" for the last time, the Model X. The lease for the Model X ended the day after Connor's move-in, so it was nice timing to still have the larger vehicle available for the move. Andrea was a little behind us initially, and when we got stuck in traffic for over and hour, Andrea got re-routed and ended up beating us by a lot. A big truck carrying logs had overturned, and it took a long time to clear the roadway.

We made it to the McAlister's for lunch, and then we arrived at the dorm. Connor checked in, got his key, took a pic for his ID card, and then we did a quick peek at his dorm to make sure we could actually get in before we started unloading. The dorm setup is fairly unique and Connor is in the "loft" section where he shares a kitchen and living room with two other suite-mates, but he has his own private room.

We unpacked the Model X first, and then swapped spots so we could unload the Model Y. The road by Connor's dorm is a one-way street with no parking available, and it was fairly well organized by a few staff members that kept things moving. Since I was still recovering from surgery, I was limited in what I could lift and do, but I did my best to be useful. Without any issues we got everything unloaded and indoors.

Once the cars were parked and everything was inside, the real work began. Andrea rolled up her sleeves and dug into the unpleasant task of deep cleaning his bathroom. The dorm had been cleaned and painted recently, but we didn't trust the process, and Andrea worked hard to disinfect and bring it up to a higher standard.

We put together quite a few new bits of furniture, unrolled the carpet, vacuumed the entire first floor, and unpacked all of Connor's things. We got a little frustrated at times because important things had been misplaced and believed forgotten, but eventually most were found. For example, the weird special cord for Connor's calculator, the power cord for one of his monitors, the ethernet cable for his PC, and his keychain for his dorm keys. We found most of it, except for the ethernet cable, which I'd specifically told Connor to pack up. Connor thought his desktop had a wireless modem, which it does not, so we had to order an ethernet cable from Target as well as a few other things.

The keychain incident was actually the highlight of my day. When we moved Connor in to his dorm for the summer session, it was the first time he had to keep track of a physical key and carry it constantly. We made multiple special trips around town to find him a keychain that would work with an Apple Airtag tracker so he could find his keys if he misplaced them or lost them. It was a whole ordeal. Imagine our consternation on Fall semester move-in day, when we told Connor to put his new dorm keys on the keychain and he said that he didn't know where it was, that he didn't bring it. I was irate with him, gave him a whole lecture on how he should be able to find the keys with his app, made him pull the app up, so we could make sure the keys were in fact at home. Imagine our surprise when the app said that the keys were nearby. We sent a command to the keys to make a sound and we could hear it beeping somewhere close to us. I was searching around, following the sound, and then Connor pulled the keychain out of his pocket. He'd had it all along! His work key was on it, and somehow he forgot that he had it. A classic Connor moment, and I both could and couldn't believe it. It was funny in a frustrating kind of way, but we were relieved that he had the keychain. 

Finally, we were finished! Connor was pleased with how the room turned out, and it looks like it will be a very comfortable space for him. 

We went to Momo's Pizza for dinner, which was an amazing choice and super delicious. Afterwards, we picked up a few things from Target and CVS before dropping Connor off at his dorm. 

We gave Connor a hug and a kiss, wished him luck, told him to make good choices and to have fun. It's the start of an exciting chapter for our boy, and we hope that he makes the most of his amazing opportunity and enjoys his time away at school this year.

First Day of School 2025 - Paige's Sophomore Year of High School and Connor's Freshman Year of College

Connor was a good sport about waking up early this morning so we could take our annual "Back to School" pic of the kids. Connor actually completed his summer semester at FSU over the summer, and will be heading back to Tallahassee this weekend to move in for the Fall semester.

Paige was up, bright and shiny, this morning and ready for school. Her friend picked her up so she wouldn't have to ride the bus today, and I took a short video of her leaving the house.

It's hard to believe that it's school time again! The summer went fast and we all enjoyed ourselves, other than Shawn's bump on the head. 

 

Grey Goose - Tesla Model Y 2025

We've been super impressed with the 2023 white Model Y that we purchased recently and we need another car for the family once Andrea's Model X has to be returned at lease end. We have been shopping for different options and Andrea found a well priced option at a local Honda dealership. It was painful dealing with car dealers, especially since they were unfamiliar with Teslas. Andrea did the negotiating ahead of going to the dealership and Connor took her out two different times over the weekend since they hadn't charged it before she showed up on Saturday. Sunday she got it finished and brought home the car in a yucky rainstorm. We got one quick picture with Paige and Millie, and I drove it briefly around the neighborhood to try it out. So far we love it, hopefully it is a wonderful lucky car for us.

Shawn's Skull and Nose Fracture Surgery

On Wednesday, July 30th, 2025, Shawn had surgery to repair his fractured skull and broken nose. 

In the week and half after my fall, leading up to the surgery, I actually felt better every day and the unsightly dent wasn't noticeable after the first night in the hospital. We were worried there may have been some issues missed with the first CT scan, so on Monday before the surgery I got an additional scan done to check for any bleeding or other problems. The scan looked good (as good as a busted head can look), and I was cleared for surgery. 

For the day of surgery, I wasn't scheduled until the afternoon, and I was a little worried I'd be starving or feeling terrible by the time we started. The anxiety staved off the hunger, and I actually felt wonderful. I told Andrea that it was the best I'd felt since the accident, and I felt energetic and like I should be going out for a jog on the beach.

I was prepped for surgery, although the surgeon was running a little behind schedule. Andrea was allowed back in to the pre-operative room so she could wait with me and we watched some basketball to pass the time. The surgeon, Dr. Yang, checked in eventually and marked up my head a little with her pen. We briefly discussed what was going to happen and she offhandedly mentioned that they'd printed 3d models of my skull to visualize the operation. I was thrilled when she said that I could have the models after the procedure. Andrea gave me a kiss for good luck and they wheeled me back to the operating room. It was quite the production, in a large room, with lots of people. I remember moving over to the official table, the anesthesiologist talking to me, and then I was gone. 

After surgery was a bit of a blur for me, but I was rolled in to the recovery room and I got to have some visitors. Andrea, Grandma Alice, Grandpa Rick, Abby, and Paige all came to check on me. Surprisingly, as complex as the surgery was, there was a possibility they would send the patient home on the same day. Since my surgery didn't start until late in the afternoon, I was expecting to stay the night. Andrea was willing to stay with me, but my mom volunteered and it was nice to have nurse Alice overnight. 

Night one was terrible. Skip this paragraph unless you're interested in gory details. I had nothing to eat before surgery, and afterwards I was not hungry, but very thirsty. I chugged down a bunch of apple juice and cranberry juice, which tasted amazing. Unfortunately, I started feeling nauseous some time after midnight. I was given zofran, but it did nothing for me. Thankfully I'd asked for a barf bag, and I nearly filled the entire thing. The strain of the vomiting busted something in my head and blood was dripping freely. After I got cleaned up, I tried to get some sleep, but the pain was terrible. I had been trying to urinate for hours and finally I had to ask for help. I had a straight catheter inserted and while it was awful, it was a relief. Mom and I finally got about an hour or two of sleep in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Thursday started off rough, I was exhausted from the long night, and Alice ordered breakfast. I was thinking it sounded like a terrible idea and I wasn't hungry at all. Thinking that, I was surprised to find that the breakfast sandwich smelled good. My mom fed me some teeny tiny bites, and it as amazing how rejuvenating just a few bites could be.

I slowly felt better throughout the day, and some of the surgical residents and students stopped by to check on me and change my dressings. Family came to visit and eventually the case managers and nurses, asking if we were ready for discharge. I talked it over with the physicians and as poorly as the night has gone, we decided I'd be better off staying one more night. 

The second night was much better, and I was able to get up out of bed to use the restroom, walk around the unit, and be more mobile. On Friday morning, I was discharged fairly early and Andrea picked me up with Abby. It was good to get home, Paige was waiting for me with Millie Mae, and the pupper dawg was very happy to see me. I took a long shower once I got inside, and Andrea helped me to shave the last bit of hair on the back of my head that the surgical team hadn't been able to reach during surgery.

Since getting home, I've had ups and downs. It's been mostly up, but the pain has been constant and annoying. Millie Mae has kept me company constantly throughout the process, and everyone's been good helping me out so I don't have to lift anything or stress. 

Andrea helped me to take a few before/after pics, which I'll eventually update down the road once things heal more and I get the splint and stitches off. I've also downloaded some of the Mayo Clinic images from my chart, and combined a few to make animated GIFs. I've also tried to take some pics of my skulls, but the clear plastic they're made from is hard to photograph.

Hopefully will have some good updates in the future. I definitely want to thank everyone for all the help, Andrea has been my strongest advocate, my mother was an angel staying the nights with me, and thanks to my father for driving to pick up Connor from Tallahassee. 

Video of my drain removal is private, because it's gross and awful.