Weather Vanes; Whether Veins

     The nation's weather has been in the forefront of news this week, but not so much so in our little corner of Idaho.  Last week we received some unusually cold weather which prevented us from taking Miles outdoors, despite the appearance of sunny blue skies.  It's often that Soda Springs, where both Meg and Josh work, absorbs colder temps than we see on this side of the mountains; Josh reported a reading of -28 degrees Tuesday.  In fact, some freezing of equipment occurred in his part of the Agrium facility early in the week.  But here in Inkom, it remained relatively calm albeit cold with no significant new snowfall.

     Meghan fortunately dodged a proverbial bullet on Monday, January 31.  She flew from Salt Lake City to St. Louis, MO for a week of training for her job.  She arrived just a wee bit before the biggest part of the storm hit the city; she managed to get her rental car driven safely to her hotel in something of a freezing rain mix.  Fortunately, the hotel is one approved by her company, Monsanto, for employee travel and most of the contingent of folks attending the training were housed there. . . so at the beginning of the program the presentations were moved into it.  Consquently, she didn't even have to leave the property (a restaurant on site) during the worst of the weather there.

     We've been reading in the paper that the effects of El Nino are bringing pleasant consequences; the ski hill near our house opened the season on December 3, the earliest in many years.  And, the abundant snowfall seen at upper elevations already will mean full-to-the-brim reservoirs come spring.

     The ski conditions at Pebble Creek, however, serve only to remind Glenn that his winter hasn't been too active.  In fact, a week ago today, we returned our season passes to the management there with a note from Glenn's vascular doctor.  He's off the slopes for the entire winter; generously, they've allowed me to return my pass as well.

     Last fall, Glenn began to notice a numbness in his left foot, particular after strenuous exercise or long hikes.  When cold weather set in, the numbness was accompanied by his foot getting very cold as well.  Slowly, the story of his limb is pieced together.

(02/06/2011)  The three arteries branching down Glenn's left leg suffered trauma at the same point.  We suspect a wood-cutting incident on the hunting property two or three years ago.  Now, blood flow to his left foot is severly curtailed.  After several tests, he'll be consulting with a vascular surgeon on Wednesday to discuss the feasibility of harvesting a vein from his right leg in order to perform an arterial bypass in the left one.

    It appears that the three branches of the femoral artery in his left leg suffered trauma simultaneously, resulting in damage to all.  Two weeks ago he underwent an outpatient procedure which might have resulted in angioplasty to the affected areas and possible stent insertion.  Unfortunately, we learned that his arteries are so badly damaged that neither of those would be feasible.  Last week, he spent some time in another ultrasound and will meet with the surgeon this week.   The purpose of the ultrasound was to look for a harvestable vein in his right (and unaffected) leg.

     It would seem that Glenn is now headed down the path of arterial bypass surgery.  The physicians will determine whether  they can take parts of a vein from his right leg and bypass the damaged areas in his left.  A couple of other options have been discussed, but this may be the most viable and helpful.

     In the meantime, Glenn has not only given up skiing for this year, but playing racquetball as well.  He continues to walk almost daily, but the very cold temps last week took their toll. . . the temperatures further restricted the blood flow in his lower extremity, thus the distance he could walk.  He continues to lift weights and exercise in the house, and of course, we venture out for ice fishing when time and weather permit.  Unfortunately, he's been pretty housebound; a rough patch for a guy as active as he and who loves the out of doors.  Fortunately, he's also a literature major and he's tearing through novels right and left!

     To add insult to (literal) injury, last Sunday he woke up with a tremendous case of hives. . . we took a trip into the urgent care facility for fear they might be contagious.  Miracles of modern technology, the doctor at the walk-in clinic was able to take and send digital photos to the surgeon.  Although not 100% convinced they believe he may have had a latent allergic reaction to the dye used in the first procedure.  Three injections and two scripts later, we were headed back home. . . not contagious but not going anywhere, either!

     I'm reminded of the Gildna Radner character whose tag line was It's always something!

     Meanwhile, we continue doing daycare for our little Miles-Guy and await the appearance of his little sister.  Being just shy of two and a half, Miles reports that his sister's name will be "Poop Jurgen" and that he will kick her and cover her with fruits and vegetables and "not share any toys."  On a brighter note, though, he promises to rock her in the chair "quietly but very fast."  He remains a very bright spot in our sometimes dreary days. . . and right now is going through a phase where Grandpa is his best buddy and Mom his only love.  Josh and I have been relegated, at least temporarily, to "Team B" . . . we've come to accept it for the timebeing.