Tag Archives: glossopharyngeal neuralgia

Let the Good Times Roll! A Large Fries and a Slow God

Posted on September 7, 2017 by Bob Bjerkaas

Finally, a really good day! Monday, August 28, was a day I was not looking forward to.  It was the day Kerrie and I would have to drive back down to Sunset to get my stitches removed. I had never … Continue reading →

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Faces in the Carpet and Where Is that Children’s Choir?

Posted on September 6, 2017 by Bob Bjerkaas

Thursday morning was a bummer, but Thursday afternoon was awesome. JP, one of the lacrosse dads who plays an essential role in administration for the Oak Park Boys Lacrosse Program, came by with a car load of the seniors from … Continue reading →

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Raspberry Cookies and the Baby Smile Nasal Aspirator

Posted on September 5, 2017 by Bob Bjerkaas

Having been in the hospital for the better part of a week, there were two things that made me nervous about coming home.  The first was the actual ride home.  Part of the surgery had involved cutting through some of … Continue reading →

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Surgical Buyer’s Regret, an Eclipse, and The Reluctant Widow

Posted on September 4, 2017 by Bob Bjerkaas

The Neurological Care Unit was much quieter than the ICU. Fewer beeps and buzzes.  And fewer agitated patients – perhaps we were simply a more pharmacologically stabilized bunch. For me, the two days I spent in this new unit were … Continue reading →

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Saying Goodbye to the ICU

Posted on September 3, 2017 by Bob Bjerkaas

By my third day in the ICU I was probably about as comfortable there as one could be.  I knew all of the nurses, the various doctors who would come through at least twice a day to check my vitals … Continue reading →

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Even More ICU Adventures: The X-Ray Swallow Test

Posted on September 2, 2017 by Bob Bjerkaas

The morning of the eighteenth finally arrived. The night had been perfectly awful and I had been so focused on trying to swallow that I hadn’t slept much – if in fact I had slept at all. This morning Kerrie … Continue reading →

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More Adventures in the ICU: No I will NOT go out this way – WHERE IS THAT SUCTION TUBE!

Posted on August 31, 2017 by Bob Bjerkaas

The speech therapist who came on the seventeenth shortly after my surgeon visited returned later that same day.  I was currently on IV fluids and had a feeding tube running up my nose and then down the back of my … Continue reading →

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Adventures in the ICU: The Bare-Assed Pastor on Floor Five

Posted on August 31, 2017 by Bob Bjerkaas

The ICU was a place of highs and lows, breakthroughs and frustrations, education and resolve. I have always been something of a thrasher when I sleep.  This is enough of a problem when the most significant consequence of my tossing … Continue reading →

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Brain Surgery Part 2: What Went Wrong?

Posted on August 30, 2017 by Bob Bjerkaas

Hands and voices everywhere.  Quietly – “Let’s lift, two, and three…” The left side of my body was being swabbed with something wet.  Not cold or warm, just wet.  “Mr. Bjerkaas? Mr. Bjerkaas?  Can you hear me?”  Unhhh… “Let’s turn … Continue reading →

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Brain Surgery: An Ordeal Remembered

Posted on August 30, 2017 by Bob Bjerkaas

So, about that brain surgery…. As many of you who are friends and family have heard in bits and pieces, all did not go exactly as planned.  It was two weeks ago tomorrow that Kerrie, the kids and I rolled … Continue reading →

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