Busy week

Tuesday I went to outpatient surgery for my first trach procedure but thankfully it wasn't much more than a glorified trach change. I have always had a cuffed trach since going on the ventilator back in 2003 and recently we've had trouble removing my old trachs. While I was under sedation, the doctor went in and pulled out the old trach, cleaned up some excess scar tissue, and then put in a new cuffless style trach. Things went fantastic and the entire medical team treated me very well. Hopefully this will be the end of trach problems for awhile.

We will be spending Christmas Eve here at the house and tomorrow we will be going out to dinner with Theresa's son David and his wife Sarah. On Christmas Day, we will be traveling out to near Superior to spend the day with Dustin's relatives. I definitely am missing having Christmas in North Dakota this year but I will be in touch with my family this weekend.

The best Christmas gift this year is the one of freedom. Regaining my freedom has been beyond a doubt one of the greatest experiences of my life and I want to thank everybody who has shown me their support along the way. There are more endeavors ahead in'07 and I look forward to sharing them with all of you.

Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

Mark

I'd rather be a failure at something I love than a success at something I hate -- George Burns

Another good week

It's been another great week here in Missoula and the sun is shining bright on this Monday afternoon. Nothing too earth shattering has been happening but here's a few highlights of what's been going on.

On Saturday we went out to the Big Sky Brewery (they are famous for making Moose Drool) to check out the place and sample their wares. It's really neat to hang out there and even though I'm not a beer fan, I tried their special Christmas brew. I have to say it wasn't bad at all. We visited with a few other folks sitting near us and it was definitely worth the trip.

A little over a week ago we went downtown to attend a thank you celebration for U.S. Senator elect Jon Tester. It was pretty well attended and after the festivities we had the opportunity to speak with Jon on disability issues. We are planning on keeping in close contact with Jon and his staff on the important issues affecting all Montanans with disabilities.

I've been also working on getting a new power chair and I met with the guy from the medical equipment place. There are so many decisions to make but I have a great team of people assisting me. Hopefully I'll have my new chair by sometime this spring.

Always seems like we are on the run and I've finally got all my holiday shopping done. We will be heading over to Helena on Sunday to stay overnight for a Monday meeting Dustin needs to attend.

That's all for now and I'll be back with another update very soon.

Mark

Montana Thanksgiving

This past Saturday I celebrated my first Thanksgiving in Montana. Theresa, Dustin, and I went to visit Dustin's relatives near Superior which is west of Missoula about 50 miles. Dustin's relatives have been great and they made me feel very welcome in their home. I look forward to the next time we can get together.

My parents and sister celebrated Thanksgiving with my grandparents down at their place. My grandpa has been recovering from a recent hip replacement surgery and is doing very well. It has been great to be in touch with all my family by phone since moving here.

All 3 of us went to the Southgate mall for a little shopping on Black Friday. Was fun to check out all the different stores and the deals they were offering. After shopping, we met some friends and went out for mexican.

The rest of this week looks pretty quiet except for the Griz playoff game on Saturday. Our first blast of really cold weather has hit and it sure feels good to be inside with the pugs.

Until next week, stay warm and take care.

Mark

Coeur d'Alene

Last Friday, Theresa, Dustin, and I traveled over to Coeur d'Alene Idaho to visit our friend Moe who was visiting from England. We had a 3 hour trip and the mountains were absolutely gorgeous as we made our way across western Montana & northern Idaho. We met at Red Lobster and had a great evening together. It was great meeting Moe and he is a very nice guy. Hopefully we will get to have the opportunity to see him again soon.

We will be celebrating Thanksgiving with Dustin's family over in Superior on Saturday. I look forward to be spending the holidays with Theresa and Dustin. I'll surely miss my family very much during this season but my new found freedom is reason for us all to be very thankful. I'll try to post some Thanksgiving pictures next week.

I have had a few minor trach issues lately and last week I went to see Dr. Haller who is an ENT. He is a great doc and I'm definitely in very capable hands. He ran a scope down my trach to get a good view of what's going on. After scoping we decided on doing a trach dilation procedure and possibly lasering some of the scar tissue inside my trach site. It's a very simple outpatient surgery and I'm scheduled to have it done December 19th. A nice early Christmas present :-)

I want to wish everyone a very safe and happy Thanksgiving! I'll be back with another post next week.

Peace,

Mark