Fletcher Won't Be Home Labor Day

It looks like Fletcher has C-Diff. He's been feeling bad for a few days now. One of the problems was solved by changing his ventilator settings back to what they previously were. This made him happier but he still has not been up to his standard "happy boy" attitude. My very insightful wife told me a few days ago that she thinks his stomach is hurting. I thought that it might be too but didn't think that it was the cause of anything since I think it usually hurts due to his hernia. Well, it appears that the labs came back and he has C-Diff which can cause stomach discomfort. My wife is right 98.7% of the time (which is better than Rush Limbaugh :). Because of this he's in quarantine for a while. That doesn't mean that we can't see him but it does mean that he cannot leave the unit and that we have to take extra precautions when around him.

We had planned on bringing him home for Labor Day and having the family over to cook hotdogs and hamburgers on the grill. We'll have to scrap that plan now but we'll get to do it some other time...

Fletcher's Current Struggles

Yesterday Fletcher had a pretty rough time. When I got to the Children's Center he had been bagged three times and I had to bag him twice myself while there. He seemed to be in a good mood most of the time and yet, every so often and very quickly, he would start to high pressure and desat. I was under the impression that his trach was too loose which would cause it to move around and perhaps get blocked off. I could fit most of my hand between the ties and his neck. I asked the RT to tighten it and she did but I still noticed that whenever he turned his head to the left he got uncomfortable. I told this to Denise and when she was there he was having similar problems. The RT's didn't want to change out his trach saying that when they bagged him they felt no restriction. I may be weird here but, Fletcher had similar problems a while back - almost exactly the same symptoms. When they changed out his trach most of the problems went away. I don't really know why trying to solve this problem in the same way would not work. If nothing else, how could it hurt? Anyway, my wife had his trach changed out this morning after another bad episode. He had to have some poking and prodding done on him which didn't help matters with his mood. We've also asked that his Robinol be dicontinued since that can cause thicker secretions and also itchiness (he's scratching at his head like crazy now). Hopefully these steps will help him since he's mostly happy and doesn't act "sick". The tests that they did shows that he doesn't seem to have any bugs unless he has one of those "catchall" viruses that doctor say you have when nothing else fits.

Just a little info here about our weekend and a short rant about how well parents are listened to by "those who know things" in the medical field. If I am wrong about the problem then I'll admit it but, it still doesn't mean that every little thing we can do to make things right shouldn't be tried.

Love Hina - DVD Vol 6 of 6

The final volume of Love Hina contains the final four episodes (21-24). Extras include a character profile for Haruka and some anime previews. This is a wrap up (more or less) of the story. In the end, all questions are apparently answered in one way or another, or so it seems. Since there are two movies and an OVA series, there is obviously more to it.

As for this series, it was a fun light-hearted anime. It ended in a good way. I enjoyed the animation and character design very much. The dubbing was done well except for the voice of Mitsune which was just too "country" sounding. The opening and closing theme songs were good and really matched the tone of the show in their own ways. What I didn't like is the over-the-top violence. It's just gets irritating after a while when someone (usually Naru) smacks Keitaro into orbit or through several walls. I also thought it was funny how many times she hit Keitaro that everyone gasps when she raised her fist to her little sister. I guess you can only hit certain people and make it funny...

I still have to give this a 3 out of 5 though. I enjoyed watching it but this is not one that I will probably rewatch later.

Love Hina - DVD Vol 5 of 6

Volume five contains episodes 17 through 20. The extras include a character profile for Kaolla and some previews.

Things are wrapping up for the series. This disc contains stories about a haunted island that Keitaro's friends take the girls to in order to help him get with Naru - they also have some ulterior motives of their own. The Summer Festival arrives and, with Keitaro and Naru not speaking, Keitaro spends mostly with Shinobu. Kaolla's "big brother" comes to visit who looks just like Keitaro (but more suave and debonair). He must take a bride and wants Kaolla to be his wife. In the forth episode on this disc we finally get to see who Keitaro made his promise to so many years ago about Tokyo U (or so it seems)...

The story continues with the wacky antics and it feels as though we're getting to know the characters better. What will happen next? So far I have no clue and that's one of the things I like about this anime. Rating 3 out of 5.

Kayleigh

The wonders of the Internet... I've just been browsing through YouTube, something that I've known about for a while but have never really looked at. I just rented a DVD from one of my favorite bands called Marillion and so I decided to look for a video on You Tube that I could put here.

I first found out about Marillion in 1985, the summer after my first year of college. I had heard Lavender on the radio and my best friend Jon had Misplaced Childhood on tape. From that tape I thought that the name Kayleigh was really cool. So much so, in fact, that I named my first daughter Kayleigh - spelled the same way. Anyway, here is a video of that song from YouTube for your viewing pleasure...

Love Hina - DVD Vol 4 of 6

This DVD contains four episodes (episodes 13 through 16). The extras are a "Making of" video about the English version featuring Wendee Lee and character profiles for Mitsune and Sarah.

Volume four of Love Hina continues the story on a little bit. The crazy van driver from an earlier episode that almost ran Keitaro down is back and we find out that he is Naru's old high school crush. His adopted daughter Sarah McDougal is introduced also. Mitsume tries to save Naru's feelings by keeping her away from Seta but since Keitaro works for him that becomes more and more difficult to do. When Naru finally does meet up with him again, Keitaro thinks he's got everything figured out and tries to do the the "brave" thing and step aside. This is an enjoyable anime, funny and way over the top.

Oh well, the soap opera of Love Hina moves on at a bearable pace. I should have the last two DVD's this weekend to wrap up the series and then it's on to the two movies and Love Hina Again.

Rating 3 out of 4.

Love Hina - DVD Vol 3 of 6

Volume three contains four episodes (9 through 12) and the extras are an interview with the director and a character profile for Shinobu.

I don't know what I thought this show was going to be about. I guess maybe I had more in mind something like Azumanga Diaoh but this is not like that. We are taken out of reality on many occasions is a world that more resembles Ranma or something like that. Episode 9 was a mystery episode in where everyone was looking for the missing rent money. Episode 10 started in with the "magical girl" thing where Kaolla was somehow able to grow older by looking at the red moon (which stayed full for several nights in a row). In episode 11 Naru suddenly becomes an idol singer. In episode 12 Motoko has to dress like a girl which causes her to loose her kendo abilities - and just at the time when the dreaded mecha turtle attacks.

Half way through and I'm still not too sure where this is leading except in the endless cycle of mayhem and hijinks.

This is still a good anime but not what I was expecting. Rating 3 out of 5.