Corporate Liberal

@mikedoe on Twitter asked for a list of “the 23 best movie comedies of all time.” Here’s my list in alphabetical order. I got it down to 25, but can’t bear to toss two out.

Airplane!
Animal House
Annie Hall
Arthur
Being There
Best of Show
Blazing Saddles
Chicken Run
Clerks
Dr. Strangelove
Duck Soup
Fargo
A Fish Called Wanda
GalaxyQuest
The Goodbye Girl
The Graduate
Groundhog Day
Life of Brian
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Network
The Princess Bride
Sleeper
This Is Spinal Tap
What’s Up, Doc?
Young Frankenstein

I agree with Fergus

Kudos to NH Republican chairman Fergus Cullen for calling in to NHPR’s The Exchange this morning to argue for the inclusion of third-tier candidates in the final presidential debates before the New Hampshire primary next Tuesday. It is not for ABC or Fox, argues Fergus, to decide who’s in and who’s out before NH voters themselves have spoken. He seemed particularly aggrieved that sitting U.S. Senators Joe Biden and Chris Dodd could be watching the debates on TV instead of participating.

Fergus sounded so sincere in his media criticism that I didn’t even mind the not-so-hidden agenda: the more air time given to candidates who are unlikely to be the Democratic nominee in the fall, the less voters will hear from front runners Clinton, Edwards, and Obama, one of whom is almost certain to be.

Jody recovery report #9

I can always tell when it’s been too long since my last update because the volume of “How’s Jody?” email starts going up.

Status

For the past two weeks Jody has been recuperating at home. She sees a visiting nurse occasionally and has been getting physical and occupational therapy twice a week. Her strength and balance continue to improve. She goes for walks with friends, regularly walking down to our mailbox and back, a round trip of about 1/3 of a mile. Tomorrow she will begin outpatient therapy.

Jody is starting to be able to use a computer, though she finds it very tiring to sit in an upright chair for a long time and her typing ability is limited because she can’t feel the keys.

Despite these welcome improvements, Jody can tell that her recovery has a long way to go. As much as she looks forward to getting back to work, it’s impossible  to know when she’ll be ready to do that. In addition to the necessary strength and stamina, she has only begun to get back the sensation and dexterity in her hands that she needs to practice medicine. She also hopes to ride horses again, and plans to get involved in a therapeutic riding program when her condition improves sufficiently.

Asks

Jody isn’t ready to go for walks outside by herself yet, so we continue to need people to do that with her.

Our dog Isaac needs more exercise than he’s getting these days. The other day he broke away from Jody on a walk and took himself down one of her running routes all the way to Kingston. (When I was out in the car looking for him, everyone I stopped to ask if they’d seen him wanted to know how Jody was doing.) We’re looking for runners who might like to take Isaac out with them on occasion, and also for friendly dogs who’d like to come over for play dates.

Guest editorial

To everyone who has followed my progress, helped with sustenance (spiritual, nutritional, emotional and otherwise), I send my heartfelt thanks. We have been overwhelmed by your kindness and generosity.

It’s wonderful to be home, and I feel stronger and more balanced with each day. Isaac and the cats are glad to have their family together again, as are Roger and I. The horses are well, and I love watching them play in the pasture. Those of you who have been coming to “exercise” me, providing stability and a hand to hold must know that I appreciate it more than I can tell. As time goes on, I will regain stamina and more feeling and dexterity in my hands so that I will be able to carry on and to get back to work. In the meantime, I am grateful for all the lessons I have learned during this adventure.

-Jody

Jody recovery report #8

News flash: Jody is being released from rehab tomorrow (Wednesday) around 11:00am. We look forward to being home in the early afternoon. Jody will get a week or two of nursing care and therapy at home and then progress to outpatient therapy.

Her therapists are very concerned that Jody not put herself in a situation where she could fall. Her neck is not as strong as it will eventually be, her balance is not great, and her reflexes are poor to nonexistent. Balancing the risks against her desire to regain her independence is going to be an interesting challenge as she continues to improve.

Just walking around the house all day (no more wheelchair to fall back on) will probably be very tiring for her at first. You might want to wait until later in the week or the weekend to stop by, to give her time to settle in. That doesn’t apply to people who’ve already offered to come over with food or to help out, of course.

Have to make this quick so I will forgo the usual long list of people who need thanking. Just know how much we appreciate everything that you’re doing.

Jody recovery report #7

Jody continues to make progress. She’s stronger, is eating more, and needs less medication for pain and nausea. On Thursday she received permission to walk around in her room, transfer from bed to chair, etc. without supervision. Best of all, she has begun to regain control of her sphincters.

The biggest remaining problems are the sensory and motor deficits on her dominant left side, probably caused by nerve impingement, that make many tasks very challenging. Her left leg is weaker than her right; her left arm has a long way to go.

She is likely to be discharged from Healthsouth for home sometime next week, perhaps as early as Tuesday, though we’re trying to buy a little more time for additional inpatient physical and occupational therapy. As in so many health care decisions nowadays, it’s all driven by what the insurance company will pay for. Their guidelines don’t always make a lot of sense, sometimes to the point of being actively counterproductive.

I’ve found it fascinating to watch Jody relearn tasks that most everybody performs automatically using “muscle memory.” For example, imagine I asked you to walk briskly in one direction for a few steps, stop suddenly, turn around quickly, and walk back. Most people could do it easily without having to think about it. Jody literally didn’t know how to turn around until she was shown how to do it by a therapist. Once she practiced a few times she was able to do it automatically. Multiply that by every kind of move you ever make and you’ll have an idea of what she’s up against.

I continue to be amazed at how your life can change in the blink of an eye.

Asks

Once Jody’s home the big need will be for prepared meals, preferably individual servings that are frozen or freezable. Jody needs protein and highly nutritious foods so her body can rebuild itself. Chicken, eggs, and seafood are the best sources of protein she’s likely to want to eat. Once she’s home and settled a bit I’m sure Jody would enjoy visits. In the beginning we need to be careful not to tire her out too much, so please continue to keep calls and visits brief.
 
We’d like to line up some exercise buddies for Jody so she can get out and start walking (and perhaps eventually running and cross-country skiing) again while staying safe. Those of you who have never been able to keep up with Jody might want to take advantage of this unique opportunity to be faster and stronger than she is. If you have any experience, positive or negative, with outpatient physical and occupational therapy in the Brentwood/Exeter area, please let us know right away.

Thanks Kim Alter, Andi Axman, Debbie Bauch, Jessica Chasney, Molly Cowan, Vincent Dawans, Susan Dugdale, Diane Eagle, Mark Goldstein, Karen Liot Hill, Dr. Kate Lawton, Jennifer MacDougal, Grace Mattern, Matt Meservey, Kim Meyer, Alison & John Parodi, JoAnn Poole, Karen Prior, Nolan Ring, Amy & Brad Robinson, Mary & Steve Robison, Andy Silva, Lenore Smith, Molly Supple, Nancy Tobi, Eric Turer, Pooh Vanderzanden, Ellen Wight, and everyone I’m forgetting.

Forwarding and mailing list 

Please feel free to forward this message in appropriate ways. If you received this from a friend and would like to be added to the mailing list for future updates, or to be removed from the list, please email me at roger [-@at@-] rogergoun.org.

Jody recovery report #6

I’m going to continue to assume that everyone reading this knows what has happened to Jody, where she is, and how to contact her. Feel free to ask if that assumption doesn’t match your circumstances.

Status

Jody is making terrific progress. Yesterday she walked around the outside of the hospital building, then did ten minutes on the treadmill and another ten on the stationary bicycle. Her heart rate during these exertions makes it clear that she retains much of her conditioning, and the muscle tone in her legs is starting to remind me of pre-injury Jody.

Jody’s fine motor skills also continue to improve. She can turn the pages of a magazine, open mail, button and zip clothes, tie her shoes, and pick up coins from a flat surface, mostly with her right hand. Her left hand continues to lag, but both hands are getting better daily.

Jody saw her orthopedic surgeon for a recheck. He pronounced her in good shape and told her she could stop wearing the hated cervical collar. He also told her she shouldn’t jump horses and advised her not to fall off them. Jody later claimed that the advice not to jump was “just a suggestion.” I’m thinking of pilfering some Valium from the hospital pharmacy; I may need it soon.

The nausea and vertigo Jody has been experiencing have started to lessen, to the point that everybody agreed to try discontinuing the anti-nausea patch she has been wearing. This turned out to be a Very Bad Idea, as she vomited and then fainted in physical therapy the next day. A social worker decided that this would be a good time to evaluate Jody’s mental status. She pointed out that It’s Perfectly
Natural to Be Depressed After What You’ve Been Through and recommended a consultation with the psychiatrist.

In due course the psychiatrist appeared. “Mrs. Kaufman?,” he inquired. “It’s Doctor Kaufman, actually,” I told him, just to start things off on the right foot. He suggested to Jody that she might want to share her innermost thoughts and feelings with a complete stranger, pointed out that It’s Perfectly Natural to Be Depressed After What You’ve Been Through, and recommended an anti-depressant. Jody demurred. They negotiated a minor adjustment to the medication that helps her sleep and he left, to the evident relief of all concerned.

(Apologies to the many mental health professionals out there who are actually good at your jobs.)

Anecdote #1 (followup)

Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter, to Jody: “Is there anything I can do
for you?”

Jody: “Get us out of Iraq!”

Sarah Nolan, later: “Now there’s a woman who knows how to stay on message.”

Asks

Thanks so much to everyone for the delicious and nutritious soups you’ve been bringing. They’ve been key to getting Jody this far. Her taste buds are now behaving normally and she is able to eat anything she likes, so it’s time to add other kinds of foods to her diet. She needs to gain a lot of weight back (she weighed 100 lbs. on Friday), so please pour on the calories.

Anecdote #2

Our state senator, Jack Barnes, visited Jody the other day. She reports: “He came in and said, ‘My friend Maggie Hassan told me something terrible had happened,’ and I’m thinking, ‘What? What happened?!’”

Thanks

Kim Alter, Andi Axman, Sen. Jack Barnes, Liz & Dr. Steve Bassett, Debbie Bauch, Tom Blinn, Jessica Chasney, Molly Cowan, Kate Donald, Susan Dugdale, Diane Eagle, Karen Ellis, Diane Gill, Mark Goldstein, Agnes & Michael Goun, Rachel Green-Lowell, Sen. Maggie & Tom Hassan, Dr. Kate Lawton, Polly MacMullen, Sam Mekrut, Ursula Mackey, Matt Meservey, Kim Meyer, Sue Mitchell, Sarah Nolan, Dr. Sally Oxnard, Alison & John Parodi, Bob & Karen Prior, Nolan Ring, Amy & Brad Robinson, Susanna Scelso, Andy Silva, Lenore Smith, Meredith Stolper, Molly Supple, Jim & Joan Webber, Ellen Wight, and everyone I’m forgetting.

Special thanks to Bill McPhee for taking care of the horses’ feet and refusing to accept payment. Please bring your horses to Bill and tell all your friends to, also.

Congratulations and best wishes to Amanda, one of the most amazing nurses I’ve ever met, on her wedding day.

Forwarding and mailing list

Please feel free to forward this message in appropriate ways. If you received this from a friend and would like to be added to the mailing list for future updates, or to be removed from the list, please email me at roger [-@at@-] rogergoun.org.

Jody recovery report #5

I’m going to assume that everybody reading this knows what’s happened to Jody, what her prognosis is, and how to contact her. Feel free to ask me if you need the details.

Status

Jody is now officially allowed to eat normal foods. (The speech therapists got tired of getting frantic queries from the nurses every time I fed her something that wasn’t on her “OK list.”) She had lots of soup and fruit yesterday. She also ate some cottage cheese, chicken, and mashed potatoes from her hospital trays, and cookies and ice cream from our massive stash of yummy treats brought by friends. Her sense of taste is starting to return to normal. She is stick thin but seems to have stopped losing weight, if not actually started putting it back on. She has started yawning again, which she hadn’t done since she was injured. (If anyone has a sensible explanation for this I’d love to hear it.) And amazingly, the woman who drank almost an entire pot of coffee daily has had none for days and doesn’t seem to crave it.

Jody walked 300 feet in PT yesterday with only a therapist’s arm to steady her. She also walked up and down a few stairs and stood up and sat down in her wheelchair without help. She can push the bed controls, adjust the position of her body laying down or sitting up, brush her teeth, feed herself with a fork or spoon, and hold and drink from a cup without a straw. All of these things require concentration and effort but the trend is obviously very positive.

Her left arm is still lagging in sensation and voluntary motion, but the pain in her shoulder has mostly subsided and she is no longer taking regular pain meds. The therapists have taken her arm out of the sling.

Jody’s nausea continues to decrease and the nurses seem to have nailed down an effective schedule for administering anti-nausea medication. She hasn’t found her sphincter yet and that’s probably the hardest thing for her to deal with right now. The nurses are already planning the party they’re going to throw when she finally does. (And forgive me for being blunt, but those of you who are bothered by the clinical details in these reports just need to lighten up.)

Anecdote

Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter to Jody yesterday: “Is there anything I can do for you?”

Jody: “Get us out of Iraq!”

Asks

Keep that soup coming. It’s working!

Again, those who want to help but haven’t yet found a way to do so should keep in mind that we are going to need a great deal of help around the house once Jody comes home from rehab in a few weeks.

Thanks

Andi Axman, Debbie Bauch, Jessica Chasney, Susan Dugdale, Merril Dwyer, Diane Eagle, Mark Goldstein, Michael Goun, Dr. Laurie Hill, Carol & Lee Hodsdon, Dr. Kathleen Kelly, Ursula Mackey, Polly MacMullen, Sue Mayer, Sue Mitchell, Sarah Nolan, Agnes O’Connor, Lynn Ontiveros, Dr. Sally Oxnard, John & Alison Parodi, John Peakes, Charlie & Joanie Pratt, Nolan Ring, Amy & Brad Robinson, Martha & Leo Roy, Susanna Scelso, Emily Schmalzer, Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, Andy Silva, Jean Stearns, Molly Supple, Eric Turer, Ellen Wight, and everyone I’m forgetting. We are incredibly fortunate to have such wonderful friends and family.

Special thanks to Dan & Rob at Exeter Motor Works on Rt. 27 (opposite the hockey rink billboard) for offering to replace the wiring in my car’s tailgate. They wouldn’t even let me pay for the parts! Please take your car there and tell all your friends to, also.

Forwarding and mailing list

Please feel free to forward this message in appropriate ways. If you received this from a friend and would like to be added to the mailing list for future updates, or to be removed from the list, please email me at roger [-@at@-] rogergoun.org.

Jody recovery report #1

For those who are just joining us, my wife Dr. Jody Kaufman was severely injured when she was thrown from her horse at a riding event in Rochester, NH on Wednesday. I was traveling in Japan at the time and arrived home early Friday morning.

Jody is in the intensive care unit at Frisbie Memorial Hospital in Rochester, NH (map). She has significant degradation of sensation and voluntary movement in all extremities. MRI and CT scans show degeneration and narrowing of the spinal canal, instability of the anterior longitudinal ligament which is displaced around vertebrae C5 and C6, disruption of other ligaments, and fractures of some of the spinous processes in that area. She also has minor facial injuries and possibly some exacerbation of an old shoulder injury. (Thanks to my sister Debbie for her excellent notes.)Jody will have surgery on Monday to repair the fractures and ligament damage, stabilize her spine by fusing vertebrae C4-C6, and relieve the pressure on her spinal cord. Her orthopedic surgeon and his team have an excellent reputation and apparently the surgery is considered relatively straightforward as these things go.

Prognosis

Despite the dire-sounding diagnosis, Jody began recovering almost immediately and has been making excellent progress. For example, I saw significant improvement in gross motor control in her left arm just in the 18 hours I was with her yesterday. She has been mentally alert the whole time and is already consulting on her veterinary cases by phone.

I am cautiously optimistic that Jody will make a complete recovery, but it will take months at least and will require a tremendous amount of work.

Asks

Many, many people have called or emailed asking what they can do to help us and we are very grateful for all of your support.

The most important thing we need right now is overnight coverage at the hospital to allow me to get some sleep while ensuring that Jody is never left alone. (The nursing staff has been wonderful, but Jody isn’t always able to let them know when she needs something.)

If you can do an occasional 4-8 hour overnight shift please call me on my cell phone (603-770-0342) or send an email and let me know. There is a semi-comfortable recliner next to Jody’s bed, but you shouldn’t count on getting much sleep when you’re there.

We need people to do shifts tonight (Saturday) and Sunday night if possible.

Other requests:

We need someone to pick up Jody’s sister Carla from Manchester Wednesday morning and bring her to the hospital. Please contact me if you’re available to do this.

We can use some audio books on CD or computer file to help keep Jody entertained and engaged. Do keep in mind that it’s impossible to guarantee the safety of anything in a hospital room so don’t lend us anything irreplaceable.

Calls, visits, gifts

Jody loves getting calls and visits from friends. We need to keep these brief to avoid tiring her out too much or interfering with her medical care. The phone number in ICU is 603-335-8175.

Flowers are officially banned from ICU. The staff has been letting them in (and they’re lovely!) but there isn’t really a lot of room in Jody’s ICU bay for them. If you really want to send Jody something, yummy treats that encourage her to take on the calories she needs might be a good choice.

Out of town visits

Friends and relatives from other places are making plans to come to New Hampshire to be with Jody. We’ll be very glad to see you but we need to coordinate out-of-town visits so we don’t have more people here than we can accommodate at one time.

Politics

You may be aware that I have been considering a run for the New Hampshire State Senate seat in District 17. For obvious reasons I am suspending my campaign indefinitely; my only priority for the foreseeable future is helping Jody recover from her injury as quickly and completely as possible.

Thanks

I can’t begin to thank all the people who helped get this situation under control while I was 6,000 miles away, and are doing it still: my sister Debbie Bauch and nephew Andy Bauch, Jessica Chasney, Diane Eagle, Sen. Maggie Hassan, Dr. Kathleen Kelly, Dr. Kate Lawton, Dr. Sally Oxnard, Drs. Mark & Leslie Prescott, Nolan Ring, Amy Robinson, Molly Supple, Cindi Tuite, and Ellen Wight. Special thanks to the members of the Wentworth Hunt who recognized a True Emergency when they saw one, and the first responders who got Jody to the ER quickly and safely.

Forwarding and mailing list

Please feel free to forward this message in appropriate ways. If you received this from a friend and would like to be added to the mailing list for future updates, or to be removed from the list, please email me at roger [-@at@-] rogergoun.org.