Finally, Masters Natz formally announced

2008 Masters Natz will be June 30-July 6 in Louisville, KY.

MCF Banquet - Well Done

Jordan and Linda - Linda was camera shy for some reason.

Greg and Sue

Tevi and Paul

Jordan's Dad and Jordan

I think this years MCF banquet was a big success. The environment was very social, and had a good turnout. Jordan and I sat with the Rennerts and Goblirshs. Great seeing everyone. Skibby was charismatic as ever. Both Jordan and I took home 2 really cool glass cube awards. The year Bob Roll spoke still tops my list, but this year was a close second. Well done.

Star Students

Maren and Jordan got their report cards today for first semester. Both had straight A's. If it's possible to be too proud, that would be Carla and Me. Maren is ranked 26 out of 401 Hudson 9th Graders. Congrats, especially after getting Pneumonia during finals!

Cross Country Ski Gals

Maren is now healthy enough to workout, so the girls took the opportunity to go cross-country skiing together for the first time ever. I just got Maren new skis at Finn Sisu to they both now have their own equipment.

Willow River State Park is a great place to ski, and is only a couple minutes away from our house. I skied there Friday evening, and the trails are in very good shape. They have challenging terrain for me, and a nice long, flat loop for the girls.

First Prescott Loop of 2008

Warmer temps today prompted Jordan and I to ride the Prescott Loop for the first time this year. We opted for the snowmobile trails to Afton, which was very slow going, but good for working on power and bike handling. Jordan surprised me for the Afton State Park Prime, jumping away from me at the top of the hill. I tried to follow, but just couldn't. He's starting to scare me.

Our typical stop at the Freedom Station in Prescott for Cheddarwursts and Coke. We goofed around a bit headed out of Prescott. Jordan gave me a shove, and later I gave him a good shove, right into a snowbank. Then I managed to go down on a back road, and Jordan just laughed and laughed. I fell hard enough to knock my Garmin off. Luckily, I noticed a little ways down the road, and went back for it.

At our River Falls stop, Jordan tried a new energy drink called "NOS". He didn't like it much, but for $3, he was required to finish it. Less than a mile from home, I managed to get a flat tire. I was trying to ride it home when Carla and Maren drove up. I loaded into the car while Jordan rode home. Jordan flew home to make sure he beat us there, and he did. What an awesome ride. Looking forward to the Stone Arch/318 ride and the MCF banquet Sunday.

Why not ride oustide?

2 hours, 4 degF. Definitely the coldest temp I've ever ridden in.

One Proud Papa

Maren's first day back in school was a huge success. Everyone greeted her with open arms. Her chemistry teacher asked her to take the final exam just to see how she would do. She ended up getting the 2nd highest score in the class. Well done Miss Maren!

Today she has a cram session with her math teacher to catch up on all the missed lessons. Good luck.

Maren's Back in School

Maren went back to school today for the first day since the Friday before Christmas. Her teachers have been really supportive, and are giving her plenty of time to catch up.

She went to the doctor Wednesday, and her protein count is down to 4.3. Whoo Hoo!

Thanks again to everyone who gave us support during this scary experience. I have new found respect for Pneumonia.

Just the 2 of us

Jordan and I rode from the Stone Arch on Sunday. I think we saw Morey, Diamond Dave, and another in Hopkins headed the other direction. We made it all the way to the 318 in Excelsior to find out no one was starting from there. No worries. We headed back to meet anyone who started from the Stone Arch at the normal 9:30 AM start time. Never saw anyone. Either they turned around before we got to them, or no one showed. We stopped at the Depot in Hopkins to refuel, and rode back to the Stone Arch. We skipped Dunn Bros. in Mpls in favor of getting home early. Carla and Maren were surprised to see us home before 1PM.

She's coming home

We got the good news that Maren is coming home today. She still needs time to recover from the Pneumonia, but at least she'll be doing it at home now.

I Just Want to Go Home

That's what Maren has been thinking. Her labs just came back showing a protein level of 13. She was something like 80 when she was admitted, 19 on Thursday, and needs to be 12 to go home. Normal is 2-3. Obviously, the higher the number, the sicker you are.

At this point, it looks like she's not coming home until Sunday. Very disappointing.

I'll do anything for Maren

Maren is still having a rough time. She is finally off the oxygen, but her protein levels are still too high, meaning she is still pretty sick. There is a very small chance she could go home Friday, but probably not. Poor kid.

When I got there today, Maren was sleeping. While I was sitting there, she opens her eyes and says "Dad, will you get me Arby's?" She hasn't been eating hardly anything, so I said sure. The only problem was I didn't have a car, and the nearest Arby's is in Town Square about 10 blocks away. I ran all the way there and back, and delivered a hot toasted sub and curly fries. She ate a few fries, and took one bite of the sub, and that was all she could handle. I felt so bad for her. Then, as she got up to go to the bathroom, she threw up a little. What a bummer.

She took some antacid, and felt better. She even went for her first walk. We had her laughing a little before I left, which was good. She hasn't smiled much all week. Sadly, even when she does go home, she'll still have Pneumonia. It will take a few weeks for her to completely recover.

Carla has slept at the hospital every night since Saturday night, and will keep doing so until Maren comes home. Running to Arby's and back doesn't hold a candle to that kind of loving care.

Doing OK

Maren got her chest tube removed today, but she had a little bit of a rough morning. She was really pale and tired. The doctor said the infection has improved, but she still has the pneumonia. She won't necessarily show vast improvement everyday, and needs as much rest as possible. It was a little hard to take after all the improvement she showed on Tuesday.

82 Phone Messages

Maren checked her cellphone today to find 82 voicemail messages from her friends. I don't even think I know 82 people.

They identified the infection as a form of Strep, the most common in cases of Pneumonia. She gets her chest tube out of Wednesday. She's still a bit spaced out, and really wants to get out of the hospital.

I finally got Carla to let me relieve her from her bedside vigil. She had been in the hospital 24/7 since Saturday night, except for a couple hours on Sunday afternoon. Knowing her, she's probably as home right now doing laundry. The woman never rests.


One cool thing is Maren's hospital room has a great view of the James J. Hill mansion. She can't really enjoy it, but it's cool nonetheless.

Out of Surgery - Updated

Maren got out of surgery without any complications. She is feeling better.

During the surgery, they removed 600ml of infected material from the cavity, and more continues to drain from her chest tube.

On the plus side, she has a remote with a button, that when pushed, directly injects morphine in her system to help with the pain. Only she can push it, and you have to wait 5 minutes between pushes, and only 6 times an hour.

Pneumonia

Maren came down with Pneumonia this weekend and will undergo surgery on Monday to have a chest tube inserted. Carla is taking it the hardest, and Maren has been a real trooper. Maren has the most positive attitude, and just wants to get the surgery over with, and start getting better. Thanks to everyone and their support.

6 days off the bike

I decided to take some much needed physical and mental rest after last Sunday's milestone ride. I did get back out on the cross-country skis this weekend. Carla joined me, skiing for the first time since 1991. We both skied for 90 minutes. Carla smoked me on average heart rate. Her 155bpm average kicked my butt at 138bpm.