Jack's New School Address

Here is my new school address....

Jackie Kuklenz
2401 Montgomery Road Apt # 98
Huntsville, TX 77340

My New Dorm Room!!

Here are the pictures of my new dorm room! I live in a place called Bearkat Village...it is apartment style dorms. You have two private bedrooms and a two person bathroom with a small living room and kitchen. It is nice because I can cook my own meals for dinner and pack my own lunch for school, instead of depending on an expensive meal plan. The one down side about my place is that it is on the 3rd floor....and at about 2 PM to 6 PM....it's blazing hot! Not a good combination!!

This is my bed side. I put my bed up high so I can put all my storage items under my bed instead of in my closet or along the walls. The white cabinets hold all my items that won't fit in my dresser or desk. The blue crates go into my car when I go to the grocery store so I can carry up the groceries. The green cart is my pantry. Since there is no storage space in the kitchen, we each have our own cart for our pantry.

This is the desk side. I had to buy a little table for my TV. The desk has pull outs to extend the desk space. I usually use those if I eat dinner in my room or if I do homework at my desk.

This is my closet. It's pretty empty because I didn't have room in my car to carry all my room stuff and all my clothes. A trip home this weekend is going to solve that problem though. My dresser holds all my school spirit items and my pictures on top.

Here is my kitchen. It comes equipped with a full fridge/freezer, sink, dishwasher, microwave, and oven with stove top. I also brought my George Foreman grill and toaster. I have made quite a few good meals in this kitchen already, and looking to make more. The kitchen has two bar stools to pull up to the side of the kitchen counter for a table.

This is the small living room. Not much of a living room, just more for visiting with friends that come over.

Another view of the kitchen...

Here is the bathroom. It has a two sink vanity and shelf space behind the door. The toilet and tub are in the next room, with lots of floor space.

Here is one of my first couple of meals. The first night I had tortilla bowls with grilled chicken, lettuce, grated cheese, and tortilla chips with salsa. This meal was dinosaur chicken nuggets, salad, and mac n' cheese. Tomorrow is planned to be pigs in a blanket (hot dogs wrapped up in cresents rolls) and cheese beans.

Exercise Bike

Marcy Recumbent Bike was purchased to help my knee recovery.

The Marcy Magnetic-Resistance Recumbent Bike features a large console display with oversized numbers for better readability, counter balanced pedals with adjustable foot straps and a unique seat that adjusts to accommodate your body size.Large console display with oversized numbers tracks speed, distance, time, and calories burned

Substantial assembly required

The completed assembly.

Doug taking it for a test drive.

I am currently using the bike on Level 1.
I use the bike twice a day for 30 minutes each time.
I am averaging six to seven mile each time.
Today I have completed 14 miles.

The Car That Costs Too Much

I'm suppose to leave for Huntsville in 4 days and this is what my car looks like.....

This summer, my car has been very costly. It all started with an oil change. Then Dad replaced my brake pads. My front driver side tire going flat and all the tire valve stems being replaced. After that, my car door lock needed fixing and my battery needing charging. To a new inspection sticker and the latest....my back seat speakers not working.

Dad has gotten to know my car both inside, outside, under, and around. With all this work, hopefully it will stay working for a while.

2 Week Post-Op Report!

This is me after 2 weeks - post operatively.
I'm having to wear my knee brace when I'm up and walking around; but I'm down to just one crutch...YEAH!!! I don't know how much longer before I can get around without them. The walking is not soo good yet.

All the stitches have been removed and all incisions are healing nicely. I am only taking pain medication before I do my exercises at home, before I go to P.T. or before bedtime.

I'm attending physical therapy twice a week. I've ordered a stationary bike to help with my home recovery - it should be here within the week. Anything to get me going sooner. I can see lots of things around the house that need my attention..... plus we have an upcoming road trip to Iowa...no driving for me yet...so it will probably be a LONG trip in the back seat for me!!

The Gecko Slayer!!

Mom got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and saw a gecko by the bathtub. So, she got the flyswatter in the kitchen and slayed that gecko like it was nobody's business!

The Geico Gecko better watch his tail.....the Gecko Slayer is on the loose!!

Multi-tasker Mom!

Mom is shown here enjoying a yummy egg salad sandwich while doing a little work at the table. She also took off her brace to start bending her leg a bit. She is up to 70 degrees on the CPM machine and down to taking only 2 pain pills, in the morning and night. She is done taking her antibiotics and has an appointment on Friday with Dr. Jennings. More updates to come!!

Mom's Recovery

Here is Mom chillin' on the couch in her fancy CPM machine chowin' down on a caramel apple sucker. She's been confined to the couch for the past two days. Today has been her best day so far. She is keeping up on her pain meds every 4 hours with Advil in between as needed.

Her fancy CPM machine, shown here, keeps her leg in continuous motion bending her knee at a set degree. She adds 10 degrees every day. On the first day she used it she said it hurt it put her leg in the straight position. Today, she says she can feel a "pulling" when it reaches 40 degrees.

Whenever she is not in her CPM machine, she is in her black brace shown here. She is still using crutches as she still can't bare a whole lot of weight on her leg. We keep her a cup of water and all her meds in a bucket by the side of the couch so she can take some meds in the middle of the night and so she can get up in the middle of the night if she needs too.

This is her cool little ice machine that Grandma Lyla is loaning her. It circulated water and ice in the cooler through the blue tubes and into a pad that sits on her knee. It keeps her knee nice and chilled. We have already used 3 - 10lb bags of ice in just 2 days.

Here are the flowers that Grandma and Grandpa Janssen, and the 3 kids. She also got some cards from the Swanson's and Montgomery's. She is doing better and in high spirits. She appreciates all your get well messages and looks forward to not using her crutches!