November 22, 2004

Logan has been doing extremely well. He has been weaned off all of his drips, which is remarkable considering their number while on ECMO. In addition, his progress has allowed Anita and I to continue to hold him throughout the last week. We believe that has had a lot to do with his advances.

After the first few days of Logan's recent progress, Dr. Berkenbosch and Dr. Austin decided to start re-weaning him from the vent. HIs recovery continued without interruption.

Today, Dr. Berkenbosch, once again, attempted to extubate Logan. At first Logan did really well. I was able to hold him while Anita was downstairs taking care of the breast milk supply. There were concerns, but all in all he seemed to look fine. Unfortunately, his labs told a different story. After a second bad lab, Dr. Berkenbosch decided to reintubate.

It's worth noting that Logan managed to stay off the vent for two hours. This was a major step in the right direction, just not quite what we were hoping for. For now, we will wait at least another week before attempting extubation again. This time will allow Logan's muscles to develop further and give him the strength to hold his own.

November 14, 2004

Today was a very special day for our family. Mackenzie received her first Holy Communion and Logan turned one month old.

Mackenzie has been attending a special Eucharist Sunday school for several weeks preparing for her big day. Around twenty family members joined us in church to witness her acceptance. Mackenzie did great and we are all very proud of her. Afterward, most of us went to KT's to celebrate.

Logan has been doing much better since the extubation attempt and the bad night that followed. Today he turned one month old! As an added bonus, Anita and I were able to hold him for the first time since October 21st.

November 11, 2004

In light of Logan's recent progress, yesterday Dr. Austin ordered the staff to attempt extubation. This event required several days of preparation, in the way of weaning from the ventilator, and was attempted at around noon.

For those of you who need clarification, as I did, extubation is the opposite of intubation. Intubation is placing one on ventilator support. Logan was intubated just before his Norwood procedure. This was necessary due to the paralytic he was given, prior to his surgery, which disallowed respiratory function.

Noon came all too fast and Anita and I were asked to wait in the family room until the procedure was complete. Unfortunately, within ten minutes of extubation, Tara noticed Logan's color changing very rapidly. It was clear that, although he was breathing on his own, Logan's lungs were not getting the job done. He was immediately reintubated.

Early this morning, Anita began to relive the horror of October 22nd. Logan's blood pressure dropped as he seemed to be headed back towards ECMO. Thankfully, his condition was not as advertised and he recovered slowly throughout the rest of the day.

November 6, 2004

Congratulations Crissy and Robin! Today Anita's sister and her fiance, Robin, were married at St. Rita. Anita was the matron of honor and Mackenzie was the flower girl. Jimmy and I shot video. We hope to have some pictures to post later.

In the mean time, I hope that Crissy and Robin enjoy themselves in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico! May many decades of happiness follow this day!

November 4, 2004

The last two days have seen some steady improvements. Logan seems to be taking the Argatroban quite well and his vitals are coming along nicely. He's now accepting Anita's breast milk, via his NG tube, and the docs have started reducing his ventilator dependency.

Also, yesterday, Anita and I were interviewed by WAVE 3's Lori Lyle. Lori is doing a piece on a replacement for ECMO that would still allow some parents to hold their newborn. As you probably know, Anita and I did not have that option due to the size of ECMO and his heart condition. The interview will air tonight at 5:00 PM and tomorrow at 12:00 PM or you can see it here.

Logan must have sensed his television debut because he decided to wake up, open his eyes and ham it up for the cameras!

November 2, 2004

Over the course of the last week, the doctors and nurses have concluded that Logan is allergic to Heparin and that the doses he had already received have caused Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia (HIT). Heparin was an important drug to Logan because it helped control blood clotting.

Since taking Logan off of Heparin, he as developed a blood clot in his lower abdomen. Dr. Mitchell called in Dr. Sullivan to start Logan on a trial drug, Argatroban, which properties are similar to Heparin but not currently approved for children. Since Logan is participating in a drug study, there are many more tests performed for safety and data purposes.

It's important to note that Argatroban has been successfully used on other children, just not officially approved. Also, Dr. Mitchell had already ordered the use Argatroban so this study only increases Logan's safety net.

Also, Logan had the remainder of his chest tubes removed while they prepared him to receive Argatroban. Now that his chest is closed and his tubes are absent, Logan is looking much less intimidating.

November 1, 2004

I'd like to say a few words about Louisville Cardiology. Anita has worked for Louisville Cardiology for nearly seven years now. They've always been extremely fair in how they've treated all of their employees. You can say that about a lot of companies. What you can't say about other companies is that they genuinely care about their employees.

When Anita and I were presented with the news of Logan's condition, the doctors at Louisville Cardiology actively participated in the analysis and interpretation of the pediatric cardiologists' data. They further showed their concern and support by assuring Anita that she could take as long as necessary to prepare herself and her family for what was to come.

Since Logan's birth, the example set inspired Anita's fellow employees to embraced our family with love and support. Nearly every day for the last two weeks, someone from Louisville Cardiology has dropped off lunch, dinner or dessert so that our daily burden would be that much less.

In 1997, Doctors Imburgia and Licandro broke off from their previous group to start Louisville Cardiology. Their goal was to provide superior medical treatment while restoring the doctor-patient relationship. They've succeeded in that goal and it's clear that their attitude has influenced all who work for them. Their vision has been rewarded as we've watched Louisville Cardiology grow from a small office on Breckinridge to the entire sixth floor at the new Baptist Hospital East Medical Pavilion.

Anita and I would like to thank Louisville Cardiology from the bottom of our hearts. You all have truly been a Godsend. I can now see why Anita is so eager to return to work and her extended family.

October 31, 2004

Happy Halloween!

Today was a very long day. Anita and I headed down to the hospital at 7:00 AM to catch the daily rounds. We thought it was 8:00 AM but forgot about the time change.

After rounds, Dr. Mitchell concluded that closing Logan's chest was a possibility but not probable by day's end. He did say that he would re-explore Logan to test for infection and install two atria lines.

It turns out that, once Dr. Mitchell began the procedure, he tested for a possible closure and was pleased with what he saw. He went ahead with the closing of Logan's chest.

Soon after the surgery, Logan's blood work turned up some potentially bad results. After a few tense moments and some fluid adjustments, Logan started showing the progress that we wanted to see.

As of now, Logan is doing fair and is progressing at a fair rate. The next 24 hours are, once again, critical and the doctors and nurses have taken preventative preparations just in case the feared becomes a reality.

October 30, 2004

Tonight, Anita and I decided to take a much needed break. Since Logan was doing fine and was with a trusted nurse for the night, we made plans to go out to eat and visit some friends.

We chose to eat at L & N Wine and Bistro on the corner of Frankfort and Mellwood. We had never eaten there but heard nothing but good things about the establishment. It turned out to be an excellent choice. Both the food and service were exceptional. Anita had the Snapper and I had the Steak Frites.

After our meal we went to a Halloween costume party at Mark and Jennifer's house. We had to come up with last minute costumes, but we managed. Anita wore an Ace of Spades costume and I was Partly Cloudy with a Chance of Rain (blue scrubs with cotton clouds and a spray bottle). It was fun and a nice break.

October 25, 2004

The last few days have been extremely stressful for Anita and I. We started with a very bad Friday morning and, since then, have been on an emotional roller-coaster as Logan's condition gradually improved.

The good news is that Logan has, indeed, progressed nicely. Saturday morning his team of docs and nurses decided to start slowly weaning him off of the ECMO. By early Sunday morning he was almost completely on his own.

After 8:00 AM rounds on Sunday morning, Dr. Austin crimped off the ECMO altogether. Logan responded well. He remained attached to the crimped ECMO, without assistance, for most of the day. Later on that afternoon, the nurses were told to remove the ECMO.

Logan spent the night, with Mommy at his side, surviving on his own.

Today, Dr. Austin removed the two chest tubes that had previously been attached to the ECMO.

So far, Logan is doing great. He's a fighter.

One last thing: Keep praying, God's listening.

October 22, 2004

This morning, at around 3:30 am, Logan's condition turned drastically for the worse. While Anita was sleeping at his bedside in the PICU, his heart rate and blood pressure dropped as he crashed.

Thankfully there were three nurses monitoring his progress whom reacted quickly with CPR. Within 20 minutes, just before I arrived from work, Doctors Austin, Mitchell, Hill and McOmber had arrived and were recovering Logan. Within 30 minutes he was stabilizing with the help of an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation system (ECMO).

As Doctors Austin and Hill explained, they do not yet know why pediatric heart surgery patients often crash within 24 hours of surgery. In Logan's case, as many others, everything seemed normal and was improving before the crash. The electronically recorded history shows no evidence of why this happened.

For now, Logan's body will be allowed a recovery period, afforded by the ECMO. After 48 hours, they will try to wean Logan off the ECMO in hopes that his body takes over.

October 21, 2004

Today, Logan underwent his first of three heart surgeries called the Norwood Operation. The Norwood Operation is described below by UMCHC:

A hollow tube that connects the new aorta to the pulmonary artery is sewn in place (2). The tube is called a Blalock-Taussig (BT) shunt. The BT shunt lets some of the blood pumped to the body go to the lungs.

The wall between the heart's two upper chambers is removed (3). This allows red blood coming back from the lungs to flow from the left upper chamber to the right upper chamber. The blood then goes to the right lower chamber and out to the body.

A great deal of thanks goes out to Doctors Austin and McOmber as well as the nursing staff involved.

Just to show how much God has been involved in this process, miraculously, every step of Logan's life has been cared after by personal friends. In delivery, Anita's good friend, Paula Minervino, was the primary nurse. Once at the NICU, Anita's friend Tabatha had a close friendship with Dr. Craig Steiner whom checked up on Logan's progress often. When Logan went for his Norwood Operation, Debbie Cornell, an off-duty pediatric surgery nurse and mother of Anita's longtime friend, Sommer, gave us many procedure updates. Finally and, perhaps, most miraculously, Tara Windmill was one of the three nurses charged with Logan's post-operative care in the PICU.

Tara was my sister's (Sunny) best friend before a tragic car accident took her life. Tara still had the sunshine and angel pins that she was given, by our family after the funeral, attached to her ID badge. I haven't seen Tara since 1994.

October 14, 2004

Mackenzie and Gavin would like to proudly introduce their new baby brother, Logan Joseph!

Logan was born at 8:59 pm on Thursday, October 14th, weighing 6 lbs 4 oz and at a length of 20". He was rated an eight out of ten regarding health. The eight was due to color only and that was because of the HLHS and oxygen distribution.

Logan's delivery was performed by Dr. Pietrantoni and overseen by Dr. Cohen. Dr. Pietrantoni broke Anita's water around 8:00 pm, just after the Louisville vs Miami kickoff. A short while later, Paula Minervino (RN), a good friend whom stayed by Anita's side throughout the entire day, noted that Anita was ten centimeters dilated! We only had to turn off the game for about 20 minutes! Anita concluded that Logan was the fastest and easiest birth of the three.

Logan was allowed to spend about 20 minutes with Mom and Dad before being transported to the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). During this time, Dr. Cohen snapped off something like 30 pictures of us with the kido.

Shortly after arriving at the NICU, Logan had his first echo. This confirmed HLHS but was diagnosed slightly better than advertised. None the less, Logan will undergo his first heart surgery (Norwood Procedure) on Thursday, October 21st.

A special thanks goes out to Doctors Arensman, Austin, Cohen, Cuthrell, Hill, Hynes, Link, McOmber and Pietrantoni. Also to Paula Minervino and the rest of the incredible nursing staff at Norton Hospital and Kosair Children's Hospital. Last, but certainly not least, we would like to thank our friends and family for their selfless assistance and thoughtful gifts. Without your support, we wouldn't stand a chance!

One more thing, the wonderful people at StorkDelivery.com donated an incredible lawn display to announce Logan's arrival. Thanks Steve!

September 25, 2004

A few weeks ago I joined the Kentucky Air National Guard's softball team. Every Tuesday night we meet up and compete in the Highview Park C-league. Thus far we are 3-1.

This weekend we competed in the Adjunct General's Annual Easter Seals Softball Tournament. This tourney is exclusively played by Kentucky National Guard teams. Given that we are the only Air National Guard unit in Kentucky, we were the only Air Force team present.

Our first game was at 12 PM on Saturday against one of many Army National Guard units. This team happen to have a Brigadier General and the tourney organizer as players. I played well at Right Center Outfield and hit pretty well also. We beat them soundly by the ten run rule in the fifth inning, 15-5.

The second game was against the MATES, an Army NG maintenance unit. We had a great first two innings, scoring 13 runs, and went on to defeat them 19-9 again by the ten run rule, but in the sixth inning. I played Left Center Outfield and continued to hit well.

Our final game was against the same team we defeated during our first game. They would have to beat us twice in order to win the tournament (double-elimination). This, however, was not to be as we again defeated them by the ten run rule in the fifth by a score of 16-5. Once again, I played Left Center and hit well.

The final victory afforded us the championship trophy and a year with the traveling first place plaque. We were the first Air National Guard team to win the tournament.

June 18-27, 2004

Despite the bad news on Friday, we decided to go ahead with our planned vacation to Orange Beach, AL.

It turns out that a vacation was just what we needed to let the news sink in and to give our future challenges some serious, undistracted thought.

The trip went as well as expected. Mackenzie and Gavin had a great time swimming and building sand castles. Anita and I had two sets of friends that were there when we needed to talk and there to take our minds elsewhere as well.

A special thanks goes out to Marsha, Lynn and T.C. for sharing their grill and good times. Also to Tracy and Eddie for a great day of golf and beach activities.

June 18, 2004

Anita and I have been expecting our third child, Logan, for nearly five months now. Yesterday we went to the OB, Dr. Link, for a routine 20-week ultra-sound. Although I thought the visit went well and the doctors comments were benign, Anita knew better.

Dr. Link saw something he didn't like, however, because Mackenzie was in the room, he did not act overly alarmed. He referred us to a fetal ultra-sound specialist, Dr. Cuthrell, for further review.

After examining the baby, Dr. Cuthrell told us that Logan has a condition called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS). This is where his left ventricle does not function properly and cannot sustain life after birth without a series of three heart surgeries.

He further explained that he remembered the mortality rate to be around 50% a few years back. He told us that he was not prepared with current statistics due to the number of occurrences per birth (1 / 5,000).

We had plans to leave for a week in Orange Beach this very same day.

May 21-23, 2004

As many of you know, May 22nd was Anita's and my fifth year anniversary. Because I was expecting to leave for AMS on the 15th, I told Anita that I had no real time to plan our weekend. I told her that we were set to stay at a bed and breakfast, locally, and that I wasn't sure what our activities would include.

On Friday, I drove Anita to work and dropped off the kids. They stayed with family all weekend. When I went to pick Anita up, I told her we had to go to my office real quick, at the airport, and sign some documents. When we arrived, I abruptly turned in to the departing area and sprung my surprise...a weekend on the town in Chicago!

We arrived, via Southwest Airlines, at Chicago Midway International. We rented a car and drove to the Hyatt Regency O'Hara. Soon afterward we headed down to Navy Pier and ate dinner at Bubba Gump's novelty seafood restaurant.

Saturday, Anita wasn't feeling well and begged me to go do something without her. Reluctantly, I went to the Field Museum, next to Solider Field, and then went up to North Michigan Avenue to shop for Anita's evening dress. That night, I surprised her with dinner atop the John Hancock Building at the Signature Room at the 95th.

The Signature room is an extremely nice restaurant that boasts an incredible view from the 95th and 96th floors of the building. Both the service and the food were the best we've ever encountered. Anita and I both had the filet and lobster tail with smashed potatoes, fresh vegetables and roasted mushrooms.

After dinner I, again, surprised her with a night with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. We had 6th row seats to an awesome performance of Mozart's 35th and 38th symphonies. It turns out that it was their last performance of the season.

Sunday, we went down to the fountain that is in the intro to Married With Children, and took some pictures. We then hit Navy Pier again but with more time and daylight.

The weekend went very well, despite Anita's bad Saturday morning. It was really nice to escape Louisville for a few days. Now I have to top this on our ten year!

Today was a day that I've been working towards for a long time. I finally graduated from the University of Louisville with a bachelors in Physics. The ceremonies were nice, but very long. When I attempted to walk across the stage, I was grabbed and hugged by Dr. Thomas (TA), Dr. Brown (Phys) and Dr. Chalmers (Phys). Abron, Allison, Greg, and Suzanne all walked with Physics bachelors as well.

After commencement, my father threw me a graduation party. Around 40 people stopped by to help me celebrate. Special thanks go out to my dad and Susan for hosting a great party.

Wanted to take advantage of a beautiful Friday, so I called up Jimmy and rented the same 172. We went back over to Clark County and did some touch-n-go's. We had planned on grabbing some lunch while there, but they don't have a cafe.

I had some really smooth landings today. I didn't do too bad on Monday either, considering last time flown and the ten knot crosswind.

03/15 - Cessna 172R - N7261X - 1.0 Hours

Well it's officially Spring Break and I have to do something other than work, right? So, I took my birthday cash, rented a 172 from Aero-Tech and took to the skies. Since it's been, a record, eight months since my last flight, I asked my dad to tag along. We had fun, doing mostly touch-n-go's and pattern work.

02/27 - Puddle of Mudd - WLRS

Okay, a few weeks ago, I won tickets to the Kid Rock/ Puddle of Mudd concert from WLRS. Yesterday, Lancer (WLRS DJ) called me from the station and told me I had won an autographed guitar! I didn't even know they were drawing for it and was caught completely by suprise...LIVE! Anyway, I got to go down and meet Wes Scantlin and Greg Upchurch from Puddle of Mudd. Yeah, so I bullshited with these cats for a half an hour or so, no big deal. Seriously, these guys were super cool and nice to everyone they met....very classy.

01/12 - Spring '04 - Final Semester!

Physics 450-01 Math Physics 3 MWF 9:00 - 9:50 Chalmers
Phil 311-03 Intro to Logic 3 TTh 11:00 - 12:15 Chapman
Comm 319 - 50 Debate 3 Online Warner
PAS 392-01 Global Poverty 3 TTH 3:00 - 4:15 Rajack/Talley
TA 363-01 AF-AM Woman/Theatre 3 MWF 11:00 - 11:50 Thomas

01/01 - Happy New Year 2004!

12/25 - Merry Christmas!

12/15 - Happy 1st Birthday Gavin!

08/22 - Pilot Selection Board

Well, as I suspected, my age dashed my hopes of going to Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) . The Stan/Eval Commander called me a couple of weeks before the Board to let me know. He urged me to use the interview towards a possible Navigator position. After discussing with Anita, I decided to try for a Undergraduate Navigator Training (UNT) slot. The interview couldn't have gone better and, at it's conclusion, they offered me the slot.

So, once I get a school date, this is what my training will look like...

Academy of Military Science (AMS) - McGee Tyson ANG Base, Knoxville, TN - 6 Weeks
Undergraduate Navigator Training - Randolph AFB, San Antonio, TX - 36 Weeks
C-130NIQ Initial Nav Training - Little Rock AFB, AK - 7 Weeks
C-130NMQ Navigator Mission Qual - Little Rock AFB, AK - 7 Weeks
Home Station Seasoning Training - KYANG, Louisville, KY - 45 Days
Combat Survival Training - Fairchild AFB, WA - 3 Weeks
Water Survival Training - Fairchild AFB, WA - 3 Days

08/13 - Fall '03 Semester

Physics 541-01 Electromagnetic Fields 3 MWF 9:00 - 9:50 Davis
Physics 460-01 Mechanics 3 TTh 11:00 - 12:15 Wu
Physics 356-01 Optics Laboratory 2 Th 1:00 - 3:30 -TBA-
Chemistry 341-01 Organic Chemistry 3 MWF 11:00 - 12:15 Wong
Chemistry 343-01 Organic Laboratory 1 T 1:00 - 4:55 Rich

07/12 - Cessna 172P - N2101E - 1.8 Hours

Saturday, I flew a CAP aircraft for the first time since joining in October. Wallace helped prepare me for the Form 5 (CAP Checkride). Nice aircraft, very nice price ($53.19 for 1.8 hours)!

This is the aircraft I flew:

06/30 - Cessna 172R - N172TF - 1.4 Hours

It's been a while since I've been flying. So, I figured, before I forget how to, maybe I should go up again.

Since it's been over three months, I went up with another pilot...my dad. We took off from Bowman, flew East to his new house, then went to Clarke County Airport (JVY) for some touch-n-go's. We then flew back to Bowman, executed one last touch-n-go and landed. It was a good time. Nice to fly again.

Also, I turned in my Undergraduate Pilot Training Package to the KYANG today. Wish me luck!

06/17 - Make-Up Games

This week our communications didn't break down and we managed to whip together ten players.

The first game was against the East End 69er's. This is Daniel's team (brother in law). Our replacements proved to be good ones as we were very competitive. If it weren't for giving up a crap load of runs in the second, we would've tied or maybe even won the game. Final score 10 - 21.

Our second opponent was the Pewee Valley Fire Department. This game went well from the start. We fielded and hit very efficiently. We also got our second homerun of the season at the hands of Micah. Final score 25 - 8.

After this week our final record is a whopping 3 - 7.

06/10 - Bad Play

The final regular week of softball was tonight. I say regular because we have two more make-up games on the 17th. So, here's how it went ...forfeit, forfeit. That's what happens when three players decide to no-show. We scrounged up some random players and borrowed players from the other teams just to have fun and play. It was fun, but two losses none the less.

06/03 - Summer Semester

I started summer semester today. Here's what it looks like:

German 141 Intensive German I 6 M - F 8:00 - 11:20 Cunningham
German 142 Intensive German II 6 M - F 8:00 - 11:20 Cunningham

05/27 - Maybe Next Season

Tonight we got run ruled...again...bringing our record to 2 - 4. At least it was by the #1 team. Oh well, if I had to do it all over again, I would. It's still fun to get out and compete. Next season we'll be better prepared. Technically, we could still come out with a record of 6 - 4, but it doesn't seem likely.

After the game, a bunch of us went to Joe's in Lyndon and had a few pitchers. Good times.

The remainder of the revised schedule looks like this:

6/10 7:00 PM #1 Every RIP Home
6/10 8:00 PM #1 Sonic Boom Home
6/17 8:00 PM #2 East End 69's Home
6/17 9:00 PM #2 Pewee Valley Fire Away

05/25 - Vacation

The family and I just got back from Orange Beach, AL. Vacation was badly needed and a lot of fun. The weather was so, so, raining about 3 of 7 days. I have pictures that I will post later.

05/13 - Imagine That

After starting the season 2 - 0, we have loss three straight games to fall below .500 at 2 - 3. This game was actually played fairly well on our part. Unfortunately, we allowed Two Short to come from behind and win in the last inning despite being down one run with two outs!

05/09 - New Ride

It's been nine years since buying a new car for me to drive (bought one for Anita in '99). Today I broke down and bought an '03 Toyota 4Runner Sport Edition. Here's a pic...

05/06 - Another Tough Loss

Well, we got hammered again. We were run ruled in the 4th inning per the rules. Once again, errors played a big role as well as mediocre hitting. My hat goes off to Karem's Triangle for a well played game. This makes us 2 - 2 for the season...I feel a practice coming on!

04/29 - Double Header

We had two tough games tonight. We trailed the first game by as much as five runs until the last inning. We pulled ahead by one run then defended the lead to win! Great come back win against Streamline, 12 - 11. During this game, I got my first homerun...unfortunately it was a solo-shot.

The second game went very badly from the start. We were short one player for the first two innings and didn't even score until the third. Target defended the field very well and hit efficiently. About 20, or so, errors afforded us a 7 - 20 defeat.

04/22 - Brewzers Win!

Despite me, the team captain, being about three minutes late and initially disorganized, the Brewzers went on to win it's first game against Walton Jones, 23 - 13.

04/15 - Bluegrass Brewzers

At the last minute, I fielded a softball team for the D-League at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park. This is my first time ever being Captain, and first time since 1994 that I played softball! Here's the schedule.

Date Time Field Opponent Home/Away
4/22 9:00 PM #1 Walton Jones Away
4/29 8:00 PM #3 Streamline Away
4/29 9:00 PM #3 Target Home
5/06 7:00 PM #1 Karem's Triangle Away
5/13 7:00 PM #1 Two Short Away
5/20 8:00 PM #2 East End 69er's Home
5/20 9:00 PM #2 Pewee Valley Fire Away
5/27 8:00 PM #1 Backyard Bombers Home
6/10 7:00 PM #1 Every RIP Home
6/10 8:00 PM #1 Sonic Boom Home

03/20 - Cessna 172R - N172TF - 2.1 Hours

Well, its been awhile since I've flown, so Anita and I decided to go on a daytrip. We flew south of Louisville and over to Rough River State Park Airport (2I3). We parked the plane, walked to the lodge, and ate lunch. It was a beutiful day with a temp around 72 F. Flying was fun, especially with the aid of a Multifunction Display and Autopilot! Here are some pics:

03/15 - Took the family out to Bowman Field today. We were trying to get a cute picture of Gavin for his birth announcements. Got some good ones, but I don't know if we'll use any of them. Most of the pics taken are in Family Photos.

02/20 - Daniel and I took the AFOQT (Air Force Officer Qualification Test) today at the U of L AFROTC unit. This is a requirement for the selection of officers and especially potential Pilot/Navigator positions. We should get our results within two weeks.

02/04 - Happy Birthday Mackenzie! She turned six years old today. Thanks go out to all the parents and kids for making Mackenzie's birthday party at All About Kids a great success. Here are a couple of pictures.

01/09 - The manager of the Maxwell/Gunter Aeroclub, Steve, sent me some photos of the aeroclub aircraft. I earned my private pilot's license in an aircraft identical to this one. The background is Maxwell AFB, AL and includes a Civil Air Patrol Maule.

12/15 - Baptist Hospital East - Louisville, KY

Mackenzie is proud to announce the birth of her baby brother, Gavin Bryan Keating! Gavin was born at 2:28 PM, weighing 7 lbs 4 1/4 oz, and measuring 20" in length. It is rumored that he too will become a pilot!

12/06 - Cessna 172R - N5172C - 0.9 Hours

Well, for the first time since being licensed, I rented and flew an aircraft purely for enjoyment. Jimmy and I went up and around North Louisville and Southern Indiana checking out the scenery. Kinda neat considering there were five inches of snow covering the ground.

12/02 - Everyone is wondering about my Spring Semester schedule, here it is:

Physics 530-01 Thermodynamics 3 MWF 10:00 - 10:50 France
Physics 351-01 Atomic & Nuclear Lab 2 M -TBA - Huang
Math 301-01 Calculus III 4 MWF 12:30 - 1:45 Barnes
Geoscience 201-01 Physical Geology 3 TTh 9:30 - 10:45 Johnson
Geoscience 203-02 Physical Geology Lab 1 Th 1:00 - 2:50 Johnson

11/18 - Cessna 172R - N5172C - 1.1 Hours

Exactly a month after my FAA checkride, I rented a 2002 Cessna 172R complete with a KLN-94 color, moving map GPS. The purpose of this flight was to obtain a renter's card from Aero-Tech here at Bowman Field. Basically it was like a short checkride. The picture above is exactly what I flew!

10/22 - Getting back in the swing of things. I just registered for 13 hours at U of L for the upcoming Spring semester. This should be the first of three remaining semesters for my physics degree. If all goes well, I will graduate in December of 2003. Of course I will continue work on my mechanical engineering degree after applying for a pilot slot with the KY Air National Guard.

10/18 - Instead of boring you with every detail between 8/23 and 10/18 I will summarize; Today, after a three day, six flight excursion, I passed my FAA oral and practical exams! I'm officially a PRIVATE PILOT!!! A great deal of thanks go out to Tim Pyle! He went above and beyond to help me prepare for the exams in only three days. Special thanks also go to the Maxwell/Gunter Aero Club and staff...outstanding unit!

10/02 - Due to the efforts of LTC Peters, MSG Sarver, and ACC, I was allowed to return home! Special thanks to James McKenzie and Jeanine Goulet for helping me move.

8/23 - Cessna 172 - N4992R -2.3 Hours

We actually managed to pull our schedules together for enough time to plan and fly a Dual Day Cross Country. This consisted of three legs: Maxwell to Eufaula (EUF), Eufaula to Columbus (CSG), and from Columbus back to Maxwell. Total flight mileage was about 176 NM and took a little over two hours. It was real important to pay attention to every detail considering I have to fly it alone on 8/26.

8/22 - Cessna 172 - N4992R - 1.4 Hours

Stage One checkride time! Col. Bud Williams, our chief pilot, went up with me today to evaluate both my instructor and me. Although Tim did not fly with us, his evaluation depends on my knowledge and skill. All went pretty well and I was deemed safe to fly alone. That's good...since I had already flown solo at this point!

8/21 - Cessna 172 - N4992R - 1.8 Hours

This flight was my first Dual Night Cross Country. Normally we would perform a Dual Day Cross Country but our schedules only allowed us to fly at night this week. We flew from Maxwell to Shelby County (EET) and back. This night flight went much better than the first partly because of a full moon but mostly because I had already been up at night at this point.

8/13 - Cessna 172 - N4992R - 1.4 Hours

My first ever night flight was this evening. We took off around 8:30 PM and flew until 10:00 PM. Although night flying is beautiful, terrain recognition and landings are a bit more tricky! We practiced more short field landings tonight.

8/11 - Cessna 172 - N5134F - 2.0 Hours

This lesson was focused on Instrument Flying as well as Short Field and Soft Field Landings. We used Selma as our mock short/soft airfields.

8/9 - Cessna 172 - N4974R - 1.5 Hours/ 0.8 Hours Solo

Today's lesson was dedicated to whoopin' the pattern's ass. I was determined to do everything correct and to solo by day's end. Although I did well on my landings, I lacked the confidence I thought was necessary to solo. So, I decided to have Tim be completely quiet for a couple of patterns to ensure myself I could do this without any interference. I did great! While we were on rollout from the second "quiet" landing, Tim asked if I wanted to solo. Even though the anxiety was saying "Hell No!" I knew it was time. I answered him yes and dropped him off at the Aero Club.

Keep in mind that while Tim and I were beatin' up the pattern there was only one other aircraft in the pattern. It was another student in a similar airplane doing the same thing we were. When I taxied out to runway 15, just five minutes later, there were two T38's flying ILS approaches, a C41 training a new pilot on VFR approaches, a Cessna 310 holding short runway 15 waiting to take off, and the other Cessna 172 still flying the pattern! So, I sat there, nervous as hell, for twenty minutes holding short runway 15 while my cockpit temperature rose to around 120 F! Remember, this is South Alabama in August!

Finally, I was cleared for takeoff after a brief backtaxi. And do ya know what?...once my wheels left the runway, all that nervousness just stayed 0n the ground! I performed three good Stop and Go's on my first solo!

Afterwards, Tim ceremoniously cut the back of my shirt off, doctered it up, then pinned it up in the flight briefing room.

8/6 - Cessna 172 - N4992R - 1.1 Hours

In anticipation of my first Solo Flight, my mind was focused on everything I've learned all at the same time. This affected my flying greatly. As Tim put it, "You've always landed fine, but I mention solo and you're all over the place!" A very disappointing day for me. I had a 1 1/2 hour drive back to Columbus to think about my setback.

8/5 - Cessna 172 - N5134F - 1.5 Hours

This round we hit Slow Flight, Stalls, Takeoffs, and Landings between Wetumpka and Maxwell. After today's lesson, Tim informed me that I would be Soloing the next lesson, which happened to be the next day!

8/4 - Cessna 172 - N5134F - 2.0 Hours

Instead of just practicing Slow Flight, we started to turn during Slow Flight. This is an outstanding exercise in control during near stall conditions. This lesson was flown between Selma and Maxwell and included Stall practice as well.

8/2 - Honda Civic DX - KY - 0.5 Hours

Just kidding! I went to the doctor for a flight physical and obtained my official Student Pilot Certificate.

8/1 - Cessna 172 - N4992R - 2.2 Hours

During this lesson we flew between Prattville (1A9) and Maxwell performing Turns Around a Point and S-Turns along with practicing Slow Flight, Stalls, and Landings. This lesson was my longest to date. In the 2.2 hours of this flight, I managed to disintegrate a piece of Cinniburst into thousands of rubbery particles. I've, since then, switched to a different brand of gum for flying!

7/31 - Cessna 172 - N5134F - 1.0 Hours

This lesson primarily focused on Landings in a Closed Traffic Pattern.

7/28 - Cessna 172 - N4992R - 1.5 Hours

Mostly practiced Slow Flight, Stalls, Steep Turns.

7/26 - Cessna 172 - N4992R - 1.9 Hours

We went over Lost Procedures, Takeoffs, and Landings at Wetumpka (08A) and Maxwell. Weather played a factor during this flight. Once airborne, conditions turned IFR (instrument flight rules) quickly. We were forced to land at Wetumpka and wait for VFR (visual flight rules) conditions before continuing lesson. This served as a practical lesson in what to do when faced with IFR conditions.

7/21 - Cessna 172 - N5134F - 2.0 Hours

This lesson we flew between Maxwell (MXF) and Selma (SEM). We practiced Takeoffs, Landings, Slow Flight, Stalls, and Steep Turns.

7/18 - Cessna 172 - N4977R - 1.3 Hours

Well, after years of talk and procrastination, I finally did it! I joined the Maxwell/Gunter Aero Club at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, AL and started learning how to fly! After being introduced to my flight instructor, Tim Pyle, and a brief overview of the club, I started my first lesson. This lesson included Slow Flight, Stalls, Turns, and Descents.