FES Experimental Forearm Implant

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=65 BGCOLOR="#666699" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="04e00840erlcjm.png"> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>FES Experimental Forearm Implant</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mark Felling.com Dont let life pass you"><B>home</B></A></div> <div> back to<B>  </B><A HREF="mystory.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="My Fall From The Sky "><B>My Fall From The Sky </B></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=150 BGCOLOR="#CCCCFF" TEXT="#080000" background="04811c00egdysm.png"> <bR> <div> <A HREF="rehab.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Rehabilitation">Rehabilitation</A></div> <div> <A HREF="mystorynews.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="News Articles">News Articles</A></div> <div> <A HREF="caringbridge.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Caring Bridge Archive">Caring Bridge Archive</A></div> <div> <A HREF="van.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="My Van">My Van</A></div> <div> <B>FES Experimental Forearm Implant</B></div> <div> <A HREF="orthosis.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Powered WristHand Orthosis">Powered Wrist-Hand Orthosis</A></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="fesimplant1c1.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Preliminary Testing">Preliminary Testing</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id450.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="FreeHand System">FreeHand System</A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=415 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="5" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="816" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 82 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="http://www.broadenedhorizons.com" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.broadenedhorizons.com"><B><IMG SRC="961dd4b0.png" border=0 width="221" height="75" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="94"><div> <A HREF="http://www.BroadenedHorizons.com" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.BroadenedHorizons.com"><B>"Innovative Solutions for the Mobility Impaired"</B></A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="467"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="82" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="467" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.myfoxcleveland.com/myfox/pages/InsideFox/Detail?contentId=6332571&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=5.7.1 " TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.myfoxcleveland.com/myfox/page">04-12-08: Fox 8 Ohio news coverage regarding the research neuroprosthetic implant in my left hand.</A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://fescenter.case.edu/Start_Here/Patients/sci_programs_hand.htm" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://fescenter.case.edu/Start_Here/Pat">SCI Program: Hand Grasp and Release for C5-C6 Tetraplegia</A></div> <div> <A HREF="fesimplant1c1.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Preliminary Testing">Preliminary Testing Videos and Photos</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id450.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="FreeHand System">Background information on the older (1997) 8 Channel FreeHand System</A></div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="91618c10.png" border=0 width="280" height="193" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="3" VSPACE="0">Oct 10-14, 05:</B>  I was originally supposed to head back to Cleveland last week on the 3rd for a two-week stay, but thankfully we changed it. I flew to Cleveland Monday afternoon and thankfully the aircraft transfers went smoother than normal though always a huge inconvenience. On Tuesday morning we began programming of the external control computer unit for my <A HREF="fesimplant.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="FES Experimental Forearm Implant">Nueroprosthetic implant </A>for functional use of my hand. Unfortunately, it seems one or two electrodes, especially the one for flexion of my index finger seems to not be optimally positioned and is bleeding over stimulating a muscle that controls my thumb and makingthe grasp patterns slightly less than optimal.  We were able to work around this for the most part and spent most of the day Wednesday working on programming the myo-electric control using the signal captured from the implanted sensor on my<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT><A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachioradialis_muscle" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachioradi">brachioradialis</A> muscle.  By the end of the day Thursday, we were able to program the following grasp patterns:</div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="1" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="699" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 14 WIDTH="91"><div> <B>Grasp</B></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="285"><div> <B>Example Uses</B></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="303"><div> <B>Description</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 28 WIDTH="91"><div> Fine Pinch</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="285"><div> Picking up smaller objects such as papers, game pieces, eating utensils, pen, etc.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="303"><div> Index or forefinger and second fingerflexed to create pinch between fingertips</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 28 WIDTH="91"><div> Palmer</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Drinking cup, can of soda, larger handle the objects, etc.</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="303"><div> All fingers curled in around object followed by thumbhorizontally to meet fingertips</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 28 ><NOBR><div> Lateral (key pinch)</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="285"><div> Holding a pen, pencil, fork, spoon, or sometimes for papers, inserting something in a slot such as credit card, etc.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="303"><div> All fingers start curled in tightly, then thumb brought down up against side of index finger</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 28 WIDTH="91"><div> "Mug"</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="285"><div> Grabbing the handle of something such as a mug, drawer, refrigerator, phone receiver, etc.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="303"><div> All fingers extended straight but bent at main knuckle with hand to slide through handle, then flexed with thumb to secure</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 28 ><NOBR><div> Alternative Lateral</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="285"><div> Holding a pen, pencil, fork, spoon, or sometimes for papers, inserting something in a slot such as credit card, etc.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="303"><div> All fingers start extended then curled in tightly, finally thumb brought down up against side of index finger</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 28 WIDTH="91"><div> Exercise</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Exercising muscles to build up strength & endurance</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="303"><div> Opens and closes hand and flexes triceps and pectoral muscles repeatedly during night or when selected during day</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="90ffa9d0.png" border=0 width="250" height="157" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="3" VSPACE="0"></B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B><IMG SRC="90ec6950.png" border=0 width="198" height="149" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="3" VSPACE="0"></B></FONT><I><B>How the Control Works:</B></I> When I flex the muscle to pull back my wrist using the tendon transfer the signal is used to instruct the controller to stimulate my hand to close.  Similarly, if I relax the muscle, the controller stimulates my hand to open.  If I hold it flexed for approximately 3 seconds it "locks" or rather maintains my hand in a closed position,even if I relax the <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachioradialis_muscle" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachioradi">brachioradialis</A> muscle, otherwise it would be very easy to drop things as I move my arm around.  I can then flick my wrist or flex my the brachioradialis in a timed "double-click/flex" like command to get a particular grasp to "un-lock".  I similarly use the same "double-click" command to switch between grasp patterns, of which I currently have four, or to "wake up" my hand if the system goes to sleep.  This "go to sleep" feature was one I am proud to have thought of and suggested as a way to provide more natural, cognitive control.  Basically, Ron programmed the system to stop stimulating the hand in the open position and "go to sleep" if my muscles stays relaxed for approximately 10 seconds, signifying I have pretty much stopped using the arm/hand for the moment.  The same "double click"command then "wakes" the hand back up.  Next time we are going to explorethe possibility of using a sort of Morris code type command to switch between hand grasps allowing one to jump to a specific grasp immediately, rather than cycling through them.  We will also explore incorporating the sensor on my anterior deltoid to stimulate the triceps and pectoral muscles when I reach to enhance/strengthen my reach and stabilize my arm.  It may also be possible to also utilize this sensor on the anterior deltoid to further enhance control inputs.</div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="91451790.jpg" border=0 width="81" height="121" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="2" VSPACE="0"></B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B><IMG SRC="9136b010.png" border=0 width="107" height="257" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="3" VSPACE="0"></B></FONT>On Friday, the 14th I met <A HREF="http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/8.09/kamen_pr.html" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/8.09/">Dean Kamen</A>, "<A HREF="http://www.usfirst.org/about/bio_dean.htm" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="http://www.usfirst.org/about/bio_dean.ht">The Pied Piper of Technology</A>" before he gave a <A HREF="http://www.case.edu/events/kamen/" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="http://www.case.edu/events/kamen/">presentation at Case Western Reserve University</A>.  Myself and three others who had received either hand or standing/walking implanted neuroprostheses demonstrated the results and discussed many other aspects of our experiences.  <IMG SRC="92380dc0.png" border=0 width="640" height="476" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Apparently his company, Deka Research is considering getting involved in the development of Nuero controls for various prosthetic and orthotic applications, among others I can imagine.  He is the inventor of the <A HREF="http://www.segway.com/" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="http://www.segway.com/">Segway™ HT</A> 2 wheeled scooter everyone has seen, <A HREF="http://www.independencenow.com/ibot/" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="http://www.independencenow.com/ibot/">INDEPENDENCE iBOT</A>™ wheelchair that climbs stairs (which I had an opportunity to test drive the new 4000 model in September - review coming soon with pictures and video), and the Baxter HomeChoice™ peritoneal dialysis machine.  He also pilots his own helicopters to work each day and a CitationJet for longer trips!  He was a great guy to meet, a very straight shooter and all about results. He also talked about the organization he started, <A HREF="http://www.usfirst.org/" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="http://www.usfirst.org/">FIRST</A>, which has grown nationwide in the past 12 years promoting interest in science and engineering with high school students through very impressive robotics competitions.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Oct 1, 05: </B>Took video (<A HREF="components/hand_exercise.mov" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="components/hand_exercise.mov">Watch!</A>) to show stimulated hand opening and closing in action and progression with exercise so far.  click here to Watch the video!</div> <bR> <div> <B>Aug 30-Sep 1, 05: </B>Approximately 3 weeks after receiving the implant, I returned to Cleveland to have the cast taken off my arm and the implant programmed and set up for exercise.  I will spend next month allowing the implant to exercise the paralyzed muscles that control my hand almost 24 hours a day, as well as my triceps and pectoral muscles, to build them back up after not being used from being paralyzed the past two years. Thankfully Ron thought to program the controler so I could turn off the triceps and pectoral muscles if I wanted.  At first this didn't matter, but at the muscles became stronger after 3.5 weeks towards the first week of October I was forced to turn them off at night or it sometimes made it hard to fall asleep.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Tues, Aug 23: </B>After about 1.5 weeks, I went in to see Dr. and Van Heest who did my <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachioradialis_muscle" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachioradi">brachioradialis</A> to ECRB & bicep to triceps tendon transfers in April.  They removed the original cast for my arm, examined the incisions which were already all healed closed, removed the knots from the end of the stitches, and gave me a new cast.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Daily Log </B><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>(August 1-12th, 2005)</B></FONT><B>:</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Mon, Aug 1</B>: Flew to Cleveland by myself for the first time. One of my PCA's drove me to the airport and accompanied me to the gate to help get me situated on the airplane (DC-9 cargo door opening = <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Comic Sans MS" >53" high x 31.3" wide)</FONT>.  (If you are disabled you can do this by requesting a gate pass for your assistant so they can get through security.)  Unfortunately, the people from Globe Services who were supposed to help transfer me onto the plane were completely useless and are in desperate need of training.usually Northwest's luggage guys are very nice and helpful, such as on my recent flight to Denver and are often the ones to assist in transfers, but the one that put my wheelchair under the plane this time asked how to put it in gear so he could sit in it and drive it down to the tarmac. I had put it in manual push mode as one is supposed to and explain to him he is supposed to push it, that it was in manual mode.  Obviously he or the folks who got it off the plane in Cleveland didn't listen, because when I got my chair it had obviously been played with like a new toy. The lights were flashing, the backrest was reclined, a large chunk of the left armrest and a switch was tore off from driving it through a doorway, and a number of adjustments were all out of whack. Of course I filed a complaint and by law they are obligated to reimburse me for damages.  Though I'm sure nothing will change, I will also filed a complaint against Northwest with the federal oversight group responsible for enforcing the the law as it regards to the aviation industry and consumers with disabilities.  I must mention, Jim, one of the fellows working the gatesfor Northwest here in Cleveland has been an excellent help both times I have flown here, helping get my wheelchair put back together after damages had been done - thanks Jim!</div> <bR> <div> <B>Tues, Aug 2</B>: Rather uneventful day. The nursing staff here at GCRC (a small research support wing of MetroHealth) all remembered me from my last preliminary visit in November and are as friendly, attentive, and helpful as ever.  I have my own room, and with their help managed to setup my laptop on a small plastic table. it took a bit longer than planned to get me up but I made it down to began discussions/planning/testing for the surgery with Anne Bryden, an excellent and friendly Research Occupational Therapist. One or the things I like best about working with the folks in the FES Center here is they are not egocentric and truly listen and involve you in the planning and preparation for your surgery. If anything, we get off track discussing theories and ideas too often and felt a bit behind schedule.<I> I am proud to be involved in moving these innovative technologies forward to hopefully benefit many more, and specifically quadriplegics like myself, in the future.</I></div> <bR> <div> <B>Wed, Aug 3: </B>Today we did more testing, specifically manual strength and range of motion tests, and some external FES muscle excitability tests. I also met Dr. Michael Keith, the doctor who will be primarily doing my surgery.  He and I had a lengthy discussion planning for my surgeryand got a bit off-topic discussing the current status and potential opportunities of various stem cell therapies under development around the world.  He is an extremely knowledgeable man in his field and it was interesting hearing his opinions on the subject.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Thur, Aug 4</B>: Performed a number of standardized activities of daily living (ADL) tests such as those from the COPM.  Worked with one of the biomedical engineer's and a graduate student using EMG sensors connected to a computer to analyze and graph the strength and how well I could activate and control various muscle groups such as the brachioradialis (just below the elbow - tendon transferred to my ECRB wrist extensor), the ECL wrist extensor which it was obvious that I can activate but was never strong enough to actually move my wrist, the anterior deltoid on the front of the shoulder, the trapezious on the top of shoulder/back of neck as a logic control.  Since in addition to the 12 stimulating channels there will be 2 sensing channels for control, in the end, we decided to use the brachioradialis to control opening and closing the hand as well as a logic control since I'm able to quickly activate it off and on.  The anterior deltoid looks like it will work quite well to control the pectoral and triceps muscles which will be used as a sort of muscle amplifier for activities such as reaching or even possibly pushing a manual wheelchair.  The challenge of using the anterior deltoid to control the triceps to push a manual wheelchair better was my suggestion and is a new applications/challenge which will push the control envelope in regards to the timing and response being fast enough.  We decided not to use the ECL wrist extensor for control since the signal was noisy and weak and corresponded precisely to the brachioradialis after the transfer anyway. The trapezious would have made a perfect logic input control, since I was able to flex it on and off also very quickly, but since there are only 2 sensing channels available, the brachioradialis was decided to duly served that purpose in addition to controlling the hand.  We'd also probed for a signal from my biceps (which tendon was transferred for elbow extension using a biceps to triceps transfer) but since no signal was detected, I am concerned that I have never actually been activating the transfered biceps for elbow extension, but merely very good at compensating to the point of tricking all the therapists, exceptional into thinking that I was.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Fri, Aug 5</B>: Identified, prioritized, and rated difficulty of various activities of daily living (ADL) which I hope the implant will help me improve on, may be more independent, or do better, faster, and more efficiently.  Things like eating and drinking without any specialty adaptive equipment, picking up and moving smaller things around such as papers to remote controls, putting CDs/DVDs in or removing them from the computer, plugging things into the wall or computer, and a few fun things like playing pool were identified.  By stimulating the pectoral and triceps in response to a input signal read from the anterior deltoid I will also explore if I can use the implant to help me propel a manual wheelchair better and possibly even turning the regular steering wheel for steering on my van.  since I must be an absolutely perfect health before they will go through with the implant surgery, I was given a scare when I was told they had detected a bacteria,"staff epidermis", in my bladder when they cultured a urine sample.  I have heard of "staff" and knew he was a very nasty bug that can be very hard to treat, but at the same time I feel perfectly healthy and haven't had any bladder infections except once six months after my accident in rehab.  After lots of questions I was able to determine that there is more than one type of "staff" and staff epidermis is in fact found on the surface of almost everyone's skin and may have just made its way into the sample when they were taking it and/or would probably be found in cultures of many people with spinal cord injuries due to the realities of catheterization, etc.  Either way, I will be getting an antibiotic dose to zap it from my bladder and they will be double checking Monday to make sure it is gone before I go into surgery Tuesday.</div> <bR> <div> Well I better get to work as I finished one paper for my MBA program's Managerial Leadership course last night but still have two more to write!  Tomorrow afternoon I'm thinking I might try to catch a bus to explore Tower City and the Rock-and-roll Hall of Fame in downtown Clevelandalong the shores of Lake Erie</div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="90b77740.png" border=0 width="119" height="116" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="3" VSPACE="0">Sat & Sun, Aug 6 & 7:</B>  Had to spend a very unpleasant weekend on the 7th flour in the MetroHealth spinal cord injury rehab unit.  The people were very friendly, but the room I was in was in was freezing cold, in desperate need of repair to the thermostats which apparently had not been working for almost a year or more yet nothing had been done to resolve the problem.  In addition, on the door outside I was labeled as "the boarder", and unfortunately treated by some of the aids within that context, purely as extra work.  Since the person assigned to help me repeatedly disappeared for an hour or more at a time, getting up on Saturday morning took over six hours until 1 p.m.!  Consequently, by that time I was quite frustrated and did not feel like venturing downtown by myself.  Sunday morning was a bit better, and I took off by myself, the only appropriate bus to "Tower City" where I took a connection using Cleveland's older rail transit system down to the Rock-and-roll Hall of Fame in downtown Cleveland along the shores of Lake Erie. It took quite some time, but getting there by myself was half the adventure.  The Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame looked like an overpriced tourist trap so I went next door to the Great Lakes Science Museum and took in the exceptional, interesting, yet also slightly disturbing <A HREF="http://www.bodyworlds.com/en/pages/home.asp" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="http://www.bodyworlds.com/en/pages/home.">BodyWorlds 2</A> exhibit (<A HREF="http://www.ontariosciencecentre.ca/calendar/bodyworlds2/about.asp" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="http://www.ontariosciencecentre.ca/calen">about</A>).  It is of complete human cadavers opened up with all of their muscles showing in various poses preserved using a process known as <A HREF="http://www.bodyworlds.com/en/pages/plastination.asp" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="http://www.bodyworlds.com/en/pages/plast">plastination</A>. </div> <bR> <div> <B>Tues, Aug 9</B>: Relatively uneventful day of final testing and pre-surgery discussions...</div> <bR> <div> <B>Tues, Aug 9</B>: Surgery was successful and took about 6 hours, 2 hours less than the planned 8.  Dr. Michael Keith told me my muscles were quite responsive and cooperative makingit easier to locate the correct position for placement of the various electrodes.  Went into surgery around 9 a.m. after some last-minute questioning by Dr. Keith regarding whether or not to place an electrode in my pectoral muscle and a sensor on the anterior deltoid as had been originally planned.  He was concerned he might not have the functional response we are looking for but in the end they decided to make the ultimate determination based on the muscles response in surgery.  Got out of surgery at around 3 p.m., apparently at times they were up to 25 people in the room observing.  Video of the complete surgery was taken and I will be receiving an edited version in the future.  From that I will try to share appropriate clips if they agree or permit it.  I recovered from the anesthesia rather quickly, and by a little after 4 p.m. had regained consciousness from the anesthesia. By about 5 p.m., I was already able to return to my room in the GCRC and actually felt better than after the only two hours of surgery for my tendon transfer in April.  My mom had graciously flown in during the afternoon to be with me after surgeryand was left in the surgery waiting room until 5:30 p.m. until I asked and someone went to find her.  Apparently, no one had told her I had been sent back to my room yet.  Between 7 and 10 p.m. I had a few bites to eat, checked my e-mail using voice-recognition from bed, and talked to a few people on the phone.  Everyone seemed surprised at how "with it" I was so soon after surgery.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Wed-Fri, Aug 10,11, & 12</B>: The next morning, on Wednesday I got up in my wheelchair. Though I did notice I was a bit more sore in my shoulder and chest with some twangs of pain in my forearm, it wasn't bad.  A small consolation for lack of much sensation below my elbows from being paralyzed. The nurses kept offering me pain meds, but for the most part I declined usually just taking 1 Endoset every 6 hours or so.  Wednesday and Thursday I basically checked e-mail and watched a movie or 2, took a nap, and watched lots of That 70's Show, which my mom had just discovered, and a few other sitcoms over dinner, finally going to bed early.  Friday my mom and I packed up, went to the airport and flew home to Minnesota.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>