Recuperating
I am still at my sister’s home recuperating. I have a virtual appointment with the infectious disease doctors tomorrow; they will decide when I can stop antibiotics. Except they want a CT of my mediastinem (the central compartment of the chest, where my abscess was located) and the CT requires insurance preapproval and the bottom line is I haven’t gotten the CT and almost certainly won’t by Monday morning. The sour remark by the world-class physician about how he never thought his course of treatment would be partially dictated by an insurance clerk is more than an urban legend.
Next Monday is my next followup with the surgical team. It’s the earliest they might decide I can be sent home. I’m not terribly optimistic; I’ll need not only the infectious disease team on board, so my PIC can be removed, but also the speech therapist confident I’m able to swallow soft foods. The latter seems less critical; Dr. Green back home is certainly up to managing a feeding tube. On the other hand, the liquid feed may be hard to come by in the wilds of northern New Mexico, and a speech therapist may be hard to come by as well.
I caught cold last week, which only compounded the challenges. It seems to have loosened its grip on me this morning, but Heaven forbid me being exposed to COVID or the flu. Sending me home only compounds the risks. I think Cindy and I are half-convinced I’ll actually be safer being driven to Los Alamos than flying commercial.
Meanwhile, I do seem to be making some progress on recovering. I think my swallowing is becoming more normal, and I tested my endurance last nigh; yes, I can remain standing for eight minutes. I’m getting up and moving more, and it’s getting easier. I can almost imagine walking around the block now. But I’m still tethered to an IV pole, so not yet.
I relieve the tedium by Web surfing, watching TV, and working crossword puzzles.
So distressed to hear all this. But so glad you are making good progress. Thanks for keeping your followers informed. I refer to your book quite often.
Your good attitude about this healing process is very encouraging. Good job hanging in there.
Rest in peace Kent G. Budge (1962 – November 10 2022) https://www.echovita.com/us/obituaries/ut/murray/kent-budge-15515847 Heartbeaking that you weren’t able to recover from your injuries. As someone who only knew you through your Wikipedia editing you contributions there were immensely valued. Thanks for everything. Hemiauchenia
Kent,
God bless your special soul. Men like you are rare; intelligent, giving, and a lover of both the Lord and your fellow beings. I know you will speedily adjust to your new home in the world of spirits. It will be those who love you and remain behind for a little while, that will adjust more slowly to your having moved on. Do check in on your beloved sweetheart from time to time; she will need you to watch over her for a while.
Gary S, so sorry for the loss of your good friend. I so enjoyed Kent’s vivid descriptions of your great adventures. But truly a testament of a life well lived. Let this be a lesson to us all. Don’t wait.
Kathleen- below are my thoughts at Kent’s death:
Kent Budge- A great friend, a bright intellect
I am deeply saddened by Kent Grimmett Budge’s early departure from mortality. We are very good friends. We shared numerous field trips—weekends to weeks long—to study southwest geology, to search for interesting rocks and fossils. We also share a love for God and people, especially family.
This was certainly not the outcome we expected, though we joked about the possibility the last time I sat with him. We kidded about heading over to the other side and what to expect. We both expected him to survive his injuries and treatments and to have many productive years yet.
Over the course of our adventures together, we have extensively discussed life and death, the promise of a resurrection, the implications of global human resurrection, as well as the lives and deaths of the multitude of other terrestrial beings whose fossilized remains we have come across in our travels. The family of all terrestrial life as a fully-connected tree made up of a many-branched stem is amazing to us.
We would hold a fossilized brachiopod in our hand and say, “Well, little buddy. What did you come here to learn? And when did I learn that thing myself?” Kent and I debated the meaning and purpose of life, its complexity, and the role of life in terraforming this planet. We examined the origin and nature of intelligence, the nature of that spark of life, invisible to science, but present in every living cell. We thought about whether non-human beings, who had lived and died, had any pre-mortal existence, or existence post-death. We debated how even the most minute living beings, like the mosquito larvae, have instilled in them prior to birth the processes and understanding that enable their success in diverse hostile environments, and many such things. We asked, “If DNA carry blueprints of the structures of life, then where does the software controlling life processes, situation recognition, awareness, and decision making come from?” Because of a shared understanding of computational science, we had critical doubts of the popular extrapolations of computer-based “artificial” intelligence.
I am confident that Kent is having another adventure now, and that the challenges of his future are different from the challenges of his past. I do not know how much of intelligence and inquisitiveness are incorporated in the material in our cranium, and how much is enabled in some other manner. What is our spirit and how does it work with our bodies? What resides in our spirit after death? What did our spirit bring to our bodies at inception?
Kent was and is still (becauseI expect such intrinsic attributes to continue after death) very insightful, inquisitive, and disciplined. He has a great sense of humor, and in spite of that, produced some pretty bad puns. However, he is a pun piker compared to my son Alden, also a close friend and hiking companion.
Kent was a disciplined person, at a heroic level. Some years ago, when he learned that he was diabetic (Type II), he immediately incorporated the advice of his doctor in limiting the sugars in his diet and significantly increasing his exercise to long daily walks and long weekend hikes. His subsequent persistence in wearing baggy clothes was a badge of pride for him, though I could not get him to confess to it.
Hiking for health drove his interest in geology. As he made regular hikes, his inquisitive nature required him to understand what he was seeing in the naked terrain of New Mexico. His academic discipline and technical insight resulted in the deep understanding he gained in geology and paleontology.
Kent was a conservative patriot. He read extensively and was willing and able to debate politics. He did not favor extremism and was critical of politicians who manipulated the weak and needy. He served on the Los Alamos County Planning and Zoning Commission and on the White Rock Redevelopment committee. He had considered running for County Council this election cycle, but his accident prevented it.
Kent has a powerful understanding of the scriptures and the doctrines of the restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He loved the Bible and the Book of Mormon and additional modern scripture. We debated and discussed many aspects of science history and church history, theology and science, and the interface between them. This included such challenging topics as the nature and process of revelation, the experiences of the Biblical prophets, of Jesus Christ the Savior, and of the prophet Joseph Smith, the process of the translation of the Book of Mormon, the unfolding of the priesthood, the nature and purpose of the LDS temple ordinances, etc.
His understanding of astrophysics, geology, paleontology, and chemistry all outstrip my own, and he would patiently explain aspects that were relevant to whatever we were looking at in the field. Chemistry was particularly useful in teaching me mineralogy.
Kent was insightful, articulate, diligent, meticulous, and hardworking. When we returned from a trip or outing, he sat down and composed a trip report and posted it to his blog (http://wanderlust.kgbudge.com/) within a day or so. He was proud of his book about the Jemez Mountains (http://jemez.kgbudge.com/), and said he had a deal in play to publish it. He was working to significantly reduce the number of images in the online version to be suitable for a paper publication. I hope his book is published, and that his website, etc. are kept alive.
Kent loved his family and often talked to me about his concerns and cares for them. We will have to move forward without him. Such is the nature of death, and of survivors. This will certainly provide them with additional opportunities for growth. I will continue to thrive on the experiences I have had with Kent, the knowledge I have gained, the doors he has opened to me in geology and paleontology. And I look forward to the time we will share in the future, exploring other vistas.
This is Kent’s wife, Cindy. I was finally able to figure out how to access Kent’s Wanderlusting the Jemez blog in order to post a comment from earlier this month from Gary. Kent requested that this blog remain active even though he passed away on November 10, 2022. I apologize for the delay, but things have been a bit overwhelming and crazy since then. Thank you for your understanding.
I am so sorry for your loss, Mrs Budge and for all who knew Kent. I just posted a request to use a link to Kent’s wonderful blog post about hunting staurolites near Pilar, NM. Had I read further to learn of his passing, I would not have made the request. I will refrain from using the link unless I hear from you. Best wishes to all.
I’m glad you are leaving the blog- it is a treasure trove of delightfully presented, fascinating and useful information.
Thank you.
You are welcome, Barbara. We miss Kent but hope you all can still enjoy his blog.