Sunday, May 24, 2009
In The Merry Month Of May.......
And the green grass grows all around, all around........... Finally! We've had a very busy month!! Thanks to Bret, things have really shaped up around our house. The garden is planted, the perrenials are all up and thriving and I was even able to get all the flower pots planted this weekend. It feels so good to be out enjoying the sunshine.
I've added some new slideshows to my site today......Spring Fever has hit in full force. There are so many things happening!!! My camera has been quite busy! Beginning with our Mother's Day dinner at the Steakhouse. As always, everyone had their best smiles on. Then, Erika, Baili and Crissy had their annual piano recital. They all did so well!! It's really fun to see their progress every year.....Erika finished up her track season this last week. It was fun to watch her compete again. She did the 100 hurdles and a couple of the relays. She did great was happy with how she did, bettering her times in all events. Of course, the social part of the sport appeared to be quite important, too... there always seemed to be a cute (male) Darby Tiger athlete not too far from her most of the time. Yikes!! Are we ready for this.?.?.?.?
We were thrilled to have Anthony, Caydence and Eamon spend some time with us last weekend. They had such a great time together. After a trip to town to buy sunglasses and sunscreen, we took them fishing to Tony's pond. They were all lucky to catch fish, and even though none of them were brave enough to "kiss their catch", they had lots of fun and laughs. As the fishing began to get "boring", we paddled and rowed to the other end of the pond to view the turtles sunning themselves on the logs. They were very entertaining, and surprisingly, weren't bothered by us invading their territory. Bret and I felt fortunate to get the kids back in the car without any extra passengers.... We stopped in town to grab a picnic lunch and headed to Canyon Creek Hide-Away for the kids to eat and play awhile. Once again lots of Kodak moments there. They played and played, loving having Auntie JoJo along. They have so much energy!! We must have tired them out, as the ride back home was pretty quiet......a nice end to a busy day!
My healing is slowly moving along. Therapy still three times a week. I had a visit to Dr. Behm the first of last week. Being that I'm having some pain again, he's put me back on crutches. Ugh! Apparently, my "syndesmosis" or the ligament that holds the tibia and fibula together was completely torn and is very slow healing. Once again, he stressed that I shouldn't have any pain with my recovery. Consequently, I have to take my time getting down to one crutch (without pain) and eventually off of them, again. Because of this, I won't see him until June 15, at which time he'll decide if I'm ready for surgery to remove the screw which is now holding those bones together. It's tenatively scheduled for June 26th. OK, so my twelve weeks was up last Thursday.......the light at the end of the tunnel is dimming. Or, as Dr. Behm said, "Hopefully, it's not a train!". Not funny!! I'm beginning to see why my PT has said this won't be the best six months of my life and I'm better understanding their meaning of the traumatic break I had. It's been a loooooonnnnnngggg haul......is there an end in sight??? I'd like to think I'll be out of the boot by August 1st, if not sooner. That would be five months plus...Oh, well, I'll continue with my positive thinking.
Well, better get something ready for the BBQ. It's sure great to be able to cook outside again. Until next time.........enjoy the gorgeous weather!!
I've added some new slideshows to my site today......Spring Fever has hit in full force. There are so many things happening!!! My camera has been quite busy! Beginning with our Mother's Day dinner at the Steakhouse. As always, everyone had their best smiles on. Then, Erika, Baili and Crissy had their annual piano recital. They all did so well!! It's really fun to see their progress every year.....Erika finished up her track season this last week. It was fun to watch her compete again. She did the 100 hurdles and a couple of the relays. She did great was happy with how she did, bettering her times in all events. Of course, the social part of the sport appeared to be quite important, too... there always seemed to be a cute (male) Darby Tiger athlete not too far from her most of the time. Yikes!! Are we ready for this.?.?.?.?
We were thrilled to have Anthony, Caydence and Eamon spend some time with us last weekend. They had such a great time together. After a trip to town to buy sunglasses and sunscreen, we took them fishing to Tony's pond. They were all lucky to catch fish, and even though none of them were brave enough to "kiss their catch", they had lots of fun and laughs. As the fishing began to get "boring", we paddled and rowed to the other end of the pond to view the turtles sunning themselves on the logs. They were very entertaining, and surprisingly, weren't bothered by us invading their territory. Bret and I felt fortunate to get the kids back in the car without any extra passengers.... We stopped in town to grab a picnic lunch and headed to Canyon Creek Hide-Away for the kids to eat and play awhile. Once again lots of Kodak moments there. They played and played, loving having Auntie JoJo along. They have so much energy!! We must have tired them out, as the ride back home was pretty quiet......a nice end to a busy day!
My healing is slowly moving along. Therapy still three times a week. I had a visit to Dr. Behm the first of last week. Being that I'm having some pain again, he's put me back on crutches. Ugh! Apparently, my "syndesmosis" or the ligament that holds the tibia and fibula together was completely torn and is very slow healing. Once again, he stressed that I shouldn't have any pain with my recovery. Consequently, I have to take my time getting down to one crutch (without pain) and eventually off of them, again. Because of this, I won't see him until June 15, at which time he'll decide if I'm ready for surgery to remove the screw which is now holding those bones together. It's tenatively scheduled for June 26th. OK, so my twelve weeks was up last Thursday.......the light at the end of the tunnel is dimming. Or, as Dr. Behm said, "Hopefully, it's not a train!". Not funny!! I'm beginning to see why my PT has said this won't be the best six months of my life and I'm better understanding their meaning of the traumatic break I had. It's been a loooooonnnnnngggg haul......is there an end in sight??? I'd like to think I'll be out of the boot by August 1st, if not sooner. That would be five months plus...Oh, well, I'll continue with my positive thinking.
Well, better get something ready for the BBQ. It's sure great to be able to cook outside again. Until next time.........enjoy the gorgeous weather!!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Eleven Weeks and Counting....
Time for another update.....and wow, what an eventful week...I feel like I'm back in the land of the living. My first accomplishment was getting behind the wheel and "On The Road Again". I'm sure Dr. Behm's reasoning for my not driving for ten weeks was to keep me from doing so much running around and to keep me off my feet. Well, I guess I'm making up for lost time.....seems like I'm on the go every other minute.
I've been doing therapy three days a week, and really feeling it. My therapist is a sweet, young Butte Irish girl, Tera Mahoney. She's a bundle of energy and encouragment and has me going strong. Apparently, the idea is to not have any pain with rehab, but until now, I've believed in the "No pain, no gain" theory. Well, I need to change that way of thinking, as I'm apparently working things too much and having a lot of pain. My achilles tendon is screaming!!! I'm guessing that ten weeks of non-movement isn't going to be turned into movement too quickly. I do two days of aquatherapy and one day of land therapy. The aquatherapy is wonderful. It's the only time I can put any weight on my leg without my "boot". I'm able to walk on the underwater treadmill, do leglifts, squats, and other stretches in the water. It's awesome. The land therapy consists of stationary bike peddling, range of motion exercises and more stretching. She also does some deep massage and ultrasound treatments and oh, they hurt so good. Once again, my patience is being tested, as I want to do it all right now. I'm back to icing and elevating.......working to keep in the comfort zone. Hopefully, I'll find the right balance of exercise soon. Now I know why Dr. Behm asked if I still had pain pills.......I thought (or hoped) I was beyond needing them. As for getting around, I'm down to one crutch, but can't be without my boot. Walking with the boot is fairly easy, though. Even though you walk on that leg, the boot offloads the pressure on the ankle, so it absorbs the weight. At this point I'm dreading being without the boot.....like I've said before, we've become best buddies and don't go anywhere without each other. My security.
Another highlight of my week was being able to go back to work. At first, I will be spreading appointments out each day until I can work up to a full schedule. I've found that I need to sit with my leg up in between customers, as swelling is still a problem. I also have a stool on hand which works great to sit on while wrapping perms or blow drying. I have such an awesome clientle.....thank you to them for being so understanding and patient with me.
What a great weekend I had. I had a double bonus with it being Mother's Day and my Birthday. Saturday, Bret's mom treated Erika and I to a tea at the Marcus Daly Mansion. What fun it was. The mansion volunteers set beautiful tables with a light lunch and beautiful desserts along with tea and lemonade. Following, we were able to go on a self-guided tour. Even though we'd been through it before, they're always changing things. It's such a beautiful landmark. Thank heavens for the elevator. Saturday evening, Dad treated the Mom's and families to dinner at the Steakhouse. Good times!! Sunday...church and breakfast and a relaxing day at home.
I've been doing therapy three days a week, and really feeling it. My therapist is a sweet, young Butte Irish girl, Tera Mahoney. She's a bundle of energy and encouragment and has me going strong. Apparently, the idea is to not have any pain with rehab, but until now, I've believed in the "No pain, no gain" theory. Well, I need to change that way of thinking, as I'm apparently working things too much and having a lot of pain. My achilles tendon is screaming!!! I'm guessing that ten weeks of non-movement isn't going to be turned into movement too quickly. I do two days of aquatherapy and one day of land therapy. The aquatherapy is wonderful. It's the only time I can put any weight on my leg without my "boot". I'm able to walk on the underwater treadmill, do leglifts, squats, and other stretches in the water. It's awesome. The land therapy consists of stationary bike peddling, range of motion exercises and more stretching. She also does some deep massage and ultrasound treatments and oh, they hurt so good. Once again, my patience is being tested, as I want to do it all right now. I'm back to icing and elevating.......working to keep in the comfort zone. Hopefully, I'll find the right balance of exercise soon. Now I know why Dr. Behm asked if I still had pain pills.......I thought (or hoped) I was beyond needing them. As for getting around, I'm down to one crutch, but can't be without my boot. Walking with the boot is fairly easy, though. Even though you walk on that leg, the boot offloads the pressure on the ankle, so it absorbs the weight. At this point I'm dreading being without the boot.....like I've said before, we've become best buddies and don't go anywhere without each other. My security.
Another highlight of my week was being able to go back to work. At first, I will be spreading appointments out each day until I can work up to a full schedule. I've found that I need to sit with my leg up in between customers, as swelling is still a problem. I also have a stool on hand which works great to sit on while wrapping perms or blow drying. I have such an awesome clientle.....thank you to them for being so understanding and patient with me.
What a great weekend I had. I had a double bonus with it being Mother's Day and my Birthday. Saturday, Bret's mom treated Erika and I to a tea at the Marcus Daly Mansion. What fun it was. The mansion volunteers set beautiful tables with a light lunch and beautiful desserts along with tea and lemonade. Following, we were able to go on a self-guided tour. Even though we'd been through it before, they're always changing things. It's such a beautiful landmark. Thank heavens for the elevator. Saturday evening, Dad treated the Mom's and families to dinner at the Steakhouse. Good times!! Sunday...church and breakfast and a relaxing day at home.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
~*~*~*Whoo-Hoo*~*~*~
Finally....a little freedom.....to drive, to work and the hard part....to learn to walk again.....Wow!! It's been nine weeks since my fall, and alas, I feel like there really is a light at the end of the tunnel. I had a check-up with Dr. Behm on Thursday and hit the trifecta. I was so excited to hear I'd be able to get some normalcy to my life again. He was very happy with how things were looking, feeling and moving and wants me to begin adding a little weight (with crutches, of course). If only it was as easy as it sounded. My mind is saying "Go For It", but crazy as it sounds, it's REALLY scary (not to mention, painful). Hopefully, little by little I'll trust my mind. It'll also help when I begin therapy on Monday. He has recommended aquatherapy, which will allow me to put full weight on it while in the water. Fortunately, we have a new PT place in Corvallis with a therapy pool. It's pretty neat as it has a "built in" underwater treadmill. My first thought was how I'd get into the pool, but they've assured me they'd use the hydraulic chair till I could use the stairs. Whew, the relief.Along with all this good news, we had to have a little chat about what the future holds. Back when I had the surgery, he'd said that ten of the eleven pins/screws and the plate would be permanent, but there would be a decision to be made on number eleven. Well, I guess the time's coming for that decision. Number eleven is the long screw that was put in to hold the tibia and fibula together for healing. It can be left in, but it will eventually break. Ugh! Sometimes, when this happens, there are no problems, but there's always a chance of some discomfort and pain. Once it breaks, there's no way to get the "inside" (fibula) piece of the screw out without extensive surgery. The surgery to remove it before it breaks is quite simple.....outpatient....they put you under, just a small incision, unscrew it, steri-strips, and you're on your way. The ugly part of it is, he won't remove it until the fourteenth week and then you're in the boot for an additional two weeks. Yowsie!!! Sixteen weeks total....that's a long time. Well, at this time I'm leaning toward having it removed. With being on my feet so much at work, it seems logical that I wouldn't want to risk the chance of problems down the road. Maybe better to give a little extra time now than a lifetime of pain and worry. And as for the boot, we've kinda bonded....I don't go ANYWHERE without it (well,except the shower).
On a happy note and something to look forward to, I've made reservations for Bret, Erika and I to take a trip to Vegas the first week of June. We'll be meeting up with Bret's family for the wedding of his sister Shelley's daughter, Whitney, and her great guy, Keith. Erika will be in the wedding....should be fun!! Unfortunately, Taylor will miss out. He's unable to miss any classes for his Classroom Without Walls project and it's also his State Cup for soccer. Never a dull moment around here. Sorry we'll also be missing Debbie and Tim's daughter Erin's high school graduation in Spokane that weekend. Congrats and Best Wishes to her!!
Spring weather seems to finally be here to stay this time. Bret's mowing today and thanks to him my flower beds are looking beautiful with the perennials coming on. He is so good to me. I'm so thankful and appreciative for all he's done for me. My biggest blessing!! Looks like after all I may be able to help him plant the vegetable garden in a few weeks. I've got so much to look forward to...........
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