Recovery: Week 3

Warning!  More potentially disturbing (but totally cool) pictures below!

No, I'm not going to continue to do recovery posts every week for the rest of my recovery, but this week was a big deal and I wanted to share.

I was really looking forward to going to the doctor this week because it was time to get my stitches out!  I felt like the stitches had been the most painful/annoying part of this whole process.  They were itchy, they pulled, they hurt...they were just annoying!  I had been working on stretching/flexing my foot and always felt like it would feel so much better once the stitches were out.  I was also looking forward to moving out of the splint and into a boot.  As many months as I had spent in the boot already, I was ready to go back into it.

 I took the boys to my appointment with me.  They were happy to go since a trip to the doctor in Owasso usually means lunch at Chick-fil-A!  They weren't disappointed.

Luke likes to go to the doctor with me anyway.  They have good toys there!  It's the little things in life!  :)

I wanted a picture of the boys while we were waiting for the doctor.  I couldn't get Luke to just smile!  He had to be silly in every picture.  That's ok!  That's just Luke being Luke!

I also have to say that I couldn't have made it to this doctor's appointment trip without Ben.  He was so helpful!  At lunch, he was the "go-pher".  Ketchup, napkins, refills...he was happy to go get anything that Luke or I needed.  At the doctor's office, he made sure to hold Luke's hand, carry my bag, open doors...just so helpful!

 These puppies are ready to come out!

The nurse told Ben and Luke that taking out my stitches wouldn't really hurt me.  She was trying to make them feel better about being there, which was great.  However...It hurt plenty!  I think it had a lot to do with the fact that having had my foot down for so long, it was pretty swollen.  She really had to work at getting them out.  Then, one word...alcohol.  OUCH!!  I understand the need to clean the wound, but, holy cow, that hurt!  It's hard to be big, brave and strong while your boys watch!  I think getting the stitches out was the most painful part of this whole process this far!

But I am SO thankful they are gone!

AND, I got a brand new boot!  Woo Hoo!  (Remember this one?)

I am now allowed to start to put weight on my heel.  Not all the time and not on my whole foot, but it is a start.

This is what lies under the boot.  Pretty, huh?  Abby loved the hot pink wrapping.  I am happy to say that I can take this off tomorrow and take my first real shower in nearly three weeks!  Ahhh...I know it will be divine!

More amazing meals from more amazing friends continued this week!  We are one blessed family around here!  

Monday  (Jamie)

Pasta with chicken, veggies and rolls

Tuesday   (Sheila)

Buffalo chicken spaghetti with green beans and jalapeno beer bread

Thursday  (Kate)

Roast beef with potatoes, veggies and cornbread

My super, fantastic friend, Heather, brought over the most amazing treat tonight...a cherry diet Coke and a pumpkin cupcake from an amazing little cupcake shop she found while on vacation.  I love her!

(Today was...a rough day!  This, and the girly conversation, was exactly what I needed!!)

I (my whole family!)  has been so spoiled through my whole recovery process!  I just can't even explain what a blessing so many people have been to all of us during the past three weeks!  There aren't enough words to say how blessed I have been or felt!  All I can do is cry and thank the Lord that he has allowed me to have such amazing, real friends.

There have definitely been hard times in the last three weeks, but the good has far outweighed the bad!  My recovery is not complete and I know it is going to be quite some time before I am back on my feet without pain, but I believe I am through the roughest part of it all.  Please continue to pray with me for complete healing of my foot.  I know Jesus has heard each and every prayer and is going to make my feet good as new!

Recovery: Week 2

Week two was a pretty good week.  I am still overwhelmed by  the love, kindness, thoughtfulness and helpfulness that continues to be shown to me and my family!  I have been blown away by how God has shown himself to me and my family again this week.

Recovery is going well.  The pain hasn't been nearly what I thought it would and I have been able to sleep better than I thought I would.  I am most thankful that Jon was able to be home for the entire first two weeks!  I don't know what I would have done if he had had to go into work everyday!  He has continued to very overwhelmed with all of the demands of working from home, school, as well as all of the responsibilities of home life.  Being my "cabana boy" and getting me everything that I need. Getting the kids up for school everyday, making their lunches and making sure they are to school on time.  Getting kids where they need to be for all of their various activities... It's been a bit rough on him.

However, when he went to the grocery store, he knew just what I needed!  (:

He was definitely speaking my love language!

Oops!  I forgot to take a picture of all of the meals...

My amazing friends continued to bring delicious meals this week!  I can't even tell you how appreciative my family and I have been for such kindness!  It has been such a huge blessing to not have to worry about cooking.  (Especially since I can't stand on two feet, let alone walk around the kitchen!)

Monday  (Sheryl)

Grilled pork chops with dressing and roasted vegetables with apple dumpling egg rolls with vanilla ice cream

Tuesday  (The McDaniel's)

Taco Chili with jalapeno beer bread muffins

Thursday  (Kandis and her girls)

Parmesan crusted chicken with corn and green beans

Friday we took a rain-check on dinner and headed to Tulsa.  Jon needed to take his new bike to be assembled, so we ended up eating dinner there.  It was nice to get out out of the house and out of town for a few hours.  I was exhausted by the time we got home!

I was able to talk Jon into stopping in to Sugarica (a local bakery that is only open to the public once a week) for "Walk in Wednesday" for some if the most delicious confections!

This week, my sweet friend, Karen brought lunch over for the two of us.  (Jon picked up a cupcake for her too!)  Like I said last week, visitors are the best medicine!  Since I spend so much time at home and pain medicine doesn't really help, friends are the best distraction from the pain.  I was happy to have Karen here to visit with.  She brought over some fabric to make a blanket and the proceeded to tell me that it was for me.  She thought tying the blanket together would give me something to do while I spend hours sitting in the recliner.  She is so thoughtful!!  Thank you, Karen, for being so kind, thoughtful and generous!  You (and your family) are such a blessing to me and my family!

Look at that flexibility!  Following doctor's orders, I have been doing my stretching exercises one to two times a day.  Some days are better than others.  It actually feels good to move my foot back and forth!

Gorgeous, huh?  I think my flexing exercises will feel even better once the stitches are out.

Notice anything strange here?  Check out the size difference in my right leg verses my left leg.  Having been in a boot from the end of March up until surgery and then being completely off of my left leg, has left me with a mushy, floppy, muscel-less leg.  One of these days things will get back to normal, right?

This little guy can bring a smile to anyone's face!

I don't know what I would do without these two big helpers!  Ben and Abby are who have kept the laundry going.  I have to tell them to do it and they aren't always thrilled to do it, but they do it.  I am so thankful that they are able to help out with everything so much!

I am looking forward to going to the doctor in a few days and getting these blasted stitches out!

Mother/Son Banquet 2012

The Mother/Son Banquet is an event I look forward to every year.  This year, I know Ben was looking forward to it too, because as soon as he found out about it, he signed us up.

 This year we opted to dress a little bit nicer.   (:  I'm glad we did!  Look at my handsome boy!

The night was very nice.  We played games, were served a delicious dinner, listened to our pastor's wife speak, prayed together and just enjoyed each others company.

I'm glad we have the opportunity each year to make sure that we spend a night out on a date.  I wish we did it more often.  As frustrated as Ben can make me, I love him so much and am so proud of him!

iDate #2

Having just recently had surgery, I hadn't given much thought to our monthly date or the date challenge.  Thankfully, Jon had.  I'm not sure if it was the fact that he was at home with me during my recovery or maybe he knew that I would need out of the house.  Or maybe he is just on the ball.  (:  I'm not sure when it was, as all of my days seem to be running together these days, but Jon told me, "Put October 13th on your calendar.  We are going on a date."  Yes!

Jon was really excited about this date, but wouldn't tell me what he had planned.  We like to keep our date plans a secret until we are actually on the date.  (I just hoped that his plans involved lots of sitting.)  However, the day before the date, Jon couldn't hardly keep it to himself any longer!  He had to spill the beans!  He told me that we were going to dinner at Frank & Lola's and then to the Bartlesville Symphony Orchestra concert.  Perfect!!  I was thrilled and completely impressed with his plans!

Like date one, date two started out a little bit rough.  The problem?  It was pouring!  Not just your average, ordinary rain showers, I mean, it was coming down in sheets!  Jon got me dropped off at the door and I managed to get in before I got completely drenched.  By the time Jon got the car parked and got into the restaurant he. was. drenched!  I don't mean that he was just a bit wet.  He was completely soaked.  It looked like he had just stepped out of the shower with his clothes on.  Soaked!  As you can see in the picture in the bottom right corner, we did our best to get some of the excess water out of his shirt.  I don't think it helped...

Dinner was still delicious!  We even splurged and had dessert!  It's hard to pass up bread pudding at Frank & Lola's!

We had a list of questions for this date as well.

Date two questions:

Thinking about the present...

What do you like most about your life right now?  How are you demonstrating a sense of gratitude about this?

(We couldn't help but laugh about this first question as life at our house, post surgery, haven't been terribly fun.  Especially for Jon...)

What do you like most about your job right now?  What would you like to see change?

Are there people (or couples) on your life that you would like to see get to know better?  Who are they?

What are our strengths as a couple?  Is there anything we might be able to contribute to younger couples as mentors?

I am including these questions so that maybe you can use them on one of your dates.  They make for great conversation!

Ok, on to the rest of the date!  Off to the symphony!  Well, thankfully we had time to stop by home for Jon to put on a dry shirt.

Yeah...about that.  We pulled into the Community Center and Jon noticed that it looked a bit dark.  I told him that it was just because the doors were tinted.  I didn't think too much about it.  I went inside while Jon went to park the car.  While waiting for Jon to come inside, I got a text from one of the performers (one of our fabulous band teachers!) telling me that the power was out and they weren't sure if the concert was going to happen.  Seriously?!  What is it about our dates lately???  Jon and I moved on to an area where I could sit and relax.  After about 30 minutes, it was determined that the concert was going to have to be postponed.  Ugh...What a disappointment!

Jon had done such a great job planning our date and then this.

Thank you, Jon, for planning such a perfect date for us!  I loved that we were able to get out together after nearly two weeks in the house.  I know things didn't go according to plan, but it was still nice to get out and spend time together, just the two of us.

I wonder what date three has in store for us...

My Favorite Cubbie

Luke had no idea what was going on when I took him to AWANA for the first time a few weeks ago.  He had no idea what Cubbies was.  However, he was just about jumping out of his skin with excitement when he came home that night!  He gave me his little pamphlet and said that he had to say some verses so he could get a patch!  Of course, he wasn't calm about telling me any of this.  He was yelling it at me!  I knew this was something that he was (obviously!) excited about and I was excited to start working on scripture memory with him.  Ben and Abby didn't get involved in AWANA until much later and were never quite thrilled with it, so to know that Luke was excited made me excited.

What could be better than teaching my baby to hide God's word in his heart!?  My little guy was a sponge!  I knew it wouldn't take any time at all and he would be earning his vest and patch! Even better than a vest and a patch, it melted my heart to listen to my little guy quote scripture!  He always says his verses in the sweetest little sing-songy voice.  Sigh...  (I will have to see if I can get him to do it on video sometime very soon.)

Well, the next week he passed all of his sections to earn his vest!  He didn't understand that we would have to order it and that he wouldn't get it until the next week.  He was in tears.

While waiting for the next week, when he would get his vest, Luke was right on top of reminding me that we needed to "read" in his Cubbies book.  Of course, all I have been doing over the last week and a half is sitting in the recliner with my feet up, I have all the time in the world, right?  I am so proud of that little guy for staying on top of me and making sure it gets done!  (It's hard to remember to work on it since it is so new to us...)

I am proud to say that Luke earned his Cubbie Jumper patch!

When Jon came home from picking the kiddos up from church this week, Luke couldn't get out of the car fast enough!  He came barreling into the house to show me that he got his Cubbie vest and his patch!

To say that he is proud and excited is a complete understatement!

I am SO proud of my little Lukey!!

Recovery: Week 1

WARNING:  Potentially disturbing picture below.

Well...I am one week out of surgery and the only word that I can use to describe this past week is BLESSED!  I have been so overwhelmed by the sheer outpouring of love that has been displayed to me!  Week one brought many tears as I saw how loved I am by so many.  It is hard to even type this without bringing on more tears.  It has just been amazing!  Surgery day started out with unexplainable peace and prayer from my doctor and the blessings continued all day.  All week!  Texts, phone calls, Facebook messages, visitors, cards in the mail, friends that brought me lunch and then hung out for a few hours (I am really sad that I didn't get a picture with them!),

a friend that knows that everything is better with a fountain Diet Coke and girlfriend chat time,

flowers from my church family.  The list goes on and on.

Thursday morning I headed back to the doctor for my post-op appointment.  I was actually looking forward to getting out of the house for a little bit.  I was also interested to see what lied beneath the bandages.  I was counting on my foot/ankle being humongous and black & blue.

I know this looks pretty gross, but I was pleasantly surprised at what I saw.  It didn't look as bad as I had expected.  I was proud to tell my doctor that I hadn't taken any of the heavy duty pain pills in over 24 hours. Just ibuprofen.  I just didn't feel like the pain meds were doing any good and if they weren't helping, why take them?  (I, actually, discovered that the best pain medicine was visitors.  Seriously!  A perfect distraction!)  He was pleased.

Dr. Beasley said that everything is looking great.  In the next two weeks before I go back, I am supposed to start exercising my foot/ankle.  A few times a day I have to take off the wrappings and the splint and start working on flexing my foot.  Ugh...  When I go back in two weeks I should be moving from the splint and into a boot.  

I couldn't resist getting a picture with Dr. Beasley and Erica (the nurse)!  They have been so amazing in this journey I've been on!

(Erica insisted that Luke be in the picture.  Luke insisted that the lion and tiger, that he plays with every time we go to Dr. Beasley's office, be in the picture as well.)

Of course, if you go to Owasso to go to the doctor, you have to go to Chick-fil-A for lunch!

My family was beyond blessed to be fed by some amazing friends all week long!  I tell you what, my friends can cook!  We had some delicious food!  (I forgot to take pictures the first two nights...)

Monday  (Heather)

Chili, salad and snickerdoodles

(Heather even knew that my favorite thing to drink with chili is Diet Mountain Dew!)

Tuesday  (Deborah)

Cilanto chicken tacos, chips & salsa

Wednesday  (Kari)

Baked mac & cheese, green beans and breadsticks

(Kari dropped off our food and then came back to pick the kids up and drop them off at church!)

Thursday  (Anne Marie)

Ham, cheesy potatoes and steamed veggies

Friday  (Kasi)

Mexican pulled pork tacos, spanish rice, spicy corn & poblanos and pumpkin cake

If there was one disappointment in my week, it was the fact that I missed Ben's marching band competition on Saturday.  I really wanted to go.  I, actually, considered going.  The more I thought about it and how long and cold it was going to be, I just couldn't wrap my mind around actually going.  I decided that it would probably be in my best interest to just stay home.  I had encouraged Jon to chaperon for the day.  So I had the potential to be home alone with Luke.  (Abby wanted to go to the competition.)  

My friend, Heather wanted to go to the competition with me, but was just as happy to hang out with me at home for the day.  The whole day!  (She stayed until 1:30 AM!!!)  When Abby realized how cold it was going to be on Saturday and that Heather was going to be here for the day, she decided to stay home.  We had a fun day of watching girly movies, eating, painting nails, blogging, coloring...It was a great day!  Luke informed all of us that he is going to marry Miss Heather!  (:

I am so thankful that Jon was able to be off for the entire first week!  I don't know what I would have done without him!  He has done everything!  He had a lot going on with working at home and his class work.  I know it has been very overwhelming for him.  However, he got up every morning with Ben and Abby, made their lunches and got them off to school.  Got Luke ready and off to school. Made sure Luke had his meals, naps and anything else he needed or wanted.  Ran the big kids all over the city of Bartlesville for all of their various activities/responsibilities.  Worked the concession stand at the football game.  You name it, he did it!

THANK YOU, JON!  YOU'RE THE BEST!

I LOVE YOU!!

Week one went very well!  I had pain, but it wasn't unbearable.  I was so spoiled, loved on, taken care of...BLESSED!  I can't even express how thankful I am for everything!!  God showed himself to me in such a huge way this past week!

Surgery...

Surgery was scheduled for nearly a month.  I think I knew for much longer than that that it was coming.  I started this whole foot journey on Leap Day.  You can read the past "foot updates" here, here, here and here.  As the time for surgery drew nearer, I got more and more anxious.  It wasn't just any one thing.  I knew there would be pain involved and I really wasn't looking forward to that.  I was anxious about the house being clean, the kids getting to school each day with their homemade lunches, cooking for my family, getting the kids to all the places that they need to be on a daily basis, getting laundry done...I was anxious about everything!  I knew everything would be ok, I could just feel the heaviness all over me.  I know I was not a very pleasant person to be around a lot of the time.

Another thing was happening as surgery was getting closer.  Friends kept offering their help.  Sometimes you hear offers for help and don't really do anything with them.  Most of the time I figure, "I can take care of it myself."  However, being told by my doctor that I would be in a cast for two weeks after surgery, I knew I wouldn't be able to do much of anything by myself.  I realized that friends are what I needed and I would be happy to accept their help.  I, actually, became very excited to see how the Lord was going to orchestrate this whole thing.

Surgery day finally came.  I can't say that I was excited to have surgery, but I was just ready to move on and start the recovery process.  As anxious as I had been leading up to surgery, I have to say that I felt peace that morning driving to the hospital.  I was still nervous about the pain, but the peace I felt was much stronger than the anxiety.

I got all settled in and ready for surgery.  All of the nurses were wonderful.  The anesthesiologist's name was Dr. Friend...how could he not be good?

I proceeded to get more anxious again as we waited...

Dr. Beasely, my foot doctor, came and talked Jon and I through what would take place during the surgery.  (Things very much depended on what he found once he got in there.)  I have really liked Dr. Beasley since the first time I went to see him.  I was so comfortable with him and his staff and knew that God had led us to the right doctor during my first visit to his office.  Jon felt the same way.

As we were finishing up talking and getting ready to head back to surgery, Dr. Beasley asked Jon and I if we minded if he prayed with us.  He said that he really likes to pray with his patients before getting started.  REALLY?!?!  Absolutely!  I couldn't have been more thrilled to pray!  Jon, Dr. Beasley and I held hands and Dr. Beasley proceeded to pray for me, the surgery, everyone in the operating room and for my recovery.  I cried, of course!  That made my day!

The operating room nurse came and said it was time to go and we were off.  The combination of it being so cold the closer we got to the operating room and my nerves, made me very shaky. I got very nervous as all of the last minute preparations were being made.  My nurse was amazing through it all!  She even hugged me!  She encouraged the anesthesiologist that I was ready for my, "I don't care medicine."  I thought the drugs would never kick in, but after four big breaths...I was out.

I have a really great picture that I could insert here, but I will refrain.  The doctor took a picture during surgery and showed it to Jon when he was finished.  It's pretty cool!  Let me know if you want to see it! (:

Jon talked to Dr. Beasley after the surgery was over and found out all of the details.  Surgery went well!  There wasn't as much damage to the tendon as he had expected there to be.  The repair was fairly simple.  There was a surprise, however.  Apparently, during surgery Dr. Beasley took a few more x-rays and discovered that there was a bone spur on the bone that the tendon attached to.  He was able to remove that too.  I am so thankful he found that and took care of it instead of finding out later and having to do more surgery.  Jon was also able to express his gratitude to Dr. Beasley for his willingness to pray with us.  That was such a big deal to us!

The next thing I remember I was in recovery.  I remember thinking, "Quit clicking that mouse!", "They should really get mouses that aren't so click-y!"  I remember vaguely seeing a smiley face at the end of the bed.  I remember Dr. Beasley telling me that he would call me at home that night.  I also remember the recovery nurse asking me about my pain and then telling me that she was giving me morphine.  Nice!!

After that, things started becoming much clearer.  It wasn't too much later and we were on our way home.

I don't remember too much about the ride home.  I'm pretty sure I dozed all the way there.

And this is, pretty much, what I plan on doing over the next few weeks of recovery.  I am not allowed to put any weight on my foot for the next two weeks.  My friend, Heather, set up a meal train for my family and we have dinner coming in for the next 2+ weeks, so I won't have to worry about that.  I plan to read several books, nap, Facebook, Pinterest,  blog...anything I can do in the sitting position.

I also intend to do a lot of praying for a speedy recovery!

Please pray with me!