Life on one leg

I have never had so much sympathy for handicapped people as I have had since I became temporarily handicapped. I've discovered that handicapped parking spaces aren't necessarily better than others because the snow/ice isn't always as clear. Lots of snow and ice come from the sidewalks and from melting off the roofs and HC parking is usually the nearest to the building. Also, many exterior doors are very heavy and hard to open when you are on crutches. Just getting around the house is a pain. I have a friend with spina bifida and she has been on crutches her whole life and somehow she manages to get a drink from one room to another without spilling the whole thing!

I went to see my doctor yesterday about my old bones. He took some blood to check my calcium and Vitamin D levels, ordered a bone density test and talked to me about a medication that actually helps restore bone mass. Unfortunately it only comes in the form of daily shots. :( I am hoping the bone density test comes out good but an eyewitness is probably better. I am scared now about breaking another bone, especially being on crutches in the winter.

I went with Chelsea to an oral surgery appt. She has had ear pain for several months now. The ENT couldn't find anything wrong with her ears so thought it might be a jaw problem. She had an MRI and everything looked good. The oral surgeon pointed out that her top wisdom teeth were coming in and could be pushing on her jaw bone. So she is having all of her wisdom teeth removed at the end of the month.

Chelsea spent the weekend at a Christian youth gathering at Estes Park, Colorado. She just loved it and now plans on attending church at The Genesis Project, which is a very contempory church. I told her I would attend with her a couple times each month. I really just wish our church offered any type of activity for teenagers.
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Tomorrow I am going to spend the day working on homework. I've fallen a little behind but I know if I concentrate I can catch up in a day.

This is what my surgery looks like! This isn't actually my leg, but looks just like the xray the surgeon showed me! This matches my plate and screws in my cervical spine! They were advertising titanium jewelry on TV last night and I told Mike I didn't need any because I have plenty of titanium with me at all times. :)

I'm home!!

Yesterday morning I was still really nauseous so they delayed my surgery until 11:00. Which sucked because I really wanted some water! The nausea medication they were giving me didn't seem to work so they gave me some Reglan intraveneously. I immediately couldn't breath. What a scary feeling. Mike called the nurses and they hooked up oxygen. As quickly as it came on it left. It took about 10 minutes to get my breathing back to normal but I was okay after that. Come to find out breathing problems is one of the rare but significant side effects. Needless to say I won't be having that again!

The surgery went well. I have several screws and a plate in my foot. The bad news is that the doctor says I have the bones of a 70 year old. I was diagnosed with osteopenia, the precursor to osteoporosis, about 3 years ago. Guess the Boniva and calcium supplements aren't working. I need to go in and have another bone density test done soon and see what else I can do. Obviously I have full blown osteoporosis now. It does run in my mother's side of the family so I'm not surprised. I was just hoping the early intervention would prevent it from going that far.

I'm home now and doing okay. The meds are working and I am taking it easy. Chelsea is on her way to Colorado for a Christian youth gathering at Estes Park and Mike is at work. I can't wait to take a shower later today, when he gets home. Well, I am just going to watch a DVD and relax for now.

Update

Mike got offered an awesome job in Tucson. It is an exciting job involving traveling all over the world and the pay is quite a bit more than he makes now. Of course, the downside is that Chelsea will be a senior next year and I start graduate school this summer so moving for us girls is really not an option. I told Mike that if he really thought moving to Tucson was what he wanted to do I'd support him and do everything I could to make our marriage work. After consulting with a friend I told him why I didn't think it was the best idea for us, but the decision was his. He decided to turn down the job and is pursuing some other options locally. I saw the job description and I know this is a dream job for him. I told him that once my education is done and Chelsea goes to college I will be willing to move so he can pursue his dream. I am really not excited about Tucson, because it is sooooo hot, but he is sacrificing for me now so I owe him. And who knows what can happen between now and then.

And now for the exciting, and painful news. I decided to go running today and ended up slipping on a small patch of black ice. The toe of my shoe hit the dry pavement and that stopped my fall, for a second. Then my foot bent all the way back until I heard a sickening snap. Unfortunately I was alone and there was no one else in sight. I sat on the wet ground crying and yelling for someone to help me. I waited for what seemed like10 minutes. I was getting ready to use my cell phone and call 911 when another runner came by. I was only a block from home so he helped me up and I tried to hop on one foot but the pain was unbearable so he sat me back down. He was going to run a half mile to his house and get his car. Luckily a woman came by and drove me home and Mike came and took me to the hospital. Oh my gosh, the pain was horrible! They gave me two pain shots within an hour. I broke three bones in my left ankle. Just like me to be an overachiever, as Mike said! So here I lay, at the hospital waiting for surgery tomorrow. No running for 6 months. I can't do anything for a week, then I'll get a cast. Then a few weeks later a walking cast. And I get a handicapped parking sign. Not so great but at least it will help me get around easier. And thank goodness for my new netbook computer. It's what I'm using now and I love it! Well, I am going to watch Grey's Anatomy on my computer then try to get some sleep. Keep me in your prayers!

New Toy!

I'm on the train on my way to the University. I'm playing with my new toy: an Acer Aspire One netbook. It's way smaller than my laptop, more the size of a portable dvd player. I LOVE it! I can get on the internet using the wi-fi on the train and it is so lightweight! It only weighs about 3 lbs. I bought it because I am going to be going to SLC at least 2 and possibly 5 days a week starting this summer for graduate school and with my neck problems I can't carry my laptop in a backpack every day. This way I can use commuting time to do homework, which is what I should be doing now! :)

It is raining out so I am getting to experience the joy of using public transportation in bad weather! I was going to drive today but I wanted to try out my new toy and also see if I could stand traveling in bad weather. Since I'll be spending 12 months doing this I need to see if I should just drive on days like this, although these days are when the freeway gets bogged down because of accidents so who knows which is the better way.

Well, I need to get some homework done so I'm going to sign off now!

Stuff

I was just looking at previous posts and see that I didn't say anything about poor Scruffy, our dog. He was paralyzed last August due to a herniated disk. Fortunately the great people at North Ogden Animal Hospital were able to restore the feeling and he was walking again in 2 days! Last week he started showing some of the same symptoms: moved slowly, wouldn't jump up on the couch, cried when Mike tried to brush him, etc. When I came home on Wed. Mike said he took Scruffy for a walk and he didn't seem like himself. When I first saw him he was shaking like a leaf. I call the vet right away but was sure I would have to wait until the next day because it was after 5. They not only answered but told me to bring him in right away. They again diagnosed a herniated disk but this time it wasn't as bad because we caught it early enough. He's doing much better with his meds. While there I mentioned he's gained a lot of weight and has been lethargic. They did some blood work and found that he has an under active thyroid, so now he's going to be on thyroid medicine for the rest of his life. The extra weight probably is a big reason for his back problems so hopefully once we get some of this weight off he won't have so many problems.

Last week I got a call from a woman I worked with at the Homeless Veterans Fellowship who asked me to be part of a relay team for the Ogden Marathon in May. I'll only run about 5 miles out of the 26.2 mile race, but it should be fun and gives me a goal to work towards. Now I just need my arm to heal so I can start running again.

On Thursday and Friday I am going to the U to the practicum fair. I need to decide where I'd like to do my internship next year. I don't actually get to make the choice but I get to list some options.

I still have loads of homework to do so I should probably get on it!

Surgery

My surgery went well and for the first time I wasn't sick the rest of the day. I need to find out what the anesthesiologist used to keep me from throwing up. The pain is bearable and I've only taken one percoset. The worst thing is not being able to shower. My arm is all bandaged up and I can't get it wet, so I've just had to wash with a washcloth. I may ask Chelsea to wash my hair later today.

I can still type relatively well although my arm gets sore because it is in an awkward position. I have lots of homework to do so I guess I should save my energy for that.