Costume Dance Fun '07

Finally... some GOOD news!

I went to my opthalmalogist appointment yesterday and even though the office experience wasn't good - the outcome was. (Thank you all for your prayers, and thank you Lord!) I'll spare you the details of the 2 1/2 hour visit where I spent a total of maybe 10 minutes with the doctor.

He told me that I DO NOT have papilledema - what I have is "Optic Nerve Drusen" Drusen are little white protein deposits on the optic nerve. This condition is often hereditary, so it's possible that my parents or my kids may even have it. There is no known cause or cure. Namely, this condition doesn't cause any real problems, though it is often mistaken for papilledema (which is a far more serious condition)When I go for my regular eye doctor visits and he does visual fields testing, they will be a little wacky because of the drusen. Apparently, over time the drusen can get larger, and eventually may cause some peripheral vision loss, but not central vision loss. So... thankfully, my vision should not be affected much by this condition. In very rare cases, optic nerve drusen can interfere with blood flow in the eye and cause bleeding, but I'm not too worried about that since the doc said not to be. The exciting thing about this diagnosis is that I do not have to have a spinal tap, I don't have any tumors, I don't have MS - I just have an eye condition that has no known cause, can't be prevented or cured, but shouldn't cause me too many problems.

From here we are going to monitor in 3 months and make sure there's no change and then just keep an eye on it. The doctor said if there is change that he would probably give me some eye drops to take. Since there is no cure for optic nerve drusen, he said he feels like he should do "something" if my condition worsens - and he would treat it like glaucoma to hopefully keep the condition from advancing - but there is no known treatment. I can live with that. Finally.... I know what's going on with me and I'm relieved. Now... let's get Luke's broken leg healed and we're in business! :) Thanks again for your prayers, I know God is honoring them. The outcome of my "issue" is proof! God is so amazing.

Update on Luke:
His appointment went well, the dressings were removed and the incisions look "good" (according to the surgeon) - I think seeing metal staples in human flesh is a bit oogy... but that's just me. The doc says that even though the bones really haven't begun to mend themselves back together yet, not to worry cuz it's only been 10 or so days, and this will likely take about 6 weeks. He said that the bones are staying straight with the rod and that's a good thing. Overall, the surgeon was very pleased and will see him back on the 19th to remove staples. No more saran wrap showers, woo hoo!! :) Luke is getting around well with the crutches and getting antsy already to get rid of them - but no weight bearing until about Christmas, and no driving until MAYBE after Thanksgiving sometime. He said we'll have to see how he's doing and then decide when he's ready to be in a car for 3 hours with his leg not elevated. Overall - things are ok and each day improving just the tiniest bit. We'll take whatever progress we can get! :)

I'm the Ringmaster (another long one)

Hey! So we're home and it's like a 3 ring circus here. :)

Ring 1:
Luke was discharged from Hays Medical Center on Monday evening at about 6 p.m. - I can't even tell you how ready we both were to get out of there! He is doing alright, they didn't cast his leg, but he has what's called a "cam boot" and he needs to be wearing this when he walks with his crutches, which he's doing pretty well with.The really fun thing is wrapping that whole contraption in saran wrap and then duct taping a trash bag over the whole thing for a shower. UGH! Talk about a chore. When he's not wearing the cam boot he is trying to keep ice on it to help with swelling. He's on Percaset for pain and alternating that with Ibuprofen trying to get the swelling down in his leg and foot. The swelling does seem to be going down, thankfully - but the staples in his knee are really starting to hurt. We go in on Monday the 12th to see what the surgeon has to say about his progress. We were told not to remove the dressing. I did remove the ace wrap last nite and everything looks pretty good so far. He is beginning to take care of some work-related things. Phone and computer stuff. You know what they say, "you can't keep a good man down". I follow him from room to room with pillows and a basket of "essentials" Cell phone, medicine, etc. He has been mostly taking it easy, but that's getting old for him quick and he's wanting to accomplish something. We did hear from Home depot today and they are claiming that since Luke's accident wasn't their fault, there is no liability on their part. I think I will do a little bit more investigating because I find it hard to believe that a company that size wouldn't make sure that their customers were protected. So please pray in that regard if you will. The bills will be rolling in soon and we do have 90/10 coverage through our medical, but 10% of several thousands of dollars is still going to be rough on our family. Thanks in advance!!

Ring 2:
Me and my papiledema. I finally made it to the neurologist for a visit and what I DO know is that my problem is not brain related. Thankfully!! Also the cyst on the brain is not active, so that's good news. The neurologist did say that he wasn't sure, but thought he may have seen "Drusen" which is an eye condition that is deposits on the optic nerve discs. Apparently this condition and papiledema are closely related, so we're not really sure exactly what I have - which is why I'm going to the opthalmologist on Monday. I guess it's treatable which is encouraging. We are now trying to rule out pseudo tumor cerebri. The neurologist said that based on my symptoms he's not sure that I have that. (it's a condition that "acts" like a tumor but can be treated with medication or by decreasing the spinal fluid to relieve the pressure. (sigh) None of this sounds fun. First things first, I'm headed for the opthalmology appt. on Monday the 12th. (same day as Luke's check up visit... may as well have all the fun on the same day!) :) I'll keep ya posted. If this next appointment is not conclusive, they're talking about a spinal tap to which I am adamately opposed, but I guess you do whatever you gotta do. I'm just ready for this drama to be over. I really feel fine except for being exhausted from everything else that's going on.

Ring 3:
The house/the kids/and my business. This is the busiest time of year for Jinny Crickets with Christmas Sales rising. I normally love this, but it's been quite a challenge to get things done with all the commotion around the house, doctor appointments and kids' activities. This gets interesting at times. Everyone wonders what happened to all the washcloths or why they don't have clean socks when I realize that, "wow, I guess I need to do laundry". There's just too much going on. Tina is in the Junior class play which is tonite (Saturday). I'll be glad when that's done, since it's been about 6 extra trips to Ellis a week dropping off and picking up for play practice. Brandon is also doing Tae Kwon Do 2 days a week, which is good for him, but it's still a lot of driving. That's the disadvantage of living 10 miles one way from everything, we spend a lot of time in the car, not to mention gas money. Don't even get me started... gas here is now $3.05/gallon. UGH!! Makes me angry. Ciara does help me transport the other kids though sometimes, and that's a huge help. Saturday is our catch up day for getting house work done and laundry caught up. I'm so glad to have the kids here to lend a hand with that. I had to scurry this morning to get it all done since I need to head into Hays around 12:30 to represent the Jinny Crickets product line at my new retailer in Hays. It'll be fun, but I hate being away from home for 3 hours with Luke home and needing help. Some evenings as I'm getting ready for bed I realize that I never made it to work that day because there were just too many other things going on. Oh well. Right now I'm just focusing on the things that are screaming the loudest for my attention and that I know are most important and that's my husband and family. So please, if you're already praying, here's the need - FAST healing for Luke and energy and strength for the two of us to endure this time of healing - just that things would settle down a little bit here, as it can get a little tense at times, but we're doin' ok. We're not alone and we've got lots of family support. Thanks again for your prayers, that's really what helps the most. Love you all!! Jami

Luke's Broken Leg Shopping Fiasco (Long Post)

Ok, so we have the gallon of primer, the Veggie Tales Video, AND the power tool we needed... but the Nebraska trip didn't happen. We are day 3 at Hays Medical Center. The car was packed, we were ready to go - but we had one last stop to make on the way out of town, who could have guessed it would result in so much "excitement"?! We stayed in the car as Luke went in to Home Depot to pick up a couple of things for his family in Springview. The kids and I were waiting and I was just beginning to think it was taking him a long time when I heard one of the kids exclaim, "Daddy!" I looked out my window but didn't see anything... until I looked down. There was Luke on the ground. The wind was howling as usual here, (30+ mph)and Luke had a box with a heavy power tool towards the front end in the cart. The cart was building momentum rolling down the lot and the wind was taking it- Luke decides to hop a foot onto the bar way underneath the handle and somehow his foot slips and catches in the cart as the wind takes it one way and his leg goes the other. He heard the bone snap and then he went down. Let me tell you, I couldn't get my seatbelt off fast enough. I ran out asking him if he was ok, I didn't know if he bumped his head or what he did, but I could tell he was hurting because he was beginning to let out some painful groans. I asked him what he hurt and he said his leg, he was holding his left knee and I looked down to see that his leg was pointing east instead of south. This had to be one of the most horrible freaky things I've ever seen - his foot was hanging at a 90 degree angle.I yelled for someone to call 911 and it took more than 10 minutes for an ambulance to get there. I was thinking how grateful I was that he wasn't having a heart attack or that could've been bad!

So the ambulance got there finally and I told them he needed something for pain right away. The whole thing was really stressy. It's hard to see someone in that much pain when they are usually Mr. Tough Guy. I knew it was bad. It got worse when they had to move him to get him in the ambulance and it got really ugly in the ER when they had to straighten the leg to splint it. X-rays showed that he broke the Tibia and Fibia (I think that's right) The big and small bone in his left leg. The worst break was about 6 inches above the ankle and the other break was in the smaller bone about 3-4 inches above the ankle. Surgery was to be at 8 a.m. but apparently a set of twins decided they were more important :) so we had to wait for the anesthesiologist to finish with a C-section delivery. Finally at 9:45 he was taken in and surgery lasted about an hour and 45 minutes. It was a closed surgery, meaning the only incisions were to get the rod and screws in. This decreases risk of infections. A rod was inserted just below the knee and all the way down the leg to hold the big bone in place. It's held in with 4 screws, 1 on top and by the knee, 1 through the front of the leg and 2 from the side. The break in the smaller bone Doctor thinks will mend itself.

The surgery went well and Luke came out of anesthesia just fine. He was in a lot of pain after surgery, but nothing like the pain he had gone through the day before when it happened. By last nite the pain was under control with a morphine pump and doses of Tordal.(don't know if that's spelled right)If he had to move the leg for any reason he about went through the roof. Finally by bed time he was doing pretty good, but his bladder wasn't back to doing its job yet, so he had to suffer through a few straight catheters in the evening and through the nite. The nurses told him that morphine can cause this problem, especially in men, so he backed off of that nearly altogether and just used the tordal. He was also able to get his IV taken out today since he was off the morphine, this made him really happy, but not as happy as the fact that his bladder back to normal, thankfully!!! The surgeon also came in and said that he will not put a cast on it, he just has a straight splint and ace bandage on it. He'll get a support boot to wear for a while. FUN FUN! Dr. said that if therapy is going well it's possible that he'll get to go home Monday afternoon. Yeah... you heard right, the therapist was in already today having him walking with crutches and doing excerices with the leg. OUCH. He's doing really well, though and I'm so proud of how strong and determined he is. He really wants to go home.

This whole thing has been such a nightmare, it didn't even seem like it could really be happening - but I'm praising God that it wasn't something more serious; like a car wreck with all 5 of us in it. It could have been so much worse. Ciara has been great about stepping up and cleaning house and taking care of things at home while I'm here at the hospital with Luke. I've been staying the nite with him. His nurses are pretty good, but what normal person can wait 20 minutes when they have to go to the bathroom??!! I wanna be here to help him, I can't imagine not being here. I'm so thankful for kids that can look after themselves and be responsible. They're the greatest!!

So what's the future hold? The rod and pins are permanent unless they cause problems, then could be removed. He will be on crutches 4 to 6 weeks, and it will likely be 3 months before he is considered "back to normal". The doc said he can do desk work, but we'll find out tomorrow how long until he can drive. I'm not in a big hurry to put him on the road by himself with crutches and a broken leg though - so I hope he'll be reasonable about it and not try to be a martyr and hurry back to work, that'd just be crazy. His co-workers and employees have just been fabulous about telling him not to worry and that they're taking care of business.

Well... that's our exciting weekend in a nutshell. We would appreciate your prayers regarding a full, speedy recovery. Thanks so much for that! I know many have already been praying and we very much appreciate it!

Jami

IRONY - somewhat comical and twisted

We are headed to Springview, Nebraska this weekend to visit Luke's folks. For those of you that don't know where this is... it's up near Valentine (about 5 1/2 hours from here). More specifically it's kind of in the middle of "nowhere". There is no Wal-mart anywhere close, so it takes some doing for the folks that live there to get things they need that they can't find locally. Luke's mom called and asked if I would pick her up a gallon of wall primer and mentioned that she is wanting to get a jump on her Christmas shopping, so she asked me to look for a specific Veggie Tales DVD. I said sure, no problem. I love Veggie Tales movies, they're well made, cute little kid movies that always share an awesome message about God. Adults love these movies too, they're great!

This morning I was running errands and picked up a few things at Wal-mart, so I'm walking up and down the video aisles searching for this cute kids video and I'm not finding it. I was beginning to think that Walmart didn't even sell these anymore. Finally I decided to ask for help.

I notice that the clerk is already helping someone, so I decided to stand by and wait patiently for my turn. I observed that the other customer didn't seem to be the brightest bulb in the box and he was looking for a "Friday the 13th" (horror) movie - he kept repeating "The one - Jason goes to hell, the one - Jason goes to hell" I'm like - ok... why would anyone wanna watch this movie, it's obviously gonna be sick and twisted. ICK! So the clerk tells him that they don't have the movie and the guy appears put out and disappointed. I was thinking to myself that it was no great loss and the fellow was actually lucky that they didn't have "Jason goes to hell". Then... I couldn't help but chuckle when the clerk turned to me with a "how can I help you" expression and I said with a smile, "I'm looking for the Veggie Tales movies". Talk about irony!It was classic.