Surgery's Over!

The surgery went well and we're home tonight! It has been a long day!

Chance had to be at the hospital this morning by 11:00 for his surgery scheduled for 1:00 pm. He and I got there in time to visit the gift shop before he checked in so I could get a book of crossword puzzles to work while he was in surgery.

Jody got there about 10 minutes before 1:00 as they were getting ready to take Chance to the operating room and I was glad he would be there to sit with me for the long wait! The surgery took three hours which the doctor had prepared us for beforehand. Dr. M came out about 4:15 and said they had just taken Chance to recovery and would come get us in about an hour once he was back in his room.

Dr. M explained to us, again, everything he had done during the surgery. He said he did a lot of work and Chance was going to be pretty sore for awhile! He put a screw in the bone that was broken, put two pins to hold the dislocated bones in the correct position while they healed. He said the pins would be removed in a few weeks. Once he got in he also found some of the smaller ligaments had been torn in the accident as well and he was able to sew those back together. He said the big ligaments all looked pretty good.

The anesthesiologist then joined us and together they explained that a nerve block had been put in at Chance's shoulder to numb his entire arm to help with pain control - at least for a few hours.

The nurse came and got us about 5:20 when they had Chance back in his room. He was in a lot of pain! I was surprised because the way the docs talked the nerve block should take care of the pain for the first few hours. They gave him some medication through his IV for the pain but that didn't seem to help either. They then gave him a shot in his hip to take care of the pain and to prevent any nausea and after about 20 minutes the pain eased up quite a bit.

We finally left the hospital about 6:30 with two prescriptions and our instructions. I was really glad to be home! I put Chance in mine and Jody's bed for tonight - we have a king size and his is only a twin. I was afraid if he rolled over in his bed his arm would either fall off the bed or he would roll over on it or something would happen! I know, I'm a bit of a worry wart!

Anyway, Jody and I will sleep in the guest bed tonite (queen size) and then tomorrow Jody will move Chance's twin out of his room and move the queen in for him to use until his arm is better. I had hoped to move the beds tonite (and stay in my bed) but Chance has one of those beds with the motor to lower and raise the head and foot of bed! Lucky kid, huh! The bed is way too heavy, because of the motor, for me to help Jody lift it so he will get some help tomorrow and move the beds around. I'll be back in my bed tomorrow nite!

So, Chance is sleeping (drug-induced, thankfully) now and I will set my alarm to give him pain medication every four hours for tonight so that he doesn't start hurting. I think if we can keep the pain under control for the next couple of days, he and I will both rest better!

Our Thanksgiving, yesterday, was really nice. Both Candace and Elizabeth had called me last week to let me know they would be coming if I was cooking - so, of course I cooked! Addy was in Texas with her other grandparents but both of the girls, their hubbys and Jody and Levi came for the day! I love it when our families are able to be together!

God is good and I have so much to be thankful for during this holiday as well was every other day of my life!

In His Love and Blessings
annb

Skateboards - Who Needs 'Em?

Today starts another week and I'm glad for the opportunity to "begin" again! Last week and the week before were a bit more than I had hoped they would be.

Chance, in the last few months, has taken up skateboarding! Yes, that's right - skateboarding! I'm learning a lot of terms and descriptions that I never really cared to know in relation to my children. Chance has decided his "longboard" is his joy and is on it - with his buddies - every opportunity afforded him!

I can't say that I allow him to do it because it's "harmless", nor because I think it must be great enjoyment for him! My real thoughts about the whole idea of skateboarding are screaming inside my head, "No, Stop Him - this is not good! This could be very bad! He's my only son!" I have tried to get him to wear a helmet - to no avail! I want to tell him to stick with computers (which he absolutely loves!), and to give up the "thrill of the board!"

Now, of course I know there are worse things for teenagers than skateboarding - but right now, skateboarding is providing my almost 50-year-old hair more gray than I think I gained in all the other 49 years of my life! I look at Chance and can't deny the fact that he is no longer a child that I can steer in another direction . . . away from danger! He'll be 18 in two months - 2 months! I now do the only thing (and really the most important) that will make any difference in his life whatsoever! I pray - daily - for God to watch over him, protect him and guide him in the choices he makes in every aspect of his life!

He's such a great kid! Even though I miss the wonderful little boy that he was, I am enjoying getting to know the man he is quickly becoming before my eyes. I thank God for our son and our daughters as well.

The last couple of weeks, as I stated, have been a little more than I hoped they would be because of a "little" accident on the longboard! It was one week ago last Wednesday as I left from work at 5:00 pm, two blocks into my trip home - I get "the" phone call! Chance had called me at 3:30 asking permission to go with his buddies to one of their skateboarding spots and I had given him permission to go. When I answer the phone I hear, "Mom, I think I broke my wrist!"

I told him I was just leaving work and would be there as fast as I could and sweet guy that he is he said, "Don't drive too fast! I don't want you to have an accident on the way!" I wasn't sure if his statement was because he was concerned about my state of mind and therefore, my driving - or if he thought that an accident would delay his trip to the ER thus prolonging the intense pain he was in!

My normal drive home is about 40-45 minutes. It took me 30 minutes to get to him and we headed straight to the ER as I called our doctor to let her know what was going on with him and to get the approval to go to the ER! You know, if you don't have permission to go to the ER from your primary care physician - insurance don't pay!

This is what I saw when I picked Chance up:

Yeah, I was pretty sure it was broken, too!

Chance is a very confident, secure guy and doesn't really care what other people think about him, the way he dresses or anything else about his person! I love that he is strong in that way, although at times I am surprised at how confident he really is!

About halfway to the ER as I was calming down a bit, I notice what he is wearing! When I look at him, really look at him, I crack up! I am laughing so hard I have tears running down my face, blurring my vision and totally breaking up the tension I had been feeling about the whole situation. I've included the picture below to help you understand why:

Great look, wouldn't you agree?

Chance doesn't own a pair of colored socks to his name! He wears - normally wears the white no-show socks with his shoes! To see him wearing those socks was absolutely the highlight of my day! You should have seen the many looks he got while we were in the ER and then when we went to WalMart to get his prescription for pain medication! The looks never bothered him at all! They don't bother me either, so it was fun to watch people as they noticed him.

Anyway, to make an already long story a little shorter - they x-rayed his arm and discovered that he had broken the "growth plate". Broke what?

I was in the Air National Guard when I was - much - younger and my job in the guard, after completing Tech School, was as an X-ray Tech. In all of my training, part of which consisted of learning all of the bones in the body and their structure, I never heard of a "growth plate"! Maybe that really shows how old I am!

The ER doctor on call told me to make an appointment with an orthopedic doctor the following week and he would probably put a cast on Chance's arm, then. She put him in a splint and a sling(for support) until we could get to the Ortho doc. The sling lasted about half an hour!

We saw the Ortho doc, Dr M, last Tuesday and instead of him putting Chance in a cast, he explained that not only had he broken the growth plate - transversely - but he had also dislocated some of the bony structure in his hand! So much for that cast!

They scheduled him for surgery on Friday, the 16th!

Thursday morning at work, right before 8:00 am, I got a call from Dr M's nurse saying that she had just received a call from the hospital and Chance was not there! Of course, he wasn't there - he had been scheduled for Friday - OOPs! There was no way I could pick him up from school and get him back to the hospital in less than an hour, so they rescheduled his surgery - for this coming Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.

Dr M explained that it will be a 2 1/2 to 3 hour surgery and that Chance messed up his wrist "pretty bad"! He most likely will have permanent loss of some of the range motion in his left hand!

What a couple of weeks we've had! But, there is good news - Dr M said no skateboarding for at least 3 months, the time that his hand will be out of commission! Chance also, in his cute little way, made the statement to Dr M that he guessed now he would not be a concert pianist! Dr M asked him if he played the piano before and Chance replied, "No, just Guitar Hero"! Dr M then said none of that, either. Sometimes Chance opens his mouth and finds that his foot has fallen into it! I was really glad he said it, because I would never have thought of asking about that!

Even in light of the accident and the drama following it, I have so many things to be thankful for today! I'm thankful that Chance only broke his wrist! He also hit his head, but thankfully, he has a hard head! The ER doc checked it and it seemed fine, so that's a big Thank You, God!

I'm thankful for Cheryl, the speaker at the ladies retreat I attended with Elizabeth! I have communicated, by email, with Cheryl since the retreat and she is such a wise, Godly woman and I am just so appreciative of the "truths" she is showing me about so many things. She has suggested a study for me and I'm excited to get started on it. Elizabeth and I are going to work the study together!

I have so much more to be thankful for and will share more at a later time. This post has almost gotten out of hand and if you stayed to the end . . . I'm thankful for your friendship, too!

In His Love and Blessings
annb

Are You In?

I spent this weekend in Guthrie, at a ladies’ retreat hosted by Lodestar Ministries. It was one of the most awesome weekends I’ve had in a very long time.

Elizabeth and Michael, for my birthday, surprised me with the retreat! They had paid for everything for me and Elizabeth was going, too! Spending the weekend with her and the retreat – it was a treat that I definitely needed!

We had a wonderful speaker, Cheryl Lange, founder of LodeStar Ministries, who among other things, shared with us her own testimony of the faithfulness of God in her life. The theme of the retreat was, “Are You In?”, based on The Great Farini, a man who crossed over Niagara Falls, on a tightrope, many times before a large audience.

At one point, he began carrying his manager on his back across the falls. The audience loved it! Then one time he brought a wheelbarrow into the act. He would get up on the cable and ask the audience, “Do you think I can walk across this cable and all the way back without falling?” The audience said “Yes, we believe you can do it” – so he did. Then he asked the audience if they thought he could carry his manager on his back – all the way across the falls and back. Again, they said “Yes” and became even more excited. Then he asked the audience, “Do you think I can push this wheelbarrow across the cable and back without falling?” This really got their attention and they roared with excitement – wanting to see this feat! He then said, “Okay now all I need is a volunteer to ride inside the wheelbarrow across the cable!” The audience grew silent – they didn’t trust him that much!”

The analogy was made that many of us are like that with God. We say that we trust him in all things, but we’re not willing to step into the wheelbarrow and let Him carry us. It seems too scary to put that much trust into Him, even though He has promised that He will care for us.

I am fearfully and wonderfully made. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day has passed. Psalms 139:14 – 16.

This verse really touched me. I, of course, know that God is everlasting – but to put into perspective that He knew my life even before the beginning of time – and loved me even knowing the choices I would make throughout my lifetime – some good and some bad. There truly is not another being that deserves trust more than God! He loves me for me and loved me with an everlasting love. Jer 31:3.

I have to admit that I am guilty of stepping into the wheelbarrow and quickly stepping out again! Many times I let fear guide my decisions instead of allowing myself to be led by God. I live a good life and I strive every day to live my life in a way that is pleasing to God – but I really struggle with giving up what I think is my control over my life! The truth is - He is in control and the struggle I put forth over letting go creates much more turmoil and stress in my life!

I have been going through some very difficult things in the past few weeks and this retreat came at exactly the time I needed it most! Imagine that! God putting things in place at exactly the right time!

I have been struggling with some life-changing decisions and was most likely headed in the wrong direction. My eyes have definitely been opened and I know that I have to trust in the Lord, my heavenly Father, and make my choices accordingly.

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God. I John 3:1.

Cheryl encouraged us to keep a faithfulness journal. In this journal, she suggested we write whatever is on our hearts and to pray about it. She also said to write in the journal when God answers our prayer. It's easy for us to forget sometimes, that God is faithful - He hears our prayers and He answers them.

When we are in the depths of confusion, depression, anger, hurt or whatever we struggle with and feel like everyone, including God has deserted us, to be able to open our journal and read of all the evidence and experience of God’s faithfulness, it will become easier to trust Him in everything! The more we read and recall past experiences and the evidence of His faithfulness in those times, the more trust we can put in God and begin to know Him as He really is - thereby leading us to be more like Him!

One of the highlights of the weekend turned out to be a fun one! There were six mother-daughter couples there and so it was decided that a game would be played in our honor. It was played like the Newlywed Game in which first, one was asked a question and the other had to guess what they thought that person would say. Then the other one was asked a question and so on. The team with the most matching answers won prizes. Well, guess who won? That’s right – Elizabeth and I matched more answers than the other couples. That was a lot of fun! Elizabeth and I are so much alike – it seemed easy for me to figure out how she would answer. Evidently, she didn’t find it as easy to figure out my answers but obviously, she did better than she thought she had done!

This weekend was truly one of the most touching and eye-opening experiences I’ve had and I will remember it always!

In His Love and Blessings
annb