Foot Update

OK, I had my follow-up for my foot yesterday. There was some good news and some bad news. The good news is that I did not re-injure my Jones fracture! The healed fracture is solid (the Dr. was very surprised by this, it is apparently very uncommon) and was not what was causing the pain and swelling in my foot. The bad news is the real cause. There is a joint just next to my old fracture that was likely distressed by the fracture and has become inflamed. So I don't need surgery, but I have a bad joint in my foot that cannot be permanently fixed. I can do preventative things (much like taking it easy on a bad knee) as well as take anti-inflammation medication when it flares. If it gets really bad I can receive cortizone shots to relieve it.

The Dr.'s surprise over the Jones fracture reminded me of the story surrounding it. In July after I graduated (1997) I stepped on someone's foot during a volleyball game (I wasn't running or jumping, I just stepped on the edge of the other person's foot). I felt a snap and could not continue playing. The next morning I was x-rayed and the break was significant. Five weeks later I was in Pendleton at my required physical to play collegiate volleyball. The orthopedic surgeon who saw me x-rayed my foot again, and from that x-ray compared to my first he determined that the break had not healed in any significant way (which is common for a Jones fracture). He said to come back in 3 weeks for another x-ray, if there was still no healing going on he would recommend surgery.

So here I am 500 miles away from home for only 2 weeks. I had only a few friends (none of them close), and no life outside of volleyball (school was still a month away). So I turned to our branch president for our little young adult branch (for those of you unfamiliar with these terms, a branch is a small congregation--we only had maybe 30 active members of our branch because it was only for young adults). I set up a meeting for the following Sunday after church. I told him what was going on, and I asked him for a priesthood blessing. He then told me a story that I didn't expect. He referred to a story in the New Testament (John 9) about Christ healing a blind man. He focused on how the blind man had faith to be healed, and how afterward his faith was tested and he was healed spiritually as a result of his physical healing. I had read this story before, but had never seen it in this light. He gave me a blessing that I would be healed, and although I had some doubt I did my best to have some faith.

At my follow-up appointment the new x-rays showed "substantial healing" which was a big surprise, and was enough healing that he cleared me to play the same day. This recent experience brought back a lot of memories, and the results of my x-ray yesterday was a big reminder of how I changed as a result of that event in September 1997.

Sorry to get so sentimental, but I had to share. I think that the months during and just after my broken foot changed and shaped my life. I met Chris, and by December I was convinced that he was the reason I randomly decided to go to Pendleton for college--the experience with my foot prepared me to be able to listen to the promptings that lead me to where I am today. Its strange to say, but I am so thankful for that broken foot.

9 years down, forever more to go!

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On August 12, 1999 we were married for time and all eternity in the Idaho Falls LDS Temple.

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We were only 20 years old, and now that seems so young. But we knew what we had was real and lasting, and that we were ready to be married.

I am lucky to be married to a man who is my perfect match.

We are conveniently opposite, and identical in the most important ways. We have a truly close friendship, and in a world where relationships like ours are rare I am daily grateful that we found each other.

The last nine years have been full of twists and turns. We've gained some weight, changed jobs, and lived in 3 different states within 18 months. We've also learned a lot of lessons, become the parents of 2 special boys and have spent a lot of time just being together. The ups undoubtedly outweight the downs.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY...I LOVE YOU CHRIS!

Catch-up Post

So I've done a terrible job posting over the summer. So here's a quick re-cap.
Jace got a big-boy bed. Complete with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, he liked it but it took a few days for him to settle down and sleep in a bed so easy to escape from!
Dallon also got a new bed. We went to see Wall-e, and he was obssessed! So we bought the sheet set at Walmart, and another flat sheet for $3. I sewed the 2 flat sheets together to cover his old comforter and Dallon was psyched! For weeks after we saw the movie he asked everyday if we could go again. We did go one more time when Chris' parents took us over the 4th of July.
This is the Wall-e Chris' parents brought when they came for the 4th. He took it everywhere and had to sleep with him everyday. He took it with us to the movie and I overheard lots of comments about how cool it was. Through the movie the first time we went he kept saying, "Look! Its Wall-e!" over and over for the first 15-20 minutes...a little embarrassing, but very cute. The second time he was a pro and made sure his Wall-e could see the movie from his lap.
We went to the Krumbein's cabin for their Independence Day BBQ again. Chris had to work (but made up for it with holiday pay), so it was me, the kids, and Chris' mom and dad. The boys had a great time.
Jace making more funny faces.

I experimented with my camera a little this summer. I didn't dress up the kids or anything, but the picts turned out nice.
Jace trying to pretend he doesn't know I'm taking his picture--little ham!
Trying not to smile, he does that a lot. He can hold it for a long time.
Dallon looking like a big kid! I can't believe how he doesn't look so little anymore.
One more exciting thing. We have a dog waiting for us in Ohio! Her name is Bianca and you can read more details on Dallon's fundraising blog at 4pawsfordallon.blogspot.com. We are done fundraising for our dog, we are planning to go to training in December. We need to do our travel expenses fundraising now--about $5000. Soooo excited that things are going so smoothly for us!

I am getting my substitute license this year. I can sub 60 days per school year, and at $130 a day it will be worth it. I can sub on the days that Chris is home so we won't have to have any day care either. My foot is feeling much better and I go in for my follow-up next week. Dallon starts school in September. And generally things are going really well. I'll try to keep up with my posts from now on!

I got my fancy boot!

Ok, so it took until Thursday to get my boot. I finally had to go to an orthopedist in town--and I had to beg them to squeeze me in so I could finally get around without hopping on one foot, or using the miserable crutches. The doctor saw me and the first thing he said when he looked at my x-rays in a very matter-of-fact way he said, "this is a Jones fracture, we do surgery on those." So I have a follow-up scheduled for August 19th. I'm under the impression that if I opt not to have surgery, it is very likely that this will be a recurring problem that will get worse and worse. Apparently with each stress fracture part of the bone dies surrounding the fracture, and it heals so slowly that it is never really strong enough to avoid future fractures.

So I'll keep everyone posted on that, hopefully it won't be something I'll have to do in the very near future, but it is something that is a very real possibility. The surgery will be to put a screw through the bone from end to end preventing it from fracturing in the future--so the long term benefits are good.

Thanks for all of the calls and well wishes and help. We've really appreciated the help from our friends here in Hermiston who have brought meals, taken the kids for a couple of hours, helped get things going for us in the morning, and just generally been there for any little thing we need.

FINALLY an Update!

OUR RUMMAGE SALE WAS A SUCCESS!

I am happy to report that our rummage sale raised $1112 plus an additional donation of $500 came from Chris' grandparents, and with the max matching grant from Walmart, the total for the weekend was $2612! That puts our total at approximately $10,800 and only $2200 to go! I am going to submit an application to our local hospital foundation for the remaining amount which makes awards in September, if that goes through--we'll be done!

The rummage sale went fantastically well. We had so much help, and more volunteers than we ever expected right there with us the entire time! We filled the gym with donations, so many that afterwards we took 3 truck loads of left overs to Goodwill! We made almost 200 sales, and we still need to cash in all of the can donations (that might take a while). Check out Dallon's blog for more details!
The bad news is that all that time on my feet caused a stress fracture through an old fracture in my foot. Too many workouts in bad shoes leading up to it I guess. I spent Sunday morning in the ER, and I'm doing fine now. We've had lots of help, and I'm glad I made it throught the sale!

These are some pictures we took of my foot today. Pretty gross! There's a big bulge on the inside just under my ankle, and my toes are so fat there's no air flow between them! I had no swelling at all in the ER, I think its from all of the trauma from when they put me in my splint--WOW that hurt so bad, and they didn't even wait for my pain meds to take effect before they went for it!

In the next picture you can see it compared to my normal foot, thank goodness I dressed up my toenails last week so I wouldn't be embarrassed by all of the attention they've been getting :o)

Its starting to feel better. I can move my ankle without excruciating pain now, and I can move my toes a little as well (but not much because of the swelling). I'm still on crutches and trying to figure out how and where to best acquire an orthopedic boot so I can walk--and the raw patches just below my armpits can't wait!