Well today was the day for my ankle surgery... We saved it for the end of the summer so we could get our vacas and playing in. I had injured it wakeboarding almost a year ago and it kept getting worse and was so painful to run. The xray didn't show anything initially so I had done physical therapy for a month- when that didn't work an MRI was taken which showed that my
talus had a chip taken off the top with damaged cartilage- so any impact to that area (which is every time I walk pretty much since it is right below the fibula. see left pic) it caused inflamation and pain. So... in the surgery they cleared out the bad cartilage, removed the bone chip, and then microfractured the top of the talus so it would bleed and create new psuedo cartilage- healing that whole area.
The surgery went well- my ligaments were actually all great so I didn't even have to have a cast. The pic above was taken the afternoon of my surgery- I was high on pain meds and thought everything was going to be just dandy! (The other pic shows me shopping online with the projector Ger had set up for me to watch movies with.) BUT I couldn't walk or put any pressure at all on it for 6 weeks... Can't run again for 3 months... And the swelling and pain and achiness was a lot worse than i ever expected! I had to elevate it and ice it as much as I could for the first 4 weeks. And the crutches were definitely a pain, but luckily there's a thing called the Roller-Aid that was SOOO much better to use than crutches. You prop your bad leg up on it and scoot yourself along with the other leg. Colby and the kiddos had a blast rolling on it around the house (see below!) but it was my saving grace! I even took it out in public a few times. And yes- it even had a basket on the front that I carried all my essentials in!
How did we survive?!? We could not believe how great our friends and family and ward were- we had meals and bread and treats bought off and on for a few weeks, the kiddos always were being invited somewhere to play, Gerron's mom helped run them to gymnastics or wherever and helped watch them, Susie took them to dance and let them come and play A LOT, Chris helped watch the kiddos and cook (he made fabulous Mango chicken one night ;-)!) and helped run errands and do a lot of misc. things around the house, my great friend Debbie picked up groceries at Costco for us and also helped bring the girls back and forth from their dance camp, Patty helped come and clean which was SOO nice, my fam all called and emailed and sent packages with fun stuff to do or gift cards to eat out, and we just had so many random acts of kindess which some days were overwhelming... one day there was a knock on our door and the kiddos ran to answer it and on the porch were 3 tote baskets with their names on them- inside was TONS of stuff for them to do and play with. It was all their favorite stuff too, so it was done by someone that knew them well! Candy, crafts, coloring books, clarinets, little lunchboxes, etc! It was so nice to keep busy at home with stuff to do since I couldn't go anywhere... Susie also helped drive Syd back and forth to school once it started, took me out to lunch twice, took us to a movie, and did so many other things to help us survive. My good friend Mary came over the day of my surgery- just a day after her daughter had gotten out of the hospital after she had spent a week there with pnumonia, and brought balloons, treats for the kids, a smoothie for me (which tasted divine since I hadn't eaten anything all day), and some fab trash magazines. She came and got the kids a few days later and took them for most of the day- they had a blast. I can't even start to name any more names because it would take forever- we seriously felt so blest.
My mom came out a week and I get choked up everytime I think about what an angel she was. It was so nice to have her here helping with all the big and little things, running kiddos around (Mia and Syd had started school by this time), running errands that I hadn't done for weeks, doing loads of ironing and even more loads of wash. She even got drenched from head to toe one day when our water heater broke and was pouring out gallons of water out into our kitchen/dining area/and living room. She called Dad and figured how to get it hooked up to a hose until Gerron could get home to get it turned off. What a blessing she was there when that happened! It was just such a fun and fabulous week when she was here.
Through it all though, Ger was just amazing and never complained about all the craziness that was added to his life. He stepped in and ran our kids places, cleaned the house, did the laundry, helped with meals, and really took on a lot of extra stuff that I just couldn't do. He even brought me flowers to tell me how amazing I was. Instead of being stressed out to the max and frustrated and mad at the situation, he used this time to draw our family closer together and draw closer to our Savior. He helped us all remember and realize how much we had to be grateful for and has had such a positive attitude. I've always known I scored big time when I married him, but he is constantly reminding me how blessed I am. I know a lot of hubby's wouldn't do all that.
So anyways, all in all, we survived thanks to the help of sooo many. As for my ankle... 8-10 weeks of physical therapy and then HOPEFULLY I will be able to start gradually getting back into running. PLEASE! I dream about it at nights and miss it every time I see anyone running. We were so humbled and grateful for all the help we received and it made me want to be a better friend and neighbor... to be better at stepping in and helping out... to do things more happily and feel more blessed for what I had. It also gave me a greater appreciation for those who struggle every day with health issues, who don't have full use of all their limbs, or those constrained to a wheelchair! I don't know how they do it day in and day out... but I am so grateful for the ability to walk and run and take my kids places and enjoy life with them. So live life to it's fullest! Don't ever take your health for granted! Enjoy every day that you feel healthy and great. And be good to your body... you only have one. Thanks again to everyone that helped out- we love you all!!!
