Robert got his stitches taken out yesterday! I wish I could've gone with him, but alas, no paid time off means I had to stay at the old salt mine. He said 11 of the stitches came out with ease - only 1 hurt. We both agree that his wound actually looks even more gnarly without stitches. He has a scar from the actual incision as well as a little scar from each stitch. He has more flexibility now that the stitches are out and his skin isn't being pulled quite so tight. He'll go to the doctor again in 4 weeks to get the all clear. We're are so very thankful that the surgery was a success.
I started working at The Olde English Tea Room on Saturday. My first day was great! I loved learning from my wonderful husband. He said I was a fast learning and everything came naturally to me. I'm hoping he's not just saying that because he has to. :) I'm just working on Saturdays, but it'll be nice to get some extra cash from 4 hours of work each week. Plus, it's a great way to spend time with Robert - and get paid for it!
Robert is doing such a great job at school. He got a test back this week - 100%! His hard work is definitely paying off. He's about to start his first paper. He's picked a pretty cool topic - The symbolism of water in John.
Guess what! My favorite Mommy is coming to town in just two weeks. I am beyond excited! It will have been two and a half months since she's been here. I am so thankful for airplanes. Nuff said. We're going to paint the town!
Friday, September 28, 2012
Monday, September 24, 2012
Paying it Forward
Sunday night I saw this post from Going with the Flow. I thought this was a great idea and was excited to participate.
It was started by Mandi @ Debonair Bandit and
the basic premise is that the first three people who comment on this
post will get some sort of item from me as long as they agree to do the
same for 3 more people.
The rules:
+The first three people to comment on this post will receive a little gift - something personal from me to you.
+I'll create something unique to share with the first three people to comment on this post.
+But
in order to receive your present you have to play along. Spread the
love on your own blog promising to send a little special something to
the first three people who comment on your post.
+You get 72 hours to re post, or I'll have to move on to the next person.
+Please only comment if you're willing to pay it forward.
-If
you want to receive something unique and self-made from me in the mail
and if you're willing to do the same for others, leave a comment below! Please leave your email address so that I can contact you directly! And blog URL so that I and others can visit your blog!
Happy Monday!
Happy Monday!
Monday, September 17, 2012
The Start of Fall
Fall has started off with a bang!
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| Mom's birthday August 26 - Wish I could have been there! |
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| Dad's birthday September 5 - Again, wish I could have been there! |
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| Birthday flowers and balloon from my wonderful parents |
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| Robert took my to Beaufort for the weekend to celebrate my 22nd birthday |
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| Enjoying a day at Shackleford Island |
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| Our beautiful room at The Old Seaport Inn |
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| A weekend trip to DC to visit Serina and watch the Cardinals beat the Nationals |
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| The view from Robert's hospital room after his back surgery |
- Labor day - Paid day off/no school for Robert!
- Ray's birthday September 9
- Biblical Women's Institute - Every Thursday evening
- A free class for wives of seminary students. So far we've had an introduction to theology by President Akin, Mrs. Akin's testimony, a guest speaker talk about orphans and trafficking, and an introduction to counseling. Love this class and time with some great ladies!
- Serina came to visit after Robert's surgery. She was such a big help!
Thursday, September 13, 2012
This Fragile Life
As a lot of you know, Robert had surgery yesterday. It had been a long time coming. He has had a sensitive back for his whole life - scoliosis, slipped discs, etc. In January he was playing intramural basketball and took quite the spill. We've been dealing with it ever since - chiropractor, physical therapy, pain management doctor, x-ray, MRI. It's been a long process, but it seems to be coming to an end. About two weeks before we got married Robert found out that he did indeed have two herniated discs. Since it was just two weeks before our wedding and three weeks til the big move we decided to just ease the pain and work on actually fixing the problem later. He got three epidurals (yes, like ladies get during labor and delivery) and felt significantly less pain, but still had two herniated discs.
Once we moved to North Carolina we decided to get the ball rolling. He knew he need to find a neurosurgeon, per the pain management doctor's request in Bolivar. After searching around to see which doctors would accept Robert's insurance we came across Dr. Eldad Hadar. Per usual, it took awhile to get in to see him as a new patient. When Robert got to see the doctor he confirmed the herniated discs and said surgery would do the trick. Apparently when a back problem is causing problem in your back the surgery isn't usually very successful, but when a back problem is causing nerve problems in other parts of the body the back surgery is 93% successful. Well, Robert's back problem was causing nerve pain on his left side - hip, knee, shin, foot, toes. He had sharp pain, numbness, and tingly-ness. We scheduled the surgery for September 12, and he had a pre-op appointment last week. That all went very well, and we thought we were good to go. Unfortunately, the MRI images that we mailed to UNC Memorial Hospital got delayed and weren't there as of 9/11 a.m. The secretary said they wouldn't be able to do the surgery if the mail didn't arrive by the end of the day. Robert began to get a bit panicky as he had already waited so long for surgery. The images arrived in the mail Tuesday afternoon, so we got the go ahead.
We woke up yesterday morning at 5:00 so we could hit the road at 5:30 and arrive at UNC Memorial at 6:30. The surgery wasn't scheduled til 8:30, so we had some down time for about 2 hours while nurses came in and out to get him prepped. I said goodbye to him at 8:30 and was told the surgery would be 3.5 hours - he'd be out at noon. I still hadn't heard anything at 1:00 so I asked the secretary what was up. She assured me that if anything was wrong they would have contacted me. A little while later the nurse called in and asked for me. She said she didn't know why, but the surgery was going to take extra time. How much longer? Two more hours. I decided to go exploring and found a farmers market in the hospital (It's a HUGE hospital) and Starbucks. I picked up a salted caramel mocha frapappuccino and enjoyed the sun and breeze for a bit.
When I got back to the waiting room I was notified that the surgery was over and I would be able to see him in about an hour. I finally got to meet Dr. Hadar and found out why the surgery lasted 6 hours instead of 3.5 He said nothing went wrong, but it was more intense and detailed than they had expected. Robert had two herniated discs - One between L3 and L4 and one between L4 and L5. The top one was "massive." I don't know exactly how big a "massive" hernia is, but it sounds crazy. Both hernias had a ton of scar tissue around them since they had been irritated for nine months. This caused the hernias to be really latched on to his discs. Because of this he couldn't just take out each one in a big piece. He had to chisel away at them and got the top one out in 40 pieces and the bottom one out in 30 pieces. This obviously made the surgery last a lot longer. It also caused the incision to be significantly larger. It was supposed to be a pea-sized incisions that was to be closed with glue. I would say the incision ended up being 4-5 inches with several stitches.
Once he came to I got to visit Robert for five minutes. He was shocked when I told him it was 3:15. It was also shocked to see that he had an IV in both hands as he had gone to sleep with one in his right hand only. He was also surprised to learn that he had a catheter as that was not planned. The doctor told Robert he had to spend the night in the hospital since the surgery was more intensive than expected. He knew Robert's body would be very tired and sore. Because we hadn't planned to spend the night the hospital had not reserved a room for Robert. He had to wait in the recovery room for three hours while I sat in the waiting room because visiting hours were over. He finally got a room at 6:30 - twelve hours after getting there. He had a semi-private room on the 6th floor of the neuro department.
I got him set up with dinner and his very own scrubs - he was pumped to pretend to be a doctor. I headed home at 7:45 and got home right as Serina pulled in from DC. I'm working today and Serina is taking care of him. He got to leave the hospital about two hours ago. He should be better than ever with some medicine and rest.
Thank you, Jesus, for reminding us that this life is fragile and you are always in control even when things don't go as we had expected.
Once we moved to North Carolina we decided to get the ball rolling. He knew he need to find a neurosurgeon, per the pain management doctor's request in Bolivar. After searching around to see which doctors would accept Robert's insurance we came across Dr. Eldad Hadar. Per usual, it took awhile to get in to see him as a new patient. When Robert got to see the doctor he confirmed the herniated discs and said surgery would do the trick. Apparently when a back problem is causing problem in your back the surgery isn't usually very successful, but when a back problem is causing nerve problems in other parts of the body the back surgery is 93% successful. Well, Robert's back problem was causing nerve pain on his left side - hip, knee, shin, foot, toes. He had sharp pain, numbness, and tingly-ness. We scheduled the surgery for September 12, and he had a pre-op appointment last week. That all went very well, and we thought we were good to go. Unfortunately, the MRI images that we mailed to UNC Memorial Hospital got delayed and weren't there as of 9/11 a.m. The secretary said they wouldn't be able to do the surgery if the mail didn't arrive by the end of the day. Robert began to get a bit panicky as he had already waited so long for surgery. The images arrived in the mail Tuesday afternoon, so we got the go ahead.
We woke up yesterday morning at 5:00 so we could hit the road at 5:30 and arrive at UNC Memorial at 6:30. The surgery wasn't scheduled til 8:30, so we had some down time for about 2 hours while nurses came in and out to get him prepped. I said goodbye to him at 8:30 and was told the surgery would be 3.5 hours - he'd be out at noon. I still hadn't heard anything at 1:00 so I asked the secretary what was up. She assured me that if anything was wrong they would have contacted me. A little while later the nurse called in and asked for me. She said she didn't know why, but the surgery was going to take extra time. How much longer? Two more hours. I decided to go exploring and found a farmers market in the hospital (It's a HUGE hospital) and Starbucks. I picked up a salted caramel mocha frapappuccino and enjoyed the sun and breeze for a bit.
When I got back to the waiting room I was notified that the surgery was over and I would be able to see him in about an hour. I finally got to meet Dr. Hadar and found out why the surgery lasted 6 hours instead of 3.5 He said nothing went wrong, but it was more intense and detailed than they had expected. Robert had two herniated discs - One between L3 and L4 and one between L4 and L5. The top one was "massive." I don't know exactly how big a "massive" hernia is, but it sounds crazy. Both hernias had a ton of scar tissue around them since they had been irritated for nine months. This caused the hernias to be really latched on to his discs. Because of this he couldn't just take out each one in a big piece. He had to chisel away at them and got the top one out in 40 pieces and the bottom one out in 30 pieces. This obviously made the surgery last a lot longer. It also caused the incision to be significantly larger. It was supposed to be a pea-sized incisions that was to be closed with glue. I would say the incision ended up being 4-5 inches with several stitches.
Once he came to I got to visit Robert for five minutes. He was shocked when I told him it was 3:15. It was also shocked to see that he had an IV in both hands as he had gone to sleep with one in his right hand only. He was also surprised to learn that he had a catheter as that was not planned. The doctor told Robert he had to spend the night in the hospital since the surgery was more intensive than expected. He knew Robert's body would be very tired and sore. Because we hadn't planned to spend the night the hospital had not reserved a room for Robert. He had to wait in the recovery room for three hours while I sat in the waiting room because visiting hours were over. He finally got a room at 6:30 - twelve hours after getting there. He had a semi-private room on the 6th floor of the neuro department.
I got him set up with dinner and his very own scrubs - he was pumped to pretend to be a doctor. I headed home at 7:45 and got home right as Serina pulled in from DC. I'm working today and Serina is taking care of him. He got to leave the hospital about two hours ago. He should be better than ever with some medicine and rest.
Thank you, Jesus, for reminding us that this life is fragile and you are always in control even when things don't go as we had expected.
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