A Week Later

It has been a little over a week since Bobby had his surgery and he is doing well. He is still in pain but has taken himself off of the pain meds. However, his bicep has started spasming, which was expected, and is a little more painful that he anticipated. He is bored and is having a hard time sitting and relaxing since he has been doing that since November. He has his first appointment on Monday with the doctor so hopefully he will be cleared to drive. He just wants to get out of the house for a while and have the freedom to decide when to do that. You don't realize how nice it is to be able to just get up and go whenever you want to until you are forced to give up the keys.

Someone Needs to Post More

Why am I so bad at this? Every time I think about posting I get distracted and start doing something else- I should be better at this!

I wanted to post a quick update on todays events. Bobby had surgery again today on his right shoulder. Somehow, somewhere, something happened and when he went to get released to go back to work it was discovered that he had a full tear in his rotator cuff. So after being off since November, it was back to the table and will be six more months off work.

His surgery wasn't until 12:45 and everything was right on time. The anesthesiologist was in the room at 12:30 to begin the meds, gave him the nerve block and they took him back right after. The Dr. said the surgery went well and he is very confident that everything was fixed (again). (The pictures of the tear were amazing! I can't believe it was so big- no wonder Bobby was in so much pain!)

But we got home and he was feeling good enough to sit on the porch with his cooling machine (this really cool device that has a wrap that goes around his shoulder and has 43o water circulating through it- a safer way to ice) while I went and filled his prescriptions. He seems to be feeling better than last time; at least he is in a better mood. Hopefully he can get some sleep. I have to make sure I can keep him medicated because when that nerve block wears off in a few hours I'm sure he will be hurting. Please keep us in your prayers.

Fun February? Not So Much...

February has been an interesting month. Bobby and I were looking forward to his return to work but it turns out that he is going to need another surgery. He had been experiencing some sharp pain in his shoulder and I thought it was just the healing process but when he went in for his final check up the doctor thought differently. After some poking around, he discovered that Bobby's bicep tendon was extremely inflamed and when it did not reduce with a cortisone shot- to surgery he goes. So Dr. Ratigan is going to do some sub scapular repair and a bicep tenotomy which means (at least) another three months out of work... Bobby has an MRI on Monday to see if the surgery can be done orthoscopically or if the doctor needs to open his shoulder up to do the repairs.

You know you've been in the cold too long when you walk outside and think, "Hey, it's kinda warm out here!" and when you look at the thermometer in the car it reads 22 degrees. I am really ready for the spring. We visited a store the other day and were looking at their bird feeders, houses and seed- I'm ready to feed my birds again! Hopefully it will get warmer soon so we can at least clean out the Martin house and start feeding the Orioles. Summer, summer, summertime!

I will post when we know anything about Bobby's next surgery. I'm sure it will be out patient and I know it will be a long recovery. Just when he was ready to get back to work too...

The Year in Review

It's hard to believe that 2010 is at a close and tonight we welcome in 2011. This is the first New Years Eve that I have actually been excited to begin the new year. This has been a crazy year and I have so much to be thankful for so I thought I would give a quick year in review for all those events that didn't get their own posts.

2010:

January: Bobby and I rang in the New Year with family and friends and then a few days later found ourselves at the IU Med Center in Indianapolis. In late 2009, my dad was diagnosed with cancer and had surgery at the beginning of the year. The surgery was a success! and his follow-up appointments have gone well. Bobby was great and stayed with my mom and I and then drove my dad home in a horrible snow storm. That night we were so tired, we both practically collapsed in bed. Just as Bobby drifted off to sleep, he yelled out, "BUMP!" and jerked the whole bed.

April: Bobby and I celebrated our first anniversary! Marriage is tough and it is a lot of work but it's worth it. Bobby is a great husband and takes good care of me.

After several months of rotating partners at work Josh was TDY'd to Medic 12 for the month of April. He then decided to stay another month, then another and finally said he would stay and be my permanent partner. I am very fortunate that I have someone that I can rely on that not only has excellent patient care skills but is someone that I can be myself around. It makes for a very looooonnnnnggggg day when you're working with someone that is difficult to get along with. I have had the opportunity to get to know his wonderful family and consider them an important part of our lives.

May: I graduated!!! It's official, I am a college graduate! I graduated from IUSB with a BA in History and a minor in Anthropology. Bobby, my parents and grandmother all attended the ceremony and saw me walk across the stage- what a great feeling!

June: Bobby and I headed to Florida for a quick, 4-day trip to visit Jen and her kids. Ryan, Jens hubby and proud soldier in the US Army, was stationed in Germany and she and the kiddos were following shortly. I medicated my husband for his first flight and we arrived in St. Pete where I had a surprise for him: a convertible. Well, somehow the car rental people saw me coming because the offered us a 2009, yellow, Corvette convertible, at an affordable price, of course. It was a great time and we got to see Jen and the kids just before they left.

July: Bobby and I took our annual summer vacation at the lake and this year decided to take on the project of painting the cottage. It was a long process and there are still some things left to be finished but it looks GREAT!

It was a Hertel/Price fun night in July when we ended up in the ER with my dad and Bobby. Bobby broke his toe and dad had to be cardioverted because of A-Fib. I was back and forth between both rooms all night. Talk about an evening of fun...

September: After many wonderful, relaxing days and nights at the lake it was time to bring our summer to a close. The pier was taken out, the water turned off and leaves were raked ending another great summer.

November: Bobby went on disability after his shoulder surgery. The doctor said that it was not as bad as he thought initially so instead of 6 months, he should only be out of work for 3 months.

December: Christmas came and went and I finally found my Christmas Spirit! Bobby decorated the house and put up a little tree in hopes of helping me find it and it worked. He's a great guy!

I am excited about this coming year. To all my friends and family, may you have a healthy, safe and happy 2011. Please be safe tonight and use a designated driver- it's not worth the risk.

Update!

My mother keeps wanting an updated blog, so here goes:

Bobby had shoulder surgery November 4, and is recovering quite well. The doctor said that his rotater cuff looks great and there was not major repair work that needed to be done. He's out of work until the first of February and in therapy twice a week to regain his strength. But, he's soooooo ready to go back to work. I think he's bored at home- no, I know he's bored at home.

Christmas has come and this year I am a Grinch! Sad, but true. Usually I am singing Christmas carols right after Halloween but for some reason... nothing. We didn't get a tree and I didn't put any of our Christmas decorations. I think the main reason is that this year I have to work on Christmas Eve and that's when the family celebrates.

I have been sick over the past few days. Last Sunday I hurt my back and had trouble getting around. Then I began feeling sick and, after several months of being pain free in my neck, I began having horrible pain and throbbing headaches. I had to miss the (big) Willis-Temple Christmas (which is always a blast because everyone is there and even Santa comes!) because I was so sick and hurting.

I came back to work today and it started off rough- I was very sick. But as the day has gone on, I have been feeling much better. Bobby even stopped by with a surprise from Paisano's, the lemon tort with kiwi sauce- my fave!! It was really thoughtful of him.

I am going to try to post more frequently. I always say that but I really want to try this time, even thought we don't do much in the winter.