Tina's Surgery Update

I know this one is long overdue and apologize, but it will also be a quick one.

Surgery went well on the Jan. 10th and required a 2 day hospital stay. On a positive note to date there has been no infection (for those that know me well they know this is a major accomplishment, as I am much like my grandmother and seem to get it with no trouble after surgery). The Neurosurgeon said it went really well he performed a discectomy so the L4-L5 and L5-S1 discs. I have about 10-12 staples in my back. I am allowed to sit for 10-15 minutes at a time only and am encouraged to walk. Since it has been so cold, my walking consists of walking around the house. I can't get comfortable in bed and slept on my stomach last night and so today I am not doing so well. I don't think I should have slept on my stomach. We go see the Neurosurgeon on Jan. 22nd and at that time he will remove the staples and let me know how much physical therapy I have to have, when I can drive (YEAH!!!!!) and when I will be going back to work (which I am ready to do, since today I found out my boss resigned and will be gone by the time I get back).

Well, this is all for now, please continue to pray that I heal and can get some good sleep........also, say a prayer for Russell and Darryl as they are at a Boy Scout camping/hiking trip and doing a Klondike tomorrow! I'm just glad it is them and not me!

Stay warm....................:)

Tina

This Week.......

Good Monday Morning.......

This is going to be one crazy week. Darryl has play practice Monday, Tuesday and Thursday of this week. Rachel has basketball practice on Monday, Tuesday and Friday. Isaac has Cub Scouts on Monday and Darryl has Boy Scouts on Thursday. Russell and I have our monthly Band Booster meeting on Tuesday (of which I am the Treasurer, but haven't been able to attend), Rachel also has chorus on Wednesday and lastly Isaac has basketball on Friday. Poor Russell has his fair share of running to do today. Here is how today really pans out, Rachel has to be at the Middle School for basketball at 5:30; Darryl has to be picked up from play practice at 5:30, Isaac has Cub Scouts from 6:30-7:30 and lastly Rachel has to be picked up at 7:00. I know he is so looking forward to my being able to help run kids again.

On another note, Russell starts classes in a couple of weeks. It is official.....on Friday, he went and registered so before long he will be able to sub for not only our school district but for any of the other 3 school districts that surround us.

Okay, I have a huge favor for all my blogger friends and family....I could really use the power of prayer on Thursday. This Thursday I have to be at Norton Suburban hospital for my back surgery. I have to be there at 2:00, and surgery is scheduled for 4:00. I doubt that I will be able to get an update posted to the blog before I come home, but I'm hoping that Russell will be able to bring the laptop with him on one of his visits and I can update you all. If not, you can consider no news good news. I know of one friend that has a blog, Leslie Clark, so maybe when Russell calls her to let her know that I did okay, she can put a quick note on her blog for me (Les, could I please ask a huge favor for you to put a quick note on your blog until I can update mine?? - you are the best!). Surgery is suppose to be routine and will last up to 3 hours. The Neurosurgeon will be removing the scar tissue from my past surgery back in '88 from a car accident, so with that comes a bit more of a risk.

I also ask that you pray for Russell and the children while I'm in the hospital (it should be no more than a couple of days). I want to send a huge thank you to my brother-in-law, Brad and sister-in-law Glenda for coming down on Thursday to stay with the kids so Russell can stay at the hospital until I am out of recovery. I have told Russell that I don't want him to feel like he has to stay forever with me that, I would much rather he be home with the kids. Besides I will be pretty out of it from surgery and will feel more up to having visitors on Friday.

Both Russell and I are very happy today.....the kids have been out of school since 3:30 on the 21st of December and returning back to school TODAY!!!!!!!!!!! We are so ready for them to be back in school, and from the moods this morning, we can tell Rachel and Isaac are excited about going back, however Darryl is not quite as excited as the others.

Well, I'm out of here to go back and lay down for a little while. I sure hope you all have a great day!

Love,
Tina

Holiday Update

I am sure that by now you are all thinking where has this woman been..........I will be honest with you and share that I've had a hard time staying positive and just getting out of bed, this whole ordeal with my back has taken a toll on me. I am starting to bounce back after these long 4 months and finally some positive news from the new neurosurgeon. He has determined that my condition has gotten worse since the MRI that was taken on 8/29 and will be doing surgery on January 10th at 4:00 PM at Norton Suburban Hospital in Louisville. I should only be in the hospital for a couple of days and back home to recuperate. After a couple of weeks then I will start therapy so that we can try and get some of the strength back in my left leg.

Now onto other notes......Christmas has come and gone for another year. I think all the kids were pretty happy with their gifts. Santa brought Darryl a reed kit (it will allow him to trim his reeds and hopefully they will last a bit longer) and a metronome. Rachel received a portable DVD player and iPod Shuffle, while Isaac received a Harely Davidson remote controlled truck and a "humongo" remote controlled John Deere tractor - complete with turn signals, headlights and a variety of sounds! Rachel and Darryl received a variety of other gifts, school hoodie sweatshirts, pajamas and miscellaneous clothes items. Isaac received a wide variety of John Deere tractors and implements to go with them. He has decided that he wants to move up to "bigger" tractors. Up until recently he had been receiving smaller tractors. The one gift that did not come, thanks to a horrible experience with Best Buy (and it will be a long time before I visit their store or make an online purchase), is a keyboard. We are also getting Rachel and Darryl piano lessons. We really want to get a true piano, but right now that is just not possible. Right now Isaac has absolutely no interest in sitting still long enough to learn how to play. We are hoping that it will come in another year. He is way too happy to be outside and "working".

Both Darryl and Rachel continue to excel with their musical talents. Darryl has more natural talent when it comes to playing an instrument, while Rachel has more natural talent when it comes to singing.

Russell is registering for college this week in order to get all of his credits transferred and take a couple of classes. His goal is be able to start substitute teaching once I get better (6-8 weeks after surgery). Not only is our school district having a hard time getting enough subs, but so are a couple of other counties within 10-15 minutes of us. We are really thrilled that Russell will be able to sub and it will be enough to help us get some major improvement projects completed and allow him to be home with the kids in the summer and when they are on breaks from school.

Darryl tried out for All-District Band and made 1st Chair Oboe and made the 1st cut for All-State. Unfortunately, he did not make All-State, but like we told him it is an honor to make it to the 2nd round for a freshman. Rachel has had several opportunities to sing the National Anthem at the Middle School Boys Basketball games and then she and the Middle School Choir sang for light up Bedford.

Both Darryl and Rachel had their holiday concerts and they went really well. Rachel sang a solo and played a solo on her flute. The concerts were nicely done and well attended by not only parents but the community.

We hope that you all had a joyous and happy holiday!

Love,
Tina, Russell, Darryl, Rachel & Isaac

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Things that we are thankful for.........

• We are thankful for our families both near and far! They continue to be there when we need them the most and love us no matter what!!


• We are thankful for healthy/happy children that are capable of doing so many things


• We are thankful for each other....several years ago I never thought I could ever be this happy, little lone give my heart away and take a chance on love again. I managed to find a wonderful mate for life, who also brought me the gift of another child (Darryl). I also managed to get an awesome step-dad for Rachel and Isaac.


• We are thankful for Rachel's great report card. She brought home her mid-term on Tuesday and of course once again it was awesome.


• We are thankful for Darryl's music talent. He made the All District Band - First Chair Oboe and was also recommended for All State Band. Not bad for a freshman! Now keep the prayers coming about the academic side of things!


• We are thankful for Isaac's ability to always be happy. He is the only one of our 3 children that can go to bed happy (even if he is not happy about having to go to bed) and wake up happy.


• We are thankful for doctors (I never thought I would say that). This week proved to gain us ground in finding out what is wrong with me. The nerve study on Tuesday proved that I do have nerve impairment on nerve L5 and S1. The L5 nerve damage appears to be chronic pain (the doctor feels I have just learned to live with this pain and have actually blocked it out). The S1 nerve damage is new and was the final breaking point for my body. By adding more pain, it was more than my body and mind could handle. With this finding, a recent trip to the ER, that did not help relieve any of the pain and a follow-up appointment with our family doctor - we were able to get the Neurosurgeon appointment for January 30th moved up to December 10th.


• We are thankful that the rheumatology tests all came back negative! Praise God for no auto immune system issues!!


• We are thankful that Christ died on the cross for us and that our Saviors birth is fast approaching.


• We are thankful for our soldiers that are doing what they do best, protecting our country and fighting hard to give another country their freedom. We deeply appreciate the sacrifices that they give up that we might carry-on like nothing is different

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to our many friends and family that we will not be able to be with at this time. Every night I thank God for the wonderful blessings that you all bring to our lives and how you are all very special in your own unique way. We love you all!

The usual happenings in our family.............

Good Morning,

Just wanted to give you all a quick update.......We received report cards this week. In this house that can be a bit of a scary thing when you have two boys. We were pleasantly surprised with Darryl's report card, however there was still one grade that was not satisfactory that resulted in him losing some privileges. Isaac's was a complete shock since we started the school year with him not finishing his work at school and just thinking it was a social party. He had all "E's" which means he is making expected progress. Rachel's report was a bit of a surprise, as she had all A's with the exception of Math, and she had a B. Russell and I will be meeting with his teacher on Thursday, because we are very perplexed how her grade could go down 7% points from mid-term when she continued to do so well. We have heard that there was something that she didn't get around to giving this period and so it showed up as a zero instead of her removing the grade. Russell said that he would handle it. Rachel is handling getting a B very well. She is extremely disappointed in herself and considers it a bad grade even though she keeps trying to tell herself it is okay. We'll let you know how parent teacher conferences go later next week.

Also, Rachel has made the 6th grade basketball team and so we are starting to have to shuttle her 2-3 days a week to practice, Darryl home from play practice 3 days a week and Isaac to and from Cub Scouts on Monday's. I know that my husband appreciated that I handled all the "running" of children, but I think he has definitely learned to appreciate it even more. Besides getting kids where they need to go, he has to get me where I need to go. At the beginning of this illness the doctor stated that they did not want me driving, so I have to be chauffeured everywhere (which I really don't like).

As for me, physical therapy has done nothing to relieve any of the pain and numbness in my leg. At Friday's visit it was determined that we would stop therapy until after I see the Rheumatologist. The pain/ache had gotten so bad last week that I almost had Russell take me to the ER, but instead I reached out to my wonder Aunt who is a Pharmacist to see if I could take both medications at the same time, and she assured me I could, so that has helped take a bit of the edge off. It has been a rough week, and I am making it my goal to be back in the office the week of Thanksgiving no matter what, even if we have to get me a special parking spot and I have to use a walker or wheelchair to move around in all day. I am so thankful that work has been accommodating and letting me work from home, however I really do miss the interaction with my employees and going to work. Russell and I have decided that we want to be told what this is, even if it is not the greatest news in the world. He (he is still trying to convince me) has decided that we can handle anything that comes our way. It just might mean we have to do a bit of lifestyle changes for a while if necessary.

I know my Sister-in-Law Debbie was hoping for a post about Rachel's trip, but after trying for 2 days to do it justice, I decided that I needed the expert here to help me. Rachel and I will be working on this after basketball practice (and a shower). WE PROMISE!!

Well, I must close for now, time for me to have a date with the heating pad to see if I can get some relief. They are doing "Trunk or Treat" at the elementary school and Isaac really wants to go, so I have to feel well enough for the outing!

Getting Ready for Washington D.C.

Hello All,

This post is to ask for safe travel and safety for Rachel as gets ready embark on her trip to Washington D.C.. I know that she will be safe and that People to People has a great reputation of keeping the kids safe, however, I have to admit that I'm a bit nervous. She is anxious and excited all at the same time. We will drive to Dayton on Monday morning just so we can make sure we have plenty of time and get through security without a problem. She will be home on Sunday (10/21).

She will have a great time and will come back with many memories and friends. Just keep her in your prayers. I'll provide periodic posts to keep you up to date.

Love,
Tina

Potpourri of Events

Hi Everyone,

Sorry it has been so long since I've posted. Life has been a bit hectic and I've not been feeling well.

Rachel is getting things together for her trip to Washington D.C.. She leaves on Monday (we start fall break then) and comes back on Sunday. She is going to have such a great experience. She will be visiting Capitol Hill, attending an Embassy Dinner (here is a picture of her in the formal for this dinner), go to Williamsburg, Gettysburg, the Spy Museum, Arlington Cemetery and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. They will also have the opportunity to lay a commemorative wreath at the World War II Memorial. That will have special meaning to her, as her great-great uncle (John Bower) died in the war and we have talked about him several times. We also have family members that served in that war, including her Iowa great grandpa Barcus (Ira Barcus), great-great uncle (Jim Mayes), great-great uncle (Henry Roland), and great-great uncle (Lester Bower). I apologize if I have left anyone off the list. Their last night they have a dinner cruise on the Potomac River. I'm tired just typing all the things that they will be doing! We are so very proud of her accomplishment. Rachel also has a tried out to play a flute solo at the Christmas concert and was awarded the honor.

Report cards for the middle school (Rachel's) and high school (Darryl's) come home on Friday and elementary (Isaac's) will come home on the 24th.

As for me, I'm still trying to get a diagnosis on what is going on with my body. Today I had an appointment with the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation doctor. He gave me new medicine to address the pain, it is medicine that is directed at nerve pain versus muscle pain. He is also sending me to have consultation for physical therapy. That appointment is tomorrow at 2:00. He said that there were several tests that he would normally run, however since I am going to the Rheumatologist on the 31st he said that he would just wait to see what those results showed before doing any testing of his own. I go back to see him on November 6th.

Darryl is finished with marching band. We did not make it to regionals this year, but there is always next year. I feel bad, as there were several kids that put a lot of hard work and extra effort into the music and performances, however not everyone was as committed. He has started writing some music and the Band Instructor has told him that if he polishes it up a bit, he will have the band play it. Of course that has Darryl all geeked up!

Isaac has joined Cub Scouts......he still doesn't really get it, but all he knows that finally there is something that he gets to do! He and Russell do it together on Monday nights. Next Saturday, Russell, Darryl and Isaac will be going to Fort Knox for a Boy Scout outing and will be gone all day! I'll have the house to myself (Rachel will still be gone), I'm so excited, now if I could only drive!

Russell had a mini-vacation this past weekend. He went on his annual fishing trip with his brother's to Lake Cumberland. They had a great time and enjoyed fishing and having trout for lunch. Russell said that the fish tasted really good! They played several games of cards and enjoyed spending time together with his brothers.

Well, I think I have bored you all enough, so I will close for now. Please pray for Rachel that she has safe travels next week and has the experience of a life time!

Love,

Tina