Boston

Christian and I went on a super spontaneous trip to Boston this weekend. We left Friday night and stayed through Sunday. (Our typical weekend has been boiled down to just a single day, Sunday, as we keep the office open six days a week.) This extremely rare extended weekend presented itself and we couldn't simply allow it to slip by, so we packed a bag and drove four hours north to spend the weekend visiting the "mhar-kets" and eating super tasty "chowda". Enjoy a few photos from our trip.(Above: Self portrait on the T... Boston's subway)

(Above: I found this tree so inspirational. Never give up! Grow your strength no matter what the obstacle may be)(Above: Christian and I walked the entire length of the Freedom Trail. Close to 3 miles!)(Above: Old City Hall)
(Above: Christian thinking about joining the ranks)

(Above: Old world meets new)(Above & Below: Christian and I at Quincy Market)(Above: As if it wasn't hard enough to figure out which way to go! Sheesh!)(Above: WWII Battle ship, also home of the USS Constitution)No visit to Boston is complete without a hot bowl of New England Clam Chowder!

Thanksgiving

Christian and I are thankful for our family, who supports us in everything we do.

I'm thankful for my Popoolie who gave up everything to raise me and did a spectacular job!

Christian is thankful for his parents who have always believed in him and helped him grow into the strong willed man that he is today.

We're thankful for our health, and well being. (Especially me!)

I'm thankful for Christian's education and his ability to help others live up to their optimal health potential.

We're thankful for each other and the love we share together.

We're thankful for our friends and the joy they bring to our lives.

I'm thankful for my on-going pursuit of knowledge, and my stubbornness to never give up.

We're thankful for our faith, and the fulfillment that it brings us.

We're thankful for our future, and the exciting prospects that tomorrow always brings.

(Above: Cobe, Christian's parent's dog)

(Above: Christian's brother Keith)(Above: Christian's Dad and Grandfather)(Above: Christian and his brother Luke)

Extra, Extra! Read all about it!

Yesterday I went to get checked out by my plastic surgeon. He took out my stitched, and with in a blink of an eye I was free to go! He said the skin looks great, then shook my hand, and walked off into the sunset.... well, into another room.

So one surgeon down, one left.

Today I met with my orthopedic surgeon for an x-ray to see how the bone is healing. He was really impressed with my brand new "baby" skin given to me from my plastic surgeon. The x-rays look great. The plate is staying in for a few more months. (I meet with him again in December, maybe then we'll have an actual date for the final surgery.)

But the big news! TARYN IS ALLOWED TO MOVE HER ARM!!!!!!!! Yahoo!! Wahoo!!! Yippie Skippie!!!! So alright, I'm happy about this, if you couldn't tell. I still have to take it slow. I'm not allowed to lift anything with the arm, no weights, I'm not even suppose to close a door with the arm. But I can start moving it! So lets dust off those joints, get the oil can out, and sign me up for some physical therapy!

Ducks & Crocs

Christian and I went to feed the ducks today with our left over loaf of rye bread. My goodness those ducks were hungry and fearless! They came right up to me and gave me the cutest look, like "Feed me, and only me. Forget about the other ducks, I'm the only one here. Just give the bread, please!" hee hee.

It was also freezing cold. We think the temps were around the low 30's. Christian's Jeep said it was 35 degrees. BUT, our feet were toasty warm because we were sporting our brand new "winter Crocs". I know, I know, Crocs?!? How ugly, right? Well, I once thought so too, however once I slid my little tootsies into these Crocs with a cozy-fuzzy sock-like insert all my distaste for the rubber shoes melted. They are soooo comfy! Christian has a pair and he got a matching pair for me! It's all about the comfort level which is amazing in these shoes!

Don't hate us cause we're comfortable!

Twilight Glory!

For those who have not seen the movie movie yet, but are still planning on it, don't worry I won't say anything that will spoil it. (Although, I'm sure if you're already excited to see the movie, that probably means that you read the book therefore, you already know the plot, but still...)

Twilight was worth all my excitement that had built up since I finished the first book. I sat in the theater, with Christian by my side who was sure that he would not enjoy the movie and that it would be two hours of his life that he would never get back. He lovingly watched the movie because he knew that it would make his poor broken wife happy, and as he and I left the theater he said, and I quote, "That was pretty good!" Wow! Christian liked it, and I LOVED it! Christian even said that he really liked the character of Edward. Double wow! I'd go into more detail as to why he liked him, but like I said I don't want to spoil it for anyone who may still want/NEED to see the movie!

All in all, it was a fun movie that I already want to go see again... but I'm a little obsessed with the whole Twilight saga (Thank you Shannon!) Plus it was my first time going to a "normal" public event since I broke myself back in August, so that alone was reason for celebration. And it was really great to go on a date with my husband, who took me out for a bowl of clam chowder before the movie. Lunch and a movie. Triple wow!

Go See Twilight!!!!

Twilight count down!

I'm seeing "Twilight" right after we close the office this afternoon! Christian is bummed because he doesn't think he'll enjoy the movie. He says, "It's a girly movie!" Still, he owes me a movie because he never took me to see "August Rush" like he promised. (Another "girly movie"... which we ended up seeing on the plane ride to Oregon and he loved it so much that every day when he drives to and from the office he listens to the soundtrack that Peter made for us of music from the film.)

I'll post my thought on Twilight tonight after I get home! Wahoo! So excited!!!!!!!!

The ol' pig skin!

During the Giants' halftime today Christian and his brother John threw the football around on the street behind our house. Christian is in the gray knit cap and John is in the red band. (I took the video with my camera, so its not the best quality and I still can only hold the camera with one arm, so sorry about the shakiness.)

Those boys love their football!

It comes earlier every year

My alarm went off this morning at 7:30 and I woke up to one of my favorite sounds... Christmas music!!! I have my alarm set to a local radio station out of New York City, and every year they play non-stop Christmas music, however it normally doesn't start until the day after Thanksgiving. So why so early this year?

They're giving everyone a "sneak-peak" of their Christmas line up, but only for the weekend. My guess is that they're trying to jump start the Christmas spending spree to help out businesses and our economy, by attempting to put people in the Christmas spirit a few weeks sooner than usual.

If thats the case, I don't mind. I throughly enjoyed the surprise, and even more so enjoyed singing along with every song that was played this morning. Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. La la lee laah lee la loo.... hee hee.

See what my Daddy did!!

My Dad posted on his blog this morning these amazing photos that he took. I warned him that I was going to steal them, because they are of some of my favorite places on this planet, and they are all in Southern Oregon, my true home! So enjoy the talents of my Popoolie.

Above: The church that I grew up in down the street from the house I grew up in. How cool is this photo?!?

Above: A local theatre production of Carmina Burana

Above: Crater Lake National Park. Breath taking

Oh happy day!

Yesterday I went to the hospital for surgery. My plastic surgeon met with me before I went into the OR and shared the new game plan! (To read about the old game plan look at the post titled "Surgery Happy") The new game plan was to scrub the exposed plate, then take human tissue (grown in a "pea-tree" dish, I love science) and slide the tissue in the hole to tuck it under my skin to give me added thickness and then stitch the hole closed on the existing scar from my first surgery. So no new scars for Taryn!!! Wahoo!

They put me in a "twilight" state so I was breathing on my own, and I think I could interact with the doctors, but once it was over I didn't remember a thing. I spent 20 minutes in the recovery room (as opposed to three hours like last time) and was ready to go home 40 minutes after that. No dizziness, no nausea, and no discomfort. I was able to go home, eat dinner, and relax. Last night I had the best sleep that I've gotten since the accident back in August!

Even today I'm not in any pain. To be honest it feels like someone is just pinching my skin and they’re simply not letting go. Its not bad at all. I meet with my plastic surgeon tomorrow, and I see my orthopedic surgeon on the 25th and then I'll know how much time I have before my third and final surgery to remove the plate!

But for now, I'm happy that I'm fixed! I feel great! And I'm glad that I can look at this through a positive light again!!! My positive attitude has returned!!! Life is great once again!

FYI (surgery update)

I went to the hospital today for all my blood work and surgical prep stuff. I'm on the schedule for surgery at Saint Joseph's hospital tomorrow at 1 p.m. I'll go in at 11 a.m. and hopefully be home around dinner time.

Send good vibes please!

Things I've mastered with just my left hand:

• Taking a one armed shower
• Washing my hair
  
• Brushing my teeth
• Eating a bowl of cereal
• Typing
• Getting dressed
• Emptying the dishwasher
• Folding laundry
• Using a computer mouse
  
• Putting the water jug back in the fridge (its a process: open the fridge door, hold the door open with your foot, spin around and reach for the counter, grab the water jug, place in fridge, close fridge door)
• Putting on shoes (Ha, do clogs count?)
• Making the bed
• Using the remote control
• Using toilet paper ('nough said)
• Opening and closing the passenger car door (think about it, you always use your right hand to close the passenger door, so left hand is pretty tough)
• Using my "straightner" (flat iron) on my hair.
• Updating my blog
  

Surgery Happy

I met with a plastic surgeon today, and it wasn't the news I was hoping to hear. The only way to seal up the hole in my shoulder is another surgery. The plastic surgeon feels that the safest way to deal with this would be to cut a flap of skin in the shape of an L, either below the scar (from my chest) or from above the scar (from my trap) and flip it up/down onto the open area. This will most likely happen on Tuesday of next week.

I have to admit that I'm really starting to wear thin on my positive nature. I know that there is nothing I can do, and that it could have been much worse but still, I would like to get my life back, and it just seems that rather than moving ahead I'm at a total stand still... if not even a step backward. I'm just frustrated, I know, but I really can not wait till this has become a distant memory.

How ghetto are we?!?

Last night Christian couldn't take it any more. Our television, which we found on the curb waiting for trash pick up, finally kicked the bucket after giving us three years of watching pleasure. Sure, we never had a remote for our good old tv, so to turn it on or off you had to get up and walk across the room, or to adjust the volume you had to get up and walk across the room. But hey, in this day and age we could all use a little extra exercise.

Anyway, over the last two weeks our tv showed signs of a fading glory. It started small one morning where we notice that we could no longer see the extreme top and bottom of the screen. (A terrible thing when watching football and checking on scores that are printed at the top of the screen) Then as days went by the screen started to stretch out even more, which again made watching tv a little difficult because now everyone looked like they were paper thin and 12 feet tall.

So last night after Christian attempted to watch his football on the stretched out block that we lovingly called our tv, he stood up, went down to the basement and got my first tv which is maybe only 14" at most and hooked it up so he could watch his Giants win against the Cowboys. Polls are now open to guess how long this setup will stay in place until Christian buys a new television.

And a step sideways

Okay, the latest in the clavicle saga. I met with my surgeon today with the notion that he was going to stitch up the hole in my scar. Once the bandage came off the Doc took a solid look and told me that I now need to see a plastic surgeon. Humf!

He's worried about the tightness/thinness of my skin stretched out over the plate. He didn't want to put a stitch in because it would stretch the skin even more and honestly he feels its stretched to the max and will tear.

He's also worried at the thinness because he thinks that the plate is slowly eroding my skin, just as the knot did a week ago! So he is sending me to a specialist (the plastic surgeon) because he deals with bones and is at a loss what should be done. He said that yesterday he contacted several of his fellow surgeons to ask them what they would recommend and they all said, "send her to a plastic surgeon."

So off I go to meet with a new doctor. I still have a hole in my shoulder. I still can't move my arm. And I'm still trying to keep a positive outlook on this but my strength is sure being tested! But for now, it is what it is, and I'm doing my best to deal with it one day at a time.

Two steps forward, one step back

SO, I met with my surgeon yesterday in hopes that a) it would be my last visit with him until I needed to set up my second surgery to remove the hardware, and b) to get the go ahead to remove the immobilizer brace that has become a part of me over the last six weeks. I also had a minor detail that I knew he could fix...

OVER THE PAST THREE WEEKS, since I last saw him, I had a tiny bump on my scar. I didn't think too much of it because it wasn't discolored, nor did it hurt. Well, the bump softened over the first week when I showered and on the second week a tiny little thread poked through. Again I didn't think too much of it because he did say that I had internal stitches and that they would most-likely dissolve as I shower. Well, as the next week and a half went on the string was slowly being pushed up and now I had the base of the string which was a knot at the surface. My husband and I thought my body would just push it out on it's own as that's what my body had already been doing. However the last three days it felt completely solid to the touch.

ANYWAY, I was excited to see the doc so he could snip it and remove the string. Turns out that the string wasn't a stitch. During the surgery the doc color codes his threads. This was a green thread so he knew at a glance what this string was. This is the string he used to wrap around both the bone and the plate to hold it in place while he put in the screws, as well as to keep in in place while my bone heals with the screws. Unfortunately for me the knot which used to be under the bone had shifted to the top of the bone/plate. Over three weeks the knot "eroded"
(the Doc's exact word) my skin, so when he removed the knot he said he could see down the hole to the hardware.

GROSS!!! I didn't take a look for myself, because thats not something one would want to see. He bandaged me up, so I now look like I just had surgery again. PLUS, I have to see him on Sunday because he thinks he'll have to give my hole a little slice and then stitch me up again to close it properly. Plus he put me on antibiotics since I have a hole in me he doesn't want it to get infected. (The antibiotics give me a terrific headache and I have to take them every 6 hours for the next 6 days! So its going to be a long week for me.)

ON TOP OF WHICH, he doesn't like how my skin is stretched out over the plate. My plate has lifted slightly so we have to watch it. He also said that because I'm so thin framed, its a poor combination to add hardware to an area where there is no extra tissue/fat/muscle. So where he first said that I could wait up to three years for my second surgery, he know feels that the plate should come out as soon as possible which means nine months from the surgery date. So looks like I'll be having surgery in June of '09.

HE ALSO SAID that even though I've been so good with my immobilizer brace, and that he had wanted me to start physical therapy on Monday, he says that my skin can't take the movement yet, along with the hole in my shoulder. So still no movement of the arm... BUT I did get an up grade of a sling. I'll still wear the brace to sleep because I don't want to move my arm by accident in my sleep, but by day I can wear the sling. However, I still can't wear cute clothes. I have about six stretchy t-shirts that I wear, because I have to step into them like a skirt and then pull them up with my one good arm, since I can't lift my arm, or move my shoulder up and/or back to fit it in a shirt that goes over my head.

BACK TO SQUARE ONE. So there really hasn't been much change. I get to go "under the knife" tomorrow for my "slice and stitch". And I'll probably still have to make trips to his office over the next few weeks/months. *sigh* Healing takes time... A LOT OF TIME!