Brody was having a really good time in the doorway jumper at the LRC.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Thanksgiving
Mike is on the mend. Yesterday we went back to the doctor. They removed the stitches and set up Mike's first therapy appointment for this Wednesday. I think they want him to do therapy twice a week. Hopefully it will help him recover quicker and aid his knee in healing properly!
Brody comforts Mike while Mike is icing his knee.We went to western KS for Thanksgiving. Mike's grandparents and some other extended family still hadn't met Brody! It was a hard trip for Mike....but we made it! He ate lunch and then made it down the stairs to the family room and the comfy recliner. He stayed there until we left Fridy morning :)
Mike, Staci, Nancy, Grandpa & Grandma Brown, and Brody. 
The Cowboys watching the Cowboy game :)Saturday we had a surprise visit from a couple that went to college with Mike. I hadn't seen Justin & Christy in 3 years and Mike hadn't seen them in over 5 years! We also got to meet their little boy, Gabriel. He was such a cutie! It was fun to get to catch up with old friends.
Friday, November 24, 2006
Under the Knife
Short movie about my knee surgery on Friday, November 17th.
*Might take awhile to download if you don't have a broadband connection.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Road to Recovery
The surgery is over...now we just have the long road of recovery ahead of us!
The surgeon decided to repair the tear in Mike's meniscus rather than cut it out since he would've had to remove so much to get rid of the torn part. If it heals this will be better in the end, however, there is a 30% failure rate. This means that there's a 1 in 3 chance that Mike will have to go back in for a second surgery to have the repaired part removed!
Recovery time will be much longer since they repaired the tear. Mike is in a brace from his ankle to his upper thigh and will have to wear it for 6 weeks. He is in a tremendous amount of pain right now. He can't even get up off the couch and use crutches to get to the bathroom without severe agony. I'm really hoping that the pain subsides soon!
Nancy came over on Friday night and made chicken noodle soup and helped me clean house and care for Mike. I'm sleeping on the living room floor so that I can get Mike anything he needs during the night (he's only sleeping 10 minutes here and 10 minutes there). He's been drinking plenty of fluids and has been able to eat mild foods.
Please pray that the pain will become tolerable soon and that Mike will be stable enough to go visit his grandparents for Thanksgiving! You can also pray that Brody will be a happy baby this week :)
I'll post more when I'm not so tired!
The surgeon decided to repair the tear in Mike's meniscus rather than cut it out since he would've had to remove so much to get rid of the torn part. If it heals this will be better in the end, however, there is a 30% failure rate. This means that there's a 1 in 3 chance that Mike will have to go back in for a second surgery to have the repaired part removed!
Recovery time will be much longer since they repaired the tear. Mike is in a brace from his ankle to his upper thigh and will have to wear it for 6 weeks. He is in a tremendous amount of pain right now. He can't even get up off the couch and use crutches to get to the bathroom without severe agony. I'm really hoping that the pain subsides soon!
Nancy came over on Friday night and made chicken noodle soup and helped me clean house and care for Mike. I'm sleeping on the living room floor so that I can get Mike anything he needs during the night (he's only sleeping 10 minutes here and 10 minutes there). He's been drinking plenty of fluids and has been able to eat mild foods.
Please pray that the pain will become tolerable soon and that Mike will be stable enough to go visit his grandparents for Thanksgiving! You can also pray that Brody will be a happy baby this week :)
I'll post more when I'm not so tired!
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Morning Commute
You may think that I have a boring drive to work since I live in the middle of nowhere. No billboards, no traffic jams, no wrecks....what is there to look at during the 20 mintue morning commute? Just because I drive to work when it's still pitch black outside (4:30 am) doesn't mean there isn't excitement on my way to work! Here's what I saw today:
2 raccoons (1 alive, 1 roadkill)
3 deer
1 coyote
1 cat
1 dog
1 red fox
2 rabbits
4 cars
a field of cows (ok...maybe I could just smell them)
and my favorite...2 shooting stars!
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Growin' Like a Weed
Can you believe that it was 3 months ago that Brody was born? Three months ago at this time I was in immense pain! lol! It was worth it! We have enjoyed every minute with our little boy. It's hard to believe how fast he's growing! It's so much fun to watch him discover new things and to see new expressions on his face.
Here's his 3-month football picture:
Ok...maybe he hasn't really grown that much ;) That's one of his toy footballs. He was trying to trick you to think he's bigger than he really is.
Here's a picture of him with the real football :)
____________________________________________________
In other news...I took Mike to the doctor yesterday only to find out that he wasn't going to be able to have his MRI until today. So we go back today at 1:00 pm for the MRI. Thursday we go back for the MRI results and surgery prep...then Friday they do the surgery. Although, they didn't give us a surgery time for Friday, so I'm hoping they have it scheduled in! They're a very busy practice! Mike felt MUCH better last night after getting his new pain meds and anti-nausea medication. Both meds made him very drowsy, so Brody and I tried to play quietly so Mike could get some much needed sleep.
Here's his 3-month football picture:
Ok...maybe he hasn't really grown that much ;) That's one of his toy footballs. He was trying to trick you to think he's bigger than he really is.
Here's a picture of him with the real football :)
____________________________________________________
In other news...I took Mike to the doctor yesterday only to find out that he wasn't going to be able to have his MRI until today. So we go back today at 1:00 pm for the MRI. Thursday we go back for the MRI results and surgery prep...then Friday they do the surgery. Although, they didn't give us a surgery time for Friday, so I'm hoping they have it scheduled in! They're a very busy practice! Mike felt MUCH better last night after getting his new pain meds and anti-nausea medication. Both meds made him very drowsy, so Brody and I tried to play quietly so Mike could get some much needed sleep.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Men's Retreat
Did you know that a church men's retreat can be dangerous?
Our church is having a men's retreat this weekend. Last night was game night (basketball, board games, card games, etc) along with pizza and a speaker. Today they are having a breakfast, a few sessions with the speaker, chili for lunch, and (Mike's favorite) a skeet shoot! Mike spent yesterday afternoon setting up a 5-station skeet shoot competition for the guys to use today. He won the shoot last year and has been practicing this week so that he could try to win again. He's VERY disappointed that he's not going to get a chance to shoot today.
Last night he was playing basketball at the game night and hurt his knee. At first he thought it was just sprained, but then the pain greatly intensified. It got to the point where 2 guys (Terry & Jack) carried him out to the car and Bob rushed him to the hospital. His knee was locked in a bent position and he was unable to straighten it out. They did an x-ray and found that the bone was ok. They said he tore his meniscus and that they needed to straighten it out. The ER doctor tried to straighten it out (after giving Mike a pain shot in his leg) and it was too painful. So...they put in a call to the orthopedic doctor.
At 10:00 I was sitting on the couch feeding Brody when I saw a car pull up our driveway. It was so dark outside that I couldn't tell who it was. I knew it wasn't Mike (you know how loud his truck is! lol). So I picked up the phone to call Mike to see if he knew who would be coming to our house so late. It was then that I realized my phone was dead. I ran to the bedroom to plug my phone in and called him. He said it was Terry coming to tell me that Mike was in the hospital! To make a long story short, I called Teri and she came over to watch Brody while I drove to the hospital (thanks so much Teri!!! You're a lifesaver!!!)
When I got there Mike's knee was still stuck in a bent position. Bob (who just happens to be a nurse) was still there just trying to help Mike find a comfortable position. They gave him another shot for the pain and we waited for the orthopedic Dr. He got to the hospital around midnight and gave Mike a shot deep into his knee with a numbing agent. He said this would help Mike to be able to relax and hopefully they could get the let straight. He said that when you tear your meniscus (the cartilage behind the knee) it can flip up into the joint locking your knee. When you get it straightened out then the cartilage should lay back down flat and give you movement in your leg.
We waited for the numbing agent to take effect and then the Dr. tried to straighten Mike's leg. It was still too painful (and if you know Mike...you know pain has to be unbearable before he shows you that he's in pain!) The Dr. left to go book Mike a room in the hospital. Mike kept working on his leg trying to straighten it. Finally he grimaced and tried really hard. I heard a loud pop and Mike was writhing in so much pain that I had to push against his body to keep him from falling off the bed!
I went to find the Dr and he was happy to see that Mike got the leg straight! He wrote a prescription for codeine and told Mike to come into his office on Monday for an MRI. He said they'll probably have to do orthoscopic surgery sometime next week to remove the torn cartilage.
We made it home a little after 2:00 am. Needless to say...it wasn't an easy night of sleep for Mike. This morning he fell asleep on the couch with Brody while watching their "man cartoons" (aka home building shows).
I'm sad that he's not getting to go do the skeet shoot (he tried to convince me last night that he'd be able to do it today...but he had changed his mind by this morning). I'm very thankful that it's not any worse than it is. I guess if there's a year for this to happen...this is the one. With Brody being born this year we're already pretty close to our total out of pocket! I think I have a few moles that I need removed. I wonder what else we need to have done this year?
Our church is having a men's retreat this weekend. Last night was game night (basketball, board games, card games, etc) along with pizza and a speaker. Today they are having a breakfast, a few sessions with the speaker, chili for lunch, and (Mike's favorite) a skeet shoot! Mike spent yesterday afternoon setting up a 5-station skeet shoot competition for the guys to use today. He won the shoot last year and has been practicing this week so that he could try to win again. He's VERY disappointed that he's not going to get a chance to shoot today.
Last night he was playing basketball at the game night and hurt his knee. At first he thought it was just sprained, but then the pain greatly intensified. It got to the point where 2 guys (Terry & Jack) carried him out to the car and Bob rushed him to the hospital. His knee was locked in a bent position and he was unable to straighten it out. They did an x-ray and found that the bone was ok. They said he tore his meniscus and that they needed to straighten it out. The ER doctor tried to straighten it out (after giving Mike a pain shot in his leg) and it was too painful. So...they put in a call to the orthopedic doctor.
At 10:00 I was sitting on the couch feeding Brody when I saw a car pull up our driveway. It was so dark outside that I couldn't tell who it was. I knew it wasn't Mike (you know how loud his truck is! lol). So I picked up the phone to call Mike to see if he knew who would be coming to our house so late. It was then that I realized my phone was dead. I ran to the bedroom to plug my phone in and called him. He said it was Terry coming to tell me that Mike was in the hospital! To make a long story short, I called Teri and she came over to watch Brody while I drove to the hospital (thanks so much Teri!!! You're a lifesaver!!!)
When I got there Mike's knee was still stuck in a bent position. Bob (who just happens to be a nurse) was still there just trying to help Mike find a comfortable position. They gave him another shot for the pain and we waited for the orthopedic Dr. He got to the hospital around midnight and gave Mike a shot deep into his knee with a numbing agent. He said this would help Mike to be able to relax and hopefully they could get the let straight. He said that when you tear your meniscus (the cartilage behind the knee) it can flip up into the joint locking your knee. When you get it straightened out then the cartilage should lay back down flat and give you movement in your leg.
We waited for the numbing agent to take effect and then the Dr. tried to straighten Mike's leg. It was still too painful (and if you know Mike...you know pain has to be unbearable before he shows you that he's in pain!) The Dr. left to go book Mike a room in the hospital. Mike kept working on his leg trying to straighten it. Finally he grimaced and tried really hard. I heard a loud pop and Mike was writhing in so much pain that I had to push against his body to keep him from falling off the bed!
I went to find the Dr and he was happy to see that Mike got the leg straight! He wrote a prescription for codeine and told Mike to come into his office on Monday for an MRI. He said they'll probably have to do orthoscopic surgery sometime next week to remove the torn cartilage.
We made it home a little after 2:00 am. Needless to say...it wasn't an easy night of sleep for Mike. This morning he fell asleep on the couch with Brody while watching their "man cartoons" (aka home building shows).
I'm sad that he's not getting to go do the skeet shoot (he tried to convince me last night that he'd be able to do it today...but he had changed his mind by this morning). I'm very thankful that it's not any worse than it is. I guess if there's a year for this to happen...this is the one. With Brody being born this year we're already pretty close to our total out of pocket! I think I have a few moles that I need removed. I wonder what else we need to have done this year?
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Near Death Experience
GG has told me that every morning when she wakes up she prays for my protection. She knows that I get up early to go to work and she said she prays that God keeps me safe on my commute. He answered her prayers yesterday.
I was driving home from work and was talking to my parents on my cell phone (like I do many days on my way home). The "highway" is a 2 lane road with a speed limit of 60 mph. It's a straight road (like most KS roads) where you can see for miles. I could see a red Chevy S10 pickup with a topper on the back coming towards me in the opposite lane. He swerved over into my lane a little so I was keeping an eye on him. As he got closer I realized that he was still in my lane! This really isn't too unusual on a 2 lane road...but usually people move back into their lane before they get too close to you. I kept waiting for him to move back into his lane. Suddenly he was directly in front of me! I swerved off the road (at 60 mph!) to avoid being hit head on! It was such an instant reaction and when I swerved off I did a MAJOR "no-no"... I swerved right back onto the highway! The shoulders along the highway are gravel/grass/dirt shoulders. The way I swerved off and back on at 60 mph I really should've rolled the car!
All my parents heard was me yell an obscenity (I think I said "Holy Crap!"). Then I was crying as I told them what happened. Dad immediately said a prayer thanking God for protecting me and Brody. I called Mike when I got home to tell him what happened and was still so shaken up that I cried as I told him about it!
Thanks GG for praying for me every day. I don't know God's plan for all the days of my life...but I know that yesterday wasn't the day for me to go Home. I wonder why? I wonder what plans he has in store for me? It's exciting to think about!
I was driving home from work and was talking to my parents on my cell phone (like I do many days on my way home). The "highway" is a 2 lane road with a speed limit of 60 mph. It's a straight road (like most KS roads) where you can see for miles. I could see a red Chevy S10 pickup with a topper on the back coming towards me in the opposite lane. He swerved over into my lane a little so I was keeping an eye on him. As he got closer I realized that he was still in my lane! This really isn't too unusual on a 2 lane road...but usually people move back into their lane before they get too close to you. I kept waiting for him to move back into his lane. Suddenly he was directly in front of me! I swerved off the road (at 60 mph!) to avoid being hit head on! It was such an instant reaction and when I swerved off I did a MAJOR "no-no"... I swerved right back onto the highway! The shoulders along the highway are gravel/grass/dirt shoulders. The way I swerved off and back on at 60 mph I really should've rolled the car!
All my parents heard was me yell an obscenity (I think I said "Holy Crap!"). Then I was crying as I told them what happened. Dad immediately said a prayer thanking God for protecting me and Brody. I called Mike when I got home to tell him what happened and was still so shaken up that I cried as I told him about it!
Thanks GG for praying for me every day. I don't know God's plan for all the days of my life...but I know that yesterday wasn't the day for me to go Home. I wonder why? I wonder what plans he has in store for me? It's exciting to think about!
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Alarm Clocks
I don't have time to post much right now...but I wanted to update you on the sleep deprivation.
Last night Brody was back to sleeping thru the night! Yay! I'm hoping he got it all out of his system Tuesday morning and will go back to sleeping thru the night every night ;)
It would've been a perfect morning if my alarm clock worked. I'm gonna have to buy a new one (and no...I can't wait until Christmas and get it as a gift!!!) That makes 2 times this week that it hasn't worked! I knew it was going out...but I thought that as long as I set it "just right" (you had to jiggle the button until the alarm light was on full power) that it worked. It's a good thing my watch alarm was set as a backup. It woke me up at 4:30. So I RUSHED to feed/change Brody, grab my bags, and run out the door. I feel asleep on the couch last night (hmmm...wonder why?) so I didn't make my lunch last night like usual and didn't have time to make it this morning. I guess Subway will have some extra business today :)
Last night Brody was back to sleeping thru the night! Yay! I'm hoping he got it all out of his system Tuesday morning and will go back to sleeping thru the night every night ;)
It would've been a perfect morning if my alarm clock worked. I'm gonna have to buy a new one (and no...I can't wait until Christmas and get it as a gift!!!) That makes 2 times this week that it hasn't worked! I knew it was going out...but I thought that as long as I set it "just right" (you had to jiggle the button until the alarm light was on full power) that it worked. It's a good thing my watch alarm was set as a backup. It woke me up at 4:30. So I RUSHED to feed/change Brody, grab my bags, and run out the door. I feel asleep on the couch last night (hmmm...wonder why?) so I didn't make my lunch last night like usual and didn't have time to make it this morning. I guess Subway will have some extra business today :)
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Tuesday, November 7th
1:00 am
1:10 am
1:30 am
2:00 am
2:25 am
2:45 am
3:00 am
3:15 am
3:25 am
Yawwwwwwwwwwwwn!!!!!
Where were you this morning?
I think Brody's hit the 3 month growth spurt!
1:10 am
1:30 am
2:00 am
2:25 am
2:45 am
3:00 am
3:15 am
3:25 am
Yawwwwwwwwwwwwn!!!!!
Where were you this morning?
I think Brody's hit the 3 month growth spurt!
Monday, November 06, 2006
Sunday Schedules?!?!?
We had a good weekend. Saturday Mike mowed in the morning while Brody and I cleaned house. Then we all went to town. We took Brody to one of the hunting/outdoor stores and looked at all the fun baby camo stuff. Of course we also had to make our stops at Lowes, Wal-Mart, Orschlens, and Tractor Supply. We went to China Star for lunch/dinner and learned how hard it can be to eat out with a baby (very different from eating out with a newborn who sleeps the whole time)! Brody was really fighting sleep. I ended up taking him outside and walking around for 20 minutes! When I came back in one of the waitresses said, "You're back!" lol. He finally fell asleep and we were able to finish our meal.
Brody with his stuffed moose from Tyler and Ann.
Both Saturdy and Sunday Brody slept until 6:30 am!!!! We were very excited about this. We tried something new on Sunday that I don't think we'll be trying again soon. I pumped a bottle right before we left for church. So...instead of feeding Brody at 8:30 (like normal) we thought we'd give him a bottle during Sunday school (9:30 am) and then he'd make it thru church without me having to leave to feed him. Well.....he didn't want anything to do with the bottle and was screaming his head off. Mike gave him to me and I took him to the cry room. Of course he didn't want the bottle from me (why would he when he knows the "real thing" is right there?)...but since I pumped before church...I didn't have any of the "real thing" left! lol. After a long time of crying (on his part..lol) I FINALLY got him to take the bottle. By the time he finished it, class was over! LOL! To make it an even bigger mook (for a definition of "mook" check out Megan's blog)...he didn't even make it thru church! Mike had to take him out. Boy are Sundays hard schedulewise! Anyone have them all figured out? Let me know if you have some advice for us!
Brody with his stuffed moose from Tyler and Ann.Both Saturdy and Sunday Brody slept until 6:30 am!!!! We were very excited about this. We tried something new on Sunday that I don't think we'll be trying again soon. I pumped a bottle right before we left for church. So...instead of feeding Brody at 8:30 (like normal) we thought we'd give him a bottle during Sunday school (9:30 am) and then he'd make it thru church without me having to leave to feed him. Well.....he didn't want anything to do with the bottle and was screaming his head off. Mike gave him to me and I took him to the cry room. Of course he didn't want the bottle from me (why would he when he knows the "real thing" is right there?)...but since I pumped before church...I didn't have any of the "real thing" left! lol. After a long time of crying (on his part..lol) I FINALLY got him to take the bottle. By the time he finished it, class was over! LOL! To make it an even bigger mook (for a definition of "mook" check out Megan's blog)...he didn't even make it thru church! Mike had to take him out. Boy are Sundays hard schedulewise! Anyone have them all figured out? Let me know if you have some advice for us!
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