Bone Marrow Donation - One Year Later

I had a message today from someone at the National Marrow Donor Program informing me that the young boy with leukemia, who I donated bone marrow to last January, is doing really well! The lady also said that since it's been a year, I'll probably be able to meet him. This is incredibly exciting! When I was asked to donate blood cells to the boy over the summer, I feared that the marrow donation hadn't gone well, and this was a last ditch effort. Either that, or he needed an extra boost to beat the cancer. Well, whatever it was, it sounds like it worked! I can't call them back because of the holiday, but you can bet I'll be getting in touch with them first thing Monday morning! Stay tuned.

Holiday Happenings

There's no point in taking yourself too seriously in life.  My family gatherings wouldn't be normal if they weren't full of humor.  When Meezy and I showed up to my parents' house on Christmas Day and walked into a room full of relatives holding up fingerstaches, our first thought was, "Hey! Where are ours?"  My oldest nephew, David, thought it would be funny to bring them to the gathering, and he was right.  They were a riot.  My entire family got into the spirit.  I love these guys!

  Notice my dad's unique take on the fingerstache.  Hilarious!

Me and the hubs cheesing it up

Stealthy Daughters

My mom's birthday this year was quite a milestone - 60!  My dad isn't far behind her, and will be turning 60 in 2011.  They also will celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary in the coming year.  That's quite a lot of exciting events going on, so my sisters and I decided to get them something extra special on Christmas.  My mom has always wanted to go to San Francisco, but it's not necessarily high on my dad's list of things to do.  So, we bought the trip for them!  That way, my mom gets her wish, and my dad doesn't have to pay for it.  Win-win!  We went ahead and gave it to them now, so that they can decide when next year they want to take it.  We presented them with a check that should cover airfare and a couple nights' hotel accommodation, and just the stipulation that the trip must be taken before their 40th anniversary next December.  We took some video of us giving them the news on Christmas.  Good times!!

2010: A Year in Review

It's that time of year again.  Time to reflect on the happenings in 2010 that helped shape my life in one way or another.  As I look back on the last year of my life, I have to say that, despite a couple of hiccups, things were pretty fantastic.  I have so many experiences to be grateful for, and so much hope for many more great things in the future.  In all honesty, even the events that brought me to my lowest were great learning experiences and I can see the positive in them.  Here goes my year in review, in no particular order:

1) Donated bone marrow and later underwent apheresis for a young boy with leukemia

2) Took a quick trip to St. Louis to surprise my hubby with tickets to watch the 49ers play

3) Welcomed a new nephew into the world

4) Did various updates to our house including a new fence and new hardwoods

5) Ran the Warrior Dash and multiple 5K races

6) Watched some great friends get married in Dallas and Las Vegas

7) Took a Memorial Day getaway to Puerto Aventuras

8) Played softball, flag football, sand volleyball, and tennis

 9) Said goodbye to our exchange student :(

10) Fulfilled a dream of traveling to Europe and visited London, Monte Carlo, Paris, Amsterdam, Maastricht, Koln, and Bonn 

 11) Watched a Wimbledon final

12) Bought a new car

13) Cheered on my favorite teams

14) Restored my sanity in Washington, DC

15) Said goodbye to family friends and watched others do the same

16) Broke my kneecap
 

Parking Garage Etiquette

Do people forget common sense when they enter a parking garage, or do they just normally drive like assholes all the time?  I don't understand why it's so hard to follow a few easy rules in these situations.  I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they just don't know any better.  In that case, take note:

1) Drive on the right side of the road.  Just because you're in a parking garage, doesn't mean you've been transplanted to London and it's suddenly okay to drive on the left side (or in the middle).

2) When making a turn around a corner, do it so that you end up on the right side of the road.  If you're turning left, why would you cut it so close that you're on the wrong side after making the turn?  You're just asking to be t-boned. 

3) Drive slowly.  There aren't cops with radar guns in the garage, but that doesn't mean you should speed.  People do have to walk (or hobble) to their cars, you know. 

4) When you get to an "intersection," slow down and look both ways.  You don't automatically have the right of way, and sometimes other drivers are having a hard time seeing around parked cars.

5) Only take up one space.  I don't care how expensive or shiny your car is, it can still fit in one space.   In other words, this is not appropriate:

 (I bet they can't color inside the lines either)

Proud Wifey

Meezy ran a half marathon this past weekend and I was able to watch him cross the finish line.  Call me sappy, but I got a little choked up when I saw him finish.  The only reason he signed up for the White Rock Half was because I asked him to run it with me.  It was my goal to complete 13.1 miles and he was going to run to keep me motivated and increase my chances at finishing.  He was doing it for me. 

Over the past month, his work demands increased a lot, and he wasn't able to keep up with the training schedule.  He would do the long runs with me on the weekends, but that was pretty much the extent of what he had time for.  Then came my kneecap fracture.  It obviously put me out of commission for running the race, but I wasn't sure what it meant for Meezy.  He had no obligation to do it anymore, and I wouldn't have blamed him for quitting.  Despite that, he decided to give it a shot anyways, and did pretty darn well considering the situation.

I was so proud when I saw him coming around the corner and heading down the straightaway to the finish line.  Part of me was extremely sad that I wasn't running by his side, but the other part of me was extremely happy to see him conquer this challenge.  I hope we get the chance to cross the line together someday.

 He's in the bright yellow!

 Go, Meezy, go!

We had numerous friends who also ran the Half this year, and I want to give them a big congratulations!  It's an awesome accomplishment and they should be very proud.  Major shout-outs to Brian, Sharon, and Justin who ran their first Marathon and kicked its ass!  I'm in awe of those guys.

Ortho Update

I went back to the orthopedic surgeon yesterday for another follow-up appointment.  They took more x-rays and things still look good.  I took the brace off and the doctor wanted to see if I could bend my leg.  He put his hand under my knee and raised up.  The initial movement hurt, but once it got past a certain point, it felt fine.  It really just felt like something stretching (which I'm sure is what my tendons were doing after having been kept in a compact position for the past two weeks).  I can't raise my knee up to bend my leg on my own power, but at least it's a good sign that it can be bent at all.  The doc told me I should try to lift my knee up periodically like that at home, just to give it some exercise and flexibility.  I feel okay with that, because it really doesn't hurt to do it, and I'd like to keep those muscles/tendons from atrophying.  I tried the exercise a couple times last night before I went to bed.......bad idea!  I woke up numerous times throughout the night in pain.  I guess it was a little too much stress on my kneecap. It's so deceiving that it feels fine at the time, but the pain hits you later!  I'll have to figure out the best time of the day to do those exercises, so that my sleep isn't affected.

In other news, I regained a little bit of my independence.  Mainly out of necessity, I figured out a way for me to drive myself.  It's not the most comfortable position in the car, and I have to use both feet on the pedals, but it will work for now.  It was starting to get impossible to coordinate my work schedule with Meezy's, and then throw in my weekly doctor visits on top of that.  It's a lot to ask of someone to disrupt their workday to bring me to an appointment.  I'm glad I'm a little less helpless now, but you can be damn sure I'm going to use my handicapped placard whenever possible! 

Thanksgiving Holiday Recap

Thanksgiving at our house this year was great!  Meezy and my Mom worked really hard in the kitchen to get everything ready.  I tried to help however I could, but being on my feet was really making me tired.  They mostly told me to just stay out of the way!  We ended up having 20 people at our house, but there was plenty of room and the company was great.  It was nice to have all my nephews and nieces there who live out of town.  They're awesome kiddos (they're all over 20, but they're still kiddos to me!), and I love hanging out with them.  We also had some other family there that I don't get to see very often, and it was nice to catch up with them! 

On Friday, Meezy's brother and fiance (Seth & Katie) came into town to stay with us for the weekend.  We decided to try out a local Mexican restaurant for dinner.  Just getting there was an adventure, since normally my gimpy leg takes up the entire back seat!  We worked out an arrangement where I sat at an angle in the back, with my leg extending onto the center console of the front seat.  Luckily Seth didn't mind my foot chilling by his arm, so it worked out!  The food was good, especially the layered queso, and Meezy found a girlie drink there that he liked.  (Haha).  We didn't have any complaints, but I'm not so sure how long that place is going to stick around, considering there were only four other people in the restaurant besides us!  After dinner, we headed back home and sat around in the living room, just catching up.  I'm not sure how many hours we spent talking, but it was great since we don't get to spend nearly enough time with them!

On Saturday, we headed to Potbelly's for lunch.  They don't have one of those in Amarillo, and it's one of Katie's favorite sandwich places, so we knew we had to fit it in before they headed home.  Meezy and I love it too, so we were happy to go!  After lunch, we decided to take a short drive over to this area called "Urban Reserve."  Last year, my sister and hubby had driven us to this new neighborhood with "green" houses that all have really unique designs.  It hadn't taken off yet at the time we last visited, so we thought it might be interesting to drive Seth and Katie through it, to see if it had gained popularity and if more crazy houses that been built there.  To our surprise, it still looked pretty much the same as it did last year!  I guess the idea never really took off.  There were only a couple of houses that were being lived in, and the other few completed ones were for sale.  There were lots of empty lots, with just signs in front of them showing which unique design would be built there, if sold.  It was still fun to show them the weird designs that had already been constructed, and they even walked through one house that was in progress. 

On Saturday night, Meezy, Seth, Katie, and my brother-in-law headed to the AAC to watch the Mavs play the Heat.  Seth and Katie have liked LeBron James for a while now, and we knew this was pretty much the only opportunity they'd get to see him play this year.  I was originally supposed to go (in place of my bro-in-law) when we bought the tickets a couple of months ago, but my recent injury precluded me from attending.  :(  I was pretty bummed about that, but I'm just glad they had a great time!  Katie brought me home some cotton candy, which I had mentioned before that I would definitely have bought had I attended, so that helped cheer me up!

Everything had been going great that weekend, but unfortunately I had a little run-in with my doggle, Juneau, that dropped me down a couple of notches.  As I walked in the door on Saturday night, she was excited to see me and jumped on my back.  As she was coming down, her front feet hit the back of my busted knee and pushed it forward.  The brace is supposed to keep it from bending, but the force of her legs jammed it forward as far as the brace would allow it. It caused a lot of shooting pain and I immediately burst into tears.  The pain was reminiscent of the night the injury originally happened, so I was pretty distraught.  I was embarrassed for crying in front of my in-laws, but I really just couldn't control it!  I hobbled to my bedroom and tried to calm down.  Luckily the pain subsided some after a few minutes, and I didn't want to end the night on that crappy situation, so I made my way back into the living room to hang out with the group.  We ended up talking for hours again, mostly laughing at childhood stories of Meezy and Seth and then laughing at how similar Katie and I's relationship with those boys has been since then!  It was a good way to end their visit. 

After Seth and Katie left on Sunday, Meezy and I spent most of the afternoon just relaxing and watching football.  Periodically I would get shooting pains in my knee that would cause me to flinch, and I can't help but think they're the result of Juneau jumping on me.  The pain I've been experiencing in my knee over the past week has mostly just been a dull, constant pain that I've learned to deal with.  These shooting pains are new, and I'm not used to them!  I hope they go away soon.  I have my next appointment with the orthopedic surgeon on Tuesday.  I'll keep you posted! 

Kneecap Knews

This past Monday was my first day back to work since I fractured my kneecap.  It's a LOT of effort now to do things that were previously considered routine.  Just sitting at my desk is a chore, because it's hard to find a comfortable position.  I started out with an overturned trashcan as my leg rest, then moved on to a smaller cardboard box when the trashcan became uncomfortable, and have now settled on a small filing cabinet.  I have to switch positions every now and then, because the rest of my body gets really tired.  I'm pretty much leaning or carrying weight on the left side of my body at all times, so sometimes my left arm and hand shake.  Other times my left foot gets some shooting pain in it, because it's having to work overtime.  I think I've strained an upper abdomen muscle on my left side because I constantly have to reach across and lift my right leg to move it.  It feels like deadweight and is kinda heavy, for instance, when I have to raise it off the ground and put it on the bed or couch.  All of this is on top of the soreness I have in my hands and underarms from using crutches.  Have I mentioned how awesome this situation is?  Sigh.  This is only week one.

After work on Monday, I came home and was completely exhausted.  I went to bed early and planned on going through the same routine on Tuesday.  When I woke up that morning though, the pain was really bad in my knee. I got out of the shower and had to immediately lay down because of exhaustion and pain.  I laid on the ground for a few minutes, in tears, and decided I just couldn't go to work.  Of course I had also run out of pain medication, and my pharmacy didn't open until 9am.  It was not a great morning.  Meezy was a lifesaver and went to the pharmacy for me so I could get some relief.  He had to go to work after that, though, so I just laid in bed, waiting for the medication to kick in.  When it finally did, I was able to take a short nap.  Sleeping is my favorite now, since I don't feel pain during that time!  That afternoon, I had another appointment with the orthopedic surgeon.  Since I can't drive myself, and Meezy and my sister both had work meetings, my mom was nice enough to make the long drive up to get me and take me to the doctor.  Unfortunately we sat in the waiting room for 45 minutes before being seen, which means the entire ordeal with all driving time took about 4 hours of my mom's time.  (I feel so bad about that.  It was incredibly nice of her to take that much time out of her day for me, and I am very thankful)!  The doc said my patella is still sitting up where it should be on my knee, and the bones haven't moved at all, so he still recommends just using the rigid brace instead of having surgery.  I'm now set up to come back weekly for x-rays to verify this is still the case, and in a couple weeks they'll also start evaluating whether I can bend or not.  I'm not looking forward to that!

After my mom dropped me back off at home, my sister arrived a short while later with dinner.  Two other friends, Rebecca and Mike, also arrived to bring me a present.  My supper club, "The Bacon Gang," had all chipped in and gotten me silly gifts to use in decorating my brace and crutches.  Since I'll be very closely acquainted with those items for the next 6-8 weeks, they thought it would be funny to "bedazzle" them.  I look forward to putting on my fancy stickers over the holiday break.  LOL.  It was really cute of them to get that gift for me, and it brought a smile to my face for a change!  After they left, my sister began cleaning my house and getting it ready for the Thanksgiving lunch I'll be hosting tomorrow.  She arranged all the extra tables and chairs for me, cleaned multiple rooms, did my dishes, and pretty much got my place looking perfect and ready for company.  I was incredibly grateful for her help, because if I had attempted to perform all of those tasks on crutches, it would've taken me many, many hours.  I am so very lucky for the wonderful friends and family that I am surrounded by.  Happy Thanksgiving! 

Good News, I Guess

I've never been great at handling pain medication, and this situation has proven to be no different.  I can't stand the pain of my fractured patella, but I also don't like feeling nauseated and weak all the time.  I have to take the pills on a full stomach to avoid that, but I can't eat every 4 hours!  This morning I took a pill and ate some cereal, but it still wasn't enough to make me feel confident enough in taking a shower.  I get weak when I stand up for too long while taking this medication, and I figured that adding in the effects of hot water would most likely lead to fainting.  I can't bend my knee at all, and there's not enough room for me to sit with the shower door closed, while my leg is extended.  I found a solution to getting myself clean, and let's just say it was quite creative. (The floor outside the shower got a tad bit wet).

After that ordeal, which I'll unfortunately have to go through daily for the next few weeks, Meezy drove me to the orthopedic surgeon's office.  They took some more x-rays to see if anything had changed since Wednesday night. They showed me the fracture, which was like a horizontal line through the middle of the patella.  The two pieces didn't move far apart, so the surgeon told me he didn't recommend surgery.  He believes the pieces can fuse back together on their own if my leg is kept immobilized for a few weeks.  They fitted me with a brace that has rods on either side to keep my leg stiff.  My knee can't move right now, because they have it locked down.  As more time passes, they can release the tension and set the angle of the rods so that they are able to bend some.  I have no desire for that to happen anytime soon, since the little bending I've done so far has been excruciating!  I still can't put weight on that leg, even with the brace on, so I'm stuck with crutches for a while.  It's been hard getting used to it, but I know it'll get easier.  Just imagine not being able to sit regularly on your couch, in your car, in a chair, etc.  My leg always has to remain completely straight.  I'm going back to the surgeon next week to make sure the healing has started and to verify that surgery still isn't necessary.

I know this isn't anything I can't handle, but I'm really upset at how much it has ruined my plans for the next couple of months.  No more flag football, no tennis playoffs, no half-marathon, no Big D Climb, and probably no Warrior Dash.  If you know me, you know how much my life revolves around sports and athletic endeavors.  To say I'm disappointed is an understatement.  I'm not one to be content with coming home and sitting on the couch every day.  I'm an active person, always looking to do things on my feet.  That won't be happening again for a while.  Sigh.  Here's my setup for the next couple of months:

 Notice the lack of definition in the right knee since it's still super swollen.  :(

Life Changes Fast

I had a moment in my flag football game last night that, despite happening in a matter of seconds, will affect me for at least the next 4-6 months, and possibly longer.  I was running a route, looked back to the quarterback to receive the pass, and collided knee to knee with a defender.  He was standing still, and I was at medium speed.  I immediately dropped to the ground and felt shooting pain coming from my knee.  I sat on the ground for a minute, trying to see if I could bend my leg and work it out a little bit.  It hurt like hell, but I got up and tried to continue.  I play on a co-ed team with a bunch of pretty tough folks, so I let them convince me it was just a "stinger."  As soon as I put weight on it to run, I knew something was very wrong.  I tried as hard as I could to stay in for a couple more plays, but finally I swallowed my pride and told them I needed to sit out.  Luckily another girl showed up right then, and she took my spot on the field.  I sat on the ground for the rest of the game since it hurt to put any weight on my leg.  Afterwards, I hobbled over to my car and cried once I got inside.  It was excruciating.  Since I was by myself, I had to suck it up and drive home through the pain.  Once I got home, I hopped inside and went immediately to the couch.  Laying there with my leg extended straight out, the pain was manageable.  My knee started swelling up pretty badly though, and it definitely wasn't looking right.  At one point I had to use the restroom, so I hobbled there and sat down.  Bending my knee was the worst pain I've ever felt.  Luckily it was only my doggles in earshot, because I yelled out some choice words.  I went back to the couch and started getting worried about what was really wrong. 

Once Meezy got home, we decided we'd call my doctor first thing in the morning and try to set up an appointment.  I had to use the restroom again, and this turned out to be the last straw.  I couldn't handle the pain and I yelled out in agony.  I was bawling by this point.  Meezy knew there was no way I would make it until the next morning.  It was after midnight, but we headed out to the hospital.  I had to scoot myself into the back seat with my leg extended.  The drive to the ER felt like forever!  Once I got there, the admission process was fairly quick though, and I made it back to a room before too long.  Without moving at all, there was throbbing pain, and I couldn't twist or bend my leg in any way without it being immensely worse.  They gave me a morphine shot, and I tried to wait patiently for it to kick in.  After the shot, they wheeled me into x-ray.  They took a few films and the tech told me he was pretty sure he could see the problem, but he would let the nurse or doctor give me the prognosis. 

After thirty minutes, the nurse came in and gave me the news: I had fractured my patella and it was currently in a couple of pieces.  I immediately felt sick to my stomach.  I wanted to vomit just thinking about that bone being broken.  She told me that surgery was probably necessary, and I'd have to set up an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon to go over my options.  Great.  They gave me a brace to keep my knee immobilized, and sent me home with a prescription for pain medication.  It was 3:30am by the time we got home.  I set my alarm for 8:30am the next morning, when the surgeon's office opened.  Turns out I only made it to 7am before the pain became unbearable again.  I took a pain pill, but it didn't help much.  I laid in bed uncomfortably for the next hour and a half.  It sucks to have to lay on my back with my leg extended, when I'm used to being a side sleeper with my legs bent.  Bleh. 

When I got ahold of the surgeon's office, they told me they couldn't see me until Friday morning.  Bummer.  I have spent all of today (Thursday) either in bed or on the couch.  It's frustrating.  The pain medicine isn't really taking away the pain, but it is making me sleepy.  So, at least I'm avoiding the pain some of the time by just being asleep!  It's really weird that my leg feels like it weighs a hundred pounds.  When raising your leg, the power comes from your knee.  I have no ability to generate any power there right now, so it's not possible for me to move it. When I try to change positions, I have to use both of my arms to pick it up and manually move it.  Awesome.  I hope this night goes by quickly and my appointment goes well tomorrow.  I'm a little nervous about what they're going to tell me, but I'm just hoping that whatever their recommendation is, we start it immediately.  I think all the options involve some sort of cast or stint for 4-6 weeks, followed by rehab for a few months.  We'll see. 

Here's a pic I took right after I got home from the game last night.  This was before I realized the extent of the injury.  One of those knees is not like the other!  Hopefully I'll get to view the actual x-ray pics tomorrow, if my stomach can handle it!