Love My Boys!

Today I am thankful for my two wonderful boys! Connor and Tanner make me proud to be their mother every day! They are both working hard to make right choices and be doing things they know are right and will make me and their Heavenly Father proud.

Lucky Me!

Today I am thankful for my awesome husband. He is our handyman, mechanic, plumber, chauffeur, a great dad, caregiver to my father, and he truly is my best friend!

I Am So Lucky!

Today I am thankful for the beautiful weather in Baltimore and for my job that allows me to travel. I am so lucky to have a job I love!

Most of the other Administrative Assistants in the School of Business do not get to travel. The American Bar Association provides trainings for many of the reports I have to write, so i am lucky enough to be able to attend the various trainings. Since starting at UVU, I have been lucky enough to travel to Dallas, Chicago (twice!), Portland, Minneapolis, Denver, and now Baltimore.

The travel is not the only reason I love my job. The School of Business had a reputation on campus for being the best school to work for. Everyone is very friendly and easy to work and get along with. I am lucky to work in a department that is really good about showing their appreciation for the things I do. It's so nice not just to love my job, but to love the people I work with too!

Giving Thanks!

Today I am thankful for the opportunity to care for my dear father. He was such a good example and provider for our family as I was growing up. I am truly blessed to now be able to care for him.

Attitude of Gratitude...

Maybe it's because November is the month of Thanksgiving, or maybe it's because the year is drawing to a close, but right about this time each year I begin realizing all the blessings I have. I decided this year to show my gratitude with a daily post of "thanks giving."

Today I am thankful to have had such a wonderful mother! She was an awesome example, always happy, friendly to all, loved her family, and knew her Heavenly Father!

I’ll Love You Forever

Dad has been living in Utah for 2 1/2 years now, and the last year and half have been with us. Having dad in our home has really not changed our daily routines to much...besides the fact that Eli now stays home with dad. When we go out now, if dad is not coming with us, we just have to make sure someone is home with dad. And if dad is coming with us it takes longer to get ready and get going, plus dad's walking has slowed down considerably...I didn't really think that was possible...so getting dad even from the house to the car and then the car to the appointment takes at least an extra 10 to 15 minutes. I feel bad, because there are times when we are hurrying out for a quick trip to the bank or store & we sneak so dad doesn't ask to come along. I know he loves getting out, so I try to take him for rides or to walk around WalMart pretty regularly, but sometimes he doesn't get to come.

For the longest time the effects of the dementia have been slow, but lately dad's memory seems to be becoming worse at a faster pace. It's gotten to be that I can almost set my watch by the level of dad's confusion. It starts at about 7:20 p.m. every evening. He starts with, "So what's our status?" or "What time is someone going to take me home?" We explain that we are home, and he lives here with us. The next question is usually something to the effect of "Does my family know I'm here?" to which we explain that we are his family and that all the other family members also know where dad is and have even been here to visit him. That usually helps him for a bit, but typically less than 5 minutes later the routine starts over. It breaks my heart to see dad so confused, and about the third or fourth time he asks, he’ll say “I know you’ve told me this, but I just can’t remember…” I have to admit, it gets really tiring! But as frustrated as I get on the inside, I try not to let it show because I am sure dad is just as, if not more, frustrated.

Lately, at about 9:30 p.m., to help reduce the confusion, I will take him to his room and help him start getting ready for bed. I’ll get his dentures ready to soak, while he starts to change, then I’ll just sit in his recliner and we “visit” while he is getting his jammies on. In his room, with all his pictures and plaques, dad is not so lost. And I have to admit, growing up dad and I did not “visit” too often. Not that we had a bad relationship or anything…I was just closer to mom. Now, I take advantage of our chances to “visit,” which is usually looking through his pictures and having him tell me who all these people are, or me asking questions about when he was younger.

So last night as we were going through the routine, I thought of the cycle of life and the children’s book I’ll Love You Forever and how we are living that story…then this morning when I checked in on facebook, my friend had posted the following video that sums it up perfectly.

Pain In The Neck...

Two years ago I had carpel tunnel surgery on my right wrist. At the time I was also having pain in my left wrist & knew that I would eventually need the same surgery on it too. The pain in my left wrist went away, so I waited on the second surgery. A few months ago the pain started up again, so I called to make a doctor's appointment. My doctor is really busy and hard to get in to see, so a lot of times they try to get you to see the PA, but I knew Eli and I were going on our cruise, so I took an appointment that was six weeks away.

We got back to town on May 14th and my appointment was on the 16th. I explained to the doctor that I thought I now had carpal tunnel in my left wrist, but that the pain was different this time. When I explained which fingers were numb, Dr. Curzon questioned the fact that my pinkie finger was numb because the carpal tunnel nerve does not affect the pinkie. He then asked if I'd been having any pain in my neck. I told him that back in September when I went to visit my sister I had slept wrong the first night and woke up with a kink in my neck, but the pain has never really gone away. He then explained that when there is a pinched nerve in the neck it affects the nerves in the pinkie. I went away from the appointment with two more appointments...one for an x-ray of my neck and one for a nerve conductivity test. YAY...not! Those nerve conductivity tests hurt!

Radiology at Central Utah Medical Center takes walk in appointments, so I went right from the doctor's office to CUMC for the x-ray. The nerve conductivity test was scheduled for Thursday, the 19th. On Wednesday, Dr. Curzon's nurse called to say they had the results of the x-ray back and it did show signs of deterioration probably caused by arthritis, so they wanted me to get an MRI also. I scheduled it for Thursday after the nerve test...Then I waited...

Dr. C had said to call his office if I did not hear from him within three days after the tests. I waited until Wednesday of the next week and didn't get any calls, so Thursday morning I called the doctor. He had taken a few extra days off since the following Monday was Memorial Day...I hate waiting!

Tuesday as I was walking in the door from work the phone started ringing, so I answered it. It was Dr. Curzon on the phone. He said the MRI showed deterioration in my C3, C4, C5, and C6 vertebrae with slight damage to the C7 also. He used a bunch of medical terminology, but basically said that arthritis was encroaching on the nerves and leaving them less room, but the nerve was not actually pinched...No wonder I've had a pain in my neck! He gave me some options. Physical Therapy was least invasive, but with the amount of deterioration I have it would not be enough. An x-ray guided epidural injection of cortisone was the next option, then two different types of surgery. The first not being as aggressive as the second, but with the number of vertebrae involved I may not be a good candidate for the "simple" surgery. I don't really want any surgery! Dr. C suggested I go for the injection and also have a consultation with the clinic that does the first type of surgery. If the injection works I can either cancel the consult or go and see if it is an option for down the road when the pain returns.

Today I went for the injection. The radiologist that performed the injection told me it would hurt at first and I may not feel any relief for a few days. OUCH! It felt like there was some huge person sitting on my back! Now my whole body aches like I have the flu...let's hope I feel better tomorrow!