Catching up, post-op

Sometimes I amaze myself. No seriously - I amaze myself with how unpredictable I can be with journal-keeping. Both the hard-copy kind (and actual journal) as well as the online kind (blogging). No doubt anyone who tracked my blog has pretty much written me off at this point. The good news is that anyone who uses RSS feeds will get my posts whether or not they actively track my blog. :)

In any case, I have quite a bit more time on my hands for the next few days, thanks to doctor's orders to stay off my feet and in this "continual passive movement" (CPM) machine for most of the day for the week after my surgery. So, let me take a step back... (Warning: If you have a weak stomach, you may not want to read about my surgery/recovery below.)

On Friday morning, I had my right knee (ACL specifically) reconstructed. I may post the two minutes of video sometime that my doc gave me after the surgery, for those of you who get a kick out of the blood and guts thing. Truth be told, there was no blood in sight in the video -- everything was white (kind of like chicken). Kind of strange... Anyway, thanks to a priesthood blessing on Wednesday evening (thank you, Derek and Luis), lots of prayers by me and others and a highly referred and skilled doctor (Dr. Bruce Rolfes, at the KneeFootAnkle Center in Kirkland, for those of you who may need his services someday), the surgery went very well. I was in the office by 6:15 a.m. and out by 10:45 a.m., loopy from the oxycodone (i.e., Percusset) and on my way home. Kirsten -- bless her heart -- waited for me the whole time in the surgery center waiting room, despite being bored out of her mind.

I was really nervous the 30 minutes before the surgery. The anesthesiologist had explained to me that he would be "blocking" my leg, which would essentially make it numb for about 18-20 hours. When he explained the process, I wasn't excited (to say the least). Put a big needle in, feel around for the right place, then inject and pull back out to make sure they didn't strike an artery or something. He told me I wouldn't remember anything, but frankly, I didn't want to be conscious of it in the moment either.

When they finally brought me back, it was different than when I had my first surgery 19 years ago. Before, they brought me into a dimly lit pre-op waiting area and put me under. This time, they brought me straight into the bright operating room and had me lay down on the table. They covered me in a sheet and a plastic bubble-wrap like blanket that had warm air flowing through it (makes a VERY efficient heat blanket!), and started chatting me up about how it happened, where I work, etc., while the anesthesiologist put the IV in. The last thing I remember, I was chatting away. Next thing I know, I'm waking up in the recovery room, stuck for a while in an almost-awake state and sounding really silly to the nurse, I'm sure. They helped me get dressed, get into a wheelchair and head out to the waiting room with Kirsten. They gave me my meds, put me in the car, and off we went. All done...

When I got home, Kirsten set me up on the couch downstairs with my ice machine and my CPM machine, a blanket, lots of pillows, my XBOX controller and TV remote, a book, my meds, water, something to eat, etc. And that pretty much describes the last two days since returning home. Two straight days of reading, games, movies and tv shows (Jericho and the latest episode of Heroes, to be exact) and dozing. To be honest, I'm starting to go a little stir-crazy. Kind of dull to think that I have five more days ahead of me like this. Ugh...

Good news is that I'm progressing very well. The doc last night was pleased that I had gotten myself to 90 degrees mobility already, and that I've tapered off the Oxycodone a bit (one every six hours instead of 1-2 every four hours). I took my dressing off and took a shower this morning, as all was well there. Not TOO swollen and everything was dry...

So there you go... I'm on my way back. I've been surprised that the pain has been less than I anticipated. I'm pretty sure it will get worse, though, as I start rehab. (I get to start riding the stationary bike today or tomorrow -- 30 minutes a day). But I'm determined to work hard to get back to good in as short a time as possible while doing right by the knee.

Before I close out this post, I have to give a shout out to my wonderful wife, who has so selflessly taken care of my every need these last two days (and will continue to do so for much of this week). I love and appreciate her more than I can say.

As for the blog... I'll try to post more this week than I have in the past couple of months, which should be easy. ;) I also have a ton of photos that I can post. Both the older boys started basketball, I went on a snow campout last weekend with the scouts, and lots of other events. Till later...

Moments Earlier...

In the Bat Cave... (This is how I first found him.)

Finger Pickin' Good!

Ah... You gotta love when you catch Batman pickin' his nose! :)

Christmas Eve

Catching up from the holidays... We had a fantastic Christmas Eve, with a lot of our family at our house for a nice sit-down dinner. We broke out the Lips game for the XBOX and it turned out to be the hit of the party. We ended the night with every family sharing a favorite song or story. My mom read the first chapter of "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" and gave everyone a copy to finish with their kids at home. Several others played songs on the guitar and piano. While we listened and enjoyed the peace of the experience, we ate cheesecake and then called it a night so the kids could all get home in time for Santa to make his much-anticipated stops... :) Here are some pics of the evening:

The Robot

I had to post this one... This is O's best impression of a robot. :)

Welcome Holidays!

We welcomed in the holiday season after church by building a gingerbread house. It was good fun for all, and we have a beautiful centerpiece now for our dining room table. (We'll see how long it lasts there!)

Paint Job

I know it's taken a while, but I finally took some photos of our finished living/dining room with the new paint job... Turned out pretty good, and the color change isn't nearly so shocking, now that we're used to it.

Down by the River

Today, the weather cleared for a while and we took the opportunity to drive down to the Cedar River to see how high it is after all the rain we've received lately. Pretty high, but not as high as I've seen it. Still an impressive sight.

While we were there, we snapped a few shots around the little park off of Issaquah Hobart Road.
Unfortunately not as clear as I'd like, but I had to post it just because I love it so much.

Looks kind of eery with D in the background...

Courtesy of K...

K pointed out the one flower in the visible area, so I had to shoot it. I love that the bug was sitting there...

Halloween

Every year, it seems we get to the last day before Halloween and still haven't though of costumes for the boys (let alone for us -- I don't know that we've ever dressed up). I don't know -- dressing up just isn't our thing... But the boys love it. They were stressing out about not having thought of a costume, so we broke out the makeup and did a job on their faces, making them into "zombie soccer players." They turned out pretty good, actually.

Oli is the exception this year, of course, as he's been wearing the Spider Man costume we picked up at Goodwill for $2 or so for the last month. Every day he woke up and asked if he could wear his Spider Man costume, and every day he asked whether it was Halloween that night. Well -- he finally got to wear it last night, and they all got tons of candy, then came home and watched Haunted Mansion. A fun evening in all... :)

Here are the little monsters:

Painting Project - In Progress

I'm done with the painting project for now (THANK HEAVENS!), but I wanted to post some of the in-progress pictures anyway, then I'll show you the final product.

The obligatory picture of me holding the paint roller.

The entryway...

Living room...

Painting

I'm home for the week (my first true week off this year!) to take care of some "honey-dos," the biggest of which is painting our living/dining room. I started prepping and painted the first coat on one wall on Saturday evening, and it looks really good. But before I post any photos of the progress, here's what it looked like before any painting...

CERT Graduation!

Still catching up... Last Thursday night, I completed my eight-week CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) course through the Maple Valley Fire Department. This is a great program that I would highly recommend to anyone who is interested in becoming more prepared to give valuable service in the case of a natural disaster or other emergency situation (e.g., fire, explosion, etc.). It is available in many communities nationwide, so check with your local fire department if you're interested!

In reality, in the case of a natural disaster, the local fire department wouldn't likely get to your neighborhood within at least the first three days. That's way too late for people who either (1) are unprepared to be stuck at home that long or (2) have been critically injured. CERT is a small "army" of trained citizen volunteers who can provide leadership in the critical period after a disaster hits (and before professional help arrives). It's part of the U.S. Freedom Corps volunteer initiative, through the Citizen Corps branch. And the best part -- the training is FREE! Still, it's a big investment of time, and a sacrifice for the family at home, so I'm glad it's done. For now, at least, I have my Thursday evenings back!

Here's a short list of some of the things we learned:

• Disaster preparedness
• Disaster medical (including triage and treatment of critical injuries)
• Light search and rescue
• Light fire suppression
• Disaster psychology

On top of the empowerment I feel from knowing how to act in a disaster and how to lead others, I feel a sense of personal fulfillment in volunteering for something in my community -- something that has eluded me but that I've wanted to do for a while.