Well folks, we did it! We made it through three surgeries in three weeks. I'm really surprised at how well Shannon has done. I know that I have given him a hard time through my blog about how bad of a patient he is, but truthfully, he isn't all that bad. Anybody who knows Shannon, knows that he can be a little high maintenance at times, but seriously- I think he has earned a "trooper" badge in my book. In fact, I think I've earned one too. I'm not sure I know too many people who would be so patient through something like this.
Last night on the way to Louisville, we stopped at Rafferty's in Bowling Green to eat dinner. After we got back in the car to finish the drive, I felt a little sad. I know it sounds weird, but I'm kind of sad that this whole ordeal is coming to an end. For the last three Wednesday's, Shannon and I have basically had a "date night." Some may not think it's that big of a deal to stop and have dinner with their husband, but we rarely get a night to ourselves that's child-free. I think I can count on one hand the times that we've had that chance. So there ya go, selfishly, I've enjoyed part of this journey because I have been able to have a kid-free dinner with my husband.
Another sadness I realized today is that we have become very friendly with several of the staff at the hospital. I know you all will be so surprised that Shannon made friends with everyone we came in contact with, but the staff at the hospital was truly one of a kind. I must tell you their names, just because if anyone from Norton Brownsboro reads this, they'll know how much we appreciated them. Wilma was the waiting-room-one-of-a-kind-nicest-lady-I-ever met person; Mary was the absolute best about getting Shannon ready for surgery especially because she kept him laughing (or maybe he kept her laughing) prior to go time; Ann was the best pre-surgery nurse who tortured (not really) Shannon by inserting his I.V. and asking all the fun questions; and then there's Jason who was so kind post-op to my overly dramatic husband. I don't think we could thank you enough, and I promise Shannon will be by to share with you the results of his surgery. Of course I can't end this paragraph without saying another "thank-you" to Dr. Todd Shanks. Thank you for giving my husband the opportunity to find some normalcy again.
Before surgery today, Wilma (the receptionist in the waiting room) came to tell me we had visitors. I had no earthly idea who it could be. About a month ago, Shannon sang in Lawrenceburg, KY for Pastor Rick Clark. Donnie and Shirley are a part of that church. Today, they took time out of their day to stop by and pray for Shannon and just visit before surgery. It was such a blessing to our day. Thank you both for coming by this morning. It really meant a lot.
With all of that being said, I am truly happy that this over. It's been a LONG three weeks for me, and I know it's been even longer for Shannon. Shannon's heading back out on the road this weekend (with a little help of course) and I know he is more than ready to sing again. I will tell you he has kept his voice in shape by singing for the entire operating room the last two weeks.
Well, I guess that's about it for now. I can't end without saying "thanks" to all of our Veterans today. Thanks for your service and sacrifices!
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
TGFN (Thank Goodness for Naps)
Whew. What a blur the last few days have been. We returned home from Louisville on Friday. We got home and had about an hour and a half to catch our breath before Jennifer (our Angel from God who has been keeping Emme through Shannon's surgeries) returned Emme to our house. Within 45 minutes, Shannon's Mom and Aunt also showed up for the weekend. All I can say is, wow. I thought it would be a stress-free, relaxing weekend, with a little bit of help from his Mom and Aunt, but.....everything went downhill from there.
Emme woke up Saturday morning with a little bit of a runny nose, but nothing to worry about. Shannon's Mom likes to check out yard sales and Goodwill while she is in town, so I thought that would be an easy way to keep everybody occupied and give Shannon a little bit of time to rest. Emme was extremely over-tired and refused to take a nap. We ended up taking her with us for the day and we picked up Shannon after a few hours because he wanted in on the fun too. (Insert sarcasm here.) Anyhow, after Goodwill's and yard-sales, Shannon took his Mom to get an eye-exam (they are cheaper here, I suppose) and I dropped by my school's Fall Carnival. Luckily, Emme fell asleep in the car, so she did at least get a nap in. After the eye-exam was finished, we went to Five Guys to eat a late lunch/dinner. Shannon simply overdid it. He was exhausted by the time we got home and I was too. I'm tired just writing about it. By the time we got Emme down to sleep for the night, she was tugging at her ear and patting her forehead saying "it hurts." Fantastic.
After a pretty restless night, Emme woke up Sunday morning with green goo coming out of her nose. I patiently waited for the Urgent Care to open so I could get some antibiotics in her system. After we returned from the Urgent Care (it was a pretty painless and quick trip thank goodness) Shannon's Mom and Aunt hit the road. I thought "Great! We can all take a nap!" Ha! By the time I got Emme down for her nap and went to the pharmacy to fill her prescription, she was back up again. Shannon was exhausted so he went upstairs to take a nap. I stayed up with Emme, but somewhere along the way, I think I drifted off to sleep. She took full advantage of my closed eyes and dumped the entire amount of water in the humidifier on the carpet, went to her room and removed every book from the shelf, and in the process woke up her Dad. And that folks, is about the time I hit the wall.
By this point, Emme's got green goo coming out of both eyes which are now turning pink, and she's running a fever. Looks like another day off of work for me. Great. I'm now officially out of sick days after this week. Keep your fingers crossed nobody else in my family gets sick, because I'm working without pay if they do. Anyway, we called her pediatrician's office who kindly called in antibiotic eye-drops for Emme (they RARELY call in anything without being seen) but we had to drive across town to pick them up at the only 24 hour pharmacy open near us.
Emme slept better last night and Shannon was up before us this morning. That definitely means he is starting to bounce back. We worked around the house some this morning and then I lost it. I NEEDED A NAP!
Up until this point I think I've handled brain surgery pretty well. But today, it all just hit me. Okay, it really hit me last night as we were trudging to Wal-Green's to pick up our second antibiotic for the day, but whatever. We had about $70.00 in our bank account to last us until someone got paid. I don't get paid again until next week and Shannon is supposed to work this weekend. So there ya go. $70.00 for groceries, gas to Louisville, hotel Wednesday night, and food while we are out of town. Not to mention, Emme's daycare for the week, and gas to get Shannon to his dates this weekend. Nope. It wasn't going to happen. I called my Mom and she gladly said she would help us out. (By the way, I HATE asking my Mom for help unless it is an absolute have to. Mom's always understand and never complain, it just sucks to have to do it.) Whew, one thing of the stress list. Now, the stupid scale is killing me. I've gained about 6 pounds in the last month. I know most of it is stress weight, but I feel gross and I don't like the way my clothes fit. I'll be on a mission in a few weeks to work all of that back off and hopefully more, so I've decided not to stress about that either. Great, check two off the stress list.
Now for the nap. We took my favorite kind of nap today. A family nap. We all laid down together for the first time since all this stupid surgery started. It was great. My little unit, all warm in the bed together- well except Walter- he was outside chasing his shadow. I'll save that story for another day. We took about a 2 hour nap and we all got up with a fresh face. Thank goodness. Emme's even back to normal for the most part.
After our nap, I looked at our mail and we had received a card from a tiny little church in Lagarto, TX called Lagarto Community Church. They are some of our favorite people and we have shared in each others ups and downs. The card was so encouraging and even contained one of Shannon's favorite scriptures from the bible. Enclosed was a gift from the people of Lagarto. I'm not sure they will ever know just how much it meant for Shannon and I for them to send this. Now, I can black sharpie cross of the list my first worry. I think we can survive until next payday. Both Shannon and I wept today when we read their card. Shannon said there are days that his job is hard and tiring, but today was one of the days where his job was the most rewarding. Our God is an on-time God.
Needless to say, after our naps, we felt rested and re-energized. I've learned that I need to rest. Next time I feel stressed and overwhelmed, I going to remind myself TGFN. Until then....
Emme woke up Saturday morning with a little bit of a runny nose, but nothing to worry about. Shannon's Mom likes to check out yard sales and Goodwill while she is in town, so I thought that would be an easy way to keep everybody occupied and give Shannon a little bit of time to rest. Emme was extremely over-tired and refused to take a nap. We ended up taking her with us for the day and we picked up Shannon after a few hours because he wanted in on the fun too. (Insert sarcasm here.) Anyhow, after Goodwill's and yard-sales, Shannon took his Mom to get an eye-exam (they are cheaper here, I suppose) and I dropped by my school's Fall Carnival. Luckily, Emme fell asleep in the car, so she did at least get a nap in. After the eye-exam was finished, we went to Five Guys to eat a late lunch/dinner. Shannon simply overdid it. He was exhausted by the time we got home and I was too. I'm tired just writing about it. By the time we got Emme down to sleep for the night, she was tugging at her ear and patting her forehead saying "it hurts." Fantastic.
After a pretty restless night, Emme woke up Sunday morning with green goo coming out of her nose. I patiently waited for the Urgent Care to open so I could get some antibiotics in her system. After we returned from the Urgent Care (it was a pretty painless and quick trip thank goodness) Shannon's Mom and Aunt hit the road. I thought "Great! We can all take a nap!" Ha! By the time I got Emme down for her nap and went to the pharmacy to fill her prescription, she was back up again. Shannon was exhausted so he went upstairs to take a nap. I stayed up with Emme, but somewhere along the way, I think I drifted off to sleep. She took full advantage of my closed eyes and dumped the entire amount of water in the humidifier on the carpet, went to her room and removed every book from the shelf, and in the process woke up her Dad. And that folks, is about the time I hit the wall.
By this point, Emme's got green goo coming out of both eyes which are now turning pink, and she's running a fever. Looks like another day off of work for me. Great. I'm now officially out of sick days after this week. Keep your fingers crossed nobody else in my family gets sick, because I'm working without pay if they do. Anyway, we called her pediatrician's office who kindly called in antibiotic eye-drops for Emme (they RARELY call in anything without being seen) but we had to drive across town to pick them up at the only 24 hour pharmacy open near us.
Emme slept better last night and Shannon was up before us this morning. That definitely means he is starting to bounce back. We worked around the house some this morning and then I lost it. I NEEDED A NAP!
Up until this point I think I've handled brain surgery pretty well. But today, it all just hit me. Okay, it really hit me last night as we were trudging to Wal-Green's to pick up our second antibiotic for the day, but whatever. We had about $70.00 in our bank account to last us until someone got paid. I don't get paid again until next week and Shannon is supposed to work this weekend. So there ya go. $70.00 for groceries, gas to Louisville, hotel Wednesday night, and food while we are out of town. Not to mention, Emme's daycare for the week, and gas to get Shannon to his dates this weekend. Nope. It wasn't going to happen. I called my Mom and she gladly said she would help us out. (By the way, I HATE asking my Mom for help unless it is an absolute have to. Mom's always understand and never complain, it just sucks to have to do it.) Whew, one thing of the stress list. Now, the stupid scale is killing me. I've gained about 6 pounds in the last month. I know most of it is stress weight, but I feel gross and I don't like the way my clothes fit. I'll be on a mission in a few weeks to work all of that back off and hopefully more, so I've decided not to stress about that either. Great, check two off the stress list.
Now for the nap. We took my favorite kind of nap today. A family nap. We all laid down together for the first time since all this stupid surgery started. It was great. My little unit, all warm in the bed together- well except Walter- he was outside chasing his shadow. I'll save that story for another day. We took about a 2 hour nap and we all got up with a fresh face. Thank goodness. Emme's even back to normal for the most part.
After our nap, I looked at our mail and we had received a card from a tiny little church in Lagarto, TX called Lagarto Community Church. They are some of our favorite people and we have shared in each others ups and downs. The card was so encouraging and even contained one of Shannon's favorite scriptures from the bible. Enclosed was a gift from the people of Lagarto. I'm not sure they will ever know just how much it meant for Shannon and I for them to send this. Now, I can black sharpie cross of the list my first worry. I think we can survive until next payday. Both Shannon and I wept today when we read their card. Shannon said there are days that his job is hard and tiring, but today was one of the days where his job was the most rewarding. Our God is an on-time God.
Needless to say, after our naps, we felt rested and re-energized. I've learned that I need to rest. Next time I feel stressed and overwhelmed, I going to remind myself TGFN. Until then....
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