Total Knee Replacement

Today we finally made it to the long awaited and somewhat welcome total knee replacement. I think Jeff has been ready for this day for a long time. I am pretty sure he is more than ready to get his active life back. I, on the other hand, have been dreading this day since they told us he had to have it. I think I have been even more unhappy about the surgery lately because of all the stuff we have already been through in our short 3 months of marriage. I think I cried every day for a week leading up to the surgery. I was so worried about how Jeff would do during the actual surgery as well as the long recovery. I was also so stressed about how I could take care of an invalid husband for 8 weeks when I was already so tired from everything else. Well, I guess you just do what you gotta do...especially when you don't have much of a choice. ;-) Any way, back to the surgery. Jeff was in surgery for about 1 1/2 hours and did great. The Dr is suspecting Jeff to have a hard but excellent recovery and end up LOVING his new knee. Everything they said about it was positive. So far, Jeff has been tolerating the pain very well....I guess practice makes perfect. ;-) The only problem we have had at this point is getting his nausea under control. This can be so hard when you are on such intense pain meds. I am thinking by morning he should be over that hurdle. Tomorrow they will have him up and walking around the unit and then the next day he should be maneuvering stairs. It is seriously amazing how fast they get them up and functioning. I am so grateful for answered prayers and support from family and friends.

Camping with Ma and Pa Dahl

 
  Over the 4th of July weekend Jeff and I went camping with my parents at Bear Lake. We always stay toward the end of the Logan Canyon in Sunrise campgrounds. It is just 20 min from Garden City. It is the perfect location because you get the beauty and ambiance of the mountains and the closeness of the lake. It was so nice to get out in the fresh mountain air. I love camping! Have you noticed how the mountain air makes all the food so much better?!? I swear it makes even the most normal meal an exceptional meal!
  We went to the beach one day and Jeff and I attempted to tan our skin while the parents hid under a shade canopy. The weather was nice and warm during the day a perfectly cool at night. On one of the other days we went to the Minnnetonka cave and "hiked" up and down 888 steps. I was so proud of Jeff. I think it made him feel good to be doing something semi-active. It was kind of like his last hurrah before the total knee replacement.
  Such a nice little escape from reality.

Play Date With Rylie

Recently Jeff and I took my niece on a play date. We went on a picnic and had so much fun playing at the park. Rylie just LOVES Jeff...but then again all 'nieces' love Jeff. He is quite the LITTLE LADIES man.

I JUST CAN'T WAIT!!!! Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Trailer Official HD

 


Whoohoo! I am soooooo excited!!! Jeff is too....he just doesn't know it yet. ;-) Every year some good friends and I make t-shirts and go to the midnight showing of the new Harry Potter. YES!!! Of course, as each one has  gotten married we have introduced our spouses to the fun. At first, they were hesitant to make and wear t-shirts, but now that there is more men in the group and we have given them permission to make a joke of the t-shirts, they really enjoy themselves. It doesn't hurt that their participation pleases us, and we all know that a happy wife is a happy home. ;-) YAY FOR HARRY POTTER!!!!

ItS tHe SmAlL tHiNgS

So, lately, with everything going on...and going wrong, I have found myself often depressed and somewhat hopeless. I would find myself fixated on the lack of miracles or disappointed in not receiving immediate answers to prayers or upset at not receiving the answers I wanted. Recently, I have been reminded that answers to prayers come in different ways and sometimes we have to open our minds...and our hearts to see the small things that God does for us to show us His love. I remember a lesson I once gave on receiving personal revelation. I gave an example of eating a  fresh strawberry. The taste is so wonderful and sweet and somewhat subtle. When eaten alone, you get such a wonderful refreshing flavor...but if you took a bite of the strawberry and then took a bite of a jalapeno....the sweet strawberry would get completely lost. It would be as though there were no strawberry at all because the sharp bite of the pepper would over power it. This, I taught, is very much like the Spirit.  Its subtle, and soft, and sweet and can so easily be over powered by negative emotions. It can be chased away by anger, depression, and even thoughts of hopelessness. So, when we are feeling the most alone, the most forsaken, we need to take a step back and open our hearts to the Spirit. It is always whispering to us, comforting us, guiding us, but too often we are so caught up in other extreme, sharp emotions that we never even notice it is there. 

Gratitude I have felt lately:

*I have an amazingly supportive husband who never gets mad at me or tires of my emotional melt-downs.

*I have wonderful parents that would do anything for me and have been super helpful fixing up the yard and the house when I have been sick. 

*I have a job that has great insurance and amazingly supportive co-workers.

*I have the strength to give myself Intramuscular Shots.

*I have been blessed to not have any extreme reactions from my MS maintenance medication

*We have been blessed to qualify for co-pay assistance through the Avonex company. (This means we don't have to find a way to come up with my portion, $864.00 a month, of the medication cost) THIS IS A BIGGIE!!!!

Even when we are in the middle of a massive storm we can find the calmness in the Savior. If we can stop long enough to take a breath, we will be able to see the blessings and love surrounding us.

Steroid Treatment

On the 2nd of June I went into to the Neuro clinic and had a Lumbar Puncture (spinal tap) done. The doctor needed to test my spinal fluid to see if I had the markers for MS. There is no one test that can actually diagnose this disease. They have to do several different tests and see if the puzzle pieces fit together. In my case, they did. Two days after my, not so pleasant, Lumbar Puncture, Dr. Wilder called to inform me that he felt very confident diagnosing me officially with MS. He then informed me that he had scheduled a three day burst of steroids. I would be getting 1gram of Methyl Prednisone every day for three days....basically a butt load of steroids over a 3 day period. This is suppose to help re-boot my system and help diminish what symptoms I have so that I can start the official MS treatment and have it be as effective as possible. 

 

Day one: My first day in the infusion center they let a medical assistant attempt my IV. I have rather large veins in my hands and have never had a problem before....She attempted the largest veins in both hands...and failed. She claimed that my veins were spasming....VEINS DON'T SPASM, ARTERIES DO! Any who, after her two failed attempts the actual nurse gets an IV in me and uses a nice small needle. 

They say that the steroids can make you feel great and give you a ton of energy.... I was exhausted! The only difference I noticed during and immediately after the infusion was this lovely metallic taste in my mouth. Like I had been licking batteries. I went home and took a nap. It was nice, but I had a hard time waking up. Once I did wake up, however, I had this massive burst of energy. I helped plant some trees in the yard and I planted flowers and....I ate everything in sight. Yes that is another side effect...a ferocious appetite. I was starving! I consumed over 5000 calories, I am pretty confident in saying it was a new record. I gained 2 pounds that night.

Day two: I woke up super depressed. I cried most of the morning. It took the nurse another 2 sticks to get my IV in...It didn't help that she attempted to start an IV below the blown portion of one of the veins from the day before. Hmph! After the second infusion I felt nauseous and even more hopeless. I cried on the way home. I felt a bit frustrated because my vision didn't seem to be getting better fast enough and I have been gaining weight like crazy through this whole mess. I was determined to not over-eat like I had the day before. I drank 4 liters of water to try and curb my appetite. I only ate 1400 calories and it was torture! No weight gain!

Day three: Went down to the infusion center right after work. The new nurse blew another vein. Booo! It was ok though because I am DONE!!!!  After this infusion my vision started normalizing. I can look around me and my eyes focus like they are suppose to!!!! YEAHOOOO!!!! Also, I was really careful about drinking lots of water and watching my calories and I LOST 2.4 lbs. WOOT WOOT! I am sure that half of it is water weight but at least its something. :-)

All in all, I have 4 less veins and a ravenous appetite, but my symptoms are almost better!!!

Best Day EVER!

So, I wanted to post some pictures from the Wedding Day. I waited forever to get them back and was so excited to go through them. Only problem is, there are just too many great pictures to stick on here.