I hope everyone read that title as if it was on a SpongeBob episode. This last week was an unexpected one. I am back on nights so there is one of the biggest reasons it was a confusing blur - not to mention Thursday morning driving to st george after a night shift and ended up staying awake for 30+ hours. I think Im just barely really starting to feel the affects of that tonight (back on night shift and Im exhausted) Anyways... why did I hurry to st george so last minute you ask? because I love my family. I love my grandma and especially need to be present when a pretty serious surgery takes place. Grandma has been on a decline and a very abrupt absence in her mobility/sensation of lower limbs took place I believe last week. Mom and the rest of her siblings have been taking care of her (heaving her in and out of bed, wheelchair, cars, etc.) and taking her to doctors appointments the last little bit. Due to the also present low back pain, dad ordered an MRI of her lumbar spine. I didn't learn this till recently, but miracle number one was what the image showed. Like I said a LUMBAR image was ordered. Grandmas image showed all the way up to T9 ( I think) and therefore we were able to visualize the problem immediately. Second miracle was a quick admission and surgery date. I believe it was the same day that grandma was admitted to the hospital and was scheduled for surgery the following afternoon. We sure are grateful for doctors who are so willing to give hope to an 83 year old lady and her family. Dr. Bishop made it clear that it would be a long hard surgery and recovery, but him and grandma were willing to do their best. I woke up Wednesday afternoon to hear the news of surgery the next day and started throwing clothes into a backpack. I went to work that night and fought for my life driving straight to St. George after. I was hoping to see grandma before she was taken back for surgery so I was hauling down the freeway. I got a call from mom right as I was pulling into St. George saying they just took her. So instead I headed home for some time in the pool!
Thursday night is my parents temple shift and Ive always wanted to go while they are working but Im never usually in st george on Thursdays so I took the opportunity to do initiatories while mom was assigned there. Not gonna lie, satan kept reminding me how tired I was and how amazing a nap would feel. But I said "not today satan" haha. Super fun being in the same booth with mom. Definitely worth staying awake for. That night I went to the hospital and hangout with Nikki and kason as we waited for grandma. The surgery was very long. Between 7-8 hours we suppose. Finally the waiting room OR board changed grandmas status from "in progress" to "surgery complete". Soon after Dr. Bishop came out and said it all looked really good, BUT we will see over the next few weeks how her body will respond to it all. It was getting super late so we didn't see grandma that night, but the next morning we stopped for some presents then headed to the hospital.
Jack being jack. You can't tell me this isn't the perfect balloon for grandma.
As we walked in the room therapy was already working with her to get her up to the chair. She rocked it. All of us were so impressed with how much she could already move only 12 hours after surgery. (the docs were also impressed). She progressed a lot the first day - moved to the rehab floor, her drain was able to come out, by Saturday IVs were out and she was showered and in normal clothes. Pretty awesome. I lost count but all just more miracles. She'll be back to kicking us around in a few short weeks.
Friday was spent a lot at the hospital, some more at the pool and a family dinner at pasta factory. yum.
Saturday morning looked like this! Harvest season is upon us and I can't wait. I haven't been to Pine Valley all summer, so it was nice to go up there even for just a couple hours.
A quick trip to PV doesn't mean there isn't work to be done... went ham with the chainsaw. Pretty fun toy. Typical pine valley things - gardening, yard work, shooting' stuff, hangin in the hammock and so forth.
Good little morning, sad we couldn't stay longer.
And one last pit stop to see grandma on my way back up north. She was working with OT when I came in so I stuck around to help when I could. She got all showered up, brushed teeth and mom even brought a blow dryer to do her hair. Look good, feel good. She's a tough cookie and we're all super proud of her. In other exciting news, drew made it into the strategic management program at BYU. I guess it's pretty difficult to get into. He is already accepted into the accounting program, but strategy is his number one choice so we'll see which one he accepts in the end. Very impressive. Jackie was also cleared this last week by his ENT doc for swimming and more intense running. His ear is healing up well and hopefully stays that way. Well I think that's a pretty dang good amount of good news for this week and this blog. Glad I can pass the time on this boring night shift by blogging. I have one patient... she just received a new heart earlier this month and is doing super well. Grateful for all these tender mercies that show us gods hand is truly in our lives each and every day.
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