Thursday, November 28, 2013

Ever Thankful

Mercy, it's been a whirlwind few months and I have sadly neglected my blog!

But I have a good excuse, I promise! For the past year and a half, I have struggled with pain in my wrist and thumb on my right hand. I sought help last year and received a cortisone shot, which helped for about 6 months and then the pain returned fiercely. I was sent to physical therapy and when that didn't help the pain, saw an orthopedic surgeon. By this point I had very little range of motion in my thumb or wrist and any kind of tension against it was met with sharp shooting pains in my forearm. The surgeon noted that I have DeQuervain's Tenosynovitis, essentially tendons that are inflammed within the band that holds them. She recommended surgery to release the band and thus allow the tendons to go back to their normal size. Lifting my big guy and working at the rec center teaching tumbling attributed to the problem, as in both cases my thumb was being flexed back repeatedly, injuring those tendons and causing the swelling.

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My soft cast, after surgery

After months in a wrist brace, I had the surgery. 12 days in a soft cast and my hand is finally free. Too early to see if the surgery worked. I am still swollen, especially in the knuckles. My hand is very bruised and though I can type, I am still lacking any range of motion in the thumb and wrist. I have to use a mouse with my left hand (which, being left-handed, wasn't too much of a challenge). Time (and rest!) will tell!

Here are my top things to be thankful for, Thanksgiving 2013.

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For my mom, who unselfishly watches my children during the day when my husband and I are at work. She allows messes, creativity, noise, imagination and fun in her house because, well, she's the Grandma!

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For my dad, so thankful that he's here (despite some major troubles with his health this year) to celebrate another Thanksgiving. We love you Dad...psst, eat a BIG plate of food!

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For my husband. We just celebrated our 3rd anniversary and while it's not been an easy road bringing two families together into one, our main goal is in raising strong, healthy and independent children.

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For my mother-in-law. Not only am I lucky enough to have a mother-in-law that I just love as a person I am lucky enough to have her living only a few minutes from me! And right new door to my parent's house too, how wonderful is that?!

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For Baby D, who just this week turned two years old. He's a hefty 32 lbs and 3'3/4" tall (98% percentile!!) and growing into a wonderful personality. He is funny, sweet, and inquisitive. He's started speaking in 3-4 word sentences and surprises us daily with words he'll say. He's a fun kid to be around, I hope he's always like this!

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For The Boy, who is starting more and more to realize that what we request as parents (respect, honor, obeying, etc) is not because we are "mean" but because they are the right things for him to learn to do. Of course we still have the teenage years to get through and I am expecting a rocky road, but hoping to lay the foundation for the attitude now (prayers!).

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For The Girl, who despite moving to a new school this year has been making friends left and right, not the easiest thing for her. I am so glad, friends are a good thing.

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Thankful for birthday wishes and a family celebration in our first house. How wonderful for us to be able to bring family and friends here and host a birthday party for Baby D this past weekend. Sesame Street themed, as you can see!

I leave you with this shot of our Halloween evening. I love this photo for what it is. My eldest son, suffering with a cold, was a bit sluggish and tired. The Baby, who burst into tears only because I stepped outside the fence to capture this shot and my step-daughter, making her usual "dealing with it" face, while still just keeping it cool. It makes me giggle, hope it does the same for you!

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Happy Thanksgiving, enjoy your family and friends. Count your blessings!