Post-Op Pros

September was quite the month for my family. I don't even know who to start with.

My mom was working out with her girlfriends about a month ago. Their trainer had them doing some new jump thing on a step stool or something. Whatever it was, ended up throwing my mom to the floor in pain. She knew she hurt her knee but didn't realize how bad it was at the time. She of course continued the workout while limping. She called me on the way home and was in tears because her knee hurt so bad. Long story short, she completely tore her ACL and tore her meniscus, requiring surgery. I felt so bad for her. She is so active with her friends and this was going to put her out for a while. She was so bummed. Her surgery was set for the first week in September so for her birthday we went with a recovering theme. I wish I would have taken a picture of the basket my sister and I put together for her. It was full of magazines, books on how to crochet, how to paint, yarn, watercolors, drawing books, bed tray, laptop tray, a bell and whistle to call my dad when she needs service help, medicine bottles full of candy, and a homemade pillowcase by Ella and McKenna. I don't think she has jumped into the self-taught books yet but otherwise she is getting great use out of everything. My dad would say too much use out of the bell.

A week after her surgery she was getting pretty bored of watching tv all day long and just sitting in the same spot. I know the feeling much too well and tried to think of something fun and different she could do. I thought of a great idea but knew I couldn't make it happen because of money so I made it sound like it was from my dad and then put it in his hands. I wrote her a online shopping scavenger hunt poem and told my dad to print it off and give it to her with a visa gift card. I'm not sure if she completed each task on the hunt but it was fun to make for her. Here is the poem.

I know you're tired of the pain in your knee

and would much rather be shopping with Kathy, Carroll and Dee.

Since all your time is free

how about trying an online shopping spree!

I'm no rich guy

so here are some rules to abide by.

This is a scavenger hunt

with all the money given upfront.

You have _____ dollars to spend

in hopes that buying these things help you mend.

Start off by picking your favorite hue

and then buy a little something for you.

I would like something pink

just make sure it doesn't make the boys wink.

Get a new toy for the girls when they stay here

something they will love and always hold dear.

Find you a scarf with polka dots

to help get your neck out of those knots.

A good pair of sweats that cover Anna's butt

while she recovers with her jaw wired shut.

You're sure to hear no gripes

if you get Allison something with stripes.

It won't be long till you are ready to use

a really good pair of new walking shoes.

Happy Shopping!

My mom is on week 3 of recovery and doing better each day.

Speaking of
"A good pair of sweats that cover Anna's butt
while she recovers with her jaw wired shut."

Here's what's up with my sister Anna. Poor Anna. She has always had problems with her jaw and thought everything was fixed with braces in high school. The last serval months she has been having a lot of pain and popping. Turns out she needed major jaw surgery. She was put back in braces a few months ago and had the surgery 2 weeks ago. Her and my mom's surgeries being so close together was not ideal but they both had to be done. My dad and Tyler (Anna's fiancé) get an A+ for nurse duty. She has literally had her month rubber band shut for the last week. This Thursday they take those off but she is still on a liquid only diet for 6 weeks. Doesn't that sound miserable?! I feel so bad for her. We went to my parents this last weekend and it makes your jaw hurt just to see her. She is pretty swollen but still looks stunning! For real. I made her a little get well basket with some stuff I thought she might need over the next couple of weeks. A dry erase board for when she can't talk, some mints to suck on, super cute plastic mason jar with smoothie sized straws to drink her meals away with, some homemade emoticon hand signals for when she doesn't even feel like writing, scratch and sniff stickers, homemade pillow case and shirt.

Who wouldn't want to sleep on all this?!

I knew her cheeks would be pretty puffy so I thought I was so funny to give her an Alvin and the Chipmunks shirt. (maybe more funny to me than the actual person who feels like a huge chipmunk) 

Then there is my sweet McKenna. She got tubes in her ears last week. She has had more ear infections than I can count so this was a much needed procedure. Compared to my mom and Anna, it was nothing recovery wise. She was gone for maybe 10 minutes and just after one day I can already tell a difference. It's amazing! She was very hard to understand and I think a lot of that had to do with how she was hearing herself talk. She repeats things I say so much clearer than she did last week. I am so excited for her. Since I have been on a homemade pillow kick this month, I made one for McKenna to take with her to the hospital. I covered it with pictures and she seemed to love it.

She was never nervous leading up to her surgery but once we got to the hospital she seemed very unsure. The nurse gave her some medicine to calm her nerves before they took her back for surgery. I wish we had the whole thing on video guys. I was dying! It was so funny! She was just sitting in my lap and you could tell the second that medicine kicked in. I started laughing which then made her start to laugh and I could barely breath I was laughing so hard. I am so glad Bob got a little bit of it on video.

Here's to a surgery free October!