Saturday, July 19, 2014

Recovery

So, I wanted to do an update on Scott's recovery.  He got out of his wheelchair at the end of December.  He started using a walker right away (I couldn't get him to go back into the chair once he was out).  It hurt my heart to see his broken legs try and hold up his body but it was a miracle as well.  I almost cried the first time he got up.  It was surprising to both of us how quickly he lost muscle mass.  After just a few weeks in bed his legs had wasted away.  You could pick them up and the skin just fell around his bones and looked so small.  For Christmas we got a pass to the rec center and we were working out several times a week.  He felt like he was making good progress and didn't need to see a therapist.  He was gaining back a lot of muscle.  But he was still walking very stiffly.  He wasn't able to lay his leg flat or bend it very much.  In February we went to California, and I told him if he wasn't able to bend his leg better he was going to a physical therapist when we got back.  So I made an appointment for him.
We also saw the doctor in March.  Dr. Barker said the bone where his femur had broken still wasn't growing and that we should start thinking about surgery as a possibility.  That was kind of depressing.  But we decided to wait until the end of the summer and try a bone stimulator for awhile.  Plus, Scott wanted to be able to golf and not be recovering from another surgery this summer.  Dr. Larsen wasn't very happy with how little his knee bent.  He told us he could do a manipulation surgery and help it get some movement back.  We said we'd consider it.  After just a couple sessions the therapist told him to go get surgery and come back.  So in April he had a same-day surgery where they put you out and just bend your leg.  Sounds easy, but it is extremely painful.  Scott said he woke up crying.  He was in a lot of pain when they let me in to see him.  So we drugged him up and brought him home.  Luckily, the pain had mostly subsided by the evening.
But then physical therapy kicked into gear and he was in constant pain from 3 sessions a week.  He was able to make great progress, though, and it was worth it. When PT ended our evenings consisted of putting weights on his knee at night and ratchet it closed afterwards along with a bone stimulator on his other leg.  He didn't get a lot of sleep for a few months.
He has been able to golf this summer but it usually wipes him out, and after pulling a muscle in his hip he has taken a break for a few weeks.  He is able to walk without a cane now but kind of ambles slowly back and forth.  He has a hard time with inclines.  He has currently been working really hard on dropping his pain meds.
I am so proud of him.  I keep forgetting that this is hard for him because he deals with everything with such a positive attitude.  Once in a great while he will have a breakdown and confess that it has been difficult, that he falls over at work sometimes and it's so embarrassing, that he hurts so much all the time.  He rarely complains and tries so hard to act like it's no big deal.  We originally thought life would be back to normal a year after the accident.  But it will probably be closer to a year and a half to 2 years.  I still feel so lucky that he gets to get back to normal at all.  I have grown to love him so much more through this experience.  I am in awe of the man I married.

Alright, I just flipped through and realized we hadn't posted any gory pictures of Scott's injuries.  So here are some of the recovering pics we took of his leg (close your eyes if you're squeamish!).  The first is his broken femur stitches.  All the pics after that are of his leg that went through the handle bar of his scooter and how it looked through the stages.  We need to get a current one. It's amazing what the body can do.










End of school stuff

Soccer cuties.  They both played spring soccer this year.

Choir and orchestra recital.  Amber was in the choir and Christian played the bass.  

Soran's preschool graduation

Now it's on to summer and what we like best--reading!



Matt's graduation party

All I can say is, I am super glad no one got food poisoning or died.  The End.  Just kidding, but that was my biggest concern.  When we heard Matt was graduating from college, I offered to throw him a party.  Well, that turned into a luau with a real pig.  Not sure how, other than the Thompsons love their meat, so it was a chance to go big.  We got a whole pig and dug a hole and cooked it for 24 hours.  I heard it turned out pretty good.  I wasn't brave enough to try it.
Cutting it open (pit in the background)



The rest of the spread

The head and teeth.  I heard someone ate the eye, but I didn't see it.

The graduate and his 6th grade teacher


We had a great turnout and it was fun, but as I said before,  I'm just happy no one died.


Girls Camp

Wow, girls camp was a lot of work this year, but it was so fulfilling!  We had 30 girls go and 10 leaders, and I was in charge of food, crafts, games, and taking care of 40 people for the week.  It turned out really well, but I was tired by the end!  Highlights: I survived 3 almost-serious burns (I singed my eyelashes and hair), women in Christ's life walk, slingshots, glow in the dark night, star party, early morning hike, secret sisters, and I loved being with the other leaders and the girls.  What an amazing group of women.

Celebration


Alyssa with her hair washed and braided.  It was so beautiful.


Hiking up the mountain to water the baby trees.


Glow in the dark night


I was actually so busy this year I didn't get many pictures taken, so these are kind of lame.  But it was gorgeous and the spirit was amazing!


Visitors


After the 4th of July (which I didn't get ANY pictures of this year) we had Brooklyn and Bryant come stay for a week.  We had a lot of fun: booths at the craft fair, swimming, ice blocking, hike the Y, tubing down the river, Lowes Xtreme Air Sports, Bean museum, ice cream, slushies, night games, dinner up the canyon with the Jeppsons and just hanging out.  Soran loved Brooklyn, and Christian loved having a buddy around 24 hours a day.  It was a nice visit.  I didn't get any pics except this one:


I wish I could say the 4th was as great as usual, but we downplayed it a lot this year.  I didn't do the run because I didn't register in time (camp sucked up all my time the week before).  Then we watched the parade on TV (lame!) and then went to see How to Train Your Dragon 2 with the Reeces.  Then we had dinner with the O'Connors and went to watch the firework at Fox Field.  It was relaxing, but I love to celebrate the 4th to it's fullest extent.  Next year!

Repent

I haven't been very good at posting lately.  I have been telling myself that we are so busy enjoying life that I don't need to worry about getting stuff written down and pictures taken.  But in reality I love having our life documented and being able to look back on it.  So I am going to repent and do better.  I have so many things I need to get down, but I will start with the most recent (I learned that at a scrapbooking party--just start with what is most fresh and exciting).  Here goes:

Family Reunions 2014

Thompson reunion 2014 up Provo Canyon

Not quite sure what Alyssa is doing in the dirt

Cousins!!  Hiking at Cascade Springs

Reece reunion
Scott and Matt (the boys dunked the canoe about 10 seconds in--Scott handled it really well, for him. He doesn't like getting wet unexpectedly)


We actually rowed that thing down the river while we sang "Row row row your boat," of course.

This was one of the beautiful views on the river.  Cotton everywhere like snow.












Sweeney 2014.  They had a cotton candy and snow cone machine to celebrate 75 years.  My kids couldn't get over the fact that it was free.




Egg toss.  Lyssa didn't get an egg on the head this year.  Scott did pretty well at horseshoes,  but Nick and his partner won.