I’M RETIRING!!

This is Ronnie.  Yesterday was “doctor day”.  Four appointments, three of which went great.   No problem with the stitches coming out from the “pre-cancerous” spots that had been removed from head.  Follow up at the shoulder surgeon was the most encouraging.  The surgeon said, “I couldn’t be more pleased!”  He let her discontinue her sling, told her she could drive and now is on “phase 2” of recovery.  The first phase had been basically healing with some assisted movement.  Now she will get more into total movement of her arm.  This will be the focus for the next 6 weeks.  She still isn’t suppose to hold anything heavier than a coffee cup and has to be careful about what she does with her arm.  The next phase, in about 6 weeks, will be strength training and trying to build the muscles back up.  So, we are getting there.  We’ve seen and heard about people that just started back doing things after rotator cuff surgery and at times it was discouraging to hear that from people.   After talking with the physical therapist about it, he explained to us that rotator cuff surgery has many levels.  He said it’s like saying you just ate a meal which could have been a cracker or it could have been a five course meal including steak.  He said the type rotator cuff surgery Sue had would have ended most professional athlete’s career.  It was the worst there is in rotator cuff surgery.  So, that helped, because Sue would think, “am I just a wimp?”  Both the surgeon and the physical therapist made it very clear that what she had done was major.  But, they are both very excited about how Sue has been doing her “motion home work” and taking it seriously.  They say that is what will make the differnce in not just making it better now, but fixing it for life.  Physical therapy has now been dropped to once a week during this phase.  Later in the day, we went to the oral surgeon to discuss the options about Sue’s tooth (which began hurting again a couple of weeks ago).  This surgeon suggested she look into a root canal first to make sure it is a cracked root, before spending the money on the implant.  So, I think that is what we are going to do. Who knew this tooth would be such a confusing process.  We were in Greensboro on Sunday at Sue’s mom’s house with her family for an early Christmas dinner. It was a great time and fun to see everyone again.  Katie and Steve spent the day and night with Steve’s parents over in Garner and will be back about mid day to particapate in “Cookie Day at the Lowe’s.”  Katie and Steve, Jeff and Lyndsey, and Steve’s brother Pete and his girl friend Lindsey will come over.  We will have pizza and decorate some Christmas cookies.  Should be a good time.   We really enjoy when everyone is around.  We are not making a lot of plans, just kind of playing the days “by ear” and enjoying the time we have with our kids and their very special spouses.   So now the retiring part.  Well, after much thought, I’ve decided it’s time for me to retire from updating Sue’s blog.   She has come a long way in the last 6 weeks and it’s time for her to take this back.  Thanks for checking her 0ut and once again, God Is Good All the Time.

Cookies, Kids, Friends and God’s Perfect Plan

Ronnie here.  Sue has had a pretty good week.  Physical therapy went good both times this week.  She had her six week assesment this afternoon and she is right on schedule for recovery.  We really enjoy her physical therapist.  He really knows what he is doing and takes very special care of Sue.  Monday is DOCTOR day for Sue, so we will be pretty busy with that.   She has four appointments on Monday; physical therapy, follow up with shoulder surgeon, dermatolgist to get stiches out from some pre-cancerous spots that were removed a couple of weeks ago and a preliminary oral surgeon appointment.  Her tooth, the one that wouldn’t come out, is starting to bother her again, so our plans are to go ahead with the implant.  At least the last month bought us a little time.  So it’s all good.  There are several things we are really excited about.  Katie and Steve are coming tomorrow and we are having early Christmas as Sue’s mom’s  house on Sunday with all of us being there.  Sue and I made some cookies last night and Sue is getting them all cooked for our “cookie making day” on Tuesday.  Katie and Steve, Jeff and Lyndsey and Steve’s brother and his girl friend are going to come over and we are all going to decorate cookies for family and friends.  Sue has some activities planned for us which include the wearing of reindeer antlers.  Should be fun. Billie Jo our life long good friend came over today and took Sue out for lunch and then they went and had their “nails done” together.  We really cherish her friendship.  She always knows just when to call and what to do.  Yesterday Sue’s good friend, Elaine, came by and they went to lunch and hung out.  She too is such a good friend.  I am off work until Jan. 2nd, so I am really looking forward to just chillin’, hanging out with Sue and the kids and just whatever. This has been a very interesting year.  The Lord has taught me so much, especially about myself.   We have been so blessed in so many areas of our lives.  His plan just continues to  prove so perfect and we look forward to this coming year and watching how so many things in our lives just continue to unfold and fit into place.  I am so glad that He is in control.   His plan is perfect and He IS Good All the Time!!!!

She’s fallen and can’t get up

Ronnie again.  I know this is a sooner than normal update, but I had to share something that happened last night, while it was still fresh on my mind.  Since Sue’s shoulder surgery, Nov 4th, she has been sleeping in the recliner in our family room.  A couple of times she has tried to sleep in the bed, but it just doesn’t seem to work.  From what we hear, it’s pretty normal because of the way the shoulder tries to rest on the bed.  I’ve been sleeping on an air mattress near her in the family room.  I can sleep on a window seal, so this is no big deal to me.  Although, just last night I was considering sleeping upstairs in our bed, but I didn’t.  About 4am, Sue got up to go to the bathroom and when she came back, she accidentally tripped over the leg of the recliner and fell face down on the floor between the couch and our coffee table.  She was stuck.  Luckily she didn’t get hurt and luckily she had her sling on.  Besides the fact that she can’t really move her arm much, one of the other reasons they require you to wear a sling for a long time is to prevent you from making normal quick reactions like trying to brace a fall.  I rolled over and started slinging stuff away from her so she could get up.  Like I said, she didn’t get hurt, other than a little sore. It’s one of those things that, with time, will be really funny.  It showed today at physical therapy and she wasn’t able to have the movement in her arm she had last week.  But from what the physical therapist was telling us today, it is perfectly normal at this stage to have visits like this one.  Four more days and I’m off until after the 1st, so I am excited.  Then I can get Sue around and not worry about her staying here by herself.  Terry Witt, our good friend, came and got her today and they went for a walk around Apex lake and then went for lunch.  That was great and she had fun.  Katie and Steve are coming in this weekend and we are excited about spending time with them and with Jeff and Lyndsey over the holidays.  God is good all the time.

Life is Good

This is Ronnie.  Sue is doing good.  Today we had a pretty full day.  We spent the morning out and about.  Went to BJ’s and did some shopping.  There we saw some good friends and spent some time catching up.  This evening we attended Jeff Liberto’s wedding.  It was loads of fun.  A beautiful wedding and a great reception.  Sue wasn’t sure what she was going to wear and remembered she had a dress her sister had sent her.  It fit great and she looked “hot”.  We had a great time and it was fun seeing several of our old friends, including John and Sandra Liberto.  It is so good to see those boys, Jeff, Billy, Jeff and Matt all grown up and all married and leading such good and God focused lives.  We have been so blessed.  We had fun seeing Jeff and Lyndsey there with all their friends.  Sue had a good week at physical therapy this week.  They were pleased with her progress and were very encouraging.  Today when we were at BJ’s, Sue walked over to the bakery area.  She was just standing there looking at the cakes and stuff, then she turned to me with tears in her eyes.  I asked her what was wrong and she said, “for the first time in my life, I am able to look at cakes and candy and not feel like people are looking at me thinking what that fat lady is doing looking at food like that.”  Her weight loss has been more than just losing weight, it’s been more than just getting rid of medical problems, it’s also the self esteem that it has produced and the confidence she now has in herself.  I am so thankful for all that has happened, the good and the bad, during this past year.  It has been a year of thanksgiving for us and a year that I know we will never forget.  I want to thank each of  you for your prayers and your encouragement this year.

                                   

                                                    Before surgery  and today.  WOW, can you believe it!

Sloooooowly but Surely

This is Ronnie.  I guess when we heard about the recovery period of Sue’s shoulder surgery, you think, well they say six months, but I’m sure it’s not that long.   Well, this time I believe they are going to be right.   This is so much more involved than I could ever have imagined.  Sue is doing good,  just ready to get back to normal.  It’s been one year and two months since she has had a “normal” time.  Between the weight loss surgery, the hernia surgery and now this shoulder surgery, well, it’s been a year, that’s for sure.  I say all this not whinning because we have been blessed in more ways than I can say.   This week was a little bit of a roller coaster in that Sue hasn’t felt very well.  On Monday her physcial therapy session didn’t go very well.   She struggeled to get where she was last week in her therapy.   Her physical therapist has been really good and encouraging, but not being able to improve was a little discouraging and then she started having issues with her right knee and her stomach.  Amazingly, she has been able to maintain her spirits.   On Thursday, the phsical thereapy session was much better and her knee and stomach are better.   I “peeked” throuh the window to watch what they did to her.  It was amazing to me how she has no use of the right arm on her own.  The therapist would take her arm and move it for her.  They really don’t want her doing anything, which right now is tough on her.  It’s kind of like when you’ve had the flu or something and you start getting well and you think you feel like doing something, but you just can’t.  That’s where she is right now.  Not being able to drive is really tough because it kind of keeps her here at home.  Our good friend Elaine came and got her one day and they went to Peneras and shopping and just had a great time.  We do appreciate her friendship.  We went and visited Katie and Steve last week over Thanksgiving and had a great time.  We started the process of fixing up their nursery so it will be ready when little St. Pete gets here.  We had supper with Jeff and Lyndsey this week and they are doing great.  We appreciate all your prayers.   As always, God is good all the time.

cookies and grandbaby

sue updating w/ left hand. pt is going great. i feel great. we’re going to ohio for thanksgiving to visit w/ katie and steve- yay!  still not able to drive but have started minimal left hand cooking-cookies today;).  please check out kayie’s updated blog at www.steveandkkate.wordpress.com.  we are so encouraged.  we will be working to decorate the room for baby garcia while we are in ohio! thanks for you prayers!

Curling irons and tweezing eyebrows, not my thing

Ronnie here.  So what’s the deal with curling irons?  Why do they have to be so hot?  Why can’t I get the hang of it?  It looks so easy when Sue does it, but then when I get my hands on it, well, I feel like I have two left hands.  Sue has second degree burns on her scalp and ears (not really, but I have burned her a few times).  And what’s up with tweezing eyebrows?  If it takes a 200 power magnifying glass to see them, why mess with them?  When was the last time you were walking down the street and someone walked up to you with a high powered magnifying glass and looked at your eyes and said, “oh my goodness, you need to go tweeze!”  I just don’t get it.  I guess it’s a guy thing, but if someone can explain to me the importance of doing that, please enlighten me.  Sue has tried, and I just don’t get it.  It’s not that I mind doing it, I just need to see results.  It reminds me of going outside to rake leaves and their are no leaves but you rake anyway.   Or washing a car that isn’t dirty or fixing a flat tire that isn’t flat. Why?  Oh well, like I said, I guess it’s a guy thing.  Sue had a great day.  Each day is getting better and better.  Our good friends Wayne and Terry Witt invited us over for supper tonight along with a couple we knew from Colonial.  It was a great time and good food.  It was a big outing for Sue and she is really tired now, but each day we do a little more and I know that one day soon, she will be back to normal.  Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers.  God is Good All the Time.

She got a Gold Star!

Ronnie again.  Sue had physical therapy again this moring and they were very happy with her progress.  She didn’t get a gold star, but if they gave out gold stars I bet she would have gotten one.  Sue has been pretty disciplined about doing her PT exercises at home.  They said it showed.  So that was encouraging.  We met a man in the waiting run of the physical therapist who had shoulder replacement.  His recovery is 3 months.  They are telling Sue, her recovery will be at least 6 months. I guess I was surprised.  The physical therapist told her not to be typing with her right hand, so I guess I’ll be the “updater” for a while longer.  He also told her not to hold anything heavier than a coffee cup.  It sounds like it is sooo important right now not to do anything that would pull her arm out away from her body.  So, we will obey rules, work on exercises, go to PT and let it heal.  Tonight we went to J&S cafeteria.  We were there along with all the other “grey heads”, and I speak for myself here.  Have you noticed how grey I’ve gotten lately?  I feel like I fit right in tonight.  Anyway, I do love their food, especially the apple pie.  It’s been a good day and I look forward to the weekend.  I’ve got some things I want to get done around the house.  I’m also looking forward to going to Akron next week to visit Katie and Steve.  Funny story (at least it will be funny in a few days, maybe), Katie and Steve had spent many hours raking leaves and taking the leaves to the street for the “leaf collector” to come by.  They’ve had a very busy week and the other night they got home late only to find a real mess.  It has been snowing almost everyday up there here lately and the road scraper came by to scrape the snow off the street and either didn’t see or didn’t care about the leaves they had on the curb.  All the snow covered leaves were plowed into their neighbor’s yard.  So they spent several hours raking, moving the leaves back into their yard and apolgizing to their neighbor.  Jeff made it back home last night around midnight and had a pretty busy day today too.  He and Lyndsey are coming over soon.  We look forward to seeing them. Thanks again for visiting the blog and thanks for the prayers.  God is Good All the Time.

We had a date tonight..

Ronnie here.  Well today was almost back to normal.  We are still sleeping downstairs, but other than that things are coming around.  Sue had a good day.  I had to leave early and go to High Point, so she had to totally take care of herself.  She got up, fixed her breakfast, got her puzzle done, fixed herself lunch, etc.  So she is doing great.   After I got home we decided to go on a date, so we went to the mall. We haven’t been to the Cary Mall, other than to vote, in a couple of years.  We went to the food court and ate supper and then walked around the entire mall and went in most stores.  It was great for her to get out.  Sue has physical therapy again tomorrow morning.  I think if she keeps progressing the way she is, that after Thanksgiving she may be able to drive.  That will really free her up.  Right now, she is doing some exercies as part of her physical therapy.  She’s been doing them about every 4 hours.  They are very difficult for her to do.  It’s amazing, she has totally lost the ability to use her right arm.  She can’t lift it on her own at all.  The exercise that is the hardest is, she lays on the floor on her back.  She takes a piece of PVC pipe that is about 3′ long. She holds it with both hands.  She uses her left hand to try and move her right hand a few inches.  It is a real struggle and is very painful but she is doing it.  Jeff is on his way back from MN tonight and I know he can’t wait to get home.  Katie says it has been cold and snowy up in Akron, so we’ll have to make sure we take warm clothes next week when we go.  Some friends from their church  are having the “Born in Our Hearts” event tomorrow night in Akron, for Katie and Steve.  If you want to see more about their adoption process, go to http://steveandkate.wordpress.com/ and you can see the updates.  Thanks again for all your prayers, notes, for all the meals we had, for the calls and for all the ways so many of you have supported us through this surgery.  One thing that is really interesting, Sue’s tooth still isn’t hurting.  Today in High Point, one of the meetings I was in was discussing new insurance coverage our company is switching to.  One of the changes in the dental plan is that it will now partially cover implants.  How about that.  You just never know.  God is Good All the Time.

PT!! (that’s medical talk for physical therapy)

Ronnie here.  Sue had a good day.  Last night she went to her Monday night Bible study.  Gussie, a friend from church, came by and picked her up.  She stayed out till about 10pm, so this was quite a change.  We tried sleeping in our bed last night, and that didn’t go so well.  So I guess, we’ll leave well enough alone for now and continue sleeping downstairs.  It’s just hard for Sue to get comfortable and the chair and/or the couch give her some support and helps her from having to worry about turning over, which would be a bad thing right now.   Sue had her first PT today and it went very good.  He moved her arm quite a bit and she is pretty much worn out, in fact, right after supper she fell asleep and is still asleep.  The physical therapist was telling her that of all the surgeries they do PT for, the rotator cuff surgery has the longest and hardest recovery.  He said by Christmas she might be able to raise her arm a little and by Easter she should be able to raise her arm over her head.  In true “Sue spirit”, she asked, so what happens at Ground Hogs day?  He also told her that according to the report, the surgeon did not re-connect the tendon that was so damaged.  He just cleaned the ends up and left it.  This is normal because he says that if they re-attach, it normally causes more trouble than it’s worth.  She was able to discontiue using the cushion support that attached below her sling.  That’s good, because that is what made things uncomfortable.  He was also telling her how important it is to not even try to lift the arm at this point.  It would be very easy to completely undo the surgery and he said at that would be a really bad thing to happen.  Anyway, it was a good visit and she goes again on Thursday.  It’s nice to know what to expect there and also to hear more on what to expect during recovery.  Last night, and tonight, we had a wonderful lasagna that Diane Garcia, Katie’s mother-in-law, made for us.  She brought enough for a couple of nights and a then another pan to freeze for later.  They are such good friends and we are thankful that they are down here now.  We will be going to Akron for Thanksgiving to be with Katie and Steve and are looking forward to that.  We will start getting little “St Pete’s” room painted and fixed up.  It’s all starting to feel so real now and I’m sure there will be times it will seem like things are speeding along with the adoption and I know there will be times that seem like they are dragging.  But the one thing that is for sure, God’s timing is always perfect.  So, we’ll just continue to praise Him as we wait for little St. Pete.  Jeff will be coming back from MN tomorrow night, so I know he will be glad to get back and be at home with his new bride.  Life is good, because God is Good all the Time.