My Husband, the Injured

Well, it's been a little over 3 weeks since my husband was injured. It has been a loooong 3 weeks. Things aren't perfect, but he is slowly improving. He can sit comfortably most of the day without much pain.....unless he tries to move or get up, then it hurts pretty badly. Mornings are the worst and getting in and out of bed is still really painful. Plus, he stiffens up over night, so it's hard to get moving.

All of the swelling in his hands and feet are mostly gone.....except for one of his ankles. We're unclear why it's still swollen, but it does appear to be going down.....slowly!

We have attempted to get into another specialist for a second opinion and to get advice for the swollen foot, but we have had very little success. It's been amazing the reasons we've not been able to get into an orthopedic surgeon.....such as:

1. "I'm sorry, this doctor only does surgery."

2. "I'm sorry, this doctor only does hips and knees."

3. "I'm sorry, this doctor doesn't treat the lower spine."

4. "I'm sorry, but we don't have an available appointment for 2 weeks" (3 weeks, 4 weeks, you name it)....

5. "I'm sorry, this doctor doesn't do fractures."

And my personal favorite?

6. "I'm sorry, this doctor doesn't do second opinions."

CRAZY! It has been a whirlwind of attempts. We finally got an appt. with a PA (Physician's Assistant) on Thursday.....we'll see how it goes and if we get any more answers.

This has been the weirdest thing ever. Freaky really. Who breaks their sacrum bone anyway? Todd is the first patient of such an injury for our orthopedic surgeon. Nice! Let's be guinea pigs for the medical field....fun!

BUT, the people in our ward have been soooo amazing! They have brought us treats, dinners, cards, mowed our lawn, made repairs, brought more treats, more dinners, and more cards.....and so many have told us we are in their prayers. It has been quite humbling and we are so grateful! I don't know what we would do without the love and support of all of them.

I know it's helping me not to have a nervous breakdown every other day. :) In the beginning I was so worried. Todd was so pale and swollen and in agony....it was so hard to watch. He couldn't read a book or watch a movie because the pain was too awful to concentrate or sit in one position.

But now he can sit in the recliner (which is where he spends most of his day) and read a book and I'll say to him, "Hey, I wish I could sit and read a book.....I guess I'll go mop the floor instead." And I'm not usually smiling when I say that. (Because mopping the floor is not my favorite thing to do.....) I'm trying to be more cheerful.

One of the coolest things that has come out of this though is that Eric got to give Todd the sacrament on Sunday all by himself. Apparently if the Bishop approves it (which Todd did), then a Priest can give both prayers. We gathered our family together in our living room while Eric administered it and it was a very awesome experience for me. One I don't think I'll forget.

In other news....

Eric got his driver's license today. His real driver's license. I still don't think he's quite ready to go and drive by himself, so there will be more practice runs for him. But that's okay....practice makes perfect, right?

Well, I feel like a broken record, but thank you, thank you for all your prayers and concern. We feel them everyday. And I know they are being heard and answered. You're all wonderful!

Self-Proclaimed Nurse (but not aspiring)

I'm not sure how to begin this post. We are having a mini-crisis at our house.....well, a little bit more than mini.....here's the story.

Several months ago, Todd started training for the Wasatch Back Relay. (Like way back around Christmas). It was scheduled for June 18th and 19th. He worked hard to build up his strength and stamina for this race. He looked forward to it immensely. He was careful and listened to his body when he thought he had overdone it. Things were going well.....until about a month before the race.

It started with low back pain. He went to see a chiropractor for a couple of visits and then decided to see a physical therapist a week later. The visits were going well and his back pain was improving. But he stopped running and unfortunately felt that he had to drop out a week before the race. It was very sad and depressing. But he was improving, so that was encouraging.

On July 1st, he had his last visit with the physical therapist. During the visit he mentioned that his hip was bothering him slightly. And here's the part where it gets really frustrating. The physical therapist put Todd in some sort of traction and while it hurt at the time, it wasn't extremely painful. But the next morning he woke up at around 5 am and could hardly walk. He struggled to get ready for work, and somehow made it in. By 11:00, he could no longer stand the pain, and he came home. This was on Friday (July 2nd).....and 4th of July weekend.

At the time, we figured the physical therapist did a number on his hip and that probably it would heal in the next few days. But because the pain was so bad, we took him into our regular doctor to get some medication to help through the weekend.

All through the next few days, he was in excruciating, agonizing pain. His hip was killing him and any movement just about put him over the edge. By Monday it wasn't much better, but we were able to attend a get-together with his family, where he literally just sat himself down in the recliner the entire time.

We knew something was terribly wrong and on Tuesday we went to see an orthopedic surgeon. Todd was very uncomfortable on the examing table and would hardly let the doctor do an exam.....it was too painful. So they took x-rays and the doctor thought that he had a labral tear in his right hip, but felt that an MRI was necessary to confirm it.

On Thursday afternoon he had an MRI with Arthrogram, which is when they inject a bunch of dye directly into the hip before they do the actual test. It was very painful for Todd and his back started to cramp up and he couldn't lay flat. They had to give him valium to ease the pain enough for the MRI.

Late Thursday afternoon, we got a call from the orthopedic doctor. He said the radiology report said that he did not have a labral tear.....but instead a fractured sacrum. The sacrum is the bone that connects to the pelvis, in the middle. We were all shocked, even the doctor.

We asked ourselves many questions surrounding this injury. Was his running the cause? Did the physical therapist literally break his bone when she pulled on his leg? These are still unanswered questions. The orthopedist said that he's calling this a stress fracture, which was most-likely caused by the running. But we think it was probably a combination of the two.....the running AND the physical therapist. Either way, it's very frustrating! And we'll probably never really know for sure what caused the actual fracture.

So, this is where we are. This is the diagnosis. Recovery time is 6 to 8 weeks of non-bearing weight. It is a bone that fortunately has a good healing success rate on its own. We have been grateful that it wasn't something that required surgery or that he hasn't been hospital bound.

However, the past couple of days, we think he has been having an allergic reaction to one of his medications. He has had a fever off and on for several days, a rash here and there, total stiffness in his upper body, and now last night, his hands and ankles are swollen. And all we can do is wait to see if it gets better......hopefully not worse. He also had a severe sore throat on Monday, so we took him to the doctor to see if he had Strep, but it came back negative. So we continue to wait....and wait.....and wait. (not one of my strengths.....)

The positive? His hip pain is lessening and he's finally to the point where he can lay in one position comfortably.....and that is HUGE! Also, so far his drug reaction (or whatever weird thing is going on) is not effecting his breathing or his mouth......hopefully it will not reach to that point. Or we will be heading to the ER. Today his throat feels much better, (which is why we think he's having a drug reaction now).

Last Friday we gathered our children together for a family council. We explained Dad's injury and the effects it would have on us this summer. There would be no hikes, no Lagoon, no Fathers and Sons, and various other outdoor activities that we had planned. A couple of the kids asked about Dad's job and what would happen with that. We took this great opportunity to explain that luckily Dad has a good job and good benefits and it will be okay for him to take some time off to heal and recover. We also talked about the importance of getting a good education and that some people aren't as fortunate as we are. Some people have to quit their jobs or they get fired because they can't go in. We talked about the importance of preparing fincancially for emergencies and that we have done that for our family. It was a really good conversation and one I will always remember.

While things seem bleak at the moment, I am grateful that it's not worse. I'm thankful we're not facing surgery and that for now, at least, Todd is home. It has been so hard to watch him day in and day out suffer and be in pain, but I have felt the wonderful peace from the Spirit and I have seen the hand of the Lord in our lives. I know the power of the priesthood is real and I am thankful for the blessings that Todd has received. I am forever grateful for the outpouring of love and support from family and friends who have reached out and who are praying for us in our behalf. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

We will take this one day at a time for now. Please keep us in your prayers.

Happy 6th Birthday Jacob!

Happy Birthday to my sweet Jacob! Today he turned 6 years old.

This morning when he woke up, I gave him his first present. It was a kid laptop computer.


After he worked on it for a while, he said, "Some of these things are kind-of hard." And I told him that when he got a little bigger, he'd be able to do all the things on the computer. Our conversation went something like this:

Jacob: "Well, when I turn 6 I'll be able to do it."
Me: "But you are six. Today is your birthday."
Jacob: "No.....I'll be six when it's my birthday."
Me: "Yea, that's today. You are 6 today."
Jacob: "No...."(and then he looked very confused).
Me: "Do you mean 'When it's your party?' "
Jacob: "Yeah, when it's my party I'll turn 6."

I then had to explain to him that his party wouldn't be today, but that he was still turning 6 years old, even without a party. He was very disappointed that today wasn't his party, but once we talked it out, and he understood that he would get a party......just not today.......he was okay. But it was so cute!


And he got a Toy Story 3 sleeping bag too, which he can't wait to sleep in tonight.

And Grandma Johnson took him out to buy him a present and guess what he picked out? Yeah....um......boxing gloves! At least it wasn't a sword.....we definitely don't need another one of those. :) Oh, and he picked out a watch too.

We love you Jacob! I can't believe you're 6 years old.

Oh man, how can my baby be 6? Please, someone stop the clock!

Jacob's Kindergarten Graduation

I am so behind in blogging......where is the time going?

My baby graduated from Kindergarten!! He is getting so big and I can hardly stand it. Here are a few pics from this momentous occasion.

This was taken at the program...what a cutie!

After the program, we all sqeezed into the Kindergarten room and the teacher handed out their certificates. Here he is (for the last time) in that little chair of his in his "Kindergarten spot"......

His teacher, Mrs. Godfrey, giving him his end-of-the-year packet and certificate.....

And here's the big Kindergartener.

Please Jacob, stop growing up so fast!!!

Happy Sweet Sixteen Eric!

Life has been so busy lately, I haven't even had time to think straight, let alone post a blog entry. I'll try to get to some of that later, but for now I couldn't let this post go any later than it already has.....


Eric turned 16 last Saturday! I can't believe I have a 16 year old who can (almost) drive (on July 27) and now date. Since he can't quite drive yet alone (or with a date), I told him I'd take him and a girl of his choice to the movies.....just drop them off and pick them up. What's the big deal? But he wouldn't go for it. Totally lame I say!



I just have to brag about him for a minute.....I DO have bragging rights on this blog afterall. Eric got a 4.0 this last term as a Sophomore and never below a 3.8 the entire year. I am so proud of him. I didn't do that as a Sophomore (or any year for that matter---except maybe Senior because I had easier classes). But he doesn't really have easy classes. He's got harder classes than I ever took. Way to go Eric!


In honor of our children (who ALL did super-duper on their grades---and consequently MUST take after their father), we went to Spaghetti Factory. We had a great time.

And here is what Eric looked like the week before school ended. He wanted to wait until school was over to get a haircut, but I was dying, so he finally consented to cut it the last week of school. Here is the before picture.....

Can anyone say "haircut?"

And here's the hottie after! For some reason "thumbs up" is a must in almost every picture. I don't get it myself, but it's okay. We love him anyway!

Happy Birthday son! You're an awesome person and a great big brother! We love you!