recovery

I'm recovering well, but as you can see Ace is getting more use of my pillow than I am. He and Ashley took turns last night laying on it.

The surgery went very well. Dr. Matty was able to take 2 pieces of bone from my mandible, one from the inside, one from the outside. Thankfully he only took from the right side or both sides of my face would be sore and swollen. As it is, I can barely open my mouth, so I'm on a liquid diet.

I am on plenty of meds... thank goodness for pain meds! They are wonderful. Nathan has been wonderful. All day yesterday he took care of me and got me anything I needed. I can't really talk, but he has been wonderful at picking up what I'm trying to say.



The picture above shows where the bone was taken from (the red square). The pieces were about 2/3" square and about 1/4" thick. They weren't expecting to take two pieces, but since they did, it will be easier for my implants in the spring.

Right now the right side of my jaw is swollen, it looks like I have a tennis ball in my mouth. My upper lip as well as my nose are also swollen. Yesterday I used icepacks all day, today I'm trying to do it as much as I can, letting one freeze while I use another. If you ever need a homemade icepack, they are really easy to make.

1 part alcohol
1 part water

If you put that in a baggy and then put that baggy in another bigger baggy and put it in the freezer it is the perfect slushy icepack. The alcohol doesn't let the water freeze so its super cold and forms nicely to where you put it. Gotta go get some ice right now, we'll let you know later in the week how things are going. Once I can open my mouth I'll let you know what the stitches look like!

a little bit of everything

from Pittsburgh to Chicago to Morgantown to surgery... we're doing a little bit of it all.

Nathan left this morning at 4am to head to Chicago for a trade show. Hopefully his flight will be on time so he can be back in Pittsburgh before we have to leave for Morgantown at 7am. If something happens and his flight gets delayed then my Mom is 'on call' for an emergency trip up. Nathan's flight is scheduled to leave at 8:30 tonight, which puts him home around 1am.

So far so good on the surgery for tomorrow. This one should actually happen, and man will I be in pain. I've taken off the rest of the week from work, with the possibility of doing some from home and going in Friday. It all depends on how I'm feeling.

Thanksgiving was great. We got to spend some much needed time in Bridgeport with my Dad, step-mom and siblings. The kids didn't want us to leave, they begged and begged for us to stay longer. We also made a quick trip down to Flatwoods to pick up our Christmas dishes that had been left in Charleston... its always fun to meet home and look around at the shops. After two seperate thanksgiving dinners (one at Dad's one at Amy's Dad's) and some leftovers we headed North. Our 'children' were waiting... and Ace kept me up all night.

We'll update you later this week about how my surgery goes/went. You can always call Nathan or email if you want... I don't know that I'll be talking much at all.... that might be a relief for some of you.

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving and a few days of relaxation before the Christmas rush begins!

fear

"...today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be terrified or give way to panic before them. 4 For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory."

Deuteronomy 20:3-4

Fear is something we all struggle with. Fear comes in many different forms. A fear of having children in this day and age, of losing a job, of failure, of losing the ones you love, of dying... these are only a few of the many many types of fear. Lately we've been battling a lot of our fears, some of them on a daily basis.

Last week during my quiet time I came across the verse above in Deuteronomy. The verse leaped off the page at me and has been stuck in my mind. I liked it so much I wrote it down on an index card and taped it to the front door so we can see it before we head out each day... a little reminder that God is going with us into battle that day and that he is fighting with us and for us. I've also memorized it and hope to revive it from my memory any time I am fearful.

This morning as I was getting ready to go into work it dawned on me that in one week from today I will be having surgery. Up until now I have been fine with it, but fear suddenly crept into my heart and I found myself almost panicked. I started hearing the risks as they flowed through my mind and I thought of the pain. I remembered back to a women's conference in Oct. when the speaker, Tammy Smith, spoke about praying for people who were having surgery. She talked about how when someone goes into surgery and they are sedated, the mind becomes fair game to any and all thoughts or dreams that the Devil can put in our heads. For years now, before I go to sleep I have been praying that God will keep watch over my dreams and my thoughts, that nothing harmful will enter as I'm sleeping. I figure most people are like me, they hate scary dreams. Anyway, as I thought about my surgery and the fact that I will be under sedation I knew I should start praying for that aspect of it as well.

Thankfully God relieved my fear for the morning as I rushed off to work, but when I got home this afternoon and started to relax the fears crept in again. I could hear my boss (in WV) telling me about how he had a procedure done once and he was temporarily paralyzed... I have that risk as well as the risk that it could be permanent! That scares me. I don't want to seem vain, but who really wants to have half their face paralyzed? I also thought about the fact that I could actually die during this surgery. Stranger things have happened. When I'm telling someone about what will happen I've been throwing in the fact that IF something were to happen, at least I'll be in the hospital... thats where WVU's dental school is. But I can't help but think of the what ifs. I definitely don't want to die. I'm not afraid of death, but there are so many things left that I want to do.

Fear is a scary thing (bad wording I know). Its like worry, if we left it take root in our lives it can destroy us. Not too long ago, we had to share what we thought our spouse's greatest character trait was. Nathan gave me the biggest compliment when he said I had more faith and hope than any one else he had ever met. I'm banking on my faith to get me through this.

I'll be sure to let you know how we're doing as the time gets closer. And if we don't post again until after Thursday:

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Fall in WV

On Wednesday as I drove to WV I was amazed at what I saw. Most of the trees were bare and the few trees that weren't, had brown, dry, dead leaves. It wasn't the same beautiful scenery that I had seen only a week or so before. On the way home that night I realized that it wasn't rain hitting my windshield but snow flurries. Then on Thursday it snowed and we actually had accumulation on our cars Friday morning. I coudn't believe it. I love the snow, but I thought we were still in the Fall season.

Nathan and I both thought Fall seemed longer in WV. Maybe its because we were surrounded my such beautiful colors that seemed to last forever as we watched each leave turn from green to bright yellow, blazing orange, or the most amazing color of red we've ever seen. (Thank you God for the pleasure we have of seeing and living in your creation... each leaf has your fingerprint on it.) Fall is the most beautiful time of year in West Virginia, and definitely our favorite season. But here in Pittsburgh, Fall seems to come and go in a matter of a few weeks. I don't know if we are really affected by the cold air coming off of Lake Erie or what... but my goodness, its cold here now and we're pretty dissapointed!

At least we are used to the cold and snow. Tomorrow I am taking Sally Ann shopping. She needs new jeans and boots... the poor girl was wearing open toed shoes two weeks ago. She could probably use a new coat too. Nathan told her the other day its no longer Fall, its officially Winter.... even if the calendar says differently. We have to keep reminding ourselves that Thanksgiving is on Thursday, it doesn't feel like it.

The weather change and the appearance of snow has got us both looking forward to Christmas. We'll probably put our tree up next weekend, and that always makes the holidays seem even closer. Now that Fall has passed (oh so suddenly) bring on the snow!

Winter in WV

full time...

If you've called or emailed us in the past week, you probably haven't gotten a reply. All of a sudden, life got busy. As of last week, I have two jobs, and of course Nathan's full time job takes up a lot of his time.

I had forgotten how little time is left over at the end of the day when you are working a full day. Previously I had been working one job out of WV and most of the work was sporadic, except for Tuesday when I would drive down and work in the office. Let me tell you, the long distance made for a long day. But now that Nathan and I are both working full time, things have become somewhat crazy.

Up until now, most evenings we would come home and just unwind. Recently though, we've added a homegroup to our week and we're trying to add a 'study' night, in which we go to a coffee shop and read and hang out. This week it didn't work, yesterday wasn't the best day and we didn't feel like going out once we got home. So we'll aim to get that in next week. We also are looking into joining a gym with our friends the Mertens, we really need to do that. Almost all our nights are full... but I guess thats what we want, we have missed being busy the way we were in WV.

David & Sally Ann Mertens

Anyway, as for my two jobs, I'm trying to work it all out. I've only worked 3 days at my job here, but I am enjoying it. Its hard getting used to new people and the way they do things, but I think all in all, I'll learn a lot and be a better designer for it.

We're sorry if we've missed your calls and emails, but we will get back to you I promise. I'm getting back into the routine of balancing everything. We are both planners and organizers so this helps keep up on track. I hope in a few weeks if someone asks how we're doing, we'll be able to say 'great!' Being busy right now is good....speaking of being busy, I've gotta run, dinner is ready!

LETS GOOOOOO MOUNTAINEERS!

What a wonderful surprise it was to wake up this morning and find that we had beat Louisville. Last night night we rused home from small group and watched the game as long as we could. Eventually our tiredness got the best of us and we couldn't keep our eyeslids open any longer. At that point it was the 4th quarter and the score was WVU 31 - Louisville 28. Louisville had been coming back pretty strong and we were both worried that as soon as we turned off the light the game in Morgantown would take a terrible turn. We raced to the computer this morning and thankfully were greated with a win over Lousiville. Final Score: WVU 38 - Louisville 31. Lets GOOOOOO Mountaineers!

(had to use the gold font today to get the total effect)

attempted, but failed again

me and my smile

WARNING: this post may contain TMI.

This morning at 6 am we were heading out the door on our way to Morgantown. Today I was having my implants put in (steel rods/screws in my mouth, not other types). As we drove we each prayed that today everything would go smoothly, the procedure would happen, and I wouldn't be in too much pain. You see, this is the second trip that we've made to Morgantown expecting to have this done. This past July we went down and after starting surgery (cutting me open and all) they discovered that the bone had some defects and they couldn't continue. So we were really praying that today would be the day. Not to mention the fact that we both wanted it to all be over and done with.

For those of you who may not know why I have to have implants I'll explain. When I was 6 years old, I was hit by a bike. Actually I was riding my bike with friends, we had stopped and were talking when another friend came flying down the hill on her bike and hit me head on. This threw me off my bike and I hit my handle bars and hers as I somersaulted into the air and onto the ground. I had just gotten in my permanent teeth after having grey baby teeth that resulted from an accident in which I hit a porcelain bathtub with my front teeth. Anyway, the wreck knocked out one of my front teeth, and damaged the other severely... although we didn't know about the second one until a few years ago. So you see, I need this procedure, and its been 19 years in the making.

(back to today's story..) I checked in at the clinic and shortly a tech came and got me to have x-rays. Dr. Reed (my surgeon) was concerned about the bone too and wanted to make sure everything was okay before he opened me up again. Turned out, everything wasn't okay. The bone still hadn't grown enough. I was then shipped off to speak with another surgeon about a block graft. Here enters the TMI. The Dr. that I spoke with explained what would happen. I don't have enough bone, so they are going to go in and take (saw out) a chunk of bone from my lower jaw... OUCH! Then they are going to break the bone that they took and place it in the front of my mouth where I need it. They will have to cut open my upper gum (where my front teeth are) and fold the flap all the way back... so far so that they will be working under my nose. They'll place the broken bone in the correct places, screw it into place with miniature screws, cover it with mesh and other fun things, and then stretch the skin back over and stitch me back up. Sounds fun doesn't it? After I heal for 6 months they will attempt again to put in the implants.

The risks are significant, but like I told Nathan, its like any surgery, there are always risks. If when they are cutting out bone from my lower jaw they happen to hit a nerve, it could cause me temporary or permanent numbness on the right lower side of my face. If the bone graft doesn't take, I could lose the bone and they'd have to do it again later. There is also the possibility that they could hurt my other teeth as they are putting the screws into place. The only good thing I could take away was that if something were to happen while I am under sedation, I am already in a hospital! I'm really glad that I opted for full sedation and not to be awake though. The Dr. described it like when I had my wisdom teeth out, I probably won't remember a thing. I don't want to be like Nathan who remembers the nurses hold his head down while the dentist hammered away at his teeth. I'll definitely be praying that none of the risks occur.

So as you see our attempt at the implants again failed today. Looks like I won't get them until at least next May or June... but hopefully then it will all be done and I'll have a beautiful smile. Oh, I guess I forgot to tell you that this crazy surgery is happening in 2 weeks. November 27th at 9:30am. At least I'll get to eat Thanksgiving dinner right?

I hope I didn't share too many yucky details. Just wanted to let you know what was happening and ask for prayer that it all goes well and I'm not out of commission for too long. Talk to you again soon.

family thanksgiving

the family...minus 11+

just having a little fun

the "kids"...minus my siblings

Every year, usually in October, my family gets together for an early Thanksgiving. This past Sunday we all met up in Philippi and sat down to a wonderful dinner together. As you can tell from the picture above we have a big family... the thing is, thats only my (paternal) Grandmother's side. There were 33 family memebers in this picture and we're missing at least 11.

Thanksgiving is always an event and a half. Our family, like any family, is full of crazy people, some a little more so than others. As long as I can remember we have forwarned any guests that may come (boyfriends, etc.) about a particular aunt that you want to avoid at all costs. We also make known that unless you are in the family, you WILL NOT be allowed in the family picture. That rule comes from my cousin Stacey. Apparently she and my cousin Allen dated for many many years and she was never allowed in the picture until they married. This year, they did pretty good, and no one tried to sneak in.... last year was a different story.

Anyway, we had a wonderful time and I thought I'd share a few pictures. This past weekend we also went to a movie (Michael Clayton) on Friday night when David and Sally Ann. We really enjoyed ourselves and are loving the time we get to hang out with our new friends. Then on Saturday we drove down to Morgantown to go to a dip party thrown by friends. The weekend really was full of great food, family, & friends.

We hope you had a great weekend too!

spilled water, not milk....

This is how Ace likes to be held... he is a true baby

So I have to let out a little frustration with our kitten Ace. Ace is about 8 month old and rotten to boot. As Nathan calls him "Satan's spawn with black fur".... its okay to laugh, I about died the first time I heard him say that. Needless to say, Ace is WILD, and honestly I quesiton at times if I can't handle him, how will I ever handle a child?

We have an automatic water feeder, and Ace likes to splash the water out because it makes a noise he apparently likes. Its the noise that the water cooler at work makes when the bubbles go to the top (glug glug). Ace is notorious for spilling the water all over the kitchen floor and into his food dish. Yesterday I spent a good hour trying to get him to stop playing with it. I would hear him spashing in the water and I'd go over, squirt him with a water bottle, and come back to finish my work. By the time I sat down he was at it again. Eventually Ace looked like a wet seal, but I don't think he cared, he was having fun with his 'toy.'

After Ace had finished playing

I had no clue what to do with him. I put him in the guest bathroom for a few minutes but felt so bad when he started crying. I let him out, and immediately he went straight to the water again.
Eventually I picked him up and just held him tightly so he couldn't get away. We played in the living room for a while and he finally clamed down after a while.

Never did I imagine that yesterday would have been the end of the water bowl splashing... and sure enough when we got up this morning he had done it again. I think I feel worse for our other cat Ashley because she has to put up with him more than we do... if he splashes all the water out, then she has nothing else to drink.

We're still hoping that eventually Ace will grow out of his kitten stage and become a lazy lap cat like Ashley. I guess we have a few more years before that will happen.

Have a great weekend!