Surgery and Sedation

Rock star in his new shades.

Mac had surgery today.  To be technical it was for Strabismus and Amblyopia.  In English, he had his lazy eye fixed... hopefully.  He had surgery on both eyes to make sure they would move in tandem.  We love the surgeon, Dr. Moody.  He brought Mac a super soft teddy bear, a shark 'cold' pack and a pair of sunglasses just before they took him back for surgery.   So, you know, it was similar to all our military doc surgeries.  Ehem.  We have many friends that are military doctors, but there is no way I am going to pretend that having surgery in a military hospital even comes close to having it elsewhere.  And today, Mac's operation was at a great pediatric surgery center.  Every staff member was kind and polite and great with the kids... they gave him a small stuffed monkey too.  He made out like a bandit!  The surgery went great.  Doc says he may develop 2 black eyes.  I say: if he does, we'll make up some amazing story as to how he got them :)

Right after surgery.  Asleep thanks to an extra sedative... no fisticuffs today. *see explanation below.

My sweet Mac is very passive aggressive.  So, passive aggressive that he usually wakes up from surgery screaming, kicking, biting, spitting and hitting.   I'm glad this surgery center actually listened to me when I told them that and decided to give Mac an extra sedative after surgery to keep him calm.  Worked like a charm.  Though this time he was quite weepy, like I usually am.  Ask Geoff about it sometime... I remember waking up and begging for my husband so pathetically that they finally brought him back to me.  Later he told me he could hear me crying and calling for him from out in the waiting room.  So sad.

Even though it's a bit sad and pulls at the heart strings, it is also quite humorous and adorable (NOT like me) when children are waking up from sedation--as long as they aren't trying to kill someone. Here are some of Mac most memorable comments after surgery today--all said while he was slightly weeping and/or whimpering:

*upon first waking "My eyes were casted."--really they were just patched for a little bit--which was closely followed up by, "I can't see, mom.  How'm I gonna get to the car?"

*a few minutes later, he awakes from a snore. whimpers."I can't open my eyes. When will I be able to see my beautiful mother's face?"*yes, moms heart squeezes at that... he thinks I'm beautiful :)

He was also very concerned that he wouldn't be able to actually see Geoff whenever he gets home.  See what I mean about the blind thing?  The poor kid thought his eyes were permanently damaged.  Anesthetic is an evil necessity.  I sure don't want to have surgery while awake... I guess I have technically, since I've had 2 c-sections.. but I digress.  I just really, really don't like what the anesthetics do to me and my kids.  Worst. feeling. ever.

Big hug for mom when he could finally open his eyes enough to see me.  I think he thought he was literally going to be blind for the rest of his life.  It was so sad, can't imagine what that would feel like to wake up thinking you are blind.  Glad to know he'd miss seeing me.

*again later after more sleeping and snoring and whimpering
"But mom, my eyes are all blurry. How am I supposed to do my chores and stuff?"
**such a great kid! he thinks mom is beautiful and he's worried about doing his chores while laying in his recovery bed! he must have been seriously drugged :)

Marrott's Believe It or Not

As per our usual crazy life, something has gone wrong. Most anyone who would read our blog already knows, but I feel it deserve a spot in our bit of living history here on the world wide web. It was a fairly usual day here at 12 Normandy Close: kids were jumping and screaming on the trampoline and I was in the kitchen listening to an audio book and cooking dinner. Geoff was at football practice with his squadron. The phone rings. I frantically look for it while trying to also wash my hands clean of floury mess. I answer just at the moment I'm sure the caller has probably hung up.

"Hello," I huff out.

"Hi, is your mom there?" haha. I get that a lot... and yes, it does get old.

"This is the mother," I say as patiently as I can while stirring dinner.

"Oh, sorry. Hi, Mrs. Marrott? This is Sgt Smith from the law enforcement desk. I'm in your husband's squadron."

My heart squeezes a little, you know that intuitive thump it gives you when it's trying to tell you something important. But I calm myself, thinking she probably just needs help with a bake sale or a meal for a new mother or a moving family. Just business. But then why call from the LE desk?

She continues. "Your husband is fine, ma'am. I just wanted to inform you that he's been taken to the hospital. Nothing major, but he couldn't walk."

"Ok," I squeak out, "So he's at the hospital now?" I know she just said he was, but I just needed a confirmation. But what I'm really thinking is, what happened and do I really want to know how he ended up there?

"Yes, ma'am."

"Was he in an accident?"

"No, ma'am. Well, yes, ma'am. I mean, he got hurt playing football."

Huge sigh of relief. Sports injury, I can handle this.

"Alright then. Thank you."

I try and stay calm because I know the kids will flip out when I tell them where Geoff is and why I need them to immediately get shoes on and get in the car. My attempt at calm isn't successful and I'm soon yelling, "Get your shoes. You can't find them? Well why not! Forget your shoes, you can go barefoot. Just get in the car."

Ok, I wasn't really yelling and it wasn't like it started that way, but after 5 minutes and they still weren't in the car, I started to get impatient.

I call the Cranney's and ask my dear friend Camille to watch the kids while I go to the ER to check on my hubby.

The phone rings just as we are about to walk out the door.

"Hello," I try not to huff this time.

"Hi Miranda?"

"Yes." I realize now that it probably came out condescending and/or belligerent.

"Oh, hi. Um, this is Audrey (or maybe it was Amber). I'm not just some strange lady calling. I work with your husband. I just took him to the ER. He asked me to call you and make sure you knew where he was and tell you he's ok, but he needs you."

There went my heart again.

"Thank you, Audrey/Amber, for taking care of him. I'm on my way. Thanks."

Now, I was swatting my kids out the door. My hubby needed me. My kids are even more anxious knowing they can't go with me and they will have to wait to find out how Dad is. Brody is in tears, pulling his hair. Daeglan is saying "Mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, Maaaaaooommm," trying to get my attention so he can ask for the 19th time if he can come with me and then why can't he come with me. Mac is looking at Brody and Daeglan and trying to decide if he should be freaking out too. He finally decides to shed a few tears too, until he hears he gets to play at the Cranney's then he's fine. Emeryss is only worried about packing her backpack with her new dollies so she can show them all to Camille.

We get in the car, finally, and take a few deep breaths. We have a prayer and we're off.

I drop off the kiddos and rush to the ER, reminding myself that driving 80 down a 2-way road barely big enough for one car will get me to the ER, but not in the way I want to get there.

I get there and clap my hands that there are parking spaces right by the door. I all but run inside. I find my friends and Geoff's coworkers the CC's (Cirincione's). The husband, Dom, is G's supervisor and has been there with him and talking to the doctors. I got up to the desk and tell them I am there to be with my husband. I'm told to find a chair and wait as the doctor is with my husband at the moment so I will have to wait to see him! I literally wanted to rip the attendants throat out.

I sit and wait.

The CC's fill me in. Geoff was running down the field and stumbled. Everyone thought his cleats had smacked together. He cried out in pain, swore up a storm and could not get up. It's suspected it's his achilles.

They call Sgt CC back to be with my husband and consult with the doctors!!! I was simply speechless. Hello, Wife here! You know, the one that will be caring for him while he heals! Unbelievable.

Luckily, CC speaks up and says, "His wife is here and I think she should be with her husband more than I need to be with him." Or something extra amazing along those lines. The attendant nearly rolls his eyes as he calls me back.

My love is face down on the bed, looking very much in pain. My heart thumps again.

Geoff fills us in about his examine in which they discovered that not only does he not have control of his foot, he also has no reflex which means the achilles is very badly damaged.

The tech comes in, shoots G up with some narcotic cocktail and then the doc comes in to tell us we have to see the surgeon in the morning. For tonight all they can do is wrap it up and send him home with some pain pills. Geoff winces and tries not to complain as the tech who obviously hasn't wrapped very many tore achilles tries to wrap up his foot. It takes forever. The tech wrap and unwraps his foot about 10 times. I was about to suggest that I do it myself when the doctor comes back and walks the kid through it.

I sleep on the couch with Geoff that night.

I call the surgeon first thing in the morning to schedule an appointment as per his discharge instructions from the ER.

The receptionist informs me that we cannot request an appointment with the surgeon, that the surgeon reads the reports from the ER and then decides who needs an appointment and they call us. Really?

We wait for them to call.

They don't but Geoff's supervisors do, wanting to know what's going on and if he'll be back to work the next day. Geoff's office calls again about 2 hours later.

I call the surgeon's office again. Read to her our discharge papers that clearly state we are to call and schedule an appointment and reiterate that ER doc had contact with the surgeon about Geoff the night before. She assures me he must not need an appointment because if he did the docs would have told her by now and she'd have already called us. I state our case again, adding that his supervisors need to know what's going on and demanding she ask the surgeon about it while I wait on hold.

She puts me on hold.

2 seconds pass.

She picks up and begins to apologize profusely. "Yes, he does need to be seen today. Can you be here in an hour?"

I scramble to rally the troops again, find another sitter and get us all out the door.

The surgeon suggests surgery, though they can't get him in for a week because they only have one anesthesiologists. And now here we are 4 days after the surgery and Geoff is finally feeling some relief... and I am exhausted and still sleeping on the couch with him.

Geoff was nervous about having surgery, never having had surgery before. Before they took him back the anesthesiologist gave him a shot of something to relax him. It was hilarious. Geoff kept saying, "Wow, I've never been high before. This is weird." He was loopy most of the day, when he was awake, mostly he just slept once I got him home.

The surgery went well. In the surgeon's words Geoff's achilles was "hanging on by a wisp." They had to go up into his calf and extract his achilles, but it did reattach well. The prognosis is good for a full recovery. However, it will be a long process. Long as in 6-7 months before he'll be able to begin running again. He can't drive for 2 or 3 months and will be on crutches for 2-3 more weeks (which is about a month total), which leaves me playing chauffeur.

So we are moving on base. Our prayers have been answered so quickly. We applied for housing (mostly to save money and get out of debt) the day before his injury and thought it'd probably be a few months before we'd actually get to move. They called us the day after his accident, which was 2 days later and completely unheard of, and gave us a choice of 5 houses. We'll be moving in about 3 weeks. Not great timing since I'm left to do much of the pre-moving work on my own, but such a blessing that we'll be so close to the doctors and his work during the months of his recovery. We've already had lots of help and support from friends in our wards and Geoff's squadron, so I'm sure we'll make it through this month and the next 6 just fine.

Things are busy and crazy... so basically normal for us :) The only difference is that this time, believe it or not, the craziness is centered on Geoff and not me or the kids. And believe it or not, this was our longest non-ER visit/hospital stay/surgery stint we'd had since I got pregnant with the twins... it had been a whole 7 months!

The Month of LOVE

I've been thinking a lot about Valentine's Day this year.  It's not something we do big in our marriage, but it is remembered and it is fun!  Now, I remember when I was younger getting Valentine's from my parents and grandparents and of course, my classmates. And of course, I loved it all. It was a fun day, but what about the rest of the year? Did any of those feelings of love linger? Some did, but it's not like the Christmas spirit that starts in October and lasts halfway through January. This is Valentine's day and most people starting thinking it somewhere between February 1st and 13th and then it's over February 15th.

So, I've found myself wondering this year, what's the point?  To put more money in someone else's pockets by buying a hundred little cards for my kids to send out and receive tenfold that will all be recycled?  To add inches to my waist by all that incredible chocolate? To do something special for the one I love that I could/should do for him any other day of the year, if I were so inclined?  What is it really all about?  And do I really need to buy into the commercialism of it? (wow do I sound cynical, sorry)

And then I got this scripture and quote in an email today:

Jacob 3:7 (Book of Mormon)

"Behold, their husbands love their wives, and their wives love their husbands; and their husbands and their wives love their children."

Spencer W. Kimball
"The love of which the Lord speaks is not only physical attraction, but also faith, confidence, understanding, and partnership. It is devotion and companionship, parenthood, common ideals and standards. It is cleanliness of life and sacrifice and unselfishness.

"This kind of love never tires nor wanes. It lives on through sickness and sorrow, through prosperity and privation, through accomplishment and disappointment, through time and eternity. . . . For your love to ripen so gloriously, there must be an increase of confidence and understanding, a frequent and sincere expression of appreciation of each other. There must be a forgetting of self and a constant concern for the other. There must be a focusing of interests and hopes and objectives into a single channel" (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p. 248).

Now that is the type of love worth celebrating.

So in reality, everyday could/should be Valentine's Day.  Everyday we should be celebrating and showing the love we have for our family.  We should be listening to, doing for and sacrificing for one another every moment of our lives.  And yes, there are occasions when it is great (and sometimes needed) to give a little something more, a little something special and maybe that occasion is Valentine's Day and maybe it isn't.  However, I think if we truly loved one another as Christ would have us love one another, we wouldn't need chocolate hearts, small cardboard cards, or stuffed animals to let people know we love them or for other's to feel that we love them.

So I end with this scripture and challenge each of us (that includes me) to take it to heart and truly pray for charity, pray to know how to love those around us, pray to have the strength to love those around us, pray to be open to receive love from those around us.

Moroni 7: 45-48 (Book of Mormon)

45 And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—
47 But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.
48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.

  

May you all partake of charity, the pure love of Christ, the pure love of your spouses, the pure love of your children during this month of LOVE and throughout your life.

Our new home... finally!

So, it's been a while in coming but here are a few pictures of the new house.  I know, there is more that you have yet to see... but for now, this will have to suffice.

Here is the entry way and hall

From the front door-ish, really this is from the office door.      

 

From the living room.

Here is a few shots of the living room.  The curtains are the ones that where up when we moved... I plan to buy new ones soon.  I love, love, love the fireplace, but don't know what I'm going to put up there when I put my Christmas decorations away!

Here is a picture of the office which is just to the right of the front door.

And here is our dining room.  Yes, we actually have a dining room... in which we can all comfortably sit around the table and eat!

So there you have it.  Most of the downstairs of the house.  I had some great pictures of the kitchen that somehow got erased and now it's a mess so taking a replacement picture today is out of the question.  I'll post one soon.  

Gone Baby Gone

We saw Geoff off at 4:30 this morning.  There were a few tears and sleeping kids in the car, but it is almost a relief to have the goodbye behind us... means we get to look forward to the reunion.  Me and the kids sleep until about noon today and are having one down day missing Daddy and then it's back to life and being strong. 

Just a reminder that G's bday is the 18th, maybe we should see how many emails we can get to him that day!

As I drove home this morning after dropping Geoff off, my mind turned to the Savior. It is because of His great sacrifice, the Atonement, that I am able to have hope and peace that I will be with my husband again and that come what may, I can love it; I can be happy and find joy amongst my trials.

Merry Christmas to all!

oh, and I promise to post pictures soon... well at least before the new year!

Official

We just found out this morning...

Geoff's officially leaving early in the morning on Dec 15th for his deployment.  

Please keep him in your prayers.  It will be a long 6-8 months without him, but we are proud of him and the service he provides for our country.  When we get a post office box number for him we will let you know.  Until then...

Playing Catch up and Spreading Cheer

So we are moved and loving the new house.  We woke up to snow yesterday and it made us all feel a little more at home.  The kids are getting adjusted to the new school and love all the room to play they have at our new abode (both inside and outside).  *Pictures of the new house to come, I promise!*

Since Geoff is leaving mid-December for UAE we decided to go ahead and put our Christmas tree up yesterday.  We had a Christmas movie marathon and decorated the house.  It was so much fun.  By far Christmas is our favorite time of year.  We also watched Finding Faith in Christ yesterday and my sensitive kiddos cried and cried to see what happened to the Savior.  (For those of you how aren't familiar with it, it's the story of Christ through the perspective of Thomas, the doubter.  It is not graphic, but does depict Christ's Crucifixion.)  Brody said, "Mom, why would you make me watch that, I feel so miserable.  How could anyone treat Jesus like that?"  And so I cried too.  Though it is hard to watch I feel it is important to remind ourselves just exactly what the Savior went through for us.  It was a great opportunity to really talk with the kids about the Atonement and the Crucifixion and what that means for us.

So Happy Holidays!  Remember to Keep Christ in Christmas! And try THIS out, it's so much fun!

Feeling Very Official!

It's official, we are residence of the UK.  So what after 6 months makes it more official now?

Black Panther now has official UK plates and a Road Tax Disc (last photo can barely see in lower left of windshield).  And yes, my kids named our car Blank Panther.