Saying 'Good Bye' to Grandma Gray

My Grandma Gray died last Friday, early in the morning. She had been suffering from Alzheimer's Disease for close to 10 years if not longer. I think at this point in her life, she only remembered her husband Frank, which is so sad. I can't even imagine living and not remembering anyone in my family, including my children.

I lived with her while in my first semester in College at Dixie in St. George. It was fun to get to know her better while I was there. I also used to spend some time with her a few years ago and help clean her house and make dinners.

I know that she is in a better place and is no longer suffering. She is happy and healthy! I know it's hard to understand that while we are missing her so badly, but I am happy that she is happy!


Here is a picture of my Grandma and Grandpa Gray with Michael when he was 8 days old.

Meeting Santa

Michael and I went to the South Towne Mall to see Santa. This Santa is there every year and is perfect! I decided that I wanted to get pictures this year because this is the first year that Michael is really excited about Santa and Christmas. I wanted to get to Santa before Thanksgiving to miss the huge crowd that Santa will be getting, so today is the day!! The pictures turned out so cute!!

The Staples are out!

We went back to the hospital this afternoon and got the staples out. I tried to take a picture of the staples before they were taken out, but discovered that my camera is broken.... We were in the ER for all of 10 minutes (HOORAY!!) The Nurse was quick, and of course, Michael didn't like it at all! He cried, which is what you would expect. The Nurse taped the staples to a stick so he could keep them. She also gave him a toy plane to keep, which he loves! We got ice cream on the way home because he was such a brave boy!

Michael has a pretty nice scab right now, but it should get better soon. Other than that, it should heal up nicely!

Michael's first ER visit

Me and Wayne were on our way to see 'Grease' at Brighton High School (my sister Serena is one of the Tech Managers). On our way there, I got a call from my brother Seth who was watching Michael, mind you we were only gone for about 15 minutes, to say that Michael was chasing the cat and fell down the stairs. He originally thought that Michael had a bloody nose because he was bleeding, but then blood started gushing out of the side of his head. Seth freaked out a little when he discovered that Michael cut his head open on the baseboard (our baseboard sticks out half an inch- supposedly it's an upgrade, but really it's a danger zone!!) He applied pressure to the wound then called me to say sorry, but you need to come home. I felt so bad for Michael and for Seth for having to deal with that. I told Seth where the Tylenol was for Michael and he gave him some.

So, we turned around and headed home. Michael was not crying by the time we got there, but running around acting like himself. Seth said that once he took the Tylenol and some water he instantly felt better. (A side note: according to Michael, water is magic! When I don't feel good, he will bring me a glass of water and tell me to drink and that it makes you fell better) He is so stinking cute!!

Seth took Michael's clothes off because they were covered in blood, poor kid! So, I put a button up shirt on and some pants and we headed off to the ER. My poor brother Seth feels so bad, but it wasn't his fault. He said that Michael was so excited to see him that he was showing off and it went all wrong!

We spent a good three hours at the ER, waiting, and waiting some more. Michael was actually in good spirits running around and laughing in the waiting room. He was still bleeding, slowly, but had blood crusted in his hair running down. Oh, I guess I should tell you where the gash is... it's on the right side of his head about 2-3 inches above his ear.

The hardest part was holding Michael down as the nurse gave him the numbing shot. Michael screamed and screamed and I just wanted to cry right along with him. He really was very brave! After that, it just bled and dripped all down his neck. Michael hated it when I wiped it up because he was afraid that I would touch it again and all he remembered is that it really hurt!

Then, an old boyfriend from High School shows up to clean the wound (that was a surprise!) It was really sad because after he cleaned the wound and sanitized it, he shot water right into it which created a huge lump, then it would bleed all over the place. He did that about three or four times to clean it out. Michael didn't like that very much.

Then again we waited for the DR who brought out a staple gun. They don't like to do stitches on little kids because it takes too long and kids fidget. Before she stapled his head together, she had to feel around the wound to make sure that the skull wasn't fractured, which it wasn't. It was a really clean cut (straight) so it would staple and heal good with little scarring. The cut was actually really deep, a lot deeper than I expected. I was teasing Michael saying that I could see his brains, but in reality, it was cut down to the bone! How sad!!

5 staples later, with ice cream, a sucker and some milk we were finally able to go home. I don't think Michael wanted to stay another minute. He was ready to ditch us and run home :)

Of course he fell asleep on the way home, being that it was after 10:00 pm. I did sneak some pictures of him as he slept. It's hard to see, but there are 5 staples there. He has to have them in for a week. We go back to the Jordan Valley Hospital ER next Thursday to get them pulled out.
This is where Michael cut his head open. It's amazing that those spots of blood aren't any bigger. Seth did a really good job of saving my carpet :) I wouldn't have cared though if there was a bigger stain. If you have a choice to get the baseboards like this, DON'T!

Update on 'the foot'

Sorry it took me so long to update this. I did got see my uncle Larry last Thursday. He actually did a better job of examing my foot than the Podiatrist. Everyone, if you need to see a Podiatrist, DO NOT see Dr. Call!!! Anyway, So, my foot still does hurt. In fact I started noticing it hurting last Wednesday, which only means the cortisone shot was wearing off?! I don't know. However, the pain is no where near what it used to be.

Dr. Andrew did an ultrasound and found no blood clot, which is great news. He doesn't know exactly what is causing the numbing and tingling, except that it probably is a pinched nerve. He suggested that I get an ankle brace to help support my foot and help it heal faster. He did give me a shot (not cortisone) in my foot and wrapped it. Because of the examination, my foot hurt more when I left than when I got there.

As of today, I don't have any more numbing or tingling effects. Every now and then, It will be a little tingly/ numbing around my ankle and lower calf, but it doesn't spread farther than that and it doesn't last for a long time. I can walk on my foot with no problem. It definitely feels better with arch supports and the ankle/foot brace. After a while, my foot will throb and hurt if I am on it for too long. At which time, I just need to ice it and put it up. Luckily I am not on 'bed rest' anymore because that really started killing me!

I have made best friends with crocs. They are the best shoe for lounging around in the house, since I can no longer go barefoot and can't stand wearing my tennis shoes all day!

So, supposedly everything is good and ok I just need to not over do it (ya right!!)

Numbness

Ok, so here is a quick update on my stupid foot.

The cortisone shot worked as far as taking the pain away. Which is fantastic!! However, I still have the numbing tingles going on all over my foot and within seconds/minutes it starts going up my leg. As soon as I step on my foot, it starts tingling and going numb. Weird. It's strange that a pinched nerve, supposedly that is what it is, would cause the pain and the numbness, then have the pain go away, but leave the numbness... You would think it goes hand in hand.

So, I asked my Chiropractor if there was anything I could do about that, if there were any adjustments that could be done. He said there were, but with the inflammation, he wouldn't dare do it. I asked him what he thought about my situation. He looked at my leg and then my other leg side by side. Upon examination, you could see a color difference between the two. My left leg, the good one, was a nice rosy color, where as my right, the bad one, was pale. It was also slightly larger (swollen) and when you press your finger on my leg, it would hold the print indent for a few seconds. Not a good sign. Robb thinks that I have a circulation problem and need to see yet another Dr... GREAT!

So, I called my Uncle Larry and told him what is going on. There could me a blood clot, Tarsel Tunnel, or something else,who knows. He will do an ultrasound on it and wants to look at the x-rays, so I will need to get those from the Podiatrist because I am not going to pay for another one!

I have my appointment set up for tomorrow at 2:00 pm, so I will keep you all updated.

THIS REALLY SUCKS YOU KNOW?!

Gigi the Menace!!

My cute little Teacup Poodle, Gigi, is very cute and cuddly, but also very obnoxious at times. She is high strung and has to go everywhere we go or she whines, but I guess that is a typical dog. She is also really hyper at times and needs a chill pill.

She has a way of destroying my house. Over the past two years, she has chewed threw all of the blinds on our main level of the house as well as other things.

She cannot be trusted when we are gone. So, I leave her in her kennel when I leave the house. Usually she will not in the same place I left her. She will actually move her kennel all around the dining room. Well, today when I was gone to take Michael to Terrific Tots, she had scooted herself to the wall under the window and somehow got a hold of my drapes and pulled the bottom of them through her kennel. She ended up getting the whole bundle of fabric through and was chewing on it which ended up pulling the drape down, bending the rod. I can't get it out of the whole because it is in there so tight. I may have to cut it out, but either way, the drape is destroyed because there are so many little holes in it from her chewing on it. urgghh!Having a dog can be such a pain in the butt!

Winter Wonderland

We were all a little surprised to wake up to a couple inches of snow this morning. Wayne went out to shovel the snow and Michael was dying to go out with him. So, I got him all dressed up and sent him out. He was so excited to play in the snow and throw snow balls at Wayne.

My stupid foot and the Podiatrist

Ok, so here is what’s going on with my stupid foot… In August, at my last Lake Powell Trip, I took a nasty fall on the wakeboard which ripped my right foot out of the extremely tight boot and it hurt so extremely bad. For two months it didn’t hurt me, well, it kind of did, but bad. Then, about three weeks ago, I had restlest leg syndrome in my left calf and decided to put a heating pad on it. My foot was hurting that day, so I rested my foot against the heating pad, which felt really good, until the next morning when I couldn’t walk on it. The pain was so bad, but I dealt with it, because I am stubborn. So, for three weeks, I have had from little pain to excrutiating pain here and there. Some days I couldn’t walk on it, and others I could. It was really weird. I found my self limping more often than not. I started getting a prickling numb sensation all over my foot along with startling pain everywhere. Then, I found that my leg was starting to go numb. The night before I saw a Dr, I woke up at midnight with my right leg completely numb up to my butt. It kind of scared me.

I met with a Podiatrist last Thursday and got some good and bad news. I had some x-rays taken which showed no fracture or stress fractures, which is good. He then said that it looks like I have arthritis! WHAT?! (I found out later, that it wasn’t arthritis) He wasn’t sure if it was arthritis or not, but it looks like it. It is enflamed and is pinching a nerve which is causing me a lot of pain and numbing all over my foot and up my leg. The pinched nerve is connecting with everything in my foot, which causes the pain when I walk. That is why sometimes the pain is really bad and others not so bad. He says that wrapping may help, but it may hinder because it may cause more pressure on the pinched nerve. He did say that according to the x-ray, my joint is not equal like it should be, so they are rubbing against each other…

He ended up giving me a cortisone shot that will help with the inflammation, but it won’t really work for 3-5 days. When he gave me the cortisone shot, it hurt soooo bad! First, he sprayed this ‘cold spray’ on my foot, which was cold, but after a few seconds, it started to burn with cold. Then she said that was perfect. I guess he needed the area frozen first before the shot. Then the shot itself hurt extremely bad. He put it right into the inflamed area and let it go. Holy crap! He gave me a prescription for lortab for the pain, but told me first to get the free sample of Celebrex 7 pills. It’s a stronger anti-inflammatory and pain killer. It’s supposed to work really good, but it’s pricey. He says 7 pills for about $30. Ouch!

I am to Rest, Ice, Compress & Elevate (RICE). He did also say that I needed to go to REI to buy some inserts for my shoes that will give me better arch support. That will help raise my foot and should help with the inflammation. Oh, and I am supposed to wear my shoes all the time!! No going barefoot!! Yikes! I love going barefoot! That is all he said about it. He says that hopefully the shot will work and I may not have any more problems with it in the future.

So, I got my prescription of Celbrex at Smith’s on the way home. I couldn’t walk at all! I was walking a snails pace and completely limping. That shot hurt so bad and now my whole foot feels worse! Once I got home, I put my foot up and iced it. I was so close to tears because the pain was so bad! If I even moved my toes a tiny little bit, just a twitch, my whole foot screamed in pain! It was terrible! I kept ice on my elevated foot for hours. This is just frustrating! My foot aches so badly!!!

So on Halloween, I tried to be down as much as possible. Wayne made me use crutches, which really suck and hurt too. So, I dressed up in my scrubs and used crutches. Fun for me… NOT!

On Saturday, we went to a baptism and I talked with one of Wayne’s co-workers wife who is a Nurse Practitioner. She was very helpful. I explained everything the Dr said to me. She said it is not arthiris that it is soft tissue damage because it was from an injury and she see’s that all the time. She was so much more helpful. It’s soft tissue damage that is inflamed and just needs to settle down. I told her what the Dr said about RICE and she does agree. She did also mention that since I have the crutches, I should use them. The more I use my foot, the longer it will take to heal and could actually get worse. She said for the next two or three weeks, I should stay off of it and use the crutches when necessary to allow for healing time. I really should just stay down and ice it and let it heal. But, Wayne works and I have a 2 year old, so I will do the best that I can!

Robin made me feel so much better about my injury and gave me more hope. I do actually wish that I had broken my foot, because then it wouldn’t be so hard to heal. This soft tissue damage is so much worse than a broken bone!

Robin did say that the right shoes are key. My tennis shoes will work, but she actually recommends that I get new shoes with better support. So, somehow, someway, I will get Wayne to take me shopping for shoes.

So, that is what is going on with my stupid foot. It really sucks! It hurts all the time and aches, so hopefully the shot will help and the inflammation will go down so my nerve stops getting pinched so I can be normal again!!!!!

Happy Halloween

Michael dressed up as a Monkey and would go around saying "ooh, ooh, ah ah Monkey!" It was really cute. He loved saying Trick or Treat and going around the neighborhood getting Candy. After all the trick or treating from the Trunk or Treat, the Zoo, Wayne's work and around the Neighborhood, he got a lot of candy, which we will have to hide because he loves candy!

Wayne's Parent's and his sister Debbie came by to have dinner with us. It was fun to have them over. I made homemade Chilli and cornbread and a yummy fruity drink with raspberry sherbet. Once we ate dinner and got Michael ready for Trick or Treating, they left to visit more family in Provo.It started raining a little, but not bad when Wayne took Michael Trick or Treating. Michael had a blast and didn't want to stop despite being hot in his costume and his bucket full of candy. My mom and sister Serena came by while they were out. Michael was so excited to show off his candy to Aunt Ree.


Then we headed to Springville to visit 'The Witch' who happens to be my Grandma. She is the best Witch ever and has the cackle down perfectly. My went in early to go to the bathroom while I was getting my camera and video camera ready. My Grandma happened to be hiding and scared my mom as she headed to the bathroom. It was really funny. Wayne and Michael went to the front door and I headed in the back to get a good shot. As Grandma opened the door and acted like a witch with her cackle, I was actually surprised that Michael wasn't scared. I thought he would be. He thought she was the coolest thing ever and even gave her a hug! He loved watching her because of the way she looked. He kept calling her Witch! Then, after taking pictures, he stripped his costume off and headed upstairs to play with toys.