We have spirit, Yes we do!

I awoke this morning to find that an elf had put up a Christmas tree in our living room.  It looks like we will have some Christmas spirit in our house after all...

Christmas Spirit?

With Emerson still job hunting and me still hobbling around on crutches, there's not a lot of Christmas spirit in our house.  There are a few presents that the Tapahe side of the family dropped off early and we still watch almost every Christmas movie to be seen on satellite tv.  Our usual spot for putting up our tree in the living room displaces our dogs' beds.  That causes a bigger problem this year since I need the room to get through the living room on crutches.  I'm thinking of doing a small table top sized tree or go with a paper tree on the wall like Gene and Sharon did when they were in their tiny little BYU apartment years ago.

Yesterday, we visited the Festival of Trees up in Sandy. This is our yearly tradition and it's awesome to see so many trees lit up and decorated and the fanciest gingerbread houses known to man.  Add in children's groups dancing and singing on the stage and a wonderful assortment of sweets, scones, and cinnamon rolls, and it's hard to avoid feeling the Christmas spirit.  Emerson's brothers and their families joined us at the festival and we later went out to dinner and then to Gene's house to play games.  It was the most enjoyable time I've had in a long time.  There's something absolutely amazing about Navajo families.  Sure, we've had our ups and downs and squabbles over the years, but when it really counts, they are always there for you.  Family really means something to them and they would do anything for their family.  I feel so blessed to have married not only the love of my life, but also his family.  It's wonderful to be part of this family and have the love, respect, and support of the entire family.  Our Christmas celebration may reflect the lean times we are going through, but we will find ourselves warmed by the love of the Tapahe family.

November Pain

These aren't the prettiest of pictures, but this is my foot now that I got my cast off.  I had an appointment the morning of Nov. 30 and was happy to have the cast removed.  The bones seem to be healing well and I may get to have the pins/rods removed in a couple of weeks.  It will be the best Christmas present ever!!  You may notice some writing on my foot.  They had me write "yes" and my initials on the foot to be operated on so there wouldn't be any mistakes.  The doctor put me back in my original boot with some modifications to keep the pins from pressing into the bottom of the boot.

The better part of the day came later.  I had my interview as a finalist for the Assistant Dean position at Utah Valley University.  First, I went to lunch with the Dean, Associate Dean, and Library Director.  Some chitchat and informal interviewing during the lunch.  Next, I gave a 30 minute presentation on my amazing skills and experience and how I'm the best person for the job to the faculty of University College (formerly the School of General Academics).  A question and answer session followed.  The last step was meeting privately with the Dean and Associate Dean for the next hour.  It was a fun experience and I feel good about it.  Fortunately, my foot didn't bother me during the 4 hour experience.  On the way home, the pain was unbearable and we had to make a stop by the doctor's office for help.  A few more modifications to the boot made things better.  Now I have to wait about 2 weeks to find out if I get the job.  It's an amazing opportunity and I will be absolutely crushed if I'm not selected.

Emerson's continuing his job search.  The jobs in his field just aren't showing up anywhere.  He's been taking great care of me in the mean time.  I just hope something will turn up for him soon.  He's preparing for teaching a course at UVU next semester.  It's only one class and adjunct pay isn't great, but we're pretty excited about it.  If I get the UVU job, he could go for his master's degree and possibly teach more classes.

Dexter is King!

Dexter finished his reign on Monday as King Henry V in Provo High School's production of Henry V.  Although I am his mom and would brag on him anyway, I can honestly say he was absolutely wonderful.  Everyone else said so too!  If you have access to Facebook, you may be able to watch some of the video clips here:    St. Crispian's Day speech      King Henry woos Princess Catherine

I was fortunate that the director allowed us to come to the final dress rehearsal/preview performance since I was obligated to working at the powwow that weekend.  The powwow was actually very fun and everyone took great care of me including giving me a comfy chair to sit in and running errands for me.  A friend took some pictures while I was trying to lay down more and keep my foot more elevated and I ended up looking like a corpse at a viewing.  So if you ever wondered what I would look like at my own funeral, here it is....

Clutz on a Crutch

I'm still here, laying on the couch, waiting for my broken bones to heal.  It has been an adventure so far.  Some days I am determined to do things for myself.  Those experiences usually end with me losing my balance, bumping my cast on something, falling off the couch, getting dizzy, and/or landing on my broken foot.  Emerson catches/rescues me most of the time.....and reminds me that I should be waiting for him to help me.  A couple of days ago I had a job interview for a wonderful job at UVU.  It was my first panel interview and my first time being interviewed while being impaired.  The weirdest thing was when the head of the committee interviewing me pushed me in my wheelchair to get to the dean's office so I could meet her. 

I've been working from home a little bit now and finding it difficult to do much typing while laying down. I can't see the keys well enough and have to fix a lot of typos.  Tonight we went to the preview performance of Henry V starring our very own Dexter.  Being at the preview (last dress rehearsal) meant a smaller audience and I was able to keep my foot propped up during the show.  This weekend is the UVU powwow and I will once again be keeping scores for the dance contests.  The only difference this year is that I will be finding a comfy place to set up with my leg up and there will be runners bringing me the judging forms and assisting with other needs.

Our next thing is to gear up for Thanksgiving.  Emerson's mom was going to try to come up and I was really looking forward to having her help in the kitchen since I wouldn't be able to do much.  Unfortunately, she won't be able to be here.  It looks like we are on our own and I am working on generating a shopping list for the guys and a plan for directing everybody in the kitchen to get our meal done on Thanksgiving. 

Surgery Update

I had my surgery last Thursday and things went well.  The bone that was shattered took more creativity to repair - plates, screws, and a pin.  Emerson has been devoted in caring for me.  I had no idea how much my foot would hurt afterward.  It feels like someone is driving chisels in between my toes.

Today was my postop checkup. I have 3-4 more weeks in this cast to look forward to.  It will be about 6 weeks before the pins come out of my toes. I have had problems with muscle spasms that lead to even more pain, so now I am taking muscle relaxers.

The doctor said that the break in the smaller toe (fixed with just a pin) is the one that concerns him.  It broke very close to the head of the bone and may be interfering with the blood supply to the bone.  If the blood supply is impacted, it may lead to the bone dying and the doctor  wouldn't say what would happen next.  Let's just hope things heal nicely.

I have another week off of work according to the doctor's orders. After that, I still can't put any weight on my foot.  For now, I get to have a handicapped parking sticker for the next three months. I'm still waiting to see if Heritage sets me up to work from home.

Uncle Bob

I heard from Aunt Twyla yesterday that Uncle Bob has been in the hospital.  She says that he is now off the ventilator but the doctors still haven't figured out what is wrong with him.  I have no other details.  Twyla is going to keep me updated.  She says he is 74 years old and has been in poor health.  I'm sure that things have been tough since his mom died and his sweet wife, Linda, passed away.  Please keep him in your prayers.

Surgery

I was able to get in to see the foot surgeon today and here is what is happening:
The weirdest thing was when the doctor called in a student to look at my really cool xrays.  Apparently I am quite talented when it comes to breaking bones....  He also pointed out that I had previously broken my big toe (I thought I did that once in the middle of the night, but didn't want to seem wimpy).
No other options available....I have to have surgery.  Fortunately, it is outpatient.  I go in on Thursday, November 5.  They will use screws and plates to fix two of the breaks. The third break is on a bone that's too small, so they have to use a pin.  The medical student insists it feels kind of "cool" when the pin is removed from your toe.  I'm pretty sure that's not how I'll feel about it.  I will be in a cast for the first three weeks and then back in my beautiful air cushioned boot for 3-4 weeks after that.  The doctor will not allow me to stand or walk on my foot for at least 8 weeks, so the holidays will be extra special this year!  He says it will be about 12 weeks before I'm back to full activity and swelling will last for about 9 months.

Yes, I'm scared. The pain, the risks (even though they are small), the inconvenience......
Emerson is trying to keep me going and is making sure I behave myself.  If I don't keep my foot iced and elevated for the next week, I could end up delaying the surgery if my foot is too swollen.  I'm so blessed having such a devoted husband to take care of me.  I really wish I could say the same about my kids.  Dexter isn't home much, so he doesn't help much around here.  He does make some effort to help me out, though.  Dwayne is in some funk that leads him to be inconsiderate many times (leaving obstacles all over, taking over my foot rest, bumping my foot) and not helpful most of the time.  We get lucky from time to time and he will help with some tasks, but we mostly get the teenage grumble when we ask him to do something.  He doesn't have a job, doesn't seem to be trying much to get one, seems to have abandoned any effort at serving a mission, sleeps most of the day, stays up all night playing on his computer.....  Don't be surprised if you get a call from him soon asking for a place to stay.

What has been nice is the support from my closest friends, my inlaws, and my brothers and their wives.  I never know what to say when people offer to help.  The biggest help right now would be food....and that's not possible for everyone.  Emerson is running himself ragged taking care of me and having some lunches or dinners brought in would make all the difference.  One of my friends sent over homemade pizzas tonight and they were marvelous!  The only other thing I can think of is having someone "watch" me for a bit and give Emerson a break.  It almost feels like I'm an old lady having to rely on people so much for help. I guess that's probably the only way the Lord could get me to slow down and accept help from others. Maybe I should learn to listen to Him more....

OUCH!!

People keep asking me what happened and I really don't have a great answer. It basically boils down to me rear-ending another vehicle on University Ave. near Provo High School.  It happens a lot in that location, so I have added to the statistics.  When I saw how close the other car was, I stomped on the brake and braced myself.  The damage to my truck was instant and ugly.  My first thoughts were about how much my foot hurt, that I had just killed the truck, that I wasn't making it to work, and that Emerson was going to be upset.  I was wrong about Emerson (in a way).  I called him and asked him to come down there and help me.  He reassured me the whole time and tried to get me to stop beating myself up about the situation.  The paramedics looked at me and recommended that I get my foot xrayed since I was in so much pain. I didn't want to pay for an ambulance ride, so they put me on the stretcher and wheeled me across University Ave. to our car, stopping traffic along the way.  It was only then that I could see the amount of damage done to the truck.  We had to go clean out the truck today and it was still shocking to see it and very sad to say goodbye to our little truck.  Because it's from 1990, we won't be getting enough money from the insurance to replace it. We just hope it will be enough to cover the deductible.

At the hospital, we spent a lot of time at the ER since I was a low priority case.  I was beginning to think I was just being wimpy about what would turn out to be a sprain or bruise.  When the xray came back, I was pretty happy to see my foot was broken since it meant I hurt for a reason.  I broke the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th metatarsals in my right foot and the 3rd metatarsal is "shattered."  The ER doctor referred me to a foot surgeon and said it was pretty likely that I would need surgery to fix things.  They outfitted me with a boot and crutches and sent me on my way with a prescription for pain meds.  All this put a pretty big strain on Emerson.  He hadn't eaten at all yet and the anxiety and stress mixed with seeing the xray and thinking about the upcoming surgery and he almost passed out.  Scary moment!

I'm not going to lie and act brave - my foot really, really, really hurts!  Having to rely on everyone for help is tough for me too. Emerson has saved me from falling over a few times and I feel like it's inevitable that my clutziness will lead to some crazy crutch maneuvers.  I am going in to see the foot surgeon tomorrow to see where we go from here.  My new part time job at Sears is kind of on hold.  Heritage is allowing me to use long-term sick leave and trying to figure out how I will be able to work since I can't get up the stairs.  Emerson has been so sweet about taking care of me and he's wearing himself out.  Dexter is helpful when he's actually around.  Dwayne...welll....no comment.  I'm really wishing we had someone to help Emerson with the cooking.
I appreciate everyone's sympathy and good wishes.  It's nice to be loved!  The hard part is not dwelling on how stupid I feel about the whole thing and doing this to my family.

I'm a Bargain Babe!!

Because of our current economic situation, I have been searching for ways to make the most of our money.  Thanks to some tips from people at work, I have been spending time on some great websites with shopping tips, freebies, coupons, giveaways, great deals, etc.  We have already taken advantage of some great deals and I have to admit I'm pretty obsessed now.  These sites are saving our Christmas and allowing us a few treats along the way as well.  Some of the deals have been:  a free snuggie blanket, free guitar picks, $9.00 DVD of Transformers 2, free Fruitista Freeze at Taco Bell. Try to act surprised if any of those end up being your Christmas gift from us... :-)

Some of my favorite sites:  Pinching Your Pennies, That Mama Rocks, Deals to Meals, Woot, A Giveaway Everyday, Giveaway Today, Beat That.  One bit of advice I can offer with some of these sites and deals is to set up an extra email account to use for signing up for these so your regular email inbox doesn't get clogged up with junk mail and offers.  Here's a site for craft projects:  Whipup.net