Christmas 2013

We had a great Christmas this year!  It was a very simple Christmas and very relaxing. Here is a pano of our very messy apartment on Christmas morning!  Although it was crowded and the tree leaned,, it really turned out to be a perfect day!

 

On Christmas Eve day, Troy and I drown to Abilene to visit Steven and spend Christmas Eve with him.  He was thrilled to see us--and us to see him! He was totally into unwrapping gifts this year....well at least a few of them.  It was fun to see him excited at his new noise maker toys!

Christmas Eve night, Megan worked at Outback Steakhouse so Troy and I went over for a quick bite to eat.  We were shocked at how busy restaurants are on Christmas Eve!  Then, we headed home to watch a couple episodes of Alaska Frontier.

Megan got home about 10pm and was just a chatty little lady! At 11:45, we told her she needed to go to bed.  She explained that she wasn't tired.  We explained that Santa needed to come--so she needed to be tired.  She goes, "OOOOOH!  I was wondering why you old people were up so late!"  She went to bed and we played Santa.

Christmas morning we all slept in.  Around 10am, I made monkey bread and coffee which woke them up!  Colin came over about 11:30 and we opened presents slowly and very relaxed.  That evening, we all went over to the Paterson's for dinner with their extended family.  Such a neat group of people.  Very nice evening playing games, chatting, and laughing.

We missed seeing our families at Christmas.  Maybe next year we will make the trip to Phoenix....

B

Back to the Future

Well, it's high time I start blogging again. Looking through old posts I can see how great it is to have the pictures and memories! So, I am officially a blogger. I guess it's best to start with current....and since I started with a weather fascination, I'll start again now with new weather fascination! Don't worry...content will improve! We are iced in! These photos don't do justice to the amount of ice we have on the ground! We have finally warmed up to 24 degrees. The windchill makes it feel like 14 degrees! Today is our second full day iced in and we are doing okay so far. We lost power for about two hours yesterday. But, the power company had us up and running quickly! Our friends, the Ectons, were not so lucky. They lost power on Thursday night and it just came back on late this morning! We were lucky to have them come and stay with us since we had electricity and heat! It was fun to have their little ones in the house! That's all I have to update today. More later. B

Good Intentions

I do have good intentions of updating the blog....really.  But sometimes it gets old saying bad news.  For instance, since I posted last, Troy has had pain pump surgery and gotten infection, numbness in legs, (CT scan tomorrow), Steven was abused by a staff member at his group home and recently was suspended from school for aggression, the car is making weird lights, I've got a really nasty cold and am severely anemic.......blah blah blah.

I mean I should have posted about Megan's awesome Prom!  I'll try to post that this weekend when I have a little more time.  And, I should have posted about my birthday and how great it was to share with friends and co-workers and family.  I should have posted about visiting colleges with Megan.  Or, Chris and Melanie's visit.

But, I don't.  I get caught up in the day to day activities that need to happen.  When I get home, I just want to sit on the couch and not relive the difficult times.  Lord knows there have been a lot of those.  But there are good times too.

We just created a fundraiser through youcaring.com.  Here is the link if you are interested in learning about it.  Don't feel like you need to contribute.....it already hurts my pride to put it out there.  It's public, so feel free to share it with anyone who has an extra buck or two though!

http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/fishgod-family-relief-fund/56998

I will try to be better about updating the blog!

Love to all,
Bets

48 Hours Later

Troy is home and trying to catch up from lack of sleep while at the hospital.  Now that the morphine in the spine has worn off, he can definitely see there was a benefit to the pain pump trial. 

His next appointment with the pain specialist is 3/15.  From there, he will be referred to the spine surgeon who will implant the pain pump.

In the meantime, we are preparing for Steven's upcoming move and a quick trip to Phoenix.

Steven's current group home is closing to minors and we've been in transition for a few months.  we finally found  a place we think will be good for him.....unfortunately its 4 hours away.  He moves this Tuesday so I will be going down to Brenham, TX to be there a few days during the transition.

On Friday, we are heading to Phoenix for a medical conference.  We don't have details on our itinerary yet, but will try to sneak in a visit with the parents and a few friends!

We have readers??? Who knew?

Wow!  I have been inundated with requests for me to update the blog!  I had stopped posting several months ago when I felt like I was just repeating the same old stuff.  Evidently, you people thrive on repetition so I will start blogging again and use it as a great way to save my memories of our lives!

Today is Thursday, 2/28.  Troy just got out of the hospital after a morphine pain pump trial.  Basically they injected morphine directly into his spinal column at varying dosages over the past three days.  The goal is to relieve the chronic pain he has been dealing with for nearly three years.

Overall, it was deemed successful....his pain is only at a level 6 instead of a 9.  Next week, we follow up with the pain doc.  Assuming he agrees, the next step will be to the surgeon to install the pain pump permanently.  For those that are interested, here is a link:

http://www.tamethepain.com/about-medtronic-pain-therapies/about-drug-delivery-therapy/index.htm

Troy was initially unsure if there were benefits.  I immediately saw him be more comfortable, his gait was better, and his face looked more relaxed (while the dose was right).  Here's a pic from the hospital. 

I haven't seen a genuine smile like this is a while!

For those that have worried we are worn out and feeling alone, please be assured that we are surrounded by wonderful people who care about us.  Megan spent the past two nights with the Paterson Family.  Yes, it is her boyfriend's family, but his Mom is a Super Eagle Spy and made sure they stayed separated all night long!  The Paterson's truly are an amazing and loving family and we are privileged to know them.  My dear friends at work have been in constant contact via email and texts and are nurturing my soul.  We have several neighbors who have helped out a ton!  A huge shout out to Terri and Courtney Robbins for caring for our dog Cooper!  And, a huge shout out to Kay and Nell, our lovely neighbors, who brought dinner over tonight.

So that is the basic update for tonight.  I'll post more tomorrow.  Thank you all for caring about us and wanting the updates!  We love ya!

Betsy, Troy and the kids