The month of July was a whirlwind for us. My stepson's mother was expecting a baby. She had numerous times that she thought she was going into labor, so we had to keep rushing him back to her house. We eventually decided it would be best for him to just stay there until the baby came. So I used that time to get some things done around our house. I painted the living room, the stairway up to my stepson's room, and our master bathroom. I began putting together a few crafts that I would use to decorate our house. Although I still have more to do, it's starting to look much better around here. I'm proud of how good it is all turning out.
The end of July was our Heath family reunion, so we took my stepson and headed to Paragould for that. (His mother had her baby on the 20th.) My parents surprised him when we got to Paragould with a gift. When he unwrapped it he found some Mickey Mouse ears and a shirt saying that he was going to Disney World. We had been keeping the secret for awhile, so it was fun to finally get to see it revealed to him. He was so excited!
We left the next day for Disney. Since we were driving, my parents thought it would be best to stop two nights along the way so my husband didn't have to sit through so much driving at a time. We stopped in Pensacola on the way down, and I got to see one of my good friends who I worked with down there. We drove Tim and Connor by to see my old house and where I worked. We then went to Ocala for the next night. The following morning we drove on into Disney World.
We stayed at Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa. We LOVED it!! We hit Hollywood Studios the first day, but it was only a half day since we spent the first part of the day driving there and getting settled in our room. The next day was Magic Kingdom. We were all amazed at how well Tim was doing. He walked through the whole thing. We only stopped a few times to get him some rest (and of course we had the resting time while on rides). By the time we got back to the room, though, his butt, legs and feet were screaming. I massaged away as much as I could, but I could tell from the look on his face that he was still trying to hide the pain. The third morning we went to Animal Kingdom. Although we absolutely loved it, we only spent about 3 hours there. We decided it was time for us all to get a little rest. We went back to the resort. Tim, Connor and Mom went to the pool so Connor could play and Tim could relax. I slept off a migraine in the room, and Daddy went out exploring the city. Our fourth day was the best. We were all rested, so we hit Epcot early. We had a long day there, but we loved every second of it. That was Connor's favorite park, and it contained his favorite ride "Soarin'". The fifth day we visited Downtown Disney, which turned out to be cooler than I expected. We finished out the week with a park hoppin' sixth day, hitting Hollywood, Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom.
Overall, Tim did an incredible job! We were all so proud of him and of how hard he pushed himself. We took our time coming home, and then we stayed one more night in Paragould before coming back to our house. We have now been home for two days, and I believe everything is catching up to him. He has slept almost non-stop, and his awake hours have been rough on him. With weather moving through, though, he is bound to feel extra pain. But... he got to fully experience his son's first ever trip to Disney World with him! I believe having to put up with a few down days upon return is worth it to get to have such an experience.
He has been reading lately on people with similar injuries who had their legs amputated to rid themselves of the constant extreme pain. He had mentioned it a few times in the past, and reading these stories has led him to thinking a little more deeply about it. So please help us in praying that we can find a way to decrease his pain without going to such extreme measures.
We are meeting with a new doctor for me this week, and we're beginning to look into fertility. We are now on our 13th cycle of actively trying, and we passively tried for 5 cycles before that. He has several VA appointments this month, as well, that are an attempt find solutions to his problems with new doctors. We have deadlines coming up for some appeals and other paperwork we have to complete, so we have some very busy times ahead of us. But I have faith that it will all be good in the end.
Thank you to everyone for your prayers!
Showing posts with label doctor appointments. Show all posts
Showing posts with label doctor appointments. Show all posts
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Among Heroes
We had no clue what to expect when we went to the VA appointment yesterday. We had received a letter Saturday saying that we had an appointment on Tuesday. We had no knowledge of it prior to that letter. So we did not know what it was about, if it would take an hour or all day, what types of tests they were doing, etc. It turned out to be the first in a series of appointments. This one was with a psychologist, and we have primary care physician, social worker, TBI institute and pain management all coming up. Our visit went well, and we both felt good about me being there with him to explain some things that he cannot explain very well about himself.
We had plans to go to the Arkansas State Police Honors and Awards Luncheon at 11:30am with my parents, but we did not know if we would make it out of our appointment in time. We were so glad when we did, but we also realized that Tim did not have the appropriate clothes. Since it would take too long to drive all the way back to our house to change, we stopped at a store to buy him some. I was so glad we did. He looked SO GOOD in that outfit, and he was very proud wearing it. He felt confident and held his head high. It means so much when I get to see him exude that type of confidence.
The luncheon was good, and we got to visit with a few of the guys that Tim had flown in the eradication program. It was nice to see some people we hadn't seen in a long time, and it was warming to feel the pride in the voice of everyone who spoke, from the ASP Colonel to the Commissioners to the State Governor. What got to me the most, though, was hearing the acts of heroism performed by some of the men that received awards, and then knowing that we were in a room full of others who would perform the same act if put in that situation. Arkansas Game and Fish Officer Michael Neal was the main one in attendance that Tim and I could not quit discussing later. When two West Memphis police officers were shot and killed by a father and son duo in 2010, Neal was the one to bravely ram his truck into the vehicle of the suspects. At the time of him doing so, the suspects were shooting from their vehicle toward a police unit, where they struck and injured the two men inside. Neal shot and killed the father, while taking numerous bullets to his truck. He shot at the son, and it is my understanding that he struck him as well. Neal was the reason the suspects did not kill any more people than they did. He is a TRUE hero on the homefront.
Because Neal was raised in the funeral business (and funeral directors around Arkansas tend to work together and know each other well), my dad and brother were already familiar with him. Tim and I walked over as they were congratulating him, and we spoke to him for a few minutes. We were amazed by his humility. The award he received yesterday was his 33rd for the incident, and he is scheduled to receive another this Saturday. Yet, despite all the attention, he speaks as someone who just did his job. He does not boast about himself, he does not tell you what he did without being asked, and he does not pat himself on the back. He gives equal credit to the many other men and women in his line of work, claiming they would do the same thing in the same situation.
Officer Neal, I know many would. I know we have some true heroes living among us. But you acted in a way (and continue to act in a way) that epitomizes the word "hero." Thank you to you, and thank you to all the men and women who put their lives on the line daily to ensure our safety.
We had plans to go to the Arkansas State Police Honors and Awards Luncheon at 11:30am with my parents, but we did not know if we would make it out of our appointment in time. We were so glad when we did, but we also realized that Tim did not have the appropriate clothes. Since it would take too long to drive all the way back to our house to change, we stopped at a store to buy him some. I was so glad we did. He looked SO GOOD in that outfit, and he was very proud wearing it. He felt confident and held his head high. It means so much when I get to see him exude that type of confidence.
The luncheon was good, and we got to visit with a few of the guys that Tim had flown in the eradication program. It was nice to see some people we hadn't seen in a long time, and it was warming to feel the pride in the voice of everyone who spoke, from the ASP Colonel to the Commissioners to the State Governor. What got to me the most, though, was hearing the acts of heroism performed by some of the men that received awards, and then knowing that we were in a room full of others who would perform the same act if put in that situation. Arkansas Game and Fish Officer Michael Neal was the main one in attendance that Tim and I could not quit discussing later. When two West Memphis police officers were shot and killed by a father and son duo in 2010, Neal was the one to bravely ram his truck into the vehicle of the suspects. At the time of him doing so, the suspects were shooting from their vehicle toward a police unit, where they struck and injured the two men inside. Neal shot and killed the father, while taking numerous bullets to his truck. He shot at the son, and it is my understanding that he struck him as well. Neal was the reason the suspects did not kill any more people than they did. He is a TRUE hero on the homefront.
Because Neal was raised in the funeral business (and funeral directors around Arkansas tend to work together and know each other well), my dad and brother were already familiar with him. Tim and I walked over as they were congratulating him, and we spoke to him for a few minutes. We were amazed by his humility. The award he received yesterday was his 33rd for the incident, and he is scheduled to receive another this Saturday. Yet, despite all the attention, he speaks as someone who just did his job. He does not boast about himself, he does not tell you what he did without being asked, and he does not pat himself on the back. He gives equal credit to the many other men and women in his line of work, claiming they would do the same thing in the same situation.
Officer Neal, I know many would. I know we have some true heroes living among us. But you acted in a way (and continue to act in a way) that epitomizes the word "hero." Thank you to you, and thank you to all the men and women who put their lives on the line daily to ensure our safety.
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