Three weeks out and a summertime tease

This past weekend was Memorial Day weekend and it was nothing but a "summertime tease!"  Not only was the weather absolutely perfect all weekend long, but we spent the weekend doing the things we love (playing in the water, country drives, laying around, staying outside as much as we can), got to see family, caught up with some friends, and slept in an extra day!  Oh, the joys of summer... too bad we had to go back to school today and will for another 8 days.  I could tell my kiddos enjoyed their weekend too because they were all dragging a bit today.  I promised them that in 8 more days they could have many more weekends and even weekdays like what we just had.  I also told them that I loved those snow days that we are making up and I'm thankful to have had them as part of my recovery time.  

Speaking of recovery, tomorrow will mark my three week post-op checkpoint.  If I'm completely honest, I feel pretty darn good as far as my appearance goes.  I had multiple people comment on my progress last week and my doctor even said that she doesn't want to see me again until December!  My measurements were spot on and she said I had a little right side movement that wasn't there before.  YAHOO!  I go back to Dr. Timoney Friday to see what he thinks and I'm sure I will continue to see him for a while.  My next scar appointment is June 10th and I'm anxious to see what he wants to do.  After all, that should be the last thing other than eyelashes.  I've posted some "selfies" at three weeks for you to see. 

P.S.   Happy birthday to Kermie today!  I love you :) 

Mother's Day Weekend

I can honestly write this past weekend down as one of the best weekends I've had in a while for many reasons.

First of all, my recovery from surgery has been great, so my few days away from school were actually enjoyable.  I was able to enjoy the sunshine and get a small glimpse at what our life will be like in just a few short weeks!  Being home, allowed me time to get all those things done like cleaning the house, laundry, etc. and let me actually enjoy the entire weekend!  I've posted a few pictures of my healing for you to check out in case you are into that sort of thing.  I personally find myself on Google images all the time looking up different ailments and diagnoses..... strange.... maybe.

Second, this weekend was Mother's Day weekend so it was packed full of family fun.  We spent Saturday evening with my family and yummy food at Olive Garden. After church on Sunday, we went to Mellow Mushroom with Kermie's family.

The only thing I had asked for this year was a day of non-stop yard work.  I love flowers....looking at them, shopping for them, planting them, and most days, watering them.  I also love doing anything outside especially when it makes my outside space more enjoyable, so put the two together and I'm one happy girl!  We loaded up the Nissan with tons of mulch and flowers and spent several hours digging, pulling, spreading, and watering.  About 2 hours in, I lost my gloves, so you can imagine how my finger nails look right about now!  And, having my yard all fancied up kind of makes me not want to ever leave my house and just sit outside all day.  I can't imagine how I'd be if I had one of those really awesome outdoor spaces!

Tomorrow, I'm back to work and the daily grind.  I'm setting a few new goals for myself these last few weeks that include some quality "God" time in the morning and exercise EVERY evening.  Consistency is my biggest downfall, so I may need reminders!  If you hear me talking about how "tired" I am and wanting to sleep in or go to bed as soon as I get home, please remind me that that is not an option!  These next few weeks are already stressful enough, so the only way I'm going to make it through them a "decent" person is with God and lots of good endorphins!

Until next time, Happy Mother's Day to all of the wonderful moms out there!
 

Strabismus Success!

Yesterday was my Strabismus surgery!  This was the one surgery I was most looking forward to because I knew that having my eye straightened would probably make the most difference in the appearance of my face overall.  So far (less than 24 hours post-op), I think I was right!

Let me start off my saying that I love Dr. Stevens (pediatric eye surgeon).  When she came in to see me before hand, she drew a heart right above my eye. :)  As a teacher, I couldn't help but think that she'd make a great teacher too!  I strongly recommend her to anyone that has a child with the same condition because she is amazing!  When we were prepping for surgery, Kermie told the doctors that I was a little nauseous when I woke up last time, so they put me to sleep with meds through my IV that would prevent that from happening.  They also gave me a motion sickness patch to make sure I didn't get sick once I was home.  The only bad side effect of that was the blurred vision.  When you only have one good eye, blurred vision is not the best!  My anesthesiologist was pretty amazing too!  She was beautiful and had the longest eyelashes!  I remember her talking to me right before she started and I kept thinking how much I loved her pink lipstick!  At least I wasn't thinking of the spiders on the movie Arachnophobia Kermie and I were watching before I went back! :)

Surgery started right around 1:15 or so and lasted maybe two hours.  My recovery was the shortest I've ever experienced and I woke up feeling terrific (other than being starving!).  We fixed that right away with a Chick-fil-a veggie wrap!  By the time we got home I was still a little loopy, but I honestly felt pretty great.  Kermie even went back out to grab a McFlurry which is our latest obsession!  I was expecting my eye to look terrible at first, especially after some of the videos I had watched.  However, I can already tell that my eye is straight and looks awesome minus the blood. I feel confident going back to work on Monday and not scaring my kiddos.  I can't describe in words how I feel when I look in the mirror now.  I usually leave the bathroom with smile!  I'm not sure whether or not I will regain the movement to the right, but I'm assuming it's a little early to tell.  I'm trying not to over work it at this point.  I will go back to see Dr. Stevens for a post-op appointment in a couple of weeks and I'm sure she will be able to tell me a lot more then.

So, what's next?  I guess I will call Dr. Patel next week to schedule an appointment with him about my scar.  I'm sure he will have a plan to fix that and then I should be finished for a LONG time!!!  I'm just amazed at how far I've come in 5 months!  Praise the Lord for creating a human body that regenerates and heals fast and thank Him for the skills and passion He instilled in all of my doctors!  The two combined have worked miracles in my life!

Getting ready to go back for surgery!

It's straight, but a little swollen.  Just got in from a walk, so I'm looking a bit rough!

Looking to the left.  Same eye movement as before.

Looking to the right.  It's still not equal to the other eye, but time will tell.



Until next time, Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies out there!  This is definitely one of my best!  Ella informed me that she was contacting the manager of Starbucks to see if he will give me free coffee for life! :)  It's the thought that counts right! :)