Hardware store

I went into surgery at Timpanogos Hospital on Thursday afternoon. I've been waiting till I stopped feeling super loopy, nautious and stoned to write this, but it hasn't happened yet, so bear with me as I suck it up and publish this business.

Grandma Ber and Grandpa Fudd dropped off this pot of magic potion for me pre-surgery. It consisted of apricots, banana, strawberry and... uh and something else but can't remember right now.


The first nurse I had had such enormous hair and such crappy jokes I couldn't help but ask the Beck to sneak a photo of her. She pulled up with a wheel chair and said, "I know, one size fits two."

This was right after I got wheeled out of surgery. I still hadn't fully come out of it and I couldn't open my eyes or comprehend much of anything.I'm wrapped up like this for a few days. It started stinking so bad. The surgeon said I should come see him in two weeks to have my stitches removed, but it was smelling so gross that my mom unwrapped it to see it it was infected or dead. Based on the smell, we almost expected gangrene. When she had undone the first layer, out dropped three saturated absorbent pads that looked like those meat pads the grocery stores put on the styrofoam trays under the roasts and chops. They smelled like rotten meat, which of course it was! We unwrapped it the rest of the way and washed the ace bandages in some strong anti-stink detergent, then re-wrapped the whole thing with a much sweeter smelling result. Sick and Gross!!


Cheers for a diet of nothing except drugs and water! I hope some time i have an apetite again.
I couldn't keep my eyes opener than one second, so my friends Steph and Lynny kept my eyes open for me. True friends.

My poor husband slept on this little rent a cot bed that had the crinkley "just in case you wet the bed" finish on it. I had several machines hooked up to me all night that beeped spontaneously. At first the heart monitor was set at 50 beats per minute, but I kept setting it off cause until a couple weeks ago I loved to run and apparently that makes your heart beat really low. They had to reset the machine because it was so annoying to everyone.
Here is my new hardware store. I'm not going to go through all the different x-rays, but I was told I have 1 rod, 2 plates, and 13 screws. I think my running days may be over but we'll have to wait and see.
So my recovery: I need to be completely off of it- elevated and iced. 8 weeks till I can put any pressure on it and apporximately 12 weeks till I can walk. My cousin Dani and my neighbor Julie Jensen both said take one day at a time or you'll go crazy thinking about all that you can't do. It really does take some practice thinking that way.

The nurse in the ER was trying to gently take my sock off of my foot. Each small movement felt like a jack hammer on my bones. She had such a sweet voice and kept saying, "I'm sorry! This will just take a second." After what felt like a year long "second" I just said, "Oh for the love! Spare me a nappy sock and cut it off!!"

Sorry about the blury x-rays but you get the picture

Along with my sock being cut off, my pants were also sliced off of me. As you can see they are very classy old navy pants that will be greatly missed by both me and Devin. These were my delicious dirtball pants and Devin's redneck costume pants.

Man Down!

Last Saturday I had an exciting experience. Devin was away with his other wife (school) and I had to drop off the Karate Kid movie in to my work (House of Hope substance abuse treatment facility) because I promised the clients I would take it to them. It was a beautiful day, so I set out via long board. There were plenty of hills I've been eyeing for a while by work and I had the opportunity to take them on. They were as fantastic as I hoped. When I was done I turned up the hill about 100 yards away from my destination. I was going fairly fast, but I wanted to keep my speed so I crouched down to be more aerodynamic. My front foot was facing forward and my back one was sideways on my board (if you long board you know what I'm talking about). From here the details are a little hazy, but I hit a small rock and my back foot slipped off. I didn't even fall, but as I popped up from that crouching position I looked at my right foot and it was turned too far . I knew immediately that the clients in my work were not getting Karate Kid... and that I was in trouble.
Somehow I made it to a patch of grass on the side of the road and immediately my phone rang. It was Devin telling me he was done with homework. I told him the situation and he hustled right on over there. Suddenly there was a man and his son standing around me, some lady named Sunny holding my leg, and this nasty dog sniffing my face. I was shivering and moaning uncontrollably and swatting the dog. These kind people are asking me all sorts of questions to keep me from going crazy for what seemed like several hours, until my knight in shining armor pulled up and whisked me away to the ER.
All my experiences at the ER have been- waiting, Waiting, WAITING, and then you go into another room and start the process over (repeat at least 4 times) and the nurses keep asking at each station "on a scale of 1-10 one being no pain at all and ten being the worst pain, where would you say you are?"
I was pleasantly surprised, (pleasantly used very loosely when your foot is only connected by skin and tendons) that Devin pulled up and said I'll be right back, got a wheel chair and 2 guys (one guy I was delighted to see had a mullet) that hoisted me from the backseat of the car into the wheelchair. I didn't even have to sit in the waiting room! I got bumped right ahead where I was asked ONE TIME where my pain level was (I said 7- because I think the higher numbers are reserved for broken femurs, gall stones and labor).
I was then wheeled in a bed back to Trauma B, by a nurse that kept talking to another nurse about how she sometimes hits the foot of patients on door frames. I looked up at her in horror and said, "Oh please don't." And that's when I first began to realize... To nurses and technitions in the ER, patients are like a circus act where they can't hear what the nurses are saying to each other. Along the way to Trauma B and even once I got in my room the nurses came from different corners and holes to diagnose my condition before the x-rays were done and before the Dr. looked at it. If I wasn't in so much pain I would've laughed pretty hard at this sick form of entertainment.

As you can see, this is before it was set back right. If you can't read the pic, my bone is split, and that whole bone is supposed to fit neatly on top of my ankle bone, but it was way over to the left. Luckily the bone didn't break the skin, it was just pressed up against it. (writing on the pic didn't work out as well as I would've liked, so I'll decipher).
The Dr knocked me out and set my bones right (Devin said I screamed even though I was out cold) and when I woke up I was wrapped like a brown paper package all tied up with bandages. Since then, drugs and ice are a few of my favorite things! I go back to see the Dr. tomorrow (tues) and should go into surgery on Wednesday. keep me in your prayers!

Shortly after I woke up, my mom and sister showed up to save the day. They brought snacks, moral support, and jokes. They also helped Devin get me home, they did our dishes and laundry, picked up my perscription and some groceries.

I've been thinking about how blessed I am. This would've been so much harder if I was still in school or if I had a couple of kids that needed me to take care of them. Also if I didn't have Devin, I probably would still be laying in my front room lonely, hungry, dirty, and in so much pain. He has been my Angel dozens of times a day. I have such a good support system around me with my family and friends near by, and a fantastic ward.
I also have good insurance through my work and surprisingly even after a few months with Mono last fall, I still have a lot of paid sick days. I'm not really sure how that worked out, but I'm grateful it did. This past year I've become more grateful for my health than ever before! God has been so merciful to me for allowing me to be so healthy for most of my life.
It's a great time of year to break my leg! I have less of a chance of slipping on ice with my crutches, and I'll be healed by the time it's summer!
I'm almost positive no one prays to have their leg broken, but already breaking my leg has been a huge blessing in my life.

Devin's ski resort

Devin had to do a business proposal for one of his Engineering classes last semester and he did a lot of research and decided that some day he really wants to create a ski resort right here in Provo, including Provo peak (just south of the Y on the mountain). He made plans of where chair lifts will go, what source of energy the resort will use, where the cabins will be built, the estimated amount of money it would take to start things up who the target population is (Students! cheap tickets for broke kids), etc. The location is actually pretty impressive and apparently it receives a lot of good snow, but couldn't believe the reports, we had to check it out ourselves. President's day weekend we took the snow shoes up through Rock Canyon to visit the project Devin is determined to do. He has my complete support. Sign up now for discount passes!

That is Provo Peak. There are a few bowls back behind it that has great North facing slopes (great to keep snow skiable for a long time).

This is overlooking Rock Canyon