HOW ARE WE DOIN'?

Sew-Sew

Even though the swelling makes this look like my knee, it is my left arm shortly before the stitches were removed yesterday. Son Matthew took this with his iPhone to show to Travis. Guess Travis and I can compare our scars -- his from his appendectomy. I think mine will win "ugliest" by far!

As I communicated my fears of this surgery with friends over the past few weeks, I was comforted by many. But without a doubt, my friend Carin from Denton inspired me the most! She sent me the following email with the accompanying photograph. Modern medicine is nothing short of miraculous! She gave me permission to post this. She is definitely my hero for now!

Leg Gear

"Here you go. A picture really is worth a thousand words: The bump-on-my-butt is the battery pack that runs the bone stimulator (the black coil over the brace), which sends electro-magnetic pulses to my femur (thigh bone). The E-M frequencies induce bone-building proteins to grow bone cells as well as bone marrow blood vessels! Isn't that amazing? I wear the bone stimulator 10-hours a day. Interestingly this $5,000 technology only works for 4,000 hours then quits! Talk about pre-designed to self-destruct.

The brace itself starts at my foot with a heel-cup and goes all the way to my waist -- it wraps around me. You can only see the left side. This "hard" brace is custom-made and stabilizes my leg like an exoskeleton. The goal is to keep my healing parts from moving while I stand or walk. I usually wear a full-length leg sock to keep the brace plastic from touching my skin but I was dressed-up for church when Robert took my picture! 

Dressing has been really interesting; the waist part of the brace adds 6 inches to my middle…agh! My leg is bent in the picture to show you that I can bend it! After being casted for 2-months, my knee didn't want to move at all. The brace knee "joint" is set at 90 degrees. I'm looking forward to bending my knee more and more, which has been a challenge. What is also amazing and not seeable without X-ray vision are all of the metal plates and screws that start about 4 inches below my knee and continue up to where the stem of my artificial hip connects to the femur.

Who would have thought that slipping on invisible ice could result in such an interesting physical challenge? But after 4.5-months…I'm "walking" about and started driving again last week -- whoopee! Thanks for your loving support, positive thoughts, and healing prayers. They're working!

Love from here to there from
"The Queen of Velcro"
aka
"Carin with a $300K leg"

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Not only are these sent to us as "physical challenges", but they are meant for our spiritual growth as well. Carin stated once how "humbling" it is to ask others for help when we are going through one of these challenges. I can certainly relate to that. But, as we care for one another during crises, everyone grows!

So how're we doing? I'd say we are doing very well indeed.

Peace, love, and healing,
Marilyn

SUMMERTIME AND CATCH-UP TIME!

EDITOR'S NOTE: There is no quicker way to ensure you hear from a beloved grandchild than to put something erroneous on a blog for all the world to see. I inadvertently stepped on some toes and quickly heard back from oldest grandson, Cameron. To correct the record, I am posting his response to the following post:

"Just for the record - Opera in the Ozarks is not a summer camp. It's both a young artist program and a summer opera festival that caters to artistic foundations in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri. Performers between the ages of 18 and 30 are here. We go to these both for performance experience and ongoing growth in developing our craft. It serves as an early taste of what life is like in the professional world. It's the same type of thing Audrey is doing in DC. We have rehearsals/performances, classes, and set work generally between 10 and 12 hours a day. There's nothing really 'campy' about it other than what we choose to do on what little free time we might have. My cast of Die Fledermaus opened season last Friday night to a sold out house with the mayor and state senator in attendance and we've got a total of about 25 shows left to do this season."

I'm so sorry, Cameron! I stand corrected.

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I'm back after over a month of preparing for and then having surgery on my left arm and wrist. (Carpal tunnel and an ulnar nerve transplant). I must say I am feeling very well ~ thanks to lots of prayers and the loving assistance of son Matthew, as well as my new-found friends here in Burnet. They all have been doing a great job of checking on me, and helping when I need help. I am so blessed... with friends far and near who have let me know they care. My thanks to all of you.

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I am waaay behind in giving kudos to my beloved grandchildren. As you all know, they are very special and important to me. First up are daughter Carajean's children. She sent the following to me way back in May:

Tanner

"All the kids did well in school. Tanner got the highest GPA average in 6th grade. His lowest grade all year was a 97. He also received a citizenship/character award and was voted class favorite. He continues to excel in tennis and plans on entering more tournaments this summer. I offered him a choice of taking theater or orchestra next year and he chose orchestra. This totally shocked me, for he has never expressed much interest in the cello, he does it to 'make me happy'! I found out later he is hoping for some cello solo opportunities with the graduating seniors. He is also very social and yet very much like his father, which I think is a great combo! As a result we enjoy his quick wit and sense of humor. He and I like a lot of the same music and we treasure our trips to school in the car while we rock out to a group called 'Muse'. Tanner's main activity this summer will be 3 -4 tennis camps here in town.

Ashlyn is loving public high school being reunited with all of her elementary school friends. She made all As and one B. She sang in the choir this year but didn't care for it much. She continues to take private violin lessons, and is learning a beautiful piece right now called 'Meditation from Tais' which she will perform this Saturday at her violin recital. Her driving skills continue to improve and she will complete her driver's ed in two more lessons. (She now has her learner's permit! Uncle Matt let her drive his truck while they were in Galveston.) She loves cross country running (like her Aunt Estelle and cousin Sterling). They have to run 3 to 4 miles between 7:00 and 8:00 every morning (no matter what the weather). She was quoted in the yearbook as saying, "I like cross country because it builds endurance, and gives me time to think". She went on her first date 3 weeks ago with her boyfriend Payden to his soccer banquet. He is the son of her 4th grade teacher and is very well mannered and athletic. Thank goodness his curfew is the same as hers. They like to play tennis, kickball, feed the ducks, and ride bikes together. I was hoping to get away with her not dating until she was 16 BUT it didn't happen that way, I caved.

Ashlyn and Audrey

Audrey made all As and two Bs. She took some very hard classes this year and is very happy with her grades. She will not be graduating in December as she had hoped because one of her required classes is not offered until the spring. She will take fewer hours as a result, which will allow her time to dance more. She will be attending Washington, DC's Ballet summer institute for 5 weeks, leaving right after her 21st birthday (June 15th) and staying 5 weeks. When she graduates (from SMU) she plans on auditioning for various ballet companies and hopes to dance as much as possible while she is still young and we are still able to support her. Because she plans on specializing in conservation biology, in January she will be doing an internship in Maui studying the migration of Humpback whales.  I'm sure I don't have to tell you how excited she is about that! I was really proud of her when she spoke to Ascension's whole student body a couple of weeks ago about vegetarianism and it's effects on the environment. That was not easy for her, but she is so committed to educating the public about this topic that it didn't matter. It is good to have a passion." (Audrey graduated as Valedictorian from Ascension Academy.)

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Cameron is having a great time at the Opera in the Ozarks summer camp, even though he says they are working them very hard. It ain't Boy Scout Camp, Cameron! He is pictured here with a buddy in their costumes for Pirates of Penzance. Cameron will be a senior at LSU in Baton Rouge this fall.

His younger sister, Hannah, was bored with the Montessori Gifted and Talented School she has attended the past two years. She ~ like her cousin Ashlyn ~ also missed her schoolmates from her early years. Her mom informed me she will be going to the same Middle School this fall that Cameron attended, and will meet up with a lot of her friends. They have a great choir and music department, for which Hannah will audition. She told her mom that she also wants to take drama and dance classes. Cameron sings with Hannah when he's home, and he was very impressed with her ability to harmonize. Also, he thinks she might have "perfect pitch". Wow! another singer in the family. Maybe she will get a voice scholarship to college like big brother! From the way her grades have been, she might even get an academic scholarship as well.

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Travis made all As and one B. He missed the all A honor roll by only one point. If you recall, Travis suffered a ruptured appendix in January and missed over a month of school. It's remarkable he made up all the school work. But he is a remarkable boy, and we are lucky he survived his medical emergency. He also recovered in time to play Little League baseball again this year, and his dad was popping his buttons over Travis' batting ability. This Grandmommy doesn't recall the statistics, but I cheered him on from here!

Miss Kelly graduated from pre-school, and is anxious to enter Kindergarten this fall. I hope they are ready for her! She is a real dynamo! 

They went on vacation in Galveston with all their cousins from Amarillo when school was out. Travis and dad, Matthew, did some serious fishing. Dad even caught a small shark.

I am looking forward to a visit from Travis and Kelly (and Jasmine) around the middle of July. The boys next door are anxious for their visit as well

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As I have been limited in my activities lately I have spent more time observing the "wildlife" in my back yard. This is a baby squirrel who has been hanging out with me for a few weeks now. The tree is outside my window over my kitchen sink. We have "conversations", and one day recently it stayed so long it got sleepy and took a little nap!  

I've also spotted some new birds visiting my yard. It's difficult to get clear photos through the windowpanes and screens, but if one doesn't view them in too large a format, you can get an idea of their beauty. I wasn't able to capture the pair of Ash-throated flycatchers, but I did manage to get a couple of shots of the Painted Bunting. This is such a beautiful little bird ~ and I was very excited when it showed up!

When I first spotted it, I thought someone's parrot might have got loose. Poor thing, the first bird bath was empty! We have had such a drought and temperatures in the high 90s and low 100s, the water needs to be replenished more than once throughout the day.

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Enough for this time. I hope all of you are having a great summer, but staying out of the heat - or the paths of the wildfires. Happy upcoming 4th of July!

Peace and love,

Marilyn