Six Weeks and Three Days Later...

It has officially been six weeks and three days since my surgery.  I have lots to update you about since my last post.

#1 - I am getting around just fine!  Whoop! Whoop!  My mother-in-law works in a nursing home and has helped me out by bringing an electric wheelchair to me at school.  It has made my life so much easier there.  I still have trouble getting around a few places at school, but for the most part, I am motor scootin' just fine. :) She also let me borrow a regular wheelchair for the house.  It is so much easier than the office chair.

#2 - My foot is feeling better every day.  The incision on the inside of my foot has been healing beautifully.  The scabs are about all gone and all that is left is a scar.  The incision on the outside of my foot is healing also, just not as fast as the other one.  It is still scabbed up and sometimes looks horrible because of my foot sweating inside the sock and boot I wear all day.  I can tell that it is healing though, so that is good.  The pin in my foot bothers me from time to time because I can now feel it.  If I remember to take my medicine it helps tremendously.

#3 - I go back to see Dr. Witt on Friday, March 9th at 8:20 a.m.  He said he would take x-rays at that time and would most likely be pulling the pin out of my foot.  I am so anxious to get the pin out.  I can feel it from time to time throughout the day and it really bothers me.  My kids at school have asked numerous times to show them pictures of my foot.  I really am not comfortable with that.  I totally would do it if I thought parents would be okay with it, but there is always one parent that wouldn't be, and I don't want to offend them.  So, as a compromise, I told the kids that when they take the pin out of my foot I would ask to keep the pin and show them.

#4 - In the past 2-3 weeks I have been getting incredibly frustrated with my lack of independence.  I think my family is too.  They don't understand that I just can't "crutch my way" places.  First of all, it wears me out.  Secondly, and most importantly, I am scared of falling and having to start this whole ordeal over again.  I am so tired of having to ask for help with things.  I am tired of not being able to just get up and do the things I want/need to do.  It absolutely SUCKS...  Until you have your ability to walk taken away you have no idea how much we take it for granted.  While I have always respected people who are permanently in my situation, I have a new found respect for them.  It is incredibly difficult to get around in a world that is meant for walking people.  While there are accommodations at some places, there are little to none other places.  It sucks...

For now, I'll just suck it up and hang in there.  In less than a week I'll hopefully be closer to being on the home bound stretch of this journey.  Keep your fingers crossed and pray for me!

It's official...I have a teenager...

As of Friday, March 2, 2012, at 6:12 a.m. I am the mother of a teenager.  OMG! I can't believe it has been 13 years since Allison was born.  It just doesn't seem possible.  She was such a tiny little girl when she was born, weighing just 6 pounds 12 ounces and 19 inches long.  She had a TON of dark dark hair.  It was so dark it was almost black, and she had so much hair that she was able to wear ponytails from the day she was born.  (And, she never lost any of her hair like most babies do.)  She had a beautiful little, round, rosy cheeked face and blue eyes.  She was immediately "momma's girl".                                                                                                                                         

We wrapped her up like a burrito a couple days after she was born and headed home with her.  Little did we know how much more we'd fall in love with her and all the joy she'd bring us over the next 13 years.  (A little frustration too, but that is to be expected with any kiddo. )                                                                                                                               

When Allison Layne was a tiny baby she didn't like sleeping in her crib.  She preferred sleeping in her swing.  Momma always slept close by in an oversized chair to keep an eye on her ever moving swing and we BOTH slept great.  Daddy, however, really didn't like that Momma would leave Ally in the swing all night.  He thought she should sleep in her bed.  I had to remind him a few times that he needed to remember that she and I both actually got some sleep this way.  lol

As Allison got older she became very independent and strong-willed.  Some days there were lots of struggles to get her to cooperate. (Still are sometimes)  But, there were also days that she just wanted to be Momma's "mini me".  Her favorite color was purple, she loved the ice cream truck, drawing and coloring were fun to her, and she really liked "fixing" her hair with about 10 different ponytails at one time.  She won an art contest and had her picture, "Americows" hanging in the George Bush Presidential Museum and Library when she was in kindergarten.  She learned to play soccer and loved it.  

As she entered her preteen years Allison started maturing a bit.  She really loved Hannah Montana and the Disney Channel.  SpongeBob Squarepants also became a favorite of hers.  It was during this time that Allison started learning how to swim competitively.  She was like a fish in water and once she learned how to compete, gave her competitors a run for their money.  It was so fun to watch her swim.  

Now that she is, gulp, a teenager, Allison is really maturing.  She doesn't spend as much time watching the Disney Channel as before.  She does, however, still love to watch SpongeBob...  She has taken a break from competitve swimming and is now playing soccer.  She is taller than me measuring in at about 5'7" and is doing math at school that really makes me think.  (Pretty soon, it will be over my head.  lol)  She has also earned 1st chair playing flute in the band, taking after me, I guess.  :) She's still incredibly headstrong and stubborn, but she wouldn't be my Ally otherwise.  

Happy 13th birthday Ally!  I hope your 13th year is amazing! I love you more than chocolate and to the moon and back!

Eleven Days Later...

It has been ELEVEN days since my surgery.  I can't believe how quickly the time has passed.  Last week I found out that it was NOT recommended that I go back to work with my foot still in the splint.  So, another week off until I get into the boot.  I go back on Friday and I should be in the boot at that point.  

Before all of this started, I had some major concerns.  I think I can safely say I have tackled these head on and they aren't as bad as I thought they were.  I've pasted them below, in blue.  

#1 -- It's going to be incredibly difficult to get around. At school, the nurse has told me that I can use the wheelchair we have in her office.  That will be good, I guess. 

Getting around is still a bit of a challenge sometimes.  If I have to go too far on the crutches, it still wears me out, but I have to say I am definitely getting better at it.  I actually took my first trip out on Saturday.  My nephew had his birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese's and we went.  It was a complete mad house!  It made me nervous to crutch around in there and it absolutely wore me out.  But it was nice to get out of the house -- cabin fever was setting in! 

Last week I did have a grand idea about how to get around.  The picture below is my simple yet effective solution to getting around.  I can roll myself anywhere I want to go, but my family has been great about rolling me around.  Actually, I think my girls kind of like it.  lol  So very grateful for this rolling office chair.  :)

#2 -- I'm also a bit worried about bathing.  I know I can throw my leg over the side of the tub.  I'm really not worried about getting in the tub.  It's the getting out that has me stumped.  I can't get my foot wet or put weight on it.  It will be a challenge figuring that out, and I am SO GLAD that I won't have an audience watching the circus of me getting out of the tub.  (Please get that picture out of your head...I'm getting embarrassed...  hehe) 


Bathing has gotten increasingly easier and faster.  I have a system all figured out, and it works really well for me.  All I need help with at this point is wrapping my leg from the knee down so it doesn't get wet.  Yay me!

#3 -- When I FINALLY get to drive again, it might be interesting getting in and out of my Expedition.  It is not super high, but there's a running board to step on before you step into the truck.  I'm kind of wondering how that's going to work out...  Allison said she'd help me get in.  That might be interesting too.  lol  I don't think getting out will be a problem.  I'll just slide out and land on my good foot.  :)


Well, I'm not driving yet, but I have been a passenger.  I can easily put my "bad foot" knee on the edge of the floor board and then step up into my Expedition.  Works like and charm and doesn't affect my foot one bit.  :)  As far as getting out of the vehicle, the sliding out strategy seems to be working well.

#4 -- How bad is the surgery going to hurt?  Is it going to hurt so bad that I am going to want to throw up.  I hate throwing up.  And I'm really not fond of pain.  I hope they give me some hellacious pain meds.  I have a feeling I'll need them...


Well, I didn't throw up from the pain.  Thank goodness.  I was on pain meds from Thursday until early Tuesday morning.  Then, after I didn't really need anything other than Advil or Alleve.  The past 2-3 days I haven't really hurt much at all.  Mostly, I just get uncomfortable.  I guess I didn't need the pain meds as badly as I thought I would need them.  


All in all, this has been harder than I thought it would be, but only because it takes a while to get to feeling good again after surgery.  I sure didn't count on that.  Now that I am feeling better I am trying to stay busy...sort of...  I'm doing a lot of reading and LOTS of tv watching.  I now have some new favorite shows.  :)  Dr. appointment on Friday.  I'll be back later to update everyone on my progress!

A Week Later...

Let me first start by saying that this has been A LOT HARDER than I ever thought it would be.  We really take for granted what we can do independently until we can no longer do those things.  Lucky for me, I have a wonderful family and amazing friends.  Mike has been wonderful to me.  He has made sure I am comfortable and helps me do a lot of things.  The girls have been helpful as well.  It's nice to know that I have them here.  My friends really overwhelmed me as well.  I could not believe what they did for me.  Not only did they collect money for us to use for meals, but some of them also brought over dinners so that Mike wouldn't have to worry about cooking.  You never realize how incredibly helpful that is until you are on the receiving end.  I have felt completely loved this past week.  I count myself as very blessed in the family and friends department.  :)  To my family and friends... thank you and I love you!

Right after surgery

The day after surgery

Well, it has been a full week since my surgery.  The first coule of days I don't remember much.  Pain pills have a way of knocking me out and making me loopy.  By about Saturday, I started to become a little  more lucid...I think.  I don't really know.  Ask my family.  lol

I think the pain meds were messing up my stomach and making me feel bad.  I took my last pain pill Tuesday morning at 4:30.  After that one, I decided that I was done with those.  I'd stick to Advil or Alleve.  So far those have been working for me. It took until Wednesday before I started feeling better. I got up Wednesday morning and still didn't feel too great, but I had to get ready for my first post-op doctor's appointment.  

We left the house in the pouring rain.  I was worried about getting drenched but somehow I managed to stay pretty dry.  Mike was able to borrow a wheelchair from the doc's office to wheel me around.  That was pretty cool.  It made my life quite a bit easier.  lol 

After cutting the bandages off my foot this is what I saw.  I was completely unaware that I had a pin sticking out of the side of my foot.  It kind of freaked me out, but then again, it was kind of cool.  So, I took pics.  In this picture, my foot looks like it is crooked.  That was a concern to me, but my doctor assured me that it wasn't crooked.  Apparently, that's just the way it hangs naturally.    

This next picture shows the incision for the tendon that has caused me trouble.  I was lucky that it wasn't torn or anything.  Actually, he said the membrane surrounding my tendon was full of fluid and needed to be emptied.  I'm not exactly sure what all the purple markings are above my incision.  Part of the reason for this surgery was that I no longer had an arch.  If you notice in this picture...it's back!  Yay!!!  That was nice to see.  

This picture is the "gross" picture.  When Lori, my doc's nurse was removing the bandages, she covered this side up when I said something about it.  I guess people get weirded out about this kind of stuff sometimes.  It doesn't really bother me.  I thought it was kind of cool.  This is pretty swollen in the picture.  The middle purple mark is actually the incision.  This is the side where the bone graft was added.  The pin is in my foot to help hold the bone graft in place until it heals.  This is the side of my foot that actually hurts.  I should be getting the pin out in week 4 of this after surgery ordeal.  That means it'll come out around Valentine's Day. That would be a lovely Valentine's Day gift from my doctor.  :)  

Beginning last night I started getting some feeling back in my foot, and it has continued today.  It is nice to get the feeling back, but at the same time, it is a little weird.  Parts of my foot are still numb.  Half of my pinky toe is numb and the top of my foot is numb towards the outer side.  (pin side)  

You can probably see in these pictures that parts of my foot and toes are a little on the orange side.  That's from the iodine wash they use to sterilize the surgery site.  I was looking at my toes today.  I need to get one of the girls, probably Allison, to clean my toenails off for me tonight.  (I can't turn my foot to reach my toes too easily.)  I thought the orange stuff would wear off, but it hasn't.  I am tired of my toes looking like I've been eating Cheetoh's with my feet.   

I'll keep updating my blog with the progress I am making in my journey to a "normal" foot.  Until then, I need to get my dowel stick and do a little scratching.  This leg is starting to get itchy!

A Case of the Butterflies...

I wanted to blog last night, but I couldn't quite get the words down right.  Don't know if I will tonight.  However, I want to say that I am NERVOUS as HELL about my surgery tomorrow.

I've had surgery before, but honestly, I don't remember much about it.  It was when I got really sick with my gall bladder and they put me in the hospital for 9 days.  I was pretty much drugged up for a couple days before surgery so I don't remember it.

This is different.  I've been "preparing" for this for 2 weeks.  And, thus, getting nervous for the past two weeks.  This surgery is outpatient surgery.  However, my doctor said it was a "big surgery".  Yay...  Still, it's surgery.

At my pre-op appointment, they showed me the list of the procedures that my doc will do.  He is basically doing four different procedures on my foot.  I can't even begin to tell you what they all are -  they weren't written in normal people terms.  Long story short, they are basically rebuilding the arch in my foot.  I am glad about that, but so WAY nervous about the recovery part.  I'll survive though.  It will just take some getting use to.

So, nervous stomach ache and all, I think I am ready for this.  I have lots of help lined up and I know I am in good hands.  And, I've decided I'll just give it all to God.  That's the easiest and smartest thing to do.  Wish me luck and say a little prayer tomorrow at 10:15!

The Ride's About to Begin...

Today I picked up my crutches.  The first pair I have ever had in my life.  I got them early because my doctor's nurse suggested I practice with them for a few days before the surgery.  (I've already discovered that is a good idea.)  They are super short just for me.  As a matter of fact, they are adjusted as short as possible.  My children think that is so funny.  I have heard many short jokes tonight, and I am sure I'll hear a lot more before this whole thing is over.

I unwrapped them and adjusted the handles.  Apparently, my arms are short too.  I had to adjust them up as far as possible.  Go figure.  Once I had them adjusted just right it made a world of difference in my using them.  So much easier when the pads aren't jammed in your armpits.

I'm beginning to feel anxious about this.  I'm glad that my foot will finally be on the road to getting back to "normal", but I have some things I'm worried about.

#1 -- It's going to be incredibly difficult to get around. At school, the nurse has told me that I can use the wheelchair we have in her office.  That will be good, I guess.

#2 -- I'm also a bit worried about bathing.  I know I can throw my leg over the side of the tub.  I'm really not worried about getting in the tub.  It's the getting out that has me stumped.  I can't get my foot wet or put weight on it.  It will be a challenge figuring that out, and I am SO GLAD that I won't have an audience watching the circus of me getting out of the tub.  (Please get that picture out of your head...I'm getting embarrassed...  hehe)

#3 -- When I FINALLY get to drive again, it might be interesting getting in and out of my Expedition.  It is not super high, but there's a running board to step on before you step into the truck.  I'm kind of wondering how that's going to work out...  Allison said she'd help me get in.  That might be interesting too.  lol  I don't think getting out will be a problem.  I'll just slide out and land on my good foot.  :)

#4 -- How bad is the surgery going to hurt?  Is it going to hurt so bad that I am going to want to throw up.  I hate throwing up.  And I'm really not fond of pain.  I hope they give me some hellacious pain meds.  I have a feeling I'll need them...

For now, I'll just start practicing on the crutches.  I need to bling them up too.  I'm thinking some patterned duct tape would be pretty cute.  I'll have to see what my girls have in their bedrooms. Could be a fun mommy daughter project!  ;)

I'm back...

It has been about 2 months since I last blogged.  I really didn't intend to wait so long to blog.  It just happened.  Honestly, I think we all go through periods of time where we just feel blah...I think that's where I have been.  Some days I'd have all sorts of energy and feel the need to be creative, but by the time I got home from work and running the kids places, I was just beat.  Then, there were days that I just felt defeated for one reason or another.  Neither of these were reasons to not write.  They were actually reasons I SHOULD have been writing.  For me, writing is a little like therapy.

Lots has been going on in our lives the past two months.  Nothing horrible or super life changing has been going on here, but there are times when stress sometimes gets the best of you.  I won't get into all the details, but I will tell you this.  I am very thankful that I have my faith in God.  He has been my saving grace on days that I just want to crawl in bed and go to sleep.  Instead, he gets me going with my day and shows me little rays of sunlight through my students, my friends, my fur babies, my children, and my husband. I am so thankful that He is there for me to talk to when I need Him.

Since my last blog entry, we have had Thanksgiving and Christmas.  My parents came for both holidays, but my sister and her family were also able to come for Christmas.  It was incredibly nice to have them all here for the holidays.  I really enjoyed spending time with my sister.  She and I live way too far apart and when we get together we really try to make it quality time.  She and I have grown very close over the past several years.  It is nice to know that I have her to lean on, confide in, laugh with, and share my life with.  I have to admit, she's pretty okay... (I would have NEVER said that 20 years ago! lol)  While she was here she got me hooked on Vampire Diaries.  I have a lot of catching up to do.  I am only on episode 10 from season 1.  I know I need to watch the rest of the series before I start watching this season so that it makes sense.  I seriously need to get Netflix hooked back up here at the house. (That's on the "To do" list...)

Over the past couple of months, my foot/ankle have really started hurting me more and more.  All this started with my infamous fall back in May.  My arch has fallen completely. Because of this, my ankle is turning a bit inward, which is causing the bones in my feet to shift outward, and my entire foot to hurt all the way up my leg. Sometimes I can't get my foot comfortable and some nights it hurts so bad that the covers on my bed are too much to be on it. The side of my foot has been swelling and I finally had enough and decided to make an appointment.  I went to see Dr. Witt last Friday.  After looking at the pics I took on my iPhone of the swelling I had a couple nights before, looking at my foot, and asking me to stand on my toes (which I could not do) he determined that we had exhausted all the avenues for "fixing" my foot. We were at the last resort.  He recommended surgery to repair the injured tendons and basically rebuild the arch in my foot.  He said it would only get worse and the main tendon that I injured is just as important as the Achilles tendon.  It needs to be fixed.   I told him I really didn't care as long as it made it quit hurting.

For those of you that don't know, when your feet hurt, your entire body hurts.  I have limped around enough that my right hip and leg hurt.  Because my hip hurts, my back is sore.  With that comes sore shoulders and a headache every now and then.  It just sets off lots of other things that you would never think a hurt foot could affect.

Anyway, I am ready to get on with this.  My surgery is tentatively set for Thursday, January 19th.  I will get confirmation of my surgery time and date tomorrow.  I am nervous about it, but I am also relieved to know that FINALLY I will get some relief.  Not being able to walk sure puts a damper on the things that I want and need to do...  He told me that I'd be in a splint for the first 2 weeks to allow my foot to swell and begin to heal.  After that I'd be in a cast or boot for 5-6 weeks.  (I'll be in a boot.  I think I'm slightly clauster phobic so he said I could do the boot if I promised not to put and weight on it.  I quickly agreed.)  So, I'll spend the next 6-8 weeks on crutches, which I plan to bling out with duct tape.  Sounds fun, right?  haha...  I'm sure I'll have plenty to say about it as I get used to using the crutches.  I have a feeling I'll be doing a lot of complaining...  I hope you don't mind listening to it!  hehe

Really???

If something is going to happen to a person it will happen to me.  I think I attract strange people and accidents.  Or accidents and strange people...I don't know what the order is...

Strange people -- I think I must have a look about me that says, "Hey...you should come tell me some random stuff that I really don't care about."  This often happens to me in the bathroom of public places.  Really?  Who wants to talk to a stranger in the bathroom?????

Or, I have kids in my class that like to talk to me about random stuff...

Today's conversation:
Kiddo: (who is reading a book about diseases - what kid does that?) "Mrs. Lackey, I found a disease that can't be cured."
Me: "Really?  What is it?"
Kiddo:  He shows me his book.  "It's like two diseases in one.  HIV and Aids.  There isn't a cure for it."
Me: "You're right.  There is no cure."
Kiddo:  "Have you ever had it before Mrs. Lackey?"
Me:  "Uh...nope.  That's not curable.  I'm not sick and I'm still here."
Kiddo:  "Oh.  Okay."  And then he walks back to his seat.

Accidents - We all know about the dog pee accident I had in May.  Since May, I have been accident free until yesterday. As I was walking down the hall, a kid flicked a magnet right in my path just as I was taking a step.  I stepped right on that dang magnet and it caused me to kind of twist my ankle and I FELL DOWN.  In front of ALL THE KIDS!  I was embarrassed and mad all at the same time. I was ready to explode, but it was truly an accident.  When I fell down, I landed on my left knee.  The left knee that is connected to the left ankle/foot that spent the summer in a nice hot black orthopedic boot.  It hurt like CRAP!

Some of the kids that were with me could obviously tell I was upset.  One of them said, "Mrs. Lackey, you sure are pretty."  I said, "Thank you.  Did I look pretty when I fell down?"  She just grinned at me.  Another kiddo said, "I sure do like your hair.  How do you get it all spikey in the back?"  I told her with "lots of hair junk".  She seemed to like that answer.  Funny how kids try to fix a situation sometimes and they don't realize they even do it.

Well, my knee still hurts.  As the day went on today, my body slowly but surely got a little more sore than it was this morning.  My lower back and legs have ached like I worked out.  (I guess that's what a fall will do for you.)  My ankle and foot have hurt today as well.  I'm wondering if I did something to it when I fell.  I guess I'll just have to keep my eye on it over the next few days.

This morning the kiddo that was playing with the infamous "make Mrs. Lackey fall" magnet, sent me a note asking me to forgive him for what happened.  I wrote him back and told him I truly knew it was an accident and I was in no way upset with him.  I also told him that I was just embarrassed about falling.  That is not something I like to do often.  When I took him the note, I asked his teachers which room he was in so I could give it to him.  As I turned around and saw him, his face had a "deer in headlights" look.  He obviously didn't know what to think about me coming to his classroom looking for him.  I hope my note to him made him feel better just as his made me feel better.

I am positive that I will continue to run into "bathroom talkers", crazy kids at school (they make my day) and will continue to find the accident waiting to happen.  My life wouldn't be quite right if these things weren't a part of it.  I think it'd be pretty boring.  Don't you?  :)

This girl...

This girl makes me crazy.  This girl frustrates me.  This girl teaches me.  This girls makes me smile.  This girl makes me laugh.  This girl is my mini-me.  This girl is my Ally...

Ally has always been "my" girl.  She really hasn't been a Daddy's girl too much in her 12 years.  She's always been a Momma's girl.  I kinda like it that way.  :)

When I say she is a mini-me, I mean that.  From the time that she was really little, she always seemed to have the same interests as me and always wanted to do what I was doing.  To some extent, she even wanted to eat the same stuff as me.  She and I have several similarities, the most obvious of those being her creative side.  This kid likes to create stuff.  Not just any kind of "stuff", but artistic "stuff".  When she was little, I would give her scrappy supplies to use while I was scrapping.  It was funny how often she would watch me to decide what it was that she was going to do.  Even now, she does this.   She truly has a creative soul.  I kinda like that.  It's pretty cool to see some of the things that she comes up with.  (You should see what she does with duct tape!)

One way that we are complete opposites is when it comes to reading.  As a kid, I couldn't read enough.  I would hide under my covers to read, and after getting caught doing that several times, I found a better place...in my closet with the light on and the door closed.  I could stay up all night reading a book.  Still can.  I can finish a thick book in a matter of just a few days.  I LOVE to read.  Allison, not so much.  If you asked her, she'd say, "I HATE reading."  Well, that makes me kinda sad.  I get such enjoyment from reading.  I wish that she did.  Maybe one of these days she will learn to appreciate it and not think of it as "work".  I'll keep trying.

Tonight I had the pleasure of spending some time with my big girl.  After her swim practice it was just me and her because Whit and Daddy had an end of season soccer party to attend.  So, Ally and I enjoyed eating dinner together.  We had been on her case for the past month about her grades and attitude.  Both have needed improving.  (Does this happen with all 12 year olds???)     I really wanted to spend some time with her, and I needed to let her know that all her hard work over the past 2 weeks to get her grades back up hadn't gone unnoticed.  It was past time to let her know we were proud of the hard work she had been doing.  I think she really enjoyed herself.  It was nice to spend some time with her by myself.

For my big girl, I wish this:

*to continue to work hard and strive to always do your absolute best
*to have a heart for others -  a tender place that lets others know that you are a person they can trust and depend on
*to continue to work on appreciating your sister (I know sibling rivalry is "normal", but my wish is that you'll see Whit as your best friend and confidant at some point in the future.)
*to continue to learn about God and share him through your words and actions with others

Ally, I love you more than you could even imagine.  I hope that when you see this, you'll see that you are a very important part of my life and our family.  You are an amazing young lady.  DO NOT ever forget that!  I love you!!!

A Chicken story...Dishonest People SUCK!

You know the old saying "Don't count your chickens before they hatch"?  Good idea to heed that warning...  Well, it's a good idea to keep them separated too.  Just sayin...

Yesterday (Wednesday) was stressful.  It didn't start off that way though.  It actually started off pretty good...until I checked my bank account around 7:00 a.m.  I am SO GLAD that I didn't follow my normal routine this one time.  God certainly spoke to me because I can't explain why I chose to get on the computer and look at my account.  Glad he talked to me though...

Around 7:00 yesterday morning, I looked at my bank account to find out that all my money was g...o...n...e... What the heck???  I had just been paid a couple days earlier and we don't normally even use that account other than to pay bills with my check.  I knew we hadn't used that money.  Bills hadn't been paid yet.

After "investigating" the charges, it quickly became clear that somebody had hacked into my account and had themselves a party.  They did a balance inquiry in my savings account to see what was there, and transferred it to my checking account.  With four swipes of a "clone card" (neither of us had lost our cards) our money was gone by the end of the day Monday.  HOLY CRAP!!!

I called the 1-800 number on the back of my card to report my findings.  Victor, the guy that helped me was very nice.  He said the charges originated out of Atlanta, GA.  He was very helpful getting the charges disputed and let me know that their would be a "provisional" credit to my account in 1-10 business days. It has to be investigated first.  He faxed the papers that needed to be filled out and signed to my bank.  I left school to get them signed so they could be notarized and faxed back immediately.  That wasn't as easy as it sounds though.

Since the fraud happened using Mike's card, he was the one that had to fill out the paperwork and and sign it.  I had to drive all the way across town to his work to get the papers taken care of.  Then, back to the bank.  This whole process took about 45 minutes.  Once I got back, it was time to fax it.  Just my luck, the fax was having trouble connecting.  So, I sat and talked with Mike's cousin Amy, who works at the bank.  (She was doing the faxing for me.)  It was nice to chat with her.  :)  Finally, the papers went through.  YIPPEE!!!!!

Now, it's just time to sit and wait...and hope they catch the guy (or girl) that did this.  Crossing my fingers that the investigation the bank does turns up some information that lets them prosecute the freakin' thieves...

So, are you wondering about the chicken comment I made at the beginning of this blog post?  Well, it's the first thing I thought of after this happened.  You can NEVER count on things (or chickens) to always be there.  Kinda like my money.  I knew it was there, but look what happened.  And, one thing I have learned from this is that it is ALWAYS a good idea to NOT keep all your money (or your chickens) in just one place.  Lesson learned...

To the creep(s) that violated me and my family I just have one thing to say to you...

May the fleas of 1000 camels infest your crotch and may your arms be too short to scratch...

To everybody else, I hope you have a good weekend.  I know we will.  :)

Word of the Week... INSPIRED...

Each week when I go to work I know that I have lots of hats to wear.  I don't want to get into how I have to be the kids' mom, nurse, counselor, etc.  I just want to talk to you about the teacher part.  Sort of....

Each week I give my kiddos a vocabulary list.  It typically goes with the story of the week.  This past week we read the story "Weslandia".  It is about a boy named Wesley that is a bit of an outcast in his town and school.  He invents his own civilization and calls it Weslandia.  It's a pretty fun story that teaches the kids to respect each other's differences and to really be creative in their thinking.  One of the vocabulary words was INSPIRED.  I told the kids that I absolutely love that word.  It is a powerful word that basically means motivated by something or somebody else to do something GOOD.

While trying to help the kids understand the meaning of the word, I kept giving them examples of things that inspire me - art, colors, writing, people, etc.  I also tried to explain what I do when I am inspired by one of the things I told them about.   It is a hard word to really truly understand.  You have to feel it in your soul when you are truly inspired.  It is something that pushes you from the inside.  It is an amazing feeling.  And it got me to thinking...Who inspires me right now?

This is my Aunt Peggy.  She has been inspiring me lately.  She is a teacher that absolutely LOVES what she does and has a "pay it forward" attitude that I want to adopt.  See the pretty pink splint on her arm?  She recently began wearing that splint after spending nearly 7 weeks in a cast as a result of a bicycle accident that severely injured her wrist and arm.  Well, it should be the reason for her to be down in the dumps and crabby.  Now, I know that she gets down.  I know that she gets frustrated.  That's human nature. But, she doesn't let that emotion take over.  She has an amazing way of getting past the "stuff" that brings us down and get to the "stuff" that makes us see the bright side of life.

In addition to writing about her injury and the progress she is making in her recovery, she also writes about her Bucket List on her blog.  Through her I have learned that I need to be grateful for each day and to live life to the fullest.  Don't take the "little things" in life for granted.  I need to take advantage of the opportunities that are presented to me.  It's all about perspective.  My prayer for her is that she continues to heal and gain use of her arm and wrist again and that she continues to live her life to the fullest.  I also pray that she continues to inspire others, at school, through her blog, and in her life in general.

Aunt Peggy, you inspire me and remind me each time I read your blog just how lucky I am to have you as an inspiration in my life.  Not only are you good school teacher, but you are also a great life teacher.  I thank you and love you bunches!

What dog pee will cost you...

It has been approximately 4 months since I slipped in dog pee and hurt my ankle.  (That still cracks me up... It could only happen to me...  If you haven't heard the story, check it out.  It's titled Stoking the Fire or Getting the Boot.  It's quite amusing...)

Since I learned my falling trick I have been back and forth to the foot doc.  I spent the majority of my summer wearing the ortho boot.  It was quite miserable in 100 degree heat and not exactly the most comfortable thing to wear.  On July 26th, I got the wonderful news that I didn't have to wear it any longer, but since it still wasn't completely healed, I needed to get an MRI to see if there was damage that was a little more severe than originally thought.  There wasn't...  So, off to do some physical therapy to strengthen my foot and ankle.

This has been the most interesting of journeys.  Physical therapy actually wasn't completely bad.  Sort of... The therapists decided that I was a prime candidate for dry needling.  Basically, they use acupuncture type needles in the areas of my muscle (that is connected to the injured tendon) to relieve some of my pressure points to help with the pain.  I had NO IDEA that the muscle connected to my injured tendon was so tender, but it really was.  Dry needling is the WEIRDEST thing I have ever had done medically.  The therapist, David, finds the pressure point and works the needle up and down in one spot in my muscle.  Like he sticks the needle in and moves it up and down without taking it out.  One side effect of this is that my muscles twitch involuntarily - kinda like when you go to the chiropractor and they use those electrodes on your muscles.  Not only do your muscles twitch, but they kinda burn too.  Weird thing about it is that it works.  It makes my muscle WAY LESS tense and tender.  That was cool.

I also did something called Graston.  They rub a cream on your affected area and use metal tools to basically give you a deep tissue massage.  It is supposed to help the fibers in your muscles realign themselves so that the pressure points don't form.  Neat idea.  Hurts like HELL when they do it and for at least a day or two afterwards. The last time they did it I ended up with a few bruises.  Looked like I had been in a fight.

After the dry needling and Graston, I had gym time. As out of shape as I am, I still enjoy working out once I get started.  I think I kinda surprised a couple of them with how strong this big girl is. I did some weight lifting and they very quickly realized that this big girl needed bigger weights.  Sister don't play.  (haha!  I have always had super strong legs. Still do even though I haven't worked them out like I should in a long time.)  In addition to the weight lifting, I did some lunges, squats, balancing exercises, toe lifts, calf stretches, etc.  You get the picture.

I worked on this from August 10 until August 31. I went twice a week and honestly saw improvement. At my Aug. 31 reevaluation appointment, my therapist saw a big improvement with my pain.  I could tell it was working too.  Not 100% yet, but getting there.  Yay!!!

On Sept. 1st, my insurance deductible started over at $0.  (School insurance kinda follows the school calender.)  Yesterday was my first PT appointment since it started over.  I already knew going into it that I was responsible for 100% of the charges up to $750.  I also knew that they wanted me to continue coming twice a week for the next 3 weeks.  We all felt that would be best.  EVEN ME...  Well, long story short, I asked when I got to PT what my charges would be for the day.  All I was going to do was exercise in the gym with a therapist assistant telling what my next "thing" would be.  After looking at the fee schedule the receptionist informs me that each session will only be $260.  WHAT!!!!  My response was, "Are you talking about for all of them or just one."  Her reply was "Just one."  HOLY COW!!!  I quickly informed her that wouldn't work.  Not even one time.  She was really nice about it.  We decided to just e-mail the therapist and have her put together a home plan for me to follow.  Made complete sense to me.  Everything I had been doing in the gym, with the exception of about 2-3 exercises were things I could do at home.  I haven't heard back what my home plan will be.  Hopefully tomorrow or Monday I'll have an answer.

So, I am writing this all to say, that while I have a great funny story on how I learned a new trick with dog pee, I did learn a lot about insurance.  I pay a lot for it each month and it absolutely STINKS!!!  It doesn't cover a whole heck of a lot.  It's really a shame...  I can say this though.  I am still improving.  While I'm frustrated that I kinda have a setback on the therapy I feel pretty confident that if I can keep exercising it then it will get better.  Cross your fingers peeps!  (And stay away from the dog pee!)

The Struggle's Over...

And I'm back!  This has been a good week.  Although it is not over I can honestly say that I have learned a lot.  God has been busy working on me this week!

I have learned not to "sweat the small stuff".  Let's look at the big picture here.  Because, really, is the "little stuff" all that important in the big scheme of things?  Not really.  So, I just decided to get over the dress code issue.  I can't change it so why stew about it?  Once I decided that, I had a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.  :)

Ssshhhhh.... Don't tell Mike I said this, but it has felt good going to bed early.  Like actually not crashing on the couch, but going and crawling into bed.  I have formed a bad habit of falling asleep on the couch and not actually going to bed until I wake up between 11:00-1:00.  The past couple nights I have had really good sleep.  So thankful!

I am very thankful for the students I have been given this year.  So far, knock on wood, they are a pretty good bunch of kids.  Some are chatty, some don't listen, and some demand our attention, but I really think I already love this bunch.  I know that the Lord knows my heart and he must know that while some are trying my patience a bit, I needed a group of kids like these to rejuvenate my love of teaching.  I am excited to be with them.  That is a good feeling.  :)

I was also reminded just how important it is to pray for others.  It is POWERFUL!  My friend Karessa began a blog called The Prayer Project.  (Click on the name to check it out!)  Each day she chooses somebody specific to pray for.  What an amazing thing to do!  Today, she chose to pray for ME.  Wow!  She texted me that today she was praying specifically for me.  I couldn't wait to get home from school to read her prayer for me.  It made my day before I had even read the blog.  Somebody was thinking about me and blessing me. Karessa, I can honestly say that you know me girl!  I feel lucky to have her as a friend and even luckier to know that she met the prayer needs that I did not even realize I needed.

Our God has been working on my girls as well.  For that I am most thankful.  I am blessed that this week he has helped both of them get enough rest so that we are not fussing at each other in the mornings.  I pray that this continues for us!  The two of them have been amazing in the mornings this week!  Girls, I love you both so very much!

I am sure that God has been working in my husband's life as well.  He has seen that I have been tired and has picked up my slack for me this week.  It has been much appreciated.  When I told my coworker about it, she said, "You know you are one lucky girl.  He's a good guy."  You know what?  She is right.  :)

Tomorrow is Friday and while I look forward to spending time with my school kiddos, I am looking forward to 3:30 pm.  I am still human and I am ready for the weekend!  Not sure what we will be doing, but I look forward to whatever it may be!

Tomorrow's a New Day...

I have been struggling the past couple days.  My attitude was completely out of whack over a situation I had absolutely NO control over.  For whatever reason, I had my feathers COMPLETELY ruffled.  That is really out of character for me, and I really do not like the way it makes me feel...

So, I have decided that tomorrow is a new day.  A new attitude.  I am determined not to let anyone or anything ruffle my feathers.  I am going to be the "good ol' me" again.  After all, I don't have it as bad as some people.

I am fortunate enough to have a loving caring family that understands that Mommy is indeed human.  My husband is supportive and went with me to find new shoes.  He actually shopped for shoes with me.  He didn't just sit there and wait - he was looking too.  For that I am thankful.  Love you babe.  :)

I am also fortunate enough to be able to afford to get my new shoes.  There will be children who come to me this week that come from families that are financially unable to get many new things for them.  I need to remember how God has blessed my family.  Often, we take all we have for granted.  I needed to step back and remember that today.

This weekend was busy and it was good.  It reminded me how lucky I am each day.  I enjoyed being with my family as we bustled around getting ready to go back to school.  It is funny how close we can be when we are so busy.  I pray that as we end the chapter that was summer 2011 we begin the next chapter in our lives with lots of love, laughter, and success.

Bent Out of Shape...

Anybody that knows me knows that I am pretty dang laid back and I roll with the punches.  I am pretty flexible and open minded.  Basically, I think I'm pretty easy to be around and work with.  It takes A LOT to get my feathers ruffled.  Usually...

This past week we received our employee dress code.  It changed a little, but at first I was okay with it because I didn't think that what I owned would be affected by it.  Little did I know....

On Friday, we were in a meeting and had a couple items on the dress code "clarified" for us.  By the time my principals were finished, I was completely bent out of shape.  I was angry/upset for the entire day and I just could not change my attitude about it.  This is very unusual for me.  Please note that I was not upset with my principals.  They were just the messengers.  Not their fault at all....

Our dress code states that we may not wear shower shoes/beach shoes/flip flops.  In my mind I am thinking we are talking about the rubber flip flops that you pay $2 for at Old Navy.  I agree that those are completely inappropriate at school.  The flops that I own are thicker soled and "blinged out" in some way.  Definitely not shoes I'd wear in either the shower or at the beach.  They are either covered in some sort of animal print "fur" material or they are covered in crystals.  Shoes I wear to church.  They are super comfy and they have enough "sparkly junk" on them that I could wear them with a formal.  Should be good for school if they're good for church or a formal, right?  Apparently not...  :(  We were informed that if we had flip flops we could not wear them if they floated or had a foam or rubber sole.  Well, people, that is all I OWN!  All my "blinged out" flops have such a sole.   I have spent lots of money on these flips! All I could think of is that now I had NO shoes to wear to school.  :(

The other item that really got me was that teachers could no longer wear leggings.  Seriously???  Our student dress code became more lenient on leggings this year (Outer garments can be as much as 5 inches above the knee instead of 3 inches as long as leggings were worn underneath.)  Teachers are banned completely.  Somebody really did not think this through.  I am a "big girl" that does like to wear cute dresses from time to time.  I have a couple knee length dresses that completely meet dress code.  It is acceptable for me to wear them to school.  However, being a big girl I feel a bit exposed in those knee length dresses so I like to wear leggings under them.  I am sure some of my coworkers appreciate me covering them up too.  lol   I am covered up with them and feel less self-conscience when I wear them.  Plus I don't have to worry about some 5th or 6th grade boy looking up my dress as I walk up the stairs at school.  Has anybody thought about these things???  I think NOT!!!

So I stewed all day long yesterday.  These two things completely ruined my day.  Now, I know that I let them ruin my day, but I was really frustrated for a few reasons:

#1 - I work my butt off at my job.  I give my heart and soul to those kids while I am there, and sometimes, when I am not there.  I dress professionally and act professionally.  I have a good relationship with my colleagues, admin, students, and parents.  Why, then, do certain people feel the need to take away a couple of my "creature comforts"?  Is it really that important?  Will it seriously change the way I conduct my business from day to day?

#2 - We received the dress code approximately a week before school started but only clarification on such items on Friday.  That left me the weekend to correct my wardrobe.  On tax free weekend no less.  I really did NOT want to fight the crowds.

#3 - I have issues with my feet.  In the past few years it has become increasingly difficult for me to find school shoes that don't make my feet hurt so bad it feels like that are being gnawed off.  For some reason the flips work for me.  Dress shoes are stiff, have a hard sole, and are just plain uncomfortable. Plus, they are expensive.  Flips have a cushy sole, are not binding, and while I do spend up to $50 on a pair, they are still less expensive than dress shoes.  Have you priced good dress shoes lately?

#4 - We were given the dress code just a few days before school started.  Had they told us earlier in the summer I (and other people I have talked to) would not have spent good money on shoes I/we couldn't wear.  Why weren't we given this information earlier?  When we were buying school clothes  throughout the summer we were following the dress code that had always been acceptable.  Now, it is too late to take back those items and most people probably don't have the money to go shopping again.

If I could write a letter to the people who made the dress code, it might say something like this:

Dear Dress Code Makers,

In order to comply with your wishes I spent $239 out of my savings account today on 3 pairs of dress shoes. Because I am on my feet all day I was not able to get "cheap" shoes.  I MUST have shoes with some level of comfort in them.  Apparently, if you want/need comfort, you must pay for it.  I thank you for that.

My dresses will no longer be worn to school.  Without my leggings under them, I feel very exposed and unprofessional.  But, mostly, I do not want to give 5th and 6th grade boys the opportunity to look up my dress as I walk up the stairs.  I will retire those items to my closet only to be worn to church on Sundays.

I have no problem following your dress code.  I think it is important  But, please consider your teachers' reasons for changing these things back to the way they were in the past.  I believe you are asking us to be professional.  LOOK professional.  Your request is not out of line.  But, I can honestly say that on my campus, there isn't a day that goes by that my colleagues don't look and act professional.  Knowing the type of people that are employed by my district, I am sure that the same can be said for the other campuses as well.  We employ great people and in turn have a great district.

Thank you for your time.

Brandy


Friends, thanks for letting me vent.  I am not a complainer, and I rarely ask for anything.  I am actually pretty open-minded and have a ton of patience.  Sometimes, though, things just rub a girl the wrong way and she's got to let it out.  Thanks for being my sounding board and know that while I am upset now, I will be back to the "good ol' me" by Monday.

Out With the Old, In With the New, and Other Random Stuff...

Welcome Back to School!  It's that time of the year.  Summer is over and I officially say adios to my crop of kiddos from last year.  New kiddos are on my roll sheets and in my grade book.  My room has once again been rearranged so that I can make the most out of my space and hopefully give my kiddos a comfortable place to learn.  I have lots of ideas running through my head, and even though I am NOT ready for my summer to be over, I am getting more motivated each day.  I have a couple weeks of lesson plans completed, to-do lists ready to go, and lots of organizing and meetings in the works.  I think I'll be ready to meet my new kiddos on Thursday of next week.  Cross your fingers they are ready to meet me too!  :)

On another note, I started something new.  I created a Facebook page for my Creative Soul photography, frames, and accessories.  I am a little nervous about it.  What if people look at my stuff and don't like it?  What if they think, "I can do that."  I hope that doesn't go through their heads, but the little devil on my shoulder just has to give me his two cents worth.  I need to find a way to shut him up.  lol  My Facebook page currently has mostly my photography on it.  I have a couple frames and I have several more to load to the page.  I think I'll stretch it out a bit so I can get them on there a few at a time and keep the page fresh.  I have already had some people ask me about my photography, and I have received a couple frame orders.  That is exciting to me!  I am so looking forward to creating the frames, and I am REALLY looking forward to shooting some pictures.  If you would like to "Like" my Creative Soul Facebook page, just go to the following link to get there.  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Creative-Soul/203339773055702

I went to my first physical therapy appointment for my ankle and foot yesterday.  I saw 2 therapists and they both said that I had great mobility in my joints and that was really good.  They also did some "testing" on my calf to see if I had tender spots.  Turns out I do and didn't even know it!  Apparently, the tendon that I hurt is connected to the muscle that runs up the inside of our calf muscles.  It is tender and sore and I didn't even realize it until they started messing with it.  Compared to my other leg, it is extremely tender.  I guess we humans compensate for our pain by "stressing" other parts that are connected to the injured area to help compensate for the injury.  In my case the calf hurts.  

They decided to do 15 minutes of needling and 45 minutes of gym time.  Needling consists of using acupuncture needles placed in very tender spots in the muscle to relieve the tenderness and pain.  This is also good for plantar fasciaitis, which I have, so I am pretty excited that I will have help with that.  I am not 100% sure what the gym time will incorporate.  One of the therapists mentioned picking up items with my toes to help strengthen the muscles in my feet so they can help ultimately help support my tendon.  I was nervous going in to the appointment as I didn't know what to expect, but now I am a bit excited since I know what we are doing, and we will FINALLY be able to make things better and back to normal.  I'll keep you updated on my progress.  We are shooting to have this completed by August 31st!  Cross your fingers and say a prayer for me!  

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest...

Or in our case, it just flew all over the bathroom.  And it was pretty funny.  At least now it is...   :)

This is Miley.  (In drag apparently.  My girls like to dress her up in doll clothes and do photo shoots.  I don't think she enjoys the "attention" all that much...)  

Miley is quite the hunter.  I guess she is like many other cats and prowls and hunts from time to time.  She just likes to bring it to her "room" - AKA the bathroom - to "play" with her captured treasures.  So far, other than the 4 grass snakes and one baby bird that she has caught I have been the one that has taken care of all her prized possessions.  So glad today was different.

This morning, Miley dashed through the doggy door and Mike immediately heard screeching and saw wings a-flappin' from her mouth.  She dashed straight the bathroom.  Mike chased after her and yelled at both Dixie and Miley.  Miley let go of the bird and it started flying all around the bathroom.  We got the cat and the dogs away from the bathroom and then we (he) had to figure out how to catch the mockingbird she brought in.

We had some empty tubs with lids in the garage so Mike took one into the bathroom.  I helped by shutting the bathroom door and making sure there was no excitement in the hall outside the bathroom. :D  It took a few minutes of him talking softly to settle the bird down.  He was finally able to corner the dang bird and catch it.
 
We (Mike) took the bird out to the backyard and opened the tub up by our peach tree.  I think he figured it might go in the tree to hide.  Instead, it hauled feathers to the back fence and the trees behind it.

I have to make this disclaimer.  I am VERY GLAD Mike was home when this happened.  To be quite honest, if this had happened when he was not home it is VERY likely that mockingbird would have been flying around in my bathroom all day long until Mike got home.

Life is good....   :D

And the verdict is...

Well, it took a few days before I could make this post.  Crazy busy week.  And school hasn't even started yet.  Sheesh...

Well, my trip to see Dr. Witt on Wednesday had results I certainly didn't expect.  He starts off by tell me, "I have good news and bad news."

Good news = There are NO rips or tears in my ankle tendon.  Yay!!!  
Bad news = There is fluid surrounding my tendon.  Not sure why.  So, he thinks I need to strengthen the tendon.  He'd like me to go to physical therapy 2-3 times a week for the next 4 weeks.  Oh, and each session is about an hour long.

Ummmm.... hello!   School is starting!  How am I going to find time to do this?  I don't know, but I guess I will.  A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

I go back to see him in 5-6 weeks to see if things are better.  If things are not better then he will have to do exploratory surgery.

All I know is that I am ready for this to be over.  It has gone on long enough!  I can't  believe I'm about to type this, but I think I hear my treadmill calling me!  hehe

Is We or Ain't We...

If my first and second grade teacher read the title to this post I think I'd be in trouble...  She couldn't stand for her kiddos to use the word ain't....because it ain't a word.  I agree with her....somewhat....but I still like to use it from time to time...  Sorry Mrs. Dobson.  Although I don't use it often, sometimes it just feels.....appropriate.  :)

Tomorrow will be a somewhat busy day.  In the morning I have a photo shoot in Kilgore.  I am shooting pics of Mike's cousin's daughter.  She is a middle school cheerleader and I am looking forward to shooting pics of her in her uniform.  I'll post them when I get them edited and ready.  I'm excited!

After the photo shoot I am hoping to get my question answered.  Is we or ain't we?  That's the question.  Everybody that has listened to me gripe about my foot and ankle has told me that I'll probably "have surgery".  My reply has been "shut it" every time they tell me that.  I haven't been willing to admit that they might just be right.

I figured we'll just cross that bridge when we get there.  Well, I see the bridge ahead and I'm a little anxious.  What will my doc say that he saw on the MRI?  Will it be something easy to fix or not?  Will I be walking or hobbling around when school starts?  Will I have to miss some of the inservice days of school before the kids actually start?  Lots of questions I want answered...  Hmmmm.......  The next 12 hours might be kinda long.  Hope I can sleep some of them away tonight!  Update tomorrow...

Waiting...

This past Monday I saw my doctor and had my foot and ankle rechecked.  Not a lot of progress...  :(  Boo!!!  While he did tell me that I could choose to wear my boot or my tennis shoes, whichever is more comfortable on my foot and ankle, I was disappointed.  I kinda knew that he'd tell me it wasn't healed since I have been having pain even in the boot.  He said I needed an MRI in order to see what was going on.  Maybe some small tears???  Sheesh!

Thursday finally got here and I went to the MRI place.  I was expecting the MRI to be quick and easy.  That's how it always looks on TV.  I soon found out that wasn't going to be the case... 

I learned that the MRI is done using a very strong magnet and it flips the protons in the area of the body it is scanning.  So strong that it literally pulled the technician's earring out of her ear when she got too close to it.  I often wear 2 small bobby pins in my hair and it lifted them up!  Crazy!  But cool...  

I got on the table -  that seemed about 2 inches wide - on my back first.  Talk about uncomfortable! I only had to go into the MRI machine up to my waist.  I marked that I was NOT claustrophobic, but honestly, I think I may be slightly to moderately claustrophobic.  I was very relieved that I didn't have to go all the way in the machine.  This last about 25-30 minutes.  The machine was loud, I was super uncomfortable, and I had to stay as still as possible.  Not easy.  Very soon after we got started I wished I had asked her to turn on the radio.  When I finally got finished with that I had to flip over and do it all over again.  This time I was more comfortable and had the radio on.  It seemed to go by much much faster.  

While I was in there Allison was hanging out in the waiting room.  I later saw a post she made on Facebook that cracked me up.  It read...

"how funm is it to sit in the docters office for a long time and play on ur phone and ipod and listen to a 40 year old lady talk about all the things that are wrong with her and talk about her family while ur mom is getting a mri"

I cracked up later when I saw this on facebook.  I can just see her sitting in the waiting room listening to this conversation.   

A little less than an hour and a half after my appointment time I was finally done!  I was really surprised that it lasted that long!  I hoped to hear my results the next day, but Friday came and went and I am still waiting.    Crossing my fingers that I will hear something tomorrow.  I am anxious to know what the plan will be for getting my ankle and foot to the point that it doesn't hurt after I have been on it for less than 30 minutes.  Cross your fingers I hear tomorrow!