Dennis Visit

Dennis has worked at UPS for almost 10 yrs…he recently decided to get his CDL A.  After graduating from the driving school and becoming licensed, he was hired for an OTR truck driving company.  He is in Columbus for 3 wks for their orientation and training.
We decided to go down to visit for the weekend.  Luckily, we chose a weekend full of free activites!
I had a giftcard for Applebee’s, so after checking into the hotel, we headed over for lunch.

  On the way there, we saw a free Church event, so as soon as we were done eating, we headed over for play time.

I had read about a hot-air balloon festival about 25 mins from the hotel, so that was our next stop.
How awesome is this?  Also, a free event – it included bouncy houses and free art stuff. 

On the way back to the room, we grabbed some pizza and treats.  The girls were pretty worn out from all the activities and crashed shortly after they ate! 
It was great to see Dennis, we miss him so much.  Can’t wait til he’s able to come home!

Motorcycles = DVT's & Contest Winner

For as long as I can remember I have been scared of motorcycles. My dad had one for a long time when I was younger. My aunt & uncle also did. My cousins used to ride w/them all the time.
I didn't want to. My aunt forced me on one when I was abt 3. I don't know if she scarred me, but I have never been on one since.
In 1976, my dad had a motorcycle accident. He developed DVT's.
They are nothing to joke about. Throughout the rest of his life he'd occasionally be hospitalized b/c of them. I never realized how serious they were - I was a kid.
When I was pregnant w/Cadence, I developed DVT's. Eight of them..the longest was 2 ft long. In my left calf & thigh. It was extremely serious & dangerous. I was in the hospital for week & a 1/2. Because of the family history, I'm on coumadin forever. I hate it. I hate that it's basically a rat poison, I hate that it's so dangerous...I hate that I need it.
When I was pregnant, I had to do lovenox shots b/c coumadin is dangerous to the baby.
My dad ending up dying because of blood clots. One broke loose & traveled to his lungs. Worst day of my life.

Anyway, Dennis had a motorcycle accident in November & broke his leg. He finally started physical therapy 3 wks ago. His leg has been SUPER swollen. He went for a doppler on Thurdsay...yep, he has blood clots. Two small ones in his right calf. Have I mentioned I hate motorcycles?

It's been a long weekend. Thankfully b/c they are small, he was able to come home instead of being admitted. He has to take coumadin for 6 mos. He has to do lovenox shots for 6 days until the coumadin builds up in his system.

Seriously - I wanted to shake him & tell him this is why I didn't want him to have a motorcycle. But I didn't. He was freaked out about everything & I didn't think the "I told you so's" would help the situation.

So, that is why I'm a day late on announcing the winner...
The winner is:

True Random Number Generator Min:1 Max:6 Result: 5 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Sierra - please send me your info. You didn't leave an email address, so I'm not sure how to get back to you. Please respond by 1/27/12 - thank you!

I don't know why I can't get the generator to post on my blog...but it's frustrating me to no end, so I give up.
The next contest will be this weekend - so stop back by & try then! :)

Lipoma Surgery Day - UPDATED!

Today Dennis is having surgery to remove his lipomas...actually, right now.... I just left him as they wheeled him back to the operating room.
He has 11 in his right arm, but the dr is only removing 6 b/c the other 5 are too small & he said he'd end up in there digging around and causing scar tissue.

Dennis is excited to be getting them removed.  He's had them for years but as of late they have been bothering him.  If he bumps them or the kids jump on him & hit them they shoot pain down his arm to his hand. 

The recovery time will be about 3 weeks and then he'll go back in for his left arm.  He has 4 in that one.  The dr said they'll keep coming back - he's had patients come in and have up to 10 surgeries to remove them...he said it can be 50 - 100 lipomas per person.  Dennis cringed - but right now he just wants the painful ones removed.

After I get him home & settled in, I'm going to take the girls to the park & for ice cream. 

This little guy greated us as we entered the hospital this morning!

Cadence has a competition tomorrow morning for another Cheer 4 A Cure.  I'll have to get her home to get her showered & to bed early.  After the C4AC she will be going to a beauty pagent w/her team b/c the girls will be performing during..pagent 1/2 time - or whatever it's called  :)

I can't wait to see the girls perform tomorrow - they are so cute when they get out on the floor with their hair all done up & their makeup on.  Cai LOVES comps!  Hopefully Dennis will feel well enough to go.

Still another hour before his surgery is complete...guess I'll read my book for awhile...


UPDATE!!!

Dennis is out of surgery & in recovery. I'm waiting to go back to see him. The dr (who is very good looking & has the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen - ahem) said he did great. They were able to remove all 6. The largest one was sitting on top of a nerve, which is why everytime he bumped it, he had shooting pain.
Healing time will be about 3 weeks and then they'll do the left arm!
While sitting in the waiting room, I joyously sat next to a woman on her cell phone talking to a family member about her son. He apparently has moved in to some trailer park w/this trailer trash family - that lives on welfare. She's dissapointed b/c she knows they are going to bring him down. She told the g/f she was a slut & the girls mom got on the phone & told her she was going to kick her ass.
ummm...sweet? sounds like you in-laws are going to get along well. The kicker - the girl told her she was pregnant, but her son denied it. Sounds like a healthy relationship...
Anyhoo....Thanks for the prayers!!