Give 'Em Grandchildren

So Mom and Dad were on their own for Friday, but Saturday we got down to their home by 12:30! We needed to go down anyways Sunday morning to pick up Moe, so we just went down early to visit the grandparents! Here are some pictures I caught of the kids with Grandma:

Kenya and Grandma:

Naomi and Grandma:

Micah and Grandma being silly together:

We didn't come just for pleasure, we put them to WORK!!







WE LOVE YOU!!

Double Trouble

Angela here. I ended up leaving SLC around 1:20 on Thursday in the afternoon. I didn't have time to do a post before leaving. That day was a busy one. Dad and I left the house by 7:30 AM to have two of Dad's wisdom teeth pulled. We returned by 9:30 AM!! I couldn't believe how fast it was! Even though it was just a local, meaning they didn't put him under, it was still super fast. I felt so bad leaving both of my parents: Dad just getting his wisdom teeth pulled, and Mom fresh surgery!! Mom assured me that they would be fine. Above is a picture of my crippled parents!! The rest of the day was spent running errands to get them all settled with meds, things from the grocery store, an errand to the post office, etc and then getting "some" cleaning done. Good thing they had each other, and they did survive :)

Post-op Day 3

Last night did not go as smoothly as the night before, Mom did not sleep well because of the pain. I ended up giving Mom her pain medication along with the anti-nausea around 9ish and got her and Dad settled into bed. Well around 12:30 last mom woke me up as she was headed to the restroom, saying she was having A LOT of pain. For some reason this surgery the pain has been more intense, she's described it as a burning sensation. She did have one more incision with a bone worked on that I wasn't aware of before, I guess one more thing makes all the difference...So I first gave her a roll to eat and then another dose of the oxycodone, but not the phenergan (anti-nausea), because it wasn't time yet for that. Thank-goodness it all went smoothly with no nausea. Then I think it was around 6:30 she called to me as I was checking on her, saying it was really hurting again. I wanted to get some breakfast in her first, but she didn't want to wait for that, so I gave her some Tylenol (1 pill was all we had left, I need to buy some more today for her :) . That didn't cut it, so I gave her 1/2 tablet of the Norco that she had left over from her previous surgery with her breakfast a little while later. Still didn't cut it, and after getting her settled in the chair, she said her pain level was around an 7-8 out of ten! She didn't want to take any more, but I guess I won in this case because I ended up giving her 2 oxycodones, her baby aspirin AND the phenergan--I wanted to get on top of the pain! Well it did the trick=no pain; with extreme sleepiness being a major side-effect. That's okay, because she needs to be resting anyways. I've been watching her closely making sure her respirations are up to speed like they should be, and all is well in that area. I'm glad we were able to get her pain back under control, even if I had to zonker her! I've learned through nursing that being free of pain is a crucial aspect of the healing process. So now she rests. She's been so sweet through it all, always telling me thank-you and how much she appreciates me doing this. I couldn't have asked for a better patient...

UPDATE (11:30): Just got back from the grocery store, running errands. It was good because it gave both Mom and Dad some uninterrupted sleep! Also, I stand corrected! Mom said that I had gotten up one more time with her during the night, I think it was around 3 or 4 in the morning. It was a busy night, I think I was trying to block it all out, LOL!

Dad came home early from the mission, around 10 AM, because he isn't feeling well, guess I'll have two to take care of now! :) Hopefully he starts feeling better because I'm suppossed to take him in tomorrow to have three wisdom teeth pulled that Mom set up AND I'm supposed to go back home tomorrow! Busy, busy!

Post-op Day 2

Last night I got mom to bed and settled, around 9:30, but wanted to wait until 11PM to give her the pain pill so that she could take the phenergan (anti-nausea) with it (the phenergan wasn't due till then. ) I gave her the option of taking the tylenol around 9 but she said that she really wasn't feeling any pain. At 11 it was the same thing, and so mom went the WHOLE NIGHT without any pain medication and slept great! This morning though when she got up to use the restroom around 7:30, the pain was severe. We were able to get it under control with two pain pills, instead of the usual one along with the anti-nausea medication and aspirin. About three hours later I gave her Tylenol to take the edge off, and around 2 we will give the big stuff again :)

Mom said the pain seems stronger this time, so we are trying to stay on top of it. Also, the way the cast was cut this time was lower, so it has been digging into her toes, so I tucked some cotton balls under her toes (you might be able to tell in the picture), to help and she said that made a big difference. Also the area she feels the pain this time is different, and weird considering it isn't at the surgical site, it's at the base of her leg on the top! I'm trying to keep her foot elevated and ice off and on 20 minutes at a time. It's been great to be able to give back this time, since Mom has given so much to me mutiple times throughout my life. I've found the time relaxing, satisfying, and wonderful to be able to sit with Mom and just chat and have some heart to heart. I love my mom! She is an amazing spiritual giant and such a strong example to me!

Below is a side by side picture of Mom's feet and legs to show how she will look in a few! Dr. Morgan when he looked at her left foot yesterday said that her foot was still a little swollen, but that was to be expected and normal. Mom is just as cheerful and go-getter as ever! I've had to remind her several times to just take it easy, that I'm here to help her while she recovers. It has been a great honor to be able to do this for my angel mother. Now I need to leave to get her some vegetable soup, a roll and juice! Till the next update...

Even having surgery won't keep Mom down!! Here's a video of her after lunch cracking some walnuts she got from Aunt Coleen! (She doesn't know I'm video-taping her by the way...)

Day of Surgery

After checking Mom in (9:45) , get this, the lady didn't even CHECK her pictured ID!! Imagine that and all the stress over finding it :) I think the lady just forgot because there was a plaque there saying to make sure you had your picture ID with you when checking in. We did all of the pre-op stuff and waited a very long time. They were supposed to take her back at 11:20, but they didn't actually take her back till around noon.

After the surgery was completed, Dr. Morgan came out to talk with me and said that Mom did really well and that the surgery went great! She will have the same type of recovery as last time. Then I went to the recovery waiting area and at the very end they let me back to be with Mom. I have to say I was a little dissapointed. I wanted to see Mom silly and all, but she was pretty with it, just tired. They said that she couldn't sign any legal documents today, oh man! I wanted to help her put together her living will today with me as the main beneficiary LOL! Mom was released from the hospital at 2:45, we went straight to pick up her medications and then home. We got home around 3:40 and Dad had gotten home early from the mission to see Mom. He was a real sweetheart and drove the automatic wheelchair out to get Mom from the car.

Once at home, Mom just wanted to sleep! Imagine that :) Around 4:40 I got some vegetable soup, bread and juice for her and then at 5 PM we started her oxycodone, baby aspirin, and phenergan. I have to tell you that I was a little nervous because last time she got really nauseated and had a lot vomitting with the medication. So far so good....She's just extremely tired, she says more so than last time, and she says that the pain has returned a lot quicker than last time.

I took pictures at the hospital, but forgot to put the memory card back into the camera and Mom doesn't have the cable to upload the pictures! Hopefully down the road it will happen...

After we got home though I put the memory card back in and took these pictures/videos, enjoy!

(Above) Here's Mom's foot after getting home.

Below: Mom being silly showing how tired she is. Above her pretty smile in spite of being exhausted :)

Below: The x-ray Dr. Morgan took after the surgery.

The next video is of Mom showing off her crutches skills.

Will the surgery really happen?

This is going to be a super quick entry since we need to be leaving soon...BTW this is Angela using my mom's blogger account to keep everyone updated on Mom's status with her surgery. We will be checking into Tosh Othropedic Specialty hospital this morning at 9:45, so if you read this in a timely manner, please keep Mom in your prayers! She will be having surgery on her right foot. I will do my best to update as we go.

I flew in last night from Idaho (we had been camping up near Alturas Lake), and Mom and Dad picked me up at the airport around 7:15. Mom was feeling stressed because she couldn't find her purse and they said that when she checks in today she needs a picture ID. So when we got to their home, Mom and I set off on a mission to find either her purse or passport!

We looked for quite awhile but to no avail. We even called all of the siblings that had been in Mom's place recently to see if they had accidently taken the purse home with them. Nothing. We kept looking and eventually I found her passport out on a stand that she keeps her printer on. I felt like celebrating, so Dad and I had Creamies. But the stress had taken it's toll on Mom, and she just wanted to go to bed! Thanks to all those who prayed on Mom's behalf, we still have yet to find her purse, but a picture ID we have!

Please pray for Mom and the doctors. Until the next update...

Our Transfer

WE HAVE ARRIVED!!!!!

We came through Ellis Island. We're loving our new home and feel so blessed to be here.

We have received our 2nd transfer. We are now serving in the Family Search Center in the Joseph Smith Building. This is still part of our old zone just a different area.

We were transfered because there was alot more for Elder Bingham to do. He is soooo happy. He is able to do many more things over here. He makes up the packets for all the bus tours. Does the hourly and the half hour counts of patrons visiting the library and is the officially organizer for the center. He makes the rounds frequently making sure the chairs, pencils and papers are placed in order. It really frees the rest of us up to help the patrons. He will also manage the desk and answer the phone if we are running short of missionaries. He makes material runs if we are low on items and need them from the library. He loves to tease the young Sister Missionaries and they love him. And of course he teases all of us on the floor making it fun for all. Truly we miss our dear friends at the Library and yet this is where we are suppose to be.

Here we are both sporting Elder Bingham's new straw hat. It is getting hot and this keeps him a bit cooler. Our hours are now 8:30 to 5:00 everyday with Thursdays being our P-day. I miss our Satudays off but at the same time it is nice to have a day off in the middle of the week.

We can't believe that there are only 3 1/2 months left. It has gone way to fast. We truly love our mission and will miss the many spiritually experiences we have each day as we help others find their families.

We love our Heavenly Father, Our Savior and their gospel. IT IS TRUE!!!!!!

Surgery

I really know why I don't blog. All I have to do is try and I remember why I haven't done it for the past year. I've been working on this for the last 45 min. and I am now starting over. Anyway this one is just for the record books, not sure who's. I, Ilene had bunion surgery on March 1st. They said they were going to break the bone in my big toe to straighten it and put 2 screws in it. After that they would take a piece of bone off my heel to graft over this. They would also make an incision on the side of the big toe to cut the bunion off. They didn't tell me this but I asked questions 2 weeks later when they took the bandages off and there was a large incision between my big toe and the next one. They cut a muscle or something to help relax the muscle so it wouldn't pull the toe inward again. The above picture is taken on Wed. the 16th so 15 days after the surgery. It is still quite swollen but they said that was normal with as much as they did.

The next two pictures are just showing the bruising on the inside of the foot.

I don't know how this got upside down and I'm not going to try and figure it out so you can. It shows the incision on the heel for the graft.

This is a pretty good view of both feet. The doctor said that the right foot is actually worse than the left. We'll see how this one works out before deciding to do the other one.

Heidi came down on Sunday so she would be here to take me to the hospital on Monday. I was so glad she was here. I really thought it was going to be a piece of cake but it has been harder than I thought. We got home and I took the pain pills, they made me so sick. It was not fun. Heidi called and got a new pain prescription and some anti nausa medicine. She was so sweet. She set her alarm and got up every 3 0r 4 hours to make sure I was okay. She stayed until Wednesday afternoon. She brought down Thomas and it was so fun to interact with him. What a sweet boy.

Mardy came down Wednesday afternoon and stayed until Sat. Morning. I was always in such good hands. Clarie was a doll. I'll tell you she is one cute chick! Camille and Mike came late Friday night and were here until Sunday afternoon. I am soooo thankful for good kids. They all called and checked in on me and I felt their prayers. The mission friends have been taking great care of us as well. Bringing in food, one Elder took Robert to have his wisdom tooth pulled the Wednesday after my surgery. Heidi was going to but it was such a blessing to have him do it. Robert did great with it and was so bored that he wanted to go back to work the next day or was it that afternoon???? Nancy, Robert's sister brought in dinner and came over to clean house or whatever (I was so glad to have her vacume.) I appeciated all the calls and care. Thanks!!!!

I went back to work on rhw 8th. Maybe a day or two to soon but I was glad to be back. I've been using Robert's power chair. All it took was one day on crutches and I wa soooo glad for that chair. I couldn't let Robert have all the fun. Besides I need to get my moneys worth. He had been totally out of it for several months. Miracles!!!!!!!! He has been so sweet to me and has been doing a great job taking care of me. I just have to make sure he gets to exercise every day.

Sorry this was so long. I guess once I got going I just kept going.
Thanks again for all your love!

I'm not sure if I can make this post buy I'll give it a try. I, Ilene had bunion surgery on Monday, March 1st. In the surgery they broke the bone in my big toe and put 2 screws in it. Then they cut a piece of bone off my heel to graft over the screws. The next incision was on the side of the big to cut the extra bone off. I didn't know they were ding this but they made another incision between the big toe and the next one and cut some muscle or something to relax the big toe so it wouldn't be pulled in but go straight. It was an out patient surgery and I don't think I was in surgery for more than an hour. We had to wait for ever it seems before they took me into the operating room.