December 2007 Updates

I wanted to write and give an update on some things going on in my life.

Medical Updates

I will be going to my first physical therapy appointment or physio as they call it here, here on Monday. It will only be a consultation to see what we are going to try. I think this time around there will greater emphasis on hands off therapy as I have made it very clear that I don’t intend to be poked and prodded anymore. My therapist, Margot, seems to be agreeable to that idea. I am also pleasantly surprised at the very in-depth and insightful questionnaire they have had me fill out. It goes the normal stuff, but also asks about the psychological effects and how the pain affects daily activities. It makes me hopeful that they may be able to help.

I also will be having my first psychologist appointment on Friday next week. I will be trying to get some tips to help me cope with the pain and maybe some relaxation tips. In addition, although I am not entirely excited about meeting with him, it might be a relief to talk to somebody about how bad my ankle sucks without having to feel guilty that I am hurting them by telling them how I feel. One added bonus is that I will be seeing Brent, the base psychologist, and I can see him as often as I want for free! You gotta love saving money!

I am hoping that this approach of having several people attack my disorder from different angles will bring me some good results. Now in Australia I will have a general practitioner coordinating my care and helping me with prescriptions, a pain management specialist, a physical therapist specializing in pain, and a psychologist. Lord, please help all of these people to be able to help me and relief the terrible pain I am feeling!

Birthday Update

On Tuesday, December 18^th, 2007 at 3:18am I will turn 27 year old. Yippy! Please pray that I will become one of God’s helpers this year and no longer need so much help from others, but that if I do need help, I will not be afraid to ask or be ashamed of needing it.

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas…wait…no it’s not!!

Well, as the title says, my house is definitely not looking very Christmassy. We still have not received our shipment with all of our things that were sent here by boat from the states. All of our things are in Adelaide right now, where they have been since November 11^th for customs to inspect. We had a call asking about scuba gear, and another asking about what medications were in the shipment. These slight problems caused some delays, but for goodness sakes! Until we get our shipment, I have no Christmas tree or little M&M Star Wars ornaments to put out for Travis. I had also ordered Christmas stockings, stocking holders, and an advent calendar from Target, but we haven’t received that delivery yet either.

My darling husband, seeing my sadness over all this, went out and got a little Christmas town that lights up and some Christmas lights to put up. We also were lucky enough to get a few Christmas cards. I burst out crying when I got them. I was feeling so thankful for friends and family…and also missing them like crazy! I am keeping my fingers crossed that we will be able to get more in the spirit in the next week. If anyone has some ideas to help get us in the spirit…please pass them along.

Photos and Fonts

I got the greatest CD from Creative Memories right before I had to deactivate as a consultant. It has 3 fonts you can download as well as 35 scenery pictures you can use for scrapbooks. Finally, it had a coupon for the base price of creating a digital scrapbook. I am currently using the font called Katie. I also wanted to include a few pictures of what Christmas time should look like outside. Enjoy!!

A Few Random Things

About a month ago we had about two weeks when it rained almost every day on and off. I thought it wasn't supposed to rain in the desert!! These pictures are proof of the rain taken from our covered front porch.



I think pretty much everyone knows that my wonderful husband, Travis, has had a flat top haircut for most of his life. It is the end of an era!! I took these pictures after I gave Travis an at home haircut. I did attempt a flat top, but it was pretty disastrous looking!! I should have taken pictures of that. Anyways...this is what it ended up looking like. I don't think I did too bad considering I have only attempted at home hair cutting once before in my life. That was my dad's hair and it turned out REALLY bad.


And finally...our buddy the gecko. Our little friend shows up every evening on our covered porch. It's almost like we have a pet! This is the best picture I have been able to grab of him.


I have been checking out every one's blogs and have really enjoyed all of the Christmas entries. Hopefully we will receive our Christmas decorations before Christmas. Our things have been held up in customs for a couple weeks, so we will have to keep our fingers crossed.

Meds, a Mirror Box, and Martha Stewart

Well, it has been a while since I have posted anything. I was having a pretty bad time with the pain for several weeks. Therefore, not much happened and we ended up not going to the Desert Park. I have a couple pictures of random things I will be posting soon. So, now I will explain the title.

Meds
I went to see a pain specialist here on Tuesday. Travis is out of the country, so my friend Pauline took me. Although I didn't think he had a ton of new ideas, he did suggest going off of two of my meds and weaning off of a third. In addition, he suggested I change the way I take two other meds to better help with the pain that I have mostly in the evening and at night and my lack of sleep that effects me most nights. It has only been a couple of days, but things seem to be getting better. I am really happy to be getting off some of the meds and really happy that these changes seem to be helping.

Mirror Box
One idea that the pain specialist did have was for me to go back to physical therapy and more specifically use a mirror box. Apparently, you put your bad limb in the box and your good limb reflects in the mirror. It somehow helps to retrain your brain because your brain interprets the reflection in the mirror as your bad limb. The pain specialist and the base doctor seem to be really excited about this treatment. I am really excited because it is non-invasive and is shown to work on people with my condition. I will put a link on my blog if anyone wants more information about this treatment. They also want me to start exercising anything I can without hurting my ankle and thought that working out in a pool would be a good idea for me. Hopefully I will be able to start all these things as soon as Travis returns next week.

Martha Stewart
I was directed to the Martha Stewart site by my mom and I am so glad I went there. I have been feeling a bit sad about being away from everyone for Christmas and not having many decorations because of our rapid departure from the states. I was so pleased to find a variety of crafts that can be made from just paper that I have around the house. I particularly liked the paper plate angels!! Any of you with kids might want to check it out for Christmas crafts you can do with your kids for very little if any money. I hope you all enjoy!!

I will be seeing the base doctor next week Thursday and will probably schedule my PT appointments from there. Please keep me in your prayers that the mirror box therapy will work and I will finally be able to have my life back.

Aussie Lingo

Hey everyone! I just wanted to take a minute to share some of the new Aussie Lingo I have learned since I have been here since I can't sleep. It is so amazing to speak the same language, but for so many words to be completely different!!! Here goes...

American/Australian

sweater = jumper
cantaloupe = rock melon
shrimp = prawns
rolling garbage cans = trolley bins
french fries = chips
candy = lollies
business hours = trading hours
diapers = nappies
granola = muesli
green peppers = capsicum
ground beef = mince
living room = lounge
paved road = bituman
television = telly
thank you = ta
trunk = boot
undershirt/cami = singlet
vacation = holiday
windshield = windscreen
yard/lawn = garden

All right...that is all on the lingo for now. I might do another post during the week, but if not, I will post pics after next weekend. We are planning on going to the Desert Park. Everything here is gorgeous, so I can't wait! We are probably going to melt though!! It is so hot here and the sun feels more intense than at home. The locals keep laughing at us telling us that summer hasn't even started here yet. I can't even imagine!!

Till next time...

Pics From Down Under!

Hi everyone! Sorry for the very, very long delay in updating my blog. No...we haven't fallen off the face of the earth...we are just trying the other side for awhile! Things are going great for us. Travis really likes his job and may get to do a little more traveling than he originally thought, which is great because he loves traveling. I am for the most part enjoying my gift of not having to work, but I am starting to get a little stir-crazy in the house all of the time. Speaking of our house, here are some pictures of the outside of it.

These two pictures are of our back yard taken from opposite sides of the yard. We have a nice little covered patio area off the house. We now have a grill and we hopefully will have outdoor furniture soon!


One of our favorite surprises of our back yard is that we have a lime tree!!! We are hoping to plant another fruit tree in the yard sometime soon!! Ramona would be in heaven!!!


This is the first picture of the front of our house. We have two gates. One is off the camera to the right and closest to the rode. The other is the green gate you see in the picture. We have a really nice front and back yard because we are the corner house. In this picture, our front door would be just to the left of the picture.


This is a picture of the front side of our house. There is a little covered overhang and then the carport next to that.


This picture shows the yard off the side of the carport.


This picture was taken at high zoom from the back yard. We can see these beautiful mountains from our master bedroom window!!!


Here is a picture of Travis in our new car. We got a Nissan X-Trail. Did you notice that the steering wheel is on the other side of the car?!?!


This is a picture taken from Anzac Hill. This spot overlooks the entire town. Actually, it overlooks everything. There are beautiful 360 degree views from up there. Anzac Hill is actually a war memorial for all of the Australians lost in all of the wars. We plan to go back to get more pictures. It was wonderful up there!



We are expecting delivery of our household effects soon. Once they arrive and I get everything in order...I will post some pictures of the inside of our house. I really like it!!

I have so many things I want to share. I think that is one of the reasons it took me so long to update my blog...I didn't know what to start with. I plan to add several more posts soon sharing many of the details that I find most interesting about being here.

By the way...please don't hesitate to call or e-mail me. I miss everyone!!! We have the same phone number that we did in Virginia thanks to Vonage. We also have been setting a Do Not Disturb feature on our phone so it won't ring if anyone forgets about the 13.5 hour time difference!!! Okay...more to come soon! Bye!!

No Worries Mate!

Well, it is official!! We are moving to Australia!! We got our official approval today after the final signature. We are being packed out on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and we fly out for Alice Springs on the 29th. We are SO excited! We are getting ready for the packout and buying things that we will need. My parents are in town helping us and I don't know what we would do without them. I will write more when I have some time, but that may be when we get to Australia. Then I will be sure to send an update with lots of pictures of our new place and town!! Thank you God for granting us this blessing!! Please help us to do everything for You when we are there because You are the one true life!!!

Update on Australia

Well, I think it might actually happen!!! I talked to the government doctor today and I have now been approved medically by the doctor in Australia that will be at the base and by my doctor in Virginia. I have also found out that the mail-order pharmacy through my insurance will be able to mail all of my medications to our APO address. We are waiting on one final approval from the office that is sending us. We should find out probably at the beginning of next week if we are indeed going to be moving in...let me see...it would be...exactly three weeks from today!! This is so crazy!! There are so many things we need to do if we are going. If we do get approved, next week will be my last week of work, but I can't let them know because I don't know yet!!

Travis and I are pretty much over the living in limbo lifestyle. We are ready to have some resolution. We have felt from the start that God was leading us in this direction. We have prayed and prayed and every step of the way we felt that God wanted us to push forward, even though that meant fighting for it at times. I hope you all will continue to keep us in your prayers as we know that this is the way we have gotten this far. We love all of you and I get misty-eyed just thinking about not being around you all. I have had such a hard time with medical issues that I really don't know what I would have done with out your support. I truly feel blessed that you are in my life!! Wish us luck!!!

Racing in Chicago!

On June 9th, Travis finally got to enjoy his Christmas present. Trav's parents bought tickets for all the guys in the family for the Richard Petty Driving Experience. They got to ride-along with NASCAR drivers in some of the cars at crazy speeds!! Travis, his dad Allen, his brother-in-law Mark, and a family friend, Randy, all went together to enjoy the experience. Here are some of the pictures from that fun day!

Here is the racetrack...

Travis gets suited up and getting in the car!!


Here is Mark getting in the car for his turn.


Here is Allen getting in the car. They took a lot of pictures because he wasn't sure if he would be able to get in, but as you can see...he did just fine and had a wonderful time!!


Randy smiles for the camera all suited up...I think he is ready to go!


Here is a picture of the car they were getting the ride-along in.


Travis and his dad let us know how great this experience was by giving the thumbs up sign to the camera!

Pain and Prayer

The last few days have been pretty bad pain days for me. I just wish it would end. I woke up to take my medicine at 4am like I do every morning, but I was in so much pain that I couldn't go back to sleep. My ankle is aching so bad I can hardly stand it!!!! I looked at the weather and saw that there is an 100% chance of rain today. Well, that would do it! I think I can predict rain a lot more accurately than the weather people!! I'm hoping church won't be too bad for me today. Since I didn't get that much sleep and I'm hurting badly, it makes it harder to keep a good attitude.

I'm tired of getting told that my ankle doesn't look that bad or that no one would know I'm in pain from the way I act. I'm not sure how people think that my ankle should look or I should behave. It's so frustrating. It feels like one more way that people don't believe me. Sorry to keep going like this, but I had several people comment on how they couldn't tell that I was in pain at a class this past week. For some reason, I feel compelled to try to convince them that I really am in as much pain as I say I am. With all that I have to deal with, I would hope that I would at least be granted the courtesy of being believed.

I guess I can't expect people to understand. Most people have intense pain for short periods of time and during that time they can't function because of it. My pain has been going on so long that you have to learn to function or I would just be knocking myself out with drugs and sleeping all the time. At that point, life wouldn't be worth living. Although, I wouldn't mind that escape from time to time. Just to have a break, even if I was asleep during it.

I was looking for a bible verse that someone said during communion I think two weeks ago, but I can't seem to locate it right now. I'll look for it some more and then post it. It has to do with what to pray for when you don't know what to pray for. I have to believe that God knows what is in my heart even when it hurts so much that I can't put it into words. What a wonderful relationship. Someone that listens to you, gives you advice, and knows what is at the core of you even without words. I feel so lucky for that relationship. Even through all of the hardship I am enduring, I know that my life is better now with God than it was without him when I was pain free. Before my relationship with God, my soul hurt. Now it is just my body and that is temporary. What a wonderful gift I have received. Please pray for my continued faith, patience in tribulations, and that the pain will finally end.

Okay...I found the scripture I was thinking of. It is Romans 8: 26

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.

I Sing Because I'm Happy!!

Travis and I went to church on Wednesday night and I went and practiced with the choir. It was so much fun!! This was the second time I went (the first was when I was staying with the Sandersons). Even though it is hard for me to be out at that time of the day because the pain gets worse, it was worth it!! Travis said on the way home that it was one of the only times he has seen me truly and genuinely happy in a long time! He was right!! Thank you Lord for giving me the courage to go and for making everyone there welcome me in such a loving way!!

Another Update

Hi all! This past Tuesday I talked with the person that will be deciding if I am medically cleared to go to Australia or not. I really liked her and she gave me some good advice, but it sounds like even being off the medication that I will be denied medical clearance. They don't think that I will be able to get the care I need there. Pretty disappointing, but all hope is not lost! They can either completely deny me or leave open the possibility of getting a waiver from the office sending us saying that they will cover my medical expenses while we are there. It may be a long shot. They will not be making a final decision until after I see the pain management specialist on June 11.

Travis and I are pretty much expecting not to go at this point. It is pretty disappointing. We both feel very strongly that God was leading us in this direction. We are just confused now. Since there is a good chance we are staying here, we are starting to check our finances to see if we may be able to move into another house. Our current house is just so hard for me to get around in. We went and looked at some model houses in a community right by us yesterday. We're not sure if we can afford that or not. I would be happy getting a house that is a bit older as long as the layout is good for me. Well, we can't really do anything until we hear for sure about Australia, so I guess we just need to be patient!! Please keep us in your prayers!!!

Australia Update

Hey all! Well, I had my last medical appointment to determine if I would be medically cleared to go to Australia on Tuesday, the 15th of May. The physical went well and the doctor even told me that she thought the climate there could possibly improve my condition. All was going well...and then we got called into another room. We were told that I was automatically declined medical clearance because of one of the medications that I am taking. Obviously we were devastated...but we are still working the system to see what we can do.

Yesterday, I went off the medication in question. I am definitely experiencing some more intense pain, but I don't think it is so bad that I couldn't live without the medication. We are also seeing if the medical office will wait to make a decision until we see the pain management specialist on June 11. Hopefully this will all work out...I'll write more when I know anything. Please keep praying for us in this process!

Hyperbaric Treatments Complete!!!

I am so excited that I finished my last Hyperbaric Treatment this past Wednesday, the 16th of May. The treatments seemed to have helped the circulation in my ankle quite a bit. I wish it had helped the swelling and pain, but circulation is definitely good. Thanks to all the people that made it possible for me to make it to all my appointments...Emille, Ramona, Jamie, and Amanda. I want to send out a special thank you to the Sandersons for letting me stay with them while Travis was out of town! You guys are the best!! I wanted to include a couple of pictures that Travis took at one of my appointments to give people an idea of what is was like. Some of the ways that the kids described it was that it looked like a spaceship or a tunnel! Enjoy the pics!

Family Get Together

Travis and I went to my home in Michigan the weekend after the southern wedding. We had another wedding to attend for one of Travis's fraternity brothers on May 4. The next day I got to see a bunch of my family at my grandparents house. Here are some pictures from that get together. And in case you didn't know...we are all HUGE Red Wings fans...and they won the game that day!!! Yippee!!!

Here is a picture of me holding my adorable niece Kaitlyn. She is so big now!!!

Here is my mom, Ginny, and my Aunt Patty. I'm not sure if anyone knows this song or not, but I keep thinking..."Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters"! I think that song is from the musical White Christmas in case anyone thinks I am completely off my rocker!

Here is a picture of my mom, my Grandma, Treva, and my Aunt.

I think this picture is so cute!!! Here my brother Paul is holding Kaitlyn, but I think he took something!! This is so my brother's sense of humor and it makes me laugh!!!

I think this is hands down my favorite picture of my parents ever!!! They were joking around so they were both laughing when I took this picture!! I love how happy they are!!

And last, but not least, here is the group family shot!! The top row from left to right is me, my Aunt Patty, my Grandma, my mom, and my dad, Clyde. The bottom row is my husband, Travis, my brother Paul holding his son, Christian, my Grandpa Don, and my sister-in-law, Heather, holding Kaitlyn. I'm so glad I was able to get this picture. We used to take group family shots every Christmas when I was younger and we just haven't done it in awhile. Hopefully there will be many more like this!!

My First Southern Wedding!

On April 27th, Travis and I were able to go to one of our friends weddings right here in Virginia. We had a great time and it was such a different experience for me. The wedding was so formal and elegant. It was such a wonderful treat! Here is a picture of the UVA chapel where the wedding ceremony was held.

Here is a picture of Leo and Kirsten...the happy couple!!!!

Here are some more pictures. The first is of Travis and Matt. The second is off Travis and I. Our friend Matt tried to take this picture about 5 times. Every time my eyes were either shut or half shut. Will I never escape the eyes closed picture curse?!?!?! People always wonder why I'm not in many of my scrapbooking pictures...=) The last couple of pictures are from the Country Club where the reception was held. Thomas Jefferson actually helped design this room. It was so neat watcher Kirsten throw her bouquet from the Juliet balcony!!! And then they rode away in a golf cart with the light of sparklers all around them!!!