Good Grief! Where have I been? Last fall I took a little time off from writing my weekly column. It was only to be temporary. I fully intended to begin writing after a couple of weeks off. But, as Randy Travis so eloquently reminds us, "I hear tell, the road to hell is paved with good intentions..." I have yet to pick up my pen and write again.
Until now! I am writing now because I'm printing out some appointment cards for my hair stylist and I have some free time here at the computer. Perhaps I'll just send out a little update on what all has happened in the last few months in my life. I know you are all on the edge of your seats.
The holidays were very nice last year. The kids made lists and beause they didn't ask for too much they got everything on their lists. That gave me the awesome opportunity to hold it over their heads that they should have better behavior because after all, they got EVERYTHING they asked for at Christmas. Nice, huh? At any rate, it was lovely to have my parents here this year and all be together.
In December Sofie, age 10, complained of pain in her side. Now, she is the fifth child. Every one of her older siblings has complained of the same pain and I've rushed them to the doctor to be checked for appendix issues. Each time, feeling foolish for overreacting, I go home with my child who is just fine. I told Sofie to go potty and she would be fine. She did and then she went to bed. I went to work at 4:45 the next morning and didn't hear anything else about the issue until about 7:30 a.m. It was only then that I found out that Sofie had thrown up twice during the night (and told nobody!) and was running a temperature. I called the doctor, related her symptoms and was told to take her to the Emergency Room.
A couple of hours in the ER, and MRI to make sure it really was the appendix causing the problem and the revelation of an allergy to Morophine and Sofie was in surgery to have the errant appendix removed. She recovered like a champ and was up on her crutches and walking the halls like a champ. Of course, her prosthetic leg 'bucket' rubbed the new incision so she was on crutches for a few weeks until it wasn't so sensitive.
We were happy it wasn't too serious but did have a talk with Sof about the timing of her medical crisis. The end of December is not the most optimal time to meet our insurance deductible. I know she will try harder next time to have medical issues earlier in the year.
Onward into the new year with not much new. Our business continues to grow and so do the kids. In February, Ana, age 14, went snow skiing with our church youth group. They sold pizzas and did odd jobs to raise funds to pay for the trip and she was really excited to take her first trip without mom and dad. In fact, no other Tates were along on the trip! They left early on Thursday morning and were to return home later on Sunday evening.
The first phone call came about 1:30 p.m. on Saturday and it was the youth pastor's wife. She said Ana had had an accident while skiing, was being taken down the mountain by the ski patrol and she would call back as soon as she had more info. I asked if I should get in the car and go to her. She said to just wait and see what was the damage was. Oh, did I mention that the youth group went skiing in WYOMING?
The next phone call was from a guy in the Ski Patrol. She said Ana had 'hurt' her left leg but seemed to be OK otherwise. She had no head injuries (for which I am very thankful!) and was breathing fine. She was not bleeding and was warming up. When I pressed him for more specific information he admitted that her leg was likely broken. The plan was to splint the leg and Matt, the youth pastor would drive her into Laramie to the hospital.
Finally Ana called. "Mom! I'm so scared!" Tears sprang to my eyes and we talked for a few minutes. She said she was going around a curve too fast and couldn't stop and hit a tree. The bumps in the road were not feeling so great on her leg but she's a trouper. I was, again, told to not get on the road but to wait and see what the doctors said.
Hours were spent at the hospital and poor Matt was getting the illness that had been spreading throughout the youth during the trip. Despite his queasy stomach he stayed by Ana's side to his credit. Finally, I spoke with the Orthopedic Surgeon. He did not want to do the surgery that Ana's broken leg required. I asked him to admit her to the hospital for the night and said I'd be there ASAP.
McKenzie, age 16, and I jumped into our Excursion (at 5'10" Ana is too long to fit sideways in the Murano) and headed to Laramie. I arranged with the Ortho in our town to have him see her when we returned and we drove for seven hours into the wee hours of the morning. After arriving at the hospital, we slept a little, waited to be released and then helped a very groggy and in pain Ana out to the truck.
Fastforward many more hours and Ana had surgery where a rod was inserted into her Tibia. After learning to walk on crutches (it's not as easy as Sofie makes it look!), having an immobilizer, a boot and now physical therapy, Ana is recovering very well. When filling out the paperwork for the PT it asked if she had vision problems. I wasn't sure how to respond. After all, she did hit a tree while skiing.
The good news is that Ana helped us to meet our deductible in March. I'm ready for any medical emergency now....insurance-wise at least!
In other news, we are in the midst of purchasing a pumping business to go along with our drain cleaning business. Zach, age 20, now works for us full time so we thought we'd expand. No sense in having any free time is there??
Speaking of Zach, he and Breanne are planning a June 2009 wedding. We are all thrilled since we love Breanne. My oldest is getting married next year and my youngest just turned eight. Time marches on.
And with that, my appointment cards are finished printing! Who knows when I'll update again, but do feel free to contact me at jeel@jilljackstate.com or jeel@ neb.rr.com. You know I love to hear from you!!