13 Years Ago Today...

Once upon a time (like 14 years ago) a boy met a girl at college. He thought that she was way too popular and cool to talk to him, so he admired from a distance. Then, one day as this girl walked by his dorm room he made some random comment to her and she stopped to talk for a minute. That minute turned into a LONG LONG few hours.

After that, the boy had short conversations with the girl off and on. He really liked her, and asked her to a few dances. They had a good time, but he still doubted that this girl really liked him as much.

Graduation day came and he knew that he had to do something or lose her forever, SO, he kissed her, right there in his dorm room. The boy noticed that the girl was VERY shocked.

After that the boy kept in touch from a far distance. Then one day he decided that he wanted to marry her. She was in another state, but that didn't stop the boy. He had his family invite the girl to the local town celebration and then he took her to an overlook of the town and asked her to marry him. The girl was very surprised, but did agree to the proposal.

Because they lived in separate states, the boy and the girl were engaged for 8 months. The big day finally came and they were finally married. Sadly, between the wedding and the reception, the girl had to have a root canal. But that didn't stop the festivities.

Now, it is thirteen years later. The girl and the boy are the proud parents of six wonderful kids, have survived five moves, near death, loss of family, and much more. Shockingly, the girl is still in love with the boy, and the boy, is VERY grateful for that. He knows that without his girl, he would be completely lost. The boy should be better at showing his love and gratitude.

Happy Anniversary "girl", from your "boy". The boy LOVES you very much!

Later...

Day #5- ICU

Well, when you add 5 +5 + 5 you get 15. I think. So, what does that have to do with anything? A lot actually. I have had 15 hours of sleep in the past 4 days. Now, I know that the average is about 4 hours per night (which experts would tell you is NOT okay), but it has been 5 hours each night for three nights. So that is better. It really helps that I have some funds to stay at the Guest House across the street. Thanks again to everyone who has helped out.

When I arrived this morning, I grilled the nurse about her condition. Okay, maybe not "grilled" as that sounds like I yelled and stuff. I was a big question box. I have to give a huge kudos to the staff here at UVRMC. Talk about amazing. They really are a caring group. Never once have they made me feel dumb or silly for asking. In fact, they are constantly checking to see if I have any questions. I must say that I am getting good and telling what all the beeps and alarms mean (and this is good as it helps me not get as worried when they sound).

So, the update for the moment is (and I figure life is unpredictable and I can't go for more than the moment):
-Lungs clear
-Blood looks great (Still infected, however)
-Temp coming down and almost normal (she is at 37.4 C which is 99.3 F)
-Has been writing down questions like, "What day is it?", "How do I look?", and "Why can't I remember anything?" (And her handwriting is amazing even when she is sedated).
-Her surgery is scheduled for 2pm today. They are going to go back into her abdomen and check for infection, make sure her bowels are not sticking again, and some other tasks that I can't remember right now. If it look good, Monday will be the day they will close her up. So everyone PRAY REALLY REALLY REALLY HARD that she will be clean inside so we can move forward.

I am holding up well. I get asked that question a lot. I have a place to sleep at night and shower in the morning. I can even do laundry there, so that is nice. I have changed my cell phone voice mail message to a status update, so you can always call and get the latest info there, check here, or Face Book. My minutes are still in peril (and thanks for some good friends in Springville they doubled what I had or I wouldn't even be able to talk at ALL on the phone. I am on Skype now, so if you would like to visit that way for short periods of time, e-mail me and I will send you my username so you can find me.

I am looking forward to my parents and family coming today. It is ALWAYS nice to have family and friends around...and you have all done that so WONDERFULLY! Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Well, I just asked her if she wants lotion on her feet and she nodded her head yes. So that is what I am going to do now. I will try to keep you updated as best I can.

Later...

Day #4- ICU

Day 4 has dawned bright and optimistic. I was able to stay at the Guest House across the street from my wife's room. It is very reasonably priced and I can be here in about 2 minutes if something happens during the night. They told me the room would be mine for as long as I needed it (there are only 12 rooms and they go fast, so I don't want to lose it). So, I will be taking up friends on their offers for showers, etc. after they move my baby to a room where I can stay with her, but won't have access to a shower, etc.

Last night was WONDERFUL! I was able to hold and snuggle my 6 year old for a couple hours. My parents ran up after my nieces event last night in Castle Dale and they had my Z man with them. He ran to me and I picked him up and he wrapped his legs around me and put his head and my shoulder and started patting my back. That was something I truly needed. I miss my babies SO MUCH it hurts. Last night my two oldest called and both started crying while they were talking to me. I remember being there. My father AND mother both tried to ditch out on our family (ok not really, they both ended up in ER's in life threatening situations about a year apart. Talk about stress). So I know that my kids are having a hard time. My parents are going to try and bring them ALL up next week sometime so I can be with all of them.YEA!

Anyways,
Last night my parents came and visited me. Then they took us (Z-man and me) to Wally-World. They had promised my son a bike. He was SO excited. He picked out a nice bike, one he can grow into. He has been wanting one of those for a long, long time. My parents also forced me to buy some new shoes and some new clothes. I do mean forced, I wasn't really wanting them to do that. It has been very overwhelming with the outpouring of help and support. I mean yesterday I received an envelope from an elementary school that wasn't even mine with several hundred dollars in it (thank you SO much to all who donated money. It was way too much. I don't deserve it!). I didn't show a lot of emotion when I got it (I am about emotioned out), it really, really touched my heart. I get worried about how do I tell everyone thank you, how do I make sure that I repay everyone in the future, how do I keep taking and not feel guilty like I am using people. I guess this is where I forget about all the "I"'s and realize that I need to let people help- because they really want too.

I got to the guest house around 1am and was sleeping by 2am. It is nice to have a room to stay in and keep my belongings in. I awoke several times thinking I was missing something, but I hadn't missed any calls so I knew things were okay. I finally made myself get up around 8:30am and was here by 9am. I got to tell my baby good morning and she squeezed my hand. I can't believe what a difference it makes to have the love of your life squeeze your hand after not being able to do so for so long. I want to tell her to keep doing it, but the nurses want her to sleep...lol. I guess I should let her. :)

When I arrived, Dr. Lichtey called me and explained what would be happening over the next several days. They are planning to return her to surgery again tomorrow afternoon. Then again on Monday. That is as far  as we can go at this point. He said that he was very pleased with her progress and surprised in many ways by how well she is doing. Her blood is still septic and they are still waiting for the lab results to know what exactly she has.

UPDATE: Dr. Campbell just came in and checked her and gave me the update. He said that she is doing very well, that the plan is to have her home in two from Monday, and that all we can do is follow the plan.
He was very, very happy about how well she is doing. Her lungs are clear, he said that her blood is not what he would consider to have sepsis, and that all is well. WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

So, I am going to end this so it can post. I will try to update again this evening. I can't be with her between 5-7 am and pm. Check for more updates during that time.

Again, thank you everyone for your thoughts, acts of kindness, love, and support. We need it.

Later..

Let the Count Down Begin...

Okay, so I am shaking so bad I can hardly type. In less than 11 hours I will be starting my SLLA Test for my Masters Classes. I am very nervous about all this. I think at this point it is more of not knowing where the exact room is, what the actual experience will be like- than the actual test taking. I guess we shall see. Of course I must stress over lots of things (like the fact that I think our toilet is leaking in our bathroom- I know, I know, a friend checked it today and said that it is NOT leaking- thanks for checking for me my friend!).

The trip up was fun, and I enjoyed visiting with my wife and Ms. D. We made it to the U of U and found the motel we are staying in. (That can be a post for another day). We enjoyed a nice dinner at Village Inn. It was nice to eat with out wondering what the kids had destroyed- it was much cheaper too- lol.

Well, I need to study a bit before going to sleep (if that becomes a possibility), so I will give you the complete low down tomorrow after it is over.