So, I know I've never been good at blogging regularly, but life has been extra crazy the last month and a bit. I need to write it all down so that in 5 years I can remember even half of it.
September started with homeschooling Chloe. That part has been going well. October was the start of classes twice a week at the Learning Centre, which she really enjoyed. She has made some new friends, and hasn't even really talked that much about missing her old ones, except for Aayla (who lives across the street). I also spent much of Sept and Oct working on Halloween costumes.
Friday, October 25 was the start of the crazy. Our friends Lukas and Anna and their mom Shannon were over that morning to play. Jane (19 months) climbed up into Chloe's new loft bed, and then fell out. I wasn't in the room at the time, so when she started screaming I ran, and found her on her back on the floor. I tried to calm her down, but it became obvious after 5 minutes that something was seriously wrong. So while Shannon stayed with Chloe and Kara, I walked up to ER with Jane. We got seen pretty quickly, but then had to wait a while for x-rays. Thankfully it was nap time, so she spent most of those two hours of waiting asleep. Once x-rays were complete, we waited another 30 minutes to find out that she had fractured her arm right next to her shoulder joint. It wasn't possible (necessary?) to cast it, so they made a little sling out of foam and sent us home, telling me to give her tylenol for a few days, and to follow up in two weeks.
While we were at ER, Kara asked Shannon to put a pony tail in her hair. At this point, Shannon discovered that Kara and Chloe both had lice, and had had them for at least a week! When Jane and I got home, I used one of the combs that come with the lice treatment Shannon picked up for us and found out I had them too! So I spent Friday evening treating and combing for lice. We had to retreat Chloe and I a week later too.
Also on Friday, we had a furnace technician show up because after it was serviced earlier in the week, the furnace was turning the flames on but it wasn't blowing heat into the house. (Of course, before the furnace was serviced, it was working just fine.) The technician discovered that the blower fan wasn't working, and quoted us 1-3 business days until a new one would be in. 3 business days later, on Wednesday, it still hadn't arrived. We finally got a new fan on Friday, so we were without heat for a week too.
Almost two weeks after Jane broke her arm, (Thurs Nov 7) I took her to our family doctor for a follow up, since the nurse at ER had said that was what I was supposed to do, even though I had thought the ER doctor (Dr. Apostle) had wanted me to see her. My doctor confirmed that I was supposed to have seen Dr. Apostle, but by then her office was closed until Tues. Nov.12, since the Monday was Remembrance Day.
On Friday Nov 8, the girls and I were on our way to Briana's house via the bus. I had left the stroller in the car by accident, so Jane was on my shoulders. As we were walking down a hill, my left foot slipped on a piece of plastic on the sidewalk. My foot came out from under me, and all of my weight, plus the weight of Jane came down on my right knee. I instantly knew something was wrong, since I was in a lot of pain and couldn't move my knee. Three complete strangers stopped to help, and then about 2 minutes after that, Crystal drove past in her van. She took Chloe and Kara with her to a Remembrance Day assembly at Richard McBride, and the kept them for the afternoon. A kind man drove me and Jane to the ER at RCH, where I discovered after x-rays that I had broken my kneecap in half, and the upper half was 2 inches higher up that it was supposed to be. They put me on the list for trauma surgery, and sent me home with the belief that surgery would probably be on Sunday, or maybe Monday. They also put my leg into a knee immobilizer and crutches, so that I could get around at all without causing myself extreme amounts of pain.
For the next 4 days, I couldn't eat/drink anything after 12 midnight in prep for surgery, since I expected each day that I would get to go. Every morning I would wait until 9am to find out if I was going to have surgery, only to be disappointed every time because other traumas at RCH kept filling up the OR list. On the other hand, I was allowed to eat then. On Tuesday morning around 11am I fount out that I was scheduled for surgery the next morning at 9am, but at Eagle Ridge Hospital 15 minutes away, not at RCH. I had to wait FIVE DAYS to get my knee fixed, not two like I was lead to believe. My surgery was to be performed by Dr. Apostle, the same person who saw Jane two and a bit weeks before! I also was able to book Jane in for a follow up appointment with Dr. Apostle for the following Monday.
On the day of surgery, I was told to expect 1 to 1.5 hours for surgery, and 2 to 3 hours of recovery in hospital before I could leave. Mark figured he would show up at the hospital around 1pm to get me. That so didn't happen. I didn't wake up from anesthesia until almost noon (3 hours after surgery started), and when I did I was in insane amounts of pain because the muscles in my thigh were locked up from being in new places after 5 days. It took until 3pm for me to be able to move from the "recovery" section to the "surgery day care" area, where I had to wait one more hour until I could leave. Mark arrived at the hospital at 4pm to pick me up, and we left the hospital at 4:30pm. It was rough. I have 3 screws in my kneecap, as they discovered during surgery that my kneecap was in 3 pieces, not two like was originally thought when I was at ER.
I have spent the last week and a half lying on the couch/in bed, and much of that time was taken up with listening to Old Man's War and The Ghost Brigades on audiobook, since that was a really good way to not think about my knee. Mark took two weeks off work to take care of me and the girls. He went back to work this past Monday, which was also my first follow-up appointment with Dr. Apostle. I got my staples out, which immediately made me feel better. I also got a locking knee brace, which is much more comfortable and less awkward than the immobilizer. I go back to see Dr. Apostle in 4 weeks, right before Christmas, at which point I will also have an x-ray.
So now I just have to work on recovering, and to slowly start bending my knee more. I can put a small amount of weight on it with the crutches as assistance. I am trying to keep up the homeschooling, but it has been more difficult, since I can't move around much, and can't carry anything when I am. I'm also learning to knit, since it is something creative I can do while sitting down. I can't sew, since I can't keep my leg down for long, I sure can't stand up to cut fabric, and I can't use the machine pedal with my right foot. I also can't drive.
I am truly grateful for the friends who have helped out - Juana, Laurraine and Shannon especially, as well as my mom and Mark's parents. Barry even fixed our sliding door! I'm also thankful for the people from church who have brought us meals, which has made life so much easier. Even though things have been nuts, I know we can make it through because of the amazing support we have.
And now I shall get back to resting.
