This December was certainly one to remember (although there are some details I think I might like to forget)! On December 1st, Dave and I drove to Jackson, Mississippi so that I could undergo yet another surgery. Everything went very well with the operation and I am recovering. I was in the hospital for four and half days and returned home to spend my Holiday season stuck inside with catheter.
Thanks to a visit from my mom, I stayed somewhat sane stuck in the house. My Christmas tree never got decorated, but we did enjoy a few Christmas traditions. We made sugar cookies (something I haven't done since I left home), drove around to see Christmas lights, and attempted to make sour cream fudge (a recipe from my Grandma). Notice the word "attempt"! Neither my mom or I had ever made fudge before and it was certainly a learning experience for the both of us. It ended up being more like caramel than fudge, but it was still good! I told my mom we should market it as our new secret family recipe...sour cream caramels, yum!
It is pretty challenging to do much of anything when you have a bag that you have the carry around with you all the time. To complicate things a little more, I was not aloud to sit. Sounds simple...but it is not! I either had to be lying down, in a reclined position, or standing (for short periods of time). Imagine my excitement when I was finally released to sit just in time for Christmas dinner (it was my first meal at a table in almost four weeks)!
A good friends of mine (and her daughter who I teach in church) visited to lift my spirits, and even signed my catheter bag as if it were a cast for a broken bone! They even made it festive with a Christmas tree and a present. Now, that is a true friend who would sign a bag filled with urine in it-haha (thanks Laurie)!
These particular PJ's had a pocket in back so I took advantage of it and hooked my bag on the pocket so I could enjoy cookie.
On December 23rd, I was scheduled to have my catheter removed in Jackson, after which we were going to pick up Dave in LR and head straight for New Mexico to be with my family for Christmas. Unfortunately, my body had other plans for me. Instead of my catheter being removed and me being sent on my way, I had emergency surgery and a new super-pubic catheter (a catheter which goes in through your abdomen to your bladder) put in.
I was in complete devastation that I was not going to be able to go home to see my family for Christmas. My amazing dad and brother decided to give me the best Christmas present I could have asked for and got on the road headed for Arkansas.
You might remember hearing about the
crazy weather a large portion of the country was dealing with on Christmas eve. Little Rock was partially under water with record rain fall, Oklahoma and parts of Texas had what they refer to as the "Historic Blizzard of 2009", and New Mexico was already hit with snow, high winds, and freezing temperatures.
I laid in my hospital bed on Christmas eve morning, watching CNN news, when a report on the winter weather came on. My heart dropped as images of people being rescued by boat in Little Rock were shown. That very morning, it took Dave almost 2 and a half hours to get to work (it's normally about a 30 minute drive). My mom and I were not even sure if we were going to be able to get home from Jackson on Christmas eve as many portions of the freeway system in Little Rock were closed down because of the flooding.
This is the exit we take to go to church, it's about 10 minutes from home
I was released from the hospital around 4 PM on Christmas eve and arrived home around 9 that evening. As we drove home from Jackson, we saw "lakes" in many front yards and parking lots. The flooding damage only became worse the closer we got to Little Rock. One particular parking lot full of semi-trucks had water half way up the height of the trucks.
My dad and brother defied all odds and finally arrived on Christmas day around noon. In their travels they saw unbelievable amounts of jack-knifed semi-trucks, cars in ditches, vehicles flipped over, and trucks berried in snow. When they reached Oklahoma City their trip came to a halt. All the freeways and highways in and out of the area where closed. They had lines and lines of cars diverted to other streets or simply stopped on the freeway. From the point they reached Oklahoma City outskirts it took them over 5 hours to get out by taking neighborhood streets and whatever else they could find to get out of there. They drove all through the night taking only a small 2 hour nap.
Upon their arrival, the first order of business took place..."Had my 16 year old brother finally outgrown me?" Well...(sigh)...
I am going to blame it on the fact that I must be shrinking after being confined to a bed for four weeks!
Dave was in charge of Christmas dinner since I was out of commission. He even planned and gathered everything last minute for our improvised Christmas feast. Look at him slaving away in the kitchen...
It was the most unconventional Christmas I have
ever experienced.We had dinner before we even opened up presents (that were all gathered under and undecorated tree). The thing I loved most about this Christmas though was that I had a much more clear perspective on what Christmas should be about. I was most thankful to be surrounded by family who were safe and sound among many struggles to make it all happen. To have my family with me was far better than any gift I could have received.
Thank you to everyone who kept us in your thoughts and prayers through this rough year! Best wishes for an awesome 2010!
As a side note: Our yearly average rainfall is around 50", this year we saw 81.76" of rain making this the wettest year in the history of Arkansas. I am happy to report that both we and our house survived and that is something to count our blessing for!
*For more details about my surgery you can visit My Road to Motherhood blog.
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