Zoom Zoom ....

Austin got a new car!!

For his high school graduation gift, Andy and I gave Austin the title to the Montero. We had several conversations before doing so to ensure we would both be okay with whatever Austin might decide to do with the car later. We wanted it to be a "no strings attached" kind of deal. The Montero was Andy's primary vehicle until Austin started driving at 16. At that time, Andy bought a new car and we handed the Montero down to Austin to drive. Austin was absolutely thrilled to have the title in his hot little hands! The wheels (in his noggin') started spinning right away. Austin is a wheelin' and dealin' kind of guy. I don't think either of us expected him to be so happy that he would almost immediately begin to investigate the possibililty of selling the thing!!

Austin researched and primarily handled both the sell of the Montero and the purchase of his new car - an Acura RSX type S. Andy lent (when asked - yes this was somewhat difficult at times to sit back and wait to be asked) his sales expertise and went with Austin for the sale of the old car and the purchase of the new one. The car is free & clear and registered in Austin's name! Pretty good deal for an 18 year old college freshman.

... Austin only dreaming about real cars ...

... here he is in his very first car ... it was slow and not very roomy,

but cool that it could be driven indoors ...

... Austin driving off in the Montero, for the first time - alone ...

... and now, proud car owner ...

Chandler's 1 Month Follow-up ....

Today was Chandler's 1 month follow up appt with Dr. Oswald. It really couldn't have gone any better. It's all just still so unbelievable!!! One month ago, it was hard to imagine us being where we are today. We went prepared with our questions that have come to mind during the last few weeks. Chandler wanted to be in charge of the list this time, so she typed all the questions into her phone. First, she had an xray done and then the dr came in. He is VERY happy with the way everything looks and the way she is progressing. Her left shoulder is still a little higher than the other one, but it should continue to work it's way to normal. He had a few more things to say and then asked if we had any questions. I think he was amused by Chandler being in charge of the questions this time. Much to her chagrin, most of the answers were NO you can't do that yet - let the healing process continue to take place and come see me in 3 months. We did get permission for her to dribble the basketball while walking, no running; to take longer walks, which will hopefully help with her stamina and to rebuild some of the muscle-tone in her legs that she has lost; and she can ride a stationary bike. Of course, she thought he was going to release her to start playing ball in the driveway, jogging with her cross country team and doing some light weights with her arms and legs. Dr. Oswald did say at the end of it all that most of his 1 month follow-up appts don't go quite that way. :-) So, looks like we'll spend the next 3 months reining her in and reminding her to take it slow. Chandler will probably be counting down the days and have big expectations for our next appt at the end of October!!

... we think this guy is pretty wonderful ...

Chandler & Dr. Timothy Oswald

And now what we've all been waiting for .... comparison xrays. WOW!! (FYI: she did have on a cami that had some wires and she had on her belt - that's what some of the extra things are in the middle and bottom of the right xray.) Left xray was pre-surgery and right xray is 1 month post-surgery. Her back is cobalt-titanium-rod-straight now!! Oh, and answers to a few questions we get alot .... How big or long is her incision? It is the entire length of the rods. Will the rods or screws ever be taken out? No, never. Will she set off a metal detector? Quite possibly. She will have a card with her at all times which tells what kind of surgery she had.

We are so happy with her progress and again, so thankful to each and every person who has taken even a minute of your time to say a prayer for Chandler. We are sooooo blessed!!

#scoliosis

Where's Molly? ...

Minx is still very confused, and we believe sad, about the sudden and continued absence of his very good friend Molly.

Since there would be no one at home for a long time on the day of Chandler's surgery (2 weeks ago today), I asked my friend Patty to stop by and give the dogs a rawhide bone around lunch time, which would keep them busy and happy until someone was back home around dark. Shadow does what she does and took hers immediately down to the bottom of the yard and passed through the fence to Pumpkin - her puppy that Lala has. Minx was very excited and took his right from Patty. He chews on his bone, buries it, digs it up, chews on it some more and repeats that process for an entire day (or less) until the bone is no more. Molly, on the other hand, needed a little coaxing that day and Patty put it right at her paws for her to have close by, but she showed no real interest in the bone.

Minx has been carrying around what we believe to be the bone Molly had that day, since Molly left him. He brings it into his crate and sleeps with it at night, he carries it into the back yard with him each day. He'll bury it and dig it up, but has yet to gnaw even a little tiny piece off of it. This is just not what he does with his bones. He loves to chew up a good bone and has never "saved" one. We've hosed it down once or twice because it got sort of muddy and he still will not chew it up. He runs out of his crate in the morning with it hanging out of his mouth, ears perked up, looking like he's asking "Is she back? I've saved her bone for her. Where's Molly?" I think it's breaking all of our hearts to see him missing her so. He's gotten so much love and affection from each of us during the last week and a half. He's going to be even more spoiled than he already is!

Not sure, but I think I see a new 4 legged friend in Minxy-boy's near future. Stay posted for that. :-)

P.S. In case you haven't noticed, I enjoy changing the background on my blog. I sometimes like to express how I feel about what I wrote with a sort of matching background. Anyway, I looked for one that had pets or animals and came across this one that was named "Molly". I thought it was fitting.

Cabin Fever ...

Chandler has been couped up in this house since Saturday, July 10 when we returned home from the hospital. Other than going outside for our walks, she has not left this place!! We decided that she needed to get out. When Andy got home from work on Friday night, we told her we were going somewhere to eat and that she needed to make the decision as to where. The other thing we needed to accomplish is the child eating something other than fruit, mashed potatoes, waffles, cereal and soup. She really hasn't had an appetite to speak of and those are the only things she has wanted to eat. Austin was working Friday night, so she chose Chic-Fil-A. It was Austin's pleasure to help us (ha) and Chandler ate 1/2 a chicken sandwich!! yay! After we ate, we made a quick trip into Kroger so I could pick up a few things. She and Andy enjoyed bothering me and being silly while I tried to hurry up and pick up what we needed. And exactly the reason why I don't ever take anyone shopping with me - I ended up with extra stuff in my buggy that wasn't on the list!! We had fun and Chandler felt really good getting up and out of the house.

More Progress.....

Here we are less than 1 week post-surgery and Chandler is able to do everything without assistance! I'm still there hovering around with her every move and I'm certain I'm getting on her nerves, but she is able to do it all by herself. If we are close to time to get pain meds and she is hurting or sore, she may need to lean on me to stand up or sit down, but for the most part, she is doing it all on her own!! She is so strong - physically and mentally - and is doing really well.

Chandler asked point blank on Sunday night about Molly. We were all in the kitchen, Chandler was at the dinner table and she asked "did Molly die?" My eyes immediately welled up with tears, I could hardly see and I tried to keep busy and not look suspicious, but if she started crying, I was gonna lose it. Andy stepped in and told her the story about Molly. I left the room for a sec to pull it together and came back in to look busy again. Chandler said, "mom, are you crying?" Who me? Chandler didn't cry at all about Molly. I don't think it's because she didn't care about it, I think it's the pain meds she's on. I stared at the pill bottle for a moment. I was tempted to pop a couple of those little speckled pills and call it a day. Seriously, I'm happy that I can move on past that situation for now.

One more very important thing to report .... Chandler is 2" taller than she was before surgery!! We haven't done the official stand-against-the-wall-and-measure bit, but Andy measured her pre-op mark on the wall in the garage and then measured her against a wall inside. Amazing!!

Chandler's Progress Day 1 at HOME ...

Chandler did really well on her first night at home. We have found she is very comfortable in the lazy boy watching TV in the family room. Got a little deal all set up beside her so that drinks and snacks and remote are within arms reach. She hasn't really felt like talking too much and then last night at about 9:00pm, she suddenly sat up in the chair a little bit and started talking about everything. She was hungry and she wanted to move. She sat at the kitchen table and had some chicken & stars soup. She also enlightened us about lots of things she overheard us and different people who were at the hospital talking about when we all thought she was asleep. That was an interesting conversation. She also asked where Molly was. We told her that Molly is at the vet. I suppose we'll come clean on that one tonight. We have done lots of walking rounds in the house to get her up and keep her moving. Maybe we'll get outside one evening soon. She slept really well last night, only woke up once for some pain meds. This morning we got up and freshened up and she has had a good morning. She even wanted to go downstairs to visit Lala. I was a little nervous, but she did the stairs really well - Andy in front of her and me behind her - we visited with Lala for about 5 mintues and then headed back up. Also, today she is walking with me walking beside her, not holding her arm.

Seems that Chandler is up for visitors, so if anyone wants to pay her a visit, call us or come on by ... we're here all week.

WE ARE HOME ....

I'll make this one short and sweet .... it's 2:40pm and we made it!!! Can't even begin to tell you the rush of emotions I'm feeling right now. Chandler is doing good today. The car ride was very tiring for her, but she is happy to be home too. Many, many thanks to everyone for everything!! Thankfully the house didn't convert too much into a bachelor pad with just Andy and Austin being in and out of here since Wednesday. :-) Seriously, everything looked great when we got here and it's feeling good to get settled in. I think Chandler will be ready for visitors in the next day or so for anyone who might be wondering about that. I'll post again with that info later or you can always call, email or text. We will talk soon. Yay! Home Sweet Home!!