Christmas Bells are Ringing

 Such a fun Christmas morning! It always is. Who am I kidding?? Josh is only a little over a week post knee surgery so he was stuck on the couch all morning. But when it was time to go to the J's for breakfast, he was a good sport about it.

 EO got some purdy cute Soda shoes. She is a shoe freak! My kind of kid. Oh wait - she is my kid.

 Emma went from hating make up to being obsessed with it .. like .. overnight! She she was thrilled with her oodles of eye shadow.

 Josh is always easy to please - Santa brings everything from WorldSoccerShop.com. I love the shirt!

 Oh look at that smile! It's a Nook! Her very own tablet! (yay more electronics :/ ) Oh.. and one for Emma, too! Now we will never see them!

 All Josh wanted this year were good headphones. These were a win. All the good headphones have noise cancelling (which makes the sound better I guess). I get that for those that fly a lot - noise cancelling is good. But Josh says he needs "Emma cancelling" headphones. Oooh. . . I long for the day those two actually get along.

 Of course, we went to the J's for breakfast. I think Josh loves that as much as he loves opening gifts.

 It's almost impossible to get a picture of all these hooligans. And, heaven forbid they all look at the camera. Too funny.

 Can these girls get any cuter? Man I love this picture. Cambree came over with Grandma and Grandpa B to see Erin. EO was excited to show Bree what Santa brought.

 Emma got some waaay cute clothes this year! She was purdy excited about that ManU hoodie.

So she's dressed like a teenager, but she's  spazzy like a 9 year old. I love it! She's so stinking cute! It was a fantastic Christmas! This pic of Erin was right before we went to bed so that tells you how awesome it was - she's still smiling after getting up early and running all day long!

Femoral Acetabular Impingement Repair

 It's been a while, I know. I've been wanting to get caught up on my blog for several months now (okay, like eight) but life has gotten ahold of me and taken me for a ride! So I think I will start with the present and hopefully I will be able to work backwards until I am caught up.

About a year and a half ago, Josh hurt his hip in a soccer tournament (go here to see the post). And, here it is 20 months later and he is recovering from surgery. It's been a very long road for him. He has had physical therapy off and on since December 2011 and has constantly been taking time off from soccer to let it heal.

For the last year or more, he has described the pain as a "pinching" or  "catching" feeling. And on several occasions, he felt a "pop." There were times when he would be on the soccer field in the middle of a game and it would "lock up" on him and he would have to come out of the game.

We have seen doctors at Primary Children's, Granger Medical, Mountain Orthopaedics, Exodus Health Care and more that I can't even remember. He has had x-rays, a CT scan, an MRI and more x-rays. We were told everything from "there's nothing wrong" to "his labrum is torn" and "rest" or "more physical therapy." But, he was frustrated. Nothing was working. Nothing was making it feel any better and he was still missing out on a lot of his favorite things - especially soccer. He hasn't been able to participate in P.E. since he has been in Jr. High. He's been on crutches numerous times.

I could go on, but you get the point. It's been frustrating.

Finally, we found a doctor that knew exactly what to look for and how to fix it. Jer took Josh to see Dr. Aoki at PCMC about 3 weeks ago. They took more x-rays and immediately Dr. Aoki could see that surgery was necessary - and right away. They scheduled a hip repair outpatient surgery that day for August 12.

Dr. Aoki explained to us that Joshua has what is called Femoral Acetabular Impingement (FAI).  "Basically, the ball (femoral head) and socket (acetabulum) rub abnormally creating damage to the hip joint.  The damage can occur to the articular cartilage (smooth white surface of the ball or socket) or the labral cartilage (soft tissue bumper of the socket). FAI is associated with cartilage damage, labral tears, early hip arthritis, hyperlaxity, sports hernias, and low back pain. FAI is common in high level athletes, but also occurs in active individuals." (hipfai.com) 

Finally! An answer! While Jer and I have not been the least bit excited about our fourteen year old son having surgery on his hip, we are thrilled to know what is going on! And so is he. 

Monday was August 12 - surgery day. We arrived at PCMC at 8:30a.m. By the time Josh was checked in and the doctors were ready, it was just before noon when he went back for surgery. It is typically a two hour procedure. Josh was in for almost three hours. Dr. Aoki was very pleased with how well the surgery went. The FAI was a bit more prominent than what the x-rays showed so there was more bone that needed to be shaved down than the doctor had predicted. But, the tears in the labrum were not as extreme so they did not need to be sutchered. Josh will likely have arthritis in his hips when he is older and there is a possibility that the FAI will present itself in the future (in his left hip). But, his right hip is finally fixed. 

We were able to go back to recovery with Josh just before 3:00p.m. He was in good spirits and said his pain level was at a 6. Unfortunately, even though we had warned the doctor that Lortab isn't our drug of choice (I don't do well on Lortab), they started with that to prevent extreme pain as the nerve block wore off. Not long after they gave him the Lortab, he broke out in hives and his pain level went to an 11 (unbearable). His heart rate went way up. His blood pressure was high. He was shaking and had a tight grip on the hospital bed. I've never seen my Joshy in so much misery. It was not fun. When the nurse came in to see what was going on, she suggested giving him benedryl to help with the rash and Fentanyl to help with pain. Then, she gave him a second Lortab. For several hours, Josh would fall asleep and within 4-5 minutes wake up to sharp excruciating pains in his hip. Even with all the narcotics in his system, his pain level was at a 9 or 10.

Around 8:00p.m., Dr. Aoki suggested they give him Percocet and Valium and avoid giving him more Lortab. This combination did the trick. He finally relaxed. And, by 9:00 he was ready to go home. We were all exhausted. I didn't realize how tiring it would be to spend the day at the hospital. I'm sure my emotions were a big contributor. 

 We got Josh home and comfortable on the couch around 9:30p.m. and Jer left to grab the prescriptions before the pharmacy closed and to pick up the girls who had been with my parents all day. Within a few minutes of getting Josh home, Ron Whicker rang the doorbell. Rachel made a pie for Josh and Ron was delivering - it was still warm. Even though Josh was loopy from the drugs and exhausted from the day, he was thrilled with the pie and anxious to eat it.

Each day since the surgery has been very different. He spent day 3 not being able to keep anything down (including pain killers). On day 4, Jer took him to the USA Soccer Tournament in West Jordan to watch his old team play. It was a lot of work for Josh, but there's no better therapy for him. He loves being on the soccer field. He was tired when they got home and he slept the rest of the day. Day 5 was mostly uneventful. He slept a lot. On Friday he was able to take the bandage off the incisions. That felt good. And today is day 6. Jer took him out to the soccer tournament again this morning. Even though it's painful to sit, he was happy to see some of his teammates and feel "normal" for a bit. He has been in quite a bit of pain today as we are cutting back on his meds a little. And, the itch deep inside his hip is about to drive him crazy. But, he took a shower tonight and that was a good start to feeling human again. There are still steri strips on the incisions so he still has to be careful about getting those wet until they come off, but even a 5 minute shower is better than the sponge bath he's had the last few days.

 This little machine is full of ice and pumps freezing cold water into a pad that he can put on his hip. This has been the best form of relief for him. He can't leave it on for long because it can be too cold on his skin, but it is his favorite way to take his mind off the pain.

This picture is a lineup of his medications. It's pretty crazy what they can give a teenager. He is tall - 5'10" and 150 lbs. but, narcotics and valium? He will be on the naproxin for several weeks to prevent any bone from trying to grow back and to keep the inflammation down, but hopefully he will be done with the rest soon. He starts physical therapy in a week and will have a follow up appointment with Dr. Aoki at 4 weeks. He will be on crutches for about 4 weeks, but should be back to running at 3 months. His full recovery will take about 6 months. While that seems like forever to a kid, it's nothing compared to a lifetime of being able to play soccer every day without pain.

That was a rather lengthy first post after my 8 month strike (laziness), but I wanted to get it all down while we are still in the midst of this crazy adventure.

I will definitely have to do some updates on the girls and all the other awesome things that have taken place in the last several months, but for now, that will have to do.

Twoo Wuv is What Bwings Us Togeduh Tooday

Travis Black and Cari Bringhurst

On Thursday, April 25, 2013, these two love birds tied the knot.

 

It was a fun day and since I was the photographer, I have a bunch of awesome pictures from the day! There are lots of nice formal portraits, but I decided the share the personality pics on my blog.

 

 Me and Lynsee

 Cari and Brynlee

 My Dad (pretty handsome, huh?)

 Cute Bryson with a bunch of photobombers.

(Bryson, Gauge, Cambree, Jamie, Alisha, Kailee, Alexa)

 Lynsee and my Aunt Karen

(photobombed by Josh)

 A cute picture of Cari with a bunch of photobombers

(Kailee, Alexa, Joel, Lynsee, Cari, Paul, Atley)

 Me with my cute Erin

 Me with my cute Emma (who loves having her picture taken)

 Trying to get a picture with everyone in it proved to be more of a challenge than I realized it would be. It probably didn't help that we waited till the end of the day to do them. But, hey, we are all together at the same time and we are all in a picture. Maybe not worthy of a wall size enlargement, but what can I say? It was fun anyway.

 Cari had a friend from work do her cake. She did a great job. I love how it turned out. Lynsee, mom and I did the tables and decor. We had fun putting it all together. And, as far as I know, Cari was happy with how it all turned out. She had another friend from work do all the catering and it was so good. The food was so yummy and the way she presented it was amazing.

 I love this picture! The whole day everyone was having a hard time posing for pictures. If we weren't pulling faces, someone was jumping in to photobomb.

 Paul and Alisha

 Joel, Cari, Paul

What was I just saying about pulling faces?

Brynlee, Emma and Erin

And these girls happen to be three of my favorites.

 

After we cleaned up and it was time to go, everyone was hungry again. So, we went a little further south and met at Glade's in Spanish Fork. It was fun and, as always, so so delish! It was such a great day overall. I'm so happy for Cari and Travis! It's been a long time since I've seen my sister smile like she does when she is with Travis. He is good to her. And she deserves the best.



The Newest Member

 This beautiful eight year old was baptized on January 5, 2013. She is so grown up! I knew it would be difficult to find a white dress in January so we got it months ago and she has been waiting for this special day to wear it! She wasn't at all excited about one of the other girls from our ward having the same one on when we got to the Stake House that morning. But, nonetheless, she was so happy to be getting baptized and so grateful for all those that came to support her.

 This is Angie Nielsen, Erin's first grade teacher. We love her so much! Erin was so glad she came! Miss Nielsen is one of Erin's favorite people in the whole world!

 Brynlee has always looked up to Erin and always wants to be just like her. I'm so happy that Erin has always been such an amazing girl and is such a great example to her cousins.

 Our little family is growing up! Two teenagers (and you can tell by the picture)!

 Cambree is just 5 months younger than Erin (I know, she is taller). We are excited to go to her baptism in June! Such pretty girls!

 We invited everyone over for lunch after the baptism. I didn't get pictures of everyone, but we had a houseful. It was so fun to have everyone there and to have Erin feel so loved!

 Emma LOVES her Chloe! And, you can see in the picture that Chloes loves her Emma!

Aunt Cari is Erin's biggest fan! No matter what it is that my kids are doing, Cari is always there to cheer them on and support them. My girl's love her to pieces!

It was a perfect day! I couldn't ask for better kids! They are all so amazing and every day they give me reason to be proud. This was one of those days that my heart was so full of love and thanks. I'm grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and for the perfect plan that our Heavenly Father has for us! I love that my sweet Erin chose to become a member of the Church and I know that she is going to be an amazing missionary and friend to so many! She has a beautiful spirit and as she grows and her testimony is strengthened, she will bring much happiness to those in her life! She is my angel!