A year later...

I first began my blog over a year ago to document my life especially being a newlywed. Half way through I stopped blogging mostly due to time and not making blogging a priority. 

Well a year later we have definitely had quite the first year as a married couple. Don't get me wrong it has been a great year, but there have been some major life happenings. 

This past year I started a new job which has come with its own ups and downs. It's been an adjustment since it's a new environment and I'm now working full time. Job changes are hard especially for someone who does not like change. It took me a long time to adjust and in many ways I still am. 

My dad has had a variety of issues with his foot, which ended in amputation as was detailed in my last post. This has been huge for me personally and my family. It's caused Chris and I to be more flexible toward my family both physically and emotionally. In a new marriage it's common to figure out family dynamics, but a serious issue like this takes it to a whole new level. I'm fairly independent of my family, but I also have wanted to be available to them and as helpful as much as I can be. More on this topic later. 

My brother-in-law and sister-in-law had a baby last April. Of course, this is a happy and exciting change to our family. But nonetheless it's still a change. It's been an easy adjustment because he's so darn adorable and we all love to spend time with him, but it's still a new element to add a baby to the family. Our get togethers have changed a bit, but we love him so much and love watching him grow! 

Regardless, Chris and my's relationship has been stronger than ever. He's been a huge source of comfort and support to me. We've been together for a long time, so adding changes wasn't a big deal for us but it did make for an interesting year. Our first year of marriage was great relationship wise and us being a strong unit made everything happening around us bearable. I couldn't ask for a better life partner to take on new challenges! 

Cheers to the first year! 

Amputation

I hung up the phone tonight after speaking with my dad and burst into tears. This has happened many times over the past five months, but this time it was for a good reason. My dad sounded genuinely happy and an even better version of himself than I can remember. I cried tears of joy which was a nice change considering everything my family had been through. 

My dad fractured his ankle in July. My parents had a leak at their house and my dad was home with the plumber. He went down to the sidewalk in front of his house to turn off the water and slipped and fell. My mom came home from work to take him to urgent care where they gave him a walking boot and told him it should heal in a few weeks. 

A few weeks later his ankle was worst. Turns out the boot didn't help and he ended up breaking his ankle as all the bones in his foot had shifted. His bone literally looked like it was going to pop out of his skin. He had a series of various tests before surgery was planned to replace the bones. The bones shifting ruined an artery that would also need to be fixed. 

His first surgery was scheduled for September 22nd. After a week in the hospital he came home for further recovery. About two weeks later his surgeon had consulted his fellow colleagues and decided to redo the surgery a different way. He wanted to use an erector set with rods that would run outside of his foot to hold the bones in place to properly heal.

Three weeks after the first surgery, on October 13th, he underwent another surgery to have his bones replaced again and the erector set put in place. He came home from the hospital a few days later and we all waited for healing. We had to replace the bandages around his wounds and the rods twice a day. I was the one usually doing this and every day his wounds looked worst. He had two huge open wounds that were not closing up in addition to rods sticking out of his leg. It was scary and we all wondered what the healing process would entail. 

He was not healing which is partly due to his surgeries, but mostly due to being a type two diabetic. We all knew the outcome wasn't great, but we all supported one another and did our best to stay positive. I attended one follow up appointment where his surgeon mentioned amputating his foot and I completely lost it when I got home to Chris. I never considered the possibility of my dad having his foot amputated and did not take this idea well. My family shrugged off the notion and prayed for healing. 

After a series of different doctors appointments, more pain, and less healing my dad brought up amputating his foot to our family. We all cried and discussed the various options. The decision would ultimately be my dads, but he wanted all of our input and sought out council from a variety of people. 

Two weeks after the erector surgery, my dad scheduled an appointment to discuss amputation with his surgeon. Two days after that appointment he had an amputation surgery date of October 29th. Everything went well and my dad spent four days in the hospital and then was moved to the rehabilitation unit of the hospital. He was there for a long and emotionally and physically draining 12 days before being released for home. 

Being home was a huge adjustment for him as suddenly his whole life was different. We all agreed this was the best decision especially considering where he is now compared to the beginning. There were countless stories we heard which I attributed to be affirmations from God reassuring us all that this was the best decision. 

My entire family had days of tears and frustrations, days of humor, days of joy and everything in between. We all supported one another and seemed to balance the emotions. When one of us was weak the others were strong. None of us would have gotten through this without support of one another and peace and comfort from God. 

My dad spent time healing and adjusting at home since the first surgery. He went back to work the second week of January and is getting used to being back at work and doing his normal activities. He is in the process of getting a prosthetic leg, but for now my parents have made many adjustments to their home and he gets around in a wheelchair. 

The tears of joy flooded down my face tonight to finally hear my dad sound happy. My dad is not one to show emotion, so seeing him sad, frustrated, disappointed, and every other emotion possible given these circumstances was rough. Hearing him on the phone talking about work, board meetings, and getting used to his old routines completely broke me in the best way. Instead of crying over a tough situation I was now crying for everything we had been through. 

He's come so far and gone through a huge life changing event and I'm so proud of the way he's handled everything. It wasn't an easy decision or path to take, but he's done well and hasn't ever given up. He's only getting better and I am so thankful for where we all are today. 

Cheers to Dad!