Dacri's Closet » Accident

Our Scare

Heather — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 01:36:36 +0000

Jack dropped me off this morning and headed to the hospital for his pre-op appointment to get the bloodwork, chest x-ray, etc. before his surgery on Monday. The appointment was scheduled for 8:30 and they estimated it would take about 2 hours. He calls me at 9:00 saying “it’s over.” What? That was quick! Nope… they demanded $2,000 up front before they’d even do the tests. And no $2,000 meant no surgery!

WHAT?!?! The coordinator in the surgeon’s office told us that insurance was covering 100%! The INSURANCE company told us they were covering 100%! WTH people?!?! Apparently what they failed to tell us is they cover 100% AFTER our out of pocket…. which is $2,000!

Now, this would be no problem… had they told us a month ago, or even two weeks ago! But no, they wait and tell us this THREE DAYS BEFORE SURGERY! YIKES!!

So after much panicking, much distress, a little bit of yelling, and yes, even some tears (on both sides), we figured out how to come up with the money. Wasn’t fun, wasn’t easy, and we’re still holding onto shoestring hope that it’s all going to work out, but the important thing is… Jack’s still on for surgery on Monday…. hospital be damned!

I miss Baylor!

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Finally Here

Heather — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 04:06:28 +0000

Since Jack’s accident he’s had trouble getting around due to pain and swelling in his leg and foot. He’s built up his stamina, but it’s been a catch-22 – his injury prevents him from a lot of physical activity, but his weight and lack of physical activity hinders the healing in his leg.

For the past six months, Jack has been seeing the doctor, the nutritionist and even the psychologist, in prepation for having LapBand surgery. Well, the six months are up, the information has been submitted, insurance has been approved, and now it’s time.

Jack has the final meeting with his surgeon this week, and they’ll schedule his surgery. We’re hoping they’ll be willing to schedule it for next Monday, March 3rd. He’s already starting on the preparation diet… soft foods for a week, then liquids only for the 2-3 days before. We’ll find out for sure on Tuesday when the surgery will be.

It’s strange. Jack has had so many surgeries. But they’ve all been necessary, not elective. And… they’ve all been at the same hospital, we’ve known what to expect. This time, it’s all unknown… unknown place, unknown people, unknown processes. So it will be interesting.

Keep us in your prayers. I’ll be updating here as we know more.

~Heather

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Number 19 (I think!)

Heather — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 19:56:12 +0000

Jack’s going back in for more surgery next week. Outpatient surgery, but nonetheless, it’s another surgery. I think we’re up to number 19. Dr. Kelton, the plastic surgeon, wants to do a flap and see if that works. We’ll see how it goes…. please keep us in your prayers!

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March Madness

Heather — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 03:02:12 +0000

I guess it’s time to post again! lol

Staying busy, working on some graphics projects for a client, doing some scanning for another… just busy, busy! Catching up for all the time that I was sick!

Saturday night was our company banquet. I did a special video where I taped a bunch of employees and then put it all together into one DVD. Everyone LOVED it! I was very proud! Oh, and I got an award too, so that was nice. Now I turn to planning the company golf tournament in May, so that should be fun.

Jack’s doing good. The doctor considers his left leg (the MRSA) closed. YAY! The right leg, after being open for over 2 years, is FINALLY looking like it’s going to close! DOUBLE YAY!!! They finally ordered a jobst garment (compression), and that had to wait until it was closed, so the doctors have confidence too!

Other than that, we’re just living life! I’m preparing for the MS Walk. I’m selling soldered charms to help raise money, so if you’re interested, email me! They make GREAT mother’s day gifts!!

~Heather

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Drum Roll Please

Heather — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 06:34:32 +0000

So Jack had his bone scan and white blood cell tag this week… very interesting how technology works and what it can show us about our own bodies… anyway, so the good news – there is no osteomyelitis in Jack’s leg! yay! That was the infection he had right after he got out of the hospital, resulting in 6 weeks of daily IV antibiotics. So… what IS there? Well, we don’t know that so much at this point, and the infectious disease doc is out of the country until after the first of the year (oh to be young and wealthy! lol). So we wait, and see, and pray really hard. God is in control! We believe that completely!

Fantastic news at the doctor this week… he recently changed my meds and they are now working properly! Yay! Hence the 15lb weight loss in the past month! Double YAY!! It’s nice to feel healthier.

Did Christmas with the family this evening before everyone heads off in their own directions. Presents, lights, singing, and good Mexican food. That’s what Christmas is all about folks!

Other than that, we’ve just been busy, busy, busy. Jack’s off to California for work stuff in a week or so (we just found out yesterday!), and I’m super busy at work with tradeshows, websites, brochures, and all that other fun stuff.

Happy Holidays!
~Heather

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It’s beginning to FEEL a lot like Christmas!

Heather — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 01:17:11 +0000

Brrr… it’s getting cold out there! Two days ago it was 80 degrees outside. Right now, it’s a chilly 34 degrees! Holy Cow! But I love, love, love cold weather. We don’t get much of it here in Texas, though.

I went with Jack to his doctor’s appointments this past week. He’s scheduled to go back next week for the bone scan and a white blood cell scan. These will help to show if the infection is bone or tissue. Once we know that, we will have a better idea of what the treatment will be. So yet again, we’re waiting… for tests, for doctors, for prognosis. And of course with the holidays, I’m sure the waiting won’t be short! lol That part I do remember!

Jack and I were talking the other day about spending the holidays in the hospital two years ago. My mom and dad brought us Thanksgiving dinner at the rehab hospital (a friend brought us leftovers just so it would be authentic! lol), and then we were lucky enough that Jack was discharged a couple of days before Christmas. I remember putting up the Christmas tree in Jack’s hospital room, wondering if that really was where we’d spend Christmas. I am so thankful for the doctors and nurses who took care of Jack during that time. There were times that I felt so lost among the medical terminology, the treatment options and the pressure of it all, but every single person was so kind, patient and understanding. I’ll never forget them.

Ok, so sorry about that little trip down memory lane…. we’ve been doing that a lot around here!

Gotta run… been baking cookies like crazy today, something about the holidays brings out the baker in me! :o)
~Heather

P.S. Awesome news… I’ve lost over 15lbs in the past month!! Yesterday I had to go buy a size smaller pants!! I’m so, so, so thrilled!! I’ll post later about all of that though!

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Here We Go Again

Heather — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 16:57:27 +0000

So it’s been over two years since Jack’s accident and you’d think our hospital days would be over by now…. Yeah right!

Here’s the players (aka Doctors!):

Dr. Kelton – Plastic reconstructive surgeon. Since Jack still has an open wound, he goes in for follow ups about every 6-8 weeks.

Dr. Shuey – Hyperbaric center specialist. He’s a new one, Jack just saw him for the first time today.

Dr. Sloan – Infectious disease specialist. Treated Jack last year for osteomyelitis (bone infection). Think Dr. House (the TV show), but with a better attitude! lol

We saw Dr. Kelton on Tuesday. Well, he finally said let’s try hyperbaric treatment (i.e. putting more oxygen in Jack’s blood). So Jack went this morning for the intiial evaluation. He gets there and Dr. Shuey says that Dr. Sloan wants to see him and do a bone scan because he thinks the osteo wasn’t completely gone. This could also be the potential source of Jack’s current inflamation of MRSA in his other leg.

Soooooo…. We’ve got an appointment with Dr. Sloan for Wednesday, followed by a visit to the hyperbaric center. Let’s hope this appointment doesn’t end in another PICC line and nightly IV’s like last time… and Jack’s biggest fear, another surgery to remove/replace the titanium rod in his leg.

I feel like saying “Here we go again!”

UGH!!

~Heather

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Getting There & Update

Heather — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 03:47:32 +0000

Well I finally decided to move *my* blog over here rather than just letting it be a digital playground. So I’ve imported all of my blogger posts, you should see all the categories over there on the left. I wanted to make sure I kept all of the information about Jack’s accident, etc.

Speaking of which… this past weekend was the 2 year anniversary of Jack’s accident. Crazy! It seems so long ago, but just like yesterday. Current status…. he’s doing well. Getting around pretty well, still can’t walk real long distances, but he’s getting there. He still has an open wound… isn’t that insane?!?! He’s still seeing Dr. Kelton, the plastic surgeon, about every 6 weeks. He’s recently started seeing a dermatologist who had some great suggestions that have helped a lot. So we still deal with the repercussions of the accident every day, and will probably deal with them for the rest of our lives.

The weather’s getting cooler… it’s so nice… I love this time of the year. Definitely feeling more and more like fall every day. And my favorite holiday is coming up… Thanksgiving! I’ll post more later about why it’s my favorite.

I’m still teaching classes at The Scrapbook Pad. In fact, on December 1st I’m one of the teachers for this cool make & take day… there’s 10 different projects that you can complete, all having to do with the holidays. It’s very cool. I’ll post a photo of my project. The digital classes are still going strong! I’ve got two digital classes – Digital Scrapbooking 101 and Photo Editing for Everyone.

Other than that, not too much going on. I promise to post more often! :o)

~Heather

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Digi Baby!

Heather — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 15:50:00 +0000

So, I’m very happy to announce that I’m a new Digital Assistant at The Scrapbook Pad! They have an awesome digital center, complete with digital kiosk, a couple of computers, and everything a digital scrapper could need to actually take their scrapbook OUT of their computer! Very cool! So I’ll be working there a few nights during the week, and then on Saturday nights, helping people in the digi world.

Status on the medical front… not much really. I go back for a follow up on Monday, so I’ll post more then. Thank you for all of the comments and emails that I’ve gotten. It really means a lot to me. And on Jack’s medical front… he goes back to the plastic surgeon in a couple of weeks. If there’s still no progress on the final spot closing up, then he’ll send Jack for hyperbaric chamber treatments.

Ah, so that’s it for a rainy Saturday. I’m trying to spify up the house this weekend, and of course I’m going cropping tonight.

~Heather

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New Things, and Old Things Back Again

Heather — Sat, 05 May 2007 06:20:00 +0000

So, back in December, Jack bought me this for Christmas. And it has sat on my desk, with the cover on it ever since. Now, you have to understand, I have never learned how to sew. My mom used to sew (I say used to because I know she hasn’t pulled her machine out in a long, long, LONG time! lol). But I never had an interest in learning. And to be completely honest, that didn’t change in December either. I wanted a sewing machine so I could do those cool stitches on my scrapbooking layouts – yes, sewing on paper, it looks cool, I promise!

So anyway, there it sat on my desk. Until tonight. I finally pulled it out and with the help of the owner’s manual I learned how to thread a bobbin, thread the needle and yes, I sewed. I’m so proud, even if it was just random stitches on a scrap of fabric! There’s a reason that I wanted to pull it out though. I found a cool pattern for a knitting needle holder. I’ve been looking for one and can’t find one that is perfect, so I figured I’d sew my own! I bought the pattern at Joann’s – Butterick 5006. I want to do the straight needle holder and circular needle holder. My next step is to go find some cool fabric for it.

The other thing I did tonight was make my planner. I’d been tossing around the idea of what I wanted to do. I’ve been using a blackberry, but it’s just not working for me, so I’m going back to a paper planner. I downloaded some printable forms from DIY Planner, modified them a little bit, and printed them out for a 9×7 3-ring binder (the pages are a 1/2 sheet – 8.5×5.5). I covered the binder with some of my favorite Chatterbox paper and ribbon. Then I used the Fiskars Craft drill to drill a hole in both sides of the cover, and threaded a ribbon to tie it closed. The section dividers are Chatterbox cardstock, again in patterns I love (and match the cover of course!). Again, just like the needle holder above, I was looking and looking for a planner that was perfect, but couldn’t find it… and what I did find was incredibly pricey! So… I made my own! I wanted it to be something beautiful, and something that I loved. And yes, I can say that I love this binder! I need to find a solution for the spine (hopefully my coolio friend will have some ideas), and I need to die cut some tabs for the dividers, and then it will be absolutely perfect! :o)

In other news, just about the time we think we’ve cut the strings, they get tied back together. Yes, we… well, Jack, really… was back at Dr. Kelton’s office this week. If you remember, he released Jack back in March or April. Well, the one part of the wound that is still open, started getting deeper last week. Not wanting to risk anything, Jack called and made the appointment. Dr. Kelton doesn’t seem to concerned about it, at first, but wants to see it again in 2 weeks. And Jack has strict orders to stay off of it as much as possible, and to leave it uncovered when he’s at home. He had been keeping the bandage on until bedtime. So we’ll see where that goes. And here we were celebrating last time when we left the hospital, not expecting to be going back!

I think that’s about it around here. Happy Cinco de Mayo, National Scrapbook Day, etc.
~Heather

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