5 Putnals: June 2011

As we roll into another week of summer, we also roll into more doctors' visits. Tomorrow we start the week with an upper GI for me bright and early in the morning, in hopes of getting some answers..... Wednesday Reed will see an ENT to determine if he needs tubes to remedy all of his ear infections and to see about possible tonsillectomy & removing adenoids. This baby SNORES worse than any grown man I've ever known! He snores so loudly that he wakes himself up throughout the night.

We are still waiting, ever so patiently, for the call about a donor femur.... I continue to do rehab 2 days each week until a donor is found and the surgery can be done. I finally began enjoying my summer this past Thursday, when I was able to get into the pool for the first time. We are going to take a short trip to the beach this weekend to be sure we get a trip in before the surgery. Other than that, I'm pretty much ready to get the surgery done so that I can begin the healing process and be ready to run once the school year starts.... Run as in be in high gear for school. Not run as in running physically, because that is out of the question from now on. The only way I can run is in the deep end of the pool....which is okay. I can deal with that. At least we have a pool at home! :) I have invested in some equipment for running and working out in the pool, so I'm ready to get busy! Reed LOVES the pool, so we can spend LOTS of time playing in the pool!

Reed chillaxin' in the pool :)

I hope the summer finds each of you resting and relaxing with those who are the most important to you. Take time today to the do the things that make you happy. None of us is guaranteed tomorrow, so don't leave anything to be regretted.

Love to all,

Wow! I can't believe it's been 2 months since I updated our blog. So much going on with no time to rest! School ended, and we thought life would slow down a little.... Yeah, right! We celebrated Reed's 2nd (but 1st at home) Easter; had dance recital for the girls; finished the 5th and 1st grades with outstanding achievements; survived 10 1/2 years of teaching; 13 years of marriage; etc.

Then summer began with a bang! My first day out of post-planning was spent in surgery. This surgery was supposed to correct a problem from birth that took 34 years for someone to finally diagnose! I was born with my kneecaps too high....very common problem with a relatively simple fix. They went in to fix my right knee on May 25th, since they would only do one knee at a time we started with the knee that keeps popping out of place when I walk. Dr. Waldrop made the incision (6 inches straight down the center of my knee) and decided to scope around before he started the patella realignment. He was blown away by what he found..... a chunk missing out of my femur.... Yeah, where did that go? Crazy stuff. He immediately stopped surgery and went to pull another surgeon from his own surgery to look at my knee. At least I have something to keep 'em interested, right? HA! This other surgeon is the TOP transplant surgeon, and he said to close it up and do a donor transplant. Yep, get a donated piece of femur to tranplant into my femur to grow together to make a complete femur. At the time of the transplant, Dr. Waldrop will also realign my patella. Dr. Flandry said the longest it has ever taken him to find a donor was 3 months, so he's optimistic that it will happen soon. The bad part comes next.... one month on crutches with NO weight at all on the leg while the two bone pieces grow together. So, I either have NO summer if we have the surgery soon, or I go back to school on crutches for the first month. Fun, fun, fun! There's never a dull moment around here!

Reed is crazy fast on all fours, and is taking a few steps on his own here and there. Preemies usually walk around 15 months, which he will be in a little over a week. I'm rather worried about when he does start walking....he's hard enough to keep up with now! Wait til I'm on crutches trying to keep up with Speedy! Won't we be a sight!

The girls are absolutely loving being on summer vacation! Sara officially turns 11 in an hour and a half. She made me the owner of the best title one can have - MOMMY - 11 years ago today. There is no title more honorable than that!

Summer at the Putnal house is bound to be filled with excitement and stories to tell. With an 11 year old, 7 year old, and a 1 year old, there are many fun times to be had. We are definitely going to try to work in a trip to the beach (albeit brief) before my transplant...the beach makes everything better! I can't wait to see Reed play in the sand. He was too small to do anything but sleep last summer at the beach, so I'm ready to see him play and enjoy the sand and water! :) I will attach random pics, since we haven't had any photo sessions lately. :)

It is my prayer that you will each spend an extra minute hugging your babies each night; postpone that meeting a few minutes to hear your kid finish his story; put down the phone or turn off the television to play "for just another minute" with your babies. God loaned our kids to us, and could call them home to Him anytime. Live each day so that there is no regret if there were no tomorrow to do all the things we didn't slow down for today.

Please join me in praying that a donor femur is found quickly and the surgery can be done soon so that healing can begin.