The Holiday's are here! It's snowing!





Look who bonded while
I was gone......

  Can you believe it?  Pretty soon it will be Christmas, then on to 2012.  First though, Adam is about to write his final exams for the third trimester, which will also end his first year of Law School.  What an accomplishment!  I am so proud.  He does it so graciously too.  I have to say, I really like this "Going to Law School." 

 

Scar 2 weeks post op



My healing is going well.  It has been three weeks since my surgery and I feel back to normal.  My face is still numb around the incision and I have this interesting and tingly nerve feeling in my cheek. 

Otherwise, I  have been out jogging (weather permitting) without any annoyances from my leg.  At first, I had a lot of strange, shocking, shooting and uncomfortable nerve sensations, similar to hitting your funny bone, yet this was in my calf.  I'm sure the nerve in my leg was thinking... What the heck happened to me?? :) Why did I have to be sacrificed??  :) 





Post operation-right eye with new weight.  I am able

to wear make-up again.. Feels pretty good.

 So my aches, pains, and stitches have been removed or diminished at this point.  Just some scars left and a lot of internal nerve growing in my face.  Most importantly, I remind myself not to forget the powerful effects of a positive attitude.  This is a Dr. Hadlock order... Love her.





Old gold eye weight-droopy eyelid

 In regards to the new gold eye weight; my eye is very happy and in excellent condition.  The weight is lighter, placed more effectively, and doesn't make my eyelid droop.  What a concept!  Oh, I can also see a lot better and use less eye lubricant.




I am so happy to have finally found a Dr. who agreed with me that the old eye weight was problematic.  She understood and replaced the old 2gram with a 1.4gram gold eye weight.  Thank goodness!  I knew there could be a better outcome than what I had.  I am learning a lot about trusting my instincts through all of this.  If I could give any advice it would be trust yours.  I  have found that it is also very important to find a Dr. who has a lot of experience and specializes in what you are trying to treat.  So many Docs will say, "Oh yeah,  I can treat you,"  Or, "I have experience in this," when in reality, they don't.  They are looking for experience.



magazine trees

So, on to a more lighthearted topic, Holiday Decorating!  I used the unwanted base branches of Steve and Amy's Christmas tree to make a mini tree for Adam and I.  You wouldn't even know this tree does not have a trunk.  If you have a large tree in your Living Room, create this mini tree for the kids room, or the master bedroom.  What is better than one tree????  Two trees!!!  On top of that, this mini tree is price effective or even free.  Geez, I am a terrible sales person and I am not even selling anything...



Mini tree made of large tree branches



Speaking of free; I made Christmas tree decorations out of magazines thanks to youtube.com.  It's kind of like origami. 

I hope you have fun doing what ever you do this next few Holiday weeks.  Decorating, shopping, partying, studying, staying warm, moving, wrapping, reading, cooking, and so on, and so on.



JP-C





Home again

 

Boston

 

Hi.  Well I survived and now am recovering with a bruised body, as to be expected.  Thank you for all of your kind and warm thoughts.  Thank you to Carol and Aunt Lisa for being very kind, sweet, and gentle with me as well as getting me home quickly.

Dr. Hadlock mentioned that she was thrilled by the strength of my nerves, both in my face and my leg.  So, I guess I prepared my body well.  Now, Im just noticing odd pulsing feelings both in my face and my leg.  I am happily recovering with my sweet Adam and Oli here to wait on me hand and foot.

See the lighthouse in the water 

Back to bed for me.  First, I'd like to mention that Cape Elizabeth, Maine is beautiful and Thank you Aunt Lisa and Uncle Tom for having us.  What a great weekend escape! 

Aunt Lisa and Uncle Tom's home in Cape Elizabeth, Maine

Sea glass that Uncle Tom
and I found

Portland Head Light in Fort Williams

Post-Op Update

Good morning all, apologies for the belated post.

Jill, the trooper that we all know her to be, made it through surgery last night with no complications.  The reports I got were brief, but they were all positive.

The doctor was very pleased with the donor nerve taken from Jill's leg.  The connection of that nerve to her left-side facial nerve was successful, and the doctor seemed confident in the outcome. Jill also had the gold eye weight exchanged for a lighter, smaller one.  By changing the position of the weight Jill will have more comfortant and better symmetry in her right eyelid.

They gave Jill some anti-nausea medication to counteract the anesthesia which seemed to help her a lot.  She was in very good spirits last night when I talked to Carol, joking with the nurses as we would expect Jill to do directly after major surgery.

The doctor will be back in this morning to do a final check-up, and Jill could be discharged as early as noon today.  I cannot wait to have her back here, taking care of Oliver on my own has not been easy and she has a lot of leaves to rake.

I hope this was helpful, thank you all for your thoughts and care.  Jill has a great support system behind her.

Adam