My leg that was almost chopped off

Okay, so maybe I had a slim but more like none chance of my leg being amputated, but that doesn't mean I didn't have the desire to break the machete out of the 72 hour kit and live one legged for the rest of my life.

My Valentines day consisted of taking a nice hour long nap while my surgeon, Dr. Young You, (that is absolutely his name. I did not make that up) shoved a camera and 2 instruments inside my knee joint with hopes of shaving out some damaged cartilage. I was home by lunch time, and stayed put on the couch 99% of the time for 3 days.

The night before surgery I wanted to make sure Dr You and I were on the same page as far as which knee was to be operated on. 

The couch wasn't so bad. I was the neighborhood watch for a few days being able to see everyone who was going or coming, who was getting a package, and who was having pizza for dinner. When there is not much else to do it is quite entertaining.

Three days post surgery, I was instructed to remove all bandages and do simple exercises such as bending and lifting my leg, which turned out to be not so simple. Here, for your enjoyment, is the unveiling as seen through my eyes.

Swollen, slightly bruised, but not as bad as I thought.

Nine days post surgery I went to see Dr. You to have stitches removed, get a run down of everything he found while creeping around my knee joint, and hopes to get the okay to take an actual shower, and drive. Turns out I had two small meniscus tears which weren't very bad, and Dr. You says they were only causing about 10% of the pain and swelling I was feeling. The other 90% came from behind my knee cap where once smooth cartilage morphed into a jellyfish looking creature.


This is what the cartilage behind the knee cap is supposed to look like:

smooth

And, this is what mine looked like:

Turns out that is a big problem. Dr You did his best work to shave the cartilage down to this:

Unfortunately, this is a common problem in women, and this cartilage actually begins to deteriorate after age 15. It can not be repaired, bummer, but I can resume normal activities in a couple months, and I assume my knee will tell me when to slow down. For now, I am happy to sleep in my own bed, shower regularly, drive Chappie, and surprisingly, wear normal pants.

9 days post surgery. Stitches out, and only a small amount of swelling.  Not too shabby Dr. You.

You don't mess with a sleeping Talan

Bath time butt dial

Last week Grams had an especially bad week of butt dialing everyone in her contact list. This week, Aunt Tanya has discovered Talan might not know the actual meaning of butt dial.




Aunt Tanya: "okay Talan, turn around so I can wash your butt."

Talan: "haha! butt. thats a funny word"

Aunt Tanya: "okay. lets rinse."

Talan: "make sure you butt dial me!"

Aunt Tanya: "i have never butt dialed you...ever"

Talan: "well....could you?"

This is how Talan leaves his pants after most baths. As if he is still inside them and has dove straight into the floor.

Adolescence

Ashton:

"I think when I come home from school I'll start eating goldfish or something healthy instead of snack cakes every day. Also, I think I'll start working out. I'm about to start puberty and that is when my muscles start changing."

Several months ago I picked up a puberty for boys pamphlet at one of Syphr's routine check ups as a joke. Ashton has not only read, memorized and recited the pamphlet cover to cover, but is also beyond thrilled, and not shy at all, to begin this new chapter in his life which he believes will start the day he turns 10. Lovely.

Things I love:

#37:

Walking into parent teacher conference, only to end up having a conversation about Ashton's massive collection of woot shirts, or his vast scientific knowledge with his really awesome teachers, one of which is a Harry Potter fan and welcomes Ashton's constant Harry Potter references. All this because there is no negative news to report. 

How I love my nerdy kid. He does his all of his homework, studies for tests, and googles the periodic table of elements in his free time while watching episodes of Bill Nye the Science Guy on Itunes. His current most favorite things are pi, the periodic table of elements, the Pythagorean Theorem, and anyone in history that did something great (Ben Franklin, Einstein, MLK, John Hancock). I'm thrilled girls are not on that list yet, although Ashton is still highly confident and makes it known that he could get a girlfriend any time he wants. 

This kid is seriously refreshing.