Tuesday, July 28, 2009

I love him!

I love that we can just be goofy together!
He's my best friend and I never want to take for granted our time together. I am blessed beyond measure to call him my husband!

Monday, July 27, 2009

Annie Update

I wanted to give more of an update on Annie. She is able to walk around on her own, she's just a bit wobbly. She doesn't have complete control (or possibly feeling) back in one of her back legs, so she tends to tip over while she walks or sit down when she is trying to stand up. Also, since she tries to protect that back leg that isn't doing well, she walks with a bend in her back. She is eating and drinking well, as well as peeing and pooping (is that TMI? Sorry if it is!!). She has lost most of the muscle mass in her back legs, which is sad to us because she had quite the thighs on her because she would jump and wrestle with Leo. We were surprised at how quickly she has lost all that muscle. I hope she gets it back soon! We go to get her staples out this Saturday, then we can begin some rehab with her. If we were in Dallas, we could take her to center where her surgery was done and have a free consultation where they would show us what to do with her. Since we aren't there we are just going to call them and have them go over everything with us over the phone. I think she will make a full recovery and regain full mobility in her back legs, but if she doesn't, she is still happy and she will at least be able to walk around and play outside! Her hair is beginning to grow back. We would always call her our "Little Razorback" because she had a boar stripe down her back that would stand straight up when she was barking or being protective. When they shaved her back, the left the very top and the very tip of it, so when she barks now, there are two little spots that stick up! It's cute, but we're ready for it to all grow back and for her to be back to normal!

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Poor little Annie


Someone wrote on my facebook wall this week in response to what has been happening "seems like there's always drama in your life". I guess they're right. Maybe God just doesn't want our lives to be boring!!

Let's start at the beginning. Right before Tim left for his trip to San Diego, Annie wasn't showing an interest in jumping up into bed with us or onto the couch. She eventually would but we had to keep urging her to jump up. On Friday, before Tim's flight arrived, she wasn't even coming up the steps in the front or back of the house. I started getting worried because she was only wanting to lay on one of the dog pillows and not being herself. Having had dachshunds in the past, I knew the signs of back problems and I was worried about what all of this meant. Tim got in and we decided to take her to the emergency pet hospital because we didn't want it to get any worse. We went and the vet there said it was back pain and gave us an NSAID for her to take and seemed to think that would take care of it, but if it didn't we should see our vet. Well, Saturday morning she seemed to be doing ok, but by Sunday night she wasn't able to do much, had a clear hump in her back and her back legs weren't working all that well. We decided that we would go to our vet first thing Monday morning, each of us would just go in late for work/rotation. We got up and got ready Monday and I got Annie up to take her out before we left and she couldn't walk. Her back paws were flipped backwards and she couldn't flip them back on her own (which means she didn't have control over her back limbs). I told Tim I was going on and he could just meet us there. He was going to drive his own car so he could leave as soon as we saw the vet to go on to his rotation (which is an hour away).
Long story short, our vet saw us, took some x-rays, told us to go home and pack because we were going to Dallas for emergency surgery. They took care of calling the surgeon, we called Tim's brother and sister-in-law to see if we could stay with them the night, called our friends to take care of Leo and called parents and bosses to tell them what was up. They told us we needed to leave as soon as possible so that we could get there in time to have the surgery that night. It took us about an hour to get everything together to get going. We arrived at the Dallas Veterinary Surgical Center around 4:30.
I must say, it was nicer than any human medical complex that we had ever been to. The staff and the surgeon were so friendly, professional, and worked quickly. We went through consultation and he told us they would do an MRI then go ahead with the surgery. From the x-rays and looking at her back our vet and the surgeon thought it was a compressed disc in the middle of her back but the MRI showed it was actually a completely ruptured disc in her very lower back. When the surgeon called us that evening to tell us how the surgery went, he told us how severe it was and it confirmed to us that we did the right thing by making the trip to have this done. Had we not and simply treated it with steroids thinking it was a compressed disc, she could have become completely paralyzed. During the pre-op, he informed us that it would probably be Wednesday when we could take her home but possibly not until longer. We discussed how we would handle it if it took that long to be able to take her home. We decided we would have to go on home and just come back on the weekend to pick her up. We talked with the office Tuesday morning to set up a time to visit her that afternoon. That is when the doctor who was checking on her told us that if she emptied her bladder on her own, we could take her home that day!

We went to visit her and I was a little discouraged. She didn't seem to be doing that well, but I knew it would be a long road to recovery. I was sad to see her little back shaved and the 17 staples from the incision.
Even though Annie didn't empty her bladder, they let us take her home anyway, in hopes she would go pee pee on the trip home.
Thankfully, she did! We got home around 9 Tuesday night and I don't think either of us knew how exhausted we would be from everything! I took her to our vet on Wednesday so he could take a look at her because she seemed to be in a lot of pain and she also wasn't pooping. He gave her a few shots and they told me to start her on a bland diet. I spend more time on her dinner that night than I did on mine and Tim's! She had boiled chicken breast, brown rice, and cottage cheese.
As you can imagine, she gobbled it up! She hadn't eaten since Sunday night so I know she was starving! Poor girl!

That night, we set her up to sleep in bed with us on a curved pillow in between us. That way we could feel if she moved around.
She can't jump, run or get worked up for at least 14 days while she heals. After that, she has about a 6 week recovery time while we do some PT exercises with her. When we take her out to the bathroom we have to use a sling-type contraption called the "Walkabout". I thought I would include some pictures because she is so cute with it on!
This is Tim about to put it on her.

Also, I wanted to add in a few cute pictures of her. She is obviously taking this bed rest thing seriously...she didn't even lift her head to drink water out of the bowl!
We will keep you posted on her recovery!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Oh, Look Who It Is!

The blog is under both of our names, but if you haven't been able to tell, I (Randi) do all of the posting. I make sure Tim reads them ahead of time to make sure a post doesn't sound too dumb, but I do the writing. Well, today, I'm going to hand over the reigns to Tim. I want him to tell you how his visit to San Diego went. So, here he is!
Salutations! Me llamo Tim. Anyway, this past week, Wednesday through Friday, I flew out to San Diego, CA to visit the Navy Medical Center. The Navy paid for the trip, flights, hotel, meals etc. I think my total cost was about 25 bucks for food while traveling and one decadent trip to In-N-Out Burger (my favorite!). So, here's the rundown of the trip.
Wednesday: Fly to San Diego, meet everyone, eat dinner, get some sleep.

Thursday: Wake up at the crack of dawn, eat, interview/tour/learn about Navy pharmacy, lunch, tour USNS Mercy (the west coast based Navy hospital ship), free time, dinner, sleep.


Friday: Wake up, eat, tour the USS Bonhomme Richard (Amphibious Assault Ship), Airport, home.

As you may have imagined, Wednesday was generally uneventful, the other applicants on the trip and I met, ate, chatted etc. Nothing exciting, just getting comfortable with each other. Thursday however was a full, long day, but was a lot of fun. We met at the hotel lobby at 0630 and headed to the Medical Center to eat breakfast in the galley. After we finished eating we split off into our groups by discipline (Medical, Pharmacy, Nursing, Environmental Health etc.). I was the only pharmacy applicant on this trip so LT Wong took me to the pharmacy and showed me around. After spending about 20 minutes with him CDR Norton, Head of the pharmacy department, got me and gave me my first "interview" which was really more like a conversation than a formal interview. We spoke for about 45 minutes or so, talked about pharmacy life, finances, the Navy etc. He was very friendly and welcoming and encouraging. After the "interview" was done LCDR Hindman, assistant head of the pharmacy department, came in and the three of us chatted for a bit before she took me to a conference room and gave me my second such interview, wherein we chatted for about 30 or so minutes. In both cases they answered more of my questions than I answered theirs.


After the interviews were done I was handed off to LT Sagrado who showed me all of the various satellite pharmacies and answered more of my questions. All three of them were so friendly and helpful, LCDR Hindman told me to give Randi her contact info if she had any questions as she is not only an active duty pharmacist, but her husband is active duty as well; so she is also a Navy wife.

After the pharmacy specific activities were over we ate lunch and headed to the Mercy. The Mercy and the Comfort are two converted oil tankers that are now 1000 bed hospitals, that happen to be ships. They have 16 operating rooms, 15 receiving wards, etc. Huge and capable. The Mercy is stationed in San Diego and is deployed in even numbered years, while the Comfort is based out of Virginia and is currently deployed as it goes out during odd numbered years. (I took a picture which we will post, but don't tell anyone, I wasn't supposed to take the picture)

The rest of the day entailed an afternoon snack of In-N-Out and some time spent talking to one of the recruiters on the trip, then dinner in the historical Gas Lamp District of downtown San Diego.
Friday was another early day but was worth it. We toured the USS Bonhomme Richard (an homage to Ben Franklin), an amphibious assault vessel, one class smaller than an aircraft carrier. The combat purpose is to transport Marines and their supplies to beaches or other locations that need taking over and offering medical support for those Marines. The ship was a little over 850 feet in length and can support a number of different helicopters and Harrier jets. (Included will be a couple pictures from the flight deck) They don't typically take pharmacists on ships other than the Mercy and Comfort, but I might see if I could arrange a deployment one day if Randi promises not to kill me first. : )
I then was taken to the airport and began my travels home. It was a wonderful trip and I learned a lot about both the Navy and my desire to join. Which is to say that I'm sure that this is what I want for my life, our marriage and my career, at least initially. Thanks for reading, here's Randi.


Here are some pictures that Tim wanted me to share with you:

I know most of you are wanting to know if this means we have made a decision yet. Tim loved the trip and was incredibly impressed with everything, especially the job that he would have. If he could make a decision right now, he would choose yes. He can't make any final decisions until the fall though, so we are going to spend this time in prayer for God to continue to show us if this is His will or not. If you think of us, please pray also. We will be sure to let everyone know when we make the decision.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

I have a question...

Does anyone have a recipe for some good homemade salad dressings? My favorite dressing is a bacon vinaigrette. But I would love to experiment with several different kinds. If you don't know of a recipe, if you know of a good site to find some recipes, that would be great too! Thank you in advance!

(I'm so glad I spellchecked "vinaigrette" because you all would have laughed at how I originally spelled it! I've been out of school for too long - I've done lost my smarts!!)

Not fair!

Tim gets to go to sunny Southern California tomorrow for the second time this year! In his defense, it's not strictly for pleasure.

He is flying out to San Diego tomorrow to tour the Naval base and hospital. "Why?" you ask? Well, for about a year now, we have been toying with the idea of Tim joining the military upon his completion of pharmacy school. The Navy has an amazing loan repayment program that only requires a 3 year commitment. Tim has always wanted to join the military. Originally he wanted to join right out of high school, but decided to go to college and meet the love of his life and get married. He then thought about joining after college, but the love of his life sweetly suggested that he go ahead and go to pharmacy school. So now, the love of his life is fine with this possibility of joining the navy. He wouldn't be a pharmacist who just counts pills and checks prescriptions. He actually doesn't know exactly what he would be doing, which is one of the big reasons for this trip. While he is there he is going to tour the housing, the base, and also go ahead and interview for a position. We might not necessarily be based in San Diego, although that would be one of our top picks. We would be at one of the 5 main naval hospitals. Out of those 5, our top choices are San Diego and Norfolk, VA. I love that area of the country and all the history around there. We feel that either of those places would be fun for our families to come visit, so maybe they won't complain TOO much when we move even further away than we are right now.

We don't know if this will be a career commitment or simply the first 3 years. We will make that decision when the time comes. We are praying seriously about this decision. We are hoping that this trip will show Tim what the job would be all about. We are also praying that God gives Tim a clear answer about whether this is the right thing to do or not. If you think of us, please pray too!

If he does join, I will be sure to post a picture of him in his uniform!

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Stupid Reality!

Well, I have completed my first 3 days of being back at work...and it stinks as much as it did before! Just kidding, it's not too bad. At least everyone is nice for the time being! :-)

But seriously, Tim and I are back home, together for good (well, until Tim leaves for a couple of days next week, but I will explain that later). Last week, Tim's parents came for a visit along with their newly acquired dachshund, Luke. I have only one picture from their visit and it's of Annie and Luke on Leo's pillow. That is quite pathetic. What is even more pathetic is that I'm too lazy to get up and get my camera to download the one picture so I can put it on here. Just picture it in your head: two wiener dogs, redish brownish, curled up, on a giant blue pillow. There ya go, I didn't even have to get up!! Anyways, we had a wonderful visit with them and are grateful they made the long drive out here! Last Wednesday, Tim and I left for vacation in Colorado Springs. We go every year because it is only 5 1/2 hours away and we love to get away to relax just the 2 of us. We saw more movies in the 4 days we were there than we have in the last 6 months! We also ate more than we should have...which is why we are on a little diet right now! I love traveling with Tim. He always knows where he is going, which is so amazing to me. We also get to spend a lot of time just being together. In the car, I entertain him with my singing and dancing. In the hotel, we just lay around and watch tv. At the movies, we share a drink and popcorn. At the outlet malls, we enjoy walking around holding hands. I just love spending time with him. Sometimes we get so busy and overwhelmed with everything we don't take as much time as we should to just be with each other. When we're home at the same time he's usually in his office working on something and I'm cleaning or doing laundry and we don't just enjoy each other's presence. Going on vacation allows us the time to do just that, and I love it!

But now, we are back to real life. I'm working again and Tim is doing his rotations. Hopefully, this year we will be able to spend more time together since he won't have homework at night to have to do. We sure are looking forward to next May, though!!