Back in August, AJ injured his knee in football. Since then he's "tweaked" it a few times and seen a couple of doctors and PT's. We all agreed that it was time to see an orthopedic doctor, and this week it was confirmed that it's not good. "A complete tear of the ACL" is what the doctor said of the MRI results. Now this is bad enough news in itself. I know because I've heard it 3 times personally. Needless to say, I think it hurts even more when it happens to your kids.
To make the situation worse, because he is 12 and still growing, this presents a difficult problem of ACL surgery. Normally, they drill through the bone to attach the new ACL, but his growth plates are not yet fused, and drilling into them is a big no-no, unless you want to stunt his growth in one leg. So, at the end of the month, we are meeting with 2 different orthopedic surgeons, on 2 different days, in 2 different directions, who said they work with pediatric patients, so we will find out more then.
So for now, we are just processing all of what is going on and asking for prayers for AJ. If you know him at all, you know that the boy is all about sports, and we are learning this week about trusting in God and His Will for us, and what we can do in the present moment to find peace, comfort, strength and a positive attitude to be grateful for the blessings in our lives.
2024
Friday, December 12, 2014
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Rocky & Bullwinkle
So most of those reading this will know who or what those 2 names mean. For those that don't, they are 2 cartoon characters that were popular when I was a kid. Recently, we had our real-life encounters of "Rocky & Bullwinkle".
Bullwinkle is a moose, and this fall, a moose was traveling through our area. You might be thinking, "So what?" Well, moose do not frequent this area, so to see one is very rare & it was figured that he was sick. He hit quite a few farms and towns along Hwy 68 here in SW MN and I read last week that he died in Sleepy Eye, a town about 80 miles from us.
Where does Rocky come in? Squirrels run around here like crazy and we enjoy watching them frolick around. There is a huge one that visits our yard quite often, and even more since we started throwing out the bread crusts (for the birds) that the kids won't eat. He has even dared to come up on the back deck to taunt our cat watching from inside the patio doors. So imagine my surprise when, while in the kitchen, something large and furry (that was not the cat) runs into the room from the side door area. It caught me off guard and I shrieked, which scared it back to where it came from...downstairs. As I frantically ran to find out where it went, I envisioned those videos of squirrels ransacking people's homes as they attempt to get it out. I opened the patio door before chasing it out of its hiding space, but then realized that it would have to run through the kitchen to get out. I put my "let's-be-rational-hat" on and decided that if I opened the side door (which is right at the top of the basement stairs) that he would hopefully go right outside after being chased from the basement.
As my plan is coming to execution, Jason walks in the back patio door to a family excited beyond all belief. "There's a squirrel in the house!", the kids all exclaim. "Of course there is!", he says, "the back door is wide open!" As I explain what's going on & my initial plan to get the critter out, he realizes why the door is open. Now we're scrambling to get it all ready before Rocky ransacks the house, so as I was brainstorming, Laney headed downstairs with a broom to persuade him in the right direction. Jason stood guard in the kitchen doorway to keep him from getting further into the house. Laney found him downstairs perched upon my office chair and instinctively went around his opposite side to then coax him toward the stairs. He didn't hesitate and scampered quickly up the stairs and sailed out the open door, not even bothering to go down the steps.
Mission accomplished, hearts pounding, excited squirrel herders' smiling faces rejoiced in the encounter and the fact that he didn't get far into the house.
We pondered all day how that stinker got in, and I just figured the kids left the door open after coming home from the grandparents house earlier. But, I found the answer the next day when a mess of shredded insulation and a popped-off chimney cover revealed the, now drafty, entry point. He also managed to dump board games all over as he attempted to find a place to get out by one of the basement windows. I am not sure how long he was in our house, but I am thankful that we didn't have any other evidence of his visit that a few messes.
A while ago, one got into Jason's parents house when they were gone for the weekend. He made a mess, as well as chewed and scratched up woodwork around several windows, while trying to escape. Let's just say I was nervous about leaving for the weekend this Thanksgiving after remembering that incident, but Rocky must have learned his lesson and stayed outside this weekend where he could finish his bread crusts.
Bullwinkle is a moose, and this fall, a moose was traveling through our area. You might be thinking, "So what?" Well, moose do not frequent this area, so to see one is very rare & it was figured that he was sick. He hit quite a few farms and towns along Hwy 68 here in SW MN and I read last week that he died in Sleepy Eye, a town about 80 miles from us.
Where does Rocky come in? Squirrels run around here like crazy and we enjoy watching them frolick around. There is a huge one that visits our yard quite often, and even more since we started throwing out the bread crusts (for the birds) that the kids won't eat. He has even dared to come up on the back deck to taunt our cat watching from inside the patio doors. So imagine my surprise when, while in the kitchen, something large and furry (that was not the cat) runs into the room from the side door area. It caught me off guard and I shrieked, which scared it back to where it came from...downstairs. As I frantically ran to find out where it went, I envisioned those videos of squirrels ransacking people's homes as they attempt to get it out. I opened the patio door before chasing it out of its hiding space, but then realized that it would have to run through the kitchen to get out. I put my "let's-be-rational-hat" on and decided that if I opened the side door (which is right at the top of the basement stairs) that he would hopefully go right outside after being chased from the basement.
As my plan is coming to execution, Jason walks in the back patio door to a family excited beyond all belief. "There's a squirrel in the house!", the kids all exclaim. "Of course there is!", he says, "the back door is wide open!" As I explain what's going on & my initial plan to get the critter out, he realizes why the door is open. Now we're scrambling to get it all ready before Rocky ransacks the house, so as I was brainstorming, Laney headed downstairs with a broom to persuade him in the right direction. Jason stood guard in the kitchen doorway to keep him from getting further into the house. Laney found him downstairs perched upon my office chair and instinctively went around his opposite side to then coax him toward the stairs. He didn't hesitate and scampered quickly up the stairs and sailed out the open door, not even bothering to go down the steps.
Mission accomplished, hearts pounding, excited squirrel herders' smiling faces rejoiced in the encounter and the fact that he didn't get far into the house.
We pondered all day how that stinker got in, and I just figured the kids left the door open after coming home from the grandparents house earlier. But, I found the answer the next day when a mess of shredded insulation and a popped-off chimney cover revealed the, now drafty, entry point. He also managed to dump board games all over as he attempted to find a place to get out by one of the basement windows. I am not sure how long he was in our house, but I am thankful that we didn't have any other evidence of his visit that a few messes.
A while ago, one got into Jason's parents house when they were gone for the weekend. He made a mess, as well as chewed and scratched up woodwork around several windows, while trying to escape. Let's just say I was nervous about leaving for the weekend this Thanksgiving after remembering that incident, but Rocky must have learned his lesson and stayed outside this weekend where he could finish his bread crusts.
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