A rose by any other name...

On Mother's Day we were in Hutchinson and went to church with Greg's parents. During the service they had the kids come up and get a carnation for their mom. Zach chose a red carnation and was very pleased that I brought it back to Greg's parent's house and put it in water. Last Wednesday I went to an appreciation dinner for the ECFE board members and on the way out they gave me a red gerbera daisy. I brought it home and put it in water and the next day Zach was super excited about the flower. He went on and on about how beautiful it was. When Andrew got home from school, Zach took him into the kitchen and showed him the flower and told him to see how his Mother's Day flower had bloomed. He couldn't have been more proud. So...I didn't burst his bubble. Afterall, it was such a cute bubble.

I supinate and pronate??

Today I went and had the F scan on my feet and then had them cast for orthodics and then had my right foot splinted (which will need to be redone every 4 days until the orthodics come in) and after the appointment I went and got yet another pair of new running shoes (the third pair in 3 months).

Based on the F scan and the video taping of me walking, it appears that when I take a step it starts out looking like a supinated step - rolling to the outside of my foot until I hit the cuboid area. Once the cuboid area hits the ground, instead of rolling like it should, it collapses and forces my foot to slam down on the ball of my foot and then on my big toe which is typical of a normal pronation step. So...because of the the cuboid issues, it is causing my foot to pronate. All along, the doctors and physical therapists have been trying to support the cuboid area and help me with the supination, but this doctor thinks I need heel support to not allow for supination or pronation and support on both sides.

He was really disappointed at the shoes I had been counseled to get and asked me to go and get a pair of Pearl Izumis. They are much more rigid than the others I have had and should give me quite a bit more support. On Thursday he is allowing me to go on a walk (at exercise pace) to see if the splint and new shoes will give me more than 5 minutes of pain free walking.

He said it might take a long time and it may be a tedious process, but he thinks he can help and even said he is excited to "fix" my problem so that he can bring my case to show at a seminar...he said these are the impressive cases to show. I have my fingers crossed for a great seminar presentation in the near future!

How permanent is permanent supposed to be?

On Saturday morning I woke up to the sound of Andrew screaming and crying (not any mom's choice of alarm clocks). When I ran downstairs, I found him in the kitchen putting ice on his mouth which Greg had just gotten for him. There was an enormous amount of blood and tears - again, not a favorite moment for moms. We finally got him cleaned up and got the bleeding to stop enough that we realized that the bleeding was coming from his teeth and not his lips or tongue like we had originally thought.

Andrew only has 6 permanent teeth that have come in and he had knocked the bottom, front 2 loose - very, very loose. Just to give you an idea of how hard he must have hit his teeth...Andrew's bottom teeth overlap by about 1/2 a tooth's width and he knocked them straight and they were lined up perfectly side by side. Some seriously painful orthodontic work! Amazingly, he had done it on the back of Zach's head which had absolutely no evidence of the collision at all!

After many, many phone calls to dentists (and an emergency call to our friend Dave who really is an orthodontist) we realized that we were in a wait and see game. The teeth popped back into their original place (no free orthodontic work after all) on Saturday afternoon and luckily stayed in his little mouth! On Monday we went and had them x-rayed to make sure that the roots were still intact and they were!! What a huge relief. They are still a little loose and they still may turn grey if the nerves were damaged, but the worst case scenario is at least off the table!

Let the games begin!

As of Monday, Greg is now at Exodus Machines full time! These are computer renderings of the material handlers that they will be making starting in July. I think these look like toys at this size, but when you realize that the machine can reach 50 feet high and weighs 95,000 lbs, this is only a toy for the big boys!

Foprah is coming!! Foprah is coming!!

That's right! Holly is coming to visit on June 10th through the 14th!! I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. She will be our first "non-parent" visitor! YEAH!!! Before this news, I was kind of bummed out because there was a girlfriend's trip that was in the potential works for that time, but it just won't work out right now...then...we figured out that Holly could come during that exact same time (which is the only block of time this summer where there is nothing on my calendar - because it was cleared for the trip).

So...among other plans and lots and lots and lots of talking...we have a time scheduled to tape a show. We will be taping on June 12th...oh yeah...Foprah is making a guest appearance on Do.Make.Bake.!!!

Do. Make. Bake.

So, it's finally settled. Do. Make. Bake. is the name of my show. Now I just need to reschedule the taping and get started! Here is the trial run for one of the shows (the Edible Arrangements that get advertised in Duluth, but that you can't actually buy in Duluth - don't even get me started). If you can't buy it...make it! Watch out Duluth...here I come!

Mother's Day in Hutchinson

We went to Hutchinson this past weekend to spend Mother's Day with Greg's mom. We had a fun weekend and did a little yard work for Doris while we were there. We went in with Greg's siblings to get Doris some plants - she chose to get a tree and some flowers. Bruce and Greg dug the hole for and planted the tree and then removed the sod for a new flower bed - Andrew, Zach and I even got into the action on shoveling the new flower bed. Cyndi is going to help Doris get and plant the flowers and then the project will be complete! We'll be excited to see it the next time we are in Hutch...

Ed showed Andrew how to drive the lawn mower and he was in heaven!! Not long after, Zach was hooked on the back and took a nice, long ride! They were so cute riding all over the yard!

Little Miss Missy was in her own heaven - with Bruce and Lindsey's dogs! She loved playing with them - almost enough to make us get one of our own - almost!

From scan to scan

Well, the results of the MRI came back with no stress fractures. The only thing they could see that they would consider abnormal was swelling. So...they know the area is tender (but, I could have told them that!). Now, there is another series of tests...some to try to tell them what it could be and some to tell them what it's not. They are pretty sure it is still the cuboid syndrome, but they think that the tendons are just so shot that they won't be able to go back into place and actually hold during exercise.

The next step is literally that. I have an F scan on Tuesday where I will be walking and they will be measuring the pressure of my foot to see if they think wearing an insert during exercise could support the cuboid bone and relieve the pain...ahhhh the joys of more testing! I just have to keep reminding myself that even 20 years ago they would have told me that they had no idea and that's that. This doctor is really hopeful that she can figure it out and help me...really that's about all I could ask for!

Can you read in the MRI machine??

That's the question that got a good laugh from the scheduling nurse today. She said in all of her years she has never had anyone ask that. I, for one, am shocked. It seems like a perfectly good question. There you are - laying on your back for an hour - in a bright, white space - yes, it's noisy, but so are my kids. I know I could put in ear plugs and hold the book up and read...

Anyway, I met with my new doctor today (the surgical podiatrist) and she said that the first step (from this point) is getting an MRI on my foot. We need to rule out a stress fracture - or some other random issue. I meet with her again on Monday to go over results and then we will do some "biometric" measurements (like when you walk and they measure how your foot handles the pressure and stuff - that's the medical explanation - you can check for yourself if you don't believe me) and then we will go from there.

They got me in very quickly for the MRI. I have it tonight at 7:30. Now the question is, "Do I hope for a stress fracture?". I don't know if that would be an easy think to fix or not?? Maybe I'll just hope that they can finally figure it out...that's a great place to start!

Ahhh the life of a television producer...

Okay, so I haven't actually produced anything yet, but still! I had my first guest cancellation and so I need to reschedule the taping for this Thursday. I'm kind of bummed out, but I'll get something on the schedule soon. Greg had already gotten the time off of work (he is the camera crew after all) and so we are going to go on an afternoon date! A little lunch and movie time on Thursday afternoon...not the worst alternative plan!!