Merry Christmas!!

Now that the weather has finally turned cold and it has snowed, it truly feels like Christmas time and time to send out that traditional message to all our family and friends.

First off, we hope this finds all of you in good health and doing well as can be financially. We have been able to maintain our household even with the decline in income due to David's job loss. It did take totally wiping out our retirement fund from the State of Colorado to pay all our bills in full and become financially solvent. We didn't have much choice in taking the payout, it was either take the payout or go completely so far in debt we wouldn't be able to get out for many years. We were also facing losing our apartment due to the inablility to pay the rent. Not only did we pay all our bills, but we were able to put quite a bit of the money back into an IRA to begin building our retirement again.

If you have kept up with my blogs at all, you know David is doing so well since his bi-lateral hip replacement surgeries. The doctors have told us they have not seen such a fast recovery in a very long time. He will not have to see the doctors again until January 2008. Hopefully by that time he will have a new job and the increase we have been waiting for from the Veteran's Administration.

James is still struggling in English at college but has plans to take some makeup classes here in Trinidad this summer while he is working and going to school to get his certification as a Nursing Assistant. He is due home for Christmas on Friday, December 14, so please be praying for good weather so this Mom will not worry too much about the 4-5 hour drive. He says he is so ready for a month long break and then should be ready to dive back into studies and get his grades up.

Elizabeth has been studying hard every free minute she has when she is not working. She is planning on taking the ACT test in April when all the Juniors are scheduled to take it. She wants to go to college to be a pediatrician and I believe she will obtain her goal. She continues to do well in band, she is 2nd chair for their concert tonight.

Ben is having some problems with staying organized and keeping up with school work. We have had a long talk and hopefully things will improve and the grades will come back up to the level we know he can obtain. He is doing very well in band also. Both of them received bronze medals from their band director and the Colorado Band Master Association, along with all the kids in the band. The kids placed 3rd in State Competition in October, up one place from last year. Now it is on to Washington, DC in July to represent all of Southern Colorado in the National Independence Day Parade.

I have not had a lot of time to rest and relax or think about myself much with taking care of the kids, house and my husband. However, things are starting to get back to normal and I should be able to concentrate on what I want to do. I am still working online at home every morning, only now I have 4 different credit card accounts to work one. I am now a CSR for Walmart in store credit cards, Walmart Discover, Sam's Club in store, and Sam's Club Discover accounts. No more pay just more work but it is still very interesting. I hope one day to get promoted to a Coach for other agents, but the requirements are tough so I will have to work hard.

We are so thankful for all our family and friends but most especially this time of year you are all on our minds. Please be assurred we pray for you all everytime we say a prayer. We think of all of you often and wish you great health and success. Thank you all for praying for us and keeping us in your thoughts. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Life update

Wow can't believe this year is almost over. This has flown by! But as I was saying to someone the other day, seems like when we are young the days drag by until we are older like we want to be and when we are that older age they just fly by! God is amazing!
This has been such an eventful four months in our lives and many of you have been keeping up by reading this blog and the one on my blogspot. But for those of you new to this, I will try to catch you up and for those of you wanting to know more about what I have been up to I will catch you up too.
Beginning on June 30, David lost his job due to many problems attributed to his disablility and current medical condition. At this time we are appealing the decision and have filed with the Colorado Civil Rights commission for an wrongful termination of a disabled person. The CCRC and the EEOC investigations are a long process that can take up to a year to complete, then we have the process of dealing with the State of Colorado Department of Personnel to see how they react to the findings. All of this may take a year or more to conclude.
In the meantime we are trying to live on his income from the VA disability and my small income from working at home online. We have applied for an increase in his disability from the VA but that can take up to a year or more to receive that increase as they have to review the medical records. So, in other words we are in a hurry up and wait situation from not only the State, CCRC, EEOC but the Veteran's Administration as well. Please pray for good and fast outcomes in all areas.
David had surgery on the left hip on August 7 and on the right hip October 23. He is recovering nicely from both and says he feels like the Bionic man now. I have to remind him that he is not able to run as fast as the Bionic man they didn't put those parts in him...LOL! He is looking forward to getting back to work to find a job after the first of the year. I can truly say even though I have enjoyed having him around to talk to during the day, I will be so glad when he returns to some kind of job. He is making me a bit crazy with staying around and looking over my shoulder all the time...LOL!
The kids have been very busy at school. James is a freshman at the University of Northern Colorado. He seems to be doing ok at this point with a bit of trouble with his English class with all the writing. He has never been very good at reading and writing, but he is getting some help. Elizabeth is a junior at Trinidad High School, a flute and piccolo player in the marching band and an editor for her yearbook. She loves band most of all and is looking forward to their trip to Washington, DC in July 2008. Ben is a freshman at THS, playing in trumpet in band and loving every minute of the attention he is drawing from the girls at the school. I told David we need to have the shotgun to scare the girls away from him not from Beth....LOL!! He is just as excited about he band trip as his sister, we all are, David and I will be going as chaperones. The only member of the family not going will be James, he will be taking summer classes at Trinidad State Junior College to catch up on the English classes and hopefully will be taking his Certified Nursing Assistant classes so that in the fall he can apply for Nursing school.
I have been working very hard all year at my job with Alpine Access. I am a customer service representative for GE Consumer Finance working on Walmart credit card accounts. The very best thing about my job is that I get to work from home online and I only work 4 hours each day first thing in the morning. This allows me to help with anything the band may need in the way of taking care of their uniforms. I love the people I work with in my virtual office and most of the callers I speak with. As with any job in customer service there are some you would rather tell to go jump in a lake but you can't. I have had very good ratings from all my supervisors so I must be doing something right.
We will be celebrating Thanksgiving, my birthday, David's birthday and Christmas this year by giving thanks to Our Lord and Savior for keeping us together, healing David's body and for always watching out for us in our time of need. We have been blessed with our families and we thank God for them each day and with every prayer. We also take the time to thank Him for the many blessing we have in each and every one of our friends.
Thank you all for always being there when we needed a shoulder to cry on or just an ear to listen to the woes. God Bless you all!! Keep in touch!! We love you!!

Marching Band Results

The Trinidad High School Marching Band finished in 3rd place in Division 2A for the State of Colorado.

WTG! Miners!! We are so proud of you.

I will have new pictures to post of them once I get my camera back from the kids.

God Bless Everyone!

Marching update #1

Just got word from the kids they are now in 3rd place after the semi-finals. They are only down about 2 points so they can come back and move into 2nd place again. They will be marching at 6:30 pm tonight. I will keep you all posted on the outcome.

Go Trinidad take State!!!

Colorado State Marching Band Competition

Tomorrow, Sunday, October 28, our two youngest kids will be traveling to Grand Junction, Colorado with their high school band to compete in the Colorado State Marching Band Competition. This had been postponed last week due to the storm that dumped snow on the mountains and in several other areas of the state.

The kids are very excited to be going into the competition in 2nd place. They will have to make up almost 8 points to beat the team in 1st. They have been practicing every day for the last two weeks to try to better their scores from regionals.

Please be praying for their safe travel and for good results. I will post the results as soon as they are known.

God Bless you all.

David is out of the hospital

David got out of the hospital in record time for the Veteran's Administration. They told us today while they were preparing to release him that they have never sent a patient home in 3 days from the date of hip replacement surgery. We are so happy to have him here to recuperate. We are going to have to stay in Denver with my parents until November 5th when he gets his staples removed. We will have to see what the doctors say at that time about traveling home to Trinidad.

We are rejoycing daily at our Blessings we are receiving daily. We are going to be celebrating this Thanksgiving with lots of prayers of Thanks for all that we have received. Also our birthdays, his and mine are right after Thanksgiving and just before Christmas. For the first time in many years we are going to have a wonderful Merry Christmas as he will not be sick or in the hospital!!

Thank you all for the many phone calls, emails and prayers you have been sending up and to us. We are so Blessed to have all of you in our lives. God Bless you All always!!

Surgery is over!

Finally! David is a new man with two new hips in place! At 1:30 this afternoon the final stitches were in place and they were getting him settled in ICU for the night. By the time I got to see him at 2:00 pm he was awake and asking for something to eat and drink.

He is feeling good and ready to begin his long road to recovery. He should be up and walking with the aid of a walker tomorrow as well as being in a regular room.

He did have to be given blood today to put back some of the blood he lost during surgery and with the drainage afterwards. He told me over the phone that was easy and he got a dinner tray which he proceeded to inhale.

We should be mostly back to normal by Thanksgiving and dancing slow dances by Christmas. What a wonderful way to celebrate Thanksgiving, our birthdays and Christmas, a healthy husband and father for the first time in more years than I can remember. Seems every holiday season for about the last 10 years or so has been spent with him in the hospital or very sick at home. We have many Blessings to count this year!

I will keep you all posted when I can on how he is doing this time around. God Bless!!

State Postponed

Due the storm Grand Junction and the surrounding mountains are experiencing the State Marching Band Competition has been postponed for one week. We are hoping that David will be well enough in his recovery that I can accompany the band as originally planned. We will keep you posted as things develop.

God Bless you all!!

Surgery is scheduled!!

Surgery has finally been scheduled on David's right hip, Tuesday, October 23! After all the time we are delighted, grateful, anxious and a bit sad.

We are so very blessed to have this date finally but it comes at a price, we will have to miss watching out two youngest kids perform at the State Band Competition in Grand Junction on Monday. If we could be in two places at one time it would be wonderful.

Please be in prayer for us as we face this new surgery and pray for our children's safe travel to and from Grand Junction, that's over the mountains to the western slope of Colorado, a 10 hour drive on the bus. The weather is supposed to be rain mixed with snow on Sunday but improving the rest of the week.

We will keep you posted on David's recovery as news becomes available. Until then, God Bless everyone!

Congrats THS!

The Mighty Miner Marching Band
The Salute before accepting the trophy
The Trophy
Brent, Danielle and Lizzy with the trophy
Brent, Danielle, Mr. Curro and Lizzy

Today dawned early and in the dark here in Trinidad at least for the students and many of the parents of the Marching Band. We had to arrive at the band room at 6:45 am to finishing loading the u-haul and the buses after a brief final rehearsal, then it was off to Colorado Springs.

The kids were going to compete in the Southern Regional State Qualifying Colorado Bandmasters Association competition. They were up against their arch rivals from La Junta, Colorado.

We boarded the buses at 7:30 am and we were off and running. We arrived in Colorado Springs just before 11 am, got unloaded and set up for warm-ups. After warm-ups the kids marched back to the field in silence, Mr. Curro wanted them going over the show in their minds one last time. David and I went to the stands with several other parents to videotape and photograph and just plain watch our kids. The performance was good, a few slip-ups as usual, could have been better, but what the heck at least it wasn't like the night before at practice, what a disaster.

After their performance was over it was off for a quick group photo, change out of their uniforms, repack the u-haul, get a drink of water, and then watch a few of the 3A bands perform before awards were announced at 3:30.
With much anticipation the wonderful announcement was made "In first place with a score of 39.something (I can't remember and didn't bother to write it down as I was trying to capture the moment in a picture) Ladies and Gentlemen put your hands together for The Mighty Miner Band from Trinidad!" The stands rocked with excitement for our kids, Mr. Curro, Ms. Kussman, Ms. Glorioso, and Mrs. Barry. What a great way to end the day, Division 2A Southern Regional Champions!!

After that what could we do but celebrate with a group photo then off to eat at some of our favorite places. We finally arrived home at 8 pm, off loaded the u-haul and buses, cleaned the band room and then came home to collapse!
Now it's off to State on October 22nd in Grand Junction and a 8-10 hour bus ride with 75 teenagers! Oh what have I gotten myself into?! TAKE STATE MINERS!!

Daniel, Beth, Brandon, Julie, Ben, and Justina

Daniel and Beth

Ben and Justina

Homecoming 2007 has come and gone but not without lots of excitment and ups & downs.

The kids had lots of fun activities at school this week from pajama day to wild hair day. They also had long days for practice for band in order to march part of their field show. They were only able to get two of the maneuvers ready for the show. There is so much to learn in a show. Wednesday was a very long day for them as they had a rehearsal from 6 pm to 9 pm, it was also a very chilly night.
Thursday we had a bbq and bonfire at 6, again it was a chilly night, loaded with lots of spirit and fun. Friday was the worst for us all. Beth and Ben were up at 6:30 to shower and get ready for school. They had a half day that included a pep rally. After dismissal they ate a bit at school, then returned to school at 1:00 to prepare for the parade. They marched in full uniform around town for about 30 minutes in the drizzling rain. After the parade they had practice until 4 then back to school at 5 for a bbq after that it was game time.

The game was 5 hours long due to a 2 1/2 hour rain and lightening delay. The kids were lucky in that we handed out rain ponchos to them during the 1st quarter so they didn't get as wet as the parents. But with the fact their uniforms are dry clean only, this was a good thing. The game finally resumed and finish with a victory for Trinidad at midnight.

Saturday dawned bright and warm. We spent the day cleaning house and preparing for the dance. Beth got her hair done so that it was perfect for the evening, she looked beautiful, check out the photos on my page. Ben looked so handsome for his first Homecoming. Beth went with a friend from church, Daniel, a first class gentleman at the young age of 17. Ben took Justina, Beth's best friend and fellow band member, she looked so good with him. All the kids came home at 11:30 pm as they were so tired from all the week's activities. The girls, Ben and Daniel stayed here to watch movies and chat. I have to compliment all of them on how well behaved they were, there was no arguments about the boys in one room and the girls in another and no breaking that rule.

In the process of all this, I have picked up some sort of bug. I feel like I am getting bronchitis. I will be resting lots more this week to get over this.
All in all this was a hectic yet fun week for us all. Please check out the photos of the parade, game and before dance. You will see how handsome and beautiful everyone was.

Take care all and God Bless you all!

Surgery Update 6 weeks

Today it has been 6 weeks since David had his left hip replaced. He had a follow-up appointment today in Denver with the orthopedic doctors to see how things are progressing. They did an x-ray and say he is healing great. He can now walk with his crutches placing 75% of his body weight on his leg for the next two weeks. After that he can put full weight on it and use a cane for support. They want him to continue to use the cane until after the right hip is replaced since it is failing. They don't want there to be any chance he might fall from the weakness on the right side. He also talked them into allowing him to walk in our apartment without his crutches but that is the only place, so if you see him without them anywhere else until October 5, please remind him to get back on them for his own safety. I need some extra eyes out there to keep him honest...LOL!

We continue to struggle financially from the job loss and the slow adjustment from the Veteran's Administration disability, so we ask for all of you to continue to pray for us. We are in the process of seeking the payout of David's retirement account from the state but that may take 60 days for us to receive. In the meantime, our families are helping, but this has been a drain for them as well, so please pray for them also. We have been blessed in many ways and are so grateful to Our Lord and Savior for all the Blessings we have received.

Until we see each of you again or until we talk again, we continue to pray for each of you daily, may God Bless you all in all you do and all you need.

Fun in Greeley and Aurora

Well we got to have some fun this weekend, finally!! It all started with a football game here in Trinidad. The Trinidad Miners played Salida and won hands down 46-0. We were there to listen to our kids play with the band, Beth plays flute and piccolo and Ben plays trumpet. Even though the band did not march at halftime, they played beautifully.

Right after the game we left for Aurora to stay the rest of the night at Mom and Dad's, we arrived at 1 am. So with very little sleep, we headed of the next morning at 7:30 am to visit with James in Greeley. We had plans to have brunch with him then go watch the UNC Bears take on Chadron State from Nebraska. Brunch was wonderful, his dorm room was clean (shock of all shocks!) and the weather was wonderful. David did very well walking from the dorm to the dining hall and was even very good when we couldn't find a seat in the stadium except on the grass by a retaining wall. David had a cushion for his rear as we found out at the game on Friday that after all the other pain he has been in that he forgot when all the other pain is gone, his tailbone has no padding....LOL!! So we sat him on the wall just behind us as the rest of us sat on the grass near the endzone to watch UNC get their butts kicked, when we left during the 3rd quarter it was 28-0 in favor of Chadron State.

We left Greeley exhausted but happy to arrive back at Mom and Dad's to await the arrival of Emma. Our beautiful 11 month old niece, came to stay with all of us while he Daddy took Mommy to dinner. We had the best time watching sweet Emma mow her way over all our feet with her walker push toy, laughing the entire time. She also discovered garlic bread and loved it. Aunt Shell gave her small pieces that Emma devoured along with small bites of fresh peach. Then she decided she was thirsty and came over to me and my sweet tea. She proceeded to drink from my glass getting about half down in her tummy and the rest all over her shirt. I took photos of her all night long and will be posting them for all to see.

Sunday was Benjamin's 15th birthday, we celebrated at Mom and Dad's with all the family and significant others. Ben got a beautiful new Bronco shirt from Aunt Jenni and Uncle Mark and the kids. He also got money from Aunt T, Uncle Justin and Emma and a beautiful necklace from Nanny and Papaw. When things improve financially for David and I, we are planning to take him shopping for the new clothes he wants, I have to say, Ben has been a gem in all this. He is patiently waiting until things get better for us and not complaining at all.
We had so much fun we didn't leave until 9 pm so we didn't get back until 12:30 am. None the worse for wear we all got up this morning to resume our everyday activities.

Well that's all for now, more in our lives as it becomes available. Keep in touch when you can and God Bless you all!!

Home Life

Well we have been home for a week now and things are slowly returning to normal or as normal as our lives can be. We have been to Pueblo for the kids to march in the State Fair parade with the band from Trinidad High. Now they are preparing for the parade here in Trinidad on Labor Day. Labor Day weekend means lots of work for the kids and the parents. But, this year it means even more so that the kids can raise the money for the band to go to Washington, DC next July. Beth and Ben have been selling tickets for a concert by a local boy who is doing very well in Nashville. They are also working the concession stand and hawking refreshments in the rodeo stands at the county fair this whole weekend. Beth even got a small job helping with games at the fair.

David and I went out the fair grounds today to see what was happening. He did very well standing around out of the way and really enjoyed watching the rodeo. I helped the parents with the concessions and enjoyed talking with most of them. We are all very excited about the trip.

Monday, the kids line up for the parade at 7:45 in the morning, then they will be going out to the fairgrounds to help all the rest of the day. Monday is a huge affair at the rodeo as it is the last day.

Next weekend we will be traveling to Greeley to see James. We will be leaving late Friday after the first home game for THS and the first time Ben will be marching in a halftime show. Then Saturday morning we are having brunch with James at the dorm then off to watch UNC play football. David and I are so excited to see how things are going for him. He called today to say "I did my laundry Mom!" He also said things are going very well, he got all his work done this week. He was invited to go to Red Feathers lake with the Campus Crusade group, I told him "GO!" this might be the only weekend in long time that you don't have any homework. I also told him he needs to enjoy any time like this he gets. He seemed to be a bit lonely, his roommate went home for the holiday but he and Cedric, his other buddy, were planning to hang out.

Well better end this and get to bed have to be up early for Church. We still don't have a surgery date for the right hip but will keep you all posted when we do. God Bless each of you!!

Finally Home In Trinidad

We finally made it back home to Trinidad on Friday. It was a longer drive home since we had to stop about every 50 miles so that David could get out and stretch to relieve some of the pressure on his legs and butt. It has been nice to be home again, sleeeping in our own bed.

On Saturday, I went with Elizabeth and Ben to Pueblo with the band from Trinidad High to participate in the State Fair Parade and Band shell performance. The kids did so well that they came ohome with 1st place in Division 1A-2A Marching bands and Best Drum Majors over all the divisions. It was a great day, but very hot, I am very sunburned on my face. All three of us are sore and tired, we had a hard time getting up this morning for church.

We all went to Church this morning and received a very warm welcome back. It was so great to see all our friends and Church family after the two weeks we were gone. I was so thrilled to listen to Rich during Sunday school and Brother Dave's sermon filled my soul.

This afternoon we just relaxed around the house. Tomorrow I must work then have to clean the house and get all the therapy aids set up for David in the bathroom. Life is slowly returning to normal as normal can be at this time.

Thank you all for continuing to pray for us during these difficult times. We will continue to pray for all of you and to post on our blogs to keep you up to date on the situation with David's job appeal and the next surgery.

God Bless you each and every day.

Moving Day for James

Today was another big day in our lives, James went off to college! He is now a freshman at the University of Northern Colorado. It took all day to get him moved in and settled but he is happy now. He ran into one of his friend's from Hinkley in his dorm just a couple of doors down. His roommate Ryan seems to be a great kid, they have a lot in common. Ryan's family seems to be really nice too. They live in Colorado Springs so on breaks from school the boys can share the ride home and the gas expense since James will go right by Ryan's home on the way to Trinidad.

The tough part was leaving him, but I actually got through it without any tears, I couldn't believe it myself. David rode up with me and we had a great time. He did very well navigating the stairs in the dorm on his crutches luckily James is only on the second floor.

I think the one thing that James likes about his dorm is that on his floor it is mostly girls. They had all the names of the students on their doors and from the looks of it, the ratio was 6 to 1 girls to boys. The boys were already looking for ways to get the girls attention. James has this chicken that does the chicken dance so he and Cedric were already going around asking the girls if they wanted to see the chicken dance? LOL! I guess they have to have some type of opening line! LOL!

God Bless you all! Goodnite!

Great News!

We are headed home to Trinidad!! David got his staples removed today and has been told he can put 50% weight on his left leg but must continue using the crutches. He must also continue the other restrictions to prevent any hip dislocation. We will be leaving this Saturday for Pueblo to watch our the Miner band in the State Fair parade then will travel the rest of the way home from there. We have enjoyed our time at Mom and Dad's but we are really excited about going home.

We did find out that his doctors are pushing for his next surgery date to be the end of September it will depend on the schedule for the entire department. Dr. Breaga, his surgeon, made a point of telling the scheduler that David has waited long enough for his surgeries and should not have to wait any longer and he wants the next one done 6 weeks from the first one.

Well thats all the news for now, will put more on here later when we get home. God Bless you all!!

Recovery so far

Well after almost a full week at home things are progressing very well for David. He is walking a bit more and has done so well with the home therapy that they are no longer coming out to see him. Linda, his therapist, told him on Friday that he has graduated to doing his therapy on his own. She feels confident enough to allow him to continue to do his exercises on his own which will allow us to travel home to Trinidad as soon as the doctors release him to do so.

Now all we have to hope for is the release from the doctors on the 22nd when he goes for the removal of the staples. We are also hoping for them to say that he can put more weight on his leg and that he can bend and twist more.

He and I took our first walk outside on Friday and he surprised me by walking further than I thought he would. Then today, I was to have a meeting with one of my bosses at a nearby restaurant, David asked if he could ride along. I agreed, afterall, he had not been in a car since he came home on Monday. So we carefully got him in the car and drove to the restaurant. We had a great time talking with Teresa and Shelly. We sat for three hours, after which David told me that he realized that was a bit much for him, he thinks his time limit should have been two hours. When we got back home he took his pain medication and went straight to bed. Live and learn.

Well there has not been much else to report as we are not doing much other than the therapy exercises and watching the incision heal. We are leading a pretty boring life right now, mostly watching game shows! We do hear from the kids everyday and did get a bit of good news from Beth the other day, she tried out on her piccolo for marching season and got the part for parades. She will be playing the piccolo in each parade that the band marches in including when they go to Washington, DC. We are so proud of her!

May God Bless each of you as He has blessed our lives! Take care until the next time we talk or write.

First 24 hours @ Home

Well our first 24 hours with David at Mom & Dad's is finally over. We have had a flurry of activity. Getting home yesterday was just the beginning. Getting him in the car was not so difficult but getting out was painful for him. Our car is definetly not designed for someone who cannot bend at the waist or bend their leg enough to get it out the door. We won't be taking very many trips anywhere except the doctor's office and then we will have to put him in the backseat.

Once we got him out of the car getting up the stairs in the house was a breeze. Then came the undaunting task of installing all the bathroom aids for him. The shower chair was easy and I have to say installing the toilet seat and handles wasn't too bad just a bit messy. Seems every bit of gunk that could build up on the bolts, did. So I spent part of the time cleaning the bolts and anchors before they were put back on the seat.

The afternoon was pretty uneventful, but the nighttime was a different story. Now most of you know I work online from 7 am to 11 am every morning so I am up at 6:30 am to prepare to start my shift. We went to bed at 10, but sometime about 12:30, David had to get up to go to the bathroom. I woke up and asked him if he needed help he said I don't think so, so I went back to sleep. At about 1 I heard him come back in the room, so I checked to see if he needed help, he said yes. I got up to find that he had some problems with timing and had been calling for me from the bathroom but I didn't hear him. Talk about feeling guilty! I got him back to bed and helped him get cleaned up then cleaned up things in the bathroom. From that point on about every hour I was awake to check on him, needless to say I had a had time at work in the morning.

Today, he slept most of the day which is good. I got done working and called to see about some paperwork that we believed had not been submitted in a timely fashion to the State Board of Personnel, well we are truly Blessed! They informed me that the Civil Rights Division that is investigating David's charge of discrimination in his termination, submitted the form for him on time. God does answer Prayer!!

Then this evening, Jenni and Tanya, my two youngest sisters, and their families came over to visit with us. They have not been able to get over or up to the hospital to see David since the surgery so they wanted to see him tonight. They all remarked how well he is doing. He seemed to enjoy sitting in the chair in the living room with all of us. He even got to hold our precious niece Emma for a bit, that is until she wiggled too much for him.

Once the pain got to be to much for him, I helped him back to bed which is where he is now. He will get his nighttime meds here in about an hour and will hopefully sleep all night as well as he did today. That is a big hope (prayer) on my part so I can sleep....LOL!

Hope all of you are Blessed and well. More to come! God Bless!!

Last Day in Hospital

David got out of the hospital today! We are now at my parent's home for the next few weeks until the doctors and therapists release him to travel home to Trinidad. The physical therapist will be coming to the house 3 times a week to continue the exercises they started in the hospital. We are so looking forward to his continued improvement. He is now walking with crutches and can get up stairs. We will continue our evening walks outside but now we will start to walk the neighborhood a little bit at a time.

He is scheduled to see the doctor again on August 22nd at which time they will let him know if he can put more weight on the leg and if we can travel home. Until then, if you need to reach us please contact us by email at zehrfamily@msn.com or call our cell phones if you have the number.

We Thank you very much for all your prayers and calls during this time, we are truly Blessed by all of you! We ask God to Bless each and everyone of you and your families. Until later....

Post Op Day 5

Sunday, the day of our Lord and Savior, was a quiet yet small eventful one for David and I. First, I was taken to lunch by one of my coaches from work, Teresa, and had the best three hours talking with her. We got so many things off our chests about things that happen at work and the funny situations, we laughed, griped, and laughed some more.

When I finally got to the hospital to take care of David, he had not been up at all to walk. So, after he ate dinner I watched him get up and start to walk to down the hall on his walker. I followed behind with the wheelchair so that if he got tired he would have a place to sit. I didn't expect him to walk very far only about the 20 or 30 feet to the nurse's desk but he kept going. He walked all the way to the elevators which is about 100 feet. Quite an accomplishment for someone who just had the left hip replaced. He is still taking baby steps and it took quite a bit of time for this short walk but he did so very well, I was so proud of him and told him so. Then we took our little stroll around the hospital in the wheelchair which we have done everyday. We just go out the side entrance and around to the front and back in but at least it gets him outside for a that short ride.

Well, time for bed, I need to work in the morning then have to go to downtown Denver to take some documents to the State Personnel Board for the appeal on his termination. I hate driving downtown and then I hate parking down there, but we have to get this done. Then it will be back to the hospital to walk and push him for our daily routine and see if he is coming "home" on Tuesday. God Bless you all!

Post Op Day 4

Not much to report today, Saturday is pretty slow at the Veteran's Hospital. It is a time for visits not much in the way of anything else. David did have therapy today but did not get any help with working on stairs with crutches, this will come on Monday.

Our friend, Karen, whom I know from high school, came by to visit and took me to lunch. We had a great time just yakking and laughing. Then before we went back to the hospital we ordered a great lunch with salad and dessert for David. He devored it when we got back with it, hospital food is so bland.

Then late in the afternoon, Elizabeth, Ben and Elizabeth's friend Justina, arrived to visit with us. The kids have really been missing their Dad and enjoyed the visit so much. David got up and walked with his walker for them a very short distance then we took him in the wheelchair for a stroll outside. When we came back in, we got ice cream out of the machines in the hospital lobby, it had to be 90 degrees outside.

We have made friends with one of the nurses, Stacy, she was talking with all of us this afternoon. We got on the topic of myspace and she mentioned she has a myspace account. She then said "hey let's be friends", I came home, searched for her, and added her to my friends list. When David gets home and feels up to getting on the computer, he will add her to his list.
As you can see things are going rather well, a bit slow, but well none the less. That's all for now, more later if there is anything to report. God Bless you all!

Post Op Day 3

Today was David's first really big therapy session. He and I walked down (he was in the wheelchair) to physical therapy for a two hour session. He started by having his leg length checked, seems with the new hip on the left side and the right side still in bad shape that the right side is 1/2 inch shorter now. They have placed a wedge in his shoes for now but with have an insert made for him to move from shoe to shoe when he's home. Then he walked with only 50 lbs of pressure on the left leg using the parallel bars. The therapist, Nancy, was pleased that he was able to make two trips up and back on the bars before he got to tired to do anymore. Then it was over to the table for exercises to strengthen the leg muscles. They are trying to strengthen the left leg and maintain some of the strength in the right leg. There is not much range of motion in the right leg but with these exercises now he should fly through the next surgery and therapy. As expected it was very slow going and very painful, he was thanking God for the pain medication he was given right before he went downstairs to therapy. He worked hard and the sweat on his brow and wet head were good indications of his efforts. He is pushing some as he wants to be back up and walking as quickly as he can but he says he will not push it too far as he does not want to mess anything up. One really good thing he did today was to get himself out of bed and back into bed without any help at all. This is a major accomplishment as he cannot bend at the waist more than 90 degrees and he cannot bend his left leg at all as he gets in and out of bed. He can only use the right leg to help push himself forward or backward and then he can't lift his legs together without a lot of strain. Once he gets mostly on the bed, I can help with the lifting of the legs but it is dead weight and amazing how heavy they are. Then to scoot up toward the top of the bed is a chore too, he is gaining so much upper body strength.

We got to walk around the hospital again today and he loved feeling the sunshine on his face. Then we went to the little store in the basement and got him some snacks. He says there is just not enough food on his trays...LOL! Well that's about it for now, more tomorrow if anything exciting happens. Please check out the photos of him on my profile, thought you might like to see how he looks and the kids want to see their dad, this is the best way to communicate that.

Post Op Day 2

Well it is day 2 post op, today he had physical therapy and occupational therapy. The physical therapy helps him to learn to walk, sit and stand all over again. Occupational therapy teaches him how to do the most common of everyday tasks such as putting on his pants and socks. Since he cannot bend at the waist more than 90 degrees he can't get up from a chair without scooting forward to the edge with his left leg straight then he has to push up with his arms and hold on to his walker. Then he takes baby steps to make turns and to walk all the while only applying 25% of his body weight to the left leg. He has to be helped back into bed as he can't lift his legs at all. When he gets home he will still be restricted from bending or crossing his legs so he will have these nice little lifters and grabbers to assit with the everyday things. He was trying to learn to use them today but got very tired and had to rest. It is hard work putting your socks on with a sock helper that has ropes on it and you have to creep your toes into the toe of the sock then pull the helper out as it pulls the sock up. He will also have bath aids such a special chair to get in and out of the tub and a hand held shower sprayer. They also told him that he can pick the date of his next surgery on the right hip. He can tell them when he feels like he is walking good enough on this one for them to do the next one. He thinks that will be about 6 weeks and they told him they think that sounds about right. He will probably make that decision when they take the staples out of the incision in two weeks.

I have to tell you what he has been saying about his nurses. "I haven't had an ugly one yet!" I have to watch him every minute I am up there with him, he is such a flirt...LOL! Today, two of the nursing students were giving him a sponge bath and he was flirting with them the whole time. Luckily I was sitting right beside the bed...kept him inline the whole time...LOL!! No really he has great nurses caring for him and both of us are very grateful for them.

Post Op Day 1

Well today was a big day for David and I, he took his first tentative steps. Although he can only put 25% of his weight on his leg at this time and most of the weight must be taken up by the arms he did really well. I will post some pictures of him taking these first steps as well as one of him sitting up in the wheelchair for the first time, later so that all of you can see how he is progressing. We decided to take some photos so that the kids could see their Dad's progress since they are still at home in Trinidad and only able to talk with him by phone.

Surgery is over

Well surgery is over and David is doing very well. He's been placed in the SICU for the next 3 days as they let him choose a spinal block over general anasthesia and their requirement is 3 days in SICU. He has a wedge between his legs so that he does not move his legs at all until they get him up tomorrow to walk a short distance. He is not happy that he has to lay flat on his back but he's very happy that for tonight he will probably feel no pain what so ever as it takes about 20 hours for the block to wear off completely. They have placed him a pain pump which he will begin using once the block wears off. He was getting some ice chips when I left this evening, his voice was very hoarse. The surgery took about 4 1/2 hours due to the fact that they had to replace the entire hip joint. They had planned on just replacing the femural head and not the socket but when they got in there they found it to be and I quote the doctor on this...."the worst they have seen in many years". He has been told that he will be on crutches for several weeks but will be able to drive again in two weeks. He starts therapy tomorrow when they get him up for the first time. We won't be able to even think of going home until the staples come out in two weeks. For now, he will take it slow and easy but is anxious to get the therapy started and return to a more normal walking gate as soon as possible. I will keep you all posted if anything changes and I hope to take some photos of him in therapy and his lovely hospital gown so you can all see how well he's doing.

This is just the beginning, I will update as often as I can and as often as there is something to say. God Bless you all!

Our Family Blog

In order to keep you all up to date on the Zehr Family here in Colorado...I have created this blog. I will try to keep it light and lively and I will try to get David and the kids to post when they feel up to doing so.

At this time my main reason for creating this is to keep everyone up to date on David's progress after his total hip replacement surgery on August 7, 2007. I have been posting blog messages on my myspace page but not everyone has access to it so this seemed to the best way to keep you up to date. Also, we will keep you posted on the progress of the appeal of his job termination that came on June 30, 2007. We believe it was unjust due to his medical condition and filed charges with the Civil Rights Commision for Discrimination. This is be a long drawn out fight but hopefully with lots of prayer one that we will win.

James will be leaving for the University of Northern Colorado on August 22 to start his education in Nursing. Hopefully by the time he completes the first semester of his sophomore year next year, he will be accepted into Nursing school. Beth and Ben are in the band at Trinidad High and will be going with the band to Washington, DC on July 4, 2008 to march in the National Fourth of July parade if all goes well in the fundraising department.

For now I will close this and post copies of the blogs from myspace on here for your reading pleasure to update you on David's progress. Please keep in touch when you can. God Bless you all!!