Achilles surgery pic's-not for weak stomach's

Before......

After.....Aren't doctors, along with technology and medicine just amazing!!!

What a week!

Our week started out pretty normal. Reggie participated in a sports camp every morning for 2 hours. They played hockey, soccer, t-ball and basketball. He was very surprised that he enjoyed himself so much. We were watching his friend Hannah and her brother Asher Tues. and Wed. morning and I was thinking it was going to be a big fight to get him to go, but he was fine with it. They are moving back to Virginia and we'll miss them lots :o(.

Tues. night we headed to Bill and Stacey's house for dinner. Summer has finally arrived here and it was in the 90's most of last week and 108 today!!! So, it was very nice to be able to go in their pool. We had a very nice dinner and visit. Ainsley was spoiled by all 3 girls and she ate it up! Reggie had fun in the pool with Donovan (Ryan's co-worker/friend's little one).

Wed. we went back to San Ramon for Ryan's softball game with his work buddies. That was when the week took a turn for the worse. The game was almost over and Ryan hit the ball way out in center field and he was rounding 3rd, going for a home run when he fell down. He was crawling/rolling to get past home plate, but the Umpire called him out. He was not happy about this and said he got hit by the ball, but the catcher was holding the ball. There was a bit of confusion, but Ryan finally realized he hurt his leg. It was really quite comical. They all carried him to the car and I think everyone knew this might end his season. We went home and iced it and I looked at the back of his leg and touched it and it was very soft. I couldn't feel his Achilles tendon at all, so we decided he needed to go to the Emergency Room. The doctor there confirmed that he had ruptured it. The doctor was a bit perplexed because where it attaches at the bottom didn't hurt and Ryan wasn't in very much pain. He recommended Ryan see an Orthopeodic Surgeon right away. So, Thursday morning, he headed to the clinic where the Oakland Athletics go. The doctor had never seen anything like it. Usually when the Achilles snaps, it is from the bottom or top, but his tore apart in the middle. He had an MRI because the doctor wanted to see what it looked like before he recommended treatment. Unfortunately, he recommended surgery. Ryan pushed back a little because we are supposed to leave for Washington on Thursday and he didn't want to change that. I guess he showed the MRI to all the doctors in the clinic and they all agreed he needed the surgery. So, that is what we did on Friday. It all happened so fast and I felt really out of the info. loop. I couldn't even go back with him before his surgery to get any info. about what was going to happen. So, I had to kill some time. It was lunch time, so I went to get a sandwich at Safeway and they were having a blood drive for a woman who worked at Home Depot. She is a single mom of a 16 year old and has terminal cancer and needs several transfusions to extend her life :o(. Made me feel a little better about my situation. I gave blood and then headed back. I met some really interesting people in the waiting room. One lady's son was the chef for Tom Hanks. She had lots of stories :o). It made the time go a little faster.

Dr. Sal finally came out and gave me an update. He said everything went really well and was very glad we did things so quickly because sometimes the dangling tendons don't have good blood flow and they have trouble reattaching them or they have to cut the dead part off. He was pleased that he could use the entire tendon. Then the nurse came and got me, so I got to go back and see Ryan. He looked tired, but seemed to be in good spirits. The nurse took pictures per Ryan's request, so that was super interesting to look at. Hopefully, she'll send them and I'll post them on the blog. We went home about 1/2 hour later. How crazy is that??!!

They put a block in his nerve, so he didn't feel anything in his leg until about 2 a.m. and then he was in PAIN. Yesterday he had to lay down and elevate his leg most of the day because it hurt so bad. Today, he has made progress and has been up and around a little more and had a lot less pain. He stopped taking the prescription pain killers and has been doing tylenol/advil. Hopefully, we'll still make it out of here in 4 short days!

I keep telling Trina that we will be making it out of here in 4 days but we'll see what my post opp appointment reveals on Wednesday as we'll be talking with the doctor... Wow is all I can say to describe these last few days... I started the game going 3 for 3 with a bomb, double, and single and was having a great time... When I was up to the plate I decided to slap one out to right center as they we're playing me deep.. The outfielder dove and over shot it and that's when I turned the wheels I have on.. looking back I should have held up at 3rd but I was listening to my base coach waiving me in.. That's when it happend. Planted my left foot as I made the turn and felt the "ball" hit me in the back of the leg. Trying to take a few more steps, I fell and rolled the rest of the way to home plate thinking I still had a chance.. Now thinking back, I'm not sure how I even took a couple of more steps/yuck.. Here my achilles is snapped in half and I'm still trying to run. What's done is done and now I have to move on and take care of this unfortunate circumstance.. I've been asking God why this had to happen. The church sermon was about slowing down and taking care of what is important.. We are always moving to fast in life and as I was rounding 3rd I was moving to fast for my own good. This is a lesson that I will learn from. I can't be a "Super Hero" all of the time and especially for my wife and kids I need to know my boundaries. This experience has made me realize that I need to take care of myself, so that I can take care of them long term.. My wife has gone above and beyond the call of duty and I want everyone that reads this to know that she is such a special person.. She's waited on me hand and foot, gotten my ice, fed me breakfast, lunch, and dinner, made sure I'm taking my pills, washed my back, and most of all shown me that she loves me and would do anything for me... As a family, we know that God will not give us anything that we can't handle and with this experience we will continue to grow in the Lord and in each other... I love my wife and kids and I wouldn't be me without them...P.S - I have to give a shout out to my little boy Reg... He's been daddy's little helper when Mommy's not around. Reggie has gotten me pillows, breakfast, and handed me my crutches and many other things. He's a good little boy and Daddy loves him dearly.. Thanks everyone for your prayer's and thoughts and I'll see many of you in a few days.. Wish us luck on our way home..

Hmmm…..Camping

That was a lot of work for one night. I’d say that next time we should make it worth all the work and stay longer, but I think the only one on board would be Reggie. Ainsley was asking to go home before dinner (we didn’t even get there until 3!) and Ryan was probably ready then too! I’d forgotten how dirty camping is. Ainsley was filthy after the first 10 minutes and we were trying to figure out what happened to her. There’s just so much dust :o(. We had an awesome dinner and of course, the kids enjoyed smores! The weather was great, not too hot, not too cold (except it was in the 40’s at night). We were nice and cozy in our tent and everyone slept pretty good :o). My back was acting up in the middle of the night, so I got up to get some medicine and took a walk to the bathroom. It was a beautiful night and lots of stars were out…reminded me that I need to stop and look around more often and just enjoy my surroundings. We get so consumed with getting from here to there and I know I miss out on a lot of enjoyment, so although it was a long, gimpy walk to the bathroom, it was good :o). The Bliss boys woke up at sunrise (5:45) and thankfully our kiddos slept until 6:45. It was surprising that they slept because I could hear everything that was going on outside our tent. We had a nice father’s day breakfast, chocolate chip pancakes, eggs and fruit :o). I think both Dads were ready to take a nap by 9 o’clock! Ryan took a snooze for a few hours later in the day, so he did have a nice Father’s day. We went to Sweet Tomatoes for dinner, so he was in heaven :o).

Reggie's first squirt gun....that was a big hit!Happy Father's Day!!! What makes Ryan such a great dad:
He plays with the kids-take-out is a favorite
He gives them all of his attention

Even though he's tired at the end of the day, he gives them 110% when he gets home
He tell them crazy stories at bedtime
He jumps in when I’m out of gas
He gives them baths and brushes their teeth
His face lights up when he comes home and is greeted by them
He loves to please them
He works so hard to provide for them
He wants to give them the best of everything
He loves to hear about their day
He makes them laugh a lot :o)

Vacation Bible School

Reggie went to VBS all week last week and had a great time. Ainsley missed the age cut-off by about a month :o(. It was interesting just having her, we were really productive and she was able to do things that Reggie usually does, like push her mini shopping cart at Trader Joe’s. Turns out she is a good helper too!!!
Reggie had a great time and we stayed for the first ½ hour for songs and returned early for the wrap-up. Ainsley participated much more than Reggie. There personalities are so funny :o).
Wednesday night we went to watch Ryan play softball with his work team. I was thinking I’d be chasing them the entire time, but they played on the bleachers and were very manageable, so I actually got to visit and watch the game. How great is that! The kids were very excited to see Dad play :o). There team wasn’t good last year, so they decided to go up a couple divisions and play some better teams…hmm. For whatever reason, it seems to have worked. They scored 23 runs in the first inning. Ryan hit for the cycle and was running pretty hard. He was a little sore, but not as bad as I thought he’d be!
We’ve also been enjoying some awesome fruit! We got a half flat of organic raspberries for $6 last week at the market and an entire flat of raspberries/blackberries for $10 this week. We are all in fruit heaven. And we’ve eaten a few plums from our tree :o). I’m very excited for August because we have a whole bunch of grapes coming in. Last year we didn’t have any and someone told me this year to trim them back and they are already getting big!!! We also might be getting a second round of oranges. We have a lot more than this winter…I hope they actually grow big and juicy!

Rodeo!

Cute picture at the zoo:

The rodeo is “the” event in Livermore, so we had to participate in all we could. We went to the parade on Sat. morning and saw horses, high school bands, cool cars/motorcycles and that was about it. It was very similar to the Christmas parade we went to, so I think we’ll only go to one next year.

I love the rodeo!!! Last Sunday we went to the rodeo and it was so much fun. I used to watch it late in the evenings when I was younger (only had a few stations at the lake and it was Denver t.v., but for some reason it seemed like the rodeo was always on!). So, it was great to see it live! They had the barrel racing, bull riding, bronco riding, cow milking, roping and steer wrestling. We laughed a lot :o). Here’s some pic’s and video.

A relative in the lead......

The bull rider is from Ellensburg and he was 1 of 3 who actually stayed on the bull the entire time….go Washington!

Back and neck pain

Well, my back pain has been pretty consistent now for the past few months and I finally decided I should see a doctor. She took some x-rays and called a couple days later to make an appt. to go over the results….never a good sign. I actually felt good when I went to see her the first time, but when I went back my neck was really bothering me, so she decided to do some x-rays of that too. Turns out my lower back has some sort of Arthritis and my upper back/neck was also a mess (lots of medical mumbo jumbo). I had to call to get some clarification, but essentially the two are linked which most likely means I have Ankylosing Spondylitis. I’ll see a Rheumatologist in about a month and a half, so that should shed some light on treatment options. We always knew this was a possibility with my eye flare ups and my positive HLB-27 gene, but for the past five years, I just didn’t get it together to take care of myself. Hopefully, not too much damage has been done and Ryan won't have to wheel me around in a wheelchair! Although it is not good news, at least my issues will have a name.

Family night at the Rodeo

What fun we had tonight :o). The cowboys did some roping and cow milking. I didn't quite understand the cow milking, but when I saw it, I couldn't stop laughing. It was hysterical. We met up with a couple other families and the kids enjoyed hanging out (now that school has been out for a couple weeks) and watching the show. I snapped a pic. of Ainsley and Reggie watching and from their expressions, I think they were wondering what was going on!Here's a video of the cow milking:

Here's a video of the roping (a husband and wife team):

Grumpy kids and the Circus!

We had a grumpy week last week :o(. I kept asking Reggie if his throat hurt and he kept saying no, so I had no reason to drug him! He was waking up every night for about 5 nights because the motrin/tylenol wore off and he was in pain, so maybe it was that? Or maybe the withdrawal of t.v. and popsicles/juice? Ainsley was right there with him, so maybe it was just being out of our routine or being couped up and not being able to exert any physical energy while Reggie was healing. Anyway, we are very glad that week is behind us and attitudes are much better these days :o).

We did finish the week off with a trip to the circus. It was a smaller one, which was nice because we could see everything. Ryan thought it was Ghetto and wanted to leave at intermission, but the kids didn't agree. I'm glad we stayed because we would have missed the trapeze! They had all the usual circus acts, but you could ride elephants and camel. Ainsley said she would go with me and then she changed her mind, so they spent intermission in a bounce house and going down a big slide. Overall, they both really enjoyed it and Reggie is already talking about being a clown for Halloween. It sure was long...2 1/2 hours and the kids were melting down because it was way past dinner time (the cotton candy probably didn't help!).