Because Jason was going to be out of town for my birthday, Ashleigh and Elizabeth (his sisters) decided to drive out from Utah to visit me. And with the help of facebook, my sister Holly saw that they were coming and decided to come along too. So, although Jason wasn’t around, I had one of the most fun and tiring weekends ever!
As many of you know- Jason has left for India. He comes back February 9th. So, for the next 3 weeks, 6 days, and 22 hours (who’s counting) I’m a single parent. I haven’t decided if I should refer to myself as a widow or a bachelorette… Both come with their own connotations. ☺
Since the new year brings about all sorts of resolutions that are generally never kept, I thought I’d start in December, and see if that helps me to follow through. It’s worth a shot.
You know you’ve done a good days work if you wake up sore the next morning - right?
Yesterday Elaine and I took on the daunting project of cleaning and organizing the girls’ room. Before we started, their toys were organized in clear plastic tubs on a variety of old bookshelves. Although adequate, Elaine and I are both itching to have a “real” home instead of feeling like we’re both still in college.
Yesterday Elaine completed something she’s been working towards for a few months now… she finished her first half-marathon. The See Jane Run half-marathon took place along 13.1 miles of Alameda’s Bay Trail with breathtaking views of San Francisco and the Bay Bridge. The all-women’s race raised money for Girls Inc. of the Island City - a local organization dedicated to inspiring all girls to “be strong, smart, and bold.”
Elaine’s been training for months now - running at 6am during the week religiously, and then meeting up with friends from the ward on Saturday mornings to do a long run. We’re so proud of Elaine and her accomplishment! She’s not sure when she’ll run the next half (or full) marathon, but she’d like to keep running a few times a week. And as long as she doesn’t drag me out with her… I’m more than happy to keep encouraging her 
You can see photos of the run here.
Jason had surgery last Monday to basically re-build his right foot. After 4 hours of surgery and a few hours of recovery, Jason came out of his drug-induced coma with a brand new foot. Elaine was able to see the X-rays of the three screws, one piece of wire, and a few dozen staples, but it wasn’t until today that we were able to see the extend of the “damage.” Today Jason got the temporary cast replaced with a new bright pink fiberglass one. This change in cast allowed us to see what the doctors had actually done… which is create “Frankenfoot.” You can see from the pictures that there are two large incisions on each side of Jason’s foot, a medium size one going up the back of his foot, and a small incision at the heel of the foot.
We also got a copy of one of the x-rays to show the extend of the work done on the inside. From the x-ray you can see the one giant screw running through Jason’s ankle, and a few smaller screws criss-crossing along the top of his foot, with another wire holding a few other things together. The core procedure, a resection of a “tarsal coalition” involved a number of procedures including the cutting of some bones, the fusion of some bones, and one bone was even inserted into another in a type of “shunt.” And to top it all off the doctors cut his tendon in the back of his leg in order to give his foot more flexibility.
He’s not in pain anymore, but is going crazy being forced to be in bed for so long!
