Frustration & Fun.....

Well, Wednesday was a mixture of frustration and fun.  We had our follow up appointments at Cook's Children's in Fort Worth.  It all started with the lovely rainy weather.  It rained all the night before so the ground was nice and soaked.  This made for interesting travel.  But we did o.k.  It was Gabby, myself, & MeMe on an adventure to Ft. Worth.

Our first stop was with the Orthopedic doctor, Dr. Vara.  We barely skated in on time.  I have to say, again, that the doctors and staff at Cook's are awesome.  Dr. Vara talked to GABBY and listened to her.  I was there to just fill in what she left out.  We filled him in on the whole history with her foot.  He then ordered a whole bunch of new x-rays and did a physical exam on her.  Good News!  The fracture is healed!  Dr. Vara showed us the x-rays with the comparison between her two feet/ankles.  You could see the difference in the bones because of her not using the one leg for 4 months.  He then ordered some lab work to be done because he wants to make sure there is nothing else going on.  He's checking for vitamin deficiency, calcium, & rheumatoid issues.  He told Gabby that he wanted her to stay in the boot for another month.  So, we will be back in Ft. Worth to see him in February and may have another MRI.

Next, we went to the lab at Cook's Children's for Gabby's blood work to be done.  I was really impressed here too.  They actually spray the area where they are going to draw the blood with a numbing spray so that it won't hurt!  Heck!  Why don't other labs and doctor's offices think of this??  So, even though they had to pull over 4 tubes of blood from her, it wasn't really painful at all. 

Well, unfortunately by this time we had to run to our last appointment of the day much to the frustration of our tummies!  But onward we went to visit with Dr. Ghandi & her physician's assistant, Fred.  We like Fred.  Fred met us at the room and started talking with Gabby.  He had Gabby laughing and smiling the whole time.  She told him about wanting to try out for cheer leading and Fred was very honest with her.  He told her that we are going to slowly attempt to be at the point where she can try out but she also has to understand that we don't want to push her recovery so that she won't be back at square one with the injury.  That was all the incentive Gabby needed.  Dr. Ghandi then came to visit with Gabby.  She also told Gabby that we need to progress slowly.  The good news from Dr. Ghandi was that Gabby can slowly start working in therapy to get off of her crutches.  You would think that Dr. Ghandi told Gabby she won the lottery at that point!  So, we are going to be back to see Fred & Dr. Ghandi in February also.

By this time we were starving.  It was about 3:30pm in the afternoon.  Most people that know me, know that I hate big cities and traffic.  So, I had used Mapquest to map out where we were going from the doctor's office.  Gabby & MeMe wanted Mexican food and we decided we were going to try to find Joe T. Garcia's since Aunt CJ & Uncle Michael had bragged about it.  So, we start on our way to Joe T's and end up really lost!!  I finally got fed up with the mapquest and Ft. Worth's crazy roads and found a place to park.  I pulled out my handy cell phone and found my GPS app.  I put in the address for where we wanted to go and off we went.  Unfortunately, by this time, Joe T's was closed for the afternoon.  More frustration but we were laughing and joking as we were lost in Ft. Worth.  Gabby told MeMe that I was scaring her!  LOL! 

So, off we go with our handy GPS to find Sam Moon and somewhere to eat along the way.  I notice that the GPS is taking us down some unknown streets and start wondering "did the settings have us staying away from major roads?"  Well, we finally happened upon Rosa's Cafe & decided we were stopping because our stomachs could no longer take the torture.  While we were eating I decide to check the settings on the GPS on my phone.  Yep!  It was set to avoid highways!!  (See me banging my head against the table now!) 

After we finally filled our tummies, we were determined to continue our fun and frustrating adventure.  We were going to Sam Moon's to look at jewelry, purses, & so much more of girly heaven (as Gabby puts it).  Let me tell you, I found one of my new favorite shopping spots!!  Here we found a purse for Caitlin that she wanted that if we had bought it in Waco would have cost us $45 to $50 but at Sam Moon's it was $24.99.  It's so cute too.  It's red with camo and has the western cross on it too.  Of course, we tell her she could put the whole state of Texas in her purse but she loves it.  Gabby found a duffel bag & accessories case that was black & white zebra print with purple trim.  This was a huge bargain also.  The bag was $11.99 and the smaller one was $6.99.  Can't find it that cheap anywhere else.  So, we had fun exploring the bargains at Sam Moon's.

Now it was time to return home.  Luckily we didn't have anymore frustration on the way home.  It was a straight shot down I-35 and we were home before 7pm.  Even with the frustration of traffic, weather, & getting lost; we had a good time joking and laughing all the while.  Plus, we had good news from the doctors so that we knew God was listening to our prayers. :)

P.R.A.Y.E.R.

P.R.A.Y.E.R. - Power Released Anywhere You Ever Reside.... This is printed on a bracelet I purchased last weekend for myself and the kids at the benefit for Feryn Schulte.  Ever since I have thought about this statement.  I can definitely tell you after the generousity that we witnessed last Sunday at the benefit that there was a lot of Power Released through Prayer.  I was brought to tears many times that day watching several communities coming together to raise money for a litte girl with a rare form of cancer.  It was a beautiful display of compassion and caring.  It reminded me why I love living in Abbott, TX and being active in West, TX.

There is so much that can be done through PRAYER.  I, personally, have seen the power of prayer.  I know that God listens to every word that we utter to Him.  It may not seem like it at the time but I know that God DOES answer prayers.  It may not be exactly in the way that WE want HIM to answer but it is always in the way the HE knows best.

One beautiful example I have is again with my daughter Gabby.  (She's named after the angel Gabriel.)  When Gabby wasn't even a year old, we realized that she could not hear us.  We took her to her Pediatrician and then on the the ENT Specialist.  We then had to go to have her tested with an Audiologist.  I remember sitting in the sound-proof booth holding her and praying "Please God let my baby hear".  The technician then came over the speaker & said "Gabrielle?".  Gabby jumped in my arms and started crying.  She could hear!  They never could explain to us what happened but I knew that God was listening.



That's just one of the examples I've had to honor of being a witness to God's power through PRAYER.  I know it doesn't always seem like it but I know that God listens.  So whenever you feel like God isn't listening to you, I know that He really is.  So don't give up hope and never quit praying.  Just remember: Power Released Anywhere You Ever Reside.

Here we go....

Where to start...... There's so many things going on in my life right now that it's hard to find a starting point. I guess with the one that has been most dominant among us lately. My 12 year old daughter, Gabby, has been going through many trials lately. Back in September she hurt her right foot. We have no idea how the injury occurred but that it just seemed to get worse. She went through about 3 months on crutches and two different casts before she was eventually diagnosed with CRPS/RSD right before Christmas. For those who don't know what this is (I sure didn't) it is roughly defined as: Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) - a chronic pain condition that is believed to be the result of dysfunction in the central or peripheral nervous systems. Typical features include dramatic changes in the color and temperature of the skin over the affected limb or body part, accompanied by intense burning pain, skin sensitivity, sweating, and swelling. Also called: Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. We are still struggling to understand what all she is going through. The hardest part is knowing that your child is in horrible pain and there is no quick fix for relieving that pain. It's been many days of tears, frustration, depression, and struggling to comes to grip with this. When Dr. Willinghelm from Waco Foot & Ankle diagnosed her with the CRPS/RSD, we decided to contact Cook's to get her the help she needed. Gabby already knew Cook's Children's because she suffers from migraines. So when we started looking up what RSD was and they mentioned it was neurological, I decided we needed to contact her neurologist, Dr. Kelfer. I can never say enough good things about the doctors, nurses, etc. at Cook's. I talked to Dr. Kelfer's nurse and she did everything she could to get us the help that we needed. Dr. Kelfer decided that we needed to get Gabby in to see their Pain Specialist as soon as possible. Luckily, they worked us in and we got to meet with Dr. Gandhi and her crew.

Dr. Gandhi and her crew are amazing. I was simply in awe with the care and the concern that they show to their patients. For our first initial appointment we met with Dr. Gandhi (pain specialist), Katie Willett (physical therapist), Fred Oriti (physician assistant), and a psycho-therapist. They all got together to do a thorough exam of Gabby and find the correct course of action for her. We had brought our copies of the MRI and Radiologist's report with us. Dr. Gandhi had their orthopedic department even look at them and do a consultation on Gabby's case. We also found out that Gabby still has a minor stress fracture. The stress fracture makes dealing with the RSD a little more difficult. See, with treating RSD, one of the things they need to do is to start moving your body as soon as possible. Yet, with the stress fracture, you are supposed to keep it stable and resting. So, Dr. Gandhi & Team decided to start Gabby on light therapy and medication for her RSD. This has been a battle for Gabby also.

Gabby is a fighter. She handles pain more than I think a lot of 12 year old would be able to. I have tried to make it my job to keep her as upbeat about everything as possible. Luckily, Dr. Gandhi has told us that we have caught Gabby's RSD early enough that she has a 95% chance of getting back to normal. Unfortunately, it can't be fast enough for Gabby. We have found a wonderful physical therapist at Providence Outpatient Therapy in Waco. Mary has the same kind of upbeat and sarcastic attitude as my Gabber. When I go to therapy with Gabby I can't help but laugh listening to Gabby and Mary. So, even though the exercises are painful, Gabby usually laughs while in therapy and comes out pretty upbeat.

We have another hurdle to conquer now. Gabby's one dream since she was a little girl was to be a cheerleader. Yesterday she found out that the cheerleader tryouts are now going to be in February. First thing Gabby did was talk to Mary about how they could do her therapy better so that she can tryout. Mary explained that she still needed to follow the prescription that Dr. Gandhi gave for the therapy but gave Gabby some things that she could slowly start working on at home. Also, we go back to Cook's on January 25th to see the Orthopedic doctor and Dr. Gandhi. Gabby tried to stay positive as long as possible but by dinner time last night her mood started falling. She was very upset and didn't see how she could be a cheerleader. I then sat with my little girl and told her that I would do everything I can to help her be able to tryout this year. I told her that we would start by talking to Dr. Gandhi and then we would go from there to talking to the school about the tryouts.

I am trying my best to do what is best for my kids. I know that God never gives us more than we can handle but sometimes I want to throw up my hands and ask Him "You really thought I could handle THIS??". Yet I know that as Philippians 4:13 says " I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". I really am trying to lean on Christ to help us with this. I'm also trying to remind Gabby that God and all of His Angels are here to support us and help us through our trying times.