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DJ/Radio Producer-turned-Lawyer attempts to dress like a grown-up. Sometimes I comically fail. And I occasionally post fun stuff, like music videos, book-club reviews, or photos of beauty or oddity.
FYI: I was doing this entire blog from my Android phone, snatching moments out of my busy life for quick photos. But I hate auto-correct with a purple passion, so now I'm using the computer for most of the work. I am still using my phone for the photos, though. My photo sizes may be erratic, and the quality isn't stellar. I am not a professional blogger, and do not have time for lots of scenic poses with a great camera. I don't even own a great camera! However, I DO appreciate your continued feedback, even in the absence of photographic artistry.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

An Attitude of Gratitude

This Thanksgiving in particular, I have so much to be thankful for. We had a rather nasty scare with Hubby... without going into much detail, the odds were very strong that he would have been paralyzed. Or dead. He is neither!

Hubby is still in pain, has lost some functionality in his left hand, and his left leg is a touch awkward. He will definitely need physical therapy. But at the time that the ambulance was called, Hubby was paralyzed on his left side altogether. He got into the hospital a short time after symptoms appeared, and he had an amazing neurosurgeon get him into surgery quickly. The quick response time, coupled with his excellent physical conditioning, really saved him from a much more typical (and worse) outcome.

We have wonderful friends that called, facebooked, visited-- some even brought supplies to the hospital and home for us! Stinky has been very helpful, too. He insisted on staying with me rather than at his mom's so he could keep me company, and he has been a great comfort. Our boss has been monitoring Hubby's caseload so I don't get all that extra work dumped onto me. He even came to the hospital to visit!

Hubby is not allowed to work for awhile, which is a bit of a financial hit... but we can handle it. Luckily, November is a 3-paycheck month! The gas bill is ahead, and our rent is cheap. Looks like the pub bill is going to be virtually nonexistent, and we can likely get forbearance on the student loan payments.

Our usual holiday travel is impossible for Hubby to endure, so we are staying home this year. But some family came to us for Thanksgiving:

Uploaded from the Photobucket Android App

Freeda's husband is in Afghanistan (I'm also thankful that he is safe and well!) so she decided to bring Kiddo out for a little road trip east:

Uploaded from the Photobucket Android App

The artistic Kiddo has already been recruited to design a tattoo for Hubby, incorporating his new scarring. Which will be shown below... just giving a "heads-up" to the unusually squeamish.

We had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner... which we did not cook! Our local hangout pub puts on a free community turkey dinner every year for the holiday. So we decided to attend this year, since I do not have the energy to stage a dinner myself. Delicious food (of course!), and I got to have some fun with the pub owners' (our friends) daughter:

Uploaded from the Photobucket Android App

Oh, yeah... Freeda challenged me to style this necklace that she's been having difficulty with. Then decided it looks better on me! There will be more postings of this big beautyt this week. The earrings:

Uploaded from the Photobucket Android App

Hubby managed to sit up throughout dinner, leaning on the high booth back with a pillow behind his neck. But I had to take him and the pumpkin pie home, because his neck couldn't take the strain of sitting up any longer. I think he is over-optimistic on his return date to work.

Once the "sheer terror and panic" phase of his hospitalization was over, and I was to the point where I could observe the world around me again... I spotted a cute little sculpture garden in a courtyard at the hospital:

Uploaded from the Photobucket Android App

It's such a random thing...

Uploaded from the Photobucket Android App

...but cheery!

Uploaded from the Photobucket Android App

The hospital staff were wonderful, and took such great care of my love. And of me... at about 3 a.m. or so that first awful night, there was no way I could drive home. I tried to sleep in the chair next to Hubby in ICU, but it was killing my back. One of the nurses unlocked an empty consult room with two short couches I used to make myself a little bed by pushing together. She brought me blankets, As I was lying there, sobbing my guts out... she put socks onto my bare feet for me.

I will do the breakdown now instead at the very end, like I usually do.

Top: via Macy's
Pants: Lane Bryant
Necklace: no clue on the source yet... Freeda?
Earrings: via M-I-L's purge
Yes, I wore Crocs. So sue me!

Last warning... if you are particularly squeamish, don't look:
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Uploaded from the Photobucket Android App

17 comments:

  1. Oh my....I'm so glad that your husband is recovering. How frightening it must have been for both of you and your son/stepson. It was really sweet of 'stinky' to stay with you and comfort you.

    I hope you don't push yourself too hard..and I hope your husband recovers his strength quickly.

    Freeda and her daughter are lovely.

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  2. You look fantastic! That top is wonderful.

    I'm really glad that your husband is recovering. Mine is under strict orders not to have medical problems, but we all know how well they listen.

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  3. As hard as this is, I'm so glad that you're focusing on the positive: the good part. That's wise and helpful. Best of luck to both of you.

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  4. Thank goodness the surgery went well. It's wonderful that Freeda & daughter could visit- family is so important. Lots of hugs for all of you!

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  5. Ohmygoodness. Sending lots of prayers and good vibes you way. I'm glad he's alright, and I hope his recovery is speedy. I am glad you managed to have a good thanksgiving with everything going on, and managed to get together with family as well.

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  6. I am sending prayers your way for both of you. I am so thankful that the prognosis is good and that things are good for you both. I am thankful that you are remaining positive and have some good part of Thanksgiving to celebrate. Take care.

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  7. Wow. So glad he is okay and on the road to recovery. And so glad that he (and you) received such great treatment. Stinky sounds like a great kid.

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  8. Thank the Lord your hubby is okay, that's wonderful that the hospital treated y'all so well. I will keep him on my hubby and my prayer list for a quick recovery. Happy you were able to celebrate the holiday.

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  9. oh, i'm so glad your husband is okay. what a terrible thing to have gone through, for all of you. your thanksgiving blouse and necklace look very pretty. hooray for the the good things. :)

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  10. I'm glad your husband is going to be ok, what a stressful and tramtic time you guys have had. It sounds like your workplace/boss misunderstanding so that's really good. Here's wishing to a speedy recovery.

    Em

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  11. Oh my, LD, I am so relieved to hear your husband is going to be OK - what a terrible scare, and stressful time for you all! Thank you for sharing your news with Visible Monday, so we can keep you in our thoughts for total recovery.

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  12. Hope the rest of your holidays are full of healthier, healing days and less stress for everyone there.

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  13. Oh my goodness! Relieved to hear your husband will be okay. A miracle!

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  14. I am happy to hear your husband is doing well. But, just as happy to hear your positive attitude shine thru in your blog!
    Take care and take it slow. I am still not back to work and it's a very difficult time for both parties!
    BTW, I love the necklace!

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  15. ...and, (re: your sweet note to me about how we look in photos)here is an interesting, if not very comforting about why react like we do to photos. http://io9.com/5929667/why-do-we-hate-seeing-photos-of-ourselves
    Says a lot, though, about our relationship to that image in the mirror.
    Hope you are all continuing to do well!
    Jan

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  16. Amy, what a relief it must be to have hubby alive and well! I can only imagine how terrifying such a scare must have been! I'm glad he's alright and hope that he will soon be on the mend. Hope everything continues to improve! Hang in there!

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