Our Brackets are Complete

This was the worst year for us and our NCAA brackets. I didn't get one single final four team, Matt got 1. I dare one of you to show me a bracket that had VCU beating Kansas!! I dare you!!

The tournament is always a roller coaster!

Until next year...

32nd Birthday

I just want to send out my deepest thanks and gratitude for an amazing birthday! A sincere thank you to all of you who texted or called me yesterday!

Aside from a full day of classes, it was a great day! My hubby brought me a dozen pink roses, a pizza (so I didn't have to cook dinner) and my sister purchased for me a Coach wallet that matches my purse. Last, but not least, our AZ Cats won their game and advanced to the Elite Eight!! Tonight is my "official" birthday dinner.

I am a very lucky and happy girl!!

So, Why the Address Change?

Well, the 15th was my mom's birthday (and also my father-in-law's...Happy Birthday!!). I forgot to put her cards (mine and my sister's) in the mail in time, so I decided I would drop them off at her house so they would be there on her birthday when she got home from work. That night I tried to call her (as did my sister) and let her know the cards were there. We couldn't reach her. We presumed she must be out for her birthday dinner. I called the next day and left a message and called again that night. My dad answered the phone, furious, and said my mom would call me the following day. The next night my mom called and told me that she didn't want to speak to me. She said "I hope you invest 32 years of your life into someone who leaves you a card on the door" and than hung up on me. My sister tried calling her back, thinking that maybe a different voice might do some good. It didn't. She screamed at the top of her lungs at her and hung up. Later that night she cut all ties with us, deleted my sister from Facebook along with any friends we all mutually shared, the whole nine. So I guess that is it. She is no longer speaking to us because we tried to do the right thing...acknowledge her on her birthday. I am uncertain exactly what I did wrong, and I wish I had the opportunity to explain and say goodbye...

The address change is just my tiny way of cutting ties with her as well. Not mature, to say the least, but I don't feel she deserves the privilege of keeping up to date with our lives after such a traumatic disillusion.

Post OCS: Pay Day

Before hubby left for OCS we banked a good amount of money in savings, just in case the change from a civilian paycheck to a military paycheck didn't go smoothly. Everything went just fine while he was gone (and of course I am extremely thankful for that), but now that he is home, they haven't paid us a single penny. In fact, they demanded money back because he was sent home a few days before the pay period ended and we were over paid in his final check.

He was injured in the line of duty over 3 weeks ago and is supposed to be on a form of disability, but they can't seem to muster a buck or two to help cover the finances. Good thing we planned for them to screw us, just not in the way I predicted.

Post OCS: Diagnosis

Sorry for the delay in updates. The past few days have been stressful.

Matthew and I went to the orthopedist on Wednesday afternoon. The doctor determined via the MRI and the corresponding report from DMAFB that he has three fractures in his pelvis, not his hip as we previously thought. He also has significant edemas surrounding the fractures. The fractures are approximately located where I have put red marks on the picture below:

The doctor is very enthusiastic about his recovery thus far and wants him to continue to rest and work out in the pool for the next 5 weeks. The fractures have already begun to heal and the pain he is experiencing now is mostly muscular. No additional pain medication is needed at this time aside from over-the-counter solutions.

The referrals regarding his foot haven't been approved yet, so we are still a couple weeks out from knowing anything about that.

The x-ray taken of his shin at DMAFB indicated that nothing is broken and everything looks okay.

We have a follow-up appointment in 5 weeks with the orthopedist for the pelvis. At that point he will determine if progress has been made and if formal physical therapy is necessary. If the foot referrals go through, the orthopedist will also take a look at that data, as well. We are working on getting the x-rays from Quantico so the doctor can compare the MRI with the x-ray, as Matthew and I are still concerned about stray bones floating around near his hip joint. There didn't appear to be bone fragments in the MRI, but they are not the best diagnostic method for bone analysis. The x-ray in Quantico indicated an acetabular injury, so we have conflicting diagnoses regarding the hip, at the moment.

I will say that I am most relieved that his prognosis is so positive! However, I cannot say that I enjoyed the way we were treated at the orthopedist. We spent an hour waiting to speak to him and he couldn't wait to brush us off for his next, presumably more important, patient. My grandma once told me regarding doctors: "you have to be your own advocate". Truer words have never been said! If we hadn't been researching, studying and forming questions about this subject, he would be in much worse shape than he is.