Doctor's Appointment

I went to see my doctor this morning and he confirmed that I have strep throat in addition to pink eyes (that's right, both eyes). Thank goodness we caught both while they are still manageable and slightly less debilitating. I should be back up and running in about 48 hours. In the meantime, liquids, rest and no touching the cat or dogs!!

Last Day of School...Ever

Tomorrow is my last day of classes before finals begin. At the moment I am having difficulty completely comprehending the momentousness of this occasion, mostly because I never thought this day would come but also because I think I have strep throat. Excellent timing!

Forget the Royal Wedding...

I witnessed "The Royal Rumble". The meeting of one Vin Diesel with 'The Rock' in the most epic movie I have seen in a long time, Fast Five. I cannot say enough good things about this movie, it had everything I ever wanted: fast cars, hot girls, explosions, shoot-outs, car chases and Vin Diesel & The Rock. Honestly, how this match up has not been done up to this point is beyond me! The entire movie I kept saying to myself, "I cannot wait to own this movie and watch it everyday". Now, go to the theater and enjoy!

Papa (1931-2011)

My friend Melanie (who lost her husband a couple of years back) lost the grandfather who raised her on Monday, April 11th. I am humbled to say that I was there with his entire family when he passed away in his home from leukemia at the age of 80. I loved him like he was my own grandfather and I will miss him deeply. He will forever be my Papa!

Ernest Ray Bennett

Ernest Ray Bennett born March 23, 1931, died April 11, 2011. He is survived by his loving wife of 45 years, Teodora Bennett and children, Barbara (Johnny), Chuck (Cindy), Marsha (Dan), Jim (Theresa) and Ernie (Stephanie) and eight grandchildren and 11 great- grandchildren. He is preceded in death by daughter, Susanne. Ray was a farmer for many years in AR and AZ and joined the Southern Pacific railroad from which he retired. He continued his hobby of tractor restoration throughout his retirement. He is greatly missed by his many family and friends. A Memorial Service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 21, 2011 at EAST LAWN PALMS MORTUARY, 5801 E. Grant.

Graduation: Hotels

For any of you out-of-staters who are considering joining us for graduation in May, there are two convenient hotels very close to our house (literally 2 minutes away).

Comfort Suites:
http://www.tucsoncs.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=places&utm_campaign=google_places_ms
(There is a special price for people attending UA graduation -- $99 a night)

and Ramada
http://www.ramadafoothillstucson.com/index.php
(preliminary search shows $89 a night)

If these will break the budget we can try to put some people up at our house, however my sister is staying in our spare bedroom, so space is at a premium at the moment.

Post OCS: Foot MRI/Orthopedist

Matthew had another doctor's appointment this morning. This time it was to take a look at his right foot. The MRI report indicated that he has 3 stress fractures. Two are in the first metatarsal (the bone below the big toe), and one more in the bone above that (closer to his ankle). There is also significant swelling and edemas near the first metatarsal and ligament damage, although not serious enough for surgery. He also is experiencing numbness in his left big toe but still maintains full functionality. The doctor speculates that with time this will heal, but he may never regain feeling back.

The doctor has prescribed 6 more weeks of rest and than a follow-up appointment in May. After that, as long as he is continuing to improve, he can begin running and exercising again. No formal physical therapy is needed during this 6 week period.

We are still fighting the insurance company (TriWest) who keeps denying our claims despite having pre-approval.

The x-rays still haven't arrived from Quantico.

We received our second and final payment from the Marine Corp for "disability". We are (hopefully) rounding the bend with all this government nonsense. Matthew is back to work so we and the military are itching to part ways!

College Convocation: Update

I received additional information this afternoon regarding the Friday afternoon graduation event at the Tucson Convention Center.

Parking that is near the TCC will be $8 per automobile, however, they claim there is additional (free) parking within walking distance.

Guests will be required to have a ticket for the ceremony (what a joke!!). The tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door. If you notify me by May 5th, I will order your ticket for you. After that they will have to be purchased on the day (starting at 1 pm). Children 6 and under are free (Yeah Liam!!)

Preliminary Graduation Information

I ordered my graduation invitations exactly two weeks ago but they still haven't arrived. I have already started to get some questions about when and where, so in an effort to keep my friends and family informed, here is my graduation information:

College Convocation --
Where: The Tucson Convention Center
When: Friday May 13th
Time: 2-4 pm
This is where the individual graduates will be recognized. This should be better than the university-wide ceremony the following day.

Undergraduate Student Commencement --
Where: McKale Center at the University of Arizona
When: Saturday May 14th
Time: 9:00 am
The individual graduates will not be recognized at this ceremony, the entire college will stand when announced. This is rather boring and I don't expect anyone to attend this particular event.

We are still working out the party details, but most likely we will have a shindig on Saturday after the commencement.

Expect invitations in your mailboxes soon!

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.