Care, Love and Patience

I have to apologize for my neglect to the blog the past few weeks - I've been a bit preoccupied. Tomorrow is the 3 week mark of Mr. Cob's ankle incident and we're both still speaking, haven't killed each other yet, and actually are doing quite well ("well" being a relative term...)

Since Mamma Kae flew back home to the Midwest I've been Mr. Cob's sole caregiver. Well that's not exactly true - friends and family are still coming over with dinner or coming to just hang out - and Mr. Cob's work family is helping him be as comfortable as possible at the office. But aside from that (which is huge - please keep coming by!!!), it's all me. And this world of care giving is new to me.

My prior care giving experience can be summed up quite briefly:

1. My first (and last) job as a babysitter was for 3 little boys who I just couldn't handle. I had a legal sized notepad full of "things" they had done "bad" in the 5 hours their parents were gone. I was trying to use it as a way to get them to cooperate and never meant for the parents to see the "bad" list, but alas, I forgot and the parents were pretty sure I was the unfit one of the bunch.

2. I've cared for many a plants. But, they've all died aside from the 2 currently in our sun room.

3. Bailey Ann is 4 years old and she's still alive - however, she doesn't require much maintenance. Food + water + clean litter box = healthy cat.

4. When I was 22 years old I flew out to California and "kidsat" my two cousins for a week while my aunt and uncle rode their motorcycles to North Dakota for the Sturgis Bike Week. My male cousin was 7 or 8 years old and very "energetic". I called my mom and promptly apologized for every bad thing I'd ever done to make her life difficult/miserable. I then called my aunt and said thank you for the heavy dose of birth control! However, we all made it out alive and happy - I just knew I wasn't ready to be a mom at that point (6 years later, I'm still not ready, but that's another story for another blog post).

5. I've taken care of myself for the past 10 years, with some help along the way, and I think I'm doing OK.

But aside from those 5 experiences, I've never been much of a caretaker. And I'm learning I have a lot of learning and growing to go.

But I'm making sure Mr. Cob is fed, clothed (I even altered some pants to accommodate the cast! this is way out of my comfort zone...), bathed and as happy as can be. We're doing OK. Sure the house could be a little cleaner, the meals a little healthier and the smiles a little bigger, but all in all, we're doing the best we can. And my parents have always said, "Do your best, and that's all anyone can ever ask of you."

Who doesn't love a Makeover?

A little "before" and "after" picture always makes me smile. I love all things makeover. I can spend an hour looking through the Oprah show's before/after makeover pictures online. How Do I Look? and What Not to Wear are two of my favorite shows. And the makeover episode of America's Next Top Model is always my favorite of the season. (Disregard what all this TV watching says about me...)

So it should come as no surprise that I'm intrigued by Mr. Cob's "before" and "after" pictures. Only, his before "picture" (aka "x-ray") is before the ankle was put back in the right position (i.e. the dislocation picture) and the after picture is (duh) after the docs numbed him up and popped the ankle bone back in its socket (sounds painless, yes? Morphine, please). I have hopes to get my hands on his "after" surgery pics - you know you'd love to see the steel plate, pins and screws.

BEFORE:



AFTER:

Not all news is BAD news

Mr. Cob had his 1 week post-op appointment with the surgeon this afternoon and was given some great news!

In 1 week (i.e. 2 weeks after incident ("WAI")), he'll go back to the doctor and get a new cast.

2 weeks after that (i.e. 4WAI/1 month after incident ("MAI")), they'll do new x-rays and Mr. Cobb will probably get a removable boot that can be taken on and off so the foot can be stretched (a bit).

2 weeks after that (i.e. 6 week mark), the doc MAY let him walk with tennis shoes - if not then definitely at 7 weeks. (Sidenote, anyone have any recommendations for tennis shoes that "go" with a business suit??? Hum, we're going to have to get creative!)

And best of all, he said Mr. Cob's soccer days don't necessarily have to be over...he just has to be careful and perhaps not play in such a violent league. The doc also said that he has football players who come in with broken ankles after being tackled that are not as bad as Mr. Cob's break. Point being, Mr. Cob is very lucky as this was a really bad break and could've left him with a bum ankle.

So our spirits are rising and the pot of gold is starting to appear at the end of the rainbow. Just one thing, how do you get suit pants over a cast????