Metal Free

All the metal that is coming out and off is gone. I am glad for that. Of course I have permanent metal in my left hand and all in my mouth. I am starting the teeth process soon. I am letting my jaws heal more before I start. I have had an appointment with the eye sergeon. I am going to have eye surgery. I was hoping glasses were an option but she said they would be very thick and they might not correct my vision. My right eye is 10mm lower than the left and the mussels do not lift it correctly. That is why I have double vision. She thinks she can correct most of the problem. I will have to be put under general anesthesia, and will be in the hospital for a night. My left jaw and right wrist is still painful and stiff. I have read and been told that it will take up to a year to heal from those two things. The lack of feeling in my face is probably permanent. I wish it were better but I will take what comes and be glad to be alive and getting better. I am gaining more use of my hands. I am actually typing and I mean correctly using keys. I took typing my junior and senior years in high school. It does come in handy. I was a typist in the army. That kept me out of allot of harder jobs. I appreciate all who read this blog. Fell free to comment at any time. Larry

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ON GOING PROGRESS

I saw my doctors yesterday and got the braces removed from teeth. I have several cracked teeth. I will probably have all 18 that I have pulled and get false teeth. I got 5 pins which are pictured, out of my wrist, the longest is 3" long. The bar has to stay one more week. I am so ready for that to be gone. I have an appointment Jan 20 with the eye surgeon to talk about eye sight correction. I see double unless I tilt my head back, which is taking a toll on my neck.

I am recovering very well. I am still very thankful for all the prayers and encouragement from everyone. God bless and I will update more later. Papa

NEW YEAR 2009

May all who read this blog have a Happy and Blessed New Year.

THANKFUL TODAY

I am thankful today that I am here to celebrate Christmas with my family. We will gather later in the afternoon through tomorrow's Christmas eve service at our church with our daughters and their family, along with Brenda's dad J.C. We will eat, fellowship, exchange presents and have fun during this time. I thank all my family for all the encouragement and help during my recovery. I thank God for allowing me to continue with the rest of my life.

I am recovering nicely. I have one arm out of everything and it still is stiff and hurts. My other arm still has pins and bar on it. Will come off Jan. 5. The braces come off my mouth Jan. 7. I am really looking forward to getting this done. I can eat now. I cannot eat hard things. I haven't got many teeth. I have 2 partials. My jaws are still real sore. I look forward to the day they don't hurt. I still see double if I don't tilt my head back. That makes my neck tired. I will have to have an operation on my eye to correct this at a later date.

It sounds like I am complaining but I am not. I am so happy to be doing this good. When I think of how it could be now I cringe. I could be paralyzed neck down, waist down, brain damaged, blind and the list goes on. So I am lucky to be in this shape. God was not through with me. I love to sing. I sing in the choir and I sing solos. I am using the talent He gave me to sing Oh Holy Night during the Christmas Eve service at our church. That is one thing God uses me for and I am happy to do it for Him.

In closing I wish all who visit this blog a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May you feel the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in your life during this season and throughout the year. God Bless from our home to yours, Larry and Brenda (Grammy and Papa)

Five weeks ago today

Notice the black cover on left arm, cast is off. I will get the bar and pins removed on right arm Monday. I will also get unwired the same day. I am hoping my mouth will work freely. I am a little nervous about that. My surgery was 5 weeks ago today. 2.5 weeks on right arm, second surgery. I cannot see clearly if I look straight ahead. I have to tilt my head back to see. My eye socket was crushed on right side. They can fix it with more surgeries later. I am hoping glasses can fix the double vision. Simply my right eye is not in the right place. I still have a way to go before I am well but am well on the way. I am still so thankful to God for all the prayers lifted and for sparing me for more use. I hear so many stories of people falling such short distances and getting paralyzed and even killed. It makes me cringe to hear that and know how far I fell. God was looking after me for sure.

I am able to dress myself now. I can do most of my hygiene duties. Grammy still blends my meals and still gives me a shower. I may want my shower continued after I am well. I know what all of you are thanking so quit it. I can use my hands some but not any heavy lifting. Hopefully I can do more after Monday. My hands are very stiff. I still do not have more than 50 percent of the feeling back in my face. It may take up to a year to get that back and some will never be back. That started to bother me and I just decided to not worry about that. For those who know me, I am a person who worries and some times gets depressed. I suffered from severe depression at age 30 for a year or so. I was given xanax for that and panic attacks which I had for years. It worked and the attacks subsided after some time. I continued taking the med for probably 15 more years because of fear of more attacks. If you never had panic attacks it is life shattering. Those that suffer know what I am saying. Anyway on to my reason for bringing this up. I was taking 3 mg daily when I was so sick. Over the years I tapered myself off to .25mg daily which is a very small amount. When I was in the hospital, I was not given any xanax. When I was being released the Dr. asked if I wanted a prescription for it and I said no because I had not taken any for 2 weeks. Praise GOD I am off of that very powerful addictive drug, however it is a great drug when you need it. I do not have panic attacks any more. I say that to say this. Through this tough time I have not been depressed, I have not complained very much and have not felt sorry for myself. I told Leslie one day that this mountain was very hard to climb and she said, Dad most of them are. How true, but what matters is How you climb it. I am climbing it with a purpose. The purpose is to do whatever God has left for me to do. I praise God for all who have prayed for me. I love you all, Larry

2 WEEKS AGO TODAY

THE LADDER I RODE DOWN TO CONCRETE

I was in the hospital in great pain awaiting surgery which came on Wednesday. I am thankful for all for your comments and prayers. I almost killed myself. All of you who cut corners to get the job done quickly in lieu of safety, don't do it. I put a ladder on a table to get done quickly. Guess what I didn't get done quick or even get it done at all. Yep, the job is still waiting.

In the blink of an eye your life can change. Mine did. I will probably recover fully over some months. I will forever be grateful to GOD for allowing me to live more. I love GOD an am blessed by Him. I have such a good family and they have been by my side. I thank you all. My wife has been the best during my illness. She is my helper. I love her very much.

I am recovering very quickly and am gaining strength every day. It is difficult to type with 2 fingers with arms casted. I went to worship service and bible study yesterday to every one's amazement. I thank you all. Papa