Fortunately I do not have a picture to accompany this post, but the story is too good not to tell.
Yesterday I awoke to a beautifully sunny Easter morning, showered, and put on make up for the first time since last Monday. The service at FBC started at 10:30 and I was having some trouble figuring out whether I should take my 10:00 dose of Norco with or without food, since it makes me feel a bit queasy. I opted for eating a banana about 10 minutes before taking the Norco and felt decent on the way to church.
During the service I was able to stand and sing a bit, but I drank a lot of water to quell the feelings of nausea that seemed to be increasing. Afterwards, a friend seated behind us asked to see the gross cellphone picture and hear the story about my ankle. I was getting quite animated in retelling it and had to cut off abruptly to keep from losing my banana. While I was sitting with hand over mouth and eyes glued to the ground, Mark Restrepo and Betty (the sweet greeter)approached me to say hello. I had to wave them both off with an index finger while I composed myself, but seconds later there was no hope... not knowing what to do, I reached quickly for my purse and "let it go."
My friends quickly scooted off while I hobbled to the nearest exit as fast as I could. Mom and Dad #2, Shiloh, and JJ were very helpful in bringing water, paper towels, and plastic bags to help me clean up. I felt much better after relieving myself of all that water and banana; the only casualty of the morning was my poor, hand-me-down (from TJ) camera, which had been in my purse and been fried in banana juice. Oops.
I went home for a nap before Easter dinner, which I was able to keep down with minimal feelings of an upset stomach. Today I called the surgeon, and he is allowing me to start using Vicodin, instead of Norco. It doesn't help the pain quite as well, but my baby needs some nutrients to stay in my body! :) Thanks for all your continued prayers and support - being helpless is both physically and emotionally draining, and I've really appreciated all the offers for assistance. Happy Monday!
Monday, March 24, 2008
Saturday, March 22, 2008
From One Thankful Invalid
I'm finally home and I've never felt so thankful in my life. Over the past four days, God has shown me that 1) He wants me to REST, 2) He cares, and 3) I'm loved. From the moment I looked down at my foot hanging off to the side of my leg, and could only rate my pain as a 4-5 out of 10, I knew God was taking care of me. Within seconds, people were at my side bringing ice and prayers, calling 911, taking cell phone photos, and making me smile. I didn't even have time to freak out about what might lie ahead before a familiar face jumped out of the ambulance to remind me that God is good. (All the time.) In the ambulance ride to Kaiser, I was able to talk to Shiloh on the phone ("Babe, what were you thinking?") and then chat with the paramedic about public vs. private education, politics, and quirky stories about Davis.
At the hospital, I had cool nurses and met Dr. Haji, who took great care of me through the whole ordeal. He and the head nurse cleaned my wound, pulled out some grass, put on a soft cast, and sent me off for x-rays. Surgery started around 10 and I was awake the whole time, which I had initially feared but ended up enjoying. I was able to talk to the doctors (though a sheet limited visibility) and see a "play-by-play" as they posted x-ray pictures after each screw went in. The doctors were friendly and did a fantastic job. Here is the finished product:
The biggest post-op relief, however, was when the obstetrician came into my room on Wednesday morning and showed me this:
The dotted line goes from baby's tail bone (left) to skull (right) and about half way up you can see two little hands sticking up. They say that the nub on the left is going to be feet or something like that, but I think the little bean managed to get a ball in there and is already practicing his shot. Best of all, the whitish spot near the chin was pulsing rapidly, as if saying, "Hi Mommy! I'm okay!" I was so happy.
The next few days seemed to fly by, filled with text messages, visitors, flowers, phone calls, and lots of morphine. :) Thanks to everyone who came to see me! This is me (looking nasty) next to some girls from my junior class/soccer team who brought an Easter basket filled with candy and really nice notes from students:
My brainiac little nephew, Luke Armstrong, was able to compose this at 14 months. He's a keeper!
At Crepeville with my family for brunch before they headed back to the Bay Area:
I can't say enough how THANKFUL I am for everybody's prayers and support over the last week. And now I'm going to go prop up my foot and take ONE Norco. :)
At the hospital, I had cool nurses and met Dr. Haji, who took great care of me through the whole ordeal. He and the head nurse cleaned my wound, pulled out some grass, put on a soft cast, and sent me off for x-rays. Surgery started around 10 and I was awake the whole time, which I had initially feared but ended up enjoying. I was able to talk to the doctors (though a sheet limited visibility) and see a "play-by-play" as they posted x-ray pictures after each screw went in. The doctors were friendly and did a fantastic job. Here is the finished product:
The biggest post-op relief, however, was when the obstetrician came into my room on Wednesday morning and showed me this:
The dotted line goes from baby's tail bone (left) to skull (right) and about half way up you can see two little hands sticking up. They say that the nub on the left is going to be feet or something like that, but I think the little bean managed to get a ball in there and is already practicing his shot. Best of all, the whitish spot near the chin was pulsing rapidly, as if saying, "Hi Mommy! I'm okay!" I was so happy.The next few days seemed to fly by, filled with text messages, visitors, flowers, phone calls, and lots of morphine. :) Thanks to everyone who came to see me! This is me (looking nasty) next to some girls from my junior class/soccer team who brought an Easter basket filled with candy and really nice notes from students:
My brainiac little nephew, Luke Armstrong, was able to compose this at 14 months. He's a keeper!
At Crepeville with my family for brunch before they headed back to the Bay Area:
I can't say enough how THANKFUL I am for everybody's prayers and support over the last week. And now I'm going to go prop up my foot and take ONE Norco. :)
Friday, March 21, 2008
There's no place like home...
Whelp... Sam's finally home again. Her Dad, Mom, and sister (Katie) came to Davis to spend time with her and they've been great to have around. We all went over to the Sorbello parents' abode where Sam utilized their shower-with-a-seat to take the shower she had been longing for (though she had to wear a plastic bag over her cast). Then we went to Lampost for dinner, but Sam was laid out by her new pain medication (Norco), and we came home to let her relax. She was dizzy, nauseated, and literally falling asleep at the table. Powerful stuff that Norco. The prescription is for one or two pills every four hours, but I think we'll stick with one pill at a time. :)
Here are some pictures:
Picture 1: Sam's ankle as they unwrapped the soft cast to check the ankle for infection.
Picture 2: The inside of her ankle has 13 staples in it. For a close up, just click on the picture. I didn't get a chance to photograph the other side of the ankle (the side they put the plate in), and the incision there is even longer than this one!
Picture 3: Sam eating her hospital food sporting a new hard cast.
Picture 4: Sam at home on the couch - before taking her pain pills!
Here are some pictures:
Picture 1: Sam's ankle as they unwrapped the soft cast to check the ankle for infection.
Picture 2: The inside of her ankle has 13 staples in it. For a close up, just click on the picture. I didn't get a chance to photograph the other side of the ankle (the side they put the plate in), and the incision there is even longer than this one!
Picture 3: Sam eating her hospital food sporting a new hard cast.
Picture 4: Sam at home on the couch - before taking her pain pills!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Ankle Update
Sam is doing significantly better today. The pain has almost completely gone away when it is properly elevated (thanks to Vicodin and your prayers), and she no longer has to use morphine. Getting up to go to the bathroom causes some throbbing pain in the ankle, but that is expected. Her spirits are up and she enjoyed all of today's visitors (Dad, Mom, and Sarah Sorbello; Bethany; girls from school; Cob and Jenna Armstrong; Kelly Stephens; and the Ganyo family). The nurses and doctors have all been wonderful and Sam even got an in-bed bath today (including hair washing!) by one of her nurses.
As for me, I more than happily ate the leftover hospital meals, Jamba Juices, and treats that people brought, while I watched college basketball, read the newspaper, and spent the whole day with my lovely, mostly-pain-free wifey.
Tomorrow, doctors will hopefully find no infection in the ankle and discharge Sam. She will spend 7-10 days in a hard cast and then transition to a boot cast thingamajigger. She won't be able to put pressure on the leg for a while, but at least she is on the road to recovery and Baby seems to be well! Thanks to all who have called, texted, prayed, or visited!
As for me, I more than happily ate the leftover hospital meals, Jamba Juices, and treats that people brought, while I watched college basketball, read the newspaper, and spent the whole day with my lovely, mostly-pain-free wifey.
Tomorrow, doctors will hopefully find no infection in the ankle and discharge Sam. She will spend 7-10 days in a hard cast and then transition to a boot cast thingamajigger. She won't be able to put pressure on the leg for a while, but at least she is on the road to recovery and Baby seems to be well! Thanks to all who have called, texted, prayed, or visited!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Freak Accident
This is going to be a long one...
Just so you know, this post includes a pretty gross picture of Sam's ankle as it appeared in the emergency room (taken by me using Sam's cell phone). In case you want to avoid it, I put the offending picture at the very bottom of this post.
In addition to teaching at Woodland Christian High School, Sam enjoys coaching. This season, she is the varsity girls' soccer coach. In practice Tuesday (3/18/08), she was participating in a drill with the girls and she accidentally stepped on the ball and rolled her ankle. Most people, when they roll their ankle, suffer a sprain because their ankle rolls outward over their foot (supination). In Sam's case, despite her high arches, she caught a cleat on the top of the ball and rolled her ankle the other way (pronation). Instead of a sprain, her misstep resulted in a compound fracture of her ankle.
Sam, probably in shock, didn't feel much pain initially, and she tried to reset the ankle by forcing the bone back into skin and minimize bleeding by applying pressure to the open wound. Meanwhile, some of her players ran to call 9-1-1 and get help. Our good friend and the Athletics Director at WCHS, Justin Smith, went to take a picture of the injury for Sam's future scrap-booking enjoyment (at my request). After looking at the injury, he turned around and fell flat on his face - he passed out. The next thing he remembers was people picking grass and dirt off of his face. He bruised and scraped his picture-perfect face up, but he'll be okay.
An ambulance responded quickly, and the driver (Jeff Kirby) was a friend from the "young married" Sunday school class at church. He rushed her to the nearest Kaiser hospital (in north Sacramento), while I rushed straight from work, grateful to know that Sam was in good hands. I met Sam at the ER soon after she arrived.
Frankly, it was the most devastating sports-related injury I've ever seen in "real life." To avoid pulling a Justin Smith, I had to sit down immediately after seeing the ER doc unwrap the bandage that the paramedics had put on. The photo of what I saw is at the bottom of the e-mail.
X-rays revealed a clean break of the tibia and a messy break of the fibula. Here is the picture:
As you can see, it's a pretty freaky injury. The tibia broke cleanly at probably the thickest site on the bone and was protruding from her ankle.
She went into surgery at 10:00 p.m. and came out at 12:30 a.m. We very much appreciated the doctors and every one of the nurses except one, who told me in a shockingly rude tone that I needed his consent to take pictures of Sam's foot in the ER. Thank God for the little self-control I had that night, because that threw me for a loop, and I definitely wanted to press the issue.
The surgery was complicated by Baby Sorbello. Pregnant women can't take all of the "normal" medications for surgeries like the one Sam had. They gave her spinal anesthesia and numbed her up from the waist down. She felt no pain during the surgery and the doctors were very pleased with their work (which made us quite happy, too). They put two big screws into the tibia and a plate with five smaller screws attached to the fibula. The fibula had some shattered bone cleaned out and replaced with "osteoblast" (?) which is intended to solidify the area and promote bone growth.
Now, Sam is laying in a hospital room with three other older, female patients. Visiting hours (even for hubbies) are 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. I got to stay until 3:00 a.m. on the night of the surgery, because Sam was recuperating in the "recovery room" and hadn't been assigned a bed. Given her general population status, I am now restricted to normal visiting hours like anyone else. I'm not a big fan of this restriction, but I'm hoping she gets a good night of sleep.
She is currently trying minimize the pain (with little success) using morphine and vicodin. Both drugs have been cleared for pregnant women, and Sam's being a trooper by taking as little medication as possible. She is in a lot of pain and is tired, because the pain is making her sleep fitfully. Sam had another ultrasound this morning just to check on Baby Sorbello and, based on the heartbeat, he/she seems fine. Baby's length has doubled since 3/7/08, making him/her a whopping 3 centimeters tall now!
We were blessed to have Dad and Mom Sorbello hang with us for most of the night pre-surgery, with an appearance by the Armstrongs (my sis and bro-in-law) who came bearing love in the form of Jamba Juice and a yummy burrito. Jeremiah Jarvis (housemate) stopped by after his swing shift with Sac P.D. and joined me for a late night Taco Bell run. Today, Jeremy McChesney, Carie Brueckner, Dad and Mom Sorbello, the Armstrongs, Jen Jarvis (house mate), and Coach Dave and friends (from WCHS) paid visits. The Armstrongs brought more grub, Jen brought a whole goodie-basket, and others brought flowers. In addition, we received countless calls and text messages from loved ones all over the place, who told us they were thinking of and praying for Sam's and Baby's health. We are very grateful for the friends and family God has blessed us with, and they have made us feel loved during this ordeal. Things could definitely be much, much worse. Here are a couple of pictures of her in her room:
I'm trying to figure out how to get a picture of the post-operation x-ray with all the hardware in Sam's ankle, but it's scanning too darkly to be helpful. Sam will probably be able to Photoshop it into shape. Until then... here's what her ankle looked like in the ER:
Just so you know, this post includes a pretty gross picture of Sam's ankle as it appeared in the emergency room (taken by me using Sam's cell phone). In case you want to avoid it, I put the offending picture at the very bottom of this post.
In addition to teaching at Woodland Christian High School, Sam enjoys coaching. This season, she is the varsity girls' soccer coach. In practice Tuesday (3/18/08), she was participating in a drill with the girls and she accidentally stepped on the ball and rolled her ankle. Most people, when they roll their ankle, suffer a sprain because their ankle rolls outward over their foot (supination). In Sam's case, despite her high arches, she caught a cleat on the top of the ball and rolled her ankle the other way (pronation). Instead of a sprain, her misstep resulted in a compound fracture of her ankle.
Sam, probably in shock, didn't feel much pain initially, and she tried to reset the ankle by forcing the bone back into skin and minimize bleeding by applying pressure to the open wound. Meanwhile, some of her players ran to call 9-1-1 and get help. Our good friend and the Athletics Director at WCHS, Justin Smith, went to take a picture of the injury for Sam's future scrap-booking enjoyment (at my request). After looking at the injury, he turned around and fell flat on his face - he passed out. The next thing he remembers was people picking grass and dirt off of his face. He bruised and scraped his picture-perfect face up, but he'll be okay.
An ambulance responded quickly, and the driver (Jeff Kirby) was a friend from the "young married" Sunday school class at church. He rushed her to the nearest Kaiser hospital (in north Sacramento), while I rushed straight from work, grateful to know that Sam was in good hands. I met Sam at the ER soon after she arrived.
Frankly, it was the most devastating sports-related injury I've ever seen in "real life." To avoid pulling a Justin Smith, I had to sit down immediately after seeing the ER doc unwrap the bandage that the paramedics had put on. The photo of what I saw is at the bottom of the e-mail.
X-rays revealed a clean break of the tibia and a messy break of the fibula. Here is the picture:
As you can see, it's a pretty freaky injury. The tibia broke cleanly at probably the thickest site on the bone and was protruding from her ankle.
She went into surgery at 10:00 p.m. and came out at 12:30 a.m. We very much appreciated the doctors and every one of the nurses except one, who told me in a shockingly rude tone that I needed his consent to take pictures of Sam's foot in the ER. Thank God for the little self-control I had that night, because that threw me for a loop, and I definitely wanted to press the issue.
The surgery was complicated by Baby Sorbello. Pregnant women can't take all of the "normal" medications for surgeries like the one Sam had. They gave her spinal anesthesia and numbed her up from the waist down. She felt no pain during the surgery and the doctors were very pleased with their work (which made us quite happy, too). They put two big screws into the tibia and a plate with five smaller screws attached to the fibula. The fibula had some shattered bone cleaned out and replaced with "osteoblast" (?) which is intended to solidify the area and promote bone growth.
Now, Sam is laying in a hospital room with three other older, female patients. Visiting hours (even for hubbies) are 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. I got to stay until 3:00 a.m. on the night of the surgery, because Sam was recuperating in the "recovery room" and hadn't been assigned a bed. Given her general population status, I am now restricted to normal visiting hours like anyone else. I'm not a big fan of this restriction, but I'm hoping she gets a good night of sleep.
She is currently trying minimize the pain (with little success) using morphine and vicodin. Both drugs have been cleared for pregnant women, and Sam's being a trooper by taking as little medication as possible. She is in a lot of pain and is tired, because the pain is making her sleep fitfully. Sam had another ultrasound this morning just to check on Baby Sorbello and, based on the heartbeat, he/she seems fine. Baby's length has doubled since 3/7/08, making him/her a whopping 3 centimeters tall now!
We were blessed to have Dad and Mom Sorbello hang with us for most of the night pre-surgery, with an appearance by the Armstrongs (my sis and bro-in-law) who came bearing love in the form of Jamba Juice and a yummy burrito. Jeremiah Jarvis (housemate) stopped by after his swing shift with Sac P.D. and joined me for a late night Taco Bell run. Today, Jeremy McChesney, Carie Brueckner, Dad and Mom Sorbello, the Armstrongs, Jen Jarvis (house mate), and Coach Dave and friends (from WCHS) paid visits. The Armstrongs brought more grub, Jen brought a whole goodie-basket, and others brought flowers. In addition, we received countless calls and text messages from loved ones all over the place, who told us they were thinking of and praying for Sam's and Baby's health. We are very grateful for the friends and family God has blessed us with, and they have made us feel loved during this ordeal. Things could definitely be much, much worse. Here are a couple of pictures of her in her room:
I'm trying to figure out how to get a picture of the post-operation x-ray with all the hardware in Sam's ankle, but it's scanning too darkly to be helpful. Sam will probably be able to Photoshop it into shape. Until then... here's what her ankle looked like in the ER:
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Two months...
If you can't read the sign Sam's holding, it says: two months (9 weeks) - no morning sickness, very tired, and "sore."
That pretty much sums up her pregnancy so far. She's been sleeping a lot more than normal, but she's trying to practice sleeping on her left side, which hasn't been working so well. Apparently she read/heard something about how sleeping on her left side was the best way to sleep when you get a big belly, so she's been practicing, with little success. She always ends up sleeping on her back.
In other news, last night she had a dream about Baby Sorbello and Baby happened to be a girl. Don't take it to the bank, but my gut is saying the same thing. We're pretty confident with our girl names (Siena is the top pick), but we're still grappling with boy names. We can't decide if we want to go all "S" names, Italian names, biblical names, family names, or what.
Stay tuned...
Friday, March 07, 2008
Meanwhile, back at the ranch...
Lest a full year go by without a blog posting, here is the latest installment. If you don't recognize the picture above, it's the first ultrasound photo of the newest Sorbello. It was taken about an hour ago at our first doctor appointment for the baby. Apparently, Baby is 1.59 centimeters tall right now, but we're hoping that he/she hits a huge growth spurt by the due date (October 15, 2008).
It's funny to think that the baby is just hanging out and growing in Sam's body right now. The miracle of childbirth is mind-blowing. I find it hard to believe that anyone can honestly think that the birthing process is simply a product of time and chance. No way. God's fingerprints are all over this thing.
I am reminded of Psalm 139:13, where King David says to God:
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."
David wrote this ~3000 years ago(!), long before the ultrasound could give us pictures of God's "knitting" projects.
We can also relate to David's reference to being "fearfully and wonderfully made." Pregnancy can be a scary time, and we appreciate your prayers for health for Sam and Baby. The doctor asked us if we wanted genetic testing and started to explain that some people choose to have the babies screened for Down syndrome and cystic fibrosis. We told her that Baby's oldest aunt has Down syndrome and that "terminating the pregnancy" (odd euphemism) was not an option for us. The prenatal nurse also talked to us about meeting with a genetic counselor to discuss the genetic risks Baby is facing. We didn't see the point - breaking down the "potential risks" sounds to us like useless fodder for worry. So far, things have been absolutely wonderful, however. Sam hasn't experienced morning sickness or anything else of note so far. For that, we are very thankful.
We will do a better job updating the blog now that we have more news to report. Until next time...
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