Extra, Extra! Spilling the Tea from August

For a penny a pape, we bring you more juicy updates from August.  Like...Newsies!  Jason had a commitment, so Callie got to come with us as we enjoyed this FANTASTIC production at the Hale Center Theater.  They always do such a good job!

The next morning, we had to be up bright and early so that Eli and Talia could run Little Cottonwood canyon with Launch Team.  Ten steep miles will light those quads on fire.

Afterward, we headed up Millcreek Canyon for their Venture Out activities.  Millcreek puts on such a great event!  Annika LOVED getting to meet the baby calf and letting it suckle her fingers...

...until we discovered that it was teething.  Those baby calf teeth were sharp and drew blood!

Not to be discouraged, Annika moved onto feeding/kissing a llama.

Ewww!

That's a face only a mother could love.

After our animal encounter, Ruby mastered the mud pie kitchen and Annika went fishing. 

Oh wait!  Back to the animals.  This show was for the birds.

Archery, a shooting range, a climbing wall, and a drum circle.  There really was something for everyone.  Thanks for inviting us, Millcreek Wheelers!

 

The next day we headed up into the mountains again for a hike around Silver Lake with Uncle Lance and his boyfriend Austin.  Ironically enough, Lance lives in Texas and Austin lives in Chicago.  So glad we could meet them both here in Salt Lake!

Gorgeous day!

Plus, bonus points for getting to hang with Violet and Ruby (even if Violet doesn't like smiling for me.)

This girl will give me a cheesy grin!  Check out her shirt for a preview of where she headed two days later.

More cheese.

Best Friends Forever.

Chilling at Justin and Brianna's house after.  Little Miss Violet was in her element.

I obviously can't get enough of the mountains since I made my way back there a couple days after with Annika and Eila.  Our destination?  Bloods Lake, way up high above Park City.

We brought sandwiches from the Grove for nourishment.  I'm pretty sure that one sammy could feed our family of six.

Kids belong in nature.  Grown-ups too.

Life really is better with cousins.

Last but not least, the much anticipated/somewhat dreaded day: August 31st, 2023.  ACL Surgery for my beloved Peanut Butter.  He was supposed to report to the surgical center in Park City at 8:30 am.  I took this picture at 7:45 am.  He desperately wanted to wrap up some plumbing issues before submitting to the knife.

Well, we drove quickly and made it to Park City nearly on time. Jason's worst indignity was having his leg shaved.  Normally chatty, I knew he must be feeling really ill at ease when he answered all the check-in questions as succinctly as possible.

Mischief managed.  The surgeon Dr. Cooley had hoped that Jason's knee might only require a "healing response," but when he got inside, it was obvious that a full ACL replacement would be necessary.  They took a ligament from Jason's hamstring and folded it several times to replace the ACL.  Then, since the MCL was loose as well, Jason got the Healing Response treatment as well.  It's not nearly as pleasant as it sounds.  They basically take a meat tenderizer to your tendon and poke a bunch of holes in it in the hopes of promoting blood flow and healing.  The bruising afterward is impressive.

Post-op pain and nausea.  It wasn't a very pleasant ride home for poor Jason.

Okay, time to really spill the tea.  For months we've been calling Jason's injured knee "God's Will" because it resulted from a collision with a charming child named Will while at a church activity.  We kept this humorous name secret for a long time because we didn't want Will or his parents to feel at all bad or responsible.  They weren't.  It was just a fluke accident.

Well, it turns out that our tongue-in-cheek epithet "God's Will" was far more prophetic than we ever imagined.  While under cardiac monitoring, the anesthesiologist noticed some abnormal cardiac rhythms.  It wasn't a a big deal since Jason's vitals were fine the whole time, but he told me about because of Annika's cardiac history.  As a result, we started regularly listening to Jason's heart before bed and noticed that his heart rate was persistently elevated with randomly dropped beats.  I encouraged Jason to schedule an appointment with his provider, and sure enough, his EKG was off.  They scheduled him for a 5-day holter monitor, an echo, and an MRI.  When we finally got into an electrophysiologist, Dr. Miller, he confirmed a diagnosis of sinus tachycardia and scheduled Jason for a cardiac ablation in late December.

If God's Will hadn't happened, Jason would have sought medical care...eventually.  After he started feeling lousy.  However, it certainly would have taken longer for us to begin the slow and arduous process of getting this much needed care.  As it is, Jason's procedure is scheduled only ten days before the end of the year.  While I'm not thrilled about sending another family member to the cath lab, if it has to be done, I'm grateful that it's happening after our family has met our insurance out of pocket max for the year.  Most of all, I'm looking forward to my sweet PB feeling back to his amazing self.  So to God and to Will, thank you.