Update on the Knee Surgery

Hey everyone
Thank you all for your prayers, phone calls and text messages yesterday. Mom's surgery went well. The surgeon was able to repair the torn meniscus and clean out all the debris. He felt like it was a very successful surgery and now we are just in the recovery phase.

She was sent home with a walker and when she does have to move around the doctor wants her to put 100% of her weight on that knee. Pray that she begins to experience healing quickly as I know it is hard for her to use the walker with her wrist.

I hated leaving last night knowing she was still in a good bit of pain but your prayers are much appreciated. If you are in the area, I know she would enjoy the visit too!

Also keep my Mimi in your prayers. I think as she gets older we are seeing some signs of dementia and that is always hard to witness!

On My Knees

Merry Christmas from the ladies on My Mom's side of the family
(left to right: My Mom, My Mimi, Me, My Sister Amy and My Aunt Anna)


First and foremost let me wish all of you a belated Merry Christmas. I was a bit overwhelmed with framily (friends that are like family) events prior to leaving to see my actual family. I have also been sharing a bedroom with my 5-year old niece, Maddie, so this doesn't allow for late night pondering and/or blogging. In all honesty, I have fallen asleep on the couch almost every night around 10:30 or 11:00pm. And remember that's actually 9:30 or 10:00pm central time!

I hope you all had a great Christmas with your families or framilies and relished in the time together and the beauty of the season. I enjoyed the excitement of a 2-year old and 5-year old wide-eyed at the empty milk glass and cookie crumbs. Watching them tear into gift bags and squeal with delight at the gifts Santa, Aunt Emily, Grandma and Pepaw (Dad's new name now!) gave them. The joy of Christmas can be found in a child's eyes when they open a gift they have asked for. That same joy should sparkle in our eyes when we think about the gift our Heavenly Father has given us.

Tomorrow marks what we hope is the final surgery from the accident, 2009 and we hope forever. Mom will have outpatient surgery on her right knee. They are going to clean out the debris and repair the torn meniscus in two places.

According to Wikipedia:The knee joint joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two articulations: one between the femur and tibia, and one between the femur and patella.[1] It is the largest and most complicated joint in the human body.[2] The knee is a mobile trocho-ginglymus (i.e. a pivotal hinge joint),[3] which permits flexion and extension as well as a slight medial and lateral rotation. Since in humans the knee supports nearly the whole weight of the body, it is the joint most vulnerable both to acute injury and the development of osteoarthritis.

To quote Ron Burgandy the knee is "kindof a big deal." What's even more of a big deal is that the knee is the symbol of surrender. When we fall to our knees we are physically waving our white flag. We are letting go of any control and asking for help. It's "kindof a big deal" to show a posture of surrender when you kneel.

Our verse for tomorrow's surgery will be the following:
Isaiah 35:3-4 (New International Version)

3 Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;

4 say to those with fearful hearts,
"Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you."

However, I hope our song for not only tomorrow but for 2010 is

Nicole C. Mullen's "On My Knees."
There are days,
When I feel
The best of me
Is ready to begin
Then they're days,
When I feel
I'm letting go,
And soaring on the wind
But I've learned in laughter or in pain,
How to survive

I get on my knees
I get on my knees
there I am before the Love that
Changes me
See, I don't know how,
But there's power
when I’m on my knees

I can be in a crowd,
or by myself.
or almost anywhere,
when I feel, there's a need
to talk with God, he is Emmanuel,
when I close my eyes,
no darkness there
there's only light

When I get on my knees
When I get on my knees
there I am before the Love that changes me
see I don't know how, but there's power
in the blue sky
I don't know how but there's power
and in the midnight
and I don't know how but there's power
when I’m on my knees
I get on my knees
I get on my knees
and there I am before the Love that changes me
I don't know how, but there's power
I don't know how but God gives me power
I don't know how but there's power
When I'm on my knees
A la la la
A la la la la la
A la la la
A la la la la la
A la la la
A la la la la la

Stitches

I am not a huge fan of anything hospital related, funny since Blake is going to be a doctor. But I don’t do well with blood, wounds and certainly not stitches. Something about them makes me really queasy. Even researching a bit for this blog made me look away from the computer screen a few times. I just wanted a basic definition NOT photos. And I definitely didn’t want to click on Google Images when I typed “stitches” in the search bar…

I get chills just thinking about that!


Anyways, my Mom got her stitches out yesterday. She had 13 in all from her wrist to her hand. She received the report that she is healing fine. The nurse and doctor said everything looked in order and she was doing great. Continue to pray for her healing and recovery especially since we are about to undergo the knee surgery in about 12 days.

So after avoiding several nasty photos I found out that the actual medical term for stitches is a surgical suture, which is a medical device, used to hold body tissues together after an injury or surgery. And the word suture actually means “join.”

I think if you were to have a literal picture of my heart it would be covered with stitches. I have had my fair share of heartbreak over the course of my 30 little years that required spiritual sutures. My heart has broken over relationships, friendships, family struggles, personal dreams, etc... Over and over, I, like many of you, have found myself broken in pieces having to pick up my heart from the floor and figure out how to piece it back together.

Luckily we don’t have to stitch up our own heart. The Great Physician, the Jehovah-Rophe (The Lord Who Heals) does that for us.

Psalm 147:3 (New International Version)
3 He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds
If Christmas is a hard time for you because it reopens past wounds or you currently are struggling with a new seeping wound, just remember this-The same tiny baby laying in a manager surrounded by baying animals and barnyard stench is the same All-Mighty, All-Powerful, Jehovah who can bind those wounds up with his healing hand.

I get chills just thinking about that!

525,600 Minutes...How Do You Measure a Year?

My favorite song to belt out in the car is from the Broadway show Rent called Seasons of Love. It starts...Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Six Hundred Minutes.

The number of minutes in one year.

One Year, 365 days, 1,440 hours, 525,600 minutes.

This Sunday we will have reached that marker.

December 6th marks a year since my parent’s accident. I was at a Christmas party with friends and had run up to my apartment to get my purse when I got the phone call.

My uncle called to tell me my Mom and Dad had ran off the road, flipped their car and hit a tree going about 55mph. That both were in the hospital and they were not doing well.

That’s when your heart stops beating for what feels like five minutes, your can’t breath and you go numb all over.

I had just changed jobs and was about to start a “new” journey. Little did I know my path was definitely about to change and this new journey was not quite the path I wanted to take.

The song goes on to ask: How do you measure a year? In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee, in inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife? In 525,600 minutes…

In hospitals- 3
In ambulance rides- 5
In weeks in ICU-2
In surgeries-I think we are up to 4 with one more to go
And in things that I stopped counting long long ago-prescriptions, doctors visits, rehab appointments, trips to Athens and Covington, TEARS but most importantly prayer and just like the song –How about love? Measure in love. Seasons of love.

So what have I learned this year? What have the past 525,600 minutes taught me?

Scripture is the most powerful tool we have to face any challenge. I can’t begin to describe the comfort I have felt while reading the Bible this past year. It has been my warm blanket, my hiding place, my refuge. (Psalm 32:7)

Words cover over me and offer peace in times of despair. I am engulfed in the almighty flames of the Holy One and protected from any and every storm. The Bible is meant to be read! It is meant to be meditated on and kept in our hearts. These words are God-given and are new every morning! (Lam 3:22-23).

Jesus weeps and mourns with us. He suffers when we suffer, he bears our burdens, he wipes our tears, he hears our prayers and pleas. (John 11: 1-36)

He can work miracles. The miracles may be tangible evidence of healing in that they are direct answers to prayers. Or they may be the miracle he is working in your own heart-just the internal change that you experience through the prayer. (Phil 3: 7-11)


I have learned to love my family. We may not always be able to pick family members but we are in our family for a reason. Everyone plays a role and becomes strong when others are weak. The gift of family should never be taken for granted. The thought that I could have lost both of my parents a year ago makes me shudder. I am still to this day, guilty of rolling my eyes at the things they say or do; however, I am the luckiest girl in the world to have two amazing parents. I love you Mom and Dad!

I have learned what a real grown up adult relationship looks like with Blake. He has been my best friend, my very high shoulder to cry on, my rock and my joy. He was standing right beside me when I got that call over a year ago and hasn’t left my side since. I still have butterflies when I think about him, hear his voice or see him and my love for him has only grown by leaps and bounds through this whole experience. I am sure no one wants to have to watch the person they love or their families cry as much as we have over the course of this year. Blake has seen the Adams clan in every light and yet I think he still may spend part of Christmas with us so I guess we haven’t scared him away yet. I love you so much Blake Perry! Thanks for being there for me these past 525,600 minutes times 3. (Prov 17:17).

And I have also learned that when people offer help take it and whenever you can return the favor-do. My family and I would not be where we were without the kind help of friends, family, doctors, nurses, therapist and even strangers.

525,600 minutes, 525,600 moments so dear, 525,600 minutes, how do you measure a year….

Update from Surgery

I just wanted to update everyone and let you all know that the surgery went well. She did great and the surgeon feels like after recovery this should really alleviate the nerve pain she was experiencing.

I think she had to take some pain medicine last night to help her sleep but I think overall she is doing really well. They head to Athens today to remove the larger bandage and replace it with a smaller one and to make sure everything is healing normally.

Thank you all for your prayers, thoughts, emails and phone calls!

This Sunday will be a year since the accident! What a year it has been. I am sure I will post a reflection blog later.

Thanks again.