Working with a Family

This week I completed my 28th year on this planet. We gathered as a family a couple times this week in celebration, and I saw some strength finally return to my bad knee. I'm slowly transitioning from crutches to my walking cane, able to put more weight down on my leg, and I can even bend my knee more than last week. I see the light at the end of the tunnel. This is the beginning of my 12 day holiday, so I thought it would be nice to go out and travel to make the most of the time off. My leg was starting to improve and I was able to drive short distances, so Rhea and I planned on surprising my parents and sister in Arkansas and joining them all there as they welcomed my sister and brother in law into their new home. I knew that Camille also had some big announcements regarding a new job and joining the military, and my parents only had a short time before my dad goes back on his ship.  Rhea and I got our business in order, ran the errands we needed to do before le...

This week started miserably and ended on a high note. Almost the entire week passed in a blur as I tossed and turned in bed rest, getting less than 2 hours of sleep each day, throwing off my sleeping schedule and really messing with my mind. The only strength in me was the strength of my fever and the severity of my pain. Sitting down, standing up, even laying down was all a chore and put me in extreme discomfort. Two nights I slept for less than one hour. Before this bed rest, I had hunkered down into full hibernation mode. I filled my 80 oz of water bottles, placed my urinal and pain relievers at my bedside, had my crutches handy, and from the week previous I already had my shower chair and shower handle set up in the bathtub. I had done all I could to make my trial as bearable as possible. Rhea was there with me the whole way to nurture and support. We'd gone through many gout flares together and we were as ready as ever for this one. She was remarkably patient and c...