Saints to Sinners 2012

Joseph and his team "Medicine Men" participated in the Saints to Sinners bike relay and took first place.  They even sent a new course record.  Way to go guys!

Happy Father's Day 2012

For Father's Day we were excited to make a yummy breakfast for Joseph and to surprise him with a special watch that he's had his eye on.  We made sure to get some bread pudding from Kneaders the day before to make the breakfast extra special.  He was in the boys bed because he fell asleep while tucking them in the night before.  He is a great father to these kids and they all adore him. 

Sandy Health and Rehab Christmas Party

Joseph held his Christmas Party for his employees at the Southtowne Expo Center this year.  We had a busy week and I wasn't sure I was going to make it.  Brynn and Abby's choir performed with Alex Boye earlier that day and had another performance that night.  I was supposed to volunteer backstage and I had to figure out what to do with the boys.  There were too many things working against us.  BUT, a few phone calls and last minute changes made everything come together and we were able to attend together.  I coordinated to help out with the concert in another way.  Shawny went to the concert and brought the girls home and Casey and Melissa babysat the boys.  It was a fun night.  

He did a great job and his staff seemed to enjoy themselves. They had a dinner, raffled prizes and had a dance.  He also had a catered meal from Goodwood for the 25 people who had to work that night.  He has a total of 148 staff and I think that including spouses he had about 100 that attended. Hopefully we'll get more to come out next year.  It was a fun night.  As usual he was an animal on the dance floor.  We both had some fun.  We've decided people need to dance more in life.   I've been awful with the camera lately, so the only pictures are from my iphone.

Daddy-Daughter Date

Our ward's Activity Day group held an 80's Daddy Daughter Date Party for the girls and their dads. Brynn really looked forward to this night for the chance to dress up and have her Dad all to herself. She came up with her own 80's outfit, complete with fashion glasses, and I helped her with her hair. She's such a sweetheart. Joe said he had a nice chat with her on the walk home. She talked about how happy she is that we moved here. How happy she is to have many new friends who believe the same things she does. How much she loves the Gospel and the Church. We're happy that Brynn chooses to find joy in everyday life. Brynn was happy to inform me when she returned home that she and Joe won the dance-off. I'm not surprised! I was just called to be the Activity Day leader. I am so excited! Abby will be able to come when she turns 8. It will be so much fun to have both of my girls with me and an excuse to have a "party" with them every couple of weeks. :)

Girls Trip and Camping with Cousins/Brothers

After Joseph and his brothers had their snowboarding trip last winter, Karen suggested we do a sisters/sisters-in-law trip with the girls. We went to Deer Valley and stayed at Stein Eriksen Lodge. We enjoyed an amazing dinner at Ruth's Chris and then stayed up late into the night talking and laughing, sitting in the hot tub. I have great sister-in-laws (on both sides). They are great friends of mine. We are all so different, just like our husbands are all so different, but I love visiting with each one.

The next day a few of us went to Park City Mountain Resort and had fun doing the Ziprider, Alpine Coaster and Alpine Slide. It was lots of fun! After a lunch at Baja Cantina, we headed home to our families.

Joseph decided to organize a camp with some of his brothers while we were gone. I didn't receive too many details from the kids except that Isaac and Enoch got lost and they couldn't find him anywhere and that they were camped by a river. Nice! Just what a mom wants to hear. Later Joseph clarified that it was a tiny stream and that the kids weren't supposed to tell me about the incident because they weren't lost for long. Abby also told me that she was freezing in the middle of the night, but I am just glad they made it home safe and in one piece. They had a great time! The next morning they went on a hike to Cascade Springs before heading home to meet us. They are all wonderful dads who are trying their best to do what's right and connect with their children. I'm proud of all of them.

True to Joseph, we have tons of pictures of his activities and none of mine. He took them all with his iphone so some are a little blurry.

Joseph's Speech

Joseph was asked to speak at the Sandy Senior Fair. He did such a great job! I only saw the last few minutes of his presentation, but I could tell by the response of all of the people at the fair that they LOVED him. He connects so well with people. He even had a women come and ask him if she should divorce her husband. Everywhere he goes people solicit advice. It has become comical. (Not that divorce is ever comical.) Whether it's to get a haircut, to the store, he's even had people he's met at the hospital for work (case managers), call him and ask advice. I think people can just tell that he is a caring person and they feel comfortable talking to him. Anyway, I digress, he did a great job. The boys and I were excited and surprised to see his name on the marquee when we pulled up. We then enjoyed a yummy lunch at Cafe Rio, well the boys and I did, but Joe waited for the yummy filet mignon at the conference. It was fun to see him in action. :)

ER Graduation!

This picture was taken on the worst day of Joseph's infection. Yesterday while we was getting his IV at the ER, the doctor told him that he believed it wasn't just cellulitis, but that he had the bacteria in his bloodstream as well. This was scary! I had just been with my friends a few nights ago and we were talking about bacterial infections that get to the heart and cause death. We talked of the flu-like symptoms that accompanied the death of these individuals. Joseph had the same feverish, achey symptoms as the infection spread.

This was a scary infection. You can barely see Joseph's foot, the part that's bright red, but that's where the infection started and then overnight moved up his leg. His lymph nodes were extremely sore and swollen, so I imagine they did a good job at stopping the infection from spreading, but the rate at which the infection spread from his foot to his groin was really rapid. The thing that scared me the most was that it was twice the distance from his hip to his heart. I thought that if it traveled that distance, that rapidly, we didn't have much time. Luckily it didn't move any further. The first couple of days were stressful and worrisome, then I realized things were going to be okay and that it was just going to take time and patience for him to heal. It was actually calming for me to go to the ER with him so that I could ask questions and be re-assured that things looked like they were going to be okay. I can't wait to see what the hospital bills are. Seriously, should be interesting. Thank heaven for great insurance, but I'm just curious what all of those fancy cocktails he received will cost. :)

Today Joseph received his last IV, he's now taking two oral antibiotics that will hopefully continue to speed healing. I am so grateful that he as responded well to treatment and we pray that a full recovery is just around the corner. But he graduated from the ER!

I've said before that the ER is a great place to people-watch. Well I missed a great session of people-watching today according to Joseph. A gangsta and his lady came in for a pregnancy test....I loved hearing Joseph's rendition of it. Too bad we won't be regulars there anymore. ;)

What kind of cocktail do you get after lunch?

Joseph has been a regular an Intermountain Healthcare regular for 6 days now and he'll be back there tomorrow for more. It's funny, they see him coming in every day around 2:00 p.m. and know exactly why is there and exactly what he needs. He heads in with his ipad, and some bike magazines, pays his $100 copay, gets his IV cocktails and then leaves. Wowza! We keep thinking, how much longer is this going to take?!? But we are glad that the infection seems to be responding well to treatment. Crazy illness!

Joe's Leg

Joe slept upstairs last night so he could get a good uninterrupted sleep. Turns out he was so hot he couldn't sleep at all. Lucky for him we rented the movies "Inception" and "I Am Number Four." He enjoyed both, but I think he really enjoyed "Inception." He did sleep most of the morning and then I took the kids to be with Emily while I took him to the ER for another round of IV's. I missed being in the ER today with him, but he tells me it wasn't as busy so it wouldn't have been as fun for me. This time I didn't stay with him, because he needed a few medicines. All of the fevers have given him 4 cold sores so I had to stock up on the Abreva as well as some antibiotics. I also needed to get more mosquito repellent. I learned that bug/mosquito bites can result in this infection that he has. I am so paranoid right now about infection, particularly around the feet. I wore socks and shoes today because I didn't want to wear sandals to the hospital. It also has me rethinking pedicures. I'll bet they are havens for getting cellulitis. There has to be fair amount of bacteria at those places and with all the scraping of the dead skin they do, not so sure how healthy that is, not to mention if you have a cut on your foot.

Anyway, back to the foot. He's in pain! The doctor said that it could take a few more days of IV's or it could take a couple of weeks. It's hard to be patient. Joseph asked if he could run in a few more days if it starts feeling better. The doctor told him no because he could have a flare-up and be back to square one. I am glad he said something. I explained to Joseph that your body has to dig deep into it's reserves to complete the marathon. I honestly think it hits to near survival mode to go through something like that. I'm glad I didn't have to be the bad guy. Well we'll see what tomorrow brings. We're learning patience and also gratitude for those around us who have been so helpful and for the health that we do enjoy. Having to go to the ER for these treatments makes me think about all those who have to do through cancer treatment and spend day after day at the hospital. You do it because you want to get better, but wow what patience it would take to have to do that for such a long period, not knowing where, when or how the treatments will end.

Joe's Leg

We were back at the ER today for Joseph to receive more IV treatments. It looks like the redness up his leg may be fading a little but it's still all the way up his leg and his foot is still swollen and bright red. Today was really busy in the ER. They say Sundays are. Always interesting to people-watch in those places. I come home with stories each time. I'm a great eavesdropper, I'm far enough away to keep HIPPA laws, but I can't help it if I have good hearing. :) He's been really achey and feverish. He feels a little better than yesterday in that regard, but still flu-like symptoms. We asked for an ultrasound today, per recommendation by Paul to rule out an abscess or DVT (blood clot). The ultrasound showed that the lymph nodes are still pretty swollen or as Aaron would say "ginormous" but there were no signs of DVT or an abscess. We were grateful for that. We'll be back again tomorrow for him to receive another IV.

Joe's Update

We went to the ER this afternoon for Joseph to receive another dose of antibiotics. We thought they were going to put him on the stronger antibiotic vancomycin, but the doctor was worried about him developing Clostridium difficile (aka c.difficile, cdff), which is basically severe diarrhea because all of the good gut bacteria have been wiped out by the antibiotics. He's been on extremely strong stuff, so they decided to wait to see how his body responds to all of this.

They decided to draw more blood to get a white blood count check. His while blood cells were high yesterday and in the normal range today, so that is good news.

They are still treating him with the bactrim orally for MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). I think it's because he works in a healthcare center and this type of bacteria is often found in those types of environments. Maybe just to rule it out? I don't know? I can't remember if a blood test can reveal that type of info. While we were in the ER they gave him another IV drip, this time of the antibiotic Rocephin. This is the first antibiotic he started on when he initially went in yesterday. Tomorrow he will go back to the ER to get a combo treatment of Rocephin and Invanz. He'll be in bed for the next few days, going in for IV's every 24 hours. The doctor said once he finishes the IV's he should be able to stand and walk around and will be able to go back to work. I've had a hard time pinning him down the last couple of days, even though he's been sick. He's been going to watch the races for The Tour of Utah bike race, but he doesn't feel good at all now. The doctor made it clear that he needed to be in bed. At this point, I don't think he's going to fight it. He has major flu-like symptoms, achiness, pain, no appetite. As awful as he feels, it's kind of a blessing that he doesn't feel good because atleast it's keeping him down. I hate being the bad guy, so I haven't nagged him about staying down, but the doctor made it clear, so I encourage it. He of course he remains in good spirits. The treatment is aggressive, so hopefully it will be knocked out soon and life will be back to normal for him.

Update on Joe

Joseph did not sleep well at all last night. His body ached and his foot and leg were in a lot of pain. The doctor had marked where the infection line was with pen at the time he left the instacare. With the IV that he had he should it should have decreased, but when we checked this morning he had red streaks all up his leg, which was a sign that the infection had spread. He was going to take Aaron to a soccer practice and then head to get more of the IV treatment, but we felt like he needed to go immediately to the doctor. The doctors were baffled that it had spread, and they were also baffled that he felt as good as he did considering how bad the infection was. They decided to give him a stronger antibiotic called invanz. He had his good friend, Paul, who is an ER doctor do a conference call with him and the other doctor and they all agreed that he would need more antibiotic and possibly a stronger dose of an antibiotic called vancomycin via IV every 12 hours. They didn't have it there, so they agreed to have him do the invanz and see how his body responded to that and then decided later in the afternoon if he should go to the ER to get the stronger antibiotic.

After receiving the IV he headed to the state capital to watch the Tour of Utah Criterium races. I can't pin that guy down. We were all supposed to go as a family, but I had a few baby showers today that I wanted to attend, so the plan was for him to take the kids. When we found out he had to stop to get the IV we decided to have the kids stay with me today. He's in heaven watching the races, and I feel okay about it because he's taking it easy and Paul is there with him monitoring the lines of the infection. I'll find out soon if he has to do the IV of vancomycin or if the previous treatments seem to have taken care of it. Crazy the weird things that can happen to our bodies. He says it gives him empathy for all of the patients that come to his building. Many come with these same types of illnesses and infection. Now he can have REAL empathy pain. I hope he gets better soon.

These Mortal Bodies

Well it looks like the St. George Marathon won't be in Joseph's plans after all. He finished his Saints to Sinners bike race and then started to hit it hard training for the marathon. After a few days of training, he started to complain of tenderness in his foot. I've had a pain in my foot for quite a few months and haven't done anything about it. I haven't gone in to get it checked out, but I figured it was a pulled muscle, tendonitis, maybe a hairline fracture. Anyway, we figured he was suffering from something similar and that he would just have to suffer through it.

The difference with his foot injury is that it is swollen, a little red, and warm to the touch. Today when he woke up and showed me, I told him he should go and get it checked out. He told me he would if he had time. Well I received a text that he was at insta-care hooked up to an IV. After a few more texts and a phone call I learned that he was at work when he felt an extreme burning pain in his groin area. He felt a lump in the area as well. He knew that he needed to get help soon. He never takes medication and hasn't been to a doctor in years. He's had physicals from the doctors at his facilities, but I don't think he's been to a doctor for illness since we've been married. So this was momentous that he even went, and a sure sign of the type of pain he was in.

The doctor felt his inguinal lymph nodes and put pressure on them. They hurt! Then she took a look at his foot and told him he had cellulitis and that it had spread to his inguinal lymph nodes. She also told him that if he had let it go any further, it could have spread to his blood stream and caused sepsis. Yikes! They took x-rays and put him on an IV of Rocephin. He'll go back to receive treatments via IV and he is taking Bactrim oral antibiotics. They've given him a boot to wear in case it was caused by a fracture in the foot.

Needless to say, he won't be running for a while. With the marathon being 7 weeks away. He won't be participating as a runner, maybe as a spectator, but he needs to heal. I'm grateful he got it checked and I'm also grateful it isn't something more serious. I love that guy! Life has a way of reminding us of how mortal our bodies are.

Saints to Sinners

Great job Joseph, Brent, Paul, Jared and Jonathan on the 500+ miles of racing from the heavenly heights of Utah to the infernal heat of Las Vegas! Their team took 2nd place in the five man division and third place over all. Well done!

Aaron's New Suit

Last November Aaron needed some church clothes, so the two of us set out to get some pants and a white shirt. When we arrived at Burlington Coat Factory Aaron told me he wanted to "yook yike Daddy" so he picked out a suit, white shirt, ties, and black shoes. He looked so adorable sporting his new stuff. He loves looking like a "missionary" every week. Isaac has also caught on, and now when he wakes up on Sunday mornings he says, "Time to put my mishimary on?" I love all 3 of my boys with all my heart. I hope all of them always choose correct paths to be the men God wants them to be.

Big Bear Snow Camp

Joseph was released from the Young Men's Presidency and called to be the Ward Mission Leader a few months ago. He still went with the Young Men on their winter campout to Big Bear. He was in HEAVEN!!!