Merry Christmas!

‘Twas the night before Christmas and although it was late
I made time to watch CNBC’s “Review of ‘08”

Merrill and Lehman, Bear Stearns and more
How did we survive this financial downpour?

Even at Church, mention was made
These trying financial times have everyone afraid.

Please remember it’s all in your head
If you look another direction, green might appear red.

To these financial problems, our family isn’t immune
But Jo’s health has us singing a very different tune.

For the first time in four very long years
The outlook for Jo’s health may bring you to tears.

The surgeries are finished and her blood counts look great
We’ll never forget the Christmas of ’08.

So, if your 401(k) has you feeling kind of down
Go to the nearest hospital and just look around.

I know it’s hard to lose what you’ve worked for so long
But you can’t take it with you after you’re gone.

Now, I’m not saying you should give up on your dreams
Many games are won by underdog teams.

We all face setbacks in this game we call life
And the most important lesson of all, I learned from my wife.

No matter what hurdles are thrown in your way
You can still choose to have an extraordinary day.

If you do this each and every day of your years
An extraordinary life is what eventually appears.

From our family to yours, may 2009 be out of sight
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Record Counts

Jo showed me her blood counts last night and I immediately assumed foul play. Platelets at 232,000 and white blood cells at 6.2. This had to be a hoax. Dr. Alvarez had hoped Jo's white blood cells would get to 4 before her most recent surgery. Jo's platelets haven't been over 200,000 in 4 years!

Jo swears the results have not been "doctored", but would Dr. Alvarez agree? Indeed these are truly miraculous numbers. They are also totally unexpected only 10 days after major surgery.

The only thing in our lives that has changed recently is the bone-chilling cold temperatures in the Denver area. Is it possible these freezing cold days have caused Jo's increased blood counts? If so, would it be beneficial to move to Alaska? Is there an igloo in our future? Stay tuned.

Anna's Tub-Side Manner

Jo stopped her pain medication today and switched over to Tylenol. The incision looks to be about the same size as the incision was on her left arm for anybody who has seen that - probably a good 6 inches.

The third day after surgery is always a big deal because Jo gets to take a bath or a shower. After supper on Monday night, I said to Anna, "Let's go and help Momma with her tubby." Well, Anna completely latched on to that idea. She ran to get a few toys for Momma and a bucket for pouring water over Momma's head. Anna washed Momma's hair and carefully rinsed her incision. When Jo's tubby was finished Anna said to her, "Even after you're better, we can still help you with your tubby."

Anna helped Jo with a tubby again tonight. This time, when the tubby was finished Anna said, "Okay, now you can play for five minutes."

The Home Stretch?

Jo came home from the hospital today and she is doing well. She's taking some hefty pain medication and she slept much of today. There is just something about this time that seems final. When we left the hospital today, it felt more like "goodbye" than "see you next time". P/SL has been great, but if we never go back there, I won't miss the hot dogs, the pizza or onion rings.

Last night I gave Jo a tour of the entire hospital from my perspective. In 8 trips, she had never seen the cafeteria, the gift shop or the surgery waiting area where all the furniture had been replaced since visit #7. We even tried to sneak a peak at the newborns on floor 3 and we were pleasantly surprised to find volunteers handing out bowls of clam chowder.

All things must come to an end. P/SL will still be near and dear to our hearts for the next 6 to 8 months as the last medical bills get straightened out and reconciled, but we are headed down the home stretch. Our two-year "partnership" with P/SL has been necessary and extremely beneficial. We will never be able to say "thank you" enough. At the same time, it's time for us to move on.

Eight is Enough

I know, I know. This was probably the most predictable title I have ever used. It just seems appropriate.

We got home from Japan on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning Jo went to see Dr. Alvarez to get the okay to head into surgery. Jo's platelets had dropped below 100,000 and her white blood cells had dropped to an unacceptable level for surgery. 9 and 12 hour plane flights definitely take a toll on the body and this will be something I will run past the NIH doctors when we see them this spring.

On our way to the hospital today, we stopped to get Jo's blood checked again and her white cells had come up to 3.8. Dr. Alvarez had wanted them to get above 4, but Dr. Kelly felt that 3.8 was good enough. At 1:45pm, Jo went into the operating room for her 8th surgery in less than 25 months. Dr. Kelly said that everything went perfectly and she expects a total success.

Jo's ball joint in her right shoulder had collapsed - think of taking your thumb and making a dent in a Styrofoam ball. Dr. Kelly scraped out the area of collapsed bone and replaced it with a metal "button". This button is a piece of metal that can be expanded to be the exact size of the area Dr. Kelly created and that small section of shoulder bone is essentially resurfaced. The end result is the shoulder bone once again having the proper shape to move normally in the socket.

Jo is expected to come home tomorrow around noon. She will have help from my mom for the next two weeks and then her mom until mid-January. By then we expect Jo to be completely pain free with somewhere close to 95% or more range of motion in all of her joints.

Two years ago, I remember sitting in Dr. Kelly's office and she told us not to think too far into the future. She said, "The reality is I could schedule you for 2 full years of surgery." At the time I didn't believe her. I believe her her now.

A Quick Trip to Japan and Now Back to Business

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, Jo and I travelled to Nagoya, Japan for the 15th annual Crazy County Dance Festival. Martha Ogasawara and the Nagoya C/W Dance Fans first brought us to Japan 11 years ago and this was now our 4th trip to teach dance in Japan. We had an absolutely fabulous time and we can't thank our Japanese friends enough for their never-ending hospitality. The entire weekend was first class!

We were joined in Japan by Scott Blevins from Chicago. He was the first American guest instructor 12 years ago at Nagoya's 3rd event. Scott and Jo have known each other for many years through the dance world and they are often considered mirror images of each other in terms of their wonderful choreography and technique.

On Friday, Jo heads back to the operating room at Presbyterian/St. Luke's Hospital for a pretty major surgery on her right shoulder. I'll explain the details of the repair on Friday. For now, just realize that she cannot lift her arm above her head, she cannot put it behind her back and she can barely reach across the front of her body.

For those of you who know Jo well, it's impossible to keep her down and the following video demonstrates that. Jo is dancing a beautiful new dance called "Feel", choreographed by Scott Blevins who is dancing alongside Jo. Keep in mind that this is all done with less than 50% range of motion in Jo's right arm. (No trick photography was used in the making of this video.)