happy halloween!

last night ryan and i went a halloween costume--

"arctoberfest"

a fundraiser for the ARC of haywood county

despite the shoulder- we had a great time!

tried to dance (see below)

laughed a lot. 

ate some great food. 

and hung out with some amazing people!!

this year- we went for the free and practical costume. 

McDreamy & his patient :) 

we will probably throw those back on tomorrow night for the trick or treaters. 

we hear our little road gets tons of them! 

i hope!! 

love & peace from the injured

scarf goodness

i just finished my first scarf!!

im pretty excited.

helllo christmas presents!

...and maybe ill sell a few.

its an 'infinity scarf'! so all connected. kinda like a neck warmer. 

yeah--- its really warm!

oh. and thats my new haircut. 

i loooovvve it. 

oh. and if i can do this in a sling-- you can do it!!

if you are a crochet-er check out the pattern here!

 http://brookeanndove.blogspot.com/2010/11/infinity-scarf-pattern.html

enjoy!!

crocheting & life

my amazing dear friend- barb --also the mom of katie b: her blog is listed over there <---

has been teaching me how to crochet. 

my first "work of art" is a rando odd ball piece of crocheting that i turned into a "crochet needle" holder thing. i'll post a pic one day... maybe... 

today was lesson #2. 

i found an "easy" scarf i wanted to make.... 

so. she helped me understand the directions- got me started... and wahla

im started!!

this is the loop of the infinity scarf im making!! im soooo excited. i can actually see how it will be a scarf! and in not much time!!

helllLO christmas presents!! 

after i took the picture above i realized--- wow. thats my life. completely. 

book. phone. tv remote. laptop. dog toy. 

that is it. right there. well except for physical therapy. 

im having a good day today. some days are terrible. 

im back to sleeping in a recliner and the past 2 nights i've slept great. 

i still have not mastered washing my hair. 

i mean i can- but next time you take a shower, try and wash it with one hand. 

and then imagine you having lots of hair. its tricky. 

also can't pull up any pair of pants that are remotely tight: read jeans. 

i can wear my baggy jeans. and sweat pants. and probably my linen pants. 

shirts are all button up- cut tshirts- or xl shirts. its attractive i know. 

i am driving now. (well whenever i don't take pain meds) thats a big relief for me and ryan. 

---------------

well lunch time. school time. PT. then more crocheting!!

its my new fav thing-- since i can't really quilt much these days. 

thats def a 2 handed task! 

post-op week one

well- what a week it has been.

things ive done:
- slept
- watched a lot of tv & movies
- started an aweeesome book: in the woods
- learned to crochet
- slept more

goals accomplished:
- ride a stationary bike
- do laundry
- drive
- put on blue jeans (although i can only get one pair buttoned. they have big buttons. so ill be sticking to the elastic pants
- sorta washed my hair
- walked to end of my street
- sleep in my bed (well one night i have)

goals for next week:
- more bike action
- one day of clinical
- crochet something (other than just row after row)
- make it to bible study
- go for a mountain drive
- finish book and start next one
- cook dinner
- find someone to sweep and mop our floors

irony

so. im in a "exercise interventions" class for school. 

we learn about the importance of exercise and how to implement it in our patient care. 

we have learned how to make fitt plans for our patients. 

this week our assignment is to make an exercise plan for ourselves and then implement our plan. 

yes. like work out. 

oh hello. post op day 5. 

exercise? yeah right. 

this is as much exercise as i get:

the electrical stimulator on my shoulder. 

so. im working on a tentative plan. 

my fitt plan is: 

walk to mailbox.

walk to barn. 

walk to fridge. 

my goal- on friday ride a stationary bike. 

lets see how it goes!

what day is it?

today i took a bath. 

a bath has never felt so good. 

so good in fact i fell asleep. 

luckily mom was right there to say- danielle. its time to get out. 

other than that ive slept. a lot. 

thats all.

if i dont move  i dont have pain. 

if i move--- my left arm that is--- i feel like my arm is broken into a million pieces. 

its awful. 

but im doing good. 

so glad mom dad and ry are here. 

they are the best. 

we got the big bandage off my arm to reveal some  smaller ones. those are the incision sites.

tomorrow i go to the doctor for my follow up.

then to physical therapy. 

getting out of the house... watch out!

surgery.

the basics:

1. surgery: bankart repair 

2.surgeon: dr. jarrett

3. locale: asheville othopedic surgery center

before.... 

(but after some versed)

it was apparently during this time some funny things occurred. i only verrry vaguely remember the following:

1. i told my nurse she was mean and i wanted mt other nurse back. (wupps!) this was while mom, dad and ry were in the room. apparently it was awkward. haha

2. they put in  a nerve block in my arm and i found it hilarious to have ry pick up my arm and watch it fall onto the bed. i had noooo feeling or control.

3. i had a panic attack (1st time ever) and grabbed this mans hand (found out later he was a crna) and would not let it go. during this time i learned if you start yelling you cant breathe, you get a tonnnnn of attention really fast.

4. i got a wedgie when they moved me onto the OR bed. i let everyone know.

5. i then proceeded to say, look! i wore my pretty panties for you!

6. then i flashed the OR people and said, i dont care. ive seen lots of boobies and know you have too

thats the last thing i remember. 

until i woke up with ry beside me.

i looked like this:

because of the nerve block i felt great yesterday. no pain. nothing. 

around 1am this morning it started. throughout the night i proceeded to have the worst pain of my life.

today after getting meds in me- i have started to feel decent.

im so grateful to have ryan, mom, and dad at my side.

could not survive  without them.

along with an amazing church checking in and bringing food.

and dear friends texting and facebook-ing me.

and a cute little 8 yr old JP making up jokes for me :) along with his super stellar step-mom passing them along to me :)

this concludes my update for now! 

more later im sure.

peace!

going under

welp.
in the morning i will be going under---
for the surgery.
im having a bankart repair.
should be unexciting.
mom and dad are on the way.
sister meredith and bro colin (in laws) are here visiting.
keeping me company tonight. its quite nice. :)

we have painted my toenails.
gone out to waynesville.
and wrote all over the "wrong" shoulder things like " go away!" "wrong side!"
hopefully the surgeon will get the message.
i may be out of blogging for a bit.

feel free to text. call. send me a letter. e-mail me. or even facebook me!

off to hang out.
rest.
try and sleep.
adios.

love & peace

sttttoooooop!

do you remember in the lion king. simba is running through the forest. 

running hard. 

and then. all of a sudden rafiki holds up his hand and says 

STOOOOOP! 

yeah. this scene. 

well. thats the story of my life lately. 

i've been running alright. 

ok. not literally, but thats another story. 

i have school. 

gotten involved at church. 

been sewing like crazy. 

trying to get back into exercising (ryan i know you are shaking your head here, but i WAS going to that class when i hurt myself :) and it was my 3rd trip in a week! )

i go to clinicals. 

i hang out with my youth. 

i got a new job in an exciting ER. 

me and ryan have been hiking. 

do you get the point that i like to go go go!

i do. i do my best work when im going. 

running. 

running through that forest like simba. 

well. friday i got that BIG hand in my face STOP!!!!!!

 i go see an orthopedic about my shoulder. 

you know. the one that "falls out"all the time. 

yeah. its like once a week it 'subluxes'/'dislocates'. 

well. the only solution to the tricky "special" (as i call it) shoulder: 

surgery. 

that one word alone threw up a big stop sign. 

today i had a 'pre-op' appointment. 

it was the stop sign.

rehab is lengthy. like a good 3 months. 

so. 

there will be no running (literally and metaphorically)

 (but hopefully biking (eventually))

there will not be much sewing. 

there is definitely no job now.

at least no job in a cool fun ER. im looking at other options.... walmart greeter anyone?!? 

not a lot of church activities (since a lot require 2 arms)

the hiking will have to wait. although scenic drives are still in!

about the only thing i will have is school. 

and somehow attempt to do clinicals. 

don't get me wrong- netflix, wii, and words with friends will become my best friend. 

but really. my world has come to a stop. 

(well it will on friday)

i got the big fat RAFIKI HAND in my face. 

i have had a rough day today. emotional. frustrating. reality setting in. 

on the bright side of that big fat STOP hand--

there is a loving gentle compassionate hand as well. 

i may have gotten a big stop, but im comforted to know that i will not be alone in the slow journey ahead. ryan has been so wonderful today-- and i know he will be right beside me in the coming weeks of misery, excitement, tears, pain, achievement, and laughs. im also grateful that my family will be here-- mom and dad-- to help me this weekend. 

most comforting of all- i know that the Lord has a plan. 

He has a reason for slowing me down. 

He will provide that gentle comfort that I need in this season of my life. 

He will provide for my family. 

He will give me a peace. 

I think this will be a good season of my life. 

a time to slow down. 

a time to read. reflect. relax. 

and enjoy the smaller things in life. 

bring it on rafiki. im ready to stop.

My Experience on the HILL

Our experience with Heath Schuler and the office of Kay Hagan

Danielle Snider

           

Going into yesterday I was unsure what to expect. I have never been an advocate on Capitol Hill. In fact, the one and only other time I was on Capitol Hill was in seventh grade. I was probably eating candy from the national park and thinking about cute boys. I was clueless as to the power of Capitol Hill and the blessing it is to visit.  Walking into the building you immediately feel a sense of “wow, powerful things happen here”. Throughout the day I realized that yes, powerful things do happen, and yes I can make a difference and am impact on those things.

            Meeting Congressmen Schuler was a great place to start. He was very open to our conversation and feels very passionate about global health. Schuler brought up numerous points that made me sit back and think. He encouraged us to push this as a part of the “pro-life” movement. “Pro-life” is not just the nine months of pregnancy, but should continue throughout the “whole life”. Too often we forget that. These children need people to advocate for pro-life, for their life! Another touching point Representative Schuler mentioned was a comparison of his children to the pictures of a few children in Africa with malaria. I was humbled as he boldly proclaimed, “this beautiful child is no different than my sweet daughter. She deserves life as much as my daughter does. She is a child of God and we need to do everything we can to save her life.” It was fantastic to hear him proclaim that just because we live in America, it does not make us any better than those children in Africa.

            After a very positive experience with Mr. Schuler we ventured to the office of Senator Kay Hagan. We spoke with her office staff about the destruction of malaria in Africa and what they can do to help end this tragedy. They were very responsive and spoke encouragingly of how they would try to do what they can in this hard time to support Global Funding. I believe we opened their eyes when we mentioned that the 9% cut in the global health fund would cause 3.8 million people that would not get the treatment they need for malaria.

            Overall our experience on the Hill was a positive one. We were welcomed with open arms and encouraged to share our passions with others on the Hill. I am looking forward to follow-ups with both Congressman Schuler and Senator Hagan. Going into this week, I really doubted whether I could make a difference in Washington, but after two meetings I realized that my voice matters. Our voice as United Methodists matter. More importantly, our voice as followers of Christ matters and it is being heard. 

capitol hill--

just a few pictures from my cell phone.... crappy quality. but you can get the gist of my day!

me and the capitol!

fancy pass to get into the capitol...

"official business visitor"

the united methodist building in dc

(fun fact: its the ONLY non-government building in the entire perimeter of the capitol)

driving tour of DC at night thanks to a dear friend! 

matt! :) 

it was an amazing day.
im really proud to be a united methodist--- and if you are one--- you should be too.
the UMC is doing INCREDIBLE things for global health.
its awesome.

and im off---

to DC i go! 

im very excited about this opportunity! 

its going to be crazy cool!!

go here to read about what i'll be doing-- and what YOU can do!!

http://www.imaginenomalaria.org/2011/09/27/africa-needs-your-voice/

i'll post as much as i can while i'm gone!!

adios

october...

i always thought fall was 60's with a little bit of 50's at night. and well if it was 40's in the night occasionally that'd be okay. well... that was before i moved to the mountains.

this afternoon--- AFTERNOON. it 'felt' like 41.
currently... its in the 30's.

tonight i went to a local corn maze with some kids from church.
had a blast---
but. i had on ALL the winter clothes i own.
my biggest jacket. beanie. scarf...

i was pretty warm- but realized i don't have much to stay warm in!

we busted out our space heater for inside the house-- and we are sleeping in tons of clothes. mainly because we REFUSE to turn on the heat.


if its only october...
let's just say its gonna be a colllld winter!!


-- side note: im not complaining. i LOVE it. its just different. and a shock. and these two georgia kids are chilly up here in 'dese mountains!