happenings

There has sure been a lot of happenings going on around this place! To say that I am ready for a break, for the trials to stop, and to know what the future will bring is an understatement. When it rains, it pours. I have always said it, and now I'm feeling it in it's true power. With that being said, we did have a party before the trials started. Anyway, on to the post...
Ben spent a nice five days in the hospital. Something we can call a small, well...large, trial. It was on Monday that he felt a "bruise" on his right elbow. The bruise remained on Tuesday. On Wednesday he rested his elbow on the table and yelled with pain. He showed me the swelling that just began. He went to the urgent care. They sent him home with an anti inflammatory medication, calling it bursitis. Saturday he helped a member of his Quorum roof his roof. He came home with the swelling reaching down to his wrist. On Sunday he took off his white shirt to find that the swelling had reached up to his shoulder and was now almost double the size as his other arm. It was extremely painful. My selfish self, and Ben being so busy, we justified not going to the hospital to sit in the ER for hours. He again went to the urgent care for antibiotics. The immediately sent us to the ER. Dang. Macee had a sleepover with my cousin, Allison. And we sat in the ER. They decided to admit him for 24 hours, which later turned into 5 days, for IV antibiotics. Long story short, an MRI was done. He had a pocket of infection on his elbow which needed to be drained. So surgery took place. Yes, surgery, completely under to cut this elbow open. How can an infection be this intense?? More antibiotics given, packing to drain the pus taken out of the incision and days later he was home. The doctors don't know where the infection came from. They say it could be as simple as a mosquito bite or dry skin on his elbow. He's quite embarrassed that he was put in the hospital for a Staph infection! For heaven's sake, he's a healthy 26 year old guy. He keeps saying that he hopes people know he does have good hygiene. :) The incision is still wide open and draining some infection. He's on some nice pain meds and we're doing our best to keep everything clean in there.
I'm terrible and forgot to take any pictures of his stay. It wasn't that glamorous. I was so focused on just staying alive! Thanks for all the help from the Relief Society president and my cousin.

With the open elbow, I am sad to say that our swimming days are probably over for the summer. Although I am not sad that summer is coming to an end. So here is a funny picture of Macee to lighten up this dreary post.

Macee loves to go all the way under the water. She comes up smiling almost every time. We throw her back and forth between us, letting her go completely under. We laughed so hard when we saw what she looked like under there! Eyes and mouth wide open, in complete shock.