When it rains, it thunderstorms!!

Lately I have been feeling so blessed. I have had very few trials in my life which I am so very grateful for. Even this is nothing compared to the trials that I know others are going through, so I don't mean this to be a complaining blog, just an expression of all that I am going through at this time.

February 11th, Mike got injured. He fell and got a 4 inch scrape up his shine bone on his left leg. Because it didn't cut we thought that it was not a big deal and tried to take care of it ourselves. It bruised like mad!!! His whole leg was swollen and black with bruising! It even bruised into his toes! I kept thinking just hold on till the bruising is gone and then the scrape, which had become a large bump and infected, would heal.

After three weeks of it not healing, he finally was willing to go see a doctor. The Dr. gave him an antibiotic and told him to squeeze the puss out after soaking it in salt water. He got little metal shards out of his leg at that time. The infection seemed to improve, but not healing. As soon as he took the last antibiotic the infection came back and it was furious!!!

So he went to another Dr. (She has been amazing and we love her and I never want to change Dr.'s.) She gave him an even stronger antibiotic and took a sample of the fluid. Sunday, we had Mike's brothers and BIL give him a blessing which was a lot of comfort to him because he has been really worried about it all.

So then the utility co. called and said that they detected a leak in our water line. Mike was out there trying to dig it up and find it. But he got sick easily and he now is on a prescription for Vertigo. So we decided that he just had too much to deal with to expect himself to do the job. So we called a pro. and it will be thousands of dollars! oh the joys of being a home owner!

While I was meeting with plumbers all day, I get a call from the Dr. and she says that the sample taken from Mike's leg has been detected as Strep, and Staff! I told her that it isn't getting better, infact it is looking worse! It is opening up with a gray flesh and it is oozing. "Is that normal?" I ask. "Definately not! Have him come in ASAP!" After looking at it she sends him to U of U hospital. There he is hooked up to an IV and given his third antibiotic! He is there for three and a half hours and then has to return every twelve hours for more. They said that if it is going to improve he will be able to return to oral antibiotics...if not, we are looking at surgery!

Mike will be out of work for at least a week, more if he has to have plastic surgery. He has been going to school full time too, and I am worried about the classes that he is taking. I hope that his teachers are flexible and understanding!!! If he loses his classes, all that time and that money I will be so sad!

So on top of that...our car is leaking antifreeze, or something. More money gone! And Eliannah is coming down with a cold/flu, which is really nothing compared to everything else but on top of everything else, it is quite overwhelming. We decided to tackle one problem at a time, so we are going to deal with his leg first and worry about the water line later, which means that right now I am living with the water turned off all day every day with the exception of one hour a night when we turn it on for 'emergency' purposes. lol. Needless to say I am so grateful for running water! I think that what I have is still better than what they pioneers had and I wonder how they did it. Back then Mike would have lost his whole leg for sure or even died! I truly am blessed.

Anyway, Mike just left to go back to the hospital because after two days in and out of the hospital on IV antibiotics (this being his third kind) it is still NOT looking any better! We are going to have a family fast on Sunday, and if needed before that too, but if you would like to join, it would be great! We'll keep you posted in case it changes. It seems like we are looking in the face of the surgery option. Hopefully the fast will ward off that. Below I have posted pictures for those of you who have a strong stomach and are curious. I'm warning you, It is bad looking so if you don't want to see it don't scroll down!!











The line outside the wound is where the red was when he went into the hospital on Monday night. Mike wanted me to take this picture of his whole leg so that you could see how large it is in comparison.

This is after two days of IV antibiotics for 3 1/2 hours at a time. I took this picture right before he left for the hospital 9 am Wednesday! As you can see...not improving.