What?! No Exercise!?

Before I get to the title of this post, I must tell you that I had a wonderful start to my day...

When Dan was about to leave for work, he took Ellyotte from me to give her some kisses and low and behold: that sweet 4 week old little girl gave him her first smiles (I got a smile on camera!)! Noah gave me his first smile at 5 weeks old and I felt so blessed. I was thrilled to be able to see Ellyotte's first smiles as she shared that moment with her daddy. She's a precious little miracle and I am in love with her.

A bit of a disappointment but, well, not really, is that I am not allowed to work out until this first round of Coumadin (blood thinners) are over in 9-12 months. I was ready with my "30 Day Shred" videos! I bought them because I thought I'd be able to work out in the a/c but come to find out, I am absolutely not allowed to work out. I am allowed light walking outside once the heat subsides but that is it.

It is a disappointment because I love to exercise - and I wanna be back to pre-baby weight and strength sooner rather than later. But, I am realizing more and more that my health is of the utmost importance and if this clot is sticking around indefinitely, then I need to heed doctor's orders. And for now, that means no working out. *Sad*

New Normal Continues

My blood numbers are starting to level out - which is a good thing. I am finally at what is considered a "therapeutic" level of thinness after the Lovenox shots in my stomach and my Coumadin doseages being changed on an almost daily basis.

My doctor had the home health nurse check my blood count and while my platelets were high, everything else seemed to be okay momentarily. Now, that doesn't mean the clot has dissolved yet - I can still very much feel its presence in my lung because I still get random shortness of breath. But with continued thinners in my system for the next 9-12 months at least, it should break up and reabsorb eventually.

I am tired - but I can't tell if it is from having a newborn and a toddler or from the clot. The infection in my incision and my mastitis cleared up (thankfully) with the help of antibiotics. One less thing to worry about and suffer from!

Ellyotte is such a blessing - she is such a peaceful baby and at this point, she sleeps about 5 hours at a time which means she wakes only once at night. She still sleeps so much - and I try to enjoy it as much as possible. When she's awake, she's so sweet and happy. She is a true blessing and joy. God gives us exactly what we need when we need it and He knew that I needed a happy, easy baby this time around (Noah was NOT easy!).

We had Carol (my mother in law) here from D.C. for a week and it was great having the help. Now my sister in law, Annie, comes tonight thru Saturday and after that, the help is gone :( It is hard to believe that Ellyotte was born 4 weeks ago tomorrow. And it is so hard to comprehend how much we have gone through in the past 4 weeks - one never, ever thinks that something as serious as a blood clot will happen to them but it is true: in a blink of an eye, we can be gone.

The night my mom left (so a little over a week ago) and just a week after the clot happened, Dan and I put a movie on and ate pizza (date night!). The name of the movie was "The Boys are Back" starring Clive Owens. Let. me. tell. you.... it was like watching our story and how it would've been had I not survived. It is about a husband who loses his young wife suddenly leaving him and two boys behind. Get this: her name was KATIE too. WHAT?!

The story is about how they cope and grieve and process their loss. It was so surreal because we were watching our possible story and "what if" story on the screen. Praise God that we aren't living that movie but, wow, what a horrible movie to watch a week after going through what we went through!

Our new normal continues to be more normal as the days go on. Dan's back to work, I am starting to figure out how to conserve energy and rest when I need to and am also starting to get this whole mom-of-two concept. Maybe one day I will be a pro! But, until then, this ain't easy ;)

A Week in Photos

Our new baby girl doesn't like to NOT be held! She wants to be in my arms and by my side constantly. I am not complaining... but it doesn't leave me much time for anything else. So, this update will have to be done in pictures.

I did have an appointment with my internist on Monday and we learned some disturbing things about how this clot came about and how (without our ever knowing it) my pregnancy with Ellyotte was extremely high risk. But that update will have to happen on another day when I have some more time to type.

Ellyotte is 3 weeks old now - time is going quickly. However, I am still not back to normal post-blood clot. In fact, my c-section incision became infected this week AND I developed a raging case of mastitis from nursing. Wow, talk about pain. But I am now on an antibiotic that is compatible with my Coumadin blood thinners and it is helping a lot. Praise God - those are two infections one doesn't want to suffer through!

Noah is still doing incredibly well as a big brother! I am so proud of him. We had a serious setback in the potty training department but I have high hopes that he will get back on a schedule soon. He just loves his little sister so much - it really does warm my heart. And my mother in law is here now and has been such help. Noah is having tons of fun with her! They do crafts each day and play till they are BOTH worn out! It will be hard to let her go back to D.C. on Monday... Noah will miss his buddy and I will miss the help. She's been fabulous.

Ellyotte is sleeping so much still. Not complaining because I know it will all change soon! At night, she wants to be in bed with me so I really want to avoid forming that habit. But it is hard to not let her sleep with us since I get so sleepy with the interrupted sleep night after night. She's going about 4 hours (sometimes 5) at night between feedings. I am proud of this little baby. She's really the most laid back, precious baby I have ever experienced. What a blessing!

Blood Clot Update #2

Things are continuing to improve around here. Dan gets so mad at me because I just want to be NORMAL again and I think that moving around and doing chores makes me "normal" but he gets so angry with me because I just don't know how to relax. I am feeling somewhat better but it is a daily challenge.

Unfortunately, my c-section incision got infected a few days ago. I think the pain of breastfeeding, the infection and just still recovering from the blood clot (that is still in my lung at this point) that I had a scary situation happen Friday night.

Ellyotte woke for her feeding at about 4 am and I got up, went to the bathroom and as Dan changed her diaper, I went into the living room to get my Boppy pillow. On my way through the living room, I doubled over: I had ringing in my ears, I couldn't see anything and the worst part was that I couldn't breathe. (Remember that what sent me to the hospital to begin with was shortness of breath; we never knew that shortness of breath was a symptom of a blood clot.)

I sat down for about 2 minutes and tried to yell for Dan but nothing could come out loud enough. I made it back into our room and remember telling him that I couldn't breathe, and he freaked out. He put me back into bed, finished changing a hysterical and hungry Ellyotte and we began praying immediately. We honestly didn't know what else to do - I absolutely refused to call 911 and leave my Noah and Ellyotte again. Refused.

So we prayed and I regained my composure, fed the baby and tried to sleep some the rest of the night (didn't happen). The next morning, we called the doctor and she called what happened to me by some name I had never heard: basal something... Cannot remember. But I guess that the pain of the infection, engorgement, exhaustion, and low blood sugar caused the reaction and that spurred some anxiety. Because it went away, she didn't worry too much about it. But I have my appointment with my internist tomorrow and am anxious to see what she says.

I will also have another appointment to get my incision taken care of - my OB didn't want to put me on antibiotic over the weekend because of all the meds I am already on. She wants to see if it will clear up on its own... so I will see tomorrow. It is feeling a bit better already though and I am thankful.

Ellyotte was under her birthweight last Wednesday (born at 7 lbs, 14 ounces and weighed 7 lbs, 9 ounces at 2 weeks). So we doubled her feedings and low and behold: our little porker weighed in at the doctor yesterday (Saturday) at 8 lbs, 3 ounces!!! So we are very glad about that. She's doing great - definitely a cuddler though! She doesn't want to be put down at all - even after her midnight feeding. She's next to impossible to put back into her bassinet afterwards so I end up putting her in bed with us so I can get some sleep. I know, I know... not a good habit to start but rest and sleep are the most important things I can do for myself and this clot now so I am doing what I can.

Speaking of which, she's now asleep and Dan and I are headed that way. Dan goes back to work after a long, exhausting 3 weeks off - and I have appreciated every single minute that my precious husband has sacrificed to be my arms and legs when I haven't been able to do for myself. He's done things that we never knew we were signing up for 5 years ago... I will elaborate in a new post soon. I cannot express though what he means to me and the depth our love for each other has reached in this difficult time.

My sweet mother in law comes in tomorrow to help for the next week and we - especially Noah! - are so excited for Grammy to get here. Then she leaves next Monday and Aunt Annie (Dan's brother's wife and one of my best friends) comes on Tuesday for about 4 days. We love the help and I am going to LOVE the girltime!!

Blood Clot Update

What a rocky week we have had!! Getting settled in with a newborn is something in and of itself but doing so while still healing from a c-section AND a blood clot in the lung is an entirely different animal.

I started the week with very little energy and just not feeling well. Tuesday was even rougher because when my nurse came to draw my daily blood, she found that my levels had dropped for no apparant reason. That was way disturbing to us because I was on serious levels of Coumadin and my shots, Lovenox (2x a day). But, by Wed, my levels increased back to 2.0 and by yesterday (and because they had me on 2.5 times the normal amount of Coumadin) they had risen to 2.6. What a blessing!

So, Dan just gave me my *last* (HOPEFULLY!) shot in the stomach this morning and we are hopeful that when my nurse comes this afternoon, she will see that my levels are stable and that I won't have to have bloodwork done every day. I will remain on the oral thinners indefinitely but the shots should be done.... Hallelujah!!! My sides are so bruised and pathetic with shot marks.

My mom left this morning and we were sad. But it will be nice to have me feeling somewhat better and our family of 4 alone this weekend before my mother in law comes Monday for a week. We need and love the help but poor Noah needs his mom and dad back exclusively for a few days. He's missing his Jan-Jan already and is super excited Grammy comes Monday.

We took Ellyotte to her 2 week check up. Unfortunately, she's only 7 lbs, 9 ozs - down 5 ounces from her birthweight still. She should've reached her birthweight by now so we are continuing to supplement her in addition to breastfeeding. I am doing my best as is she with the nursing but I think the stress and scary events we went through last week doubled up with my separation from my baby for 3 days did a number on my supply.

So I am working to increase my milk so she won't have to be supplemented. I am committed to nursing her for at least 6 weeks and after that, I will see how I feel about nursing vs. formula. Noah was a formula baby and is just fine, so I am still pushing through for the next 4 weeks and will decide then based on my supply. But I refuse to supplement in addition to breast feeding indefinitely - that is such a pain. I would rather do one and not both.

Dan's still home with us till Monday. I meet with my internist on Monday to see where we stand with the blood clot - I am anxious to make sure that this was a one time event and not a disorder. I hopefully will find this out on Monday and will let you know.

Thank you all for continued prayers - I need them everyday. While I feel better and while my numbers continue to improve, the clot remains in my lung. It hasn't been absorbed or removed from my lung and will take some time to go away. So I am still having to take it easy and think more of myself first (not easy to do for a mom of 2). But my sweet husband and mom have taken great care of me and are almost MEAN about making me sit down or go to bed. It is annoying but I am learning to get used to it and learning to let go of the control I am used to having over my home!

Please remember me in your prayers still - and pray this clot out of my system permanently. I am ready to be 100% healed!

What a (First) Week

It is great to be back home from the hospital. The babies are so happy to have me back home. Ellyotte and I are slipping back into a feeding routine and I am happy. I do have to nurse her a lot more during the day but I realize that is because we are still working on the amount of milk she needs vs. the amount I actually have at this point. Being back in the hospital without my baby for those 3 days did a number on me so we have some more work to do until we are at a comfortable, working feeding level! But praise God I am able to nurse this time around: I am so glad she's a good nurser and I am so thankful that vast amounts of medicines I am now on due to the clot are safe enough for breast milk (I don't know how they are safe, but the doctors and lactation consultant assure me they are...).

Ellyotte is the most wonderful baby. Noah was so colicky by the second week and I was so miserable and uncomfortable as a new mom. This time around, I feel more confident and relaxed and it doesn't hurt that Ellyotte absolutely isn't a cryer unless she's wet or hungry; and even then she doesn't really cry, she just squawks!

She is incredibly beautiful: blue, blue eyes and black hair. Her complexion is very olive - a lot like the Hawkins side of the family (my dad, sister and my dad's sisters and brother). Noah got my Irish side and Ellyotte got the American-Indian side of my family. But, while the coloring is from my side, the looks (especially Ellyotte at this point) are all Dan's. She looks a lot like her daddy and is just gorgeous. She sleeps soooo much right now and is incredibly happy when she's awake. She wakes for one night time feeding at this point (whoo hoo!) but that is partially because I wait to give her a nighttime feeding till late - right before we go to bed.

I am being poked and prodded still - home health care and the shots in my stomach daily are realllly annoying and I am covered in bruises and needle marks and getting lots of blood drawn daily but I am not complaining (even though I want to).

This is a painful and emotional time. Each day I am realizing more and more how blessed I am that this was caught. And I am also going through a lot post surgery emotionally and post baby emotionally. There are a lot of tears being shed regularly in our home right now. We feel so blessed on so many levels. God has spared us and I am grateful and trying not to take a single moment for granted.

Medically, I am doing okay. Weak and unfortunately the clot is still in my lung. I am still on bedrest and that is tough - I am not good at relaxing! I don't seem to have any more clots in my legs that we have to be concerned about and my blood levels are rising daily. I need to be between a 2-3 and on Thursday, I was a 1.1, Friday I was a 1.3, yesterday a 1.7 and we are waiting to get results from my blood work today. Still double doseages for my thinners till I am at a safe level so we are praying that will be soon.

Here are some beautiful pictures of our little ones. My heart is overflowing with love and thankfulness right now.

In the Blink of an Eye...

I am exhausted. But I wanted to thank you all for your prayers. Most of you know that on Tuesday, I got a blod clot that traveled to my lung (pulmonary embolism). I was short of breath all day on Tuesday and my mom was so worried about me. She finally made me call the doctor, we were sent immediately into the ER and I had a CAT scan. They discovered the clot and admitted me into the heart unit immediately. I had an ultrasound on my legs and the clot didn't develop there so we aren't sure where it came from. But, it lodged in my lung and the fact that it didn't take my life right away isn't lost on me.

The doctor came into my ER room a bit frantic - this was more serious than I thought it would be. He told me about the clot... in my lung and the ball got rolling. My symptoms were primarily shortness of breath all day and faintness and had it not been for my mom, I wouldn't be here to type this blog entry. I don't know how much time I had, but apparantly (according to doctors) not much. Mind you, this was all happening less than a week after my c-section with Ellyotte so I had been through a lot already.

I am still dealing with the intensity of the fact that a miracle was performed on me and I was spared. All the doctors that saw me told me how thankful I should be to be alive, all the nurses said the same thing, and my own uncle (mom's brother) died from a blod clot that developed after knee surgery. So, it runs in my family.

We are waiting to find out if this was caused by the c-section or if I have a clotting disorder. I should find out within the week the blood results. I was released from the hospital last night and sent home on bedrest and in the care of home health care. I receive twice daily shots into my stomach (blood thinner) and am on twice the normal doseage of Coumadin (another thinner). I will be on Coumadin for at least the next 6-9 months but most likely on it for the rest of my life. I am on pain killers and literally only allowed to walk from point A to B. Not an easy time for me right now physically.

My dad and sister came right back into town to help out with the babies and Dan is taking time off indefinitely to be here. He will be home at least till my Lovanox stomach shots are done after the next week. Dan has to administer the shots to me each day, twice a day. He has done better than any nurse has done for me. Maybe because he cares the most about me! And my home health care nurse comes each day to do my blood work and check vitals, etc. They have to closely monitor my blood and my reaction to the thinners. As of this afternoon, my levels were not where they need to be. I am at a 1.3 and need to be within 2-3 at this point. So we are praying the thinners and the increased doseages begin to really do their jobs (another prayer request).

Ellyotte is doing well, she has been a wonderful baby given that she was away from me for 2 days and nights. Poor Dan had baby duty and my mom had Noah duty 24/7 - not good with a breast feeding baby. I had to pump constantly to relieve myself since she couldn't be in the hospital with me - I only got to nurse her once in the two days I was there. I got so engourged one night that I slept with ice packs! I was desparate for Ellyotte to visit me the next day... It was a long wait. Thankfully, she got right back to nursing as soon as I returned and thankfully, all of the medicines I am on (including the thinners) are okay for me to continue trying to nurse. We were floored by that because I am on a lot of medication right now.

Noah had many meltdowns - he did as well as could be expected given all of the changes he's been through this past week: mom and dad gone to have baby sister, new sister arrives, mom and dad still gone, new baby comes home, mom can't do much while healing, then mom disappears again leaving baby at home... He wanted me home so bad and didn't understand, but he remained sweet despite the changes (well, for the most part!).

I have to go feed a sweet baby girl and get a shot in the tummy - boo. But know that your prayers were so appreciated and I am thankful for you all for lifting me and my family up before the Throne. The thoughts of not being around while my children grew up and not being a wife to my husband has wrecked me. But satan will not win this battle - our home is not his for the taking. I am so glad to be home again and while bedrest is tough and being waited on in my own home is tough, and while I am weaker than I can ever remember being before, I am the most thankful I have ever been for life and the beauty of each breath.

Thank you again, I have to say that it was because of the prayers of the faithful that I am healing and am home.

Diagnosis

Well, with 8.5 days to go till Ellyotte arrives, we have finally been given a diagnosis for Noah's cough and breathing issues: he has asthma. Not at ALL what we wanted to hear but at least we know what the problem is and can go from here.

He's been ordered to finish the current round of antibiotics, stay on allergy meds, start a liquid steroid for 5 days and begin Albuterol breathing treatments starting today. We will be seen again on Friday by his pediatrician and hopefully referred to a pulmonologist from there.

Poor baby - I hate to medicate him but I hate this cough even worse. I have asthma (diagnosed at 24), my uncle had it, my sister has it and my grandfather had it. So, since it is hereditary, it isn't surprising.

I will keep you posted. Not good news but this is a good starting point to getting our boy back to "normal."

Update on Noah

So many of you have been praying for Noah's coughing situation and I appreciate it. I felt that I needed to provide an update - even though I really don't have any new information (several of you have been asking through Facebook what his status is).

We literally have had Noah on and off of antibiotics since the December/January timeframe. He might get better for a few days from the cough but then it returns. He's been on allergy meds, steroids, cough syrups and about 5 different antibiotic types. It is so sad. I constantly have to keep him on probiotics or Immodium to keep his little digestive system from going into antibiotic overdrive.

We got his chest x-rayed on Thursday and didn't hear back from the doctor on Friday. She told us that if we didn't hear anything, then we could expect that the x-ray didn't reveal anything new. And even though I called her, she never called me back Friday.

He was SUCH a sport! Dan took him to get his x-rays and told him he was going to "get a picture of your chest with a big ole camera." So Noah kept saying: "Get picture of my big ole chest!" What a cutie. He did so well - he actually wanted to "do again." Nothing scares him: the dentist, the doctor, school - he's such a social little boy! I am thankful for that.

Tomorrow, I will begin the process of trying to get referred off-base (Noah is seen by an Air Force provided pediatrician) ENT and/or allergist doctor. Something's gotta give: he's on yet another antibiotic and allergy medicine yet the deep, wet coughing hasn't gone away.

We want our "baby" well before Ellyotte comes and PERIOD. No more medicines in his delicate little system - we want answers. So please pray we find out how to treat this cough and that he's healed.

Oh, the Nausea

I was not ever sick at all in the beginning with either Noah or with this pregnancy. But, starting last night, I have been sick as a dog with what I assume feels like first trimester nausea yet I am now 37 weeks pregnant.

My friend next door just had her third via c-section last week and she said she had it and it is your body's way of "cleaning itself out." But this stinks! I slept maybe 2 hours total last night from discomfort and sickness and I have been weak with nausea all day.

Any of you other mom friends out there ever have this? If so, how long does it last and why is it happening? What'd you do for it?

What a Day!

As I said in my previous post, we have been going through a lot in our home: travel, home flooding and the serious amount of repairs and cost staring at us, my Aunt Mamie's sickness is weighing heavy on my heart, being 8 months pregnant (a praise! but a struggle, nonetheless), and Dan is facing a very, very long deployment so we are trying to make some serious life changing decisions... Add Noah hitting the Terrible Twos with such ferocity that my head is spinning - maybe he senses Ellyotte's coming soon?

On Tuesday, I took Noah to school and on my way there, I started counting the number of contractions I had been having and their length and frequency. Suddenly, my stomach seized up in a painful and constant contraction. I called my doctor and she directed me to Labor and Delivery immediately. Keep in mind I am only 33 weeks along. I called Dan and he met me there.

I was a wreck: in pain, crying, desparate to keep Ellyotte where she was. They put me into a gown and into a delivery room and hooked me up to monitors. To make a long story very short, I obviously wasn't in labor. And Dr. Gomez said - after many hours of monitoring - that Ellyotte's report was "A+", but she was really worried about me. Even while talking to the doctor, I was weeping. I couldn't control my emotions and everything that had been going on in our lives came pouring out of me.

She insisted on keeping me till Tuesday night so Dan had to go get Noah from school and take care of the people coming to the house to start water damage repairs. The doctor also told me (after running many tests) that I had suffered a major anxiety attack that caused the contractions. She put me on a prescription for a fast working anti-anxiety med that is safe for use in pregnancy.

Unfortunately, that medicine turns me into a zombie so there is no way that I can take it on a regular basis. But what I am being forced by Dan and doctor to do is to slow down and take care of me - and essentially of Ellyotte. That's hard to do with an active 2 year old who is doing all he can to get negative AND positive attention as we prepare for a new baby! But given the scare we went through on Tuesday, resting and being more cautious and taking care of myself is my only option.

Giving up all my seemingly endless worries is a tough thing to do. I am a controlling personality so I want to make sure every facet of my life and others in my life are in order. So I am praying God starts to reveal to me how to "let go." Tough to do but very, very necessary for all of us!

The Rain is Coming.... In Mass Amounts

A couple of weeks ago, I posted an entry called "Bring the Rain." I asked for the testing to be brought upon me. And boy, has it ever been.

To sum up what we have been quietly facing this week, Dan has had a baseball size growth on top of his foot for some time now. He got it checked out this past summer and bloodwork, XRays, etc and the docs couldn't really determine what it was. But they did say that it wasn't something to lose sleep over.

However, last Friday, he woke up and this growth on top of his left foot was doubled in size, red, hot to the touch and so extremely painful for Dan. For him to tell me that he is hurting means that there is severe pain for him... he won't even take a Tylenol for a migraine. He just doesn't hurt or admit when he is hurting!

We both worried a lot about it over the weekend and tried not to think the worst. We were also trying to determine who - if anyone - we should tell. We decided to keep it to ourselves (and I asked my mom and dad to pray for the situation but that was it). I just KNEW that this was going to cause Dan to not be able to deploy. How could he possibly go to Army Combat Training in preparation for this deployment following surgery??

Today, he was seen by an off-base doctor and to make a long story short, he is now having a MRI done Monday followed by surgery on Tuesday. The doctor still doesn't know what the tumor is, but that is what they are calling it. Tumor. What an ugly word. The doctor did say that he will be on crutches, in a cast but will be healed enough to do the physical portion of the training which will commence in a few weeks. So... deployment is still on.

And now we face the remaining 2 weeks together (exception of a possible Christmas holiday) until 2011 with Dan wearing a cast and hobbling around on crutches. We have his mom and dad coming next weekend, will celebrate his 30th birthday (a month early) as well as his going-away, go to New Orleans (tomorrow, just the 3 of us) and buy a new life insurance policy, a new laptop for Dan to take with him, pack him up for 15 months and send him on his way.

I know, you guys so wish you could trade places with me right now. ** Sarcasm intended **

I am bitter today. I asked for the rain, but I am still learning how to deal with the downfall. And I just don't have the strength. Right now, it is evading me and I don't see it within my reach.I am struggling to not get jealous or bitter or angry over simple things like my friends posting status updates on Facebook that they are "sad" that their husbands are out of town for a few nights.... I have NO place to be upset by that but I confess: this is a struggle for me not to compare the horrible nature of our situation with others and feel sorry for myself. I hate that feeling too and I ask that you please pray that God helps me to overcome this self-pity I am feeling. It is a worthless feeling.

Many of you keep emailing me saying that you don't want to call because you don't want to interrupt my time with Dan. But please know that I need my friends and family right now. WE both do. Our phones have been eerily quiet because we know people are giving us our time together. And while that is appreciated, Dan wants to talk to his friends and loved ones before he leaves and I need to be distracted by hearing about what is going on in others' lives. So, call us and don't feel bad! I will tell you if it isn't a good time.

Thanks for your continued prayers. I just keep wondering when - if ever - this will get easier. And so far, it hasn't... only much worse. We need a break, God!

Instrument....

When Dan was about 10 or so, he was shot point blank in the face with a beebee gun by a friend of his (some friend). The beebee lodged itself into Dan's soft palate and just a millimeter short of his optic nerve. Because of it proximity to his optic nerve, the doctors chose to leave the bullet in his face.

We don't know when, but at some point in Dan's dental history, he had a couple of root canals done. He went back into the dentist this week for a simple follow up that he had been scheduled for and learned some shocking news. Upon examination of the XRay, the dentist noticed that stuck in Dan's gum (in one of his very last molars' area) that there was a small DENTAL INSTRUMENT that had broken off during a root canal years ago and was still there.

So today, Dan had to go back to the dentist and have his root canal opened up and have the instrument removed. The dentist was optimistic that they would be able to remove the instrument but in the worst case, Dan's molar would have to be pulled so that he could be deployable. HUH!? Until this issue is taken care of, the dentist put him on "not deployable" status because of the risk of major infection that could set in at any moment, all these years later.

We know that this situation has to be figured out because Dan's leaving in a few weeks to start his 15 months away from home. But come on!! Who could have ever expected this!? Definitely not me. So now, Dan's got a bullet and a medical instrument permanantly lodged into that pretty face of his.

Stay tuned on Dan's crazy medical issues....