Monday, August 17, 2009

End of Summer (and Hair) Fun!

We returned last night from a great little trip to the Brown family cabin. It has only been 3 weeks since our last trip, but the difference was amazing. I was able to do all the activities with my family (instead of just watching) and we spent a ton of wonderful family time together! We went boating (I "hid" behind the windshield so I didn't get wind in my eye), fishing, rafting, and played with the bears! :) We played lots of fun games and thoroughly enjoyed our time together. I felt good most of the trip, with only one headache during the entire 4+ days! I did have problems with my eye because of the wind and dust, but my bedazzled patches helped with that. A fun time!

The kids got to help "feed the bears" (hide food for the bears) at the Discovery Bear Center!

Brandon and Debbie Rhoads with us in West Yellowstone. They are some of our best friends!

Me and my right hand man, Trenden. We discovered if Ihold my mouth just the right way, I can almost smile normally!! (Compare with pic below)

This is if I just smile without thinking about it, the facial paralysis is still obvious, but as seen from the above pic, when I concentrate, I can almost make it work! :)

On our trip, however, I did realize one bit of "bad" news. I am losing my hair. I had been warned that this could happen (and after all the side effects I have experienced, I should have none that I wouldn't escape this either). I don't know if all of it will fall out, as the doctor told me that depends on the person and the amount of trauma the brain experienced. But, for now, it is definitely coming out. Right now, it is coming out in strands, not chunks, so that is good. We'll see. Meanwhile, my hubby, wanted to join me :) and he decided to forgo the hair, too. We shaved his head before the trip. So, I guess you could give this family trip the title of "Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow!".

Tolan on the boat with the kids! It was such a fun time to spend with our family! (Love the new "do" on Tolan!)

My turn with all the little swimmers! (The 3 oldest jumped off the boat and into the lake!!)

I will go to my eye doc on Thursday to see if there is anything more we can do to help my eye, so I can start driving and functioning a little more again. Hopefully we will have good news! Today I feel great, the sun is shining and I think the kids and I are going to the park. Wanna come??? Much love to all!

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your trip sounds like it was a blast for your whole entire family!!! I'm glad that you were able to enjoy everything and are doing better! I'm always thinking about you!
Jackie Dillard

Chad and Stacey said...

I'm glad you guys to go to up again and have a more "normal" trip. It looks like you had a lot of fun!
I'm surprised Tolan shaved his head!! Chad did it once, but that was because in his attempt to dye it black it turned a lovely shade of bright blue!

britt said...

what a wonderul trip, which I am sure was enjoyed by all! Everyone looks so happy. Love the hair cut on Tolan, and hopefully you don't lose too much of your own. Hopefully you will get some helpful info from the eye dr this week. thinking of you, britt

Anonymous said...

Ha ha! Love the attitude, way to go !
REally i think that is such a morale maker. How you feel about the things that go on. I think we are getting better here. It will be a week today since the surgery. And Keith went back to work yesterday. Job worries...
And other then aching at the incision site it has been a good choice to have the surgery done. The way they stitched it was weird. Like a seam allowance...ha! As far as hair goes, i lose hair as my stress increases. Really bad at times. And then none for weeks. Makes sense that after big trauma your body reacts. Hang in there girl!

Carolyn said...

Aloha Jodi,
It is great to hear the family had a GREAT trip and had tons of family fun!! AWESOME! Like that shining new hair do on Tolan, hopefully you won't loose too much hair on your own! We're always thinking about you and your family. Have a wonderful day!

Love,
Carolyn and family

Jason said...

Jodi my friend, after spending the last week in California for the annual Reynolds family reunion, in which I struggled to stay hydrated in the West Coast sun, I returned home last night totally worn out and feeling really crummy. How wonderful it was for me to log on and see your beautiful smile! Seriously. I loved reading that you had such a great trip with your family. And once again, you have made me smile. I am so lucky to have found you, and you have brought me more smiles than I can count. Thank you for keeping up the fight, and for reminding me when I need to do the same. God bless you Jodi! And much love to you and yours. You are truly amazing.

Nichole Giles said...

Looks like a great trip, and lots of fun. Love Tolan's new do.

And you know what they say...if you lose all your hair once, it'll grow back thicker. And think of all the fun you could have with wigs in the meantime. If it were me, I'd get a few--all different colors and styles. I mean, it's your one chance to try out totally new looks, right? Kind of like when we used to play dress up as kids.

You're looking fabulous, as always, and appear to be recovering super fast. That's awesome news. Keep it up.

Nicki

Anonymous said...

Jodi...I have been taking a mineral called "Silica"...It is amazing and my hair started to fall out and got very thin and now it has all filled back in. I'm not ready to wear my own hair just yet but probably soon since it is growing back in and I have been getting chemo the whole time so I know it works. I am a true skeptic when it comes to taking anything my doctor doesn't prescribe. I told him about it and he said it would be fine to take it. I know this stuff works....Todd rarely believes anything unless there is scientific proof. He is totaly sold on this stuff.

Love Nancy

Belinda said...

Thanks for sharing your adventures and especially progress. It must be difficult now that you are on your way to full recovery - to still have such side effects! You are wonderful and a true inspiration! Hang in there!
Tolan - the shiney head suits ya x