Heather Marie PhotographyGone with the cast…
Posted on February 4, 2014
Huntersville, NC {personal}
These have been the longest 96 days of my life. But I have survived, my children & husband have survived, my dogs have survived, my clients & friends have survived, our home is still standing {shockingly}, and somehow my business has survived. I am blessed. And even more thankful & grateful than ever before.
My final cast was cut off yesterday morning, while my youngest two boys watched in horror. They were sure the nurse was going to saw off my arm with the cast. It also didn’t help that the night before I was in the ER with our middle son Jax until 2am. Oh that’s a whole other blog entry on it’s own, but we thought he broke his arm. Turned out to be a nursemaid elbow, and a quick fix. THANK GOD! So, here I was staring down at this dry, flaky, swollen, weak arm. ick. and yes, the doctor was right- I also was gifted lots of new BLACK hairs on the arm as well. fabulous. But I was free. I could feel the cold air of the room. It didn’t even seem real. I wanted to cry.
I was cleared to leave and told to work on stretching it back out to have a normal range of motion again, and like that 96 days of headaches, bitterness and pain disappeared.
This morning I showered alone (which is a vacation on it’s own, let’s be real)- and I didn’t need an extra 10 minutes to prepare my arm for battle. No press n seal glad wrap, no plastic bag fights, and no tape to hold it all together. I washed my hair with two hands. My right side of my scalp would be thanking me right now if it could talk. I was able to shave like I use to without having to do intense yoga positions. And even better than all of that (if that wasn’t enough already to make my day), I didn’t have a numb hand from holding it up in the air for 20+ mins. 🙂 I couldn’t think of a better Tuesday.
We all seem to get lost in the hustle and bustle of the rat race, or this so-called everyday life. We forget about all the tiny luxuries, and take them completely for granted. I can’t even imagine how many of you have probably gone through this same experience, and many of you going through WAY worse currently. Some of you may never get to be freed of the “cast”. Whether a cast like mine, or a cast of other sorts. This cast has given me a chance to reflect on the simple things that I am so fortunate to have the ability to do.
As I type with two hands for the first time in 96 days, I sing Grace. I am beyond thankful for this blessing, and God’s plan was obviously more important than mine. I was made to slow down, and to spend many more hours and days with my family. It was all a blessing. Thank you for supporting me.
I am excited to share with you a couple iphone images from the doctor’s office yesterday…
Happy Tuesday friends!!
xo Heather
I AM ALIVE!!!! :)
Posted on December 16, 2013
WOW. Where do I begin… {please ignore this if you care less about my personal ranting…skip to the bottom}
Ok, I’ll go back and start from my post of the broken arm pictures…so that was the beginning of a very long road. Two weeks after the post I went and had my cast cut off and my arm X-rayed…truly praying it was getting better quickly so I could advance to a shorter cast that would allow me to go back to work somewhat. As to my surprise, my bones had done the exact opposite, they had moved more in the wrong direction. Two more weeks of a super giant cast, this time I chose neon green.
two weeks pass…and yes of course I managed to sneak in a few sessions—HELLO, it’s Fall and everyone needs their Christmas photos!! eeek!!! I then go back to the AMAZING Ortho Surgeon (which FYI happens to be a wonderful client of mine too! which really helps with many of my fears)… and they cut the cast off again, go back in for new x-rays, and I wait. What seemed like an eternity went by. I had even brought him a donut…so I hoped he would smell it and get into my room faster. I just knew I was going to get into a short cast and be ready to rock. He walked in. He looked sad. And the first words he uttered were “Heather, I’m going to have to do surgery, you’re not healing.”
WHAT???!!!!! How come I had never ever once, not even a slight itty bitty part of me even considered a chance of surgery. I pretty much only heard that for the rest of the appointment. I had no clue about any of the details of the surgery once I got home. Way to go Heather. My mind kept echoing surgery. That wasn’t possible. All I did was break my arm- what was the big deal. Apparently, my break was getting worse, and not healing what so ever. (I promise you all I was getting 200% my daily amount of calcium & vitamin D) I also happened to break a harder to heal part of my Ulna bone as well. Joy. Tis the season, and it wasn’t like I had 70 families awaiting my photography abilities, or three little boys that had no problem taking care of themselves, or all the million things that come with the Holiday season! 🙂
A week later…surgery day arrives. Woohoo!! We rocked some old school tunes (just think…”eye of the tiger” blaring) and made the most of the 16 hour no-eating party all the way to the surgery center. By the way- I need to mention how AMAZING my friends and family are. They have made these 2 months possible. I am blessed beyond measure, and so grateful. So to speed this along, surgery was a success. I got awesome photos of my EXTREMELY displaced and broken in 2 bone during surgery sent to me late that night proving what really went down. I was blessed to have a friend as my nurse for the entire surgery as well, and again not to mention the extraordinary surgeon who put me back together with a shiny new metal plate and screws. Can’t wait to see my next x-rays, and go through security at the airport. woot woot!
Fast forward a week, and here we are. 7+ weeks of my life in a nutshell. I am off all the pain meds now and feeling quite normal again…minus the stylish splint. I have 7 more weeks to heal but I am so thankful I am on the right track now!
I cannot thank you all enough for supporting me through all this drama…I have avoided typing, texting and emails like it’s my job and I apologize. The pain of using my right hand wasn’t worth it- so if it was an emergency I used my left and tried to get back to you. 2013 threw me a curve ball for sure and tested every ounce of my sanity. But here I stand, stronger for it. I will be continuing to catch up on all the pages and pages of emails and messages within the next month- promise. I will be adding tons and tons of photos to the blog this next few weeks as well.
2013 has been bittersweet. Many new accomplishments, much learning and thousands of beautiful images delivered. I met tons of new families and made tons of new friends. How could I ever regret any step taken? Sometimes God has a bigger and better plan for us— and apparently I am a wonderful example of that. I got to spend many more hours and days with my boys…God is good.
2014 is going to rock. New stuff coming your way, and new adventures for Heather Marie Photography. Stay tuned…
I wish you all the happiest of holidays…Merry Christmas to all!!!
Here are a few iphone shots of the past few weeks…no promises on quality!! (many are instagram pics!)
still pink casting it…
now for my green fashion statement…
and then for my week of a cool brace thing that didn’t support me much (aka lots of pain) but I could FINALLY shower without a bag! woohoo
and now for the pre-surgery shot, with my angelic friend JD (who I could never repay for all her help & love)—she stayed with me the whole day!!
swollen & on meds but I made an appearance to our fabulous neighborhood Christmas party!! wonderful friends~
our absolutely fabulous Charlie Brown Christmas tree, that I begged my hubby for…he rocks. this represents our 2013…crazy tall (16 feet) & strong, but wild turns, very unexpected, luckily healthy so far, and beautiful & perfect in it’s own way. God made me imperfectly perfect. It’s my all time fav- had to share. this is 1/2 lit….
and the last shot is post surgery with two of my little elves, out helping me do some Christmas shopping!
Heather Marie Photography 