learning how to do things with one arm

March has been an adventure for me. The week of March 11 we got one of our typical late winter snow storms. The next day it turned to ice. It was a Wednesday and it began as an OK Wednesday. The girls had just gotten over another illness. I wasn't feeling great and Paul was sick enough he had decided to call in sick to work. We were having some electrical problems at the house and the Trustees were planning on coming over in the afternoon. I took the girls to school, and we played ice skating as we walked. I came home and did normal church stuff and Paul slept. Then I went to pick up the girls. This is when disaster struck. Walking home from the daycare I slipped and fell on the ice. I was caring Elizabeth, and as I was falling I worried that she would hit her head on the ice. All I remember of the fall was this worry. The next thing I remember is that both Elizabeth and I were on the ground, and I was in a lot of pain. I didn't think I could move my left side. We were in the middle of the road, and I knew the bus for the afternoon preschool would arrive at any minute. I sent the terrified Catherine in to get her dad, and slid Elizabeth to the side of the road. I tried to stand several times, but the ice was too slippery and I couldn't use either arm. My left hurt too much and wouldn't support anything, and I was using my right arm to keep Elizabeth safe. Catherine was standing at our back door (it is in the basement) shouting for Paul who was upstairs in the bed room. He couldn't hear her. I told Catherine to go inside up to the bedroom and get daddy. With one or two looks at me to make sure Elizabeth and I would be OK, she finally left to get her dad. It took her awhile to convince Paul that I needed help. In the mean time I was finally able to stand and stumble in to the garage. I guess Catherine hadn't told Paul that I had fallen until they got to the basement. When Paul found us Elizabeth and I were in the garage she was sitting in a stroller we store in there, and I was sitting on the garage floor. I knew I couldn't take Elizabeth any further. We got inside, and Paul began getting ready to drive us to Urgent care in Spokane. I made lunch for the girls. When we got to urgent care we discovered I had cracked the end of my radius bone. We later discovered the location of the fracture is a very bad location. Although it was a small fracture every movement of my arm opened it up and caused pain. I have been in a splint and sling for almost four weeks now, and it is finally healed enough that typing isn't extremely painful. I have another appointment with the bone doctor where we will do another set of x-rays and evaluate the splint and sling. I hope Good Friday will be a good day for my arm and I will be able to lead our Good Friday service with out a splint. I need to get Paul to take some pictures so I can post them.

Seattle

The girls and I have spent a lot of time in Seattle the last few weeks. On Sunday the first we got a phone call letting us know that my grandfather was in the hospital, and wasn't doing well. On Monday the girls and I went over to say good bye and be there to support my dad. My grandfather died on Thursday morning. That week we spent the mornings visiting with Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, and the afternoons we spent playing in Seattle. We went to IKEA, one of Catherine's favorite places. IKEA is so much fun because they have Catherine's favorite lunch, Meatballs, and they have a ball pit. So much fun for a kid. Then we went to the Science Center, another one of Catherine's favorite places. Catherine loves the section with the human body display. She loves learning about bones, senses, muscles, and such. Wednesday it was the Zoo. Here the hippos are our favorite. We didn't make it all the way around the zoo, we played in the African villiage and pretended we were visiting Africa just like Daddy did. Then Thursday morning Catherine woke up to the news that Grandpa Calkins had died. She was sad, she liked him a lot. She loved to play ball with him and sing to him. Mostly Catherine grieved for her G'pa's loss. She cried because G'pa would miss his daddy. Over all she handled the illness and death well. She told me all about how Grandpa Calkins was with God now, and that we would get to see him again someday. Elizabeth was her happy self. Because she is too young to understand what was going on, she was her normal self. She laughed, played and gave us all hugs and kisses. She brought us all joy in the midst of our greif. Her laughter, and baby talk was just what I needed to remember that Grandpa's legacy continues through the next generation. Although the week was long and emotionally dificult it was great to spend time with my Grandma, aunts, uncles, cousins and dad.