I was looking back through my posts in 2014, and it was a
really eventful year for my family. We started out the year in Florida and then
travelled back to Maryland (while Corey stayed in Florida) so that Justin could
go back inpatient for yet another surgery which ended up not happening because
Justin had healed up so much over Christmas. While he was inpatient, he got the
PICC line removed after having it in for 99 days to deal with staph infections.
Once Justin got out of the hospital, we celebrated our 5th wedding
anniversary. Then we headed back to Florida for convalescence leave. While we
were on leave, we were able to take Corey to Disney for the first time. Justin
was also able to go hunting in GA on the way back to MD.
Then came February. Talk about an emotional roller
coaster. I went to my first caregivers’ night out. Justin finally was healed up
enough to get his second leg and start walking for the first time post-injury.
Then we got a call asking if we would like to be given a house in our hometown.
Talk about an unexpected blessing. I kept waiting for it to fall through
because it seemed too good to be true, yet, here I am, sitting in it. Then came
my birthday…I wasn’t ready to go from a 20-something to the big 3-0, but ready
or not, it happened. We were able to go skiing – Justin in an adapted form and
Corey for the first time. Things were going great (other than me turning 30
lol) until Justin’s orthopedic surgeon decided that they needed to do the flap
surgery after all and back inpatient Justin went. After the excitement of him
finally walking after 8 months, the setback was a huge disappointment.
March started off with Justin in the hospital. Not long
after midnight, on the day that Justin would have the flap surgery, my 3rd
nephew was born. Justin’s surgery went well, and while he was in the hospital,
we met President Obama. Before Justin was released back to outpatient, they
taught me how to give him blood thinner injections. He was not fond of this at
all, and we learned that it was better for me to give them to him when I wasn’t
stressed or frustrated. I didn’t mean to hurt him, but I guess I wasn’t as
gentle when frustrated…oops. I guess I don’t have a future in the medical
profession. Lol
In April we were able to travel back to Florida for
convalescent leave again. On our way down, we spent some time in Georgia. While
there, we went over to some friends’ house for dinner one evening. After
dinner, the guys went out front and Justin miscalculated how steep the end of
their driveway was and ended up falling nub first out of his wheelchair. He was
still on the blood thinner, so there was a lot of blood, and we were concerned
that he might have messed up the skin flap. We called an ambulance and they
brought him to the military hospital where the ER docs got in touch with the
surgeon at Walter Reed on how best to treat Justin’s wounds. Thankfully it
ended up being okay in the long run, but Justin was in a lot of pain and
bruised the end of his residual limbs. We were also thankful that we didn’t
have to return to Walter Reed right away. While we were in Florida, we got to
visit what would become our new house for the first time. The house that we saw
looks nothing like the house that we’re living in. A lot of work went into
making this house our home and making it accessible for Justin. A little over a
month after the big skin flap surgery, Justin stopped taking all of his
painkillers. From that day on, it was just one medication for nerve pain (which
he has gradually stepped down the dosage), vitamins, and the occasional
Tylenol. He did this on his own and felt so much better and stronger without
all the side effects that came with the narcotics. After we were back in Maryland,
Justin was able to participate in a fly fishing tournament through Project
Healing Waters. He didn’t win, but we all had a great time.
In May, Justin was finally healed up enough from the flap
surgery to start walking again, and he’s been on the go ever since. He almost
never uses the wheelchair outside the house anymore and if he’s wearing pants,
it’s hard to tell that he’s wearing prosthetics. It was a long 11 months
getting him to that point, but he never gave up.
In June, Justin participated in another fly fishing
tournament. We also celebrated his first “Alive Day”. Rather than calling it
the anniversary of the injury, at Walter Reed, they refer to it as an Alive Day
– celebrating the fact that they’re still alive in spite of whatever injuries
they sustained. We also enjoy a visit from Justin’s Granny, sister, and cousin
without Justin spending any of the visit in a hospital bed (other times they’d
been up were when Justin was inpatient). This was just a fun visit to celebrate
the Alive Day. We were able to take them fishing, see some of the monuments in
D.C., and overall just enjoyed spending time together. Also in June, Justin was
able to play his first round of golf post-injury and walked his first
post-injury mile. It was a good month of milestone accomplishments!
In July, Justin was able to do his first post-injury ruck
march. He was setting goals and achieving them and wasn’t letting anything or
anyone slow him down. In the middle of the month, Corey and I went down to
Georgia to pack up the house that we’d been renting. It was very bittersweet.
We enjoyed living in GA, and we loved the church we attended. But the reason
for the packing was because we were signing for our house on August 1st.
We were about to become first time homeowners and have a permanent residence
(though it would be months before we actually lived in it due to still being at
Walter Reed). Justin’s Granny came up to help me pack. Then some soldiers from
Ft. Stewart helped me load a POD. It didn’t all fit, so we had to rent a Uhaul
and move the rest a few days before our signing day. Right before the trip to
close out things with our rental and receive our new house, Justin got his
first set of carbon fiber sockets which fit him so much more comfortably than
the plastic ones. We also were visited by one of my sisters and her family and
I finally got to meet my newest nephew. On our way to FL to finish our move, we
stopped in GA to pack the rest of our stuff in the Uhaul and Justin was able to
go to Ft. Stewart and do PT with his guys. Another of his goals that he was
able to accomplish. Then we went down to Florida and with some help (mostly from
strangers), we unloaded the POD and Uhaul and unpacked our house. From the time
the POD was delivered until we stopped unpacking/assembling/hanging pictures,
it was approximately 36 hours. Not every box got unpacked (and there are quite
a few that still are waiting to be unpacked), but it was as good as it was
going to get.
Then came August 1st – the big day. Our
signing, ribbon cutting, welcome home, open house was overwhelming. It was
amazing to see how many people came out to show their support for our family. Unfortunately,
we weren’t able to stay in our house for very long before we had to head back
up to MD to continue Justin’s rehab. The rest of August was pretty busy filled
with a golf lesson, Corey starting kindergarten being homeschooled, Justin rock
climbing in physical therapy, another fishing tournament, and Justin getting
running legs. We also celebrated Justin’s birthday and my sister and her family
came back up for a visit. My brother-in-law had gotten some tickets to a college
football game held in Baltimore, so he and Justin went to the game while my
sister, Corey, my sister’s two boys, and I went to the National Aquarium (also
in Baltimore). We all had a good day and enjoyed the visit.
In September, we were busy with fun activities nearly
every weekend. We were able to attend/participate in a fundraiser held by a
friend of ours to benefit one of our favorite non-profits. Justin flew up to
Michigan to go fly fishing for salmon. This was his first time catching salmon
and he had a great time…though for him, he’ll have a great time fishing
anywhere for any type of fish. I was able to go to another much needed caregivers’
night out. Justin also went on a deer and pheasant hunting trip. He had a
wonderful time and was able to get a 10-point buck (which was quite tasty and
will look nice on the wall of the “man cave”).
October was another busy month. We went to the National
Apple Festival in Pennsylvania. It was a great day to be outside and we found
some really cool crafts, ate some tasty treats, and brought home some apples
and fresh cider that I used to make my homemade apple butter. The next day,
Justin’s Granny and cousin came back up for a visit. We took them to Gettysburg
and enjoyed a concert on the Walter Reed grounds. Gary Sinise’s Lt. Dan Band
puts on a great show! My sister and her family also came for a visit and we
went to the National Zoo with them. Justin got a pair of feet with robotic,
battery operated ankles. They’re a lot heavier than his other sets, but they
made it easier to walk on uneven terrain. The Lieutenant who was with Justin on
the mountain the day he was injured had been transferred to a unit in D.C., and
we were able to meet up with him and take him fishing. A few days later, we
headed to the Eastern Shore of MD for the Heroes Haven hunting trip. As always,
we had a great time with our friends in Sharptown and were sad when the long
weekend came to a close. The following weekend, Justin had another pheasant hunt.
This time, Corey and I were able to join him (not to hunt, but to observe and
take pictures). Then we headed back down to Florida to get Justin’s Army gear
to turn in. Justin got his official ratings and things were starting to move
quickly toward Justin retiring from the Army.
November started with us still in Florida. We were able
to vote in person in the mid-term election. For Justin, this was his first time
voting in person since joining the Army. As soon as we voted, we hit the road
to head back to Walter Reed. November was filled with a lot of stress and
frustrations as we battled through red tape, packed up our apartment, and got
paperwork signed. I was able to go to one last caregivers’ night out. Then on November
25th, we packed up our truck and left Walter Reed for good. While it
was a huge relief and excitement to be able to finally move on to the next
chapter of our lives, it was bittersweet leaving behind some amazing people who
made the past 18 months a lot more pleasant than they would have otherwise
been. People who, for some, were going through similar struggles and understood
ours. Others were volunteers with various non-profits who had been with us from
the beginning encouraging us, showing so much support, and becoming our friends.
Walter Reed held some very painful, difficult times for our family, but the
memories I choose to remember the most vividly are the ones of good times with
family and friends. The times filled with laughter and fun with people we care
about. After a couple long days on the road, we made it home the night before
Thanksgiving. We enjoyed Thanksgiving lunch with my family and dinner with
Justin’s family. I had a great time Black Friday shopping (which now seems to
mostly be on Thanksgiving evening these days) with my mom and checking off
quite a bit of my Christmas list of gifts for our families. Then we celebrated
Corey’s birthday on both Friday with a special lunch with Granny and dinner
with friends and Saturday with a joint party for him and my niece who also
turned 5.
Then there’s December. At the beginning of the month, we
were treated to a fun concert featuring the Band Perry courtesy of the American
Security Council Foundation. From the day we arrived home until now, we’ve
hardly been home. Justin’s spent a lot of time fishing and enjoying the Florida
retiree life. We’ve reconnected with friends and spent time with family. We’ve
even gone to the beach and went swimming…yes, swimming in December. That’s the
Florida life. On the 23rd, we attended the candle light service at
our church. On Christmas Eve, Justin officially retired from the Army. We went
up to the local Air Force base and got Justin his retiree ID card and my
retiree dependent card. Then we went to lunch at my parents’ house followed by
supper at Justin’s parents’. Then on Christmas day, we were back at my parents’
house. Another busy week followed ending with a nice New Year’s Eve with my
parents and some of our friends.
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