Crazy can sometimes be a good thing

I believe it is OK to be called crazy when something great comes out of your madness. 

Let me introduce you to my friend SFC Eric Johnson from US Army EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal).  Eric is involved in the EOD Warrior Foundation http://woundedeodwarrior.org/  which is a non profit organization that provides assistance to wounded and fallen EOD Warriors and their families. 

In order to raise awareness and contributions for this organization Eric and some of his fellow EOD warriors have done some pretty crazy things .  The latest and greatest of their crazy adventures: Eric decided to complete the ToughMudder obstacle course wearing one of his EOD issued bomb suits.  Why not, right, (it's only an extra 55 lbs when it's dry...which by the way it was not dry)?  For those of you who don't know what Tough Mudder is, their website claims to be "Probably the toughest event on the planet".  Eric and his team had two goals in mind, raise awareness and money for the EOD Warrior Foundation.  Well, I can tell you as a spectator at this event that Eric and his team completed  the course last weekend (June 2, 2013) in Philadelphia, PA they certainly raised both awareness and money. 

Being a spectator I got to watch in awe, as Eric kept going on this 12 miles course in the scorching heat.  It was in the 90's on Saturday with high humidity, and this course was in an open field with no shade.  Eric and his teammates completed the 12 mile course and 22 obstacles in about 6 hours.  Along the way Eric was greeted by many other participants who thought of him as quite the "bad ass" and just wanted to shake his hand and congratulate him on being such an inspiration to them and to others.  It was great to watch the jaws of spectators, participants, and Tough Mudder employees just drop wide open as they stared in disbelief to what he was doing.  Need a little more insight?  Here he is in action jumping over the the walls of "Glory Blades".

A direct recap from Eric after the event: "I finally have a chance to recap the Tough Mudder for all of you. After a day to recover and think about it, I'm feeling pretty proud of the accomplishment. That is due in large part to my team. I would not have finished without you! It was at mile 2 that I already had doubts about finishing. The heat was brutal and the cramps had already started, but thanks to a little motivation from Leanne..., Steph, Bill and Brook we pushed on. We made a lot more stops than anticipated, but they were definitely necessary. We ended up finishing in about 6 hours. The obstacles themselves were a blast. I didn't get across the rings or the monkey bars like I had hoped, but falling into the water was definitely worth it. The climb up Everest took about a dozen people, but they eventually got me to the top. Walk the Plank was hands down my favorite. Jumping 20 feet into the water and shooting right back up like a fishing bobber was exactly what I expected and a whole lot of fun. I wanted to do it again. I did get killed by the electroshock at the end though...5 times in the hands and face by my count, but made it through without falling on my face. The greatest part of the day was getting to hear the encouragement from all the other mudders and talking to bunch of great people. Not many people knew that we would be out there doing what we were doing and there were definitely some confused looks on peoples faces, but in the end they were all tremendously supportive. Thanks again to everyone for your support! I don't know if this the end of my bomb suit shenanigans, but keep an eye on this page and you'll be the first to find out if we come up with something new."

Why go through something so crazy?  Why push your body to it's absolute maximum?  Well do it because you're crazy for a good cause.  Eric has shirts for sale (that I happen to love by the way) for purchase that basically speak the words of courage right on them.  All proceeds go to the EOD warrior foundation.  If you would like to buy a shirt: https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/bombsuitmudder.org/app_251458316228

 

 

The red shirt (shown above) was worn by the Tough Mudder team and has now been made available for sale to the public.

 or donate to:

https:// npo1.networkforgood.org/ Donate/ Donate.aspx?npoSubscription Id=1005354&code=BombSuitMu dder2013

(Select Bomb Suit Mudder from the program designation drop down menu.)

 

More great photos of this event (compliments of http://www.danamariephotography.com  and Andrea Croyle):

 

 

 

 

For more information and photos from this event please check out https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/bombsuitmudder.org

I walked because...

What an amazing day today with some amazing women.  Today I had the honor or participating in the Susan G Komen 5K in Ocean City.  It started out a little chilly but after we got moving it wasn't so bad, and the sun certainly shined on our day.  I actually got a little teared up from time to time reading people's shirts.  Many had who they walked for written on them.  I loved the "survivor" shirts, I wanted to hug them all!  The ones that were more difficult to see were the ones that read: "In memory of my wife, or my mother, sister."  Those certainly brought a tear on. 

After our walk our gang "OC Mommas" went to Station 7 for brunch.  We all shared our storied about who we walked for, and why.  It was a very special moment to share with these beautiful women (some survivors themselves).


Today made me  miss my Aunt Darlene who passed away at 41 from this terrible cancer.  Way too young, and leaving behind a beautiful young son.  She actually had her first mammogram right on time at age 39 but it was too late by then.  This is such a terrible cancer that has plagued so many amazing women.  We all urged each other today to take it seriously and to make sure you do your "self checks", and to continue with your yearly check ups. 
I also walked today in celebration of Dave's step mom who beat this cancer.  It's great to be able to celebrate the victory of someone getting through this.  I will never forget how hard  it was to see what she went through, and is still going through.  I praise God for her victory.
I hope many more will join us next year. 

                          Above is our poster, it has all the names of the women we ran for today

                                                                      All Done!!!

 

Our reward!

An Easter Monday never to be forgotten

This Easter 2013 was a very joyous one for our family, we celebrated with great friends, great family, a new baby boy, but most important, Dave, my wonderful husband and father of my children is here to celebrate with us.  Last Easter Sunday was spectacular, couldn't have asked for a better day.  The weather was perfect, Dave's mom, step dad, sister and her family, plus my parents all got to be together.  What happen the next day, Easter Monday would forever change not only this holiday, but our lives.

I will never forget the phone call from our friend, Eric to my work.  His wife had just drove by a car accident and was pretty sure it was Dave's van.  I'll spare you all the details but that call was followed up with a call from the Emergency Room in Salsbury.  My mom and I left right away.  Dave hit a Maryland state highway Dump truck carrying a directional sign.  Dave hit it full force at 65 MPH, never applied the breaks.  We have no idea what happen, why Dave didn't see it, and quite frankly, it just doesn't matter.  What does matter is he survived, barely but he did.  It took the Hebron Fire department, and the Salisbury fire department 45 minutes to cut Dave out of the van.  He had a punctured lung, two badly cut open knee's (from the dashboard), broken hand, broken leg, and shattered hip (which was the worst of his injuries).  Dave had two surgeries for his hip, one for his hand and the rest of his injuries healed on their own.  Dave was in the ICU for two nights, then in the hospital for a total of seven nights, and then was sent to Health South Rehab for another two weeks. 

He was not allowed to bare any weight on the left side of his body for three months.  Then he slowly with the help of his therapist started to bare weight, week by week, adding 20lbs of pressure to his "walk".  When he did come home from the rehab center he was practically quarantined in our basement.  We had to transform his once "man cave" into his bedroom, fully equipped with his hospital bed, recliner, wheel chair and walker.  We picked the basement for him because there was a bathroom and shower on that floor so he didn't need to do stairs, and an entrance to outside.  It was probably a good four months before he slept in our bed with me...and it killed him to do it, but he just wanted to feel somewhat normal again, and share a bed with his wife. 

Oh, did I mention all this happen when I was 4 months pregnant with Eli?  Needless to say, this was no easy road for us.  Obviously the physical toll it took on Dave, and me being pregnant and chasing around a one year old was tough enough,  add to it the financial burden of Dave being out of work,  we were both just so torn apart in every way imaginable.  The best part about this entire experience was how we got through it all.  Not once did Dave ever cry "poor me".  There were times where he worried about his family and providing for us, and what his future held, but not once did he let any of it drag him down.  Dave and I did the only thing we knew to do.  We turned it all over to God.  In a time like this, I don't know how anyone gets through it with out God. 

We were so thankful and felt so blessed during his accident and recovery.  Thankful God spared Dave and let me keep him for longer.  Thankful the injuries weren't worse, Thankful we didn't lose anything, and blessed.  Soooooo blessed.  We have an amazing family who stepped up and helped with the kids, the most amazing friends who did anything and everything for us, between sitting with me at the hospital during Dave's surgeries, mowing our grass the ENTIRE summer, helping with Noah, making meals, it was endless.  Then we have this absolutely AMAZING Church family.  All I can say is wow.  We didn't feel worthy.  We were prayed for continuously, some church members came and cleaned our house so I didn't have to, there were numerous church donations for us financially.  I'll never forget Dave and I just weeping over a few donations that came in.  It was enough money to pay our mortgage for two months.  No small chump of change.  I feel so in debt to all of these people that helped us.  I hope all of our family, friends, and church family know how special you are to us.  We will never forget the generosity poured out to us, and will pay it forward.

This accident forever changed my family.  God showed through in every way possible.  His presence during this time in our lives was so predominate.  Everything that happen every step of the way we prayed about.  God couldn't have shown through any more then he did.  It gave us such a peace that we were able to get through this, and able to get Dave up and running again and very quickly.

If there is one thing I have learned through this it is that you are not going to keep my husband down!  He HATED being confined the way he was!  His first night home, i found him in the middle of the night, dragging himself across the floor on his "good hip" and up the stairs to let Diego out.  I couldn't believe it!  He was also back on the job site as soon as he physically was able to.  Again, I couldn't believe it.  He was out on the construction site with his walker instructing  his crew what to do.  Once he was on crutches he would crutch his butt to the route 50 bridge to go fishing.  AGAIN, I couldn't believe it!  Even after his hand surgery (which we held off on until he was walking), he still fished with his cast on!  And just about a month ago, he went surfing for the first time.  Not even a year later, and he's back to it all!  He is amazing, and so strong.  The doctors were amazed by how well he did in such a short time.  We know it was only through the help of our Lord, and our Faith in him that gotDave back up so soon.

I won't keep babbling, but I felt it was important to mark this day in our "family history".  I also feel that if in any way his story can help someone else then it is one of the reasons it happen.  I also know that God has big plans for my husband and our family, we will spend the rest of our days learning what that is and working to achieve God's goals for us.  Right now, I know God's telling me to love on my family and not to take one day for granted, it could all end at once.  Love everyone every chance you get, and love on God, after all if it wasn't for him...

If you would like to hear Dave's story directly from him, pease click on this link.  Dave's testimony will be first.  http://sonrise.sermon.tv/4347582

If you look closely, you can see Dave's head.  He was still in there.

 

This pic above scares me...how was Dave in there?

 

The joy that Dave needed, his baby boy

 

First time "up" after his surgery on his hip, he was so scared.

Noah taking a ride with daddy during one of our visits to rehab.  Being away from each other was so tough.

On our way home

My mock on our family bumper sicker...Dave still has this picture on his bathroom mirror.

Dave's bedroom

 

Dave tryig to figure out how to hold our new baby! 

Me and Dave, New Years 2012.  We were happy to say farewell to the struggling year of 2012.

To the Youth in OC, and everywhere else.

A truly sad tragedy hits our youth in the OC area.  Caitlyn Lebo, 19 years old passes away from an expected overdose.  Caitlyn was part of our church youth group for several years  .I always knew Caitlyn had problems.  She was pretty open about the fact that she smoke, and drank.  But I wasn't sure how much further it went, and unfortunately I didn't get to know her well enough to dive into that.  I wish I would have.

As a youth leader, this rocked me today pretty bad when I found out.  Was there more I could have done?  More I could have said?  I've actually been playing back conversations I had with Caitlyn, things she told me, things she told our group.  Truth is, I know for a fact I could have done more.  I bet any youth leader from any church would agree with me.  I became a youth leader because I remember being a troubled youth.  I did things I knew were wrong, and not of God.  I drank, I had sex, and I smoked, and I also attended youth group on a regular basis.  I wish I would have taken those lessons I was being taught and applied them to my life at that time.  Coulda, woulda, shoulda...I'm sure many would agree with me.  So, when I got back involved in church and actually started to apply those lessons I had learned as a youth, I wanted to hopefully impact our youth and maybe reach them on a level parents can't.  If you're a parent reading this, don't get me wrong.  You will have more influence on your child then anyone else in their entire life.  But sometimes youth need another avenue, a responsible adult to confide in that isn't their parent.  I wanted and still want to be this person.

I sit here wondering what lessons Caitlyn learned at youth group and which ones she may have applied.  I know she tried.  I can remember being at Centrifuge with her and seeing her just ball and feel so convicted to do right by God.  That was the moment I felt comfortable that she knew our Lord, and I'm sure she is in a better place now.  Our God keeps all of us as his children, even when we mess up, which we all do, and even if we don't walk with him everyday.  Thank God for that.  Once saved always saved is an amazing gift.  Walking with God will change your life in ways you can't imagine, but no matter how you walk, you will always be God's child once you ask.  If only we were all that loving and forgiving. 

The purpose for this blog today is this: When we are a parent, I believe our children are what drives us.  We love our kids so much we will give up anything and do anything for them.  We want to be better people because of them, we work hard because of them, we stay healthy so we can be around to watch them grow.  My two boys (and my Hubby) are the reason I wake up everyday.  After God, they are who I aim to please every day and who I live my life for.  So when you're Caitlyn's age, or any youth's age what drives you?  Who drives you?  I can tell you when I was a youth it was my peers that drove me.  I wanted to fit in, be cool, and do what everyone else was doing.  It's rare that a teenager stands up for what they believe in solely, it is typically with a pack of friends by their side.  Which is great, so stand up for something great!  Stand up for GOD.

What if I would have said to one of y girlfriends "I think you've had enough to drink tonight, no need to drive!"  Maybe I could have saved someone from a DUI.   Would I have been more receptable to my peers telling me I was being an idiot?  ABSOLUTELY!  I'd espect it from my parents!  But if one of my friends said it...It'd proably have straightened my ass right out.

So here's my message, to all my youth: be a positive influence on your friends.  Tell them if you know what they are doing is wrong, and help them through it.  Don't sit on the sidelines and watch.  Be a difference in their lives.  Be a difference in each other's lives.  Tomorrow is not guaranteed to any of us, so don't wait to become a follower of God, and don't wait to change your life.

I love all my youth, and for those of you who are mourning right now, I am SO SORRY for you're loss, I am praying for you guys and I'm always here (even if I'm not a leader today, I'm always around).  I pray for all of you to have peace about what happen, and to know she is in a better place.  And I pray that God takes this tragedy and turns it around to hopefully save the life of a troubled youth, or friend. 

A Proud Wife

It has been almost 3 months since Dave's accident.  I have to tell you, I loved my husband before this accident, and I love him more then I knew was possible now!  Sure, when you almost lose someone you learn to appreciate them more.  But that's not really the main reason I have this new found love for him.  The main reason for this new found love is becasue of the man I have seen him become through this terrible tradgedy.

I told him the other day that I haven't seen him let this accident or his injuries get the best of him.  Most peole (me included) will get down and out on themselves for being limited on what they are able to do...or for not being able to work and provide for your family...or how about not being able to bend over and put on your own socks and shoes!  That alone is enough to drive oneself crazy!  He just recently has been healed enough to sleep in his own bed at night.  He kept trying but our matress put too much pressure on his hip and he just couldn't sleep...so until a few weeks ago he was sleeping in a hospital bed two flights of stairs away from me and Noah. 

I have just been so amazed that he hasn't complained more...I know I would!  LOL...maybe I'm just not as strong as he is...but I know I would complain more abut the pain, the frustration, EVERYTHING!  Dave has taken a different approach.  He knows God saved his life so he has made THAT his focus. 

Dave gave his testimony a few weeks ago at church...it was difficult to listen to him talk about being pinned in that car for an hour...and how he nor the paramedics or firemen were sure if they'd be able to get him out alive...or in one piece.  He said during his testimony that he was having a conversation with Jesus the entire time.  He said that he told Jesus that he was ready to go if that's what his plan was, but if Jesus could spare him he would spnd the rest of his day serving him in gratitude.  And Jesus did just that, and Dave is holding up his part of the bargain as well. 

It's scary to know how close I came to losing him...It's so hard not to think about it.  His bday was not long after the accident, and all I could think of was how thankful we were that he was here to celebrate another birthday.  What has happened to us has been very tough but what we have gained from it has outweighed the bad.  We have gained a new love of life, of eachother, of our family, our church, our friends.  This has really taught us what's most important in life. 

We will spend the rest of our days thanking God.  I know that God has something really big in store for my family.  I have no idea what it is yet, but I'm excited for the journey and I'm all his...whatever he has for us we will do.  We are praying for God to show us his way...and we know within time he will.  For now, we'll just keep praising him, praying for Dave's healing to continue, praying for our new baby coming in September, praying for our amazing Noah to keep thriving, and keep telling others about our testimony and what Jesus has done in our lives. 

Below is the link to the video for dave's testimony.  You have to scroll down and click on  6-3-12 Open Mic 2nd.  Dave will be first after our pastor talks.  It's totally worth your time.

http://sermonplayer.com//includes/popup_player.php?c=13345&by=Date&d=http://sermonplayer.com/&rgbval=16777215&alpha=70

To have another C-section or not...that is the question.

I need some advice...Dave and I are expecting Baby Eli  in September.  Because Noah was an emergency C-section I had planned on having Eli as a C-section as well.  I am now having second thoughts. 

With Dave recently being in a car accident and having a broken hip and some other broken bones I am not sure that I want to be laid up after a C-section.  Dave won't even be able to start walking for another 6 weeks...our hope is that he will be about 90% by the time we have Eli in September...but I don't want to be laid up with another C-section!  Especially if Dave isn't 100%. 

I have heard some pro's and con's to both.  When I spoke with my doctor she made it very clear that it was my choice.  However, I never labored with Noah...never had once contraction.  They took him because his heart rate was super low (and had stopped several times).  So because I haven't labored before, the Doctors can't say that my birth canal is even big enough for a baby to come...but my thought it, my mom, and both my grand mothers were small ladies and they did it several times with no problems.  Come to think of it, I'm actually the first one to have a C-section.  another concern, what if I labor for hours, and still have to have a c-section?  Well that would just suck!  Right?  Third and most major concern- Apparently the biggest fear with a VBAC is that a pregnant woman who has a cesarean scar on the uterus has a slight risk of the scar breaking open during labor. This is called uterine rupture. Although rare, uterine rupture can be life-threatening for both mother and baby. So women with risk factors for uterine rupture should not attempt a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC).  (At least this is what google says...so how do i know if I'm at risk for a uterine rupture?)

Other risks listed:
The risks of VBAC include:

• Problems during labor that result in a cesarean delivery. This occurs with about 20 to 40 out of 100 women who try VBAC. But it doesn't happen with 60 to 80 out of 100 women who try VBAC.¹
• Rupture of the scar on the uterus, which is rare but can be deadly to the mother and baby. A vertical incision used in a past C-section, use of certain medicines to start (induce) labor, and many scars on the uterus from past C-sections or other surgeries are some of the things that can increase the chance of a rupture.
• The chance of infection. Women who have a trial of labor and end up having a C-section have a higher risk of infection. This means that the risk of infection is lower after vaginal births and after planned cesareans

I don't want to be selfish.  I want to do what is BEST for the baby.  Gosh, typing that almost makes me realize that a C-section would be best for the baby but harder on me and Dave.

Thoughts?

Easter Weekend turns in to Monday Nightmare

We had a wonderful Easter weekend with the family.  Dave's Mom and Dad, plus his sister, her huby, and their little boy Tripp all stayed with us at the house. We celebrated Easter morning with a big breakfast following by an Easter Egg hunt outside for Tripp and Noah.  It was game on when Noah realized inside the eggs was candy!  My mom had made a great Easter dinner, and we vegged out the rest of the day, it was even nice enough to go for a walk on boardwalk with the kiddos!  The weekend could not have gone any better...until Monday.

Monday April 9, 2012 was a typical morning in the Watts' household.  I headed off to work knowing that Dave was right behind me.  My In-laws were still in town from Easter but they too were getting ready to head out to make the journey home.  While at work I received a call from a good friend of ours who stated his wife just passed by an accident on Route 50 and she was pretty sure it was Dave's work van in the accident.  I really wasn't sure what to think about this...so I just called Dave to see if he would answer the phone.  No answer....Texted him, no answer...then I got a call from a Salisbury number and my heart sunk...I knew it would be a nurse from the ER in Salisbury and it was.  She informed me that Dave had been in a serious car accident but he was awake but had some serious injuries and at this point all she could tell me was it was his legs.  Not what you want to hear...quite frankly the only thing I wanted to hear was no injuries...guess that wasn't an option.

Thank God my Mother has been around...she droveme to the hospital.  Longest ride of my life (although it's only 30 minutes).  Getting to the ER they set me and my mom up in a private waiting room and informed us that Dave was having a catscan done to determine the extent of his injuries.   When the Doctor finally came to see us (which also seemed like hours) he informed me that Dave's major injury was a broken hip and they wanted to operate immediatly to get the hip back in the socket and stabalize him.  He said the surgeon would come down to talk to us but we could go see Dave.  He prepared me for the extent of his looks and injuries and informed me that they sedated Dave and had a breathing tube in him because the pain was unbearable for him.  If you know my husband, you know he can handle a lot of pain...so I can't even imagine how bad it had of been for them to haave to sedate him. 

Dave was banged up pretty bad...it was so hard to seem him like that...neck brace, breathing tube, IV's, bandages, just a lot going on basically.  Dave was twitching really bad and it was so hard to stand there and look at him.  Our Pastor and his wonderful wife came to the hospital along with our good friend Joe.  Our pastor prayed over Dave before they took him to surgery and we were all escorted to the waiting room to await the outcome of his surgery.  By this point Dave's Mom and Stepdad were with us, and sister on the way.  It must have been several hours of waiting before Dave was out of surgery.  What do you do with yourself while awaiting the results of a major surgery for the love of your life?  Well, I was deffinitly in shock and seemed to do best occupying my mind.  I even called and cancelled my hair appointment scheduled for the following day.  It's amazing when you're in shock the things that you do.

Dave's surgery went well.  They put his leg in a traction system.  This keeps the hip from popping back out until they can do the final surgery to repair the hip.  The put a pin through his bone inhis upper leg and this is connected to a pully system with a 5lb weight on the end of it hangig off the bed...Crazy...My poor Love ws in such pain.  They were able to take him off the breathing tube after surgery and he was moved to the intensive Care Unit to remain until after his next surgery on Wednesday.

It seemed like forever before I was able to see him.  He was still pretty out of it from all the medication, but he turned and looked at me and said "There's my wifey".  He asked what happen, and asked several questions over and over again as he drifted in and out of sleep.  He spent some time with his family before everyone headed home for the night.  I stayed at the hospital with him overnight.

Looking back now (a week and two days later) I think I am finally grasping what has happened.  I am so thankful that the Lord saved my husband's life.  It's crazy when you look at pictures of the accident it's shocking to think he has no upper body injuries.  we think the Lord wapped his upper body in his arms.  I thank the Lord for that every day.  Dave is banged up but will heal.  He's not paralyzed, he still has his legs, and within a few months he'll be walking again.

Praise the Lord.

This isn't a good pic, but you get the picture

From across the highway

Dave in ICU..god Bless him