Today is a really really glorious day. And I'm going to tell you why. Today I finally finished designing the experiment that I have to do for my thesis. FINALLY. If any of you are dying to see what it looks like, feel free to go to this link:

http://new.qualtrics.com/SE?SID=SV_0UidjaCGHUR89P6&SVID=Prod

It's pretty cool. At least I think it is.

A note to Kevin: (in case you don't realize this) you don't need to log onto the blog if you just want to read it. You just log on if you want to make a comment or a post.

Doctor's visit

My appointment went well. First came the x-rays. The standing position was no problem but then came the sitting and stretch your arm out to the side position. She grabbed my arm to help me put my arm way out to the side for a good picture (they say she may recover in a week or two). After that I went to the exam room to wait for the doctor. By the way, the doctor is Dr. Pennington (an orthopedic surgeon) who is in the student stake presidency. He came and said the x-rays didn't show anything drastic but they did show a small bone spur sticking up under one part of the rotator cuff. This is not a result of the injury but something that should be removed. He started through all the things I could do and they were mostly stop-gap solutions. He said the right thing to do is have an MRI and then decide from there. If it is a "partial" tear you can possibly treat it with a cortisone shot, therapy, and live with it. Again I said that was not an option. The other way to go for a partial tear would be to go in and remove the bone spur, smooth the surface where it is, take out bits and pieces of the tear and hope it heals. If it is a complete tear he will need to go in and reattach the rotator cuff (he thinks it is the part right out over the top of the ball and socket that is torn), stitch it to the bone (the ball and then drill two holes up from the outside of the arm bone, up through the ball and attached to the same place for additional strength. Then for 6 weeks I would have to have my arm in a sling, only bringing it out 4 times a day to rotate it so the socket doesn't freeze up. I would have a "foam wedge" between my body and my arm to hold it out from by body. So, once we get the MRI and know how bad it is we will make a decision. In the mean time he wants to schedule the MRI for later this week, then he is out of town next week so surgery would still be a couple of weeks away. Sounds fun doesn't it??????

We'll keep you posted. Dad

This morning

I'm sitting here alone this morning waiting to go to my doctors appointment. It's at 9:15. I'm a little apprehensive but anxious to find out what's wrong with my shoulder.

Matt and Kimbre came down last night. We had dinner with them and Seth and Lacey and then it was hair cut time. Kimbre did Lacey's and then mine. Sure is nice that someone makes house calls for hair cuts. While they were here Matt did their taxes on-line.

Kevin, hang in there. It's bound to get easier. Your attitude seems to come through in your message. I didn't mean to frustrate you.

I talked to Grandpa last night and he was appreciative of the invite to come to Denver for Garrett's wedding. It sounds like he may take you up on it.

That's about it of now.

Dad