A "Hole" Big Mess

This past weekend we had a Murphy family reunion at my aunt and uncle's house. It was great to finally see EVERYBODY together, as we are usually missing a couple of members during the holidays and other family functions. We were able to take a bunch of family pictures and celebrate my grandma's 80th birthday (which is in October). I have only seen a couple of the pictures but so far they look great. I love my family!

Happy 80th Birthday Mimi
(in October)

I love you mom!

The Murphy's

Unfortunately this weekend didn't go without drama! I managed to step in a hole with my left foot/ankle and proceeded to sprain my ankle and heard a pop in my knee--the knee I had operated on twice in the last year. "Pops" don't typically scare me because my entire body pops and cracks all day long. However, this pop brought back the same pain I had before my 2nd knee surgery--the ripping pain over the graft. It literally feels like someone is stabbing my knee with a knife and ripping through everything. Thankfully, I was able to see Dr. Shiple on Monday for a quick ultrasound but it looks like I may have a partial tear of the cadaver tendon. He noted that there is definitely damage to the tendon but it's hard to see different angles so we can't get an accurate picture. I have a new brace for the left knee and will continue to wear that until my surgeon clears me (now both of my legs match). I called and left a message with Orthopedics at Children's so I should hear back from my surgeon soon.

This is my brace for both my left and right knee!
BREG- PTO Standard Patella Knee Brace
(click the link above to learn more about this product)

Due to knee pain I was unable to do some of my PT exercises today. It's very frustrating because for the first time in 2 years I was finally making steady progress and advancing to exercises I never thought I'd be able to do. We are on a day-to-day approach right now but hopefully I can get back to my weight-bearing exercises by the end of the week.

I had a Hivamat treatment today--I have 3 sessions a week. I absolutely love it! It feels great and has definitely helped reduce some of my back spasms. With EDS my spine/ribs/SI joints subluxate constantly. The body's natural response is to try and stabilize these loose joints...with muscle spasms. Sometimes I wish I could just tell my body NOT to help! I'd like it to help me prevent subluxations/dislocations...not try to fix the problem AFTER my back is out of alignment. If only it were that easy.

Tomorrow is my echo to make sure there are no structural changes to my heart. I head up to Boston in 3 weeks for various post-ops and evaluations (and to move my brother into college).

Monday I have a hair appointment as I have finally decided (again) to dye my hair dark. I was going to do it last summer but chickened out. I am definitely nervous. I love my blonde hair but I really just need a change. I need to look at something different. If I don't like it I will go back to being blonde (after 6 months). Hopefully I can pull off being brunette for awhile.