2 weeks after Jeremy's back surgery...

Jeremy had back surgery on May 8. He had a ruptured disk between L4 and L5 (in his lower back). The ruptured disk was pushing on a nerve bundle and causing severe pain in his leg. The surgeon removed about 1/3 of the disk including some fragments. The surgery was a success. As soon as Jeremy came out of the recovery area, he could already tell that his leg pain was gone.

His back has been really sore and he has been limited physically for these first two weeks. He couldn't ride in a car for the first week (after the ride home from the hospital.) He hasn't been able to drive or lift anything heavier than 5 pounds for the first two weeks. His doctor okayed him to work 1/2 days during the second week so I and some coworkers have been transporting him to/from work. He has been able to walk a little more each day and he is doing much better. It has been really hard for me to get him to adhere to his doctor's guidelines.

We are so thankful that his pain is gone and that we had so many praying for us during this time.

Our Dallas Is Gone.

Dallas, our 13 year old dog, had to be put to sleep today. It is a sad day for our family. Jeremy and I got Dallas when he was about 3 months old. A coworker of mine had found him as a stray on the side of the highway one day on her way to work. When I saw him, it was love at first sight (even though his fuzzy hair was matted and he was covered in cockleburs.) I brought him home with me that day.

Over the last year, his health has been declining. His arthritis had gotten very painful and it was getting hard for him to move around. A few months ago, he developed a cough. It turned out that the cough was a side effect of an enlarged heart that was surrounded by fluid. He was put on a heart medication and a diuretic to relieve the fluid. That seemed to help for a short time, but he started to get urinary incontinence due to the diuretic. So two weeks ago, we took him off the diuretic and added a pain pill for the arthritis. Last night, he had a very hard time breathing and was coughing a lot so we decided that it was time to say goodbye.

He was a good dog and truely has been a best friend to Jeremy. He was always my protector. And, of course, Rachel thought he was great, too. He was an "inside dog" since we moved to the Memphis area in 1998 so he was definitely a member of the family. He had a scary bark and was very protective of me and Rachel, but he was actually very gentle and loving to those that he knew. He will certainly be missed.

Rachel's 4 Year Old Portraits

I took Rachel to get her 4 year old pictures taken today. I am a little late getting them done, but I've been a little preoccupied. I think that she did a great job. I included a few enhancements, too.

I was able to get this one picture of both our girls.