Sunday was Ephraim’s birthday, and we celebrated in typical American style, with cake and excess gifts. In Nigeria they only celebrate birthdays to age 12 so Ephraim hasn’t had a birthday celebration in five years. Back in Nigeria, Ephraim plays the trumpet at his church but he shares the trumpet with 3 others and has to share time to practice. Since coming to the US he’s really missed playing the trumpet and is interested in joining the band at school this spring, but no trumpet. Jeanie searched endlessly and managed to find a great used trumpet on craigslist. This was the highlight of the day, Ephraim receiving his own trumpet. He was so excited!
Archive for the ‘Personal’ category
Ephraim’s Birthday
September 17th, 2007The Incision
September 16th, 2007
Recovering Slowely
September 16th, 2007I feel like my ass is starting to spread out like melting wax on hot pavement; I’ve been camped out in a recliner for the majority of the last 3 days. I was able to take my bandage off today and tomorrow I can actually take a shower. Big milestones! The far right side of my chest has lost nerve sensitivity. My surgeon warned me of this, but it’s still feels weird. He said there was no way around it. The good news is that everything else appears to be tip-top.
All things considered I had a really good experience. The staff and facilities at St. Anthony’s was great and Dr. McNair delivered the goods and had a great bedside manner.
I can’t wait to move onto other subject matter…
Surgery Successful
September 12th, 2007Just a quick update. My surgery today was successful though I feel like I got hit by a truck. Apparently the jagged bone end at the break has been progressively been cutting through the Platysma muscle, so it’s a really good thing I had surgery. The doctor reported that my heart and lungs were very strong so I got that going for me… which is good. Six weeks in a sling and then six more weeks of recovery which puts me at November 28th…
September 11th – Where were you?
September 10th, 20079/11/01 – Jeanie and I were leaving a bed and breakfast in Zion, UT to head to the airport for a morning flight back to Philadelphia. As we were readying to walk out the door, we heard some commotion from the other visitors who were glued to the television. Soon after we saw the second plane hit the second tower. Our flight was obviously canceled, and we spent the day catatonicly driving around Bryce Canyon and the next 8 days stranded on the Strip in Las Vegas after our first rescheduled flight was canceled as the flight ban was extended.
9/11/01 Outside Zion National Park – notice the flag at half mast.
Where were you?
Ephraim
September 10th, 2007A lot has happened since my last couple posts. Most notably is that we’ve taken in a foreign exchange student for the school year. Ephraim is a 17 year old exchange student from Taraba State, Nigeria. This is his first time he’s left his state, country, flown, used an overhead shower, dishwasher, electric stove, etc, etc. He’ll be staying with us all the way through May. Stay tuned for more updates. I’m sure it will be an interesting time…
The day after we met Ephraim, we drug him up to the mountains for a camping trip over Labor Day weekend. We rented 3 small cabins at Elk Creek Campground in Grand Lake, CO just outside of Rocky Mountain National Park. In case you were wondering, yes, I did bring the recliner, nursing my broken collarbone.
Group Picture:
Ephraim:
Going Under the Knife
September 6th, 2007The verdict is in. I’m scheduled for surgery on Wednesday 9/12 to repair my fractured clavicle. When the swelling went down it was evident that the protruding bone would become problematic if left unfixed. It sticks out of my neck/shoulder like a jagged ice berg. My strength and mobility would be fine, but I’d likely not be able to wear a back pack or maybe even a seat belt over my should. So plate and screws it is…
Broken Part III
August 28th, 2007Severe focused blunt force trauma. That’s how my orthopedist described what caused my fracture. Apparently I broke it in an unusual location where the clavicle is in fact much thicker and closer to the center of my chest. He thinks I don’t need surgery, but I’ll find out for sure next week when he checks how the bones shift around as the swelling subsides. I have a 1cm reduction in my clavicle and there are at least 4 bone chips floating around as well as a general sloping of my shoulder.
I’ve spent the last 3 nights and many waking hours in a borrowed recliner. It has been the only place I am reasonably comfortable. I’ll try to go into work tomorrow, but I doubt how useful I’ll be. This weekend we planned to go camping at Grand Lake in a small cabin. I’m threatening to stay home, but Jeanie’s threatening to bring the recliner 
I found a really cool new feature on with Google Maps today when mapping out directions to the doctors office. You can now modify the route by clicking and dragging points along the route. Check it out here.
