The End Result!

Well this journey has been long and trying. Its been 2 months and 2 days since I have been injured. What difficult things the Lord put in my path to help me become a better person. Well I had a monthly appt. with my surgeon, and it was a relief to rule out surgery. I was told that I still have major bruising behind each of my kneecaps and its going to be a long painful process to recover from. But I'm up for the challenge. I was given 2 shots of cortisone, one in each knee. It was a terrible experience that hurt so bad. Good thing my mom was there to hold my hand, but that didn't stop me from passing out. The medication and tube was about 1 inch in diameter and 5 inches long with a needle pretty thick in gauge and about 2 inches long. It was inserted into the joint of my knee, behind the kneecap and it was very painful. It was to help with the swelling. I was prescribed some more medication for the pain and told to go to physical therapy once a week. I also have to go to the gym 4 times a week. My muscles have become weak and its hard for my body to carry my weight properly. I try as hard as I can to keep active as long as I can during the day, but its just taking time. I remind myself that I need to remember patience and that it will be alright. The doctor predicts 6-8 month recovery from the injury date so thats about Feb- Apr. of next year before I can re-submit my papers. I have every intention in returning and completing what I started. I feel like this is a good learning experience for me and every day I learn something new and I realize with different events that have happened since i've been home that i'm here for a reason. Two different Elders that I entered the mission with have been sent home as well both for medical reasons and we have discussed the trials we are facing. Its not easy and I don't think some people understand that. I have heard some really rude things in regards to me being home but I know that my faith and testimony is strong enough to keep the wall from falling and satan from prevailing. This gospel is amazing and blesses my life 100% every day.

Physical Therapy!

Well i started my Physical Therapy this week and the lady there said my condition is not very good and the fact that I'm still so swollen after a month of injuring my knees is not good. But I have to go 3 times a week and I went twice so far and they have done exercises with my muscles and electro therapy and Ice then taped my knee in place. I guess my knee cap wont move in my knee like its supposed to, so its causing a problem. I also was told that i probably have a tear in the side of my knee that the MRI didn't pick up because of the lack of movement and pain that I have in the inner part of my knees. But I'm not walking, slowly but its coming along and I'm working on returning to the mission as fast as I can.

The MRI results are in.....Surgery, or no surgery?

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Hi Everyone~ I wanted to let you all know how Whitney's doctor appointment went this week on Wednesday the 16th.

The Orthopedic Surgeon showed us her MRI scans of both her knees and said he said that he did not find a tare in either knee and that surgery is not needed. Thank goodness! He did find that there was soft cartilage damage due to her injuries and fluid built up which is what is causing the pain and swelling. He said that she will need about 4-6 weeks of physical therapy and then should be almost as good as new. She is to start walking now and stop using the wheelchair except for when she's out at the mall or someplace where she would have to do a lot of walking. Thank goodness... The wheelchair was killing my back taking it in and out of our SUV.

She has a follow up appointment with him in a month to see how she's progressing. Hopefully in two months he'll give her the okay to go back out into the mission field. When he told us she didn't need surgery she became upset thinking that she didn't need to be sent home from Guatemala in the first place, if only they had done an MRI there perhaps they would have put her in the mission office for a month or two to recovery and then be sent back out into the field. I told her that would have been too difficult for them to deal with since she needs a companion and sitting in the mission office would only hold back her companion too. She understood and has accepted it.

Perhaps we will be able to start working on her papers for her second mission call soon. Don't know how long that process will take. A Church History mission or Temple mission would be fun, but I'm thinking maybe they'll send her to Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, or San Diego where she has plenty of opportunities to use her Spanish. We shall see.

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Sacrament Homecoming Talk

Whitney gave her homecoming talk today and did a fabulous job, even baring her testimony in the Guatemalan native language.

First Doctor Visit ~ Diagnosis & Treatment Plan

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We finally got in to see an Orthopedic Surgeon today, Dr. Karzel from the Southern California Orthopedic Institute SCOI, and got an official diagnosis on Whitney's knee injury.

Patella Femoral Syndrome, as previously diagnosed by the Guatemalan doctor. Only this time x-ray's were taken to rule out any bone damage, and now Whit is scheduled to get an MRI to see the full extent of damage to the soft tissue; cartilage and tendons. Both Dr. Karzel and Debbie, his Nurse Practitioner, did say that she will need surgery on both knees followed up with physical therapy. Her right knee will be operated on first, and then approximately two months later (depending on her own personal recovery time) her left knee will be operated on. The operation in tells using hardware such as pins and screws to reattach the soft tissue back to her patella and tibia. I'm sure there is more to it than that, but spare us the nitty gritty details. There didn't seem to be any broken bone fragments floating around in the x-ray, but the pad between the bones showed some ware and tare due to her active lifestyle with dancing and swimming; nothing to be alarmed of though.

They said that this type of knee problem is common among young active individuals and that she will be fully recovered after the surgery and physical therapy; well enough to return to the mission field if she so chooses. She is to begin gentle knee Pre-OP exercises tomorrow to strengthen her quads, hamstrings, and gluts so that she doesn't lose strength in her legs and assists in the Post-OP rehabilitation. She's also to use crutches at home and a wheelchair when going out so that she doesn't put anymore pressure on her knee joint.

We will keep you posted on what her MRI tells us coming up in about two weeks, unless we get Pre-Authorization from our Medical Insurance Company and can have the MRI done sooner than whats currently scheduled.

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MISSION MEMORIES

Making Pupusas

Me and my two companions having a pizza party my last night in the mission with our neighbor, Janet.

Miguel Paz' baptism.

Water balloon volleyball with Hermana Lott

City of Molino, the area and just minutes before I injured my knees.

Cleaning the font for my first baptism.

A MESSAGE FROM WHITNEY'S MOM:

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Last week I didn't post Whitney's email letter home. The best way to describe it is that Adam and I were in shock at what news we received from her and I guess you can say that we were in a state of being totally numb. Since our email from Whitney last Monday (Aug 24th) she has returned home for surgery due to a double knee injury sustained while walking down a flight of stairs. Here is what happened:

On Tuesday the 18th, Whitney and her two companions were walking down a flight of deep stairs on a mountain side when her right knee popped and locked, and then pain shot from her knee up through her thigh. She met with a Guatemalan Orthopedic Surgeon that day and he quickly examined her knee and consulted with her for about five minutes (no x-rays or MRI). He told her that she has Patella Femoral Syndrome and if her knees lock up or swells with fluid then she'll have to have surgery, but for now she can take IB Profrin and continue to work…So she did. Two days later both knees locked and she couldn't bend them and the pain got worse. Sister Torres told her last Sunday night that they’ve seen this same knee condition several times in the mission and just recently sent someone home for the same reason and that Whitney will probably be going home and to prepare herself emotionally. She also told her that she was to go only to the really important appointments that she had for the week. Whit had a baptism on Saturday and had to get him interviewed and make baptismal arrangements, which she did, the rest of the time her and her companions just sat in their apartment. President Torres spoke with this Gua Orthopedic Surgeon and a doctor in Salt Lake. They all agreed that Whitney was to go home to have surgery and that she will not be allowed to return to Guatemala since it is a walking mission, but that she could go back out and serve in the U.S. Monday morning of this week Whitney emailed us and informed us of what was happening. President Torres called Whitney Monday afternoon and told her she was leaving at 5am the next morning to go home. We then got a call from Pres Torres giving us her flight info. Twenty four hours later Whitney was home and released as a missionary that evening.

I’ve been on the phone and Internet daily searching for good referrals of an excellent Orthopedic Surgeon in our area. I had made several consultation appointments when a member of our Bishopric called and told me that he had reconstructive knee surgery this week by a surgeon in Valencia, CA who does the surgeries on the pro football and basketball players. So I looked him up on SCOI.COM (Dr. Karzel) and read up on him. He sounds like the right one, so I made an appt for Wednesday of next week. From what we are told from the Dr in Guatemala Whitney will need two surgeries and it will take a good eight months including rehab. We are hoping that this Guatemalan doctor is wrong and that she’ll only need some physical therapy, but we’ll find out on Wed for sure.

Right now she’s in culture shock not knowing what to do with her time. So I try to take her places each day to get her out of the house. She can’t go out of the house on her own as she needs someone to help her with her wheelchair. She sits in her room much of the day listening to her mission tapes and reads the scriptures. Our Stake President counseled her to keep up on her Spanish and her spiritual growth so that she can return to the mission field if she chooses to once she’s all recovered. Whitney met with our Bishop yesterday during church and he advised her to carry on with her life by going to the singles ward.

It greatly saddens all of us that she will not be returning to Guatemala as we know how much she loved her mission call to Gua; teaching the Gua people and learning Spanish. She was just becoming comfortable there now that she had two great companions and understanding most of the conversation in Spanish. Whitney seems to be accepting her reality pretty well now; at least I don’t signs of her crying. She says that she cried a lot while she was in Guatemala her last week sitting in her apartment knowing that she was going to be going home and trying to accept it all. She’s come to the conclusion that it’s what the Lord wants of her and she’ll now just wait to see if the Lord wants her to return to the mission field once she’s recovered, or see if he has something else in store for her. She was asked to give a homecoming talk in Sacrament and she'll be presented with her missionary plaque as well.

Me however, I’m still trying to accept that her mission has been cut short by fourteen months, but I too have to believe that this is happening for a reason and that someday we will understand what that reason is. For now I have to concentrate on getting her the medical care she needs, and try to help her stay on her current spiritual plane and adjust to normal life at the same time. Yesterday while we were out getting Whitney’s haircut we missed a phone call that came in from Guatemala. Whit’s two companions and one of their investigators were calling to check on her. Unfortunately she did not leave a phone number so that Whit could call her back. We wish she were home to receive the call, and we know that this phone call was very costly for her to make. The Guatemalan’s are amazing people!

I belong to a Missionary Mom Email Group where I email with other moms who also have sons & daughter's in one of the Central American Missions. What a blessing it's been to have all of the Missionary Mom’s whom I've gotten to know and have gotten to know me and Whitney through our emails, pictures, and blogs that we've shared with each other and have been a source of moral support to our family. I truly appreciate the MM's putting our names in the temple prayer roll, for all their prayers, tears, and words of encouragement and even generous offers to come stay in their home while we seek medical treatment in their state of Utah and Colorado. They are all truly amazing and I’m grateful to them all!!!! We are also grateful for all the love and support we have received from family and friends. We will keep you post of her medical progress.

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Returned with Honor

SO this has been a crazy and very quick week. I was walking down the side of a mountain in my area and there were some steep stairs and i ended up injuring my right knee at first. I stepped down the step and it popped and then locked up. I ended up seeing a orthopedic surgeon and he told me to keep working and so i did. to make a long story short i worked on it and i was putting all the weight on my other leg and then the same thing happened to the other knee, it popped and locked up so i couldnt bend it. I ended up laying in bed for 5 days and putting ice and heat and taking ibprofen and it still hurt and i couldnt hardly walk at all. I called my president and it all went so fast, he called my doctor and he said ill need a MRI and surgery on both knees. So my president called Salt Lake and then they made the decision that I needed to go home for knee surgery. Monday morning my President called me and said that i needed to pack my bags he called my bishop and stake pres. and Salt Lake and I was going to go home and be released as a missionary right when i get home. I cried for ever and packed up and flew home all yesterday. Im able to walk a bit but I have been in a wheel chair when we go places. I will try and post updates on my surgery. But as for returning to Guatemala I most likely will be serving in the states in a car mission if the Lord will have me serve again. I am looking forward with every blessing i have received and greatful for the atonement and that the Lord knows how i feel.I am having a pretty hard culture shock and I was released last night as a full time missionary but I returned with honor and I have learned that as long as we have faith in the Lord things will work out.