Life Has Given Me Another Lemon

Hello, Friends!

I made this card to break some news to all of you.  I'm glad to finally confess because I feel like I've been keeping a secret from you!  Unfortunately, life has given me another lemon.  I have another issue related to my back.  For those of you that are new to my blog, my back was hurt for three years before I finally was able to have spinal fusion surgery in March.  Not for lack of going to doctor's appointments and trying to get it fixed, because I went to every appointment, every new doctor, agreed to every procedure and every test to try and get better.  During that whole time, my ability to walk got worse and worse.  In February 2015, I started having a lot pain in my left knee.  I prayed it would get better after surgery, but it did not.  I went to a new doctor about my knee in June and had an MRI done in July that showed I had torn the meniscus.  The doctor is relatively certain that it's all related to my back and wouldn't have happened if my back had been okay.  That part is super frustrating!  He told me I could wait to have the surgery to repair it, so I chose to wait until August.  The thought of another surgery is not appealing and I wanted to be able to go out to eat and see my Grandma a few times before I was laid up again.   Unfortunately, in August, I got a sinus infection and was on antibiotics and had to postpone the surgery.  I could have done last week, but my Grandma's 90th birthday is coming up and she keeps saying the only thing she wants for her birthday is for me to get to come and see her.  (No pressure there!)  So, her birthday is this week and I'm having surgery on Monday.  

I have been working hard to get cards made ahead of time so I will still have goodies on my blog for you.  I know that the recovery for most people doesn't take long however most of those people are strong and healthy when they have the surgery.  I still don't have any stamin.  Because my knee was hurt I wasn't allowed to do physical therapy for my back which meant that I couldn't start building my body back up.  I'm still very weak and get very tired doing very basic things, like just going out to dinner, which is why I still stay home all the time unless it's something I have to do.  My knee is also why I am still on so much pain medicine.  I know physical therapy for my knee will be absolutely exhausting because of this so I have tried to plan cards and perhaps a wiener dog post so you won't forget me.  

Luckily, even though this is another unplanned lemon, I love lemonade!  I drink Crystal Light Raspberry Lemonade (and now my parents found a generic version at Walmart that is cheaper!) every day!  This is absolutely not what I wanted but I am thankful that it can be fixed and hopefully, eventually all of my body parts will be fixed at once!  Then, I can get stronger, get off all of this medicine, get a job, and get moving forward again.  This feels like I've been in a holding period for a long time.

My card is pretty self-explanatory, so I'm just going to list the products I used below.  Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers.  I'm not really looking forward to more surgery, more pain and more recovery.  I am a little nervous since the last surgery was so awful even though I know this one won't be like that one was.  Just the idea of going back to the hospital and having to have anything done is kind of upsetting.  Please pray for a safe surgery and a quick recovery so I can get back to making cards!  The surgery is out-patient, but after Friday's card, everything will be posted ahead of time.  I'll give you an update when I can and will let you know when I can come back "live."  I'll be able to share a new card with you over a pitcher of lemonade!  I know this is just another bump I have to get over and then I'll be another step closer to getting my life back.  
Until then, you'll have to do some stamping for me!

Happy Stamping, Friends!


I used the following products to make this card:

Lemonade Stamp Set by Simon Says Stamp
Berry Good Stamp Set by Avery Elle
Natural Hybrid Ink Pad by My Favorite Things
Rose Bud Memento Luxe Ink Pad by Tsukineko
Copic Markers
Solar White 110 lb Card Stock by Neenah (for the base and lemon)
Whisper White Card Stock by Stampin' Up (for the sentiment)
Kraft in Color 6 x 6 inch Paper Pad by Doodlebug
All Abloom Designer Series Paper Stack by Stampin' Up
Berry Good ELLE-ments Dies by Avery Elle
Zig Zag Stitched Rectangle STAX
Scotch Double Sided Foam Mounting Tape by 3M