Monday, August 22, 2005

*grumble grumble*

Well, I did start a very nice blog post this morning, but about halfway through typing a furry virus snuck into my computer's power strip and shut everything off. I've lost my mojo, and I'm placing all blame on the ridiculously cute little hairball who's eyeing me from the other side of the room. (Well, not all blame, precisely. I'm sure I can salvage most of my original thought, but he's STILL in trouble.)

Anywho, the Shiksa household is currently in a vigil-type situation. The hubby is finally going in front of the medical board!!!!! (Please, hold all applause until the end of the post.) What's that, you say? You have NO IDEA what I'm talking about? I'll try to explain in 3 million words or less (and knowing me, that less will be EXPONENTIALLY less.)

Background Info: Last July, while Scott was in Iraq, he had a bit of a nasty accident- not shot, thank goodness, but his hip had a tendency to pop out of the socket at frequent intervals which caused him some significant pain. The field medic told him he had bursitis, gave him a shot, and then sent him back into the field. He finished out his deployment, then in January his command finally figured out that he wasn't just faking pain and made an appointment with the orthopedic doctors on base. We spent three months playing tag with the doctor's office, and he was finally cleared for surgery at the end of April to lengthen his hip muscle, since it was snapping over the bone constantly. (Not bursitis. Go figure.) It's not a very common surgery, and the doctor said he couldn't guarantee that it would correct the problem. Since then we've made three visits to the ER (one involved draining 600 cc's of fluid off his hip), and the poor guy still can't lift his leg more than four inches from the ground. He was sent back to work at the end of May, though, and he's gotten nothing but teasing and a hard time from nearly everyone in his battery. One sergeant even had the nerve to say that he'd probably joined with a "pre-existing condition" and was just looking for excuses not to work. (A big HUH? can be inserted here.)

Cut to the Chase: Once the surgeon figured out that the procedure didn't work all that well, he wrote up what is called a permanent profile for Scott. This basically says that due to hubby's hip problem, he can only do limited things within his job description (can't run, can't do forced marches for long periods, etc.). Once an army member receives a permanent profile, they are supposed to have a meeting with the medical board to decide what will happen with their career: will they have to stay in their current job, change jobs, or medically retire? The paperwork request was sent 2 months ago, but we heard nothing. Last week, finally, the truth came to light- the confirmation paperwork had been sent to Scott's old unit in OKLAHOMA! (He hasn't been in stationed there since 2003. Heh.) Anyway, now that the paperwork has been found he's been scheduled for a meeting on the 31st of this month.

The outcome of this meeting is a pretty big deal for both of us, since it's going to determine where we'll be for the next four years. If they decide to keep him in the army but change his job, he'll have to go back to school for training- this involves a move that could be for as little as two months or as much as six, then another move to his duty station, and probably another deployment. If he stays with his current job, we have to find a new apartment within the next month or so. (Our lease is finally running out, and my car was broken into for a THIRD time last week. I think it's time to call it quits.) Plus, his unit is supposed to deploy again in the near future. Finally, if he's medically retired, we're pulling up anchor and moving back East to be closer to the rest of the family. Any way you slice it, it's a major event for us (especially since I LOATHE deployments AND househunting).

Now you see why we're on vigil- I'm praying, lighting candles, rubbing the cat's feet (in lieu of a rabbit one), doing strange prehistoric dances...... Scott has been so miserable lately at work- he hurts all the time, his colleagues do nothing but make fun of him for being injured, and he's bored- just knowing what exactly is going on will be a big weight off his mind. (Yes, and mine, too.) I also have a bit of a selfish reason. (Shhh, don't tell!) I just miss home. I miss knowing people and places and being able to drive without fearing for my life. I REALLY miss having woods right in the back yard and being less than an hour away from my best friend. And I really, really miss my kids. I missed a 22nd birthday, a high school graduation, family vacation, and a wedding just in the past few months, and I'm bummed about it. I've been pretty remiss as the big sis lately.

I'm sure that next Wednesday I'll be sitting anxiously with the phone, waiting for Scott to call me the second he gets out of his hearing. I think the kitty knows something is up as well- he's been very antsy and vocal, and lately he won't go to sleep unless he sees me up and about. He even goes so far as to wake me up in the morning so I can come sit with him on the couch while he naps. Silly goober.

Speaking of kitty, I need to go fetch him from his latest hiding place and then head to the store, so I'll wrap things up. I'll make sure to post an update with the final results as soon as we know, and if I don't post anything before that, feel free to give me a slap on the wrist. ;)

*hastily wraps both arms in Ace bandages to prepare*

6 comments:

Yankee, Transferred said...

Don't stay gone too, too long. And yeah, make sure you update us on the situation.

Anonymous said...

Hey sweetie, we're all pulling for you- I'll pass this along to Suz; she's got all kinds of goodwill rituals up her sleeves. We'll light some candles and think about you lots. Tell Scottie to hang in there, it must be incredibly hard not knowing, but you're both strong enough to hold on a little longer.
Oh, and the furry virus thing cracked me up #grins#

PS- Told Bummy and Pappap about the other thing on Saturday, and they were ecstatic. Told you :)

Running2Ks said...

You have my prayers added that things will work out they way you hope!

purple_kangaroo said...

Just checking in to see if there's an update . . .

Julie said...

Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving kind comments :)

I hope all goes well for your hubby; I'll check back for updates.

Oh yeah, and if you want to put italics in a comment type a less-than sign, then a lowercase letter I, then a greater-than sign (I have to spell it out; otherwise it'll just italicize). To end the italics do the same thing but add a forward slash between the less-than and the letter I. Use the letter B instead of I if you want boldface.

Anonymous said...

So that's today, right?

Good luck, and I will check back to see if there's any news.