My colleagues

Introducing Pain Management to you!

These are the folks that I spend Mon-Thurs with every week!
From left to right: Addi, (me), Dr. Poovendran, Randa and Cheryl. Laura is the neurology nurse. Fort Wayne Neurology shares space with us 3 days a week to see patients. She wasn't here the day this picture was taken. : (

Most of the time we stay very busy but we do have a lot of time to slip in stories that make us smile, laugh or yes, sometimes their stories even make me cry! We mostly are at different stages of life which helps a lot when I need advice or just to bounce an idea off of. Cheryl and Randa have already "been there, done that!"

Addi is our newlywed of 4 months. We love to hear her adventures of setting up a new home, combining finances etc... all with a BOY! (ha!) Dr. Poovendran's kids are now both out of college and heading to graduate/medical school.

I know this picture below is a little blurry but I thought it was worth posting so you can see the humor that flies around at work. I can't tell you exactly why we are laughing (HIPPA) but it was over something Dr. Poovendran just said. I think I was laughing to hard to steady the camera! We do have some fun at work!

Cheryl (office coordinator), Randa (RN), Addi (office coordinator)

These people know me in a "different setting"... professionally. One that Tony doesn't even fully "get"... isn't it weird to think about it like that? I enjoy each one of these ladies so much. The best part? They are Christian women who model their lives after Jesus. What a privilege to work with each of them! I love you guys!

Leah

Humbled by a Quinn's Quip

I noticed that Quinn had a long face at the Little League fields tonight. I asked him, "Why the long face?" And then he proceeded to tell me that a boy he didn't know meanly said to him, "What's wrong with you~ do you have a staring problem?!" My poor sweet Quinn had his feelings hurt. This mama bear's claws came out and I said, "So did you say, "NO, Do you have one?" (insert sarcastisc inflection)

Quinn said, "I can't do that. The Bible says I need to turn away... and to treat others the way I want to be treated."

What a humbling moment for me. My sarcastic voice was "at large" and it was his turn to remind me on how to respond to someone like that. It didn't make it any easier for Quinn... in fact it was probably hard to do... to just look away and not say something back.

Humbled by wisdom from an 8 year old is not a comfortable feeling.

.

Air Show

Tonight was the "long-awaited" air show. Quinn was literally counting down the hours! I'll spare you the other 100 photos we have that look similar to these. It was a beautiful afternoon and evening...a great day just to hang out. He was thrilled with every single plane and acrobatic stunt person. We got there around 3:30 and he was really bummed to be leaving "already" at 10:30 that night!!!

(left) Jade checks to make sure Madison is alright. She's actually looking through a paper fan on a stick that has tinted plastic in the middle... kind of like sunglasses... to help you look at the sky easier.

Jade was so happy and pleased at the air show. She was just a happy little girl... spending most of her birthday at the air show! : )

Quinn saluted lots of planes as they taxied past us.

This picture (below) gives you a little glimpse of how many 1000's of people there were at the air show! A sea of people....!

Happy Birthday Jade!

Today was Jade's 2nd birthday. What a joy to be able to celebrate with her again this year. Her daddy is in Alabama at warrent officer training so Michelle came up for about a month.

Her birthday theme was the "Backyardigans"... a hit show with toddlers I guess! She wasn't too thrilled with wearing a party hat or blowing out her candles but she perked right up when it was time to open her presents. : )

She is just a sweetie... and talking more and more. She is really good at giving hugs and kisses and blowing kisses. It makes me miss the toddler days but it's fun to be able to enjoy them again in little bits and pieces by watching Jade grow.

Amazing!

Anyone need a little inspiration today?... Click on this video clip of Paul Potts and as Quinn would say it, "Prepare to be amazed!" This gave me goosebumps!

More to come about Jade's birthday and the airshow!....

A beautiful Friday

The weather was so beautiful today... probably only 80. Madison, Quinn, Katie and I we went to the farm today to see Crisp and Honey. Michelle and Jade went along too. Michelle wishes that she was going to be here during fair time but Archie should be back in TN from his warrant officer training by then. That was the first time for Jade to see and pet a real calf. It was so cute! These calves are really getting big. Hard to believe the fair is in less than one month. I'm realizing that it probably isn't going to matter much to the judges on what the girls are actually doing with the calves... it's what the calves look like. Who has control over the build of a calf??? Certainly not us. Sooo, who knows about the judging. I would say 90% of the judging is done over things that humans can't control. (I guess good breeding plays a role... certainly not our role). I'm sure it will be interesting.

Madison had all-star practice this afternoon. I went to the grocery store, decorated Jade's birthday cake for tomorrow and Quinn and I planted some more "Spring" flowers! Finally!... I can check that off of my summer goals. I actually need a few more to fill the window boxes all around the edge of the deck but I'm happy to have gotten this much done!

Tony told me he woke up mad this morning! I'm like... why?!! ..."Because of the cheating in the game last night!" We easily decided that winning without using integrity, does not make you a winner. Unfortunately the general community does not see that. Oh well... the last will be first some day. It's not up to us to chose their punishment. (Darth Vader music playing now).

This is a very WEIRD feeling... we have NO games tomorrow!! We do have Jade's birthday party and Quinn would never ever let us hear the end of it if we missed the airshow! It will be a full day but will not involve some kind of a game. Weird huh?

Love to all, Leah

Softball Championship Game

Well, after many, many controversial issues tonight... we lost 12-13. We played against the pitcher who was the league's #1 draft pick and earlier in the season our girls had a lot of problems hitting off of her. Our girls really improved a lot with their hitting! Aunt Michelle took Madison to buy batting gloves and went to the batting cages today to get her some practice with fast pitches. I think it really helped and gave her confidence a boost. Madison hit a double and a single tonight! She also walked once and grounded out to 3rd. She looked more confident and hit very well. She played first base most of this season. Overall our team played much better than the other team... the score just didn't reflect it. We are the winners in my book! : )

All-Star Softball Team

Juuuust when I thought softball was coming to an end, with her last game tomorrow night (the championship)...Madison was chosen as a member of the all-star team for the minor league softball league. Tony and I have mixed feelings about more practices and games but of course Madison is all up for it. She had to decline last year because we went on vacation during one of the two game weeks. Tonight was her first practice. She was happy to see some of her friends there. She is like the energizer bunny....

Tomorrow night is the championship game of the regular season play. We'll see... the team we are playing has a very tough pitcher who intimidates the girls with her speed. Last night the pitching was pretty slow and high... slow-pitch style which really isn't too legal... and tomorrow night it will be FAST. Hopefully we will play well! I'll try and post tomorrow night about the results.

It's late, I need to try and get to bed earlier. It's been after mid-night the last two nights.

Love to all, Leah

Quinn's Quips

As I walked out of Buffalo Wild Wings tonight Quinn came up and grabbed my hand and said, "You have to come with me... I have to show you something!" So we started walking off down the side walk... past where we were parked.

Q: "I know, I know... we're walking past the truck (like I'm sorry but...) ... Prepare to be Amazed!"

We rounded the corner of the restaurant and he pointed up to the sky.

Q: "Just look at that moon... and the stars that are out tonight!"

We stood there hand in hand and ooohed and ahhed over the moon that was pretty near 1/2 covered in clouds and very "dusty" looking, certainly not very bright. I searched hard in the sky to find the 3 bright stars that peaked through the clouds that he must have been talking about....one he pointed out that he thought must have been a planet because it was so bright (actually it probably was).

Me: "Wow, Buddy, that's so beautiful... thanks for sharing that with me. That's so sweet of you."

What a special moment... I hope he'll want to hold my hand and gaze at the moon with me for some time yet because I know some day some other girl will steal his heart... but for this time in his life, there is no question that his heart belongs to me.

Softball tournament game #1

Madison takes off to steal 3rd base!

It's 10:45pm and we just walked in from Madison's softball game and then supper at BWW's. Thank goodness it's summer and the kids don't have to get up (otherwise we would have came straight home anyway). This was the first game of Madison's tournament tonight. Her team (Ultra-Fab) won 22-11. It lasted about 2 hours and 15 minutes. I tried to take some video so we would at least have a clip from this season... boy is softball ever hard to video tape! ... That will make for some pretty boring video to watch some day unless I can figure out how to edit it! Tony got me video editing equipment for Christmas last year... the fire wire for mother's day and now I don't have a port on my video camera to even download it into the computer!...probably soon to be resolved since our video camera just broke and I'm now borrowing Terry & Karla's. It's always something isn't it?

Today was my first day back to work since the conference. I heard "I'm so glad you're rejuvenated now because you are going to need it for this next patient"...several times. Oh yes... chronic pain is quite difficult most of the time. I'm getting pretty bold in my old age though. I told a patient today that if she didn't start working on her function,...and at least not losing any more of it...she would eventually become a big piece of play-dough (which she acts like already)! Ha!...I was serious though! Long story. But I'm right! Anyway, she's been our patient for 6 years now and is highly UNmotivated to get better. OK, enough.

The kids are getting out of the showers so I'll let you go.

Love to all, Leah

Back from New York

Have you all missed me?... even just a little?

I got back last night at 11pm from the conference in New York City. In case anyone cares it was on "Pain and Chemical Dependency" and was 3 FULL days of lectures. It was international so we heard speakers from all over the world. Pain is a problem everywhere but let me tell you folks... living in the USA... it does not get any better than this!!! The horror stories I heard....!! Overall it was very good and I feel like taking on the world again at work. Just knowing that there are 1000's of others who deal with the exact same issues in chronic pain that I do, helps.

Have you ever been to New York City before? That was a first for me. The hotel I stayed in was right in downtown Manhattan... I walked past some of the Broadway theatres, David Letterman's studio, saw the CBS studio, Rockefeller Plaza... you get the picture. As I walked in the evenings I had to wonder about the chaos that obviously occurred on September 11, 2001. The streets already seemed "chaotic" and FULL... I can't imagine adding a tragedy of that magnitude to this city. I wondered several times where the towers stood in relation to where I was. I know you can go and see the place... but I just didn't feel like experiencing that all by myself. I know, kind of weird. I just think it would feel very emotional and I didn't want to be bawling out there on some street corner! I came into the city around 1 am (thanks to an unexpected 6 hour delay in Cincinnati) and it was obviously was all lit up with lights...you couldn't make out specific buildings from a distance. While taking the taxi out of the city yesterday afternoon I wondered again exactly where the towers stood. They really defined the skyline for New York. Nothing really "defines" the city now. I thought about asking the taxi driver but quickly realized that he probably was 100% Muslim as he was very middle-eastern with a big black turban on his head and so I decided that since he was doing the driving, I best just stick to the subject at hand... like what airline I was flying on, and not get into a discussion about 9-11!

I wisely took the day off today. I'm catching up on the camp laundry as well as my laundry. It's been great not to rush off to work today. ...It took me awhile but I figured out that life is easier if you take a day off after time away like this! Tomorrow will be pay-back I'm sure!!!

Madison had a great time at camp... looking forward to going again next year. She said she had to sing every day except for 2 so she must have gotten all of your letters. Thanks for those. I haven't actually seen them yet.

Thanks for reading! Leah

Gifts from Camp

We picked up Quinn from camp tonight. He was sitting at a dining room table wildly motioning for us to come and join him when we walked in. He was happy to present us each with these crosses that he purchased for us at the camp store. Isn't that so sweet? That's my Quinn. He said they are Christmas ornaments but they are about 5 inches long and I think will probably do better to hang in a window. The red one is Tony's and the green one is mine.

Quinn had a good time at camp... he is really tired though. His lazy eyelid was obvious from 10 feet away! That's the dead giveaway to how tired he is. He declares he is not tired though! He met some new friends, went swimming in the lake, enjoyed the campfires, new songs etc... He says he doesn't want to go back for a long time though... he was ready to come home. I think the farther away from camp he gets... the more he will realize how fun it was. It was just a bit overwhelming I think. I'm glad they only do 2 nights for the younger kids.

We also got to see Madison and Jenna among her other friends. She said she was doing well but also looked very tired. She looked like she could lay down and go to sleep! They get to bed between 10:30-11pm and I'm sure are up much too early. Overall they seemed happy and content and didn't have a hard time saying goodbye to us. That was good.

So, tonight we are enjoying our Quinner again. He livens our house up a lot. I'm leaving tomorrow for New York City for a pain conference and won't be back until Sunday night. It's never a good time to go away... it's been several years since I've been to a conference and I just really need to go... to learn new information but also to recharge my batteries to continue working in a challenging field such as chronic pain management.

In other news, we finally were able to get a new dishwasher! Tony got it in last night. Hopefully this Whirlpool will last 20 years like our Kenmore did!

Love to all, Leah

Off to church camp

Madison, Jenna, Quinn and Nate were dropped off to church camp this afternoon. Madison has been looking soooo forward to this week. She was very hesitant last year but after getting one full week under her belt last summer, she couldn't wait to go back this year. The girls will be there until next Saturday.

This is Quinn and Nate's first year to go. Their age group goes from Monday-Wednesday evening. I think this is just right for Quinn. He was worried about camp last night, wanting to change his mind etc... but today he did real well. I could tell he had a lump in his throat when it was time for me to go but he perked up quickly and he and Nate went to find the game room. Madison was so hesitant to go last year that I decided not even to take her up!! I had Tonya and Lisa take her. It was better that way...for her!

I'm anxious to hear how it goes. I so hope it will be a good experience for them... so they'll all want to go back again. They are all anxious to receive mail so if you would like their address, send me an email and I'll get it to you!

1 Corinthians 12:4-7 is the theme for the week. At church we have been talking about our own spiritual gifts for some time now. The camp theme fits perfectly.

I've read this passage in several different Bible translations. I like the way the New Living Translation states it. Click here to read this short passage.

Please pray for all of the campers... and all of the little details that mothers worry about... but also that they will embrace the truth that God has already given them spiritual gifts and that it is important to use them... even as children!

(Keep reading below for my Father's Day post)

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to the very special fathers in our lives... Tony, Grandpa and Pakka! This picture was taken after the kids gave Tony his gifts that they personally picked out. Quinn picked out a neck pillow because he often "feels" Tony's neck pain... literally. Quinn "catches" whatever ales other people. Madison picked a t-shirt for him that says, "I failed driver's ed"... which she thought was just hilarious. They also made him handmade cards and Madison gave him handmade coupons for things like... a free drink... free paper shredding service... and $5 off cleaning out his truck. She knew better than to do that one for free! Ha!

After church we spent the day at Beppe & Pakka's house and then went boating in the late afternoon. It was still around 90 degrees. Jenna is here with us for the weekend... going to camp tomorrow. The kids went tubing for the first time. They all loved it and begged for more. They also begged to go swimming so we shut the boat off and let them swim off the side of the boat. Guess what...? The boat wouldn't start again. Yep, happened on Mother's Day and now Father's Day too. We tried off and on for about 45min before I asked Tony if he thought this was God's way of telling us that we really aren't (and shouldn't be) boat people? So yes, it was humiliating again to be towed by a pontoon boat. After a short tow the boat did start again... who knows what was wrong. This was our fist voyage after getting the boat out of the marina shop... who put the boat through all the tests and $225 later told us nothing really was wrong and the mechanic even offered to buy the boat from us!

Hmmmm.... SO, we made another boat memory... getting to be too many if you ask me!!

Once again... being towed to shore!

Sunny Saturday

Today is was HOT... just plain old HOT... in the mid-90's I believe. And guess where we were between the hottest hours of the day... that's right, at the ball park! Madison's game was at 12:30. Because of vacations they started out 1 girl short and before the end of the game one of the girls left...hot and felt yucky I guess...now we were 2 players short. We still managed to win, 13-4. In the midst of the game was concession stand duties. For some reason we didn't have very many fans today...(could it be the heat?) and half of the team parents didn't show up for their concession stand duty, causing others of US to work MORE concession stand hours! I thought I had all of my bases covered by hiring Jacob to come and work for my last assigned concession stand time so I could leave and get Jenna...but alas I worked someone else's shift and then paid Jacob to work mine! Go figure that one out! OK...sorry to be going on and on and on about that but I'm really ready to be done with the concession stand duty. That made 5 times today.

Madison and I picked up cousin Jenna in Mishawaka around 4pm. She hitched a ride with a Kalona family on their way out. Jenna is going to camp with Madison this week. We eventually wandered home and went swimming in the neighbor's pool again for a bit. We went to a new restaurant, Lucchese's, for supper. Madison has a friend from soccer... and her parents run the restaurant. She was delighted to see that Gabby was there tonight.

Well, that's all for tonight folks!
Love, Leah

Friday Fun

My kitchen window that faces the street was so dirty...! One of those things that happens so gradually that you don't really notice it... until Madison wrote the word "hi" on the outside for me to "enjoy" all week long. Then it was very, very noticeable! I had a meeting at church today at 7am and when I got home I thought that window should be the first thing to tackle... to clean that window inside and out! The screen needed washing of course too. And then the area around the outside window needed swept off and Madison volunteered to use the hose on it. Might as well do the door area too. Ok, the garden hose just isn't getting it good enough... now, how do you work that power washer? Ohhhh...finally got it. Madison and I ended up scrubbing much of the front side of the house and then power washing it off. ...So... for some reason just washing that kitchen window turned into a big production! I cannot tell you how many times I've done something like this. I'm telling you that the, "If you give a pig a pancake" books were written with me in mind! Ha!

The rest of the day was filled with basketball camp for Madison and the awards presentation for both of us at 1:30. Quinn went swimming with Nate. I ran errands during camp. Feels good to get some checked off. I did some laundry, planted some flowers and started getting the kids packed for camp. Quinn had baseball practice from 6-7:15 and so Madison and I popped in on Beppe & Pakka for awhile. When we got home, Tony was home from work already and so we decided to go swimming at the neighbors. We ate at 10pm tonight! Ridiculous huh?

May be I tried to squeeze too much in?

Wednesday and Thursday recap

Last night we had a small group get together at Matt & Lisa's house. It stays light so long that we really should no longer judge the time by the sky. It was soon 9:45 when it felt much earlier. Thus, it was really to late to write last night by the time our household was settled down. The kids have been getting to bed consistently after 10pm.

This week Madison has been going to basketball camp from 12-2pm. Peyton and Tonya have been picking her up and bringing her back each day. That has been so nice of them!! I never take things like transportation to and from things... while I'm at work... for granted. Twice this week she was invited to swim after that so she really hasn't been home too much this week during the day. Abby says it feels like she hasn't even been here to watch! She's quite the social bug and likes to be on the go constantly it seems.

Tonight Nate, Quinn and Nater played baseball and football in the 'hood. They sat down for a rare moment to enjoy popsicles on our front step. I told them I needed a picture of them just because they were actually holding still. A rare moment.

Well, I have a meeting at 7am tomorrow morning so I better be getting myself to bed.

Love to all, Leah

Quick sports report

It's really late so I can't write much tonight. Basically there just aren't enough hours in the day.

Quinn had a baseball game tonight and his team won. That brings their record to 4-7. Madison had a softball game and they won too. Their record is 11-3.

Sorry so short... Love, Leah

Flames Tournament

Flames

L to R: Mackenzie (goalie), Allie, Gabby, Moriah, Kiley.
2nd row: Todd, Madison P., Victoria, Casey, Kennedy, Madison, Peyton,
Back row: Marcus

Most of the girls on this Flames team have played together since last summer and have practiced together usually 2 times a week faithfully. They have improved amazingly over the last year. Madison really loves soccer! Last Fall they played U12 (age 12 and under) and did not score one single goal. This Spring they played U10 and scored 40 goals... only one team scored more goals (41) in the Northern Indiana Soccer League. Quite an accomplishment don't you think? Their end of season record was 5-0-1 (one tie). They finished #1 in their U10 girls league.

Today was their end of season tournament. Because of their record, they got a bye and didn't play yesterday. They played the Jr. Irish White at 10 this morning and won, 2-1. This team improved a lot from the first time we played them earlier in the year. It was not an easy game. Their second game was at 1pm. It was a difficult game... fatigue was a factor, it was hot and sunny, a starting player was gone etc... We dominated the entire game... the other team only had about 3 goal attempts and wouldn't you know it, one got in. The Jr. Irish Green planted 5 players in their goal box and basically played defense the whole game. Not a great strategy for quality soccer play but it worked. We lost 0-1. Our poor goalie was crushed. They always bear their own load of a loss like this...blaming themselves. I'm so glad Madison isn't a goalie! Too much stress...for me! Quite the bummer because we were favored to win. That's how it goes some days.

We were very proud of Madison and how she played, the effort she put forth, even though she has a cold/cough and was tired from playing the entire first game without a break. She played her heart out. I tried to take pictures but they move so fast, it's difficult to get a good shot! (Double Click for Close Up) It was a beautiful day but did get hot when sitting out in the sun for 6 hours! The Flames will take a break for 4-6 weeks now... a much needed and deserved break. The majority of these girls are from other schools/districts but when you spend so much time together you get to be good friends too. She is going to a soccer camp (mornings) in July and I'm sure she'll be ready to get back on the field by then.

Pakka was released from the hospital today. They drove straight to South Bend to get there in time for the 2nd half of the last game. He sat in the car next to the field and watched the game. I guess that's what you do when you are one of Madison's #1 fans! Ha!

Quinn's Quips

Our family of four was sitting in the hospital cafeteria last Thursday and we began to talk about how tired Quinn looked. His right eye gets "lazy" on him and his lid doesn't open as wide when he's tired... a dead give-away. Beppe agreed with us about Quinn looking tired. He looked at her and in all seriousness, without one ounce of hesitation said, "Well, you've got bags under your eyes!"

...Something you don't want your charming young son to say to one of his grandmothers!