News from the field

Jon is really busy, but I asked him to send an update if possible. Here is his latest news.

"Thanks for your prayers for my brother, his surgeries went well, and he is recovering at home. The recovery period is expected to take about three weeks, as he rebuilds the muscles that support ("splint," he calls it) the area of the surgery (and the affected organs). He is checking into follow on treatment, though the initial determinations following the surgery are positive.

I will have very little time to "turn over" with the Marine who will be taking my place, an item of considerable concern to me. I am very interested in having the things that I have done here add weight and momentum to Coalition Forces' mission accomplishment; however, the "tools of my trade" that I have developed, and some of the "processes" I have implemented to contribute to economy of force, are pretty complicated. Pray that I will have enough time, that I will use it wisely, that I will communicate clearly, and that I will 'finish well.' Semper Fi Jarheadjon"

We are all getting very excited about being reunited. Thanks for continuing to pray for Jon's safety and my recovery. My Physical Therapist is optimistic that I will regain full motion in my elbow, but it is taking some time and work.

Sheryl

Monster Trucks

Well, Joshua had a great time with Alex and Mr. Ken at the San Diego Monster Truck Show. I'll let the pictures tell the story. Here are the trucks warming up. The guys were near the top of Qualcomm stadium and that's why the "monster" trucks look like toys.

Joshua has the "Grave Digger" monster truck at home, so he was thrilled to get this penit for his room.

Thanks, Mr. Ken, you are the greatest!

The Marine Corps Reunite, Readjust & Rediscover workshop that I attended was excellent. Much of the things covered were good reminders of what might happen after Jon returns and how to deal with my feelings, Jon's and Joshua's. There were also activity books and suggested exercises that Joshua and I have started doing together. I was able to find out the logistics of Jon's return trip and how to find out the travel plans, once he's left Kuwait. Just like the pre-deployment brief made Jon's departure seem more real, this brief helped make Jon's return seem more real as well. We are getting a lot closer.

Sheryl

Updates

Thank you for praying for Jon's brother, Matt. He had surgery today and according to the message I got from my mother-in-law, everything went well and the doctors feel confident that the cancer was contained and that they removed it all when they took out the kidney. Matt should be in the hospital for a few days and then will have a number of weeks of recovery at home. Please continue to pray for him and his family.

I had my first appointment with my Physical Therapist today. Mike helped me with a foot problem I had a year and a half ago, so I trust him and like him a lot. The appointment was very encouraging. Mike wants to see me again at least once but he is positive that I will get my full range of motion back soon. Mike started with a book that showed me pictures of the bones in my arm so I could see exactly what happened and why certain movements hurt. He is excellent at explaining the "why" behind the pain. He tested my range of motion and said it wasn't too bad, but there is work to be done. Then he stretched out my arm and gave me a couple exercises to do at home. At this point I am not to push too far -- just till it hurts. After Mike stretched my arm and then I did my exercises this afternoon, I can already see an improvement in my range of motion. My arm is sore, but not super painful, just a tired ache. I imagine that ice and Ibuprofen will be my best friends these next few weeks.

Thank you all for continuing to pray for Jon. He has been swamped with work in doing his own job, special projects and preparing for his replacement to arrive. We are anticipating Jon being home by the end of February. If he gets here sooner, great, but we're trying not to get our hopes up.

This Saturday I will attend a 2 hour workshop for spouses whose Marines are coming off deployment. I expect to learn a little more about this process. Joshua is going to stay with his friend Alex and Alex's Dad "Mr. Ken" is taking the boys to the Monster Truck Show in San Diego. One of the side-benefits of the Chargers losing last Sunday was that the show wasn't postponed. Sorry to all of you San Diego Charger fans, but Joshua was cheering for New England. :) I'm sure I'll have a great picture to post on Sunday.

Sheryl

Of Brothers and Presidents

Jon's brother Matt has his two surgeries scheduled for Thursday, the 18th at 8am. They will start with the gall bladder, then tag team with another crew to get the kidney out. Matt and his wife Brenda met with both surgeons this week and had a very good meeting with each of them. They discussed different options concerning the surgery and have come up with a clear path. Matt will be in the hospital for 3 days and then 3 weeks off work. He hopes to be ready for work before then, but at least he has the option to ease back into things if he needs to. Thank you for your continued prayers.

Jon thought some of you might be interested in his perspective on the President's Plan. If so, read on...

"The President's Plan
History has shown that three things are required to achieve success in long term military engagement: the support of the people, the capability of the armed forces, and the will of the leadership. Historical record shows that congressional leaders almost unanimously supported the removal of the Saddam regime, as it posed a clear and present danger to the sustained safety and way of life of all Americans. It is clear that the continued efforts of the United States to create stability in Iraq has resulted in opposition by those who do NOT want to grant people what are defined as God given rights in our Constitution (life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and a representative form of government). Failure to take responsibility for establishing the conditions that will permit the establishment of a representative government in Iraq following OUR congressionally supported removal of the prior regime is irresponsible, spineless, and as damaging and potentially as criminal as the conduct of the regime which we removed.

The President has demonstrated that he will not shirk responsibility for action taken in Iraq that was fully supported by the people of the United States and its Congress. The enemies of the United States (Iran and Syria) have denounced the President's plan because they are afraid it will succeed. More than 60% of Congressional Leaders have sided with Iran and Syria because they are betting the President's plan will NOT succeed, and their non-support of a less than successful plan will propel their political future. There is no other motivation to oppose the President's plan, as those in opposition will doubtless not seek to permanently reduce Presidential powers or immediately cease funding military operations. Go back to the first paragraph: the people of the United States want the same quality of life and protections NOW that precipitated the removal of the Saddam regime. If the will of the leaders wavers, it will affect the support of the people, and mission accomplishment will become fundamentally unattainable militarily. Conditions are not yet set to provide a reasonable expectation for 'success' yet in Iraq, so by betting on failure now, leaders can contribute to that goal by withdrawing support, assure their domestic success, and let future generations reap the harvest of their lack of courage in taking responsibility for the removal of the Saddam regime. My son Joshua will have to go back to the CENTCOM AO to try to finish the job--at three times the cost and after untold suffering.

Are the people of the United States who said "We will NEVER forget" shameless enough to let our leadership get away with this? What would the Congressional leaders who oppose the President stand to lose if they supported the President, the people of the United States, and the people of Iraq in working to achieve representative government in Iraq and increased safety for all Americans and increased protection of their way of life? I personally find the behavior of these leaders unacceptable.

Semper Fi, Jarhedjon"

Please pray for Jon's twin brother

We have been praying for Jon's twin brother Matt and would appreciate your prayers as well. Jon has been able to call and talk to Matt a couple times, so that is a blessing. Here is the situation in Jon's words.

"I'd appreciate prayer for my twin brother, Matthew. He had a severe gall bladder attack due to gall stones, and while the doctors were investigating this, a mass was detected on his right kidney (this was on January 4th, I think). His gall bladder pain has been temporarily resolved, but the gall bladder must come out--and the mass on his kidney is cancer and his right kidney must be removed. He is hoping to get both done in the same surgery so there is only 1 recovery period. He is currently at home with his wife Brenda and his two daughters, Nicole and Meghan, and is hoping to schedule the surgery for tomorrow (Monday, January 8th).

Semper Fi, Jarhedjon"

Thank you so much for your prayers for Matt and his family.

Sheryl

Update from the Front

Jon has been really busy, but he took some time to send an update for the blog.

"Well, I am just swamped with work, and with this being my last full month here, there are a lot of loose ends that need to be tied up before I can get out of here. What this means is that there are a lot of you that have sent me packages, cards, notes, and encouraged me in various ways (since the 15th of December), and I will not be able to send you hand written thank you notes. The First Baptist Church in Patchogue sent me a package; Dave & Kris M. sent me a package, a card and some cash; Ms. Natalie F. sent me a phone card; the San Juan Seniors sent me TWO packages; and Linda, Walter, Lina, Flynn, Mary, Mercy, Spencer, Lucy, & Jasper sent me a package; Matt, Brenda, Nicole & Meghan sent me a package; Ruth M. sent me a package (the contents of which will take months to work off); and Aunt Lori sent me several special orders from Mrs. Fields; these packages, and the care and support they communicated, have sustained me (and all the folks in my shop!), and I am very grateful. Each of these packages, I know, took planning and effort, and they all showed that you cared. I was very gladdened to receive them!

It is my sad duty to inform you that that my command has instructed me to say the following: NO MORE SNAIL MAIL to me at my deployed address. Mid-December was the cut-off for packages, and January the first was the cut off for letters. I would hesitate to send MOTO mail as well, as there have been delivery delays on this end. So, though I will miss getting mail (the guys in the postal office will now have nothing to do!), this signals the beginning of the end of my deployment. Oorah.

Semper Fi, Jarhedjon"

I also want to add my thanks to those of you who have flooded Jon with packages, letters and motomails this year. You have helped to keep Jon encouraged and that is a huge blessing to me as well.

Sheryl

Counsel from a Physical Therapist

I was able to speak with my friend who is a physical therapist. She completely agrees with the doctor and said that he is managing my elbow exactly right. She knows Dr. Ishimaru and said he is good. She said that she does not always agree with orthopedic doctors and would tell me if she thought I needed a second opinion. Regarding the pain in my arm from typing, etc., she said I just need to take it slow and stop when it hurts. She also recommended icing the painful areas at night to help reduce inflammation and that will help with the pain as well. I feel a huge relief after that conversation. Everything she said was the same as what the doctor had said, so I am not going to get a second opinion from an orthopedic doctor, I am going to go with the advice of my doctor and physical therapist.

Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement.

Sheryl

Elbow update

Thank you for your prayers about my doctor's appointment yesterday. The CT Scan showed a "mildly comminuted radial head fracture with approximately 2.5 mm of depression of a portion of the anterior radial head articular surface." The doctor showed me the place -- very small section in the middle of the top of the radius (bone used for twisting the arm) -- that is depressed. He said it would be very difficult, maybe impossible, to put a pin in to hold the depressed section in place until it heals. He said it would be easier to do a replacement of the top of the radius, but does not recommend it since the bones will heal -- in about 6 weeks and we're half way there now -- and if I can get my full range of motion back that is more important. So the doctor thinks we shouldn't do anything with my elbow right now. He recommended not wearing the splint and getting as much movement back into my elbow as soon as possible. I will go see him again in a month.

I have a physical therapist friend who I will talk with today to get her advice and get a referral in the next couple days for a second opinion. My insurance does cover a second opinion. I actually like the doctor's advice but think I should probably see what another orthopedic doctor thinks.

Going without the splint for a day has reminded me that all of the muscles and tendons in my left arm were traumatized by the accident and have not been doing much for the past three weeks. I had some pain in my arm, but it is bearable and I am trying to take it slow.

More later.

Sheryl

Happy New Year!

As you can imagine all three of us are very excited to now be able to say that Jon will be coming home this year. We are getting much closer and anticipate January will be the last FULL month that he will gone.

As you know, Joshua and I spent Christmas with my family. I am blessed to have a brother-in-law who is an excellent photographer and loves to document all of our gatherings. Here we are in Steve and Sandi's back yard in Escondido on Christmas day after a fabulous meal.

I will be going back to the orthopedic doctor today to consultant on the CT Scan of my elbow. I'll keep you posted on what happens next.

Hope you all have a wonderful 2007.

Sheryl