Lucy had her surgery today. This is her third in her first 107 days of life on this earth. Even as she got wheeled over to the OR today, I couldn't help but get choked up.
It's so hard for me to sit there and see all 10 pounds of her go through test after test, surgery after surgery and we just ask her to keep fighting. Sometimes it's overwhelming. Sometimes I just don't know how to deal with it.
I'm sitting in Colorado Springs as I write my first entry in quite a while. Abby is up at the St. Christopher's Inn in Denver. We've been apart several times this week. Some in distance, some in just a few rooms. I had my wisdom teeth extracted on Friday, so six days later, I'm still battling with the after effects. Both my bottom teeth sockets are infected, which means I get to add an antibiotic to the list of stiff drugs I'm on to combat the pain.
Lucy, on the other hand, is on harder stuff than I am to help her deal with the pain of surgery. She had her shunt "installed" (for lack of a better words) today. She's irritable and grouchy, much like I was after my surgery. But my teeth pale in comparison to her two invasive surgeries and a third in her head.
Friday is also a bit monumental of sorts, it will be my last day at USA Wrestling. As much as I've enjoyed my job and being part of the Olympic movement, Lucy and Abby are more important to me than any job. We'll be moving back to Minnesota sometime either in late October or November, depending on when Lucy is discharged from the hospital.
In the last three years, I've made some great friends and had great relationships with many co-workers and colleagues with the USA Wrestling family. I've been to Turkey, Russia, Thailand, England and countless states with this job.
It was a good run, but ultimately moving back to Minnesota is the best for Abby, Lucy and I. While my extended family weren't strangers when I grew up, Abby's family has been a big part of her life and that's something I want Lucy (and any future children) to be a part of. Being in Minnesota will provide us with a solid support structure and with the employment I have lined up, I can work from home more often than not, meaning I can have a job, pull my weight as a functional member of the household AND get to spend more time with my adorable daughter .... and Abby, she's pretty cute too.
It was a tough decision and it was hard for me to tell my superiors at USA Wrestling, but as great of a place Colorado is to live, we're on an island out here, which makes the traveling part of my job that much more difficult for Abby and Lucy to have to deal with.
Long story short, I'm going to miss Colorado Springs and the people and friends, but ultimately, Lucy and Abby are my responsibility and I have to make sure they are in an environment which will make us stronger and healthier as a family.
That's the short version for now.
JB
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