Back Trouble

Nicole has suffered from chronic back pain since high school. She was in a car accident when she was in 10th grade where she was hit by a motorist while she was crossing a main street for a pool class during the middle of the day. It was not an official street crossing, but it was a place where all the students crossed. After being struck by the car, she fell on her backpack and was very upset with the driver. He offered to take her to the hospital but she told him to get lost. They didn't have health insurance, and her parents didn't know what could be done or what resources were available to them, so she just dealt with it. She was in serious pain at dinner that night. Her mom took her to the Chinese doctor who gave her some stinky medicine to put on her stomach, but unfortunately that didn't take away the pain.

She has gone to several chiropractors over the years who have helped somewhat, but no real change to her condition has occurred. She just lives with some aches all the time, not sleeping as well as she could, and it sometimes affects her mood as well.

At the Sunnyvale Art and Wine Festival we ran into a chiropractor who uses the most objective means we have seen by a chiropractor to analyze the spine. She made an appointment on Thursday last week, and he took xrays and did some other tests. He has sent us a copy of the xrays of her neck and spine, along with what a normal neck and spine look like. The first image below is what a normal spine looks like. The second one is Nicole's spine. Look at the symmetry and alignment - you can see the doctor drew straight lines through the aligned segments:


Nicole's spine:
Obviously, her alignment is bad and her spine doesn't support her weight the way it should.
Below is an xray of Nicole's neck (left) and a normal neck (right):


Here again, the spacing between vertebrae is not even, causing the discs to wear unevenly and could lead to grinding.

We have prayed a lot about this in our home fellowship. Hopefully this chiropractor can help bring some real healing to Nicole.

Father's Day

Today was my 3rd fathers day! It is a lot of work being a dad of two little ones but the rewards are smiles and lots of laughs (most of the time). I think Lauren still said happy birthday to me once or twice today - maybe when we had frozen yogurt at Costco?

We had a long night that started with Sophie having gas or being otherwise uncomfortable and crying for an hour or two. I think we went to sleep by 1 AM. So... we had a relaxing morning at home cleaning up, reading bible, and then some shopping at REI and Costco. Lauren didn't seem to want to lay down for a nap in the late afternoon so I took her for a jog in the stoller and she was out in 10 minutes. It is a sure fire way to get her to nap these days, and it is great because I get a workout in. Nicole was pretty tired when I got back (with Lauren still snoozing) so I took Sophie out front with me and read the paper while holding her and watching Lauren nap in the stroller. That way Nicole could rest and have a little time to herself. Then I watered the plants and gave them some miracle grow - looking forward to some tomatoes! We have some little limes getting started too:


We also have a improved Meyers Lemon tree that Nicole picked up at Osh. Mmmm.... improved lemons!

We ended the day with a home cooked dinner filled with stimulating conversation. I'll part with a sample:

Happy Birthday Ben!

Today is Ben's 34th birthday. We went out for a free lunch at Todai and celebrated with Thomas and Tanya, Alise and Adrian, and Grant. Unfortunately Todai seems to have increased their prices a bit and no longer serves crab legs or shrimp in their all you can eat buffet. :( We realized it is only a good deal if we just go as a family. If we bring friends and it isn't their birthday too, it can get expensive.

After lunch we bowled a game at the fairly new Cupertino Strike bowling alley in Valco mall. Lauren played her first game ever today! She was acting scared/tired at first, but once she got over some of the creepy cartoons they were playing on some of the big screens, she had fun! There was one stretch where we all got strikes one after the other, including Lauren! (she was using a bowling ramp and bumpers, but a strike is a strike!). It was very convenient but is also not cheap at $40/hour/lane.

For dinner we got to enjoy dining at Country Gourmet in Mountain View with our neighbors Cindy, Adam, and their daughters Jasmine and Lilly. Jasmine is 3 years old and Lauren loves to play with her. We like the food at Country Gourmet, and they have a nice separate wing with a table with toys for the kids to play at and a small book shelf full of kids books. Its a great place where we can all sit and enjoy an entire meal!

Already Saturday?

Well - it is Saturday eve and another week has blown by! How about some highlights?

Last weekend (Sunday) we visited with Steve and Melissa up in Sacramento - about a 2 hour drive for us. Getting out of the door was a challenge, but we left after lunch and both kids got a good nap in on the way up so they were ready to play. We also planned it so we could visit my long lost cousin Allie who now lives in New Jersey. She was in Sacramento for the weekend covering a rowing event. We don't see her much now that she moved away from home in Iowa. It was so cool for her to finally meet Lauren and Sophie!



Here is what Steven and Melissa look like with a baby girl (only a few months away for them!) Congratulations again guys!




Thursday night Nicole made some corned beef and cabbage. Mmm! Alise Drury brought some of this wonderful dish over for our final post-partum delivered meal and it was delicious. We had to make it for ourselves. I'm looking forward to enjoying the leftovers the next few days.

We borrowed a Bumbo from Nicole's friend Sharon and it is great that Sophie can sit up and look around! She loves it and it gives us a chance to eat dinner at the same time!