Life threw me a pretty big curveball recently… so let’s talk about all the good, the rough moments and everything in between. In early January, Grand Canyon was hit with a big snowstorm, we got about 4 inches of snow overnight, and the next morning the roads were covered in powdered fresh snow. In an unfortunate freak accident, I slipped on ice, lost my balance and fractured my left fibula and tore a ligament in my foot.

After some waiting around and a lengthy process, I was cleared for surgery towards the end of January, they sewed up my ligament and they placed a plate and screws in my foot. The surgery was a success and I have an 8 week post-operative recovery on a knee scooter.

Life is unexpected, in all the good ways and sometimes not so good ways. But I am continuing to count my blessings and reflect on the good things that have come out of a difficult situation, like time with family that I may not have gotten otherwise, so let’s talk about the good!

My first visitor was Michael! We had a pre-planned trip for him to come see me in January, and although we made some modifications, we had a great time bringing him to Arizona and seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time ever. With the help of my good friend Maggie, she drove me to Las Vegas to pick Michael up from the airport, and we spent the day in Vegas exploring a few park units and of course the casinos!

Las Vegas was a fun experience for us both, but I think one day was plenty. As Michael said “they took my money!” So you could say he was less than impressed… we’re parks people. 🙂 But in the end, we made it to Grand Canyon! Most of the week was spending quality time together, we went on some scenic drives and rented a wheelchair so Michael could push me around the rim a bit.

In addition to all our fun adventures at the canyon, we spent one night in Flagstaff to have a change of scenery and explore more of the area. We went to three local national monuments: Wupatki, Sunset Crater and Walnut Canyon.

Overall, it was a great visit and so nice to spend quality time together especially since we hadn’t seen each other since early October!

After Michael left, my parents and I had a long discussion about my care and what’s next and we decided the best action plan was to have them come down and switch off to provide emotional and physical support for me. My dad came down first, and spent a fun week with me. He got me mobile on a scooter, we cooked together, and came up with an action plan for my surgery and getting the care I needed. And of course, we did go and see the canyon!

By the end of the week, my dad had to go back to California and work, but my mom was able to trade places with him and mom spent 2 great weeks with me! We spent the first two days seeing the canyon before my surgery date, and I took her to the same places I took dad. 🙂

Mom was a great caregiver for me and my biggest supporter as we went through the ups and downs of the first two weeks of my recovery together. She pushed me to do daily walks to the corner of my apartment complex, took me to see the canyon from the car and babied me as much as I needed.

We got to work on some fun puzzles together, including a Grand Canyon one we were gifted by a friend of mom’s! And I even felt strong enough to go out for pizza one night 🙂

Towards the end of week two, we got hit with a huge snowstorm, about a foot of snow, and it was beautiful, wild and everything in between.

The day mom left, is the day I finally got to return to work after a month off. I started at half-days to ease into it and all the nerves were there after being out for so long, but my staff was super supportive of my return and excited to see me. A couple of my buddies: Rianne, Maggie and Aiden have been a great team during my recovery, checking in on me and coming to keep me company, and of course it was lovely to wear my uniform again.

After mom left, I was blessed with one last visitor to come help and be involved as a part of my care team, my Grandma!

With Grandma’s help, we accomplished lots of milestones together including getting me comfortable behind the wheel again and driving – the independence is amazing! My Grandma came and supported me at my follow up appointment, and here I got switched into a boot for the remainder of my recovery.

My doctor said he was very pleased with where I was at and I am in great spirits knowing there are good things ahead for me.