Quite a bit has happened in the last few weeks...

On June 8th I had the first, of two, procedures to rid myself of varicose veins. Over the last several years I have had increasing pain in my left leg due to these things. It had gotten so bad that when my feet hit the floor in the morning my leg was already hurting. Standing for a long period of time was painful, but I would just push through it. Until finally I went to the doctor to talk about my options. Endovenous Ablation was what was recommended. My doctor said it would only continue to get worse if I did not do anything. So, on that Monday afternoon Barry drove me to the doctor where they numbed my leg and threaded a tiny catheter through my vein from the ankle all the way to the groin. (I know, can you feel the pain too). At that point they used a laser to kill off the vein and start to close it up. The whole procedure took only 45 minutes and was relatively pain free. I had to wear a compression stocking from my toes to my waist for a week, taking it off only at night and to shower.

Then a week later, I had a second vein, on the same leg treated, only this was on the back of the calf muscle, so it didn't seem so invasive. This procedure seemed to be the most painful in recovering as the vein was pulling away from the tissues and I had more inflammation. The nurses described veins like children, "No two are a like." However, now three weeks later, my leg is in no pain and looks like a normal leg, with no bulging veins. Ah, sweet relief.

Barry was going to be gone most of the week, during my second procedure, so my mom flew to Texas to help me and Emma. Now, my mom has not stepped on an airplane in 21 years so this was a HUGE deal. We were so excited to have her come and be with us and proud of her for taking that step to fly. Thanks mom for making that sacrifice!

Between all of this-

• Emma had swim lessons twice a week
• Has had summer school the other two days, during the week
  
• Hung out with her friends
• Been swimming at the pool a lot
• Barry's been traveling
• Staying cool from the 100 degree plus heat
  

In the next few days I'll post pictures of our trip to NASA and our 4th of July adventure.

Stay tuned....