mrsmichellehansen-blog

[mrsmichellehansen-blog]

I have loved this passage for many years. I have the word hope tattooed on my left wrist so that if I ever begin to doubt, it's there, in my face, the rest of my life. And it's served me well. I've done back to this promise again and again. I sometimes go back and just read it over and over when I need to remember the things I've been through. Because I persevered through them and came out stronger, more mature, with a better understanding of my faith. In my life perseverance has produced hope. A hope that tells me, through Christ I can get through whatever life throws at me. Because of this hope, I am not broken. https://www.instagram.com/p/B5SM7FdhOBEwZOC_SSdxrUBIAogivHC9ere8IU0/?igshid=d712la614cu6

[mrsmichellehansen-blog]

My lovely friend @jesshohulin sent me the most beautiful book. It's full of encouragement for every day things and it's full of beautiful artwork because the author @ruthchousimons is also a painter. I am enthralled with each page. #beholdingandbecomingbook #theartofeveryworship (at Søst, Sonderjylland, Denmark) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4mIN3DhtLvsLqk5JqmiM3hvg1goeZACF9O3-g0/?igshid=30ox4gf0c689

[mrsmichellehansen-blog]

Sometimes this whole thing is so surreal. This can't be real. It can't be my foot in this cage. That wheelchair can't be mine. I think I'll go for a walk today. Wait. Sometimes I wonder if it can ever be normal again. I mean looking at that thing! But they say I should have full function. It's getting better everyday. I'm up "walking" around more and more with my walker. My ankle and toes are still very stiff but I'm making headway in getting it loosened up. I did "chair yoga" from a fitness ball today. I've been getting really tight in my shoulder region and I wanted to stretching it to. And the fitness ball let's my core muscles work a little more. #ilizarovframe #ilizarovrecovery #ilizarovapparatus #brokenleg https://www.instagram.com/p/B3JiLASBQqXod01tEt3iLkRPoQiULKFXJf3d8k0/?igshid=psdccx75f1k5

[mrsmichellehansen-blog]

boredom and blessings

My energy level has been improving, meaning the level of my boredom is also on the rise.  Lucky for me, my lovely MIL had vacation last week and got me out of the house 3 whole days.

We even hopped over the border to Germany for all the goodies we buy there instead of here in Denmark. Things such as American peanut butter - because even after all of these years abroad, it’s still the best, chocolate, cheese and pop because the selections are different, and the prices are a lot better. My lovely MIL and I are usually over the border every couple of weeks, but I broke my leg 6 weeks ago and all the stockpiled chocolate had been eaten weeks ago. You can understand my predicament.

Let me just say, this whole wheelchair thing isn’t for the impatient. Goodness, it takes forever to get me in and out of the car. But Lovely MIL is one of the most patient people I know. Bless her.

Just as I was getting frustrated with my snail-like pace I locked eyes with another wheelchair user. This man, not many years older than I, was a double amputee. He had no legs below his knees. Seeing him changed my whole perspective. How fortunate I am to only need this wheelchair for a few months.  It could have been so much worse. Instead of bumming rides and calling the handicap transport vehicle for a lift to the doctor, we could be looking at purchasing a handicapped vehicle. Instead of waiting to install our new staircase, because I can’t use it anyways, we could be looking at ways to make our entire home wheelchair accessible.

I’ve missed some parties. I missed my daughter’s first day of school. I missed out on some great beach-weather. But next summer, I’ll be walking on the beach. Next year, you can bet I’ll be there on the first day of school, walking in with my two lovely children. I think I’ll probably even throw some parties, just because I can.

[mrsmichellehansen-blog]

This guy is the best snuggler. And it's true what they say, boys love their mommies. #momlife #mommysboy (at Søst, Sonderjylland, Denmark) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1_rjErhE28O1IEGU6Hw66TGj4GN4FzXw-Nyz00/?igshid=16enefwg2ilet

[mrsmichellehansen-blog]

Fifteen Firsts

My days aren’t so eventful since coming home. I spend most days watching Big Bang Theory (always makes me laugh, and laughter is the best medicine, after all.) and taking a stupidly long time to do a load of laundry and unload the dishwasher.  

I have, however, had a LOT of new experiences in the past month, or so. Therefore, I’ve compiled a list for your reading pleasure.

1.       First broken bone (and second)

2.       First ambulance ride

3.       First time signing for a package in the back of an ambulance (Hey! My new laptop came right as they were getting me situated in the ambulance.)

4.       First time calling 112 (European version of 911)

5.       First time admitted to the hospital where our family didn’t add a member

6.       First time on bed rest

7.       First bedpan experience

8.       First time going 8 days without a shower

9.       First time using a wheelchair

10.     First time using a walker

11.     First time sitting down in the shower

12.     First ilizarov surgery

13.     First time giving myself a shot (my first week home, I administered my own blood thinner daily to ensure I didn’t have a blood clot from the inactivity)

14.     First time being excited about doing a load of laundry

15.     First time starting a blog

[mrsmichellehansen-blog]

Another care package today! This one from @happpytrees. Full of ranch, long socks to make skirt wearing possible and the most beautiful coloring books I have ever seen. I am lucky to have you. Thanks for being the sister I got to pick for myself. (at Søst, Sonderjylland, Denmark) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1zC9C9BoYJy0pokZsMnbptuCJkeMHw_ZC3kPI0/?igshid=z1w5wi0eepos

[mrsmichellehansen-blog]

@laguhansen hauled me out here to our favorite spot on the lawn so I can enjoy the weather and watch the kids play. #ilizarovframe #ilizarovapparatus #ilizarovrecovery #brokenleg #marriedlife #familylife #thedanishsummer (at Søst, Sonderjylland, Denmark) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1yw4fBB2v0vDva5mMss8ElLdHpsSNA4aduNDk0/?igshid=1thay6inzf11v

[mrsmichellehansen-blog]

Got to have my leg in the shower today for the first time in the 4 weeks since my accident. It was amazing. The nurse was just here to check and clean the pin sights, everything is healing nicely... #ilizarovapparatus #ilizarovframe #brokenleg #træls (at Søst, Sonderjylland, Denmark) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1s3nhnh78fQyjnYo834JSpMMjSOs2hq1zp3IU0/?igshid=qblyneaum1em

[mrsmichellehansen-blog]

Check out this cake package I just got from @jesshohulin and @lauraparson. I feel so loved! Words cannot express how grateful I am. (at Søst, Sonderjylland, Denmark) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1qqik9BbFuanAPh34Th-gp-wNfL1pJpRA4nQI0/?igshid=9f7wr5f5vmjx

[mrsmichellehansen-blog]

one day eats the next

Maybe you think I’ve picked a strange name for my blog and now, even stranger, I’ve titled an actual post this. 

I thought I’d explain myself because half of the time I don’t understand all of the crazy inside my head, how can you be expected to wade through the chaos without so much as an explanation.

It all boils down to the fact I’m clearly getting old.

Old people sit around and talk about how fast time flies and questioning where the years went. And so do I. Hence, I conclude, I’m growing aged.

Someone used the description “one day eats the next” with me not so long ago, it was a conversation I was having in Danish (because I live in Denmark, there’s material for another post) and I really thought it was a saying, but upon a little research, it’s not.  That person made this wonderful word picture and I can’t even remember who I was talking to.  But it’s stuck with me.  One day really does just eat the next and suddenly weeks and months are flying by. My children are getting big and what in the world is happening to my dark brown hair?! These silver strands are inappropriate because I am clearly so young. 

Four weeks ago today I took a tumble down a ladder, falling about 8 feet. I broke my tibia and my fibula with the fibula cracking down into my ankle. I had an initial surgery that evening to put everything in place and a temporary apparatus placed.  I was admitted to the hospital and put on complete bed rest, only allowed to sit while eating for 8 days while waiting for the swelling to go down enough to have a second surgery and place a more permanent external apparatus to hold my mangled bones in place for optimal healing and minimal risk of infection. The hours laying on my back in the hospital seemed endless and the pain was excruciating but somehow, looking back it feels like no time has passed at all since my mishap. Tomorrow is three weeks since my second surgery and half-ways to my first check-up. One day eats the next.

[mrsmichellehansen-blog]

you don’t know if you don’t try

This is new to me; the whole content creating with purpose thing, I mean.  Sure, I have Instagram and Facebook and I try to keep my Insta aesthetically pleasing, thinking about coherency and so on, but it’s a private because I don’t love the idea of the whole world seeing every photo I post of my babes.  Private also means safe, no strangers to comment on what I post. And I’ve rather liked it that way. But now I’m trying this and this is not safe, in that way.

For a long time, I’ve felt like I’ve had things to say.  Perhaps they aren’t overly profound or original. Perhaps nobody at all will care to read them.  But the words are there and now, thanks to a mishap with a ladder resulting in a broken leg and the prospect of the next half of a year-ish in a wheelchair, I’ve got time to do something with those words.  

Maybe I’ll be good at it.  Maybe I’ll be horrible and the only people who will read it will be my closest friends, purely out of obligation.  Maybe you’ll think I’m funny, I sure hope so.  Maybe I’ll make you think or spark hope. Maybe I’ll be a relatable voice to someone who is feeling alone.  Those are things I can hope for, starting out on this new adventure.  (Does blogging count as an adventure? I’ve never thought of an adventure to include a computer screen, but maybe that’s the kind of adventure you come out on the losing end of a knockdown, drag-out fight with a 10-foot ladder.)