1997 YULETIDE ANTHOLOGY

^{Wedding Bells!}

When Chip Cash met Jamie Causey in December of 1995, during Chip’s senior year of high school, it quickly became apparent that they were in love! The couple dated each other exclusively for almost two years and shared an enchanted evening together at Jamie’s Senior Prom in May of 1997.

Since his graduation from Campbell High School in June of 1996, Chip has been working. His first job was as a carpenter’s assistant; and later, in October, he took a job with U.P.S. as a truck loader; after a few months, he was promoted to sorter.  Having been with U.P.S. for over a year now, Chip has survived the strike and is hoping to qualify for a supervisory position in early 1998.

Jamie graduated from Campbell High School in June of 1997.  Since graduation, Jamie has had a couple of temporary, employment positions; in August, she took a full time job with Atlanta Motor Parts as a courier.

This past July, Chip and Jamie announced their engagement and plans to marry on November 15.  And, in the Watkins Chapel at Mount Paran North Church of God, surrounded by family and friends, they exchanged their marriage vows.

On December 4, Chip and Jamie found out that they are expecting a baby in August (yes, you heard me right!).  This means, of course, that Margie’s gonna be a Grandma!!

Knowing both Chip and Jamie as I do, I know they’ll make excellent parents.  God is so good!

 

^{O.R. 21!}

As if planning the wedding didn’t give her enough to do, Margie had surgery again on September 12! This was her ninth knee operation and her twenty-first surgery overall.

On the day of the surgery, Chip took his mom to Piedmont Hospital, where Dr. Eric Oser once again scrubbed for a total knee joint replacement of the right knee. Dr. Oser is one of the team physicians for the Atlanta Braves, and he replaced both of Bobby Cox’s knee joints a couple of years ago.

As usual, Margie was NOT looking forward to the surgery! As airline flight attendants frequently develop an aversion to flying because they fear they’ve flown so much that the odds are now working against them, Margie breaks into a cold sweat at the mere thought of going into a hospital operating room. The temptation to run for her life can be very compelling, so, needless to say, anxiety levels were high on the morning of September 12.

After the routine check-in and preparations, a pastor from our church stopped by to pray for a successful outcome. This was certainly comforting, but did not dislodge the sheer terror in Margie’s heart over IV needles, collapsed veins, oxygen masks, and doctors wearing astronaut suits and brandishing scalpels and other bone-pruning instruments of potential, mass destruction. Margie prayed for a sign that God was with her!

As the orderly wheeled her toward the operating room, Margie rounded the final corner leading toward the heavy, gray, swinging doors, when she noticed the words boldly displayed above the entrance: “O.R. 21.” Suddenly, Margie was at peace, because God had given her the assurance that only HE could have orchestrated the scheduling of O.R. 21 for operation 21!

All things considered, the operation went well, although it has been among the most painful of the 21! When the knee joint is replaced, the old joint is cut away and replaced with a bionic joint of titanium and cobalt chromium. In the process of removing the old joint, muscles, nerves, ligaments and tendons are either cut away or stretched mercilessly. The damage to the hamstring muscle alone is so severe that the leg cannot be lifted without assistance for a couple of weeks. Once the neural receptors start working again, the knee slowly begins to regain it’s function. Whereas, the pre-op, bone pain is gone within a short time, the post-op, soft tissue pain takes about a year to completely subside, and it’s as bad, if not worse, than the bone pain!

All things considered, it’s still worth it! Already, I can tell a major difference in the stability of my knee joint. Before the surgery, my right leg was over an inch shorter than my left leg due to bone degeneration and joint damage. Needless to say, this deficit has very adversely affected the alignment of my spine, and it’s probably contributed greatly to my back problems! It’s also driven my chiropractor crazy trying to keep me in adjustment!

Several people have mentioned that they can see a big difference in the way that I walk (I’m no longer waddling like a duck on the right side!), even though I still feel very uncertain on stairs. Also, I’m having a problem with the joint partially dislocating due to the fact that I have no kneecap (it was surgically removed in 1976). Dr. Oser used a special, stabilizer joint to compensate for the missing kneecap, but when I make a false move, the top joint moves out on the rim of the bottom joint, it throws my knee into a major, charley-horse cramp, and I writhe in pain, immobilized, until someone helps me pop the joint back into place (volunteers are understandably reluctant; and they usually shout: “GROSS!”).

I am scheduled to have the left knee joint replaced once the right one has healed (maybe in the spring). I’m looking forward to the day when I’ll have to have no more surgery!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Love in Christ,

… the bionic woman!