The blessing of FMLA

Fmla: Dec 22, 2017-Feb 20, 2018.  January 1, 2018 began the out of hospital portion of FMLA.
Home was a huge improvement. I got to see mom often and spend time with her.

I was out of work almost until March, returning the final week of February.  In that time, I spent 9 days in timeout isolated to the ICU at Richmond's VCU burn center.   Once home I was still on very limited activity the first few weeks. Every evening for months was filled with wound care, washing, medicated, redressing.

But aside from the down side there were many positives.
Early on I had the sweetest gift, a card from Tristan  and Peyton

Our Desmond T. Doss Christian Academy family spoiled us with meals for 2 weeks.  We even often had enough to share with my mom and dad which was important to me because I wanted to enjoy every moment with my mom.  Anthony enjoyed me being home more and spending more time with his best friend Jesse.

Jayla turned 7 and I was able to attend her celebration and we had cake at our house after.

I was able to help babysit some of my favorite little people with help from Jayna and their big sis!

I had to go to Vcu about every 14 days to be seen by my doctor and it seemed get my fmla extended lonnnnger and longer bc i worked in a hospital I wasn't allowed to return until my wounds were all 100% done with the scab phase which takes a long time with burns in my opinion vs when you cut your knee.  We tried to make the best of each trip.... 6 hrs of driving called for a lunch or dinner date.

Another Burn Center Visit

 I got to visit with my (foster) sister from  Florida for the first time in 10 years and meet her 2 kiddos as they came to visit mom.  That was super special.

jump with cousins

Anthony was able to have his 14th birthday a pinch early so he could celebrate with his bestfriend before he moved to Florida.  RyLee, Alonza, Brandy and kids joined too!

We had special guests at mom and dad's, Dwayne, Kristy his wife and their baby Kaysyn.  This was so special for mom especially.

Eventually Marko had to go back to work. He travels for work, but he is my wound care nurse so that meant we were on the road together. The trip to SC was painful still recovering sitting so the long 8 hour drive was a lot.  I did physical therpy at the hotel gym as learning to comfortably walk with the new delicate skin was not an overnight task. Marko would be gone 10 or 12 hours a day. He'd come home at night and we'd go find dinner and then wound care.  It was rather lonely in the hotel but I made the best of it.

Being back in jeans is a big deal!

On the weekend Marko was off so we had lazy morning then went exploring.  He took me to Savannah, Ga., Hilton Head Beach, famous churches, Tybee Beach and a fantastic mom and pop restaurant we found.

the beach in January with Marko

We left SC, straight for VCU appointment even.  He literally altered his whole schedule around my wound care and dr appointments.

I missed most of Anthony's basketball games which was a bummer. But, i was so thankful when I was well enough to go and sit on bleachers for over an hour!

Anthony scores

The other downside to being less mobile was less time with Jayla and family. Jayla will always be mine and a priority to me.  They came to town when able but we were used to weekly visits and that wasn't possible. But when I did see her, it was so special. In between trip 1 and 2 with Marko, I was able to have lunch with her at school one day which was new and special!

Lunch with my favorite 1st grader

We finally had a delayed Adoption day celebration for Mark.  It's tradition to go out to eat for adoption day, but I was in the hospital for his so we celebrated in February.  This is a tradition I miss now, without mom.

Anthony's best friend moved the week before my FMLA was up.  We let Anthony spend most of the week with him instead of school.  they had been friends since Kindergarten.

Next up was Nyc with Marko for work.  By this point, Itruly was recovered minus a small scab, some weakness and minimal pain if in same position too long, but mostly I really was back to norm just waiting the final week to be released back to work, so it was almost like a vacation after 2 long months.  We rode the train there.  He again worked all day and I explored the city solo.  In the evenings we did some minor adventures and dinner.

World Trade Center

And just like that, my FMLA came to an end, after a long 2 months!  And Marko immediately was diagnosed with Pneumonia, because we like to keep it exciting!  Without getting burned and FMLA I would have spent less on doctors, made more money, had less pain.  But there is no substitute for memories with my mom.  I got to take her to several appointments, grocery shopping even out to lunch or bringing her her beloved subway cold cut.  I appreciated the time with Marko.  We have rarely had alone time so this was very different.  Although we never went the college route I can whole heartedly say we have extremely high work ethic and have made our careers a high priority so for him to drop everything and focus on my needs was an all new experience that I will forever cherish.  All in all, catching on fire was an odd gift, I hope to never replay but I also don't regret.