Epilogue--September 2016

More than five years have passed since the accident that changed the trajectory of my life.  I guess it's about time to write a little more of the story.  Many of you know that I ultimately had to leave my orthodontic practice due to the fact that my visual acuity never fully recovered following the accident and reconstructive surgery. Consequently, I was unable to continue practicing as a clinical orthodontist.

Currently, my wife and I are serving as humanitarian missionaries based in Lima, Peru.  If you are interested, you can see some of our adventures chronicled at the link below.

Press here to link to our humanitarian mission blog

Leaving practice was the most excruciatingly difficult experience of my life. I had decided at the age of 12 that I wanted to be an orthodontist and had worked toward that goal my entire life.  I loved practicing orthodontics--the interaction with the wonderful people who were my patients, their family members,  our assistants, and my younger brother who was my partner, the intellectual challenges of treatment and continuing education to try to continually improve the care provided to patients--I loved it all.  So much of my identity was also wrapped up in that professional sphere--as a business owner in the community, as a leader in the profession, as a doctor to our patients, employer to our staff, provider for my family--that it was emotionally wrenching to be involuntarily separated from all of that.  I never would have chosen that had it not been imposed by circumstances.

We still had two children remaining at home and while I did not welcome my departure from active orthodontic practice, it was wonderful to become the "stalker dad" who showed up to all their tennis matches, cross-country meets, and musical events.  I think they eventually got used to me being around more and I certainly enjoyed being around them more.

My friend Dr. Shurtz invited me to take the coursework from Washington State University to become a Master Gardener with him.  We both completed those requirements and served as Master Gardeners in the Wenatchee area. I have found some of the information and skills acquired there to be useful in our assignment here in Peru.

Our last two children have now left the nest.  Natalie served a mission in Guatemala for 18 months and is set to graduate from BYU-Provo with a degree in Elementary Education in April 2017.  Brian graduated from Eastmont High in 2015 and left shortly thereafter to serve as a missionary in Sao Paolo, Brazil for two years.  He will return and attend BYU-Provo where his sisters have all earned degrees.

Mary and I decided to make ourselves available for volunteer missionary service when Brian left for Brazil and we received an 18 month humanitarian assignment to the South America Northwest Area and are living in Lima, Peru.  That has brought opportunities and rewards that would not have been possible in any other way and I am grateful to be here.  We will return home shortly before Brian finishes his mission and get ready for his return and then will be sending him off to school.  We will also become better acquainted with our grandchildren!

After that, we really don't have fixed plans for what we will do or where we will serve.  We trust in the Lord and that "He shall direct (our) paths."  (Proverbs 3:5-6)  I am grateful to all who have helped, prayed, and supported during this challenging time for me and my family.  After five years, I can finally talk about it without completely tearing up.  We are enjoying our service in Peru and looking forward to our next adventure, wherever that may be.

Rob & Mary en route to Lima, Peru

10+10+10,000 + 22 +100 =FUN!!!

Ten weeks since surgery (can now resume normal activity) + 10 degrees fahrenheit + 10,000 feet elevation (Alta) + 22 inches of new snow from the storm (19 of it since yesterday) + 100 inches of new snow in the last ten days = An incredible day for a return to skiing with Brian!!!

Nothing beats the feeling of your body vibrating from the explosive charges on the mountain from avalanche control--while you are inside the car in the parking lot at the base! Lots of the white stuff up there.

We'd been watching the storm tracks and eagerly totaling the new snowfall. What we got today was light, fluffy, Wasatch powder at it's best. There were some areas that had been closed off during the storm and were untouched. We found untracked powder all day long, finishing in the trees in the afternoon.

We even returned to the place of the collision that radically altered the trajectory of my ski season this year. Brian wondered if we dared go on the same chair, same run (third of the day), same location as when I was injured, but we passed through it without incident--just floating by on the powder.

I stopped in to the medical clinic there on the mountain at Alta to tell them thanks for taking care of me back in January and letting them know I was back on the mountain after carefully and precisely following the instructions of my craniofacial surgeon for convalescence (take note of it Dr. Birgfeld!). He remembered that I was a dentist and was up with another dentist (my brother-in-law Scott) and my sister held the IV bag as we drove down to the trauma center.

I even bought a new Alta t-shirt today to celebrate the occasion of my return to the mountains. In addition to the Alta logo on the front it says on back:

"Confidence: The feeling you have before you really understand the situation."

That pretty well sums it up.

A Day Out With Tom

Tom (brother) and I went fishing yesterday morning for steelhead on the Methow River. It was my first recreational day out since the accident. Fisherman sometimes refer to steelhead as "metalheads" so I had to tell Tom that even though I have titanium throughout my head, if he snagged me with his backcast it didn't count as catching a "metalhead". I didn't manage to land any fish and Tom just landed whitefish and tried to fight a steelhead with a broken reel, but it was a pleasant morning in the snow and my face didn't hurt!

Nose is continuing to regain some sensation. One night (very early morning) this week the nerves inside the nose decided it was time to reconnect and awaken me in the process. Next morning I could actually feel some air passing through my nose.

It is still quite tiring for my eyes by the end of the day, but I am very grateful to be able to be back at work with the great people with whom I work. My friend, Dr. Pierce, removed the last of the stitches from inside my mouth. I think I'm still happy that my mouth is numb. =-) Gradual continued progress is what I can hope for and am pleased to see it.

Feeling Teeth =-)

The end of last week I noticed the I was getting some sensation returning to my teeth. Today I chewed some Cherios there for breakfast and had a baby carrot for lunch. Crunchy food! I am also getting to where my mouth can open a little wider. Opening has increased 5 mm in the last two weeks. Soon I'll be able to take bigger bites than Mom would approve of =-o

By the end of the day my eye gets really tired and tends to swell up some. I have to rest at lunchtime with my eyes closed--sometimes I even get a nap. I find if I don't pace myself that it is not good by the end of the workday. I hope that the tired eyes resolve soon. I'd like to get back to playing the piano, but I need to use my daily allotment of vision for work, not play.

Pruning Ninja!

With my face hurting in the cold (circulation and innervation not normal yet) I had to put the balaclava up to the edge of my eye to cover my cheek. On the bright side, there is enough innervation returning to the cheek that I could tell it hurt in the cold! Eyes also don't tolerate the bright sunlight either currently so I had to wear sunglasses. The kids said I looked like a Ninja pruning the trees at home and at the office over the President's Day Saturday and Monday. I had to stay home and prune while the rest of the family went up to ski the new snow at Mission Ridge. Wish I were there! (but glad I was able to get the pruning done much earlier than I usually do and the days were wonderful for it.)

This photo is how my face appears today. Muscle function has returned to almost normal in the lip so it elevates into a smile rather than a sneer. Little by little improvement is occurring. I went to Arlberg Sports today to purchase a new ski helmet so I'll be ready come March 31 to head up to Mission Ridge and enjoy a little spring skiing. I now consider a helmet a very worthwhile insurance investment. I am grateful to be alive and grateful that for many years I've worn a helmet while skiing. I never thought I would need its protection, but glad I had it when I needed it!

Life Returning to Normal

This week I had a followup with Dr. Birgfeld at Harborview in Seattle. Recovery seems on track and I got the okay to resume some of my normal activities. So Thursday I flew to San Francisco for some professional meetings held Friday and then returned home late Friday night. Flights did not seem to bother my crushed sinus, for which I am grateful, but I was more fatigued than usual by the travel, but Dr. Birgfeld said that was to be expected.

After relaxing (recovering) Saturday, we all went up last night to see Brian participate in the Rail Jam at Mission Ridge ski resort. They had made a HUGE quarter pipe that was fun to see him and others do aerial tricks. Other obstacles to bump, leap, flip over, etc were set up as well. I did notice that the hardware in my face and/or lack of circulation resulted in my cheek feeling quite cold (but on a positive note, I could tell that it felt cold!) so I had to go inside periodically to get the cheek feeling more normal.

I'll attach a photo from this morning before church. I don't think I'm going to scare any children there today with my looks. Okay, no more than are usually scared after looking at me!

I am very grateful for the rapidity of my recovery. I feel greatly blessed by the faith and prayers of many. I credit the care and skill of the surgeons who worked on me. Some I meet comment that they can't even tell I've had an accident looking at me. Motor function to the lip is returning and sensation is improving still. I can close my left eye without hard exertion today for the first time. Nice to be able to relax my eyes and right and left eyelids close.

With Dr. Birgfeld

Met today at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with Dr. Craig Birgfeld, the surgeon who put me back together, for followup. Healing is proceeding normally. He anticipates that motor and sensory function should gradually return to normal over about the next year. Improvements will likely be noticeable month to month rather than day to day as at present.

Today I was able to make the left corner of my mouth move up and out a little bit--much better than the complete paralysis that I had been experiencing. He said that I could resume driving if I could see clearly in the mirrors (I can) and could begin to resume normal activities, but should be aware that I will tire more easily during the healing process. I was instructed to massage the scars in the eyelids so that the lids would more easily move to the correct positions and so that they would not thicken in the areas of the scars.

I was happy tonight to be able to meet with my Boy Scouts for the first time since the accident. I am scoutmaster and it was a pleasure to be back with the boys. We'll be doing lots of hiking again this summer, so I am glad I will be recovered from surgery prior to that. I'll know life is returning to normal when my face doesn't hurt any more.