Christmas Eve 2006 in CO Springs

Derek and Bevan drove down and stayed with us for Christmas since Cammie

was still on crutches and traveling in the snow was not really an option.

You will notice that the title is Christmas Eve... yeah, none of us could wait until morning to open our gifts... so we ripped into them right after dinner... like a bunch of kiddies! LOL

Jeff with a TON of gifts to open... it was crazy how many he had!

Derek with my crutch in the background.

Bevan opening my gift to him... ummm, it was a box of rocks! For real!!!

Cammie wondering, what could this be?

CAMMIE'S KNEE SURGERY - (Keep scrolling down, down, down)

The date of the Accident: NOVEMBER 16th, 2006

Here is the lovely mountain in Breckenridge, CO where I had the most un-cool, sloppy recovery of all times on skis. I sure wish that I had this bad ass story of flying off the side of mountain, an avalanche chasing behind me at 45 mph and me dodging the “demons” just to survive, but NO…. totally just me buckling my knees when I stopped. That is it!

Anyway, notice the woman in this map wearing BLUE and oddly looking out of control… that is just about the spot the accident occurred.

I did fall back when I felt the severe “nausea” come on…. Of course, my head ended up facing up-hill, not the right position if one was going to vomit (rolls down hill). Thank goodness I was chewing gum because I have never chewed Dentine soooo hard.

Derek was with me and ran up hill to take off my skis to help me. He was the one who went for help. Of course, from what I heard, someone saw me from the lift and had thought that someone had died. I must have looked “a mess”.

Anyway, they took me straight to the ER, did 3 hours of tests and then told me to go see a specialist – the prognosis was not good! They sent me home with braces on both knees and with a set of crutches.

NOT a good way to start ski season!!!!

Time for Surgery…. Friday, December 1st, 2006 at 7:00AM

Just follow the sign which leads you to the hospital. Ooooohhhhh!!!!

Here is the actual Hospital in Vail, CO. You can actually see Bethany who has been there to greet me for every one of my visits (4 so far).

DECEMBER 1st - The Day of Surgery

This is the 3rd Floor and the “ENTRY” to the Steadman Hawkins Clinic. It is like going down that long hall in The Wizard of Oz just to see the all powerful Oz. Well, walking down this long hall, crippled on crutches mind you, you notice the hundreds of PRO athletes that they have “repaired”. Framed, signed jerseys, gloves and posters to entertain the long, long, long, walk. I mean seriously folks - we are injured, isn't there a door a little closer????

Yeppers, even Rod Stewart the rock star plays "Football" in the UK. His knee was worked on November 24th, 2005.... a little over a year ago!

I would have posted others but sadly I do not know anything or anyone in sports. Hehee.

RUN FOREST RUN!!!

Oh yeah, these things are oh, so lovely. Notice those thigh-high TEDS anti-embolism hose that I have to wear. They are SEXY!!! The best part is where the toes are, there is this giant hole – to check for circulation. You and I both know when a hole is in the toe, they have got to go! That drives you crazy!!!!

Oh, you can see my bandages underneath those hose.

Those are way larger than the actual incisions and scars.

The Actual KNEE STUFF

Here is my GENIUS surgeon, Dr. Peter Millett of the Steadman Hawkins Clinic. If you are having any knee, shoulder, hip, back, ankle, elbow, etc. problems, you need to look him up! http://www.drmillett.com/preOpPostOp.asp



Here is a medical model of the knee and its bones and ligaments;

this particular model represents The Right Knee.

This one has the Patella Ligament in place, which is located over your knee cap.

We have flapped the Patella down towards the shin. (You can see the knee cap attached to the Patella). With this pulled down you can see the bone and ligaments which you use for lateral (side to side) movement. Most injuries to these ligaments, such as the ACL and PCL occur in sports like Basketball, Football, and Soccer.

Here is a close up! In my Left Knee the ACL was completely replaced. The PCL was sprained, I had a tear in my MCL and my Meniscus was repaired.

My Right Knee my Meniscus was repaired and I showed 2nd degree tears in my ACL and MCL, but during surgery, Dr. Millett thought the tears would heal just fine on their own – protected, in braces, over the next 8-10 weeks.

To learn more about the Knee visit http://www.kneeguru.com/

Now, this is not the best photo of my Left Knee.... it is still about the size of a grapefruit and you can see the "weave patterns" from the lovely TEDS anti-embolism stockings. The top of the leg you see here in this photo is what should look like a knee cap and it will in about 2-3 more weeks of physical therapy.

Just below the knee cap are two small “slits” about the size of a felt pen when it hits paper.

Just below them is the actual “entry” incision which is only about ¾” in length.

Dr. Millett was VERY proud of that size; most doctors, even with the technology today still leave you with close to 2”. He made it clear that he had done a great job and I AGREE!!!!


It will be a FULL 6 months of recovery; 4 months of it spent in physical therapy. I WILL be skiing next season and plan to be back on the road cycling by July 2007.

Opening Ski Season at Breakenridge 2006

Here we are, ready to head out to the slopes Opening Saturday November 11th. Here is Cammie, Bevan and Jeff waiting on the shuttle at Derek's condo up the street. Ummmm, Jeff... I like your "Clicks" but they make you look like you have bug eyes. LOL Just kidding, cutie! Ooooh, but Cammie's skis.... aren't they the best ever... and her white fur hat... and.... (blushing)

Derek and Cammie went back on Sunday afternoon to ski together. Well, Derek scanned ahead at this obstacle course in the woods… Cammie was not sure she should be darting off into the woods with 2 foot width trails. Derek told her to ski the mountain and meet him at the other end. Well… you know Cammie…. Derek went ahead and there she went! I think Derek and Cammie skied down to the gondola to go back up the mountain to do this thing 3-4 more time. Crazy kids!!!

Day out with my new niece Ella Gray

Here is little Ella Gray in her carrier. I swear this is the happiest baby ever!
I am sad to say that she did not get Holly’s beautiful green eyes, but she is just as beautiful with her daddy’s brown eyes.

The proud parents…. My sister Holly and her husband David.

I was giving Holly some reprieve as well as hanging out with my little 3 month old niece Ella. She is soooo tiny! OR she is looking smaller because she is just falling into the bottomless pit of cleavage. Hehee Bless her little heart.

Lordy, Lordy - Jeff is 40!!!

It was a surprise party for Jeff, can you tell by his face? Keeping this under wraps was almost impossible. It was done up Las Vegas style with tons of food, drinks and gambling. We had folks promise to strip but... as you will see, none of that was going on. Next time... hehee.

We have the Taylor clan, Jeff's cousins, all gathered around this table in a serious game of Texas Holdem. I can see my sister Holly just towards the upper left of the photo in her white pants and me towards the upper right of the photo in black - holding the tourch used to light the zillion candles on Jeff's cake. Derek's butt is facing dead center in the photo - nice butt D!

Rachel, Bevan, Dewey and I stand around Jeff as he opens his gifts. Ya know, I swear he looks like he is making kissy faces at the camera. He must be lovin' the goods! Or turning 40 is making him senile. Hmmmm? Okay, and what is up with those "Storm-X-Men" eyes of mine? Funny thing is... the power did go out that night at the party for a good hour due to severe thunder storms. That's right, don't mess with me, I mean business.

Bill and Lisa with the birthday boy. Bill is one of Jeff's cycling buddies and Lisa is the coolest feed zone chick in the world to hang out with. Can't wait to have more parties with these guys.

You've got to know when to Holdem', know when to Foldem'..... Mike and Jeff look so serious here. The funniest thing about this game is that Hiroko, Mikes woman, is sitting to his right and is the one with ALL of the chips. These boys didn't have a chance. Stick to what you know guys.... IT stuff and buying us pretty gifts, lots of pretty gifts.

Jeff blowing out his zillion candles. Bless his heart, it took him 3 good blows.

Jeff had to take a breather after that candle business. I must say, he sure looks adorable in this photo. Yummy... I will take a slice of that for dessert.

Okay, like I said, Hiroko does not play. My neice Tiffany, Jeff's brother Mark, and my nephew Mathew work as a team to get their money back. Lara's face says it all, don't think Hiroko is giving any of it back... you go girl!

VERY PROUD - Decorated the Den all by Myself!!!

Let me begin by explaining that I am NOT a decorator. Jeff kept begging me to hire someone or bring in one of our Mo friends for help. He wanted our cottage style home to feel cozy. So I started with painting the downstairs and this is my first completed room (or close to it).

Finally... I found something other than candles to put in the holders. How about these fuzzy balls? Hehee. I am still looking for something long and slender to put below the mirror. Hmmmm?

I still need to replace the tile in the fireplace. Slate is my plan; but when?

Need to figure out what to do with this window spread here. Time to call in my mother... she is a real interior decorator. I tried to do this on my own. She can be my icing on the cake. :)

Bevan hung these iron pictures for me. I was thinking side by side and he said no, stagger them. Of course it worked out for the best. I like how it weights the room properly.

No, the tree is not real. Paaah-leeeeeez! If anyone knows me... hehee. I am liking the stacked books, which are also not real. They are storage boxes that look like books. The photo is of Jeff and I racing Vespa's - also fake... they were props at Universal. Hehee.

Fat Tire Festival in Helen, GA June 18th

Now, finally, a town where there is something to do other than to pick up a load of ticks in your hair. Here we are at the Start for the Mens/30-39/Sport. You can see Ladd in the sleeveless jersey in #748. Everyone who is anyone is at this race and there was some serious competition in this group. Good Luck Ladd!!!

There goes Jeff with his group Mens/Sport/40-49. Just 2 long laps to go.... see you in about 2 hours.

Here is Jeff's friend Caesar. He is in the Mens/Sport/20-29 and is like a speed demon on the bike.

Ladd is around after lap #1. I had counted only 9 riders in his group ahead of him; about 45 seconds behind the next rider.

Here comes Jeff after Lap #1. He is looking strong, just needs a little refresher.

Here comes Ladd.... another Top 10 finish for him.

Here comes Jeff. Yippie! Good job on your finish... Helen is a tough course.

By the look on Jeff's face, I would say he is glad it is all over!!! Hehee.

Hey.... here is Bill. He was only 6o seconds behind Jeff. What a close finish!!! Good Job Bill.

Showdown at Sugar Mtn. June 12th

NMBA Race at Sugar Mtn. in North Carolina. This is the Start for the Mens/Sport/30-39. Jeff's friend Ladd is in there somewhere - Just look for the guy in the helmet and cycling jersey. Yah-okay- sure, there he is... ummmm, or is that him, or no.... anyway..... and they are off...


Jeff is coming into the feed zone for some H2O after his first lap.

Cool shot of the water bottle hand-off. Good thing he is a lefty, right?

Here comes Ladd after his first lap... looking like he is definetly one of the first into the feedzone after lap #1 in his class. We shall see.....

Here's Ladd.... looking like a top 5 finish to me... and it is!!! Good Job, especially at this National event.

Yeah... here comes Jeff. Good Job on finishing considering the course was straight up a fireroad, 5 miles in fact. Then straight down the ski slop... which Jeff took head first over the handle bars, I think he said, 4x. Way to stick with it Jeff!!!!

Here is Jeff after a little cool down - showing us his injuries. Can you see the blood on his leg? Yuckie.

Ladd is pointing out all of the mud in his chain and clips. Obviously didn't seem to stop his killer finish.... still, suprised he didn't break his chain or worse.

Here is a close-up of the mud.