There's an elf on our shelf.

Day 1:

The elf was named Hawkeye. On the first day, he used Captain America's tank to have a war with Mr. Potato Head.

Mr. Potato Head lost.

Day 2:

The elf built himself a hot air balloon out of K'Nex.

Day 3:

Hawkeye had a few of his best friends over for a poker game last night.

I Ran.

I ran today! for the first time since my rib broke (early August), I ran. Not fast, and not far, but i've never been a fast runner. I just love to run. It will take a long while to rebuild my stamina, I think, but i'm so delighted to be able to run at all, that I don't care. 49 days since surgery, and I ran. That unsupported rib jiggles around when I run, and that's just weird, but at least it doesn't hurt.

Over the past few weeks, I've made some serious progress in recovery, and have celebrated little milestones like being able to drive again (last Monday) and being able to sleep laying down (two weeks ago). I can now walk a couple of miles each night.

My incision is completely closed and is scab free, though it's a nasty shade of purple for the foreseeable future. Once it is fully healed, the doctor said it will turn white and blend in. He did such a great job, I don't think it will be at all noticeable. The chest tube site is going to be the worse scar, but is healing faster.

I still have some issues:

• The unsupported rib acts like a steel band around my lung when i'm tired or have been sitting too long. 
• The area on my side that will be forever numb can't get goosebumps anymore. It feels so weird!
• When I don't stretch my arms and chest enough, a couple of ribs in the upper right side of my chest are yanked out of position and really hurt. My chiropractor taught me some good stretches to help with this. 
• Sleeping on my right side causes a fluttering in my lung, which causes me to cough. 
• Sleeping on my left side still causes some pain from the surgery positioning, so I have to keep my right arm supported. 
• My back is still very weak, and sitting or standing for too long makes it hurt. I'm told that as my muscles knit to the mesh patch in my back, this will improve.

Here are a few pictures of what i've been doing:

Lots of puppy snuggles.

And sweet little boy snuggles.

Hanging out with my handsome boy.

I cut out lots of paper bats for Halloween.

The little man in our house loved how they turned out.

Two firsts: my first glass of wine, post-op, and my first date night with the hubs!