Knee Surgery 2 – Learning more

Posted on May 31, 2010 by christianradio

It’s been four days since my latest surgery to remove a rather large piece of cartilage from my left knee. You may have read that I had knee surgery on my right knee in March. So, this has been a few months of painful knees. I hurt my knee February 26. So, I’ve been dealing with some kind of knee pain for three months. Pain is good, however. If you think about it, when were some of the greatest moments of spiritual growth in your life?

For me, spiritual growth came during incredible times of pain. They may not have been physical pains, but they could be spiritual pains. Mental pains that are brought on by situations in our lives. Perhaps they’re circumstances brought on through our family situations. All of these things have helped form the person I am spiritually.

This latest knee issue has actually been kinda interesting. Many friends have asked, “How can you do this again? What next? Aren’t you frustrated? Are you depressed? Are you asking God why?

The interesting thing is, I feel incredibly blessed. If you believe God is sovereign (which I do), He allows these trials in our lives. It’s in His plan. If He thinks it’s important enough for me to go through these ‘trials’, shouldn’t I look for Him through them? It’s interesting, though. I don’t look at this as a trial. I seems more a like a time out. You know, something you do in the middle of a big basketball game. Things are going great, you’re winning, time is running out — but the coach wants to make sure everyone’s on the same page. So, he calls a time out and talks it over. That’s how I view this. God wants me to take a moment, listen to Him and get ready to finish the task ahead.

I have a funny feeling that there could be a lot of ‘time outs’ because I have so much to learn.

The verses that keeps coming to mind are 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 which says:

³Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, ⁴who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. ⁵For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. ⁶If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. ⁷And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

It’s strange talking about my knee being ‘trouble’ because it isn’t something that was caused in persecution or attacks, but something God has been allowing me to go through.

So, what the ‘take away’ value from this? I turn to James 1:2 “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials fo various kinds.”

Here is a recent video I made on Saturday. If you don’t like blood or swelling, don’t watch it.

Knee Surgery update – May 26, 2010

Posted on May 27, 2010 by christianradio

What a great day! This morning I went to my physical therapy for my right knee. I bent my knee to 131 degrees. Not much progress on the bending, but great progress on the strength. I was able to bike 2.2 miles in 10 minutes on the bike, I did 30 squats with no pain. I actually saw my quad flex and bulge (bulge is a relative term).

Then, I went to the hospital for my second knee surgery. This one was on my LEFT knee. I injured it in 1992 (yes, playing basketball). But, back in April I noticed, what appeared to me, a second (but much small) knee cap. The doctor had thought it was a bone chip, which he thought had broken lose from a bone spur.

Well, that’s not what it was. Through an arthroscope, the doctor was able to go in and identify a very large piece of cartilage. He told my wife it was about the size of a golf ball. So, he removed it and we’re good to go.

In terms of recovery? He said it’ll be about a month until my knee is ‘happy’ again. But, I’m supposed to bend it and do straight leg lifts and keep it iced for the short term.

When I arrived home I started icing it, propping in up on pillows and walking a little. It felt (feels) pretty good. But, I noticed some blood soaking through the ace wrap. So, I call the doctor and he told me to stop doing any bending and walking on it and just allow it to heal a little. Tomorrow should be better.

Here’s a video of my day.

At around 7:30 pm tonight I noticed a rather large blood spot on the ace bandage outside my knee. This really surprised me because with my open knee surgery, I didn’t have hardly ANY bleeding. So, I called the doctor’s after hours service. He called back and told me to put more packing around the knee to help stop the bleeding and keep ice on it. I’m doing that. We’ll see what happens.

I’ve taken a little video about my day today, but nothing graphic this time….unless you don’t like the sight of blood.

Keep praying for my recovery.

Knee Update – More surgery to come

Posted on May 23, 2010 by christianradio

It’s May 23, 2010 and it’s been more than two months since my right knee surgery. I’m coming right alone. I’m not limping much any more. I’m still in physical therapy. I’m bending my knee to about 130 degrees. I haven’t had to ice it in weeks. However, it does swell up a bit when I’m standing still. Not sure why. It doesn’t seem to bother me too much when I’m walking.

In mid April, I had another doctor appointment. At that time he told me I was progressing well. He gave me three or four more weeks of physical therapy to get it back to normal. However, we did discover something ELSE. But, this time in the other knee.

In the early 90’s I had a similar surgery on my left knee. It has served me well for almost 20 years. However, when I was playing football last fall my doctor thinks a bone spur broke loose (after being tackled) and with the extra stress I’ve put on my left leg because of my surgery, it’s making its way out of the knee joint and into the side of my knee. It hasn’t really bothered me until a couple weeks ago when I was mowing the lawn. That caused me to make another appointment, at which time the doctor said it was time to take it out.

So, this Wednesday, I’ll be heading into surgery for another knee surgery. However, this time it will be arthroscopic. The bone chip is about the size of a nickle, so it’s not really small. But, the doctor thinks there will be little recovery time. He thinks I’ll be pain free in about five weeks. But, I’ll be putting weight and bending it right after surgery. So, it should be A LOT easier than the previous surgery.

As for the other knee, I’m doing great. I’ve been mowing the lawn, riding my motorcycle, jogging a little (very little), and it’s getting better every day.

So, I’ve got a little bit of an adventure ahead of me again. Pray that all will go well, and once again God will be glorified through it.

Disappointment, but progress made

Posted on April 1, 2010 by christianradio

April 1st is one of my favorite days of the year. It’s kind of MY official beginning of Spring. It’s also a day that’s full of practical jokes, which is quite fun. This year I wasn’t able to do any practice jokes because of my knee surgery. However, I was able to accomplish a couple of things today.

Today also marked my second post-op doctor appointment. Today I was hoping to get word that I could start physical therapy on my reconstructed knee. However, the appointment didn’t go completely as planned.

Since I still can’t drive, my wife took me to my appointment. We were on time. But, the doctor office WASN’T on time. That’s a great way to get me irritated. We sat for nearly 30 minutes waiting to get in to see the doctor. With no where to put my leg up, it was very uncomfortable.

However, I finally made it back to see the doctor. First, they removed my brace. Then, the staples that have been in my knee since March 17. Then the doctor came in and gave me the news. He told me the healing is looking pretty good, “But, let’s go another 10 days. You can start putting a little bit of weight on your leg. Don’t throw away the crutches yet, but start putting weight on it. And, by the time I see you in 10 days, hopefully you’ll be able to put all your weight on it.”

I asked, “Can I start doing leg lifts?” Doctor Dean said, “No, not yet. That’ll put too much pressure on the repair. Just start putting a little weight on it. Don’t bend it yet. And, we’ll get you into physical therapy after that.”

That’s NOT what I was hoping for. I was really hoping I would be able to start therapy. I actually teared up a bit. I was so ready to start working hard a my recovery. Now, I just have to do more waiting.

Then, I thought to myself — “Self, why don’t you just start working hard to putting weight on your leg. Work hard at that and NOT over do it.” That was all I needed to get me motivated and out of the dumps.

I’ve found this whole process has been a roller coaster of emotions. When I first started out, I was bound and determined that I was NOT going to feel sorry for myself. When I did, I was going to focus on others who were worse off than me. I was going begin reading the Bible and try to make it all the way through the Bible in a month. I was also going to be encouraging to as many believers I met on Facebook or other social media websites. You would think those would be easy goals, right? Well, I haven’t been very successful.

In the first three or four days of my recovery, I read all the way through Numbers. But, for whatever reason, I just STOPPED. Every time I started feeling pain, or emotionally uneasy, I would start praying for friends who were worse off than me, or Christians who were facing incredible amounts of abuse because of their faith in Christ. But, when I started thinking about WORK and politics — I just stopped. I feel like such a failure.

Then someone pointed out to me, “Greg, God gave you a great gift. He gave you the desire to seek after Him. You had four successful days. Four days you hadn’t sought after Him before. Now, you just need to start over.” He’s right. I never thought of it that way.

So, what does all this mean? It means I’m two weeks into my recovery. It sounds like the doctor believes it’s going to be at least another six weeks until I’m not feeling much discomfort. I have four days of searching after Christ, under my belt. So, that mean I’m WAY ahead of where I was.

If you want to see what went on at the doctor’s office, watch this YouTube video below.

Knee Surgery Recovery – March 24, 2010

Posted on March 24, 2010 by christianradio

It’s nearing the end of the day today and I thought I would post. Not much new has happened. I do have a little more pain today. But, I’m trying to keep in under control with meds. Yesterday, I was trying to ween myself off of them, but the reality is — I still need them. I shouldn’t have tried to do that. That’s probably why I had such a difficult day.

I took my first shower today. THAT was an event. Because I can’t keep my leg straight without a brace and the fact that I’m not supposed to put weight on it — getting into the shower is a difficult task. You should try it. Try getting ready for a shower without bending your leg. Try stepping into a shower stall without bending your leg, or putting weight on one of your leg. The only way to do it is with crutches. When the bottoms get wet, on a laminate floor can be catastrophic. Once I got in, I was okay. But, when I tried getting out I was scared. I thought, “one wrong move and I”m back in the hospital.” I got more nervous and more nervous — then the knee/foot pain started getting worse. I was in trouble. Then I took the hop over the shower stall edge. Good foot on dry floor — bad foot in the shower stall. Since I can’t do a straight leg lift, can’t bend my knee and can’t put weight on it — I was stuck. What did I do? I eased my bad foot to the edge of the shower stall, ever so slowly easing my heel the 8 inches to the floor of the bathroom — whew — I was safe.

I’m not taking another shower any time soon. That was frightening. I think next time, a bath is for me. I can do that sitting down with my foot up. I just have to get upstairs to do that.

The shower was the most eventful event today. I did get a couple of visitors. Steve Raemisch and Brian Felten brought me lunch. After that — nothing.

My day consists of waking up on the couch. Getting up and get ready for the day. Go back to the couch. Make coffee on the way to the couch. Fire up the laptop computer. Get up, get coffee — which is hard with crutches. Then back to the couch. Then lunch — on the couch. Then, more couch. Couch, couch, couch and more couch.

But, the great news is I HAVE A COUCH that I can be comfortable in. In Haiti, those who are injured are living on the streets. Those who have more serious injuries than me are struggling just to find shelter. I have a house. I’m truly blessed to have what I have. Pain or no pain, I’m truly blessed beyond anything I can imagine.

Keep praying for me. I wish I was stronger. I wish I was more of an example. I’m just doing what God allows me to do — were it not for grace.

Recovery March 23, 2010

Posted on March 24, 2010 by christianradio

Well, it’s finally hit. Self pity. Depression. Concern. Worry. Pain. All of it seemed to hit today. I’m not really sure why. I’ve been doing everything I can to try and keep my gaze toward Christ, but today I just started doubting EVERYTHING. Not about my walk spiritually, or how I’m trying to focus on learning something through the pain. Now I’m asking stupid questions.

They really are stupid, too. Questions like: What if the surgery didn’t work? Will I ever be able to bend me knee again? Am I getting a blood clot? Am I doing little enough to give myself a fighting chance when I finally start physical therapy. See? I told you they were stupid questions.

The day started off bad. I woke up at 6:30 with pain. I didn’t take any medication and I think my foot may have slipped of the pillow, so my knee may be bent a little — no easy task when you’re in a full knee immobilizer. But, it was enough to start my day on a negative note. When you’re in that much pain, you really don’t want to get out of bed. I popped a couple pain pills and waited for them to kick in. I finally got up and manage to turn my day around by reading the Bible. I started in Genesis and plan to read all the way through the Bible. Believe it or not, I did get a lot out of my reading this morning.

Because of the uneasy feelings I was having I decided to put them out of my mind by just going outside and watch the little neighbor kids play in the warm spring weather here in Michigan. I was up on my crutches about 30 minutes. It was good. I felt good. My leg didn’t hurt that much. The interesting thing about my pain is the knee pain isn’t that bad, it’s the associated swelling in my foot and the lack of circulation there that’s causing me the greatest discomfort.

If I’m upright for very long my foot literally turns a unique purple color. I think it’s because the wrap around my knee is pretty tight (compression wrap for the swelling), plus the knee immobilizer is causing a bit of a circulation problem. But, if I move my foot around while I’m hobbling on the crutches, it seems okay.

When I cam in from outside, I was pleased because I didn’t have much pain in my foot. However, I had to go out tonight for a family appointment this afternoon. I sat most of the time, but when I returned, my foot was purple again.

So, my uneasiness is based more on the pain in my foot, than the pain in my knee. Silly isn’t it? I guess I’m battling the fear of more blood clots. So, I’ve placed my trust on something OTHER than Christ.

I know better. Why do I do this? Is it lack of faith? It is a lack of a complete relationship with Him. What is it? Why do I question Him so often? I know God does this for my good. I know He’s not surprised by any of it. (sigh)

It’s almost midnight and I’m sitting here wondering what I’m going to do about it. Ultimately, I’m going to end my writing, pray and ask God to change my attitude and understand that my ways are His ways and the other way around.

Bottom line? Took a step backward today with the way my knee feels. I don’t feel like I made any ‘healing’ progress today. But, perhaps this was a day God wanted to cut me down a couple notches to make sure I ‘hear’ Him. “Lord I’m really trying to listen. Help me listen.”

Greg’s Knee Recovery – Part 1

Posted on March 22, 2010 by christianradio

While I have been home for about four days now, the recovery is just now getting under way. The first doctor’s appointment following the surgery always seems to kick that off. In my mind, it’s now in full swing, even though I can’t do anything to start rehabilitating my knee. The first step is always letting it heal. So, that’s what I’m doing.

Today, was my first appointment following surgery. The doctor says my knee looks good. There is a little swelling, which should be expected following surgery. However, I’m being told not to put any weight on my right leg. The doctor also told me NOT to do any straight leg lifts. This will be very difficult. My leg is already atrophied. The quadriceps muscle and specifically the vastus medialis is really bad. It’s amazing how fast the muscle has atrophied. It’s hard not to want to start working on it.

During this short time, however, I’ve been amazed at the encouragement I’ve received from friends and just acquaintances. Some have shared the soul with me — telling me about their pains. Others have provided encouragement to me personally. This has been amazing.

When I first got hurt I was feeling sorry for myself. I was coming up with all kinds of “if I only” to lament the injury. I was constantly thinking about all the things I would miss out on — basketball, motorcycle riding, running, walking, etc. However, now I’m looking at it more as an adventure and opportunity, rather than a hindrance.

While I’m not enjoying the pain and frustration of having to sit still, I am trying to look inward and see what God has in store for me. As he reveals Himself in my life, I promise I will share those details with you as they happen.

In the meantime, here’s the most recent video I made of my last few days of recovery.

Knee Surgery – Day One

Posted on March 18, 2010 by christianradio

It’s amazing how God uses people in your life to reveal the reality of your spiritual walk with Him and the need to tackled the ‘issues’ head-on. That’s exactly what happen Sunday. Went to morning worship and then to Bible study hour and that’s where it hit me.

Our Bible study hour teacher in Steve Raemisch. We were talking about the troubles we go through in living for Christ. We went through many verses, including verses in Job. However, this is what hit me between the eyes. Steve was telling us a story about a well known Bible teacher going to visit a young girl who had cancer. He asked how he could pray for her and she said, “Pray that I won’t waste my suffering.”

That scored a direct hit on my walk. I’ve been feeling sorry for myself. I didn’t want the surgery. Why did I have to play basketball that night? Why couldn’t the knee just heal on its own? Why do I have to give up all my Spring and Summer in rehab? What’s the plan? Will I have ‘issues’? Will I make it through the pain?

All those questions went away when I heard those words repeated by that young lady. Now, it’s my prayer. Did it take the fear away? Did it ease the stress? NO! But, it’s made it better.

I got to the hospital at about 11:30am. I was greeted by our associate pastor and dear friend, Steve Raemisch. I hooped into registration. Steve followed my wife Ann and me. He came into the surgical prep room. He read Psalm 16 to us and it really hit home. Psalm 16:11 is great. “you make know to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

That where we need to be!

My Dad came all the way over to the hospital from the east side of the state (three hour drive) to be with me. My mom wasn’t feeling well and couldn’t be here.

While I was praying for healing BEFORE the surgery, God has made the provision of a good surgeon. Dr. Dean did a couple of procedures. He ‘tighten up’ the muscle that attaches to the patella and performed a lateral release, which will free up the tension on the right side of my right knee and keep the patella (knee cap) in place.

Greg in Hospital

The 45 minute surgery went well. There were no surprises. But, the surprise was the pain when I woke up. I have never had so much pain. They gave me my first does of pain killer. That didn’t do anything. Then, they had to put in a block. From that point to the time of this writing, I haven’t felt pain even close to that.

I had several visitors. Dear friends Brian and Sharon Felten and Joel Hill. We spent some great time together. My wife, Ann, has been by my side and I love her for that.

I got caught up on my email and facebook page.

My nurses have been great. Joyce and Lisa were the first to serve me. They have been wonderful. They’re both believers and it’s been fun to have that kindred spirits.

I tried going to bed around midnight, but I couldn’t sleep. I think I only got a total of three hours of sleep. So, it’s going to be a tough day to stay focused and happy.

I’ll be getting out of bed for the first time today when Physical Therapy gets here. And, I’m hoping to hear the words, “You may go home” when the doctor arrives. Not sure when that will be. I’m guessing it’ll be around noon or shortly after.

Help Haiti with Compassion

Posted on February 2, 2010 by christianradio

It has been a whirlwind trip. As you know, I landed in the Dominican Republic Friday, January 29. I spent the night in Santo Domingo. I woke up at 6:00 am to a phone call asking me to be ready to leave at 8:00 am. Wondering to myself — “does he mean 8:00 am — or somewhere AROUND 8:00 am.”

I decided to get up and get a meal at the hotel restaurant — last meal before heading to the unknown.

I took a shower, packed up and headed to breakfast. It was great — a buffet. I LOVE breakfast, especially in buffet style. I had

Bus ride to Haiti

eggs, potatoes, a wonderful banana, bacon, and fresh orange juice. It was great. However, I was thinking to myself, “Self, you have an 8 hour bus ride to Haiti. What goes in must come out.” I’ll spare you the details. But, it was a concern.

I went back to my room picked up my luggage and headed to the lobby. I checked out at 7:55 am and prepared for the hour long wait. However, to my surprise, Ivan was waiting for me outside. It was great. He told me that I would be riding alone to Haiti. “Do you speak Spanish?” he asked. I said, “Nope — not a lick.” He said, “It should be a great trip to catch up with your reading because you’re not going to talk to anyone.” LOL

He was right. I sat near the front in assigned seat 12, next to a girl who told me right away, “No, English — none — no English. No talk.” That sounded like English to me. She was young, about 20 something. She was traveling to Haiti with several others — not sure if they were family or not. She did not enjoy sitting by me. Not sure why. She did have this thing for bees. She had a bee that kept crawling toward her on the window. She’s was afraid of it. But, she wouldn’t kill it. I tried to help her, but she wouldn’t let me. A tree hugger in Dominican Republic.

The bus was nice. Air conditioning, quiet, good springs. It was comfortable.

Men work on a load of food at the border.

It took about 4 hours to get to the Haitian border. Woe, what a stark difference between the DR and Haiti. It’s like night and day. On the DR side, trees, grass, water, pretty flowers and everything you would expect in a tropical island nation. However, when we got to the border it was just the opposite. Like a wasteland. No trees. The lake was full of silt. Pollution everywhere. It was just awful.

We made it to customs and it was chaos, at best. We were there two hours. Since I don’t speak the language, it was anybody’s guess what was going on.

We finally made it in to Haiti. The roads — bad. As we got closer and closer to Port au Prince we started seeing damage to buildings. As we finally made it to the bus terminal, I thought I had seen it all. But, I hadn’t been downtown yet. That’s when my eyes were open to the incredible amount of devastation.

The pictures speak for themselves.

Port au Prince, Haiti Earthquake 2010

Haiti Supreme Court Building 2010

Port au Prince, Haiti Earthquake 2010

Everything the Haitians knew as their power structure has been destroyed. The Presidential Palace, Supreme Court and the Military.

What’s great is Compassion International is there to help. No, they’re not doing it alone. They come along side the local church to empower THEM to do. Since they understand the community needs better than anyone, they uniquely qualified to identify the most needy. They’re the ones who become the heroes in the community, which gives them a platform to share their faith.

Compassion International had 74 staff. Now they have 73. Of the 73 staff members, 15 of their family members lost their lives. 16 program staff (church members) lost their lives. 61 sponsored children and young adults lost their lives. 233 were injured.

One staff member Eusua and his wife, lost his daughter. He told me, “I wasn’t even there. I was here working at Compassion when the earthquake hit.” His eye welling up with tears. He told me his wife was caring for his son and daughter when the quake hit. They survived the quake, “But when they ran away my daughter got away from my wife and a wall fell on her.” He asked me to pray for his wife who is taking it hard.

Can you imagine having your son in your arms, your other child running for her life, only to be killed by a falling wall?

Joshlyn Molone' with Dashna and Dashne, her nieces.

On the ground stories like Joshlyn Molone ring throughout Haiti. Her sister, mother of twin girls nearly two years old died in the earthquake. Now, Molone’, 21, will share the responsibility of taking care of her nieces with her 15-year-old sister. They’re now reduced to living in a tent outside the ruins of the girls’ home — a tent purchased by the twins mother before the quake.

Rain is the enemy. With tent cities the only means of protection for those homeless will be ineffective. Typhoid, Cholera, and Malaria will take its toll on this population — 10-percent of which died in the earthquake.

In Laogone, Compassion International sent a medical team in to help the city of about 10,000. Few medical teams had made it into the region. They were able to find many walking wounded, including a young girl who was injured in the quake. She was cooking at the time. A wall came down on her hand, pinning it in the fire. When she was rescued, her index finger was lost. From January 12 to January 30, this little girls has been among the walking wounded. The team was able to get her to a hospital, and later evacuated to a hospital in Martinique.

Today, was Help Haiti with Compassion. I talked with several radio stations around the country — from New York to Chicago to California. All

Greg speaking to WMBI Moody Radio Chicago.

with one purpose, raising money to help Compassion International’s work in Haiti. The goal was to raise as much money as possible for the work of Compassion International in Haiti. More than 1,000 radio stations said they would participate. Some did more than others. But, all in all we were able to raise more than $1-million for the needs of the people of Haiti.

Well, it’s been an incredible couple of days. Keep praying for the people of Haiti. Equally as important — GIVE. http://www.HelpHaitiWithCompassion.org.

Also, if you’d like to see pictures of my trip, click here.

MSU wins now plays UNC

Posted on April 5, 2009 by christianradio

For the first time in my adult life, I have taken my family on a spring break trip. My sister and brother in-law are serving at a church in North Carolina. So, we decided to leave the cold of Michigan to travel to NC for a break. To tell you about this, I have to go back a week.

A week ago (March 27). Because I was going to be away on a men’s retreat, my wife decided to go to New York to see our married son and grand kids. Unfortunately, when she go to Port Huron, MI (three hours away), the transmission in our car went out. Forutnately, the day before I decided to buy her a GPS to help in her navigation. When the car broke down she could just barely limp along. The GPS got her to a Chevy Dealer by taking the back roads. She got there safely. The dealer, gave her a rental, and sent her on her way.

Fortunately, the transmission was covered by an extended warrantee that we had purchased when we bought the car. But, because it was a Japanese transmission they weren’t able to get parts quickly. Long story short, it took them nearly a week to get the parts they needed and they weren’t able to get the car done in time. So, we had to take my 2001 Buick. It has nearly 100,000 miles. So, at 8:30 pm Friday, we started on our way…a 13 hour trip.

I love driving at night. I decided to would try to make a little past Cincinnati and look for a hotel. We made it there at around 1:00 am, but there weren’t any hotels available. Not thinking EVERYONE would be stopping around Cincinnati because of SPRING BREAK, we kept driving. We drove another hour before we found a Motel 6 who, “left the light up for us.” We slept until 8:00 am and got back on the road.

We drove to Gatlinburg, TN where my wife, Ann, visited with an old friend. We had lunch and spent some time laughing and got on our way to NC.

We arrived at around 5:45 and traveled directly to the cabin we rented. Through the winding roads in the foothills of the smokies. We passed horse farms and streams. It was so beautiful. Our cabins are about 15 minutes from town, but it feels like it’s out in the middle of no-where. The great thing is the cabin has cable and wi-fi. So, as soon as I got the car unpacked I turned on the Michigan State vs UConn game. To my utter joy, MSU was in the lead.

What an exciting game. We watch the first half, leaving the cabin to go visit my sister and her family nearby. It took the entire half to get there and we arrived JUST in time to watch the second half. It was a great battle, but MSU got the upper hand with it’s up-beat style offense and tough defence and pulled off a great victory to win the semi-final game of the Final Four.

So, Monday will be a lot of fun. I’m in NORTH CAROLINA. I’ll be cheering for MICHIGAN STATE with my Green and White MSU hat and shirt. My goal is to go a location where there A LOT of North Carolina fans and be the ONLY MSU fan cheering my loudest for the Spartans. Wait — no, I have a wife and kids. I think I just watch it with my sister and her family. No, I’m not a chicken — I just don’t want to get hurt while I’m on vacation.

GO STATE!!!