News from Bride

It has been a while since I sent out a Bride bulletin. So many things have
happened this year it is hard to know where to start.

2008 has been one year that I wish to forget. This year my wife Sharon
survived breast cancer. She is still going through many adjustments because
of the disease but is cancer free. My dad Philip had a heart attack, flat
lined twice and was brought back to life by electric shock to have to
undergo triple bypass surgery and the replacement of his carotid artery. My
89 year old grandfather and spiritual mentor for many years Raymond Capps
was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease, quickly deteriorated and was placed
in a nursing home where he now has succumb to the ravages of the disease and
is out of touch with reality. My middle son Zach was hospitalized with a
severe ulcer on his esophagus and had to undergo radical treatment to heal
this condition. Zach also dislocated his knee playing soccer for his High
School team and was sidelined for the season. Now it appears it is my turn
to face the knife. LOL
I have been treated for several years for arthritis in my shoulders and
hands. The condition has worsened over the last few months. I have had over
20 cortisone injections over the last 4 years to elevate inflammation and
reduce pain. The injections no longer work for any length of time so at the
beginning of 2009 after Sharon has her last reconstruction surgery I will
undergo complete shoulder replacement.
This surgery is not for the faint of heart. Total shoulder replacement
surgery also known as total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA), alleviates pain by
replacing the damaged bone and cartilage with a metal and plastic implant.
The shoulder joint is a ball-and-socket joint, much like the hip joint. The
ball is the top of the arm bone (the humerus), and the socket is within the
shoulder blade (scapula). This joint allows people an enormous range of
motion at the shoulder.
When shoulder replacement surgery is performed, the ball is removed from the
top of the humerus and replaced with a metal implant. This is shaped like a
half-moon and attached to a stem inserted down the center of the arm bone.
The socket portion of the joint is shaved clean and replaced with a plastic
socket that is cemented into the scapula.
This surgery will take me out of commission for at least three months and in
that time I will have to work with physical therapists to regain use of my
new shoulder.

This is what I have been told is the realistic expectation of recovery.
o At about three months after surgery, most patients are reasonably
comfortable, have motion about half normal, but do notice some weakness.
o At six months, most patients are pain-free (although weather does have an
effect), and have motion and strength about two-thirds normal.
o At one year, approximately 95% of TSA patients will be pain-free, and the
remaining will usually have no more than a weather ache or an occasional
ache with excessive activity. Likewise, there will probably not be
significant strength limitations, depending on the condition of the deltoid
and rotator cuff.
So there you have it. The last several months have been hard but maybe we
will see the light of day after the first of the year. I want to thank
everyone again for sending their support. Your gifts have not gone
unappreciated.

In Christ Jesus the Savior of All men especially those who believe!

Dale

P.S. Oh yeah "No matter how you vote November 4th, VOTE AGAINST OBAMA! He
will raise your taxes, kill the unborn, turn tail and run, raise your taxes,
take away your freedoms of speech and the right to own a gun, strip you of
your religious freedoms and run the most radical liberal government the
United States has ever known. If you have been blinded by the hype, the self
promotion, the liberal media bias I forgive you. Do your own research before
you vote and vote against this horrific perversion. Obama and his cohorts
plan to take over the government and if the people of this great nation
allow him to do such a despicable thing we will indeed be judged by a
righteous God who will severely prune and purge us like never before. Be
ready for judgment my friend. It will be fast, furious and ferocious.