Well I certainty have done a horrible job and keeping the blog updated! I tend to keep the updates on the Team Muzzy page up and running tho. Just in case your a blog reader and keep up this way let me see if I can fill you guys in.

Cory went off to Blind school at the Hines, VA blind center in Chicago, IL. He learned so very much there and had way too much fun. He didn't want to leave! He went horse back riding, golfing, swimming, kayaking, fishing, played some bingo and visited some cool spots like Al Capone's grave and some museums. His had 7 classes a day, 5 days a week, for 2 months. They were broke down into living skills, orientation & mobility, manual skills, computer and technology skills, and ADL skills. Many of these areas he flew through with little to no issues.

I came to the blind center for the family program. Were I spent 2 days kinda going through a bit of what Cory has done and a overview of what he can/cant do. Yes, I was blind folded to complete some tasks myself and lets just say everyone should really try it! It deff brings on a whole new perspective!

Cory is like a whole new man! I am highly impressed with the center and Cory!

We are just back to Texas now where they will start his MED board process to medically retire out of the Army. He is also back to rehab at the CFI were he will start learning how to run and practice swimming some more.

Cory and I have sat down and after a lot of consideration we have decided we will not be trying for baby Muzzy any longer. We could be on our way back home for good in 4-6 months and we would rather not just try to squeeze it in and add so much more stress to our lives. We wont be preventing so if it ever just happens to happen then that's a miracle worth having! If not, its not the end of the world either. We are talking of maybe adopting in maybe 5 years or so. Time will tell where our hearts will lead us.

Overall Cory is doing fantastic and we are trying to get into a new normal now that hes so much more independent! He has an eye check up tomorrow which honestly I'm a bit worried about because Cory has said the last couple of weeks his vision has declined, and looking at his right eye it looks really different then what I left him as. So I worry as always!

Next week I am starting a part time job that's only a couple of days a week but will give me something to do while Cory is off doing his stuff. Plus who couldn't use some extra money?

It's pretty weird to think we are finally at the end of this journey and will soon be transitioning on into building our real normal lives the way we choose too. Whats even funnier is that when things first happen Cory and I made it a goal to be going home around the 2 year mark of the accident. How strange is that to be coming true?! We can taste the freedom! We cant wait to find all our new activity spots and hook up with local organizations as well as volunteer our little hearts out when we get back home for good. Cory had to pass up speaking at the Duke conference this year but plans to next year, as well as going to the Tee tournament again, and possibly this week long event for the younger blind kids out in Chicago. This year we are hoping to be able to take what use to be our yearly summer vacation trip to the mountains again! I am so looking forward to that week. We need to find a spot to golf at, a spot to kayak at, a spot to ride horses at and a spot to fish at in our area of Sampson or Cumberland county back home still! Send us any places that would work with Cory and allow some adapting! (for example letting a golf cart on the green to stand up against when he swings etc.)

Oh yea everything on the house minus 2 things is done (installing a kitchen fan and fixing the shed lights switch into the house if the contractor ever gets around to doing it, which if its not done by the time we are home again I will hire someone else to do them and deduct those expenses from the gift cards I owe him for purchasing the appliances. I am also going to have a dimmer installed and change out the living room fan to match. Then its a matter of finishing decorating when all our goods ship home! Then I'll tackle cleaning out our shed and organizing it to have it extended out the back to create a workshop/gym for Cory!

Thank you for all the continued support we love each and every one of you!

Hello Blogger community I want to apologize for not doing a better job on updating y'all! If your on Facebook I do most of the updating on the Team Muzzy page or my personal Facebook.

Most of y'all who read here aren't on Facebook so I apologize in advance!

Last update seemed to be the beginning of January, my how times fly's!

So much to update on!!!

Cory's right eye is healing nicely and staying stable so far. The pressure is back down into a normal range again. His cornea is clearing up and he is beginning to be able to use his eyeglasses (needs a new prescription) to see large contrasted print, shapes, colors, light/shadow, and movement up close again. His left eye has been pretty stable this whole time so we are thinking its better to hold off on fixing it till after Cory attends blind rehab which he plans to do in August/September in Chicago, IL.

At blind rehabilitation Cory will learn to become completely independent in 4 to 6 possibly up to 8 weeks. I will be dropping him off and then heading home to NC during his schooling. At the end I get to come and be taught the best ways to help him in his new way of life, for example how to properly guide him. They will also show me everything he can do so that he cant try and get out of anything by saying he isn't able to. We joked about house work! We are hoping he can get a hard contact before he goes so that he can have his best vision possible.

He wanted to hold off on his left eye surgeries (which should only be 2 if all goes well) because from now till he leaves for blind rehab he has time to practice walking. His goal is to be using a cane instead of forearm crutches by then. He has 3 months!

Cory's left ear is healing really nicely and we expect his hearing to return to 80% fingers crossed and then the hearing aids will help in certain situations too. This is the week he comes off restrictions and can get back to walking. He still has to take it easy on straining too hard or much. He is very happy to finally get back to work! I'll be happy to get back into a routine too.

His legs are perfect! They are all healed no problems and he is soooooo happy Dr. G the amazing cached that nerve and fixed it. I catch him tapping and rubbing his nub all the time just because he can now. He couldn't touch it like that before with out hurting!

The House is looking so amazing and we couldn't have made this possible with out all of your help!

Thank you for all the love, support, prayers, and donations!

Thank you to The Americas Fund for making this happen for Cory and I!

By the time all is said and done with the help from a VA grant, The Americas Fund, Donations from all of you and savings from our hard earned money this whole project will have cost around $135,000.

This completely renovated the whole home to become accessible for Cory and then some.

Doorways where widened, half of the home was extended out the back to create more space for the kitchen, master bath and new master bedroom, we ran into water issues that had to be taken care of with 275 feet of a french pump drain, a back deck and ramp with 2 exits as required by ADA code were added along with several windows, all floors were replaced with hardwood and tile, the new master bathroom will have a roll in shower and two entrances, our previous bar counter was relocated to open up the space between the living room and kitchen eliminating the wall altogether, kitchen counters will vary in height to allow for roll in with wheelchair, roll under sink, the stove will have front access for the knobs as well as the fridge will have a drawer that pulls out at the perfect height for wheelchairs, painted the whole place, the laundry room was rearranged for roll in access and the water heater was replaced with a tank-less system, vinyl siding and gutters where installed, new furnishings, thank you garden, and outdoor toys for the boys as well. Half of the furnishings are here with us in Texas and will go back with us when we return home for good.

Want to give a shout out to All American Home Renovations and our contractor Marc and his teams for making our home into the beautiful gem it is.

We are holding a open house June 17^th from 1:00 pm till 4:00 pm.

604 North Pine Street, Roseboro, NC 28382

We would love to have you come check out what your hard work went into and to give us a chance to meet you as well! Refreshments will be provided and plenty of things to do for the kids as well!

We will never be able to thank everyone enough, forever grateful!

If that date doesn't work for you please don't hesitate to visit on another, we will be home on leave from June 15^th till July 6^th just expect a whole bunch of crazy with me unpacking the pod after the open house!

On our second wedding anniversary we are getting the best gift ever, after 10 long months or having not seen them, we are bringing home our furbabies! Since they started the remodel they have been off at training camp where they are doing an amazing job I hear! I literally can not wait to snuggle!

On to the making baby Muzzy front. Still haven't been able to get into the infertility clinic here due to my BMI being higher then 35. I was taking 1000mg of Metiformn and getting the normal cramps and potty issues that go along with that medication despite doing the whole low carb thing as suggested, however when they upped it to 2000mg and I became nauseous all day and puking after anything I ate. I gave myself a little break. I will be restarting here soon and titrated up again as I can handle. I take Metiformn for insulin resistance due to PCOS. After several tests and a biopsy it was determined my lining to be too thick so I am now on Provera 14 days on and 14 days off till told otherwise to stop. I will have to redo the tests and biopsy in 6 months. In the mean time I have to do a 2hr glucose test and another HSG. Cory's semen analysis came back abnormal, the one prior to the accident was normal so he was referred to a urologist and has to repeat another semen analysis. I am hoping that it was somehow just a mistake. Its hard enough having me be the problem with out adding to it. Ill just keep my fingers crossed. I ordered a ton of things I am hoping will help the process. I am starting a low-carb/little to no sugar/clean eating diet at at least 80% along with becoming more active to lose some weight since that's apparently the reason for all things infertile. Which I get so tired of hearing because honestly I know its better on my body but when I lost 80 pounds before it made no difference in having a baby. Not once have I ever in my life gotten a positive test or had to worry about it like most people. It simply just doesn't happen for me. I do not ovulate. Sorry for the vent. I have invested in several tools to help when things start to get more serious and are no longer all tests. I have fertile-Aid, Ova-boost, fertile CM, fertile focus saliva ovulation detector, Ovu-Sense monitoring system, PreSeed, Pro+ & Endoflex essential oils, soft cups, and a gazillion hcg test strips. So to say the least we are pretty serious!

On to some awesomeness! Cory has shown some interest a few times about learning to play guitar. So I thought well hey he must be serious, I set to Facebook to ask some questions and a friend and fellow wounded warrior wife sent us to Warrior Cry Music Project to see if they could help!

What a truly amazing organization they instantly brought us on board! If I could explain the excitement in Cory's face to learn something new, to find a new hobby that isn't almost completely changed just because he cant see, it was just the most beautiful thing I have seen in awhile. Not only will Cory be learning but they brought me on board as well! So we will be learning together! I am totally in love with this idea. Its something new that we get to build with each other. I am so happy he is finally finding new hobbies he is loving and I'm starting to see the pain of not being able to do what he use to anymore leave his body and be replaced by these new awesome things! Kayaking and Guitar!

God thank you for all your blessings and continue to watch over our supporters!

Sorry for such a long read!

-Team Muzzy

See a video of Cory being silly HERE

See a video of Cory walking  HERE

Updates:

Cory's right nubby is doing well, he was cleared to start wearing his liner again. It's looking fantastic! He wont be having anymore eye surgeries until we come back from leave in March. He's started with Recreational Therapy (RT) and is loving it. He went to the food bank and sorted stuff and said he had a good time and that he liked it. I got a lot done in the 4 hours of free time that gave me by getting a lot of the stuff we need for the ski trip lol Friday their doing Dave & Busters, I'll have to remind him to wear his hearing aids that day so he doesn't get overwhelmed. I'm so proud of him. Everything is real stable for the moment and things are going well here in Texas. I am so thankful for the staff always going out of their ways for us. I wonder if they realize how big of an impact they make on peoples lives and how grateful we are for them. There will never be enough words. Never.

They start remodeling the house next week!!!! This weekend everyone is packing up everything and putting it all in the POD. Jerry from the Fayetteville Location got us a sweet deal and helped us out! The dogs are going to doggy bootcamp tomorrow for a 8 week basic training course at Tarheel Canine. I am praying someone took pictures of everything before so I can have my memories of my dads house. That's what makes it bittersweet for me as we have spent over 10 years there. I am so happy that Cory will have access to the whole house and be able to be as independent as possible. I'm also happy because my dad who passed away 3 years ago always wanted to do more with the place and now its happening. I only wish he was here to see it. I miss him too much. Everything in the house is going to be completely different! It's so crazy to think about. Almost surreal. I'm glad its only going to cost us $18.400, We are still fundraising to help pay for it. The Americas Fund said they would be helping too, but I'm still waiting on the contract and stuff so that I can send it there way etc 

Had my first doctor appointment today to get a referral into the infertility clinic. Let me tell you how much fun it was filling in the history up till now and then the pity look I got when I explained why there was a random break after we just finished testing at ft Bragg and how we got here. It wasn't fun but its part of the process. The doctor started me on prenatal s, metformin, & spironolactone. The first 2 I am familiar with because I have been on them before, the last I haven't. She said all these things are great for people with PCOS so we shall see how it goes. I start tomorrow. The blood vampires took 9 vile's for various tests to check stuff and I have to go to the other lab in the morning for my chromosomes to be checked. The paper says someone should call me in 3 days about the referral. I see the doc I saw today in 3 months to see how the meds are working. Also I am obviously overweight and have to lose some.  Tell me something I didn't already know!

onward and upward!

#TeamMuzzySigningOut