"Hop-Along" Troxel

Last year on my way back from Bremerton, Washington to Washington D.C. I sprained my ankle in a terrible way. It was the night before my flight after the Thanks Giving holiday and I was rushed to the emergency room where they did some X-rays and gave me some happy pills and crutches, then sent me hobbling home.

Course, everybody and their sister's boyfriend told me how it would take forever to get back to normal after a severe sprain, so when it took forever I more or less accepted it as to-be-expected, in light of this wealth of common knowledge.

And I waited.

And waited.

Well, call me a ungrateful, but sure enough I got tired of waiting and went back to the doctor to see about physical therapy to help me walk correctly and to ease the pain when I try to exercise. Now I always grew up thinking that all decent God-fearing men should fear a Military doctor, but pain is pain and that's a pretty good motivation. Come to find out, though, the military hospital actually has a lot going for it, like not being an HMO. Or even a PPO. In fact, not being an HMO or PPO is a pretty amazing benefit because the doctors are more than happy to order up as many tests or procedures as come to mind, give out as many applicable drugs as reasonably needed, and are more than happy to let you hang out in your hospital room an extra day without any pressure what-so-ever to free up a bed to earn the hospital a bonus.

So where I thought I would get a poke, a prod, and a push out the door, I instead received a consult, an X-ray, and a call back. Yes, feel free to read that again; I actually had a real life doctor call me to talk to me about the results.

Of course, this special treatment could have been because--come to find out--I have a broken ankle from that sprain so long ago, which wasn't identified by Group Health (least way's they never called me back), and this fracture never received enough blood to properly heal and resulted in portions of the bone dying. So now I have to get an MRI and a consult from an orthopedic surgeon.

Welp, that's my story; if you happen to see me hopping by, now you know why.

Let me Explain.No there is too much-Let me sum up

Lilah recently wrote an email to her former co-workers, and it was so well done I asked her if I could share it with you; she said yes:

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I am sorry to keep you guys in the dark for so long! It seems that
everything is happening all at once, and I have not had the chance to
slow down yet. I started writing you an e-mail the first week I got
here, but uh, well, here we are now. I will give you a quick run-down
of how it's gone so far:

Week 1: Orientation - Since everyone associated with the shipyard here
is a representative of the shipyard to the nation of Japan, we all
attend a week-long orientation. It also helps with culture shock,
exposes you to the many available resources, and is a pre-requisite if
you want to drive in Japan. I thought it was great, and the speakers
were pretty engaging and knowledgeable. And I'm driving, as scary as
that sounds.
Week 2: Tragedy Strikes - At the beginning of the week, I'm taking
(and passing) my driver's course, getting all the paperwork processed
including the dog I brought with me. By the end of the week, Jason
receives a phone call that his mother is suffering serious
complications from a minor surgery. Jason flies home to Oklahoma.
Week 3: More Tragedy and Furniture - Jason's mother passed away. I
will fly to Oklahoma for the funeral services, but first I will
oversee the arrival of my furniture, which is several months earlier
than expected. While in Oklahoma, I suffer from jet lag - A LOT.
Week 4: Unpacking and Surprise! - It took me a while to recover from
what felt like severe sleep deprivation. In the meantime, I'm trying
to establish paths through the junk in my house. I made a good amount
of progress this week, but still have yet to finish (as of Oct 20). At
the very end of this week, we made a very special discovery...we're
pregnant!
Week 5: Trick? or Treat - This week is spent both at the hospital
getting an enormous amount of blood taken from me (and confirming the
results) and visiting some of the English classes I will soon be
taking over. Since it is October, the theme has been Halloween, which
is still a very foreign concept in Japan. And I've been
trick-or-treating 3 times this last week. I had a very lovely meeting
with a nurse at the hospital, which established my estimated due date
as June 11.

So, as you can see, Jason and I have experienced just a few MAJOR LIFE
EVENTS in the last month. But I have been thinking of my KPS buddies
quite a bit lately and I'm glad to finally get the opportunity to
write just a little bit. I still have lots of unpacking to do, and it
seems there is always something going on, so I don't feel like I will
be bored here at all. I don't have a real job yet, but with the
aforesaid MAJOR LIFE EVENTS, Jason would like me to get a temporary
real job to help with the transition.

I know you probably have a lot of questions and I left out many
details, so please keep writing me and I will keep you posted!

What More Can I say?

Obituary

A celebration of life for Marti H. Troxel, age 58, of Chickasha, Oklahoma, will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, October 4, 2007, in the First Presbyterian Church under the direction of her family. Flowers may be sent to McRay Funeral Home.

Martha Helene Troxel was born the daughter of Herbert R. Bricker and Elizabeth Ann Homenko Bricker on January 18, 1949, in Canton, Ohio. She died on September 30, 2007.

She married Dennis Troxel on September 20, 1980, in Coral Springs, Florida.

Marti moved to Chickasha in the early 1980’s. Soon after moving to Chickasha, she worked two years for Bill Addy, PA.. In 1983, Larry Schlegel bought the accounting business where Marti has worked for twenty-four years as an accountant. During this time, Marti attended USAO and graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Science in accounting in 1997.

She was preceded in death by her parents.

Survivors include:
Husband: Dennis Troxel of Chickasha; Son and Wife: Jason and Lilah Troxel of Yokosuka, Japan, where Jason is the Aircraft Carrier Repair Program Planning Manager for the Forward Deployed US Naval Forces Pacific Fleet. Sister: Patricia Cupstid-Crews of Port Richey, Florida.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Susan B. Komen, Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Oklahoma Chapter, 120 N. Robinson, Oklahoma City, OK, 73102

Published in The Chickasha Express Star from 10/3/2007 - 10/4/2007.