Hi everyone! Well after many delays and numerous posts pushing off my official launch of my Etsy site that day has finally arrived! On Friday I got my red seal of approval and the final pieces came together and I am officially launching  Ross McCreery Photography on Etsy. Yes! I won’t tell a lie! For me this has been a lot of work to put together but it’s all been worth it. Visit my store through the link that I’ve provided above or on the sidebar of my blog where I’ve added a button for you to link to my site. Over the next week I’ll be adding a lot more pictures to the store so if you don’t see something you like then come back when I’ve added more.

It was a crazy week last week with sick kids all week. Who are are still trying to get better by the way! Along with that there were doctors appointments, physiotherapy, errands to do, and all the usual things to do around the house. No wonder things have been a little bit off with my body. The funny thing though is that it really wasn’t a week that was all that far from the norm. This week we’ll start making preparations for our trip which is only two weeks away. It’s getting harder with each day not to blow it and tell the kids that we’re taking them to Disneyland!

I also plan to slow things down a bit this week because I’m pushing my body pretty hard, probably a little harder than I should at this stage of recovery. Although I’m feeling good and my pain is under control, other symptoms are starting to really effect me. Not to mention that the pain is starting to creep up. Honestly this has to be one of the hardest things when it comes to dealing with the after effects of the surgery. It’s easy to think that because some of your pain is reduced that you can do a whole lot more. Well I’m finding out quickly that there is a definite line, and you have to be careful about just how far you cross it.

For today I’m keeping things short and sweet. I know this isn’t much of a post, just a quick update! It’s gearing up to be another busy week, and I want to pace myself through all of it. I hope the start to your week is great and I’ll see everyone soon!

Well it’s been an interesting week so far and it all started on the weekend. Over the last two weeks both of my daughters have been fighting illnesses. My youngest daughter was fighting a cold last week that just didn’t want to clear up and go away. As the week went on things just kept getting worse until we ended up in Emerg on Saturday. I pretty much spent the entire day trying to get the poor little bug some help to make her feel better! So she ended up being put on antibiotics to try and make things better, however three days later and things still weren’t changing.

So on Monday in we went again to her pediatrician to see what other things we could do in helping her to get better. Now she is on a nebulizer to try and open up her lungs and stop her coughing. It seems like over the last couple of weeks all we’ve been dealing with in our house is sickness, and it’s time to see the household get healthy again. Over the last 24hrs though she seems to be improving. In dealing with my girls though my body is being pushed to the limit at the moment, and I need to slow things down a bit before things get out of control.

With all of the focus at the moment going my kids and them getting better its been hard to find the time and energy to blog, and at the same time trying to put the last few finishing touches on my Etsy shop to get it open. So needless to say I never got out to take any pictures last weekend!! I am hopeful however that this weekend coming up will provide me with a chance to get out there and get a few pictures. Yet trying to find the time to break away isn’t easy because so many other things are taking priority at this time.

The one thing that I know is that there is never a dull moment in our family! My two girls mean the world to me. They are the most precious gift God has ever given me along with my wife. Even though it may not be a whole lot of fun to deal with the illness and all that comes with it, they need that comforting and caring that only their parent can provide. There is something so special about being able to curl up with your child and watch a movie or read a book with them when they’re sick. The other night my youngest daughter Katelyn ask me to be her stuffy to hold onto while we watched a movie before bedtime. I wrapped my arms around her and just like when she was six months old she fell asleep during the movie. These are my priorities! So when things get back to normal I’ll be able to get back to routine. I’ll talk to everyone soon.

Well it looks as though spring has finally arrived in my parts! Tomorrow the temperature is suppose to get up to 18 C ! For March that just isn’t the norm around here. We usually have snow on the ground until mid April, and we’ve even been known to get the odd snowstorm into early May if it’s a bad winter. So it will be time to soak up the sunshine and get out the camera over the weekend! The weather is suppose to stay warm all through the weekend, which means all our snow will probably all melt. It also means that I get a chance to shoot some pictures other than snowy winter scenes for a change.

Ok! Are you ready for the good news! As of today my all my licensing was completed and I can finally get my Etsy site set up and running. So there is a little bit of work to do but I’m closing in on the big launch date! I really do hope that some of you visit the site when it’s open and take a look at what I have to offer. It’s been a couple of weeks of headaches trying to sort through some of the paperwork to get things going but all of that is almost over. So my goal is to hopefully be up and running by the end of the weekend!!

As far as how I’m feeling, today hasn’t been the easiest of days as I’ve been having a bad day with pain in my neck from where they have placed the lead. It’s seems like as I try to turn my head from side to side it is very stiff and it’s really sore. I know that it’s from build up of scar tissue but I’m wondering just how stiff things are going to get and what exactly my limitations are going to be.

The pain level in my affected limbs remains moderate at the moment with the exception of every once in a while where it shoots up a bit. For the most part however it remains controlled. Things have been so busy as of late that I really haven’t had the chance to stop and think of what I’m going to post about this week. For tonight though I need to stop what I’m doing and take a time out for me. I’ll be adding pictures at some point over the weekend, until then I say have a great weekend!

Sorry it’s been such a long stretch between posts but things have been busy and there hasn’t been a lot of time to write a new post. In making up for that here are a few more from my “frosty morning” series! I’ve been dealing with a few more symptoms as of late from my CRPS but the implants are doing the job they are suppose to do in minimizing the pain that can be caused as a result of those other symptoms. I’m on a real learning curve at the moment figuring out what I can and can’t do. There are days where I am still reminded that I can only go so far, my body letting me know that the pain is still there but controlled to a certain point.

In this last month after all my surgery I have seen an increase in my mobility. I’m receiving from around 50% to 60% pain relief in my affected leg, and about 30% to 40% relief in my affected hand and arm. Clearly things aren’t perfect but I’ll take the results that I’m getting! I could be receiving no relief at all so I’m very happy with where things are at for the moment. If you were to ask me where I’m seeing the biggest results I would have to say that it’s in my ability to walk better than before. I’m able to go further with less pain and don’t have to use my cane. I am only able to push so hard before my body says enough!

The pain for the most part is better controlled but I still have flare ups that can slow me down. In my opinion the implants are doing exactly what they are suppose to be doing at the moment in giving me a better quality of life. There are still certain symptoms from the surgery that are affecting me however for the most part they are very minor and aren’t bothering me like they were before.

Over the last few weeks I’ve been trying to deal with getting my Etsy shop set up and I wasn’t expecting to have to do so much waiting to get the site up and running. I’m still waiting for my business license to come through before I can get things going which I’m now being told could be 2 to 4 weeks. So frustrating!! In the meantime however I’m moving forward with different plans that I have for my business and getting things set up. Last week a huge opportunity was dropped in my lap in being able to take part in this years Cathedral Arts Festival with a friend. The festival happens every year and is a very big event in our city. So I only have a few months to prepare about twenty to thirty photos for the event, where my photos will be showcased!

I’m trying to keep how much I do under control and not push things to hard, however I’m still reminded that I need to recover from the surgery as well as manage my CRPS. On Wednesday I meet with a local organization SILC that helps people with disabilities in starting up their businesses. So they will help me in drawing up my business plan and in  dealing with various aspects of the business. As you can tell I’m not got to let my disability stop me from doing what I want to do. It’s about taking baby steps in getting to where I want to go, and I’m not about to let something called CRPS stand in my way!

Hi again! Well the countdown is on as we are only about four weeks away from going to Disneyland with the kids. So far we’ve managed to keep it a secret but I do have to admit it’s getting harder to keep from them. I don’t know how many times over the last week while my 5 yr old has asked “Daddy can we go to Disneyland?”, and straight faced I have to look at her and say maybe someday we’ll be able to afford to. My wife and I keep playing up all the characters and how much they like them. One thing that’s for sure is that we’re going to have to peel her off the roof when we tell them on the way to the airport.

I’m trying to stay focused this week on things other than my CRPS. My symptoms as you know have been acting up a bit, and so I’m trying to keep my mind off of them so that I minimize the effects. The pain itself is staying very well controlled which in itself is huge! As I’ve said all along it’s about taking baby steps to overcome this disability. The one thing I’m not prepared to do at this point is put a time limit on it. First off it wouldn’t be realistic and secondly it would only be putting more stress on myself! The only person who knows the timing of all of this is God and so I’m leaving it up to Him.

I’m still dealing with some pain as a result of the surgeries but for the most part I’ve gotten over most of it. I’ve been dealing with some pain in my neck where the lead has been placed, but am being told that I’m just going to have to get over that. I’m also dealing with some pain in the area where they implanted the second battery, and my neurosurgeon said he would look at that in three months. Overall though I’d have to say that I’m feeling better than I did before surgery. Now it’s a matter of adapting to life with my implants and all that comes with it.

The hard part is getting through all the surgeries. For myself I had to go through five surgeries in order to complete the double implant. At first I was all stressed over what life would be like with them, but I’ve adapted now and it’s pretty easy. The batteries I have in me are rechargeable and so once a week I watch a favorite show for about an hour and charge myself up. My body has adapted quite well and I really don’t notice the stimulation now. If I turn it up then I do, but what works for me is turning it on low and running it all the time. The only real negative is carrying my remotes around with me, and trying to not forget them anywhere!

It hasn’t been easy to get to this point in my journey. There have been more ups and downs than I can count, and there were all kinds of times where I said I can’t do this anymore. You have to find something from within and for me that was focusing on God and trusting Him to get me through all of this. I truly believe that slowly day by day He is restoring my body and my mind. I now know that I will come out on the other side of this illness and that my life is going be so much better than when all of this began. Things aren’t perfect and there’s a long way to go but progress has been made and so I keep moving forward in faith!

I have to say I’m sorry about not staying on top of my posts the last week or two. There has been a lot going on, and I haven’t been feeling as good the last couple of days. Today the symptoms seem to be getting worse and so I’m trying to take things a little easier. Days like today are the ones I wish others not affected by CRPS or chronic pain could understand. I go through all this surgery to get relief from the pain and yet the beast rears its ugly head yet again!

Don’t get me wrong the neurosurgeon was pretty straight forward to tell me that I would still have my bad days, I would just have a little more control over them. It’s just that I’ve been doing much better, and then you get slapped in the face out of nowhere by the pain and symptoms that have changed your life over the last 6yrs. I’m in those trenches fighting a war that I refuse to lose. Over the last couple of days my ability to focus hasn’t been as good and so it’s been slowing me down.

Even trying to focus on my photography hasn’t been easy and I need to find a way to regain my motivation. So tonight I’m posting a few more pictures to inspire myself. It’s been snowing the last few days, and so it hasn’t been that easy to get around to take photos. So instead I had to dig into my archives. I’ve been spending a lot of time going through them recently so I hope you like these shots. The first shot was taken up at our family cottage on Vancouver Island.  There are such strong family memories associated with this place. I get homesick just thinking about it! I also included one that I took on a trip in northern Saskatchewan with a friend. The reflection off the pond was amazing however there was only time for one shot or be eaten alive by mosquitoes! I couldn’t resist the shot below of the kittens. I was on a walk and stumbled across them. I only hope the eagles never saw them!

As I spent time looking through all of my photos I was reminded of what I love about picking up my camera. It’s about looking at something and seeing the photo before you even pick up the camera, then making that shot come to life. Well I must have written the same line about three times over, and so I’m thinking that instead of getting to the point of frustration that I should probably just end this post. I hope to see you all in a few days when I’m feeling better

Hi again! The last couple of days have been nothing short of frustrating, as I’ve been trying to deal with the person who has had nothing better to do than bother me with the numerous spam comments that they’ve been sending my way. It took me about three days to find the hidden comment that my spam filter missed, and for that matter that I missed as well. Do they not have anything better to do!! I was at a point where I thought I was going to have to turn off my comments to stop the spam but all is good. I hope none of you received any spam from me as a result and if you did I’m sorry! Like I say the problem is fixed.

So tomorrow I see the neurosurgeon to see what type of progress I’m making with my recovery. All things considered I feel pretty good. I’ve been having some increased pain in my neck and in my lower back where they internalized the battery but things overall have really settled down over the last couple of weeks. I can honestly say that I feel like I can put the surgery behind me once and for all! Now I just have to continue to heal. I’m not done yet as there is still a long way to go but the hardest part is behind me, and I feel like I’ve won a small part of my fight. Besides I have to keep making progress because in about 6 weeks time I’ll be at the “Happiest Place On Earth” with my family. We are surprising my daughters with a trip to Disneyland! They won’t know until the day we go and with each day it gets harder not to tell them.

I have to be ready to walk the grounds of Disney with my family so I have a lot of work to do to strengthen my leg. If you had asked me a year ago if any of this was going to be possible, I would have had a lot of serious doubts in my mind. These implants though have made all the difference in the world, and although things may not be perfect they are a whole lot better. I can’t begin to tell you the emotion that is built up inside over being able to do this with my kids. The psychological impact of this is huge, as I’m able to take back a piece of what was stolen so many years ago.

Nobody can really say how much my health will end up improving, or how much function I will get back in my limbs. What I can say though is that there’s improvement and that’s something to get excited about. It’s a huge answer to prayer because I’m beating something that doesn’t have a cure! Once again I am being rewarded for placing my trust in Gods hands. Where there was once fear in my mind there is now strength! It used to be that there was all kinds of doubt as to my abilities, and now I feel as though I can do anything that I set my mind to!

Here’s to hoping that all of you out there are having a great week! I know mine has been busy because my kids have been off school for the week. So it been a week filled with lots of family time. I’ve also been very busy putting all of the final details together for my Etsy shop, and slowly working towards my opening. As I told everyone here I was hoping that I would open it this week but as I work on the details I keep finding other things I need to work on before I can launch. So I hope you can be patient because I’m really hopeful that your going to like what you see. So here’s another from my recent winter series I last posted.

This week I haven’t been having an easy time as I continue to deal with a few issues from the surgery. Mix in sleeping issues and it makes for a bad mix! With my sleep not being very good at night due to my CRPS, I’ve always had a tough time with the morning and waking up. It seems that just as my body wants to relax and shut down it’s time to wake up and get going for the day. This week with the added pain from my surgeries flaring up, it has made getting any sleep that much more difficult. Finding energy then during the day becomes difficult, but you find a way to get that second wind and push through. The surgery last month has taken a lot out of my body, and so I’ve found it hard to run at the same energy level.

In about another week I see the neurosurgeon and we will assess how things are going. A good report from him is what I’m looking for  The pain caused by the CRPS seems to be under control for the most part which is really great news! I’ve had a few minor flare ups but they seem to be fairly well controlled by the electrical stimulation.

On Saturday I decided to really put my implants to the test. I was walking to my bedroom and turned the corner through the door a little to tight. As I did this I stubbed my toes on my bad foot! Now if you’ve stubbed your toes on something I’m sure you know the intense pain it causes, well add chronic pain into the mix and it’s something completely different! After saying a few choice words to myself I got on with my day. It wasn’t until I got into the shower the next day that I realized that I had a small problem. I looked at my toes on my left foot and they were dark purple! To make a long story short I had x-rays done and I’ve broken the toes! So it’s added to my pain needless to say.

Overall though I slowly continue to get better with each week. Although I feel at times that I’m being tested my confidence is at an all time high, and for that I know God is responsible. Since the surgery the stress level has come down and that makes it easier for my brain to handle things. With this week being the exception this has also been another big answer to prayer because if the stress level stays down then it means a lot less fuzziness in the head and less headaches, leading to a much clearer thought process.

It’s been a very slow process and I knew it would be, as well as knowing that there were going to be setbacks along the way. However I’ve been asked many times now by many people if it was all worth it. Even though there is still a lot of healing to do the results so far have made it all worthwhile. I couldn’t get through any of this though without God being right there beside me helping every step of the way!

Today has been a day filled with all kinds of intense pain. In an attempt to try and divert attention away from the pain I decided that I’d do some editing of some pictures I took the other day. In my part of the world during the winter there is nothing better than the horror frost we get on the trees. This winter however I haven’t seen all that much, so the opportunities haven’t been there to take pictures. So when I woke up to this I made a break to snap a few pictures. There was a lot of fog along with so the conditions weren’t as perfect as I’d have liked them to be.It was one of those days where everywhere I turned I saw the perfect picture in front of my eyes.

I’ve been waiting very patiently to get some winter pictures this year, but that’s been next to impossible because winter just hasn’t arrived! So when this arrived my mind started going crazy thinking of the possibilities.

What do I like about winter? Your answer is right here in these pictures! The horror frost transforms things into a winter wonderland.

I could have kept going the entire day except for the fact that the frost started to fall off the trees. After a while it got frustrating because every time I’d go to take a picture melting frost would fall off the tree limbs and go down my neck. I’m just happy that I felt good enough to go out and spend some time doing what I love to do!

I don’t have a lot to say about my health today because I refuse to let pain control my life. This is one of those rare days that I just want to focus on something other than CRPS. Hope you all enjoy the pictures!

Today I’m posting some pictures that I had posted a couple of months back. The eagle is just one of those birds that you never get tired of looking at. These pictures were taken off our front lawn at our cottage on Vancouver Island. In some ways this is almost like a mini memorial because this year the tree that they were sitting in was taken down in a wind storm that hit.

I will always have all these amazing memories of sitting outside on our deck listening to them sit high above in this tree calling each other.You never had to go far to get a photo and we would watch them flying up and down the beach and out into the ocean to hunt for fish.

You really don’t appreciate how amazing they really are until you’ve watched them up close to see the power that they have. When I caught these two eagle on this particular day they were particularly vocal. There was a dead salmon on the beach that they kept diving after, so it was back and forth from the tree to the beach.

The unfortunate part was that I was only armed with a short lens so I had to do the best I could with what I had. They are such a powerful bird yet when you watch them they really do seem so graceful in the sky. I consider myself quite lucky to be able to watch them off my deck as they patrol the beach.

We’ve had many years of being able to sit on that deck with your morning coffee listening to nature at it’s best and so the tree that was right next door will be missed. It’s not the end of the eagles in the area because they have several nests up and down the beach, but it’s the end of a very special part of what makes our cottage so inviting! So I hope you enjoy some of the photos that I got.