Why do I deserve a trip to Orlando? One word: surgeries.

   This year has been riddled with surgeries in my family, which has taken away any opportunity for a vacation, which is desperately needed after all we’ve been through.

            The Year of Surgery, as I call it, began on January 26 when my husband, endured surgery on his shoulder to repair the soft tissue that had been torn when his shoulder separated in a car accident the year prior. He was away from work for six long weeks and continued with physical therapy for another six weeks after that to repair and recover his muscles and strength.

Ca-ching! Whoosh!

Hear that? That's the sound of the family pocketbook opening and the money flying out.

            The same week my husband had surgery, our beloved family dog had surgery to remove a tumor on her leg that had grown to the size of a baseball. Thankfully, the tumor was benign, but her recovery was a month long and without pet insurance, her bill was expensive and on top of bills we were already paying from my husband's surgery.

Ca-ching! Whoosh!

            Months went by and because of the thousands of dollars we had spent on those two surgeries, we settled with the idea of having a “stay-cation” at home during the summer instead of taking a break to a warm, not-Wisconsin place. We spent as much time outside in our yard as we could, but, as it is every so often, Wisconsin weather just wasn’t up to par. We even took a single day off from work in July to try to enjoy the Wisconsin summer, but to our dismay, it rained and was cool the entire day. It figured.

            In August, I had a total hysterectomy due to benign fibroids and dysmennorhea, which laid me up for six long weeks and set us back yet another couple thousand dollars. (We were just beginning to get our financially footing again after the January surgeries.)

Ca-ching! Whoosh!

This October, our son is scheduled to have surgery on his feet to correct his hammer toes that are getting in the way of everyday shoes, and my husband will be having one more surgery to remove a tumor from his back. (It’s hopefully benign.)

Ca-ching! Whoosh!

When 2009 comes to a close, we will have endured five surgeries among us. We will have used up 12 weeks of medical leave, plus most of our vacation days due to outpatient recoveries, physical therapy appointments and doctor appointments. There will have been no time to enjoy a vacation, let alone money to go on one. There can be no more "ca-chings" since the pocketbook is empty. As this goes to print, we’re still paying on our medical bills for the year and have two more surgeries to undergo. We’re hoping 2010 will be a year of good health, no hospitals and a paid trip to one of our favorite states: Florida.