The Story of Rob Mallory

Me, with my little brothers.  Today I want to talk a little about me, and who I am. I can already hear you all groaning. I know, this is going to be a tough read. But at least you don't have to write it. At least you don't have to journey into the dark corners of my mind, and talk about someone that, to be completely honest, I've never really liked. But I'm going to do it. Maybe if I talk a little about myself I can get some of those demons out of my mind. Or maybe I'll just create some more. Either way, this is going to be more of a chore to write, than it will be for you to read. So just be quiet. Sit down, and let's get this over with. I was born fairly late in the 70's. Late August of 1979. Despite it being so late in the decade, I'm still a product of the 70's. I don't know exactly what that means, but it's a fact I just enjoy telling people. I imagine it was hot the day I was born, as it happened in Omaha, Nebraska. And we have s...

When I started this blog, I wanted to talk about my life. I wanted to talk about all facets of my life. However, it seems like I talk about my missing foot, more than anything else. Of course, it has to be understandable. The surgery took place only two weeks ago. So there are still a lot of things up in the air in that area. But that's not all that is going on in my life. Things that have nothing to do with the stub of a leg that I now find myself looking down at, in disgust. So maybe today, I'll talk about something else for a bit. The pregnancy. If there is something in my life that is more important than any other, it's the baby. Julia is now going on 25 weeks pregnant. The baby is growing more every day. I have felt her kicking up a storm, and also just sort of bumping around in there. It's such a cool feeling, to feel my little girl moving around so much. We have an appointment with the baby doc on Friday. We also have another ultrasound scheduled for the sam...

There was once a man that tried to avoid the gaze of anyone he did not know. Hell, he tried to avoid the gaze of many that he did not know. If this man had his way, he would happily melt into the background, and escape the watchful of eye of just about everyone in the world. In short, he just wanted to be left alone. He wanted to live his life for himself, and focus only on those that he cared about, and those that cared about him. However, life never worked out that way for him. He always seemed to draw the watchful eye of others. He looked different. With a thick head of red hair, and far too much weight, he also seemed to be something of a curiosity. Something that others wanted to look at, and make fun of. He prayed only to be left alone, and to not do anything to draw more stares. Unfortunately something would come along that would help him to attract more stares. Just months before his 39th birthday, and the birth of his fourth child, that man would lose his right foot. Okay...

This was my first weekend home, after my surgery. After I waved goodbye to that a-hole right foot. I had a few bad moments this past weekend. My first weekend home. A few moments when I think I lost sight of the good that the future will bring, and I focused on the bad, or the hardships, that the future will bring. They weren't overly long moments. Maybe a total of twenty minutes the entire weekend, but they were hard. I can't say it was depression. It came and went so quick. But they were hard. It's hard to see the good in the road up ahead, when you're only paying attention to the potholes the litter a small stretch of that road. Those potholes seem like they're going to ruin the entire front end of the car. When in reality, they really are just small potholes. If that makes any sense at all. The rest of the weekend went pretty well. I was able to sit comfortably (for the most part) for two car rides, to and from Council Bluffs. The trip is about an hour each...

I've been a bit emotional today. Well, since last night. I don't know why, I just started crying. I can't even say it has anything to do with the loss of my right foot. I just felt the tears coming, and they wouldn't stop. I've always been a bit of a crier. I cry at TV shows. I cry because of books. Movies make me cry. Hell, if a song is emotional, it sets me crying as well. I know, men aren't supposed to cry. But that has always bothered me. Why can't men cry? We have feelings as well. At least, I sure as hell do. As far as the foot, I'm still in pretty high spirits. I'm waiting for the hard part to come. The physical therapy. I can't imagine that that is going to be easy. It's going to be hard work. But it's going to be worth it. I'm going to work as hard as I can. I'm going to focus on my future, turn the blinders on my past, and work for the life that I want to give Hope, and the rest of my family. I gotta believe that ...

I'm going to talk for a bit about some of the biggest pain events of my life. I guess I'm talking about this because I'm going through one of them right now. One that may, or may not let up in the coming months. I haven't got to the phantom pain just yet, but many people who experience a loss of limb get these phantom pains. I'm really hoping that I don't get a ticket to that fun little circus. I guess that only time will tell. When I was eight I fell out of a tree. Immediately upon hitting the ground, a rock thrown by my brother hit my head. It was one of those "right place, wrong time" kind of things. The fall from the tree didn't cause any pain, or damage. The rock to the head did. A few weeks earlier, my brother Nick ran head first into a brick wall (something that I will forever take the blame for), and had to get stitches. So, as the blood was pouring from the new wound in my head, I ran inside repeating that I did not want to get sti...

Today is a good day. I guess you would know that if you read the title. I can't say exactly why it's a good day, I'm just feeling good. And why not? I have so many amazing things up ahead, to look forward to. There is a lifetime of happiness ahead of me. I just have to grab it. And you can believe me that I'm going to grab it. This new Rob, the one that was born from the ashes of a failed marriage, is here to stay. The happy one, that isn't hiding tears, and sorrow inside. the one that can look over at his sleeping girlfriend, and know that everything is going to be okay. And the huge blessing of Hope. I felt her kick last night, and a couple other times, but last night she really kicked hard. It bumped my hand. I had this moment of, "Oh my God, that's my little girl in there!" That's a beautiful thought. My baby girl is so busy these days, especially when Julia is laying down. It's such an incredible thing to feel, and experience. If it w...

I don't do much around here these days. The past couple of weeks, as infection burned through my foot, and killed the bones, I was limited in my mobility. First because I was hoping that my foot might heal, and second because the pain was getting increasingly worse with every passing day. I was in agony. As you can imagine, infection in your foot, and in the bones of your foot don't exactly tickle. So as a result, I've done very little around the house. And as a result, I feel fairly useless around here. When we first moved into this house, back in July, I was also experiencing limited mobility, thanks to a surgery that I had just had done to remove a bone in my foot. The same foot that is no longer there! But, even though I was limited in what I could do, I still did as much as I could to help out. I was able to help cook, clean a little, and at least be a somewhat productive member of this household. This time around, I am missing my right foot. I have a lot of troub...

On Wednesday, April 11th of 2018, sometime around 8:30 AM, I went into surgery, and came out with one less foot. I hear that the surgery went great, and as I sit here Monday night, it still seems like the surgery went well. Unfortunately, I still have only one foot now. The events leading up to this happened so quickly, that it was hard for me to really take the time to think much about it. Things were that bad in my foot. The infection was that bad. And luckily for me, the pain was that bad (yes, that was sarcasm). And so when I went in for my podiatrist appointment on Monday the 9th, I was told that I would soon become an amputee. I was filled with emotions. I wanted to cry. But I didn't. Well, I mean, I did eventually. It’s such a weird thought to know that my foot is gone. To look down to where it used to be, and see just empty space. And if I’m being honest, it’s pretty scary. When I look down there, I’m filled with the sense of wondering how the future is going to work. ...

Hello folks, my name is Rob. And this is yet another blog from me. I have a couple blogs out there. One is just for music review. One is for whatever I feel like posting. This one is for my journey as a "new / old" dad. My girlfriend and I found out in December that we were going to have a baby. We each have three kids from a previous marriage. So I'm going to be a new dad, but I'm still dad to the other kiddos. So I guess that's why I came up with this name. Not everything on here will be 100% about the baby. But it will all talk about where my life is going. Like today. Today I am having an MRI on my right foot. The prognosis from my podiatrist appointment on Monday was not good. Not at all. So, to be honest, I am scared. No matter what happens, though, I will be there for my family, and the daughter that will arrive in August. To be honest, I just broke down at my desk. It's scary. Knowing that there isn't much of a chance that my life will move ...